Brian Schottenheimer: Maximize the Opportunity | Dallas Cowboys 2025

Brian Schottenheimer: Maximize the Opportunity | Dallas Cowboys 2025

Maybe that was the plan. Uh before we get started, I do need some help from you guys. Uh I need some uh uh so my wife’s birthday was Monday. My daughter’s birthday is today. So I of course don’t have any gifts. So if anybody has any good gift, not you, Clarence. If anybody with style, Patrick, Nick, is Nick in here? He’s got some style, you know. I mean, if anybody’s got any good ideas, okay, I’m a big spender. Uh just uh send it my way through uh my representative here, Tad Carpet, because birthdays come at the worst time. I mean, they really do. Where? Nicole. All right, Nicole. Yeah. All right, let’s go. That’s good. Yeah, honey. Something’s coming, but we just got to figure out what it’s going to be. We don’t know yet. Okay, is good. Yeah, that’s good. See, you said Todd wouldn’t have any good ideas. He did say he wouldn’t have. Didn’t you? Does she know? because now she does. Oh, okay. I got you. That’s good. Uh the other thing, uh you guys will get uh an update on some of the injuries. A couple guys will be on the injury report. Dax’s got a little hip. He got banged around a little bit in the game. Uh should be fine. Uh we’re going to be real smart with the tempo today because basically it’s Tuesday for their bodies, but just when you guys see that so you’re not surprised. Cool. That’s the only thing? Yeah. Uh yeah, a couple of Yeah, minor things. Yeah, you’ll see you’ll see some guys on there, but nothing nothing major. uh Calvin Watkins, Dallas Morning News. I have that question. Um it’s hard to play that position as you know, but the the level he’s playing at, how difficult has it been for him just to play at that level for most of majority of the season? Yeah, it’s definitely hard, man. Uh but that’s what the great ones do. And there’s a consistency about it. And I think that’s the thing that I think when you look at quarterbacks that are playing good, it’s there’s stats that you can always look at, hey, four touchdowns here, whatever it is. But the consistency of what Dak’s really done over the course of the year is what I think is so impressive and against some really good competition. And he’s given us a chance in every game to put ourselves for the most part a chance to win. And um just proud of him. But again, I always go back to the work ethic and the stuff that he puts into it during the week, which allows him to go out there and play that way. It’s not something where you just wake up on Sunday or Monday and go out there and sling it around and put up the kind of numbers he’s putting up. It’s, you know, the process of Monday getting in here, watching the game film, then moving into the new team that you’re playing and the prep for that, then taking care of his body and and all that stuff. It’s it’s hard and it’s a grind. And um I think he’s not mastered his routine, but I think he’s very comfortable with his routine and um how he preps and takes care of his body. Obviously having the weapons that he has with Pickkins, CD, and obviously Williams is playing in the line. How much fun do you think he’s having? I think he referred him as a point guard, I think, at one point. How much fun do you think he he likes being an act? So if you talk about quarterbacks that are gunslingers and all that and now you say he’s a point guard. Yeah, I I think that’s the evolution of Dak. It’s a maturing process. I mean all quarterbacks want to throw it 40 50 yards down the field. You obviously saw him launch one on after the sudden change down there. GP did a great job breaking up a potential PI but or interception. But yeah, he is I mean your job as that position is to spread the ball around, get the ball out of your hand, let guys create, and we have guys that can do that, which um is uh no different than you know u some of the greatest point guards in the world, man. You know, they just Magic Johnson dishes it off to Worthy and guys like that. And um he’s he’s he and we are all very blessed to have the guys that we have. Clarence Hill DLLS Cowboys, you’re telling your age when you pointed out Patrick Johnson. Showtime, baby. Come on. Showtime, man. It was a certain age. Uh, can you get your How you doing, coach? I’m doing great. Thank you for asking. Usually have to wait one more question to get that. This guy’s all business. This guy’s always all business. Um, Quinnon and and Osa and Kenny Clark and Tush Push is such a big part of the Eagles offense and I don’t know if there’s any way to solve it, but you have a