” We Can Be A Great Team” Cowboys Players on Cardinals Week | Player Interviews

” We Can Be A Great Team” Cowboys Players on Cardinals Week | Player Interviews

up and down, win a win a game, lose a game, win a game, tie a game, win a game. What What do you think is the the the biggest takeaway that you guys can have from those first eight games to kind of turn it around and start winning the streak going forward? Yeah. Um I feel like whatever it is, the way that we play at home, we got to learn how to do that on the road. Um I feel like at home, it’s like we got all the momentum, we do everything right, but on the road, it’s just something that we be missing. So, I don’t know what it is, but we just got to put it all put it all together. Jonte, when you were looking at film, where do you think the biggest area kind of improved from last game was and kind of I guess the biggest cause for um how well defensive Broncos played against you guys in the run game? Yeah. Um just being more consistent. I feel like uh our execution was definitely lacking. Um it’s a lot of plays that we wish we probably had back, but um just starting fast this week and moving on because I mean last week don’t really change anything. You can’t change it, so we just got to keep moving forward. What’s one of the the biggest things cuz the run game struggled again last week. Um just talk about although Brock did do a good job in the absence of BB with Cooper likely coming back this week. What’s the the benefit of getting Cooper BB back in the line? Yeah. Um great player. I mean like I said, no matter who at center, we still got to execute. Um we still got to make plays. Um just just do what we supposed to do. I feel like as long as we start fast and get the pass game going, run game going, I feel like we’ll be all right. What’s one of the the biggest things that’s that jumps out of film when you’re watching the Arizona Cardinal defense? Um just physicality. Um, uh, I like number three. Um, he all over the field. I feel like they just give him the green light to do whatever he wants. So, we got to keep our eyes on him and then other than that, just play our game. Shot Shotty talked about Jaden Blue still trying to kind of find his way and find more consistency and he said, you know, he’s got the best guy next to him and you to learn from. Do you embrace teaching and and leading in that way? Yeah, for sure. Um, because I mean, I know how hard it was for me. I mean, my rookie year with football and even the stuff off the field, it can be a lot sometimes. So, I mean, anywhere I can help him, I try to help him out. Do you seek those moments out? Do you kind of pull him aside after a practice like this or does he come to you? What does that look like? Yeah. No, I don’t really bother him too much. I mean, if he got something to to ask me or talk to me about, uh, I give him little pointers, but I mean, other than that, I mean, I hit him every once in a while off the field, but I don’t really try to bother him too much. Does he seek that out? Does he come up to you? Yeah, I mean, if he if he need help, um, he definitely let me know or if he needs something. I mean, most of the time I can I can help him out, but it ain’t nothing like I’m just always following him around, making sure he doing everything right. I mean, he a grown man at the end of the day, but if there’s something I could do, I help him out. Who was the guy that you had that that you asked questions to early in your career to figure that stuff out? Yeah. Uh Melvin Gordon with the Broncos. Yep. Is it weird being only 25, but you’re still kind of the old guy in the room? Yeah, that’s crazy cuz I’m still looking at him like, bro, I’m I’m young, too. But I the way they look at it, um I’m a vet, so I mean I just got to take that that that leadership role. Has this year gone better than what you expected considering that you were free agent and you thought you going to stay in Denver and now you’re here? Yeah, I mean it’s it’s going well. Um there’s still a lot of stuff I got to do, but I mean I can’t complain. You think about the future for yourself or is that kind of hard not to think about the future because you’re dayto-day guy? Yeah, I’m I’m more dayto-day. I mean, however it turn out that’s that’s just how it’s going to go. So, I’m going just keep doing what I got to do to try to make it as good as it can be. I know you’ve done the acupuncture and stuff like that, but how how are you feeling right now? I mean, just midway point of the season. You’ve you’re on pace for career high in carries. How’s the body feeling? Yeah. Um, I feel good. I still feel like week one the same way I felt week one. And I mean, it’s probably a testament to just all the stuff I do off the field to try to stay on top of like my health and all that. But, I mean, like you said, it’s a long season, so I just got to keep it going. With the defense struggling often, go into these games knowing really? No, I wouldn’t say we we say that. Um, we still believe in the defense. Um, I don’t know what it is that that they’re on miscommunication or something like that, but I mean, I