00:00We bring to you our Dallas Cowboys insider, Mickey Spagnola. Good morning, sir.
00:05Good morning, guys. The moose was loose last night, huh?
00:09Heck yeah, he was.
00:10He was. Miko Rantan with the hat trick. I mean, how cool is an overtime goal to begin with,
00:18but then when the overtime goal completes a hat trick for you to get the win, that feels crazy.
00:25I think I let out a scream and scared the daylights out of our dogs.
00:31And then the staff has to work harder getting all those hats, though, at the end of the game.
00:34So not only do they have to work overtime, but now they've got extra minutes.
00:38Okay, so that leads to a good question, Mickey. You're a big-time hockey fan.
00:43When you go to hockey games, do you wear a hat hoping that you might be able to throw it
00:50off for a hat trick,
00:51or do you ever wear kind of a crummy hat just in case that happens, and you're like,
00:55all right, I'll get rid of this hat?
00:57I think where I sit, my hat wouldn't even come close to making the ice.
01:03You know, back in the day, for those hat tricks, like at Chicago Stadium,
01:13people threw top hats out there.
01:16They didn't throw ball caps.
01:18They threw their dress caps out there.
01:20Feels like that would have more carry, right?
01:23I think they would, you know, pick them up.
01:27They put them in a wheelbarrow, whatever.
01:30And maybe they had a department where you can go and find your hat after the game.
01:36But I'm talking, you know, fedora-type things.
01:39People would throw those on the ice.
01:43Those things were expensive, too.
01:44I'm saying, man.
01:45That's like two or three months of work right there.
01:50But they did, yeah.
01:52Okay.
01:53Man, this is what I like about talking to you, Mickey.
01:55We could talk about Cowboys, but we can always get that little extra something from you as well.
02:00Top hats getting thrown out.
02:00Yeah.
02:01You know what?
02:02And you know what?
02:03I've decided after watching the game last night, they should have another category for goals against goalies.
02:14It's like not responsible for this goal.
02:18My defense was doo-doo on that one, yeah.
02:21Yeah.
02:22Like last night, right?
02:24He could have had another shutout if the defense would know what they were doing out there.
02:29You're right.
02:29But I'm glad he didn't, Mickey, because this is the first game this season that Ottinger has not had a
02:35shutout, and the Stars have won for him.
02:38How about that?
02:39Yeah, that's a crazy statistic.
02:41It really is.
02:42Now, in terms of the Cowboys, and this is complicated, and he is a young player.
02:47What did you think about the play of Malachi Lawrence on Sunday night?
02:52Because he had that one incredible pass deflection, but also in 39 snaps, I do not believe he recorded a
02:58single pressure, hurry, or tackle.
03:02Yeah.
03:04That's kind of the strange thing, because you see him make a play, and you're saying, okay, yeah, that's good.
03:10And then when you look at the stats, it's like, well, what did he do in 39 snaps, right?
03:19So, you know, but it's probably, I'm guessing, I would have to look, but that's probably the most snaps he's
03:26had, right?
03:27Got to be.
03:28In the game?
03:28Yeah.
03:30And so, I think they just need to bring him along and keep giving him opportunities like that.
03:39You don't have to, you know, play 100% of the snaps, but at least get him out there and
03:45get him going.
03:47He showed, you know, the game before, he had one of each, I think, from a tackle to a tackle
03:53to a loss to a pressure to a sack.
03:57So, I was looking up real quick to see if what I said was accurate, and 39 was his most.
04:07He got 30 in the season opener, 43%, but 52% Sunday night.
04:15So, yeah, let's see some more, because I think he's got the right nature.
04:21See, I want some bad you-know-what's out there.
04:25Yeah.
04:26And I think he and Jay Sean Barham have that nature, and so does Booker.
04:36You know, I like the fact that he went and peeled that guy off the pile, that everybody was trying
04:41to punch the ball out of Flannoy.
04:44They were slugging it.