better chance now with what you have up front. Yeah, I mean again they uh they were the ones that started it, so they get to to name it and uh they still do a very good job of it. But uh we’ve got uh we’ve got some reinforcements in there and guys that have seen it and it’s a game of leverage. It really is. And I do think that, you know, the league is is uh trying to, you know, uh make sure that it’s a legal play, you know, in terms of everybody getting off on the snap and stuff like that. But they’re still really good at it. We’ll still see it and uh but we’ve definitely got some reinforcements in there that give you a chance to win the leverage game. On the flip side, uh certainly your offensive line is playing better. You know, I think Tyler Gen had one of his better games, but just to watch Tyler Smith in the tape, you’re asking him to peel out and pick off people on the backside. Is that normal for a guard? And do you I mean, or would that just speak to Tyler Smith’s ability just seeing him peel around and help on this backside? up on this side. Yeah, I think it I think it speaks to his athleticism. I mean, one of the things we love about, you know, Sis is his athleticism and uh the power is there. It’s it’s evident just how strong he is, but the athlete is probably not talked about enough. Um I’ll show my age again since we’ve talked about this, but um really reminds me a lot of a guy that I was around watching growing up with my dad, Will Shields, who was a great Hall of Famer, I think. Um could be wrong about that. I think he is, but Hall of Fame guard certainly in the Chiefs Hall of Fame. Uh, but that athleticism and the power and the combination of that is special and and Tyler’s, uh, very special as a player. But, um, the play style and the wiring of the of the young man is right, too. He just loves to do stuff like that. And, uh, he brings a physical nature to our play style. Now, when you talk about Hall of Fame guards wearing 73, you’re supposed to mention Larry Allen here. Well, absolutely, Larry. Well, I was waiting for the follow-up question about that because Larry’s probably the best of all time. Hi, Brian. How you doing? What will that was an awkward exchange? You guys said that was a little awkward. Yeah. What will do today? Yeah. Uh he’ll he’ll go through all his normal stuff. It’s just because it’s a mock tempo. It’s just slow. He’s just a little He’s just a little sore, you know. I’m a little sore, too, but for different reasons. Just sleeping on sleeping short. So, but yeah, I mean, it’s because it’s just slow mock walkthrough. He’ll be fine. And then, uh your your rookie class, you got Rebel came back this past week. What do you make of the production you’ve been able to get from uh from those guys? Yeah, again, you know, it’s kind of case by case. I mean, you look at, you know, Tbook Book and, you know, I think again, he’s getting much more comfortable playing guard. He, you know, missed a couple games in there, but again, I think we love the person, we love the power, we love the the position. He’s got a great matchup this week against, you know, one of the best interior defensive linemen in the game and Jaylen Carter. Um, which he didn’t get a chance to play Jaylen last game and um it it’ll be fun to watch him because Jaylen creates all kinds of problems, but Tbook’s doing great. Ezrau um you know, I think we’ve talked about him. Somebody asked about his ability to play the run, his ability to influence and affect the passer. I think is great. He’s being aided because of his work ethic, but because of the guys we have inside of him. Um I think he’s doing great. Uh it was great to see Van get out there, you know. Um you know, I just again he he belongs. He’s talented. He’s long. He’s aggressive. All the traits that you look for in a corner. Uh I keep going. You know, you got Shamar, you know, who’s played a lot of valuable snaps. Again, no one uh is higher on Jaden Blue than me. Uh it just sometimes takes a little bit of time, but I love the talent. I love the explosiveness. Um I don’t want to miss out on people. I probably will. But um again, overall, I think this rookie class and even just the young the the youth of this team is something that’s very exciting for me. Kaylin Carson, you know, I talked about him, you know, very um passionately yesterday because I I do think he deserves it. He’s been through a lot and he played really well last game. You mentioned Jaylen Carter. obviously didn’t the spitting thing. What kind of difference do you think that makes for them and going against him? No, it’s a big difference. He’s