Cowboys Weekly Edition (vs Cardinals)

Summary

The Musers The Podcast: Cowboys Weekly Edition (vs Cardinals)

Date: October 30, 2025
Hosts: George Dunham & Bob Sturm
Podcast Network: Cumulus Podcast Network

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Episode Overview

This week, George Dunham and Bob Sturm dive deep into the Dallas Cowboys following their dispiriting road loss to Denver and ahead of a Monday night matchup with the Arizona Cardinals. The conversation is a blend of biting critique, historical reflection, genuine frustration, and a signature dose of Musers banter.
Key themes: Why the Cowboys defense is failing, offensive stagnation, personnel problems, the specter of Sean Payton, and a nostalgic look at the legendary 1975 Cowboys season. The episode closes with practical (and sometimes desperate) solutions and a preview of the tough road ahead.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. What's Wrong with the Cowboys Defense?

(00:04 – 25:19)

• General Malaise:
  The Cowboys defense is called out as downright "bad," with descriptors like "rat crap," “stink,” and "awful."
  • George (01:42): “We stinks, sucks. We stink. Rat crap. Whatever you want to throw out there, it's so bad. So bad.”
• Flashes of Competence but No Consistency:
  George sees occasional flashes, especially in run defense, but laments the lack of “11 guys who are playing with their hair on fire.”
  • George (04:16): "I just don't see a collection of guys who are playing with their hair on fire. That's what you have to do... as a defensive player."
• Defensive Identity Crisis:
  Bob expounds on the morale and identity issues, arguing most of the defense looks defeated and that "when the going gets tough" they're not responding.
  • Bob (09:52): "I just don't see an identity... an opponent is at all perplexed with what they should dial up because it all works."
• Sean Payton Factor:
  Recapping the Denver loss, Bob singles out Sean Payton’s glee in exploiting Dallas, referencing Payton’s history of "showing no mercy" to the Cowboys.
  • (08:42): “That's what I saw Sunday... his only problem on Sunday with the Cowboys defense was picking which play. I'm going to filet these clowns.”
• Personnel Issues – Spotlight on Kenneth Murray:
  The hosts focus deeply on MLB Kenneth Murray as emblematic of Dallas’s defensive problems:
  • He’s being paid nearly as much as Micah Parsons was, plays every snap, yet performs at a league-worst level, especially against the run.
  • Bob (17:00): “They play him more snaps than any player on their defense. He plays every snap, right? Every.”
  • Detailed references to PFF grades: last or near last against the run for four straight seasons.
  • Bob (18:35): “I challenge anyone to dream up a scenario where a player could be dead last in the entire NFL against the run three out of four years... and yet nobody does anything about it.”
• Defensive Failings on Specific Plays:
  Detailed deconstruction of Harvey’s long touchdown run and the comedy of errors from multiple defenders on the play.
  • Bob (21:44): “Take whatever you want. I surrender. You know, it was just... please don't hurt me on this play.”

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2. Flashback: 1975 Cowboys ("Dirty Dozen") Season

(26:09 – 36:10)

• Bob’s 75 Cowboys Rewind Project:
  Bob is chronicling the 1975 Cowboys by reading daily coverage, highlighting how rivalries (e.g., Philadelphia) and the game itself looked five decades ago.
• Epic Moments & Colorful History:
  • The aftermath of spearing penalties and cheap shots in Philly, close games, and Tony Fritsch’s inconsistent (and comically bad, by modern standards) field goal rates.
  • George (34:44): “Tony Fritsch in 1975 kicked, tried 19 field goals 30 yards or longer and made 7 of 19. That’s 37% from over 30 yards. George, I'm serious. You and I can do that.”

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3. Cowboys Offense: Stagnation in Denver

(36:10 – 49:05)

• Dak Prescott’s Worst Game of the Year:
  Under pressure all day against Denver’s elite defense; little open downfield, frequent scrambles, and lowest PFF grade of the season.
  • George (36:26): “Dak had a tough day. He was under pressure. It was his lowest grade from Pro football focus at 51.6.”
• Denver’s Defensive Gameplan:
  The Broncos prepared for Dallas’s offensive tendencies, anticipating plays (e.g., the jumped out to Turpin) and dictating terms with pressure.
  • Bob (38:23): “Vance Joseph was having the time of his life… they were dictating terms… their pressure rate is so high… even when they don’t get there, they put the fear in you.”
• Situational Play-Calling Critique:
  Bob is critical of OC Brian Schottenheimer (“Shoddy”) for not being aggressive enough given the defense’s ineptitude:
  • Settling for a field goal after a turnover on the opening drive.
  • Punting on 4th and 5 from own 44 (down 13) rather than going for it.
  • Bob (43:15): “I can't punt right there. I cannot punt. It's fourth and five, I've got to say to my MVP possibility quarterback... we've got to go for it here.”
• Red Zone Issues:
  Missed opportunities, including not targeting Pickens when Patrick Surtain was out of the game, and poor recognition/execution.
  • Bob (45:19): “If it's not Patrick Surtain, they're not stopping him from that spot.”
• Summary of Offensive Woes:
  The episode paints the offense’s struggles as a product of both stiff defensive opposition and some conservative, perhaps misguided coaching decisions.

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4. Solutions & Future Outlook

(49:53 – 62:56)

• Immediate Defensive Moves:
  • Bench Kenneth Murray, start Marist Liufau at MLB, Shemar James at the other LB spot.
    • George (51:26): “Someone's got to do it... get 59 off the field... Marisley Afoul is now the middle linebacker... Shemar James is my other linebacker."
  • More snaps for Jadeveon Clowney and Isiah Raku on the edge.
  • Blitz more—lean on rookies’ aggressiveness.
• Secondary Triage:
  Recognition that the DB group is decimated and any real solutions depend on getting players (Donovan Wilson, Malik Hooker) healthy.
  • Bob (52:18): "Yeah, it's bleak, man... you're kind of dealing with 4 and 5 [string safeties]..."
• No Silver Bullets:
  Many personnel moves come down to hoping for "average" play; injuries and lack of depth hamper meaningful fixes.
  • Bob (55:39): “When you say we're going to provide solutions, George, I love the tease. That's great radio. But I don't have a solution here, man."
• Arizona Cardinals Preview:
  • Caution against underestimating Arizona: They’re 2-5 but have lost no game by more than 5 points, play hard, and present a serious challenge to Dallas’s battered defense.
    • George (59:05): “They are five plays away from being 6 and 1... you could easily say... and they're fighting like hell.”
    • Bob (60:07): “Arizona's not to be taken lightly, unfortunately. So once again, you'll say to Dak and George and CD to, you know, carry us home, boys, because you're our one and only hope.”
  • Cardinals come off a bye, have strong defenders (J. Sweat, Budda Baker, Dalvin Tomlinson, Calais Campbell), and have had Dallas’s number recently.