04:45They were pulling it.
04:46And the whistle hadn't blown until he was halfway into taking that guy out.
04:53So, that's what I want.
04:54I want to see that.
04:55I've got to see more of it from a bunch of guys.
04:58Does it ever bother you at all, since you brought up Tyler Booker, and I know they're all humans and
05:04everything,
05:04but there's been the little video and the screenshot going around of him and Tyler Smith laughing together,
05:12sitting on the bench while the Cowboys are just getting smashed against the Packers.
05:21Yeah, I don't know about stuff like that, right?
05:27It's like you don't know what they were talking about, what happened, you know.
05:31So, and, you know, if people want to put intrusive pictures out there, that's just fine.
05:39Plus, what part of the game was it in?
05:42They were third quarter.
05:44Yeah, third quarter.
05:45Yeah.
05:45And, Mick, you might be right.
05:47They might have been talking about how they made a good play together.
05:50That might have been a moment where they were like, dude, I knocked the crap out of that guy.
05:53Right.
05:53But I have no clue.
05:55He was laughing about, yeah, maybe he was laughing about that, taking that guy off of Flannoy,
06:01although it's going to cost him probably $15,000 for a personal foul, right?
06:06Yeah.
06:06But I'm with Kevin, though.
06:07That's no laughing matter.
06:09I am with Kevin, though.
06:10I kind of want him to just always be mad if they're not winning.
06:13I understand where he's coming from on that, for sure.
06:18You know, and I think at some point in that fourth quarter,
06:22when the Packers were getting the personal fouls for roughing the quarterback,
06:27I think they thought it was worth the 15 yards to try to knock him out of the game.
06:32Yeah, I think you're probably right about that.
06:34And I hadn't really thought about it that way until you brought it up,
06:38and I was like, you know what, I'm going to go back and watch that again.
06:40And I see what you're saying.
06:42I really do.
06:43Do you have an idea, Mickey, on what we were kind of discussing, though,
06:47with Malachi Lawrence there on the Ezraku front and how he's handling that
06:53and what he's, like, what are they looking at for him?
06:56Well, I think one of the things they were looking for is try to increase the pass rush
07:04from that edge position, either the outside linebacker or the defensive end
07:10when you're in the nickel.
07:11Because I noticed a few times when they sent Ezraku in,
07:16it was more against the run than a passing situation.
07:21And that was one of the things that he needed to improve on, right, setting the edge.
07:28So I don't know if they were looking at it as a rotational thing by situation or what.
07:37But, again, you know, somebody asked me, was that a message to him,
07:42you better get with it.
07:43It's like, no, I don't think you're sending a message.
07:46You're just saying I'm trying to get somebody out there that's going to help me with a pass rush.
07:51And even if I'm not getting the sack, maybe my pressure is leading to someone else getting a sack.
07:57So I think we'll see, keep an eye on where that one goes.
08:00Same thing with tight end then, right?
08:02I realize not to go get the sack, but I'm just saying in terms of different style of play,
08:06I thought the same thing, didn't necessarily think it was a message to Jake Ferguson
08:10as much as they were like, you know what, Brevin Spanford, you deserve some more shots.
08:14Yeah, no, absolutely.
08:16And I think, you know, there's nothing wrong with that, right?
08:21Agreed.
08:21And I just looked, Ezraku ended up playing 41 snaps and Lawrence played 39.
08:27So it was almost an even split.
08:30But, yeah, no, if you play well, you get to play.
08:34I'm not trying to send a message and punish anybody.
08:37If you deserve snaps, then, you know, we're going to put you out there.
08:41That's the way it goes.
08:43How are we feeling about the potential of Locke being available to get things rolling here in the next few
08:49days?
08:52He's eligible to come off?
08:54Has he been on for?
08:56I think it was September 26th was that.
08:59So I think it is this week that his window opens up for him.
09:03It could open.
09:05Yeah, I've seen him working on the cords, and he seems to be moving well.