a really good player. Um and uh again, he’s uh you know, he’s packaged in there with some really good players and you know, Jordan, you know, Davis is obviously an incredible player as well. And you got Jaylen Phillips. I mean, the the the front just a hell of a defense. I think they’re best in the league, I think. And uh again, it’s going to be really really tough, but uh we love that challenge and uh we think we’re pretty good, too. John Mto with the athletic uh Jaylen Phillips, what have you seen from him in in the couple games that they’ve had? Yeah. Uh long, you know, I mean, long um you know, really good pass rush tools, uh really good motor. Uh but it’s the size and the length that creates the problems. He’s uh he’s hard to uh you know, stay blocked because he’s he’s slippery. He gets off blocks very well and he can affect the quarterback because he’s got a really cool assortment of pass rush moves that he uses. And I don’t know him, but it looks like he’s a guy that studies a lot of film because you see him counter and take a strength of a player and kind of use it against him. And I think anytime, you know, you see a a former coach like Vic that was around him in Miami and then you go trade for that guy, there was a reason that Vic stood on the table and said, “Hey, you know, I want Jaylen Phillips here.” and I think he’s proven proven why Vic felt so strongly about it and uh he’s a you know reason he’s a high first round pick. And then when you’re figuring out what guys you’re going to have active during the game at running back, what is makes the difference when you go with a Malik Davis over a Jaden Blue? Yeah, it’s really everything, you You know, I mean, when you get to uh sometimes that second and third back and, you know, we’re carrying uh a little heavy at some other positions, whether it’s linebacker or corners or defensive lineman, you know, you’re a little bit short in some areas, but it really is it’s it’s really both phases. It’s offense and special teams. And so, Malik’s done an incredible job since he got back. And, you know, he’s a personal protector. He’s doing a great job. I think he’s on three of the four core, uh, special teams units. And, um, he’s running well. and uh you know he and Jaden will continue to compete, but right now when you’re looking at the two, it’s like you know that’s where Jaden’s got to understand until you’re the guy, which at some point hopefully he is the guy that you got to be able to impact the game other ways. And um I think he understands that, you know, Jaden’s learning a lot about this league and um again, I think, you know, he’s he’s always going to continue to compete and put his best foot forward and then um doesn’t have to like the decision if it goes against him to play someone else, but uh he’s got to make sure he’s always prepared to go play. Tommy, dcowboys.com. How are Solomon Thomas and Trayvon Diggs progressing through there? And he’s uh good. Um Sally’s making progress. Again, we’ll know more, not really today, probably tomorrow. Um, and Trey, again, all signs are that he’s doing everything he’s supposed to do. And, uh, so again, positive reports on on both those guys. And then their, uh, the young corners they’ve gotten, Mitchell and Deine, where have you from last year to the first game this year and then over the course of the year so far, where have you seen them kind of grow? Yeah, I mean, you know, I I’ll talk about Mitchell first. I mean, I just, you know, uh, very high on him, very good cover corner, uh, physical, uh, patient. Um, he understands that there’s a time clock that the offense has to work with because they’re good at disrupting and affecting the quarterback. But, uh, I think the coverage skills, um, you’ve seen the growth. You’ve seen him improve and get better. And, uh, I think he’s got a chance to be a star in this league and trending that way. Uh, and then the versatility of Cooper Deene is is what they love about him. I mean, the guy plays corner and base. He plays nickel. He plays all kinds of things. He’s very good blitzer. Uh, the football instincts is off the chart. You know, he’s got a knack for the ball. Um, you know, and there’s nothing new. I mean, they’ve done a great job of of of drafting and getting these guys and develop them. And, um, I think they’ve they’ve done a great job with those two guys for sure. Scott Dixon with the what’s your sense of whether there’s any kind of new range of emotions with the first home game without Marchon versus having play one game without Yeah. Again, I think, you know, we’re getting used to Skyler, the new norm. Um