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5. Cowboys’ Season Outlook, Realistic & Emotional

(62:56 – end)

• Optimism vs. Reality:
  The hosts debate whether 9 wins is possible—George remains doggedly optimistic, Bob is unconvinced but appreciates the spirit.
  • George (63:11): “Am I the only one that thinks nine wins is still possible? Are you going to laugh at me now?”
  • Bob (63:55): “That's being very vague. Well, I mean, well, it's... It's hedging and it's fine.”
• Upcoming Gauntlet:
  The schedule ahead is brutal (Eagles, Chiefs, Lions, Vikings, Chargers, Commanders); more adversity looms.
  • Bob (64:31): “Eagles, Chiefs, Lions, Vikings, Chargers, Commanders on Christmas day... six games between basically Thanksgiving and Christmas against six really, really tough customers.”
• Closing Banter:
  The signature warmth, playful needling, and local flavor returns as George and Bob bicker-encourage each other to keep "optimism" alive, referencing rally cookies and paintball as coping mechanisms.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments (with Timestamps)

• “We stinks, sucks. We stink. Rat crap. Whatever you want to throw out there, it's so bad.”
  — George (01:42)
• “That's what I saw Sunday... his only problem on Sunday with the Cowboys defense was picking which play. I'm going to filet these clowns.”
  — Bob (09:52)
• “I challenge anyone to dream up a scenario where a player could be dead last in the entire NFL against the run three out of four years... and yet nobody does anything about it.”
  — Bob (18:35)
• “If it's not Patrick Surtain, they're not stopping him from that spot.”
  — Bob (45:19)
• “Tony Fritsch in 1975 kicked, tried 19 field goals 30 yards or longer and made 7 of 19. That’s 37% from over 30 yards. George, I'm serious. You and I can do that.”
  — Bob (34:44)
• “You always cheer me up. You always pump their tires just enough to keep—keep me in for another week.”
  — Bob (65:25)
• “I think it's a possibility. I don't think it's a probability. How about that?”
  — George (63:55)

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Episode Structure & Timestamps – Reference Guide

• Defense’s Failings & Identity Crisis – 00:04 to 25:19
• 1975 Cowboys “Rewind” Segment – 26:09 to 36:10
• Breaking Down the Denver Loss / Offensive Struggles – 36:10 to 49:05
• Personnel Solutions & Cardinals Preview – 49:53 to 62:56
• Season Prognosis, Schedule Gauntlet, Host Banter – 62:56 to end

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Summary

This episode is a raw, at times exasperated but always insightful breakdown of where it’s going wrong for Dallas—especially on defense—with both sharp X’s and O’s discussion and the unique punchline-laced lament that The Musers are famous for. If you haven’t been listening, this episode captures the mood in DFW: frustration, impatience, flashes of nostalgia, and the stubborn hope that comes from years of cheering for the Cowboys.
Even as the wheels are threatening to fall off, George and Bob remind listeners why hope never really dies—especially deep in the heart of Texas.

Transcript

[A]

It is the musers, the podcast, Cowboys edition, the football friends, George Dunham, Bob Sturm with you for another week and we'll have some interesting conversations for sure. What went wrong in Denver? What could go wrong against Arizona? What went right in that magical season of 1975? And maybe even some solutions from two football friends, Bob and George. And Bob, you said it last week. Okay, show me something on the road. And this team just outside of the first half against Philadelphia, offensively, in the second half against Philly, defensively, they basically roll over and play dead on the road, don't they?

[B]

Yeah, we'd like to thank the jets for at least crossing that trend up slightly. But yeah, I mean, you know, we're at the point of the year and it's starting to get a little cool outside Georgie and fire tables back in play and just all the things we like, unfortunately, along with Halloween and the World Series and all the things that happened specifically this week, we also have to sort of look reality in the face. We have to sort of come to terms with. It's not early anymore and it's trade deadline time. It is. We, we have enough film, we have enough data, we have enough home and road splits, we have enough good and bad opponent splits that the truth and the reality is setting in defense, we kind of stink.

[A]

We stinks, sucks. We stink. Rat crap. Whatever you want to throw out there, it's so bad. So bad. And there are a few things on offense which, number one, even if you have a good offense, it's not like Madden and every week you're not going to score 40 points, that just doesn't happen. I'm still not that worried about the offense. I have some, I think some talking points about the offense that I think are interesting. But yeah, it's about a defense. You, you can't play in this league with one hand tied behind your back. And that's what the Cowboys are trying to do right now. Like Hank Stram used to say, throwing popcorn at a battleship. I mean, it's just, it's awful what they're doing defensively. And just as we thought, okay, maybe it's rounding into shape. Maybe it's getting a little bit better after the Washington game. That's a Washington team that has a lot of offensive issues right now. They got to get their quarterback back on the field. You saw what Terry McLaurin can mean when he played against Kansas City. Heck, at least they could throw it. He made some incredible receptions in that game against the Chiefs. But they still got whacked by 21 points. So that was a. That was a false flag. That was a mirage, whatever you want to call it. And they've still got problems and leaks on this defense that. But here's my. This is my problem with it. I still think there's enough on this defense that if you could just do a few things, just a few things each game, I think it could be passable.

[B]

Well, you're saying the defense or the offense. What are you saying?

[A]

I'm saying with this defense, everyone just. I say everyone. The opinion is they suck and they're not getting any better. There's no way. I still look at them and think they should not be this bad. Should.

[B]

Okay, well, then I have plenty to say about the offense. But if you want to start with the defense, I want to do that, too. I want to hear. I want to hear your thoughts on where do you think the Cowboys can kind of pin their hopes defensively and maybe not even specific players, but let's just talk about what do they do well, what do they even do average, in your opinion? The defense?

[A]

I know. I'm still thinking. I. Not. I can't say anything conclusively that they do it well. They show flashes sometimes of being at least decent. This is going to sound crazy, but at least decent against the run. You know, we've seen. We've seen them, you know, actually have run fits, actually take on guys at the line of scrimmage. And I guess philosophically, that's my. My biggest problem with them is I just don't see a collection of guys who are playing with their hair on fire. That's what you have to do in this. In any league as a defensive player.

[B]