feel like they’ll figure it out before it’s before it’s over with. We talk all the time about how running games can help play action. Can play action help a running game, too? I mean, when you got CD Lamb, George Pickkins, and Jake Ferguson, I mean, the pass game going to open up a whole lot of holes holes for you. How do you find the feel that everybody continues to talk? Uh just continuing to just uh do the right things every day. Um and just keep pushing each other, holding each other accountable. That’s the only thing you really can do. Shotti’s talked about he’s been spending more time with you guys on the defense. What does that look like? Do you do you like that? What do you kind of take away from his involvement? Yeah. Uh it’s good. Uh you know, just you know, just got another ear in there. um just listening to everything and uh you know if he got like an idea or or you know something that he might see that offense is trying to attack us on some uh you know he can let us know that. Um but it’s cool having him in there uh just to you know just be there having another set of ears. He’s talked he’s talked many times many weeks especially coming off losses just about there will be changes need to make adjustments. If you think back from like week one Philly to now, how many changes and adjustments do you feel like you guys have tried to tackle? Uh, I mean, I think week to week, you know, it’s different changes um and different adjustments. Um, but I mean, yeah, I mean, it’s I mean, week to week is something different every week. Since you change, how would you assess how you played since? Uh, I played all right. Um, you know, up and I would say up and down. Um, you know, you just got to find that consistency. I think I started off real strong. Um, and uh, yeah, just just a little just a little up and down. Um, you know, for my liking. Is that just part of how you been in your career after these little ups and downs? Uh, I mean, no. I mean, not really. No, that’s not the standard. Um, you know, I mean, I pride myself on being consistent and, uh, you know, playing playing my best every week. Uh, so I mean I mean of course I got to look better. I mean I got to be better and uh that’s that’s something that we all talk about is just you know what more can you do? Uh you know as a player to you know to help this team out. So um yeah I’m I’m going consistently be trying to do that every day. What pops out of the Cardinal? I mean uh you know Kyler’s a great quarterback and um you know he has another element as far as with his legs. Uh, I mean, he can throw the ball, I mean, great. And, um, you know, you got a lot of a lot of receivers, really good running back and offensive line. I mean, a good offensive line. So, um, it’s going to be a battle. It’s going to be a battle up front and uh, we got to we got to set edges and knock things back and, um, just play ball. You faced a few different mobile quarterbacks this year already. Like a field, it hurts, but is the way Kyler runs, is it sort of unique from anybody else? Yeah, a little bit. Uh, I mean, but I mean, he’s just just fast, man. Elusive. uh you can’t give him like a straight line to just for him to just go. Um and you know he he he can turn corners. He don’t really like he wouldn’t he don’t really like stop. He kind of like swerve a little bit. Um and he can just get he can get vertical real quick. So we got to make sure we set edges and make sure we got contain. What’s the impact of or what’s it like having Brian Shimimer in the defensive meetings and giving his feedback? Is that a little different for you? Uh, I mean it’s it’s I mean it’s something that I mean a lot of head coaches do and um I mean it’s good just have another eyes more eyes in there more ears uh just to you know if I mean players might have questions or uh the offense is attacking us and you know he might see something and might want to tell us um whatever the case may be just uh it’s always good to have you know have your coaches in there. Do you feel like his presence in your room has increased over the last couple weeks three weeks? Uh yeah yeah it has. Um, yeah. What do you think the increase of his presence has done um for you guys? I mean, it’s it’s been good. Like I said, I mean, it’s just given us another another pair of eyes and ears uh just to help help the defense out with the with the run defense struggles. OS is saying how definitely been surprising that you guys have struggled as you have and it’s kind of like a look in the mirror moment. Is that how you feel about it? And what does that look in the mirror vibe look like around here? Yeah. Um, I mean, I’m just trying to just do my job and, uh, you know, play ball how I know how. Um, you know, you look in the mirror, you know, you guys just find something that you can just help this team get better at. Uh, and I mean that, I mean, that’s the that’s the overall thing with that. But, uh, you know, as far as the run game, you know, it take all of us, you know what I’m saying? We all got to, uh, you know, play ball to the best of our ability, know what’s coming. Um, understanding, you know, how