Talkin’ Cowboys: Prescription for Trouble

Summary

Talkin’ Cowboys: Prescription for Trouble (October 1, 2025)

Podcast: Talkin' Cowboys
Hosts: Kyle Yeomans, Patrick "No See" Walker, Josh Rodriguez, Tommy Yarish
Location: The Star in Frisco, TX
Episode Theme: The Cowboys look to rebound against the New York Jets amid defensive struggles and a challenging NFC East landscape.

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Episode Overview

The Wednesday edition of Talkin’ Cowboys opens with a lighthearted atmosphere before diving into pressing concerns for Dallas, including defensive woes, the upcoming matchup against the Jets, and the evolution of the NFC East. The hosts analyze personnel changes, break down the defense’s difficulties with mobile quarterbacks, and assess whether the matchup against the struggling Jets is a “pharmacy” or a potential pitfall for the Cowboys.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Cowboys News & Notes

• Practice Squad Moves
  • Buddy Johnson was signed to the Colts’ active roster.
  • Paris Campbell returns to the Cowboys' practice squad after being medically cleared from a knee sprain, previously feared to be more severe. (03:08–04:33)
• Campbell's Role
  • Campbell’s speed and experience offer depth, though he’s “right on that bubble,” fighting for a roster spot alongside players like Ryan Flournoy and Jonathan Mingo. (04:33–04:56)
  • Wears #11, the former number of a recent prominent player, sparking a fun conversation about jersey assignments. (05:09–05:32)

2. Jets Preview: Don’t Sleepwalk

• Historical Context
  • Cowboys haven’t beaten the Jets on the road since 2003.
  • The Jets’ first-year head coach has never started 0–5 (08:06–07:47)
• Jets’ Strengths
  • Mobile QB (Justin Fields) challenges Dallas’ defense, especially given their “communication problems” and weakness against RPO looks.
  • Garrett Wilson (WR) and Quinnen Williams (DT) highlighted as elite talents.
  • Sauce Gardner is a difference-maker at corner. (08:15–09:30)
• Defense Under Scrutiny
  • Dallas is ranked 32nd in defense. Josh: “That’s not good, Bob.” (09:40–10:13)
  • Communication, missed tackles (14 last week), and inability to handle RPO/dual-threat QBs are highlighted as persistent issues. (10:54–14:07)

Notable Quote
“I have zero confidence in this defense right now to stop Justin Fields, and I think that is the biggest problem that we have.” – Josh Rodriguez (15:43)

• Keys for Dallas
  • Defensive communication must improve.
  • Tackling is paramount, especially if the Jets attack short/intermediate zones.
  • Dallas offense might need a shootout: “Dak and the offense will need to score 40, 50 to even have a shot at winning this game.” – Josh Rodriguez (10:54)
• Trap Game Warning
  • Panel warns against underestimating the Jets, referencing the Cowboys’ past struggles with “winless” teams and mobile QBs.

3. Personnel: Linebacker Critique

• Marist Liufau Discussion
  • Got extended snaps (29 in Week 4 vs. 23 over the first 3 weeks), but was the lowest-graded defender (19:57–20:22).
  • 0 tackles, 3 missed tackles, and a 15-yard penalty last week. (20:19–20:22)
  • Hosts defend Liufau’s talent and campaign for better utilization, specifically as a “spy” against mobile QBs. (21:03–22:32)
• Shemar James
  • Highlighted for his strong NFL debut: 5 tackles in 24 snaps, no missed tackles. (22:33–23:27)
  • Encouraged to see more of him moving forward.
• Rotation Frustrations
  • Hosts perplexed by the continued preference for Jack Sanborn and Murray over Liufau and James, despite better recent performance from the latter.

4. Special Teams & Lighthearted Moments

• Big Hit of the Week
  • Memorable tackle by Marist Liufau on Matthew Golden draws a colorful, animated reaction from the press box and hosts:
    “That might have been the loudest ‘ooh’ I heard in the press box in a long time.” – Kyle Yeomans (25:22)
• Fun banter on Fasika’s chair incident, empathy in the world, and “kid jokes” keeps the tone lively amid deep football talk.

5. Is Dallas the Cure or the Disease?

• “Pharmacy” Metaphor
  • The Jets’ offense has struggled (no takeaways, -7 turnover margin), but the Cowboys’ defense has been so bad, it could be a “pharmacy” for their ailments—or vice versa.
  • Tommy Yarish: “Wouldn’t be shocked if the Cowboys lost this game whatsoever…”
  • Patrick: “I don’t see how that team could be the pharmacy for what ails the defense… This defense feels like they’re not going to get home until they face a statue pocket passer.” (31:09–31:52)

Notable Quote
“Our pharmacy at this point is like a store from 28 Days Later… Ransacked. Dystopian. It’s just, it’s not good, man. Not good.” – Josh Rodriguez (33:00)

6. Around the NFC East

• Philadelphia Eagles
  • Still top of the division but not as dominant as last year.
  • Jalen Hurts and the offense show cracks (“zero completions in second half vs. Tampa Bay”).
  • A.J. Brown’s public displays of frustration catch attention; speculation about contract incentives and team chemistry. (38:05–41:42)
• Washington Commanders
  • “Still searching for an identity.” (43:09)
  • Comparisons between rookie Jaden Daniels and Marcus Mariota as interim. Discussion on the difficulty of sophomore slumps and league adjustments for dual-threat QBs.
• New York Giants
  • Win over Chargers, but Jackson Dart’s performance still under question.
  • Hope for Malik Nabers’ recovery.
• Cowboys Outlook
  • Division remains tough; the margin for error is razor-thin as Dallas tries to “play catch up.”

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Empathy and the Internet:
  “One thing this world has too much of right now, it’s empathy.” – Patrick Walker (02:33)

• On Defensive Woes:
  “I have zero confidence in this defense right now to stop Justin Fields, and I think that is the biggest problem that we have.” – Josh Rodriguez (15:43)

• On Personnel Decisions:
  “One bad day at the office does not define what that young man is capable of. Just let him play ball, they’re overthinking it.” – Patrick Walker on Marist Liufau (21:03)

• On Team Identity:
  “You cannot take any team for granted in the season.” – Patrick Walker (31:09)

• On the NFC East:
  “Are they (Eagles) better or worse? …Worse. But they’re still going to win football.” – Josh Rodriguez (38:05)
  “[AJ Brown’s] contract has escalators and likely to be earned incentives. If he doesn’t get the ball, he’s not earning that money.” – Patrick Walker (41:09)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• [03:08–04:33] – Paris Campbell returns; practice squad moves and injury updates
• [07:47–09:30] – Jets preview: Cowboys’ historical struggles and Jets’ key threats
• [10:54–15:55] – Cowboys’ defense vs. mobile QBs, RPO woes, and lackluster tackling
• [19:47–22:32] – Marist Liufau snap count, performance analysis, and defensive utilization debate
• [25:22–26:20] – Memorable special teams hit: Liufau’s “press box gasp” moment
• [28:12–33:00] – Is this game a trap? The "pharmacy" analogy and defensive prescriptions
• [38:05–41:42] – NFC East: Eagles and Commanders state of play, WR drama
• [43:09–45:16] – Deeper on Commanders’ and Giants’ quarterback/identity struggles

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Episode Takeaways

• The Cowboys’ defense is the central concern—a consistent theme highlighted through stats, tape review, and emotional reactions.
• The upcoming road matchup with the Jets may be more challenging than records suggest; historical context and the Jets’ talent pose threats.
• Personnel, especially at linebacker, require shake-ups, with young players like Marist Liufau and Shemar James needing expanded roles.
• The NFC East remains tightly contested, with Philly still dangerous despite some cracks, while Washington and New York try to adjust on the fly.
• The hosts’ blend of analysis and camaraderie provides both insights for fans and an engaging, relatable backdrop for the team’s ongoing drama.

