#DallasCowboys Fish Report LIVE: The Good, The Bad & The Ugly As #Cowboys Return To The Star

#DallasCowboys Fish Report LIVE: The Good, The Bad & The Ugly As #Cowboys Return To The Star

Good Monday morning. The good, the bad, and the ugly on the Cowboys weekend. We’ll do it here with your help. I’m Mike Fischer, your trusty and trust reporter. This is the Fishbowl. That is the Star, and we’ll be inside the Star today. Cowboys locker room today at noon, shotty at 1:00, and we’ll be all over it, of course, if a blade of grass moves at the Star in Fris. Uh, we report on it here on the Fish Report. By the way, there’s the eight bongs on the wall for those of you who like and bike and at cowboyscountry.com and at fishports.substack.com where many of you are enjoying uh the camaraderie that we offer up there. Yeah. Yeah. It’s only a practice game. It’s only an exhibition game. It’s only preseason. So, we don’t put any weight in the score. I think we all have that understanding. The weight we put is into individual performances and how they translate to making in most cases the back end of the roster but in some cases the rotational level. Uh this one checking in from India. Good morning Uncle Fish or afternoon or evening or whatever time it is in India. 3113 visiting Ravens. Of course, they didn’t play their premium guys much either. Here’s why I don’t completely throw Saturday night in the trash can. Cowboys lose 31-13. If the circumstance was reversed and the Cowboys would have won 3113 and run the ball like the Ravens did and stop and and do do the things the Ravens did and the Cowboys win 3113, it’d be good, right? Therefore, losing 31-13 based on the performances in the game means something. Shottenheimer, I told the guys the bottom line is this. We’re not going to say that’s just a preseason game. We’re not going to say, “Oh, we’ll be fine.” Which is good because they’re not. They hoped for a fast start. They didn’t get it. Uh they hoped to score on offense. They didn’t really do much of that either. Cooper Rush, maybe not shockingly, was the best quarterback in the game. and major major decisions are coming now. We got a final preseason game on Friday and then shortly after that. And remember this year it’s just one cut nowadays. We don’t have uh cut day and then another cut day and then another cut day. 26 I believe. Go from 90 to 53. And that’s that. Let’s go, Bad, and ugly here. Starting with the good. Let’s get it out of the way. Uh, last week it was Maris Leopalo who jumped out. This week friend of the show, Sugar’s friend Deone Clark flying around. Uh, there are positive feelings from the Cowboys on the in new veteran Jack Sandborn. Um, and same with Kenneth Murray. Kenneth Murray hasn’t played in a preseason game. He’s been in bubble wrap and that that’s a sign, right? the final two spots. It’s a it’s a battle at at linebacker and we should put Shamar James in there and maybe Justin Baron needs to be mentioned too. And then once you get birthday guy Dearvian Overshon back linebacker room looks pretty good and the each week a couple of kids has done something in each of these two games. So linebackers good good on the cornerbacks kind of again all things are relative the Andrew Booth play was uh was spectacular the pick six he but he went from being picked on to being pick six uh you do get A thumbs up on Zion Childress. He’s making his bid. And Kim Hall, he’s making his bid. One of those guys might start in Philadelphia, right? With Izzy also in the mix. Big question mark for the quarterback group, but competitiveness here. We’ll give him a point for that. And the final good, James Houston and Perion Winfrey. two guys coming from nowhere. Houston had uh two quarterback hits. Winfrey clogged up the middle about as well as anybody on this team has. Uh I put I I did not and do not put Houston on my 53man roster. I did have Winfrey on it. They they got to find they got to find interior defensive linemen. And I don’t know that they’re going to find um find one or two or more on this roster against Atlanta on Friday night. But thumbs up on Houston, thumbs up on Winfrey. Now to the bat. Offensive line stability. Tyler Booker saw most of the action at right guard. I I thought again I’m just a broken down old sports writer. I’m not a scout. Although you can get the I watch film t-shirt in the Uncle Fish store below. You can also get the Cowboys country shirt. Yeah. Come on. Um I thought, you know, looked like he pancaked a couple guys. Looked like he attacked the opportunity and he feels really good about it. Um stories with with Tyler Booker. Uh cowboyscountry.com has a great story right now on Tyler Booker. Um but pocket collapsing was u an was impactful a negative problem for Joe, negative problem for Will Greer when he came in. I I guess you you kind of give this group a pass because this is very much offensive