I think we’re, you know, um this will be, you know, a chance for us to honor him at home. You know, I believe there’s some things that we’re going to do for his family. Um again, my job as the coach is to make sure our guys are not caught off guard with anything. So, whatever we are planning as we finalize some things, um I’ll make sure that they know and they’re aware of that. But uh again, whether we play home or away, you know, we’re going to honor Marawn uh ourselves with the way we play and our play style and whether we have a moment of silence or we don’t or whether we introduce members of his family or we don’t, you know, moving forward for the rest of the year and and beyond. I mean, he’s always going to be out there with us to honor. You mentioned the new normal. Are you sensing that, feeling that this week? Yeah, I’ll be honest with you. Um, my assistant Laura uh came in today and I was blaring my music in my office and I’m a big music guy and she kind of was, you know, tongue and cheek, kind of being silly, but she’s like, “It’s great to see you playing your music loud and and whatnot.” And so that kind of made me chuckle because I’m feeling more back to myself. Joe, Joe White, Dallas Morning News. Um, you guys obviously invested a lot of resources in your defensive line. Eagles have had a really good defensive line. From a play calling standpoint, just how much of a problem does having interior defensive lines like the Eagles have and you guys have now present to an offensive play caller? Yeah, it’s hard just because, you know, when you try to, you know, run the ball up the middle, it’s hard, you know, and what these guys do a great job of on both sides, you know, whether you’re talking about, you know, Jordan Davis, Jaylen Carter, you know, whether you’re talking about Quinnon, Osa, Kenny, Si, whatever. they they put the pressure on the offensive line to feel like they have to use combination blocks. Well, then when the linebackers, which again, Philly’s got, you know, Zack and um uh 17, what’s his name? Sorry. Yeah. Yeah. Great player. Dean, I mean, great player. Uh I mean, those guys, they come downhill fast. And then, you know, Campbell, the rookie, I mean, they put the pressure on you because when they fire into their gaps, you can’t stay on the singles or the double teams and the singles become and they get split. But, uh, I think it’s it’s really a, um, it’s really a problem. It’s a problem on both both sides. And, um, it’s what you want. You want to have a a firm and strong front seven. And, uh, they have definitely shown to be able to do that. You talked about Kaylin yesterday as a coach. When you, you challenge a guy to do something, you see that things happen in practice and then it shows up in the game. What does that do for you? Yeah, it’s exciting. you know, you use it to talk to the other players. Like, let’s talk about, you know, Jaden again for a sec. You know, like, hey, look at what Kalin’s done. And, you know, I told you guys yesterday or the day before, we ca challenged Kalin a couple weeks ago about the urgency. And, um, I think that’s part of it. But, like, maximize your opportunities. And Kaylin, again, his first reason that he was activated and put up was because of special teams. And he did that. Then, he kept doing a great job in practice and going against guys and making plays out there in practice. And so, he earned the right. And then like everyone you I tell my kids all the time when given an opportunity you got to maximize the opportunity and and he did that um you know on Monday night and so therefore he’s earned more playing time and that’s real and um again I think that uh it it’s a great teaching tool for all your young players. Garrett Podell CBS Sports. Hey Brian, your offense has done a pretty strong job getting Javvante Williams the ball in the run game then feeding Dak or CD and George Pickins. Um, a lot of talk with Philadelphia, Jaylen Herz and their two wide receivers. Doesn’t look like they’ve been on the same page as they were on last year. Kind of what are you seeing from Jaylen Herds and kind of how their offenses function this year? Uh, you know, I mean, I’ve just watched uh a few of the games. I think, you know, it’s uh, you know, Jaylen’s an incredible player. You know, he can beat you throwing, he can beat you running. We have to do a great job of keeping him in the pocket. We learned that in the last game. We knew that in the last game, but he can extend plays. Um, I think you could put their two receivers up there, um, you know, with Devonte and AJ against anybody in the league. I