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For those who missed it:
This episode is a must-listen for Cowboys fans anxious about the defense and eager for a roadmap back to contention. It’s packed with honest critique, stats, humor, and a dash of optimism as Dallas steers into a tricky part of their schedule.

Transcript

[Kyle Yeomans]

The following is a production of Dallas Cowboys.com and the Dallas Cowboys football club. This is talking Cowboys streaming live from the Dallas Cowboys world headquarters at the.

[Josh Rodriguez]

Star in Frisco CD Lamb.

[Kyle Yeomans]

It's on.

[Patrick No See Walker]

Jake Ferguson. Prescott keeps it and he bangs it in for the touchdown.

[Kyle Yeomans]

And now your hosts, Isaiah Standback, Patrick Walker, Josh Rodriguez and Kyle Yeomans.

[Josh Rodriguez]

Welcome to a wonderful Wednesday edition of Talking Cowboys live from the SWBC podcast studio here in the Star in Frisco, Texas. I am Josh. Josh Rodriguez of film school University, here with Patrick no see Walker, here with Tommy Yarish. And now finally joined by our gracious host who's running a little late this morning, the goat. Kyle.

[Patrick No See Walker]

Kyle goat.

[Josh Rodriguez]

Y Y.

[Kyle Yeomans]

That's awesome. I loved that intro.

[Josh Rodriguez]

The voice.

[Kyle Yeomans]

I heard it from down. No, not even that.

[Josh Rodriguez]

Oh, the whole thing.

[Kyle Yeomans]

The whole thing. I heard it from down the hall.

[Josh Rodriguez]

Oh, I tried to do a little Kyle Yeoman. A wonderful.

[Kyle Yeomans]

It's a wonderful Wednesday edition.

[Tommy Yarish]

Yeah.

[Kyle Yeomans]

No, I heard it. It was awesome.

[Josh Rodriguez]

And we got Chris be in the back. Shouts to Chris Beam in the back, shouts to Fasika in the back.

[Patrick No See Walker]

Make sure she's on her chair.

[Tommy Yarish]

Yeah, I think falling out of a chair that has a backing on it. It doesn't deserve a shout out.

[Patrick No See Walker]

Kerplunk.

[Josh Rodriguez]

Let's put that out there.

[Kyle Yeomans]

She fell.

[Josh Rodriguez]

She fell out of her chair yesterday.

[Patrick No See Walker]

Oh. And we're airing it out right now on the air.

[Josh Rodriguez]

It was the.

[Patrick No See Walker]

It's the lobo news now.

[Josh Rodriguez]

Fasika breaking news. Fasika questionable to return to work. No. It was the slowest thing you've ever seen. She was like, slowly adjusting her chair.

[Patrick No See Walker]

And then kind of fazika back question.

[Kyle Yeomans]

Whenever she took this job as a part of the Cowboys organization, she was like, wow, I'm probably. I'm excited to work on the website. She didn't know her. Like, embarrassing moments of work are going to also be broadcast on the podcast.

[Josh Rodriguez]

Oh, yeah. Shouts to the sequel.

[Patrick No See Walker]

Absolutely. It's occupational hazard.

[Kyle Yeomans]

She's one of the best in the business. She helps us stay on the air and get on the air and do everything the right way.

[Josh Rodriguez]

Keeps everybody upbeat.

[Patrick No See Walker]

Yeah.

[Josh Rodriguez]

Even though she just said two seconds ago, like, I don't need you. All right. Yeah.

[Kyle Yeomans]

That's motivation.

[Josh Rodriguez]

Also a great quote from last week. Out of context. She goes, this. This is my favorite thing in the world. She goes, that's your problem. You're thinking about other people.

[Kyle Yeomans]

Fair point.

[Patrick No See Walker]

One thing this world has too much of right now, it's empathy.

[Kyle Yeomans]

It's just pouring over that's your problem.

[Josh Rodriguez]

You're thinking of other people.

[Patrick No See Walker]

That's your problem.

[Kyle Yeomans]

We've been trying to tell people to be nice to people in the comment section and Patrick's like, nah, screw that, get after him.

[Josh Rodriguez]

Lack of empathy. Here we go.

[Kyle Yeomans]

Oh, good morning, everybody.

[Patrick No See Walker]

Good morning.

[Kyle Yeomans]

Sorry I'm a little late. I got caught in traffic.

[Patrick No See Walker]

Traffic is traffic's traffic, man.

[Kyle Yeomans]

Destroyed me. Yeah, that's it. Kyle Laitman. So there it is. All right, let's get into some news and notes. Cowboys off yesterday. Not a ton of news and notes.

[Patrick No See Walker]

I mean, we, we talked about one part of it, which was Buddy Johnson, linebacker, got poached from the practice squad by the Indianapolis coach. Bye, Buddy. That seat was immediately filled by a reunion with Paris Campbell. Yeah, Paris Campbell is back on the.

[Josh Rodriguez]

What an. What an unproblematic decision to bring Paris Campbell.

[Patrick No See Walker]

Well, so the thing is, is that I know a lot of people were wondering because I got some tweets about it yesterday saying that, you know, wasn't he heard in training camp? Yes, yes, he was.

[Josh Rodriguez]

Yeah.

[Patrick No See Walker]

And he was waived, injured and now he's been medically cleared to play again. So he's back and he's in practice squad. So there you go. Buddy Johnson is going to Indianapolis to their active 53 man roster. And here comes Paris Campbell for a second attempt at the Cowboys.

[Kyle Yeomans]

I think the Paris Campbel happened because originally it was feared to be a severe injury. It was feared to be an ACL or an MCL or whatever. And it was just a sprained mcl, not torn. It wasn't a big deal. I mean, it's a big deal. It's a, it's a knee and it's a ligament. As a wide receiver, however, the timetable was not a big deal compared to what it was originally feared to be. So, yeah, now that he's medically cleared, he has an opportunity to come back. I like Paris Campbell. I liked him as a veteran addition. Is he going to be a guy that fights for your 53 man roster? Prob. He's upright on that bubble along with some of the guys that we've talked about. Ryan Flournoy, Jonathan Mingo. We haven't seen much of Paris Campbell.

[Patrick No See Walker]

He does bring, does bring you some speed that you don't have in some of those other players that you named.

[Kyle Yeomans]

Sure.

[Patrick No See Walker]

So when you're talking about and experience, you got Ryan Flournoy. He's physical and he attacks the ball and he's a great route runner. But Paris Campbell is faster and he has a little Bit more experience in the league. When you talk about Jalen Tolbert, obviously Paris Campbell is faster, has more experience in the league and you can go down the list from there. So wait a second.

[Josh Rodriguez]

Hold on. What? Their numbers that are available for him would be like 80 maybe, right?

[Kyle Yeomans]

That's what he wore in camp.

[Tommy Yarish]

Was 80, 80 taken.

[Josh Rodriguez]

Oh, well then what. What number did they give him?

[Patrick No See Walker]

Oh, they gave him number 11.

[Kyle Yeomans]

Oh, it's an offensive guy, though.

[Patrick No See Walker]

Yeah.

[Tommy Yarish]

I mean, they really don't have a lot of choices.

[Patrick No See Walker]

Just so you're. You're running out of the Cowboys did in fact assign didn't signed Paris Campbell number 11. The former number of one. You know, young man who played here on Sunday in his return game.