Yeah. And here's the beauty of our sport. We love this sport because it asks a lot of questions of your manhood. And with all due respect to the ladies out there listening, this is why we've had very little experience with. With. With anything in football that isn't built around manhood and. And gut check and all these things. You know why? Because playing defense in the NFL must be awful. It must be a horrible, horrible experience. You might have to have some weird wires crossed to be really good at it, to be Bobby Wagner or Fred Warner or some of these legendary defenders of our generation, or if you want to go back to Singletary or Butkus or Nitschke or, Or. Or, you know, Leroy Jordan or any of these guys, you might just have to say, well, those dudes, they had a screw loose or something. I don't Know what made them great? Because that job is awful. And yeah, the paycheck's good, but you still have to survive these three hours where you're just getting in car wreck after car wreck after car wreck, and it's just not fun. It hurts, and it's difficult. And the worst part about it, Georgie, is when the going gets tough. And again, if I may, if I may summon up the calendar and just tell you, eight weeks in, there is. There is two. There's a fork in the road for football teams at any level, high school, college, pro. And, you know, your, Your time of the year may vary slightly because of the length of the seasons, but the point is, winter approaches, so does your belief that we are either doing something worthwhile or we are playing out the string of a horrible, bad year, and we can't. If we were playing a video game, the kids would pull the cord out of the wall and, and, and, and cut the power. So we have to reset the game and go back to zero like this. We're at the pull the cord portion of the season. And as we know, in the National Football League, there is no polling of the cord. You must continue. Now, a coach might be lucky enough to get fired so he doesn't have to finish the season, but, but everybody else, you know, you've sold the tickets, you've booked the TV time, you have to play these games whether you like it or not. And so I guess where I'm going with that is the good teams are buoyed with hope and dreams and belief that this might be our year and why not us and go after it and enthusiasm and energy and just all great things. Well, the other. The opposite is also true. And when you realize you stink, and when you realize you can't hide that you stink, and you realize that we're only an hour into this game, and I've got to somehow survive this loud stadium where none of my teammates look like they're trying anymore. And I'm out here busting my tail because I don't want to put bad film out there because I want a job next season. And all this stuff, it just gets to your guts. And why do you play this sport? And why do you put yourself through this? And, and honestly, when I'm watching this film from the Denver game, I'm just, I'm just looking for 11 guys that want to do this on defense. And so when I ask you, what are they good at? I'm seeing Sean Payton. This is, this is where I'm at. And I don't even think we had time to talk about this on the, on the radio enough this week. But that's what's the beauty of this podcast, is I just saw Sean Payton taking great joy, yes. In knowing he is rubbing Jerry's face in it again. And it's the Sean Payton, Jerry Jones quote, unquote. Friendship is kind of funny to me because I don't think it's a two way street. And I always think Sean has used the Cowboys and his home in Dallas and all this stuff as a leverage point for negotiations with the Saints and with the Broncos. And sure, the Cowboys were always the. Yeah, but I might go to Dallas if you don't fix this contract. And I don't think he was ever serious about it because I don't think he believes in the way the Cowboys see football. But whatever the case may be, we've seen this enough times where a Saints team showed no mercy on The Cowboys the 2013 game at the Superdome. I'll never get it out of my head because as I recall, they got the ball nine times and scored eight touchdowns or something like that. And it felt like there's no such thing as mercy. And, and that's what I saw Sunday. I don't. Did you hear his quote where he said, I challenged our defense because the Cowboys were bringing an offense in here that was better than anybody we've played in the stadium. So it was a big challenge for our defense. The other side of the ball that wasn't even close. And you know, he didn't, he didn't even have time to address the Cowboys defense because he knew his only problem on Sunday with the Cowboys defense was picking which play. I'm going to filet these clowns.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

And that's really what it was. And so I just don't see an identity. I don't see, I just don't see anything you can build on. So, so I hear you. There are snaps where you're like, okay, maybe this isn't the world's worst defense, but there aren't enough to say, you know, an opponent is at all perplexed with, with what they should dial up because it all works. And it all worked on Sunday. And it' just, it's just embarrassing to look that you can't find 11 dudes who are willing to bust their tail already and we've got two months to go.

[A]

I know it could get worse. The schedule is going to get tougher.

[B]

That's the thing, George.

[A]

I know we haven't played no, they.

[B]

Haven'T played the good defenses and you know that. I realize that isn't about the Cowboys defense, but the point is when you play a really, really good defense like Denver or like Kansas City, which is coming up, or like the Chargers, which is coming up, or like the Lions, which is coming up, Minnesota, which is coming up, you've only really played Carolina and Green Bay and Denver for tough defenses so far on your schedule. And, and you know, they did a great job against the Green Bay at their place. But for the most part it's, it's, it's been really, really rough sledding. So when the offense plays a good defense, that's when we truly, truly see how bad the Cowboys defense is because it turns into a uphill football game on both sides of the ball really quick.

[A]

We're going to have a solutions little segment here in a few minutes and this, this dovetails into that. But I would fire some people on defense. I've said before I wouldn't fire the defensive coordinator. I think it's too far gone for that. At the end of the year, I guess you can address it again and get your fourth coordinator in here in four years. I guess, whatever. But I, I don't think firing Matt Eberfluss and if you think he got enough time at the, the bye week. I still don't think that. But I would fire some players and. Yeah, and you've been hitting this drum for a while. I was on Trayvon Diggs for a while. I would not put him on the field until he is ready to play. I don't think he was ever ready to play. And then whatever happened off the field even made that worse. But starting this week, I would get Kenneth Murray off the field.

[B]

Yes. Yeah, 100%. It all starts in the middle of the field and he's the middle linebacker.

[A]

And he gets caught up in traffic. He misreads, he overruns. He either either has poor eye discipline or has poor football instincts. Or for a guy who's been in the league and been in a lot of car crashes and look, I don't fault these. It's human nature after a while, man, you're not like Maris Leopold. He's ready to knock somebody's head off. He may miss and he may miss his assignment. But it's interesting because if I have followed this right, they've moved him now to middle Leople. He wasn't there earlier in the year, wasn't he? He was on the weak side, I do believe.

[B]

Yeah, I think you're Right. But I also think, I think the Cowboys have done a very poor job of identifying what's. What post like, especially when Sanborn went out. It's, it's. I've seen enough plays where it looks like James is playing the middle and Kenneth is not, but then the opponent quickly shifts their lineup to basically put Murray back in the middle. Like they. Yeah, like. Like they know what they're doing and they know what will control the Cowboys linebacker align. And so they're doing it. And you know, before people see. Because I get this a lot online because I can't help myself. Georgie is. I do have to. I see you do it as well, but I have to post frames that are particularly upsetting of Cowboys defense. And I do keep coming back to 59. And I don't like doing that because I do know that sometimes on Twitter then people like tag him so that he. I don't.

[A]

Yeah, I don't like that.

[B]

I think it's. I think it's. And this may sound Hypocritical and some P1s may disagree with me, and that's fine. But I think it's good, informative, educational material rather than saying somebody's really, really bad is to actually show it so that we all get a little smarter about the game of football. Okay. I don't think. I don't think just saying stuff fixes anything, or maybe not fix, but informs people. But I do think putting tape up there is good. What I don't think is good is then trying to mess with like the mental health of players by tagging them and pulling them into it. And I just, I, I think that's bad. So I. And the, the social media I would try to design, George would be a way to like, keep the actual person from being bombarded by total strangers all the time. So I don't really know how this works. So I'm going to attempt to play Little Red Riding Hood and say, I think I think it's a good idea to post plays where you are ident. Not just the Cowboys stink, but here's why I think they're. They're playing poorly. So I do that. And then people are quick to say, why are you identifying just him when all the linebackers stink? And so I've put together a list of reasons, if you don't mind. Sure. One, they traded it. They traded for him this spring. Like they identified him and hand picked him to run their defense. So that's reason number one. They traded Tenant with Tennessee to go get him. Not a lot. But they identified him and were willing to get to point number two, which is he makes 7.75 million this year. And just as a reference point, Micah Parsons makes 9.9. So they make nearly a similar amount of money. But we were told Micah makes too much money. We have to get him out of here. And I realize I'm being a bit fast and loose with the accounting pass this year, but I did not say you have to sign Micah to a four year deal. I said you should not trade him this season. And. But they kept Kenneth Murray at roughly the same deal, I think 80% of the same deal. The other linebackers in the conversation, Sanborn, Shamar, James and Leopold combined, make 3.7. So Murray's on 7.7. All the other linebackers make less than 4 million combined. Okay, then point number three is they play him more snaps than any player on their defense. He plays every snap, right? Every.

[A]

That's. I don't get it. And I know he's the guy with the green dot, and so he's our leader on defense, but other teams have.