09:11I think it might be a thing where you just see, you know, how well he's moving in the side
09:22stuff that he's doing.
09:23Because you could open it, but remember, you get 21 days.
09:27Yeah, maybe forever.
09:28Just because you get back into practice doesn't mean you're going out there to play 50 snaps or something.
09:36That's the same thing with Overshown.
09:39Even if he's ready to go and they say, okay, we're playing you, you know, how many snaps can he
09:45get when he's been out five weeks?
09:48And can they be effective snaps, yeah?
09:51Yeah, and you don't want to, you know, send him out there and then, oh, too soon, too many, and
09:58he's back with the trainers, right?
10:00So you've got to be careful with those guys coming back after they've been out for an extended period of
10:06time.
10:07Your thoughts about Amir Speed?
10:10We talked about him going into the game, and if not for the two touchdown drops, it felt like his
10:16day would have been much, much worse.
10:20Yeah, I don't know that I've been a fan of his since training camp.
10:26Now, and no pun intended, I know they like his speed, right, and that's kind of his calling card, but
10:34I'm not sure what he gives you in coverage or what they're absolutely looking for.
10:42I think what they're looking for at that other spot, now, if they can get Kobe Durant back, then, you
10:48know, that certainly helps out.
10:50But those guys need to play with more confidence.
10:54You know, I think that's Tavon Rubble just not playing with confidence that, like, maybe he played with at East
11:02Carolina.
11:03It's almost like, I don't want to get beat, I don't want to get beat, and then you get beat,
11:08right?
11:08And the same thing happened with Kalen Carson.
11:11I'm not sure what happened to him after his rookie training camp when he earned the title seatbelt, right?
11:20Because his coverage was really good.
11:22And then he got hurt, had suffered a couple injuries, and he never came back to being that same guy.
11:31It was like he was hesitant.
11:33And you can't play cornerback if you're hesitant.
11:36Man, you better be aggressive, right?
11:40And that never came back to him.
11:43And I'm not sure what happened or what took place with that.
11:47But, you know, I don't know if they'll try to sign him to the practice squad or not.
11:52But, yeah, we'll see where that goes.
11:55But, yeah, you just got to be assertive out there.
11:58And he lost it for some reason.
12:02Now, we've talked about this.
12:03It feels like already at least two different weeks.
12:07Pressure is great.
12:09But why can the Cowboys not consistently finish these plays?
12:13You go back to the Packers game.
12:15Jordan Love pressured on 52% of his dropbacks.
12:19The highest of his career.
12:21Not the season.
12:22His career.
12:23And yet, it feels like more often than not, and I realize they got three sacks, but it felt like
12:29more often than not, they came away largely unscathed in those pressure situations.
12:35No, you're right.
12:36Should have been six sacks.
12:38Agreed.
12:39And a lot of those pressures, he completed passes.
12:44He was stepping into it and saying, okay, I know I'm going to get hit, but I'm getting this pass
12:49off.
12:49And it's like, how did you do that with this guy about ready to knock your head off, right?
12:54So, yeah, you've got to get them on the ground now.
12:58Maybe that's step one, getting pressures.
13:01Now, step two needs to be you need more sacks.
13:06So, the sacks will look like they got, what, eight now in six games?
13:13Not good.
13:13That's not all that great.
13:14And I'm sure it's still at the bottom of the barrel in the NFL, right?
13:18But, yeah, because you get a pressure, that doesn't mean you disrupted the quarterback because he can still step in
13:26and throw the ball the way you're supposed to.
13:29Because a good quarterback, if you keep an eye on those guys, they're willing to take a hit to get
13:34their pass off.
13:35Yeah.
13:36Yeah.
13:37No, you're right about that.
13:38Thank you very much, good sir.
13:39Great stuff as always.
13:41DallasCowboys.com to check out more of Mickey, and we'll catch you tomorrow.
13:45I'll be here.
13:46See you guys.