[Kyle Yeomans]

I. I still. Hey, he was a whiteout.

[Patrick No See Walker]

100 stings.

[Kyle Yeomans]

I still wish they would have put Donovan as a rocku in 11.

[Patrick No See Walker]

I do just. I do as well. Honestly. I think after Micah's comments. I think after Micah's comments on Sunday, oh, my goodness. About how if Jerry was a real man, he would have called me. I think if at. After hearing that if the league allowed as Raku's number to be changed, it'd be number 11. Yeah. Yeah. I just don't think it's a coincidence that a few days after that Jerry's like, you know what? Put his number on anybody.

[Kyle Yeomans]

Anybody as Rock might be waiting on six. That's what he wore at Boston College. So maybe he's waiting on. On that clear up a couple years over the next.

[Patrick No See Walker]

Over the next couple years.

[Kyle Yeomans]

Not right now.

[Josh Rodriguez]

He's a youngster trying to send somebody out the building.

[Patrick No See Walker]

Jeez, Kyle, now see what I meant? Just saying, too much empathy.

[Kyle Yeomans]

Too much empathy in this.

[Josh Rodriguez]

That's your problem. You're thinking about Donna.

[Patrick No See Walker]

Donna, other people, and you're staying on your chair.

[Kyle Yeomans]

I'm sure everybody that's watched the safety play this year is like, yeah, dude, yeah, same with your chest.

[Patrick No See Walker]

Cal Yeomans.

[Kyle Yeomans]

I'm talking about a number, a number.

[Patrick No See Walker]

But no, that's the only. Those are the only news and notes from yesterday. Today, the Cowboys are back at practice for their first full practice in preparation for their trip to New York, slash New Jersey to take on the windless Jets. But I said that a certain way because they were taking on the windless Bears not long ago, and we saw how that went.

[Kyle Yeomans]

So you know how many times the jets have been in some bad situations recently?

[Patrick No See Walker]

Young man, I saw it.

[Kyle Yeomans]

Tommy's just happy to be here.

[Tommy Yarish]

Yeah, man. I love spending time with you guys.

[Patrick No See Walker]

Thanks.

[Kyle Yeomans]

Tommy, you're welcome. The jets have been at a rough spot recently, but do you want to know how many times a first year head coach for the jets has started? 0 and 5. They've gone through some coaches now, talked.

[Josh Rodriguez]

Yeah.

[Kyle Yeomans]

You know how many times, how many, how many times they've started? 0 and 4. It's been, it's happened multiple times. You know how many times they've started? Oh, and five.

[Josh Rodriguez]

Never.

[Patrick No See Walker]

Zero.

[Kyle Yeomans]

Not a single time.

[Patrick No See Walker]

Killing me.

[Kyle Yeomans]

Not a single time a first year jets head coach has the same five and they're oh and five.

[Josh Rodriguez]

They've won four out of the last five meetings with the Cowboys as well.

[Patrick No See Walker]

Yeah.

[Kyle Yeomans]

Haven't won in New York against the jets specifically since 2003. They've won a lot of new.

[Patrick No See Walker]

Been beating up on the Giants pretty good.

[Kyle Yeomans]

But they winning against the jets on the road hasn't happened since 2003. So, Tommy, where were you in 2003?

[Tommy Yarish]

Newborn.

[Kyle Yeomans]

Yeah, that's what I thought. All right. It's been a minute since all that has happened, so you can't walk in and sleepwalk into this matchup, Tommy.

[Tommy Yarish]

No, you can't. Because I think the jets have a lot of things that can attack the Cowboys. Weaknesses. They have a mobile quarterback in Justin Fields who is lethal with his line legs. It's a guy that Matty Berfluse is going to be familiar with. He spent some time with him in Chicago. I think it was the first. Was the last two years that Justin Fields was there. And so, you know, this is a guy that he knows well and he knows can, once he gets outside the pocket, he can be really creative. You saw the 43 yard touchdown on Monday Night Football against the Dolphins and they've got some, some very good star players. It's just a matter of everybody else around them really stepping up and making plays. You know, on offense you think about Garrett Wilson, who is getting nearly 35% of the targets, I think for, for the Jets, I think over 50% of their air yards. So they want to feed him the ball. He's a dynamic receiver, super athletic playmaker that can beat you north and south and east and west. And then defensively, Quinn and Williams in the middle of the defensive line, one of the best defensive tackles in all of football. And then Sauce Gardner at corner, one of the best corners in football. So this is not going to be a easy game. I don't think for the Cowboys it's a, it's a very talented 0 and 4 team that they're going to have to do a lot of things right that they haven't been doing right. If they want to come out with a win.

[Josh Rodriguez]

No, they want to get right. Guess who they get to face this week?

[Kyle Yeomans]

Who's that?

[Josh Rodriguez]

The Dallas Cowboys defense.

[Kyle Yeomans]

Oh, yeah.

[Josh Rodriguez]

No.

[Patrick No See Walker]

Okay.

[Josh Rodriguez]

I think they're ranked 32nd in the league.

[Kyle Yeomans]

How many teams are there?

[Josh Rodriguez]

32.

[Tommy Yarish]

32.

[Josh Rodriguez]

Oh, okay. Yeah. So that I don't think that's very high.

[Kyle Yeomans]

No.

[Josh Rodriguez]

In terms of the. Yeah. Rankings. It's not good. Bob. Wherever you are, Bob.

[Patrick No See Walker]

Not great. Bob.

[Josh Rodriguez]

The one thing, I mean, they are 04 now. Right. And the pre snap penalties are killing them. Obviously. I think they need to simplify their looks, clean up the motion that they're trying to do because it seems like a very over complicated offense. But the one thing that they really have working for them in terms of offense because they're gaining a lot of yardage.

[Kyle Yeomans]

Right.

[Josh Rodriguez]

Breece hall is killing them. Yep. Justin Fields and the threat of the rpo for me at least, I don't know how Dallas defends it. I really don't at this point. Looking at the communication problems that you've had on defense so far this year, a lot of teams are not necessarily falling for it. Granted, you know, Miami let a 43 yard Justin Field scramble touchdown the other day. Dallas is going to fall for it. They just are not communicating well. They don't have the personnel at the second or third levels to stop what they're doing. I think this is going to be one of those games where Dak will and the offense will need to score, you know, 40, 50 to even have a shot at winning this game.

[Patrick No See Walker]

So I don't, I don't disagree with Josh. I think there's, there's a high probability of the Cowboys falling for the banana in the tailpipe when it comes to another mobile quarterback. When you look at. You got to know the reference.

[Kyle Yeomans]

Oh, I know it.

[Patrick No See Walker]

Oh, okay. When you look at who they've played thus far, every single one of these teams, with the exception of an older Russell Wilson, could still escape every once in a while. These are all mobile quarterbacks and they've struggled in each of these games to try to stop these guys. And then when you look at Jordan Love just a few days ago, Kenny Clark and Olsen Sally, when they were able to collapse the pocket from the inside, all Jordan Love did was break contain because the defensive ends couldn't keep contained. And once he got out of the pocket, he was able to do some damage and extended plays. Now is Justin Fields and Jordan Love you know, are they on the same planet when it comes to throwing the ball? No. No, they are not. But the reality is in this league is if you have a mobile quarterback who can escape the pocket, then he can move the chains. And if he can move the chains, then he can extend drives. And by doing that, you now get time of possession in your favor if you're the opposition, which then keeps your number one ranked offense off of the field for an extended period of time. And that's going to be Aaron Glenn's plan. His plan is going to be to use Justin Fields to try to keep Dak Prescott off the field.