line this at this point very much about individuals. We’re just plugging guys in and seeing who can survive. And um not until you get the real five guys together in a game, which might not even happen against Philadelphia because Gayton may or may not be available. Not Not until you get your real five guys are you going to really be able to evaluate it. But not good so far. Also bad the defense in the trenches. you you knew this was going to be on the list. It’s a glaring issue and you guys are beating up Mazy pretty bad in your comments. By the way, get in, get on, be good. Bring something of intellect to the table and all your comments, questions, and criticisms we pay attention to. Uh Jeff and many pointing out Mazy just Mazy looks he looks tired. It’s hard to It’s hard to make that evaluation from the press box or on the TV set, but I get it. The Cowboys interior defensive linemen are too often getting pushed around. Mazy last week spoke as if he had some revelation. I’m a first round pick. I’ve got to do something. I got to do more. I got VJ Fish. He just looks like he’s mentally beat and it’s August and we haven’t even started yet. I’m I’m reluctant to put it all on Mazi cuz that wouldn’t be fair. David Means cut him. Not going to happen. He starts. He’s a starter. Don’t cut him. Go get somebody better than him and hurry up. John W. Are there any defensive tackles out there on the scrap heap? A few. But why not go in invest in a run stopping defensive tackle who’s not 36 years old? Go get one. a real one. The Cowboys in these two preseason games have allowed an average of 165 yards per game rushing. That’s why you’re the bad. Also bad, the running back conundrum. Now, maybe Javvonte Williams solves it all because they keep him in bubble wrap. He’s over there with Dak and CD Lamb. He clearly the guy now that they’re planning to start. Uh Miles Sanders led the team in rushing with 15 yards behind in the game. So, so they the Cowboys throw it a little bit. Understandable. Duce vaugh 11 yards. I don’t see it. Phil Maf seven yards. Malik Davis 5 yards. just not very much to spark optimism. Uh Jaden Blue, they decided before the game, let’s not go. Jaden Blue against Atlanta on Friday night here at AT&T Stadium. Seems like he really needs to go. John Wallen, who’s giving up real good defensive tackles in a trade? Yeah, it happens all the time. In a trade. It doesn’t happen all the time off the couch. The Eagles think they need wide receiver help. They just went and they just went and traded for John Mechy, the the cancer comeback guy from Alabama. Yeah. Now, he’s not a he’s not a rousing success, but you know, it happens all the time in the NFL. Oh, we we we got a we we got a hole. Let’s go fill the hole. This team has a hole at defensive tackle and this team has a hole at quarterback and they know it. The uh running back might be different. There’s going to be a movement today. The Cowboys should call Washington. They’re thinking of trading Ryan Robinson Jr. Fine. Let’s let’s have that conversation. He’s 6’1 220. Kind of a plotter. Um he’s been productive there, but he’s kind of a power runner. If the Cowboys want to argue, we’ve got a power runner in Phil Mafa. That’s fine. Is Phil Mafa better than Brian Robinson? No. Is Brian Brian Robinson better than Gavvonte Williams? If the Cowboys want to say no, then that can be the end of that. So, you can say there aren’t running backs out there that we can trade for that we think are better than Javvante. And they know that better than we do. As Javvante tries to recapture what he was as a rookie, he had 900 rushing yards and 300 receiving yards as a rookie. He catches the ball of the back field, pass, a healthy Javvante. If he hadn’t been torn apart a little bit by injuries, that that’d be a commodity. Right now, it’s a question mark, but he’s clearly the guy they think is their best one. They can make the argument, hey, hold off on Javvante. You haven’t seen him yet. Or even blue. They can’t make that same argument at quarterback or at nose tackle. Also on the bad, Domingo injury. Uh he got his 49yard big catch from Joe Milton. That was good. Then he was forced off the field. And of course, now we know why. An MRI on his knee. They think it might be a PCL, which means this doesn’t have to be a long-term thing. I think Brian Brad said expect several weeks. We’ll know details of that today. We’ll of course visit with Shottenheimr today at 1 PM here inside the Star. They get him for a fourth round pick. He did flash a little bit on Saturday night. He had been competing for a backup job here behind CD Lamb, George Pickkins. And I keep saying Lamb Pickins Turpin. I I think it’s locked. Uh we’ll know about medical testing about whether or not you keep Mingo on the 53man roster. Is it a fiveweek injury or whatever? So, you put him on pup. We’ll know more here in a