[B]

Green dots and they don't play every snap. And then I would say reason number four is he's the veteran to help teach the Puppies how to play linebacker in this league. And that's horrible. And if I May, I know PFF isn't the gospel, but the last four seasons, Kenneth Murray has played linebackers who have played 50% of the snaps for a season. Here you go. Overall rank, there are 52 linebackers who qualified in 2022. Kenneth Murray was 50th with the Chargers, 50 out of 52. Against the run, he was 52nd out of 52. Okay, now 2023, he was 58 out of 60 overall. 58 out of 60 against the run. Then he went to Tennessee. In 2024, he was 52nd out of 53 linebackers in the NFL overall, 53rd out of 53 against the run. And then this year, he is 56th out of 56 for the Dallas Cowboys overall. This is PFF overall linebacker grade. The entire league. Guys who play 50% of the snapshot, he is dead last again. And against the run, he is dead last again. I challenge anyone to dream up a scenario where a player could be dead last in the entire NFL against the run, three out of four years. And yet nobody does anything about it. And you have the Cowboys actually playing him more than any other defender.

[A]

That's why.

[B]

That's why we identify Kenneth Murray as a significant deal right now. Even if he is a wonderful guy who's a great neighbor, they've got to stop playing him. They've got to.

[A]

Got to. One more quick thing on the defense because I mean what, what are we going to say that we haven't said the last seven weeks?

[B]

Can I say one more thing about Kenneth Murray? Sure. Just, just as a solution, George, not to belabor the point, but linebacker run fits. I mean, you know this. They're not like if you trade for a quarterback right now, not that you would, but if you were to trade for a quarterback, what would we say? It's going to take them a month probably to, to learn the offense, right. To, to get the playbook down to do all the nuances that are required. I mean this is a very, very important issue. We, we don't have time to teach a quarterback the entire offense. I'm telling you, run stopping for a linebacker does not change from scheme to scheme. It does not change from coach to coach. I would argue that you could sign a linebacker today and play him on Sunday and the fundamentals and the stuff on his hard drive on how to stop the run would probably be 90% consistent with everything the Cowboys would ask him to do. There's no complicated nuance. There is nothing that he would have to learn that oh, this is how the Cowboys do run fits. Stopping the run is fairly universal. Don't you agree?

[A]

Yes, absolutely.

[B]

Why would you not just hit the streets and find a run stopping linebacker if you need one this bad and.

[A]

There'S a few out there. This may sound, don't hit me on this one because he may have even retired. Eric Hendricks still out there?

[B]

That's a great question. I don't know if he was a Mike Zimmer attached at the hip thing. I, I don't know. I, I don't and I know he.

[A]

Wasn'T great last year, but I guarantee you he could at least do that on first and second down. Then if you want to get him out of there on third down or whatever, then I, I don't know. I, I, there's got to be somebody out there. Well, we're not doing solutions just yet.

[B]

No.

[A]

Yeah, mark that. We'll come back to it. One other thing on, on defense and one play that has been okay from the first time you saw it until today three days later. The, the Harvey touchdown run of 40 some odd yards. I've now looked at that probably 50 times and I just can't believe the comedy of misplay defensively. There is there from 59 Kenneth Murray, who just gets walloped and doesn't. And doesn't read it well at all.

[B]

I described. I described it, that play and that player as kind of taking on the block like you would expect a kicker to take on a block.

[A]

Pretty much hilarious.

[B]

Take whatever you. Take whatever you want. I. I surrender. You know, it was just. Please don't hurt me on this play. Was. Was this the disposition of my linebacker, my veteran linebacker who's teaching the kids how to do things? That's what I saw on that play.

[A]

There's no edge set. I don't know what Sam Williams is doing on that play. He's out of position a lot.

[B]

Cracked by a tiny running wide receiver.

[A]

Again, ridiculous. Kyrie Elam. You know, I've kind of been in his corner thinking, okay, this guy can really help the Cowboys, man. He is awful against the run and he was awful on that play. And. But again, there you only have so many choices in the secondary right now that it's just been shot to pieces. So did you know what the. Did you watch.

[B]

Did you watch Coin Miners, though? Did you watch the right. The right guard. Go get. Go get. Two and a half Cowboys.

[A]

Yeah, it's just now, I'm sure Denver watched that play and laughed and each other.

[B]

And he throws Shabbar James. He drops the people's elbow on Elijah Clark. And I think that's probably where Elijah got his ribs hurt. And I mean, it's just. Yes, it is. It was a gotta be laugh out loud funny for the Broncos filmer.

[A]

Yeah, so, yeah, that was. That was just awful. And one other thing about Sean Payton and how much he enjoyed this. I know he did. I may have told you this story before, but I don't think I've aired it on the Cowboys podcast. And that is, you know, when he was in suspension from the NFL for bounty gate.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

He coached the Suns junior high team just up the road from where I live.

[B]

Was it Liberty Christian?

[A]

Liberty Christian. I think that.

[B]

So Jason Witten's place, right?

[A]

Yes, that's where Jason Whitten is now the head coach. And I don't think this was high school. I do believe it was junior high. I want to say it was sixth grade, maybe seventh grade.

[B]

I think you're right.

[A]

And he was basically the offensive coordinator. Anyway, during that time, my son was playing at North Texas and he came up and he talked to the team and he talked to him about what he liked to do. And he said, no matter what the game is, you come up with the game plan. You go out. You give your best, you know, all the coach speak stuff. And he said, and I don't care who you're playing. And I'll give an example. I just coached a game yesterday of sixth graders and we gutted them. He got great glee out of gutting of some poor little sixth grade team that probably didn't even have, you know, a defensive playbook. And he just went out and hung 60 on him and just got great glee from that. So yes, if you get that much joy out of doing that at the sixth grade level, I can only imagine what glee Sean Payton got out of Sunday.

[B]

Yes, I think you're exactly right. And I think that that smug little look on his face tells all that that's very much what he was looking to do is rub the cowboy's face in it and not show mer. And to be fair, unlike sixth graders, this is the NFL. You're not required to show mercy. And I don't think it makes you classless to keep running your offense into the fourth quarter. They are not obligated to save your reputation if you are running a clown show. They have every right to expose it to their fans.

[A]

Yes, and they certainly did that Sunday. Okay, we hadn't said a darn thing about the offense. We're going to do that next. And we're also going to relive a glorious year of 1975, something Bob has been keeping up with since January. And we'll do that next on the podcast Cowboys Edition this episode is brought.

[C]

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[A]

Fast breaks, buzzer beaters and block parties are back and underdog is the best place to get in on all the action. Playing on underdog is easy. Just pick whether your favorite players will go higher or lower on stats like points, rebounds, steals and more. Pick wisely and you could win up to 5,000 times your cash. This week. I'm going to go higher on Cooper Flag's 16.5 points against the Pacers every game this season. You can pick higher or lower on the stat projections to turn your HSOs into some serious cash. Download the app today and use promo code Dunham to score $100 in bonus funds or bonus entries when you play your first $5, that's bonus code Dunham. Underdog make picks win Money must be 18 or older and present in Texas terms apply. See assets.underdogfantasy.com web playandgettermsdfs.HTML for details concerned with your play. Call 1-800- GAMBLER or go to www.ncpgambling.com. it's the Musers the podcast Cowboys Edition Cowboys and the Arizona Cardinals on Monday night football at AT&T Stadium where the Cowboys average 41 points a game. So we ought to at least see some offense this week. We'll talk about this offense here in just a second. But instead of the drudgery that a game like Sunday was for the Cowboys in another road loss in Denver, Bob's been doing something really interesting and that is following the 1975 team Dallas Cowboys team. What a team that was. They became the first team to qualify for the super bowl as a wild card team. That was Hail Mary year in Minnesota. But how did they get there? And that's what Bob's doing from week to week. And you posted something on X this week that was pretty darn awesome.