[Josh Rodriguez]

But I mean, granted, we took on Justin Fields last year when he was with the Steelers and we thought the same thing going into that game. He's a dual threat quarterback and at the time our defense wasn't great at dual threat quarterbacks. Not much has changed in that, in those terms. But he didn't kill you because for whatever reason, Mike Tomlin and the Steelers decided like, no, let's keep him a pocket passer and not use the dual threat that we have available to us.

[Patrick No See Walker]

Thanks for that.

[Josh Rodriguez]

Thank you.

[Patrick No See Walker]

By the way.

[Kyle Yeomans]

Happening again.

[Josh Rodriguez]

It's not going to happen again with.

[Tommy Yarish]

Aaron Glenn and I think with Fields. What's interesting is going back to his days at Ohio State is whenever you beat Justin Fields, you have to beat him by making him throw the ball. But he's really good with his deep ball. I think it's really the short to intermediate stuff that he's not as great with. Sometimes he can miss some throws, but when he throws the ball deep, I mean, I always think back to the College Football Playoff game and the deep ball to Chris Olave, and that's one of the best deep throws, deep throws I've ever seen. And he's still able to hit those and still in rhythm and make those throws. But if you can get him in the short to intermediate game. And I think when you look at the, at the tape from last week, I think Dallas, believe it or not, giving up 330 yards, did a much better job taking away the deep downfield. Big play. Where they got beat was the short game, the screen passes, and nobody could tackle. They had what, 18 missed tackles, I think, and that's those. 14, but yeah, man, okay.

[Josh Rodriguez]

No, sorry, I think, I think so, but go ahead, Cook.

[Tommy Yarish]

14, 18. They had a lot of them. Way too many than you.

[Josh Rodriguez]

14 too.

[Tommy Yarish]

Way more than you need to have. So if, if that's where the jets are going to attack you in that short game or getting Fields outside. This defense has got to tackle. I mean, they can take away the deep ball and that's what you have to do against Justin Fields when you have a guy like Garrett Wilson out there. But if they can't tackle and get this guy in open space, then he's going to run all over him and he's going to. I could see him rushing for 200 yards. Seriously, because he, he's, I think he's that good with his legs when he's in open space.

[Kyle Yeomans]

Remember the stat I gave last week on Friday where Dallas had given up more deep passing yards than any other defense in the next gen stats era and they were going up against the quarterback that since 2023 had thrown for more deep yards than any quarterback in the NFL. And Jordan love the fact that they were able to communicate on the back end and avoid the big play is what kept them even remotely in the game. Even though I know they scored on the five straight possessions at the end of the game. We can talk about that too when we're talking about this defense because it's good with the bat, but the communication was better, better. Now it has to be immaculate. Yes, it has to go from being better into RPO defense and not even on the back end with the safety position only. But your linebackers have to be perfect in their communication and coverage because of what happens so quickly in those short to intermediate routes. And that's part of why Aaron Glenn wants to run that RPO so effectively. So that way it does take away some of the weaknesses of Justin Fields. He's trying to make it all simple and that's what we've seen through the first four weeks. And Justin Fields is not playing poor football.

[Josh Rodriguez]

No, he's not.

[Kyle Yeomans]

They're owing four. That's, that's a problem. And the, the jets are feeling like, oh, we're just a couple plays away from being either 2 and 2 or 3 and 1 and he missed the game in there too. All of that being said, don't go into this thinking Justin Fields is just playing bad football.

[Tommy Yarish]

No, no.

[Josh Rodriguez]

Against this defense, I easily think you could replicate like a 2004 Madden where Michael Vick is just running all over. He's a cheap. Like it could literally those were Techno.

[Kyle Yeomans]

Bowl Bo Jackson, like he could run.

[Josh Rodriguez]

For 300 rushing yards and you wouldn't be able to stop him. Like, that's, that's where I'm like, I don't have, I have zero confidence in this defense right now to stop Justin Fields and I think that is the biggest problem that we have.

[Patrick No See Walker]

Well, I tell you. And we can draw that red circle around the obvious brain fart that happened from Marist as far as that penalty is concerned. But it's also true that I still want to see the unleashing of Marist Leophile. I, I said it yesterday, Marisley, if I will never make that mistake again, probably ever again in the hope.

[Kyle Yeomans]

That's right.

[Patrick No See Walker]

In the entirety of his NFL career. He's just, he's too smart of a player for me to assume that that would happen again. He got, he got, he got a little emotional. I don't see that happening again. But it's also true that without Marisley afoul getting the chunk of snaps over a guy like Jack Sanborn, for example, and you're going against all these mobile quarterbacks. Look at the common denominators, plural. As far as the inability of this linebacker core to help the defensive ends keep these mobile quarterbacks from breaking the line of scrimmage. I would like to see. I've said it before, I'll say it again. I would like to see Maris Leo foul in a spy capacity, even if it's not full on spy capacity, even if it's spot, you know, here and there. Just to give Aaron Glenn the idea that, hey, he can do it. Is he doing it on this play? Is he not doing on this play? Make Justin Fields think. If you make Justin Fields think and process, then you can make him go through his reads quicker and then he can start to make. Make those mistakes.

[Kyle Yeomans]

You remember how earlier you said I was going to stir the pot? Yeah, I trying to stir the pot.

[Patrick No See Walker]

Stir it.

[Kyle Yeomans]

I want to stir it with marisliofal when we come back on the other side of the break because he did get snaps. Was the experiment done? Well, when we come back with more talking cowboys right after this.

[Patrick No See Walker]

Every day begins with a promise. A promise to work hard and to build a future. That's why we're here providing the tools, expertise and John Deere equipment you have relied on for generations to help you.

[Kyle Yeomans]

Get the job done right.

[Patrick No See Walker]

We're with you. That's our promise to you. Because no matter the project or the challenge you're facing, we're with you. We're united.

[Kyle Yeomans]

If you're looking for fresh American roasted coffee that gives back, you need to head to your local grocery store and pick up a bag of black rifle coffee. That's right. America's coffee is now available in the coffee aisle of a grocery store near You Black Rifle Coffee company is veteran founded with a mission to give back to those brave men and women who have served our nation. Every bag, box or can you purchase helps support that mission. Head to your local grocery store and roast yourself some Black Rifle Coffee today.

[Patrick No See Walker]

How's it going? You see that Cowboys game? Oh, I watched.

[Tommy Yarish]

Been seeing some good things.

[Patrick No See Walker]

Totally. They have some talent.

[Josh Rodriguez]

Yup.

[Kyle Yeomans]

Some great talents.

[Patrick No See Walker]

And they got some fight.

[Kyle Yeomans]

Hoping this is the year.

[Patrick No See Walker]

Me too. Oh, I'm Cody, by the way.

[Kyle Yeomans]

I'm Travis.

[Patrick No See Walker]

Nice to meet you, Travis. Go Cowboys.

[Kyle Yeomans]

Go Cowboys.

[Josh Rodriguez]

Make a new friend based solely on their shirt choice. What would you like the power to do?

[Patrick No See Walker]

Bank of America, the official bank of the Dallas Cowboys. Copyright 2025 bank of America Corporation I'm home. Hey, Mom. Before you ask, I've done my homework and the dishwasher's unloaded. Nice. Hey, can you. Hey, hon. Yes, I've got the finale ready to play.

[Tommy Yarish]

Here's your wine.

[Kyle Yeomans]

Wow. Isn't it nice not having to ask? We think so. That's why if there's a network interruption, AT&T will proactively credit you for a full day of service. Guaranteed credit for Fiber downtime lasting 20 minutes or more or for wireless downtime lasting 60 minutes or more caused by a single incident impact 10 or more towers.