how teams is going to block us. um be physical, be violent, you know, um all the things that we talk about. So, uh yeah, we all got to just be better as a defense. What do you have to do? Like consistency gets talked about defensively to increase it, find a good level of consistency. How do you find it after it’s taken maybe a little longer than all you guys thought? Uh just just doing doing the little things right and uh you know, just how you do anything is how you going to do everything. And um you know that’s how you find your consistency. Uh going out in practice and you know doing doing the right things um stacking together you know great weeks um you know when you when you get out on the field just executing executing what you’ve been I mean having confidence in what you’ve been doing all week and uh executing when you get out there on the field with the with the execution part. You guys said after the Denver game that you know it’s like feel they felt like they had a good week of practice just didn’t carry it over to the game. How would you describe like if you kind of feel like you had a good week, why the execution is an issue on game day? Uh, I mean, I’m not sure. I mean, that’s a question that you got to ask. I I feel like I’m prepared and uh, you know, that’s a question for you to ask those guys. But, I mean, for for speaking for myself, you know, I feel like I’m prepared um, and, you know, my body ready to give it all I got and, you know, to play the blocks I know how to play. Do you still like playing on Monday night? I love it. I love playing football period, any night. Uh the spotlight, the lights on and all the fans out there, it give you that energy. So yeah, I love it. Home game here. Is there a difference since you’ve been here by playing at home versus on the road? Uh no, it’s just been the same. I just wish we went on the road like we do at home. U just it’s been the same. The energy has just been there for my for me and personally and for the team. It’s been there. I just got to keep that consistently rolling on after games like trying to get the games instead of losing one going one and one one. try to be consistent and continue to play well. Go back to high school. Kyler Murray has never lost AT&T Stadium. Nine and0 for real. I didn’t know that. Well, hopefully be nine and one after the Monday night. That’s the goal. Win one game. So, that’s what our focus is right now. This next game right here. Uh go ahead and lock in and be better than we were last week. Jay Dak talked about something you said in the locker room about, you know, hey, this roster is too good. Yeah. Uh yeah, I told them guys I tell the guys all the time I played on seven teams and this my seventh team and this this talented roster is a lot of talent on this roster for us to not be winning consistently wins and I always have to come back and figure out what’s going wrong. Uh we got a lot of talent in here. Um I just believe that we should be competing at a lot a higher level than we have been. Not saying competing, but we should be winning at a a lot higher level than we have been. Uh we just got to continue to play complimentary football. I feel like got one of the best offenses in the National Football League. Uh at every position, the line to the receivers, running back, even the quarterback, all the positions. And uh defense has got to pick it up. And I think we we can get outside going like we need to, we can be a great team and try to head into the playoffs, get into the playoffs. Talked about your snaps. You playing well said, you know, clown is back. Yeah. How excited are you about getting more opportunity after? I’m excited, man. Very excited. That’s why I come here for the opportunity to just continue to play. Uh just really trying to do whatever I can do to help this team win whatever they need me to do. I’m just available like I told them from the beginning. Whatever y’all need from me, I’m just here to try to help you all that. Just be out there with the teammates and play good football. Is the dust knocked off? Oh, yeah. I’m just having fun, man. Like I said, just as long as I’m getting more reps and getting reps in the game, you know, eventually get it knocked off and just continue to play. It’s about getting the feel and just playing out there in the games and getting getting it going. And uh once you get in that groove and you feeling it, you be you be you be having you be feeling yourself like you have a good game. So you just want to get that feeling in that groove of being comfortable out there and just playing a lot of football and uh just trying to get your job done. D talked about how powerful your voice like when he was mentioning that quote of all you said about how much it means. Are you kind of aware about how much leadership impact you have and just even things where you’re kind of saying and passing? Uh yeah. Uh it’s funny cuz I’m not a big yelling at a team type of guy. I’m always pulling guys to the side and telling them even though, you know, I’m not the big yeller, but everybody’s take my advice a lot. I was just telling them, man, we got a lot