[B]

Yeah. So the account is 75 cowboys rewind. And it's definitely one of those questions of why are you doing this? And because it's there and it's the same reason we climb mountains, George. And I just didn't know. I didn't know much about the 70s cowboys other than what NFL films taught me. And so because I'm a little bit of a psycho and have an ADD problem, I subscribed to newspapers.com and I don't know what it is 15 bucks a month or something like that to basically have access to every newspaper going back to like the US Civil War and you can honestly research anything. So I thought it's the 50 year anniversary of the Hail Mary game and just that unbelievable season, the dirty dozen season. So I just said let's read the two papers, the Morning News and the Star Telegram every day of the year and go through that entire Cowboy season on a as like a daily diary. And so Bob St. John is the key writer for the Morning News and I think Roger K. Is the key writer for the Star Telegram. And they're both on the Cowboys beat and it's just absolutely fascinating. And so the Cowboys are, they've just completed week six and are going into week seven. So they started four and oh, and then they lost at home to the stinko packers to go 4 and 1. And they might have been looking ahead because looking ahead in week six and seven were back to back divisional road games. They had to go to Philadelphia last week, and they'll go to Washington this coming week. And so this is really the meat of the schedule. And last week they went to Philadelphia. And apparently Roman Gabriel had some very pointed things to say in the Philadelphia papers about the Cowboys being no class and whatever he said, really, it was in the papers on Saturday, and the Cowboys arrive in Philadelphia and read the Philadelphia papers, and now they're hopping mad that Roman Gabriel said those mean things about the Cowboys going into the game. And so it's a.

[A]

It's.

[B]

It's a real bloodbath. And Philadelphia, you know, they're. They're already in crisis and their coaches on the hot seat, but here come the Cowboys. And, you know, even that's interesting to me, Georgie, because I don't. I guess I thought the real animosity probably started with Buddy Ryan, but it goes way beyond that. Philadelphia stated the Cowboys, you know, since before I was born, evidently. And. And that's kind of fun.

[A]

They get beaten like a rented mule by the cowbo year until Dick Vermeil got there.

[B]

Yes. And so this. So. So the Eagles are taking cheap shots. I sent you a video, and there's one of the greatest spearing incidents that you've ever seen as Robert Newhouse gets speared.

[A]

Right.

[B]

Did you see that?

[A]

So late. Yes. Ridiculous.

[B]

And that turned into a big penalty, and the Cowboys, their offense could not do a lot and they needed to rally late. And so they got the game tied up thanks to that spearing penalty, and they kicked it back to the Eagles, I think, at 17. 17. So this game's at the vet, and it's Roger and it's. It's the whole gang. And the Cowboys get a quick stop. And so the Eagles have to send it back to the Cowboys, and they've got no timeouts. And they have an unbelievably great rally that includes a Roger pass to Drew Pearson that with no timeouts, Pearson has to basically weave around a couple Eagles to get out of bounds to the clock.

[A]

It looked like it was in slow motion. I don't know why they didn't get him tackled, but I know.

[B]

And if they tackle them, we go to overtime. But they don't. Drew Pearson gets out of bounds, and I'm looking for a better angle or like a TV angle of that play, and I can't find one anywhere, but it feels like One of the more significant Roger to Drew plays of, of their, their careers. So surely it's out there somewhere, but I haven't found it yet. And anyway, Tony Fritsch comes on to, to the, the Austrian to try to kick the game winning field goal from 42 yards. And, and it's hilarious on a number of levels. Partly because it looks like he has a little kids Cowboys uniform and helmet on.

[A]

He's got the single bar, doesn't he? And yeah. Is that thing going to make it 42 yards? I don't know. We were trying to guess. I guess we can look it up. And pro football reference real quick. My guess is percentage of made 42 yard field goals in 1975 somewhere between 35 and 40%. Don't you imagine something like that.

[B]

I, you know, the, the amazing uptick in the ability for kickers to just make kicks is really hilarious over the years. And, and, and I think Tony Fritsch would qualify. So let's take a look at his make percentage. Well, looks like it's going to be difficult to fully get that split from 75.

[A]

We were going 30 plus 40 plus.

[B]

Oh, here we go. Here we go. In 1975, Tony Fritch overall was 22 for 35 for 63%. He was 2 for 2 inside 19 yards. Which, which is impossible now. Right? Yeah, the, the shortest field goal possible now would be I GUESS Right at 20. Right at 19. From 20 to 29, he was 13 of 14. From 30 to 39. Oh my gosh. From 30 to 39 he was 4 for 9. And then from 40 to 49, George, he was 3 for D. Yeah. And over 50 he was 0 for 1. So let's put that together. Tony Fritsch in 1975 kicked, tried 19 field goals 30 yards or longer and made 79 of 17.

[A]

And he kept his job. Hey, you miss some, you make some. That's the way that we looked at it back then. It's okay.

[B]

9 of 17 is so bad.

[A]

That's so bad. Wow. Yeah.

[B]

Oh, no, see me. No, I'm sorry. Not 9 of 17. 7 of 19. I juxtapose even worse. Okay, so he, he was 37% from over 30 yards.

[A]

37.

[B]

George, I'm serious. You and I can do that.

[A]

Yeah, well, I don't know. I'm terrible at kicking. I can punt a little bit. I'm a terrible kicker. But man, that's amazing.

[B]

I'll amend it to in your day.

[A]

In my day, maybe. Maybe. All right, 75 Cowboys Rewind on X or Twitter, whatever you like to call it. Check out. It's, it's, it's awesome what Bob's doing.

[B]

They're five and one headed to Washington. And George Allen, George Allen thinks he has some solutions for the shotgun.

[A]

I read this morning he hated the Cowboys so much. Oh, man. That's really where that rivalry cranked up, Sam. Yeah, because the year before, I guess it was two years before that in the playoffs, that was Sam Weiss, who was playing for Washington at that time, yelling at the Cowboys, die, you dogs. Die. On NFL. Yeah, it was. That's really where it cranked up. Because George Allen was very jealous of Tom Landry. He didn't measure up in a lot of ways, and he was very jealous of that. Okay. To the 20, 25 cowboys. And we've talked about the defense and how ridiculous they are and almost to the point of giving up any hope of them getting any better. To the offense that had a tough day until Joe Milton came on the field and let him down.

[B]

What do we have here?