[Patrick No See Walker]

Restrictions and exclusions apply. See att.com guarantee for details.

[Kyle Yeomans]

Back to Talkin Cowboys Back here on Talking Cowboys. This segment of the show is brought to you by Invisalign. The official smile of the Dallas Cowboys with Patrick no see Walker, Josh Rodriguez, Tommy Yarish, Chris Beam in the back. I'm Kyle Yeomans. Patrick, you into the last segment talking about Marist Liafoul?

[Patrick No See Walker]

Yes, I do.

[Kyle Yeomans]

I've already given you the answer, but would you like to tell us who was the lowest graded defender according to Pro Football Focus over his snaps?

[Patrick No See Walker]

It was Marislio.

[Kyle Yeomans]

It was Marisliofal baseball playoffs. The postseason started the other day too. You want to know who went 0 for 3 on tackle attempts this past weekend? Is Marisley afoul? He did not have a single pressure. He did not have a single tackle. You know what he did have on the box score? He had three missed tackles and a 15 yard penalty.

[Patrick No See Walker]

He did.

[Tommy Yarish]

And 16 missed tackle yards allowed.

[Kyle Yeomans]

It was not good. And he got some snaps. We've been calling to see Marisli if I'll play. And I'm on this this boat too. Marislia foul defensive snap count in the first three weeks. This is according to Nick Harris on on Twitter. 23 over the first three weeks defensive snap count from Eris Leopale in week four was 29. So he had six more snaps in week four than he did the entire first three weeks of the season combined. So with all of that being said, did you like the way he was utilized in that defense and do you feel like there are ways that he can be utilized in better, or is this just a Marisley Afoul problem and it's why he wasn't getting the snaps to start?

[Patrick No See Walker]

It's not a Marisley Afoul problem because the. The huge chunk of data suggests otherwise. Look at him over the totality of his rookie season with Mike Zimmer, right? He performed so well not only in hitting the ground running, but doing so as the green dot for Mike Zimmer in a much more. It was simplified, but it was a much more complex defense than what they're running right now. Sure. Okay. So I've seen Maris Leophil. We watched him in training camp be one of the standouts of training camp. Absolute monster in training camp. And you're to tell me that one bad day at the office, and make no mistake about it, it was a bad day at the office. One bad day at the office does not define what that young man is capable of. So I still want to see more Marisley foul. And as far as the utilization goes, no, I. I don't like how he's being used. I would like to see him. We say the word spy a lot on this show because you keep going against these mobile quarterbacks. We've not seen Marisley afoul operate in that role quite yet. So there's a huge no for me. I want to see more of that. I don't like that utilization or lack thereof. And then when he's rotated in, I don't necessarily. Not every time. There are spots where I'm like, okay, that's okay. I like that. But then there are spots where I'm like, not so much. I think Eva flu is trying to figure out how to use Marisley afoul and that's creating a loosely stated Ameris Leophile problem as far as what they want to do versus what he can do. Just let's send him out there and let them play ball. Just sit them out there and let them play ball. They're overthinking it.

[Tommy Yarish]

Got a question for you guys.

[Kyle Yeomans]

What's that?

[Tommy Yarish]

There's one linebacker this past week who did not have a missed tackle but had five tackles on the game.

[Kyle Yeomans]

Shemar James.

[Tommy Yarish]

Mar James oh, good.

[Kyle Yeomans]

I'm just saying he was active.

[Tommy Yarish]

He was active for the first time. And I thought for his first NFL game and for as much as we talked about during the draft process and during training camp, this is a guy who's, who's got the traits. He can react really quickly. He shoots the gaps well. But it's a processing thing with him. Right. Is he seeing everything? Right.

[Josh Rodriguez]

But if he does it, he's fast enough to get there.

[Tommy Yarish]

Yes. But sometimes when you saw his tape at Florida, he would overcompensate and overshoot and that would cause, you know, plays to be made.

[Kyle Yeomans]

There were some big plays on him at Florida because of that.

[Tommy Yarish]

Absolutely not. Not Sunday. I thought he played pretty well for, for his first game, 24 snaps. If you get five tackles, no missed tackles, and you get a stop too, I, I think you take that and run with it.

[Patrick No See Walker]

I do want to see more of Shemar really quickly to address the comment, listen to the whole statement. I said Maris was a monster in training camp. I also said he did extremely well his entire rookie season.

[Kyle Yeomans]

Yeah.

[Patrick No See Walker]

Nine stars, 50 combined tackles, one and a half sacks, two force fumbles, three pass deflections and four tackles for a loss. So, no, he's not just an Oxnard monster. Just wanted to clarify that. Continue.

[Kyle Yeomans]

Yeah, he played well last year.

[Josh Rodriguez]

He did play well last year.

[Tommy Yarish]

And at the end of last year, I thought he came on pretty nice.

[Patrick No See Walker]

Absolutely.

[Kyle Yeomans]

You just can't wait that long this time around, right?

[Josh Rodriguez]

No, not at all.

[Kyle Yeomans]

You need him to come on now, right now.

[Josh Rodriguez]

But I don't think you see missed tackles like that. Had he been playing more throughout the first few games. And I mean, I think that's part of rust for him. He's been making special teams plays since the beginning of the season, since the beginning of training camp. The more you get him involved, the better he will be. And you add that with, with Shemar James starting to cook, I think those are the two best options you have at linebacker yet they have not made that switch because they are dead set on Sanborn and Murray being your two main guys.

[Patrick No See Walker]

Which do you, Man, I would say Murray. Murray. Yeah, Murray has definitely started to come on strong after a slow start in Philadelphia.

[Josh Rodriguez]

Murray had a great game, great Week two. I didn't see it as much the.

[Patrick No See Walker]

Last two weeks, but yeah, he's starting to solidify. Sanborn, though.

[Tommy Yarish]

I, I, I, Real quick, can we go back to the, the special teams play that, that Maris made?

[Josh Rodriguez]

Yes.

[Kyle Yeomans]

The one on Matthew Gold.

[Tommy Yarish]

Matthew golden, you're my Dog.

[Kyle Yeomans]

Texas guy.

[Tommy Yarish]

Yeah, you're my guy. Why on earth did you hit a spin move? Why? There was no reason to spin. I mean, he was trying to. It looked like he was trying to add aura points or something. And he just got that B real quick.

[Josh Rodriguez]

Try to pull a Cavante Turpin.

[Tommy Yarish]

It was like the sonic rings just flew out of him when he got hit. But I just watched it back. I'm like, why did you get a spin move? Come on, dog. I know you're better than that.

[Kyle Yeomans]

That might have been the loudest Ooh. That I heard in the press box in a long time. Because you're not supposed to make audible noises in the press box. But when he got crunched collectively, it was the whole press box. The packers media, the Cowboys media, the national media. There was a guy from the ringer in front of me and he went like this with the surrender cobr straight up. Was like, is he okay?

[Tommy Yarish]

It was from the ringer, like the independent neurologist.

[Patrick No See Walker]

Whoa.

[Kyle Yeomans]

Brown on the sideline. Like, do I need to help him?

[Josh Rodriguez]

One more reference to fasa. She turned to me at the game. She goes, is that allowed? I was like, yeah, that was a clean hit. She goes, it was so violent.

[Patrick No See Walker]

It was so clean, so perfect. I actually thought they threw a flesh because we've seen that they throw a flag. Oh, you know, that's just too good.