mean, they’re very, very talented. And so, at any moment, they can strike. You know, they’re explosive. Then you mix in the runner who’s arguably uh, the best, if not uh, one of the best in the league in Squan. You got tight ends, and then you got the offensive line. So, um, again, I I think, you know, everybody finds their flow at different times and this is a tough tough league and, um, at the end of the day, I’m I’m not I’m not looking at the film and saying, “Man, these guys are struggling.” I’m looking at these this film and saying, “Man, these guys are dangerous.” How much can the addition of Quinnon Williams help keep Jaylen Herz in the pocket? Obviously didn’t have him in that first match. Yeah, again, um, you know, he’s going to impact, you know, the quarterback in different ways, but again, it’s going to come down to our rush lane, discipline, our eyes and things like that. And, um, again, you’re kind of, you know, you’re you’re you’re caught because when he gets out, he’s got the ability to beat you throwing the ball or running the ball. And, um, but again, I think, you know, we were able to look at the game, you know, and and talk about some different answers and things like that to try to contain him, but, uh, he’s hard to contain. and Christie Christy Scales Cowboys radio 1053 the fan um with Philly I know the tush push gets a lot of the attention but seems like their approach like going for it on fourth down so much they’re really not very good on the third down conversion statistically but this is kind of an an overall question I think we see it with Philly’s approach and I wonder if you see it not just for yourself but throughout the league in college where now as a play caller you’re calling for four downs and not like conceding that if you don’t get it on third that conceding a punt. Yeah, that’s real. I think it’s much more in vogue now. Uh again, I don’t want to say the Dan Campbell effect because, you know, it’s been guys were going for for fourth down, but um I think it’s definitely in vogue now that you know, you you can look at it and say, okay, based on field position where we are um how you feel about your calls, the thought is it’s kind of four down in our mind as a play caller until it’s not until you put yourself either by field position you’re way backed up or it’s third and really really long, you know. But I know, you know, we went into the game last one, we, you know, went for it on fourth down. I knew that that was going to be a situation we were going to go for it on fourth down. So, I was comfortable with the third down call. Um, the touchdown to Fergie, knew that we were going to go for it on fourth down if we didn’t get in. And that helps. The the problem is when you don’t think that way and then it’s fourth down and let’s say it’s third and long and you hit a a pass on third and 13 or 14 for 11 or 12 yards and it’s on you quick, you’re like, uh, it’s a little bit harder because you weren’t planning on doing it. So sometimes it’s like, man, what do I want to do here? And that’s you got to go with your gut instincts a little bit on that. I could just follow up on that because when you say invogue, um, you know, sometimes that fad, but um, do you think that’s just something that’s kind of temporary? You just see that, you know, like for the long haul, like moving forward that this is going to I think everything’s cyclical. I think it’ll change at some point. I mean, there’s there’s people that are old school. I’m probably more actually old school than some, but I do think that, you know, it’s, you know, we don’t sit there and read a book and say, “Okay, hey, that says this is 65% chance we need to, you know, go for it.” We don’t do that. We trust our instincts. I’m in constant communication with Ryan Feeder. But again, a lot of it comes down to the type of game it is or the type of game you think it’s going to be. And you know, again, in that situation, the reason I was so committed to going for it was that if we didn’t get it, I thought we would, and we did, but if we didn’t get it, I was very comfortable putting our defense out there knowing that they would have had to go 96 yards or whatever it was. That’s all part of the process that you go into. Anybody else? Good. Thanks guys.

Head coach Brian Schottenheimer speaks with media before Wednesday’s practice to discuss Dak Prescott’s level of consistency, if the defense has the personnel to beat the Eagles’ “tush push,” and his evaluation of the Philadelphia Eagles as the Cowboys prepare for a Week 12 matchup.

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