little bit. Now, to the ugly, the offense in general. And Miss Cowboy, why are we always the laughing stock in the NFL? I completely disagree with that. That’s not true. Unless you’re watching a certain national network. When the Cowboys do something wrong, they get more attention, Miz, than the Lions or the Browns or the Seahawks. But the only reason that you if you were a Browns fan, you would ask the same question. You’d be talking to the Mike Fiser in Cleveland saying, “Why are we such a laughingtock and the Jets and the Cardinals?” And but I understand it. You don’t you don’t want your beloved Cowboys to be the Jets or the Cardinals or the Browns. I do get that. Joe Milton shaky, right? Uh there was a sequence there where Oh, it was the start of the game. First offensive possession. Penalty on the return. Am I Am I remembering right? Penalty on the return. Miles stuffed on first down. Gets a yard. Second down, loses five yards. Third down safety. Steve, please don’t say Jets, Browns, etc. with our Cowboys at 7 and 10, coming off a seven- 10 season. I mean, okay, you’re right. The the Jets won three, so you were you were more than twice twice as good as the Jets were last year. No, uh the Browns won three, so you’re you’re twice as good as they are. The Jets won five, so you’re better than they are. Um, you think you’re better than the Cardinals? So, they they want to come out hot and they come out going backwards. They want to establish the run around here. That that just hasn’t happened. Again, we’ll wait on Javvante. We’ll wait on Jaden. Shanheimer says, “I’m I’m not concerned about Joe. I trust Joe. We just got to be able to run the ball better. This is going to be explored um more today at the Star and much more depending on what happens Friday. Can you go out and get either in trade or off the couch a quarterback who’s he’s got to be better than Joe and he’s got to be better than Will? I’m seeing all these fantasy trades. Pro Football Talk says, “Go trade for Russell Wilson of the Giants. He’s their starting quarterback. Let’s let’s do stuff. Let’s discuss stuff that makes sense here.” All right. Tonight, fish at six, we’re going to have that conversation. What could you really do at quarterback that really makes sense to be better than Joe and better than Will? Ugly. The Joe Milton adjustments. Was he better than in week one? That’s another thing. Not was he good? He wasn’t good. Was he better? And now you’ve got a Friday decision to make. Our man Adam Schulz at cowboyscountry.com wrote this and I thought, I don’t really I don’t see it that way. He wrote, “Do the Cowboys need to play Will Greer on Friday more so they can get a better evaluation of their receivers?” And my response was, “Well, I don’t I mean, I don’t really care about evaluating who my fifth receiver is versus evaluating who my second quarterback is. I got to get my second quarterback. I don’t care about my fifth receiver.” But now, I’ve seen other people echo what Adam wrote. I think Brian Bris mentioned this. Do you need to play Will Greer so the receivers get a fair look? That’s a crummy place to be in your final preseason game where you’re having to decide which area is is more ameritus when it comes to experimentation. The quarterbacks that we don’t know about or the receivers that we don’t know about. That’s not good. Phillip, any other quarterback options? We’ll do it tonight. Fish at six. Stay tuned. Ugly. You’re gonna Here’s how you can tell that I’m an old-timer. I believe in time of possession. I believe it’s telling. I believe it has impact in a game. And again, I know we’re just talking about preseason. I believe it has impact in a game. I believe it has impact in that that thing called momentum. The longer I have the ball, the better chance I have of doing something with it. Uh, I believe that time of possession sucks the life out of the opponent. Baltimore controlled the ball for 40 minutes in this game. Like 40 to 20. You You can win. You can conceivably you get interception returns for touchdowns and you get 70 yard touchdown plays on off. You can if if they possess the ball for 40 and you possess the ball for 20, you pretty much can’t win. Shotimer, we lost both halves. We have too many good football players and too many good coaches for us to perform that way like we did tonight. Except coach, now you’ve done it twice. Dallas stays home. short week. Friday night, final preseason game coming against the visiting Falcons. And of course, we’ll be in that building. And we’ll be in that building. We’ll be at the Star shortly. Stick with us here, cowboyscountry.com and fishportscowboys.substack.com for everything that happens inside your Dallas Cowboys. We are as obsessed with it. I might not be as upset with it as you are, but I’m as obsessed with it as you are. Fish out.

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