[Tommy Yarish]

It was just. It was made worse by the fact that he spun for no reason whatsoever right into it.

[Kyle Yeomans]

So, Matthew, even the refs are down there. Like, I'm not going to throw a flag on this. He spun.

[Josh Rodriguez]

If that were Romeo Dobbs, his guardian cap would have, like, blown off.

[Patrick No See Walker]

Boom.

[Josh Rodriguez]

Gone.

[Kyle Yeomans]

Dude, it was a big hit.

[Tommy Yarish]

That's why he had three touchdowns, was because his guardian cap was so big that Jordan loved it where he was all the time.

[Kyle Yeomans]

Yeah, it was like a big. It was like.

[Tommy Yarish]

Like a. It was like a beacon almost.

[Kyle Yeomans]

Yeah, like one of the things you.

[Patrick No See Walker]

Put there he is water space balls.

[Kyle Yeomans]

Yeah, it was the spaceballs going back to Justin Fields. I. I know. Josh, you were reading a comment a moment ago.

[Josh Rodriguez]

Yeah. Melvin in the comments and shouts to you. Melvin. He's constantly in the chat and shouts to him, we love Melvin, but he says, are we going to pretend that Justin Fields is good now? And I. I argue this. What quarterback is not going to look good against this Cowboys defense? And that's also not to say that he isn't good. I would put him in the top 12 of quarterbacks currently, like, right now. Not that That's a super high tier. But I think you're not giving him enough credit there. And against this defense, we're talking about a guy that is going to kill you unless you contain him.

[Patrick No See Walker]

They said, and they said Russell Wilson was washed. Not to say that that's not true.

[Kyle Yeomans]

But I was about to say, I said that.

[Patrick No See Walker]

Yeah, he came in through for 500 yards. Yeah, okay.

[Kyle Yeomans]

We did say the ball was a problem. Yeah, it was a problem.

[Patrick No See Walker]

Did say Caleb Williams was. Come on. That this energy about, oh, are we pretending Justin Fields is good? That was the same energy given to Caleb Williams and the, you know, winless Bears before the Cowboys went up there.

[Kyle Yeomans]

I also thought that pressure on Caleb.

[Patrick No See Walker]

Williams defense helped Caleb Williams win NFC player of the week. So those instances alone are enough for us to give Justin Fields the respect going up against the 32nd ranked defense.

[Kyle Yeomans]

So that brings my new question. With this jets offense struggling, they're one of the only teams in the super bowl era to have seven or more turnovers and zero takeaways. They have not had a takeaway on defense yet. So they are -7 in the take or in the turnover margin at the moment. So they are giving you chances. They are giving up up possessions. They are not taking care of the football and their offense is struggling because of it. Outside of guys like Justin Fields who's playing decent and then you have Garrett Wilson who's playing out of his mind. I mean, Garrett Wilson's a dog. He's one of the better wide receivers in the, in the country and that's why they paid him. Breeze hall, one of the better running backs in terms of numbers right now.

[Josh Rodriguez]

Mason Taylor is going to kill you.

[Kyle Yeomans]

Probably Taylor's been looking decent. All of this being said, is the defense for the Cowboys the pharmacy for the jets offense or is the jets offense, who has had some up and down themselves, the pharmacy for the Cowboys defense?

[Tommy Yarish]

I think it could be a mixture of both. I think this is going to be a closer game than people realize. Like, I wouldn't be shocked honestly, if the Cowboys lost this game whatsoever and not just. I don't like those words, well, I'm sorry but you know, you don't have too much confidence in the, in this defense right now. And when you're playing like that and you're asking your offense, hey, we need you to score 40 points, points every week. That's just not sustainable. Right. And so eventually it's going to come back to bite you and eventually it's going to catch up to you and I Think this jets defense does have a lot of really good players. We talked about Gardner and Williams, but I mean, will McDonald off the edge, he's a guy that has kind of taken some time to find his footing after coming out of Iowa State, and he leads the team in sacks with two. So it can definitely be a pharmacy for this, for this defense and because they have playmakers outside that can. That can pick off passes and they've got guys that can stop the run. They've got guys in the middle, really, at all levels of their defense. Maybe the linebacker core, I guess, would be the spot to attack them. But. And then offensively, you know, I'm not going to say that Justin Fields is an elite. I wouldn't say he's a top 12 quarterback. No. No disrespect.

[Kyle Yeomans]

15.

[Josh Rodriguez]

I don't know. Yeah. Somewhere in there.

[Patrick No See Walker]

But 20.

[Tommy Yarish]

I mean, he has everything. Like you said, though, it's. What quarterback wouldn't have success against this Cowboys defense. Right now, they're finding ways to. Opposing offenses are finding ways to attack them. So.

[Patrick No See Walker]

Ye.

[Tommy Yarish]

You know, I. I think that this game is, I guess trap game would be maybe too much. You look at O and four and you.

[Josh Rodriguez]

For who?

[Tommy Yarish]

One?

[Patrick No See Walker]

Two?

[Kyle Yeomans]

Yeah, for.

[Patrick No See Walker]

For one, two and one.

[Tommy Yarish]

Well, that's what I'm saying. But. But even still, it's like, oh, it's the Jets. Because the thing about the jets has always been, you know, the Jets, New York years. Yeah, exactly. But. And that's what I'm saying. I think you look at the week before that you beat the Giants. Oh, we hung 40 points. We can go do this on anybody. The Bears down like eight. Eight of their starting defenders. That's easy work and it wasn't.

[Josh Rodriguez]

So at this point in the season, you cannot take any team for granted.

[Patrick No See Walker]

Agree. You're 1, 2 and 1. You can't take any play for granted. And to answer your question, Kyle, I don't. I think any team that has a quarterback that can escape the pocket with his legs and extend plays, I don't see how that team could be the pharmacy for what ails the defense. This defense feels like they're not going to get home until they come up against a quarterback that's a pocket passer. That's a pure pocket passer and more of a statue. But that being said, I think for the defense, the Cowboys defense, the pharmacy, the prescriptions are currently on reserve waiting to get back. So where you're. Whether you're talking about demarvia Nova, shown who is aiming towards mid Season, which should be three to four more weeks. We'll see how that plays out.

[Kyle Yeomans]

So you're saying the Cowboys need an actual pharmacy?

[Patrick No See Walker]

They need an actual pharmacy. There you go. So, Demo, he's on his way back. Give him a few more weeks. I. And I say this next thing with an asterisk and Kyle will agree. And Josh and I know Tommy will as well. Sivone Revel, super high ceiling. But even when he comes, you know, makes his debut, you have to give that rookie some grace, right? He has not played a snap since September at East Carolina and he's going to have to com, you know, combine the, the, the mental fortitude of getting over that, that devastating injury with the physical part of the rookie curve. He has to. The rookie learning curve. So. But I say all of that to say, you know, you have help on the way. You really do. As far as the prescriptions for what ails you in both linebacker and in the secondary, we'll see. You know, one year, Thomas, he's going to get the start. I think he's going to show some things with Malik Hooker, sideline with that toe. But I, I just, I can't look at the 32nd ranked defense and then look at the schedule to come and say, oh, that team is the possible. Or that team. Well, no, because even the Panthers with Bryce Young, again, these are mobile quarterbacks you're going against. So your medicine better come from inside.

[Josh Rodriguez]

Our medicine. Our pharmacy at this point is like a store from 28 days later. You know what I mean? Ransacked. Dystopian. It's just. It's not good, man. Not good.

[Patrick No See Walker]

Silent Hill. Oh, buddy.