[A]

He looked pretty good. Dak had a tough day. He was under pressure. It was his lowest grade from Pro football focus at 51.6. Was his overall offensive grade.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And he's been somewhere between 70, 70 and 90 every week. So it was a tough day in Dax defense. He was under pressure. Denver's really good defensively. And if you look at a lot of those plays where he had to take. Look how many times he had to take off and run because there was nothing, I mean, nothing downfield or at least he didn't see it. But a lot of the times I was seeing what he was seeing. Nothing. Let's get something out of this before someone absolutely takes my helmet off back here. But what I did notice on a couple of plays, the one where the Cowboys went three and out after a DAC nine yard run, second down, Javante Williams gets ambushed and zero. So now you got third and one. And this play has been pretty money for the Cowboys. Hey, let's go three wide. Let's just, let's just throw it out in the flat here to Turpin. Five yard out. And Cooper, their outside linebacker, absolutely jumps it like he knows what's coming. And that's my, my question to you. And this happens to a lot of teams in the course of a season. Now that you've had seven weeks out there going into that game and you know, the first three or four opponents probably were, including Green Bay, were probably somewhat looked at the Cowboys offense as mysterious as to what are they going to run right now you've got some tendencies now. You've got some. This is what they like to do out of this personnel, out of this formation. Don't fall for this motion. And I don't know, I would guess I saw five or six plays where it's almost as if Denver knew what was coming. And that's what good defenses do. That's how you become a good defense. It's not just your ability, but it's your prep and all that stuff.

[B]

Yep.

[A]

And I think the Cowboys ran into some of that on Sunday. Agree.

[B]

Yeah, I do. I think that's. That's spot on. And I do think Denver is one of the better defenses you'll play all year, partly because they dictate terms and it might not be the same if the game is played at your place. Although last time Denver played here, they. They showed very well with a completely different defense with Vic Fangio. But this time, Vance Joseph was. Was having the time of his life, George, as he was the time of his life. He was dictating terms. Right. They're like, look, we're not going to sit back and let you get comfortable. We. So that's the way to play anybody. And this is why Denver's so good at their place, is that their pressure rate is so high, and that is with blitz or without blitz, they are getting in your quarterback's lap. And, you know, a young quarterback will completely freak out. An older quarterback will just be made uncomfortable to a point where he's. He's forcing the ball, which we saw on Sunday. He's. He's feeling the timer expire, maybe sometimes before it even does. And so that's, that's the beauty of great pressure teams is sometimes they're not even getting pressure on you. You just are thinking it's back again. Like, they put the. They put honestly the fear in you to where, you know, you do start seeing ghosts. So. So Dak Dak is playing under enormous pressure, and he had a bad game. And, and, you know, the. The most disingenuous thing a fan can say and they're out there, is that, hey, Bo Nicks outplayed him. Bo Nix did outplay him, by definition. But they're not playing the same game. They're not facing the same challenges. They're not dealing with the same, you know, situations, because Bo Nix was not pressured the whole day. And, you know, his running game was doing whatever he wanted, and he's standing back there with a ham sandwich just waiting for guys to get Open. And there's a lot of guys open. The Cowboys were. They were ready to deal with the Cowboys offense, partly because they knew that Dallas would have to be aggressive and score seven each time. So, you know, honestly, and I don't know where you are on this, but I came away from this game a little bit upset with Shoddy for the first time.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Because I thought that he did not read the room. And let me try to explain briefly.

[A]

Are you getting fourth down?

[B]

Well, yeah. I mean, look, as a head coach, I admire the fact that he's got eber f his back and that he. He even said after the game, look, I like our talent here. I think we do have enough talent on defense to be successful. So he's saying all the right things as a head coach. Fine. Yeah, but now you're the OC now you're running this whole organization, and you've got to decide in game decisions on how do I best win this game. And I'm sorry, but no matter how much you regard Matt Eberfluss as a human, and no matter how loyal you want to be to him, you can't just kick field goals and punt the ball away in a game like this. You have to know, when I go in there, my offense is going to have to win this game. And the only way I can win this game is by being crazy offensively. And here are two great examples how I want to be crazy offensively. Number one, when I get that false start on the goal line in the first drive after a turnover, and I'm now third and six from the six or third and goal from the six. Yeah, I got to go for it on fourth down.

[A]

Really?

[B]

I've got. I'm trying. I'm trying to fit the ball in the CD on third and goal. Okay, well, I'm this. I'm going for it on fourth down. I don't care about three points. Three points will not help me today. I'm going to need 40 to win, probably definitely 35. I can't get a field goal with this 1975 view of. Let's just get points on the board. So I thought that was bad. Now, late third quarter, you're down 30, 17. So you're down 13. You're down two scores, but you got the ball. You're driving along, you're outside your own 40, and it's fourth and five, I think from your own 44. Yes. Traditionally, that's where you punt the ball. No, I cannot punt right there. I cannot punt. It's fourth and five, I've got to say to my MVP possibility quarterback and my high paid wide receivers and my high powered offense, guys, we gotta go get a touchdown this drive because if we don't, if we give the ball back to Denver, they're gonna score again. And we're not gonna be down 13 now, we're gonna be down 20. So this is our moment.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

If we need to take a time out and talk about it, let's do it. But we're at our own 44, not our own four. We're at our own 44. They're going to score either way if we give them the ball back. We've got to go for it here. So I've got to go Forward inside their 10 because I'm not going to get down here very often and I've got to not punt the ball back to them in the, in the third quarter when I realize that they've already scored four touchdowns against me and they're about to score six, so I cannot give them the ball back. And so I think Brian Schottenheimer treated those two decisions, specifically George, like he thought he had a decent defense. And we're too far into the season for him to think that. Don't you agree?

[A]

Agreed. Yes. And I'll throw another number at you. Have you seen this one? That. So you have fourth and five and you've got both CD and George Pickens available. All 17 of Pickens receptions on third and fourth down have been converted for a first down this year. Wow.

[B]

Dang.

[A]

And so. And he made one earlier in the game on 4th and 2. Yeah, I'm with you. Totally with you. And you know, two second down plays really sunk the Cowboys. Help sink the Cowboys offensively. The second and one at the goal line, that one went incomplete and now you have. Wait, did it go to second and six?

[B]

I'm trying to remember now.

[A]

No, no, no. They ran the second down play, then they got, then they got moved back and then it was third and goal from the six. So.

[B]

Okay, yeah, yeah.

[A]

But that second down incompletion after easy to second guess but Javante Williams just carried it three yards down to the one yard line.

[B]

Right.

[A]

So hey, let's just wham it in there, you know.

[B]

Okay, okay. And let me go back to that fourth down, fourth and goal from the six. Do you know where Patrick Certain is at that moment?

[A]

He is out of the game.

[B]

He's in the blue tent.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Okay, so he got hurt on second and goal. I get moved back. Third and goal I try to throw a slant to cd which by the way is lucky it didn't go for 101 in the other direction because they were sitting on it.

[A]

And there's another, and then another bad one from Dak too. Pickens is now guarded by the guy who's in for certain one on the other side.

[B]

I've got to throw two fades or two, you know, you know, two way goes to George Pickens there on the goal line because if it's not Patrick certain, they're not stopping him from, from that spot. So, so I, by the way, if you go back and look at that third down, that near interception, I think it's a great, great, great scheme idea by Denver. So, so give them credit because the guy who is lined up across from Jake Ferguson is, is making it look like they're playing man, but he is the robber. He is ready to rob on cd. And the guy actually covering Ferguson is the single high safety. So they, they basically cross Dak up and cross the Cowboys offense up again. It's a good defense. They, they, they work too. And, and so you can't, you can't sit on CD. But that's the beauty of having two great receivers and that's definitely the beauty of the 2024 Defensive Player of the year being in the blue fricking tent. So, so guys, you got to have awareness here. And again, if you need to call timeout or if you need, you know, Bob or George in your ear, shoddy, you know, in those situations to say we got to go for it here. Coach certain the blue tent, we're not going to get down inside their 10 very often. Yeah, maybe at that point you're thinking, oh, we'll be down here all day. But, but by the end of the afternoon you realize if we're, if we go up seven nothing, we at least put Denver a little bit on its heels and we, you know, the three after interception that was that bad by Bo Nix. I just, I think to myself, man, this is found money. I've got to make sure it's seven.