of too much, like I told you guys, got too much talent on this team for us not to figure out what’s going on. And it it was bothering me because I don’t been on teams where it wasn’t a lot of talent. I have been on talented teams and I’m like, I know what it look like and I see a lot of talent around here. A lot of not just talent, the way we work here is even more a reason why we should be winning. You know, we work extremely hard. I tell them guys that like we one of the hardest working teams. I know that by far because I done been to a lot of other places and uh we work extremely hard and you want to see that roll over and play over into the games and for us to win a game and lose a game and win. We just got to be consistent and uh and our preparation and and like I said comparing football is the biggest thing in football. Once our offense score, we got to go out there giving the ball right back instead of going out there and letting the guys come down the field or tie it up. I just feel like u like I said our defense step up and get the offense the the help they need on on the defensive side. I think we we’ll be all right. Donovan Rock is a guy that’s been kind of progressively playing better. One have you seen from him and is that a guy also that you kind of mentor pull aside? Uh yeah, I always tell him what I see on tape. Uh I think he’s a a great great player. He works extremely hard throughout the week. Um he’s always prepared like a pro since I since I’ve been here. I always tell them anything you need uh uh for me you need if you think I can see something or I see something I’m gonna come back and let you know if you see something let me know. I just say we feed off each other’s energy. I always tell him, “Man, I’m in your corner. I’m hoping you have great games or whatever the case may be.” I just think he’s a good young player that’s going to be a a big piece for this team in the in the near future. So, uh yeah, I just think highly of him. What’s what’s going on with the defense right now? Does it anger you? Oh, yeah. Yeah, like I said, we got too much talent for us and not to figure out what’s like why we keep getting giving up big chunks in the run game or why we keep letting the ball go over our head. Uh we just got to come together. Like I said, continue to work on it throughout the week prepare and Fridays throughout the week focus Fridays practices. We got to be more locked in and tuned to our job and everybody been on the same page and I think that’ll be what what we need to have going to this game to win the game. seen so far. Um, I would say we’re we got to attack him obviously in terms of and I say that saying like we’re going to pass rush. We’re not going to sit around and, you know, try to cage him in the pocket because when you do that, I feel like then you’re not attacking. You know what I mean? You’re not pass rushing the way you’re supposed to be. So, I mean, that that’s kind of what we’ve been seeing. We obviously know he’s a mobile quarterback. He can run. He can throw the ball. Um, and that’s a lot of quarterbacks in the NFL nowadays. So, uh, we just got to do our job. We got to rush the pass him, you know, get him off the spot, you know, force him to make throws that he’s not comfortable making. So, is this game kind of like Carolina where you come off of like this is not what we wanted to go next? Uh, I I wouldn’t I wouldn’t say so. No. Um, I would say it’s another championship opportunity like Coach Shotty always says and and that’s how we have to approach it. That’s how we’ve been, you know, today being Wednesday, that’s how we started approaching it for sure. We we want to go one and0. We’re not really thinking about last week. We’re not putting extra pressure on ourselves to go out there and we got to go get these guys. No, this is another opportunity to go out there and play the game we love and we want to go one. So, we’re going to do everything possible to go one and0 this week. Eight weeks in now into your career, have you seen the biggest jump development learned? What’s the biggest lesson? Um, shoot. I would say knowing when and when and when not to take shots, especially in the pass rush. Um, I think I’m starting to understand that a little bit more. um as I’ve been, you know, getting a couple more opportunities to rush the passer. Um I would say that’s that’s probably the biggest thing in terms of taking shots. Was that something in college you had to learn too? And then is it a different like timing? What’s different about it? Yeah, it’s always a learning curve, I would say. And and yeah, it’s it’s timing. You know, you might get tackles now, they’ll they’ll quick set you then, you know, set back deep or they they’re doing things differently themselves. So that’s it’s it’s a learning curve for sure. You and you felt it the last few weeks probably the learning curve kind of get easier? Yeah. Not easier, but meet myself getting better at at Yeah.

Cowboys Players speak with media after Wednesday’s practice to discuss the Week 9 matchup against the Arizona Cardinals and more.

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