[Kyle Yeomans]

The only thing I can think of, of this whole segment is when. And Tommy brought up Will McDonald and in my head I said, had a pharmacy. Old McDonald or Will McDonald had a pharmacy.

[Josh Rodriguez]

Yeah.

[Kyle Yeomans]

E I E I O. All right, when we come back, he has three kids. I want to take a look. Yeah, I've got kids.

[Tommy Yarish]

Such a farmer. You are such a die.

[Kyle Yeomans]

We're learning our ABCs, right?

[Patrick No See Walker]

I love it.

[Kyle Yeomans]

It's part of it.

[Josh Rodriguez]

Yeah.

[Kyle Yeomans]

You got to do what you got to do. All right, when we come back, I want to take a look around the NFC East. It's been now a month since we've last talked about the NFC east. So if you want to get mad about us talking about the Eagles, Gian and Commanders on a Cowboys podcast. Well, too bad. We've waited a month to do so. It's going into October. What is the state of the NFC east currently when it comes to the Cowboys trying to play catch up at this point. When we come back with more talking Cowboys after this.

[Patrick No See Walker]

Ew. Catch up.

[Tommy Yarish]

I'm home.

[Patrick No See Walker]

Hey mom, before you ask, I've done.

[Tommy Yarish]

My homework and the dishwasher's unloaded.

[Patrick No See Walker]

Nice. Hey, can you. Hey, hon.

[Tommy Yarish]

Yes, I've got the finale ready to play.

[Patrick No See Walker]

Here's your wine. Wow.

[Kyle Yeomans]

Isn't it nice not having to ask? We think so. That's why if there's a network interruption, AT&T will proactively credit you for a full day of service. Guaranteed credit for fiber downtime lasting 20 minutes or more or for wireless downtime lasting 60 minutes or more caused by a single incident impacting 10 or more towers.

[Patrick No See Walker]

Restrictions and exclusions apply.

[Kyle Yeomans]

See att.com guarantee for details. If you're looking for fresh American roasted coffee that gives back, you need to head to your local grocery store and pick up a bag of Black Rifle Coffee. That's right, America's coffee is now available in the coffee aisle of a grocery store near you. Black Rifle Coffee Company is veteran founded with a mission to give back to those brave men and women who have served our nation. Every bag, box or can you purchase helps support that mission. Head to your local grocery store and roast yourself some Black Rifle Coffee today.

[Patrick No See Walker]

Welcome back into Dear Doctor the show where I answer life's questions with an ice cold can of Dr. Pepper. Sheila, let's hear from another next caller. Would you Dear doctor My friend supported.

[Josh Rodriguez]

Me during a tough time, but what's.

[Patrick No See Walker]

The right gift that says thanks for.

[Tommy Yarish]

Being a shoulder to cry on?

[Patrick No See Walker]

Okay, this one's easy. I say give her a delicious Dr. Pepper. Nothing says thanks girl better than a one of a kind soda. Yes, any Dr. Pepper flavor will do. Now, just a reminder that I don't.

[Josh Rodriguez]

Need to be a real doctor to know that Dr. Pepper is the one you deserve.

[Kyle Yeomans]

It's the official men's skin care brand of the Dallas Cowboys Jack Black. And right now Cowboys fans can get 15 off their 75 order. Plus because every deal needs a playmaker, your order will include a free five piece skin care set and free shipping. The Jack Black Playmaker is four of Jack's favorites in a full sized intense therapy lip balm. Make a play for the [e-mail] Cowboys with the code Cowboys VIP. That's getjackblack.com Cowboys with a copy code Cowboys VIP. Back to talking Cowboys Back here on Talking Cowboys presented by Black Rifle Coffee Company, the official coffee of the Dallas Cowboys. Patrick no. See, Walker, without looking at my screen, I'll give you a hundred dollars if you can name the last receiver that caught a pass on Savone Rebel.

[Patrick No See Walker]

Well, I'm not getting $100. Hold on, hold on, hold on. What school?

[Kyle Yeomans]

It was App State.

[Josh Rodriguez]

Oh, I knew it.

[Patrick No See Walker]

It was App State then. No. Yeah.

[Kyle Yeomans]

His name was Kaden Robinson. Good player. Yeah, good player. 100.

[Tommy Yarish]

I know it. Kaden Robinson.

[Kyle Yeomans]

Yeah.

[Josh Rodriguez]

Got it.

[Kyle Yeomans]

I said I'll give it to Patrick. Sorry, dude.

[Patrick No See Walker]

All right.

[Kyle Yeomans]

But you're gonna go. You're gonna go from Kaden Robinson to. Let's just say over the next couple weeks, let's just rattle off the receivers that he's gonna play over these next few weeks. You've got Garrett Wilson as a possibility this week. I know he's probably not going to go up against the top target. But just for funsies, next week is Tetero and McMillan. Week after that is Terry McLaurin or Debo Samuel. The week after that is Cortland Sutton and the bevy of weapons that the Denver Broncos have. Arizona is trying to figure things out with Marvin Harrison Jr. And they've got Trey McBride, who's playing well. But the point is, is it's not the same.

[Josh Rodriguez]

Marvin Harrison Jr. Is going to get right at some point, and probably against Dallas.

[Kyle Yeomans]

Defense, looking at Week nine.

[Tommy Yarish]

I thought he got right at the end of the last game.

[Kyle Yeomans]

Yeah, he had a touchdown grab, and.

[Tommy Yarish]

You saw him in the end zone just kind of like. Thank you. Because I felt like. It almost felt like when Jake Ferguson scored that touchdown, because it felt like there was just so much weight lifted off of their backs. Ferguson not scoring since 23. And Marv with that big drop. So good for him.

[Kyle Yeomans]

Yeah. It's fun to see guys get back on track. Hopefully the Cowboys get back on track as a whole. That would be nice.

[Tommy Yarish]

Yeah.

[Kyle Yeomans]

All right, NFC East. I want to start with the Eagles. They're the ones leading the division. Of course, they're still doing what we anticipated, but are they doing it the same way we anticipated it getting there?

[Patrick No See Walker]

4.

[Kyle Yeomans]

No. Is this team better or worse than they were a year ago? Based on what you've seen so far from Philly?

[Josh Rodriguez]

Better or worse from a year ago?

[Kyle Yeomans]

Yeah, from this point last year, I would say worse. Okay.

[Josh Rodriguez]

But I. I mean, they're still going to win football. Yeah, they're going to win football against.

[Patrick No See Walker]

We're saying they're bad.

[Josh Rodriguez]

And I also don't think that. I think they're changing how offense is going to be this Point forward. Yeah. How often is going to be played this point forward we're talking about how Justin Fields is going to probably tear us apart and I mean just. Yeah, in all likelihood. Right. But that is just the new style of offense. You're going to have more and more and more dual threat quarterbacks that don't have to throw the deep ball unless they absolutely need to. They can just pick up first downs. And that's what the Eagles are great at. That's their biggest strength, is being able to pick up a first down anytime they need it.

[Patrick No See Walker]

That's it. I mean, compared to what they were last year, they are worse. Does that mean they're bad? No. No, you're not bad.

[Kyle Yeomans]

They were dominant.

[Patrick No See Walker]

Yeah, they were dominant last year mostly because of Saquon Barkley. But when you look at Saquon Barkley this year, of course he's still an all world running back. He's still the best running back in the league, but he's not absolutely be decimating defenses and neither are the receivers, to my point, because now the run game can't get going. And because the run game can't get going, the passing attack can't get going. For Jalen hurts. I mean, what do they have? He had zero completions in the second half of that victory over Tampa Bay. I mean, so credit to them, objectively speaking. Credit to them for finding ways to win. But if you're asking me if a team that can't complete a passion in an entire half of a game and whose number one wide receiver is, you know, dropping posts on Instagram and, and Twitter that, you know, cryptically basically saying.