[A]

Let's cash it in. Yeah, I'm with you. It wasn't a great day for shoddy. I still am a big shoddy fan and I, I bet they're self scouting people, their analytics people, they're guys who keep up with their own trends. Got dog cuss this week. That's just my guess.

[B]

Well, and I also think this is now, now we're going in past, we're with shoddy now into the weeds of now, dude, we can't just get by on vibes. You're going to have to choose at certain points, do I step on somebody's feelings here to do the right thing? And my only question about Brian Schottenheimer is, is he willing at times to be the bad cop? And I guess we're going to find out. Yeah, I think he's a great, great vibes guy. I think he's a great culture guy. But part of that at some point, and this is why some coaches will roll their eyes at culture, because they'll be like, look, I have to hold guys accountable. And if that's going to ruin the culture, that sometimes dad's going to get mad at us, then so be it. But we got jobs on the line. We got to win football games. And I can't be worried about making Eberfluss feel bad that I feel like I have to go for it on every fourth down because his defense right now is killing us. Like, I know I want to be. I know I want to treat him with the respect he's earned in this league. However, I've got to give my team the best chance to win. And I think in Denver, the best chance to win is to expect the defense to fail all day and my offense has to keep up somehow and. And I realize it's unlikely to work, but it is the best chance to win.

[A]

Yeah, I'm with you. Amen to all of that. All right, let's talk about the next opponent and some solutions. Since all we do is just sit around and complain about things, let's give some solutions to some of the problems the Cowboys are having and we'll do that next.

[C]

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[A]

It's the Musers, the podcast the Cowboys edition. Football friends. It's George and Bob. We are your football friends during Cowboy season and beyond. Talking Cowboys football and the National Football League. And up next for the Cowboys, Monday night against the Cardinals, we'll talk about how I think the Cardinals are better than everyone around here thinks they are crazy here. Well, they got the Cardinals this week. That shouldn't be a problem. Man, every week's a problem in the NFL. It really is. And especially as we've been telling you about the Cowboys defense. So what what I would offer from some solutions. We mentioned it earlier. Someone's got to do it and maybe this is shoddy. That has to tell Eber flu. Say get 59 off the field and we'll, we'll spot plan. But he is not starting. Marisley Afoul is now the middle linebacker on this team and I think they've been prepping him for this. That's my guess. And Shemar James is my other linebacker. They will start a rookie and a second year guy and they're going to make some mistakes, but at least they're going to make him at full speed. I would get more snaps for Jadavian Clowney, maybe even start him at one end and Fowler I guess at the other. I get a lot of snaps for is a Raku who does seem to be coming on just a little bit now.

[B]

I agree.

[A]

But you know, maybe between he and Houston you can start getting some, you know, obvious passing down push from both of those guys. And yeah, I, I blitz more because James and Leo Fowl will actually bring something when you do blitz and I'm going to take some chances. And as far as the defensive backfield, man, it's, it's, it's in tatters right now and they're not going to get any better until they get guys like Donovan Wilson back in the lineup. I don't. What are we another four weeks away from getting Malik Hooker back? I mean, I, I don't know, but I don't know what to do about that. I don't have a reasonable solution in the secondary right now.

[B]

Yeah, it's bleak, man. It's really bleak because they're, they're starting to lose a lot of guys and, and that's not helping because, you know, I mean it's, you got to have players that's. At a certain point you got to actually.

[A]

And you're about to get supplied by demarvi and overshone. I guess we'll be back for the Raiders game.

[B]

Yes, the, the, the, the issue with Overshown is that I'm not sure he helps a ton in the areas they're weakest, which is between the tackle runs. I love Overshone and he's really, really good. So I want people to hear this, right, but he weighs 220 pounds and you know, I, I think, you know, when I say when I Look at what the issues are for this defense. I just think it's. It's to be able to fit runs in a sense that a team cannot just get so physical. And yes, that starts with your defensive tackles. And I've been disappointed with both Kenny Clark and Oso Digizua these last couple weeks. And by the way, those are two of my better players. And so for me to be disappointed with some of my better players might just tell you how bleak things are. Yeah, I think Solomon Thomas has been really good this year. I do want to start identifying those who we think have been quite good and trying to hold this thing up. And, and you're right with Azaraku. He. If you just go on the last month. So, yes, Bob is going to use really tiny samples to try to prop guys up in the last four games. Donovan as a raku is up there with the league leaders in quarterback pressures. Okay, okay, so he's getting there. Solomon Thomas has been good. Jadevion Clowney kind of looks washed, but I'm willing to say I can't. I can't find horrible tape. So that's what we're looking for now is average just yes, a guy. Just please be a guy who is not killing us. And I think Clowney is at least that. I don't. You know, as far as a lot of the rest of the guys, I'd love it if Jack Sanborn could play again. I'm not saying he's great. I am saying I think he's at least a decent run stopper. I don't fully know why Kaylin Carson wasn't on the field this week. You know, it's. It's weird. They are seemingly saying Bridges and Elam are my. Are my outside corners and we're going with them. Safety is such a mess because as we've detailed, they're down 1, 2 and 3 already at safety. And so we're kind of dealing with 4 and 5 and I think 4. Elijah Clark just broke his ribs. So are we down to five? The fifth best safety, Marquis Bell and a corner plane safety or C.J. goodwin. I don't know what's going on.

[A]

That was a guy, by the way. I'm. When you. When you say, okay, this should be better, I thought Marquis Bell was a dude. Well, at least a decent player. And he has not played well.

[B]

Again, he weighs 200 pounds. And I just feel like the Dan Quinn defense was all based on blazing speed and no size and. And you kind of got rid of the blazing speed portion of your defense. And so now you just got a bunch of tiny dudes. And when you say we're going to provide solutions, George, I love the tease. That's great radio. But I don't have a solution here, man. I don't know.

[A]

I don't until you start getting guys back. Revel about ready to go here in the next couple of weeks.

[B]

I'd love to see Revel. I'd also love to see him take one NFL snap before we expect anything from him.

[A]

We're desperate. We all hands on deck right now.

[B]

And we've made over shown into Lawrence Taylor and this is his third season and he has, he's played like a dozen NFL games and it's just.

[A]

Well, and I think he's going to be on a pitch count when he comes back. I don't think he should be. Yeah, you're not going to put him in there for, you know, majority of the snapshot.

[B]

So if I'm Arizona, and here's what's funny about Arizona, they just, they don't have any running backs like they their situation at running back right now. My son was telling me he just picked up a Cardinals running back in fantasy. And I said, really? I can't name one right now that's not heard for them. And he said, what do you know about Bam Knight? And I said, bam, love the name. I love the name. But I is that a real player? And apparently it's apparently Bam Knight has I guess, been on the outskirts of the league with the jets and the Lions. But I'm not real familiar with Bam Knight. But here's the reason why we're all going to be familiar with him on Sunday or on Monday night is because I think besides a Mary D. Markado who's still sort of hurt and sort of in hot water for, for, for.