[Kyle Yeomans]

I want to be traded, I want.

[Patrick No See Walker]

The ball or let me out of here. Yeah, yeah, that's, that's problematic on that aspect. But it, it does tell you that things are not, they're just not what they were. But they're still obviously good enough to find ways to win games. And the Cowboys right now, you know, they're 1, 2 and 1 because they haven't consistently found ways to win games. If, if, you know, CD Lamb doesn't drop the ball against the Eagles, then there's a win right there. If the defense doesn't miss tackles and self inflicted penalty penalties, then may. Maybe you're four. Zero. Maybe you're four. No, if you could find ways to consistently win no matter what like the Eagles are, then you'd be four. No. 2.

[Josh Rodriguez]

I don't know how. As A.J. brown. How are you not satisfied, man? Like, it's frustrating to me and granted I don't care about Philly at all in those terms, but I know what they say about receivers. But you are. You are paid. You got the bag.

[Patrick No See Walker]

Yep.

[Kyle Yeomans]

You got a ring.

[Josh Rodriguez]

You got a ring. You won the super bowl last year, and you're undefeated this year, and you're.

[Kyle Yeomans]

A month into the year.

[Patrick No See Walker]

Dude, I can answer that question.

[Josh Rodriguez]

Smell the roses a little bit, man.

[Patrick No See Walker]

There's a sofa.

[Josh Rodriguez]

The grass is always greener. You were literally on the White House lawn. You know what I mean? Like, what are you talking about?

[Tommy Yarish]

I played in Tennessee for the first however many years of his career.

[Patrick No See Walker]

Yeah, like, dude, there's a selfish answer to that question. Interesting.

[Josh Rodriguez]

What is it?

[Patrick No See Walker]

Money, you said? Okay, yeah, he got paid. He got his guaranteed money. But there are also escalators and incentives in those contracts.

[Josh Rodriguez]

That's fair.

[Patrick No See Walker]

And if he's not getting the targets and not getting the. Hey, I'm just answering the question, right or wrong. My thing is, if the team is winning, be quiet. Okay? That's my thing. But if the question is being posed and you're saying, hey, no, see, why on earth would AJ Brown be mad or complaining of dropping cryptic tweets? It's because his contract has escalators and likely to be earned incentives. And if he doesn't get the ball, he's not earning that money.

[Kyle Yeomans]

So, Tommy, can you answer a question for me?

[Tommy Yarish]

I'll try.

[Kyle Yeomans]

Who are the Washington commanders this year?

[Patrick No See Walker]

He'll give you $100.

[Josh Rodriguez]

Who?

[Kyle Yeomans]

Yeah, if you answer this correctly, all.

[Tommy Yarish]

Of a sudden, I'm ready to go.

[Kyle Yeomans]

Yeah. 2 and 2. They don't look the same, but they also don't look. Look bad. It's kind of a weird feeling. This is kind of what I anticipated Washington being all of last year, in year one with Dan Quinn, and now it's like, oh, we skipped the year we were a NFC title contender, and then now it's back to what we thought they would be.

[Josh Rodriguez]

I know we gotta go, and I want you to answer, but, like, does it. Do they almost look a little better with Marcus Mariota or my.

[Kyle Yeomans]

Maybe a little bit, which is kind of weird.

[Tommy Yarish]

Yeah, I would say you're tripping.

[Kyle Yeomans]

Yeah, fair enough.

[Tommy Yarish]

I'd take Jaden Daniels.

[Kyle Yeomans]

I mean, of course.

[Josh Rodriguez]

Of course you would, but I'm saying, like, don't they look like they're running a little smoother?

[Patrick No See Walker]

I think it's. There's this. The whole song.

[Josh Rodriguez]

I can't even finish the whole thing.

[Patrick No See Walker]

Possibility of the sophomore. Because look at C.J. stroud. He's. He's strong. Yeah. Jayn Daniels, you know, there's. Once the league figures you out and you have these exceptional rookie years, I mean, injury notwithstanding, we saw it with RG3 back in the day, but yeah, it's, it's tough to replicate the success of a breakout season if you're a rookie quarterback. And I think that's what you're saying. Does that mean Jaden is bad? No, no. At the moment, Marcus just has things flowing. But, you know, C.J. stroud is struggling, too.

[Tommy Yarish]

I think the Commanders and the Eagles are kind of in a similar boat in terms of they're still trying to find their identity. And I think when you have a hurt quarterback and we, I don't know how long he's going to be out, you know, hopefully he's able to get back soon. But when you have that, it makes it so much more difficult. And where Philadelphia has the difference, not only do they have a healthy quarterback, but their defense is so good that really. And you can look at the first couple games they've played. They don't need to do a lot on offense. They really don't. Jalen Hurts is playing very well, but he does not need to throw the ball a lot. When he has thrown the ball this year, he's thrown it very well. I've always thought he's been a good passer, a better passer than people give him credit for. When he can run the ball as well as he can run the ball. And when you've got Saquon Barkley in the backfield, sure, he's averaging three yards of carry. It doesn't matter. They don't need a lot to work with because their defense is playing so well that they don't, they don't need anything different. So, you know, they had a new offensive coordinator and you're still seeing that. They're trying to fit things in there. But Washington is on the same boat, except for the fact that they don't have as good of a defense. They have a very good defense. I love Mike Sanders still. I think he's going to be a star in this league for a long time. Wagner's playing like he's 24 and he always has, which is ridiculous.

[Kyle Yeomans]

He has a time machine.

[Tommy Yarish]

Yeah. And you know, they, they have a very solid, well rounded squad. But when you don't have your quarterback and like Patrick said, when, when you have a full year of tape for the league to, to watch and see, it's going to be a lot more difficult for you, especially when you're you're dual threat. And since the NFL is so ingrained in dual threat quarterbacks, now defenses know how to better contain them. But Jaden Daniels is still a dynamic player and he's going to be, he's going to be very, very good for a long time in this league. But, but I think sophomore slumps, you think about it as like you take a step back, right? I don't see it as much of a step back as it is a learning experience of okay, how are defenses going to attack me now that they've seen me. And the great quarterbacks in this league are the ones that either during or after that slump are able to counter the counter to themselves and be able to take that next step in their progression. I think Jaden Daniels can do that.

[Kyle Yeomans]

Yeah. And of course we didn't get to hit on the Giants here, but the Giants win last week against the Chargers 21 18. Jackson Dart was serviceable. Had a rushing touchdown in there too. One of the game, one of the game. Got it done. So replacing them in the it's going.

[Tommy Yarish]

To be an interesting tie. Yeah, it's going to be an interesting experiment to watch. I still, I still was not a fan of Dart coming out. You know, I'll own up to it if he proves me wrong. But there's a lot of proving to do and obviously hope Malik Neighbors recovers quickly.

[Kyle Yeomans]

Time me. Great job. Thank you for filling in for Isaiah today. Isaiah will be back tomorrow. We'll have QB vision. We'll have science lab or excuse me, lab coat that refers to science lab. That's available on Dallas Cowboys.com We've got to go here on talking Cowboys for Patrick no see Walker, Josh Rodriguez, Tommy Arish, Chris Beam in the back. I'm Kyle Yeoman saying so long from talking cowboys. We'll see you tomorrow. This has been a production of Dallas Cowboys.com and the Dallas Cowboys Football Club.

[Patrick No See Walker]

How about this Cowboys Sam.