[A]

Dropping the ball at the one.

[B]

For dropping the ball at the one a couple of weeks ago. I think Bam Knight might be the only rostered running back they have and surely they're going to look at the Cowboys mess and say we've got to run the ball against these guys to make sure they can stop us. But James Connors on the ir, Trey Benson's on the IR and they just cut Michael Carter. So I don't know. I, I couldn't tell you what they're going to be running the ball with on Sunday or Monday.

[A]

Kyler Murray is supposed to be back. I would imagine. I, I would do student body right and left with Kyler Murray.

[B]

Well, okay. And you can do that, but he's been. Because he's been hurt. So I don't know. Building a run game around, no one's.

[A]

Going to hit him, so he's going to be fine.

[B]

And he was out with a foot, right?

[A]

Yeah, I know that's crazy.

[B]

And this is all crazy.

[A]

That's, that's interesting. But even as banged up as they have been and they're two and five. So for those who are listening across the country and around the world to the Musers, the podcast Cowboys edition. I don't know what they're thinking out away from Dallas Fort Worth, but the talk I hear around town is, okay, well, this week it's the Cardinals. They're two and five.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Well, to me, the Cardinals represent what is either good and bad or just a prime example of what the NFL is. Yes, you could easily say they are five plays away from being 6 and 1. Yeah, they have lost some crazy games. They have not lost a game by more than five points. And, and like you said earlier, this is the point of the season where the Cardinals are fighting like hell just to try to make something of their season. And you're going to get a great effort from them on Monday night. They're not bad and they're just a few plays away from being a team that we look at records way too much in this league. You know, it's like, well, they're playing, I mean, well, they beat them. Man, you say it all the time. You, you play this trumpet a lot and you're right. Don't apologize for wins and don't look at a potential matchup as, oh, this will be a cakewalk.

[B]

Yeah, not in this. No, no, not in this league at all. And their defense is, is serious. And so, you know, that's again, the matchup is can the Cowboys offense outscore, you know, a team? Because their, their defense, you know, the defense is going to have to deal with Trey McBride. That's, that's honestly what the Arizona offense is all about is got arguably a top three tight end in this league right now and they build everything around him and Marvin Harrison and a decent offensive line and of course Kyler. And that's what I saw. And they beat the Packers a couple weeks ago if they can block Micah Parsons. And Micah single handedly won that game for Green Bay. And I do mean single handedly. He was unbelievable. He had four sacks that day. One got called back because it was a hip drop on Jacoby Brissette. But the point is the Cowboys, as we have detailed just about every week on this podcast no longer have Micah Parsons. And so, oh, yeah, they traded him.

[A]

That's right.

[B]

They actually traded him. And so this is going to be a real fight to get this win. And Arizona's looking at Dallas and rubbing their hands together. So just know it's a two way street. You're excited because you get to play stinko Arizona, and Arizona is excited because they get to play stinko Dallas. That's how this league works.

[A]

They have owned the Cowboys. They've won three straight. They've won seven of eight in the series. And yeah, just kind of like the Denver game, I'm thinking my perception of this matchup is. And especially Kyler Murray, who never loses at AT&T Stadium. This is.

[B]

Right.

[A]

This is going to be a rock fight on Monday night.

[B]

And they don't have to heal from getting their brains beat in. In Denver. They were on a buy and they were enjoying watching you on TV while sipping lemonade. And so they're going to be fresh and probably. I don't know if Jonathan Gannon's in trouble yet or not, George, but Arizona does feel like they're stuck in a bit of a endless circle of pain. But that's a defense with players. They got Josh Sweat, they got Buddha Baker, who I love. They've got big Dalvin Tomlinson and Calais Campbell. And calais is like 100 years old, but he still makes plays every single week. Man. He's literally 39 and he plays.

[A]

I didn't realize he was that old.

[B]

That's just one of my favorite players in the NFL in this past generation. So, you know, Arizona's not to be taken lightly, unfortunately. So once again, you'll say to Dak and George and CD to, you know, carry us home, boys, because you're our one and only hope.

[A]

No doubt. And Monday night we get to see Joe and Troy and then we'll come back and talk about it next week. Yeah, man, that was fun, Bob. Keep the faith. See, am I the only one that thinks nine wins is still possible? Are you going to laugh at me now?

[B]

Well, I want to believe. And if you think 9 is still possible, that's incredible because now you're talking like a 9, 6 and 1 record, right? That's the only way to get there.

[A]

There is that, right? Or nine, nine, seven and one.

[B]

Yeah. Okay.

[A]

Because now we play seven games.

[B]

Good math. Okay, so nine. You're. You're.

[A]

I'm just thinking some of these teams are going to back up and.

[B]

Okay, so you only see three more Losses based on that math?

[A]

Well, yeah, that. And I think that's the only way they would get there. I think it's, as I said this morning on America's favorite radio station, the Ticket in Dallas. I think it's a possibility. I don't think it's a probability. How about that?

[B]

Well, that's being very vague. Well, I mean, well, it's. It's hedging and it's fine. But again, they're. They're not good enough that we can say they've won consecutive games. However, they're not bad enough that we can say they've lost consecutive games, which.

[A]

I think Jerry loves. He loves the, as he calls it, ambiguity. That's what the NFL is. It's ambiguity.

[B]

Yeah, it is.

[A]

And, yeah, they could be ambiguously good or ambiguously bad. I guess we'll find out more. Yeah, after.

[B]

Back to back Monday nights. Just see if you like the stretch. Eagles, Chiefs, Lions, Vikings, Chargers, Commanders on Christmas day. So they have six games between basically Thanksgiving and Christmas against six really, really tough customers.

[A]

No doubt. Now, doesn't that look better now than it did back in September?

[B]

The Chiefs now look worse again because they're.

[A]

That looks terrible. But the Commanders, Vikings, that's not as bad. And I would say the Eagles aren't as frightening as we thought they were going into week one.

[B]

Man, you're the best. I'm coming back. I'm going to keep doing this with you because you're, you're, you're just optimistic.

[A]

I'm the guy you ate rally cookies with at Texas Stadium and just come on. Maybe cookies can bring us through in the second half.

[B]

See, you always cheer me up. You always pump their tires just enough to keep. Keep me in for another week.

[A]

Have Slurpee and some pizza tonight. That'll make you feel better, too.

[B]

Maybe play some paintball.

[A]

Play some paintball between now and next week. That'll bring you around.

[B]

All right. All right.

[A]

That'll do it for this week. Thanks to Peter Welton for putting up with us for another week. And Bob and I will be back next week for another edition of the Musers, the podcast Cowboys edition. Football Friends. Yay, girl.

[D]

Action Next Roll is a groundbreaking podcast created and executive produced by Vernon Davis.

[B]

This is where we talk about reinvention.

[D]

The series explores the transformative journeys of athletes, artists, comedians, and entrepreneurs.

[B]

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[D]

Next Roll isn't about what's next. It's about why they do it, how they overcome fear and the resilience it takes to keep evolving at the highest level.

[B]

That's what it's all about.

[A]

Stay tuned.

[D]

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