Recap: Hanging With Boys, Big Nate & Jesse Holley Podcast 11/15

[VaqueroTD]

Audio: Hangin' with the Boys: We Needed That (dallascowboys.com)

Good podcast. Big Nate would have been national media if not for the drug charges. Jesse Holley surprisingly good co-host. Also Shannon Gross & Kurt Daniels from DC.Com, sometimes they just turn it over to the ex-players, but not bad hosts either. Listen to hear the true chemistry.

If you listen to last Friday's podcast, Nate was a great motivator for that Falcons game. Everyone else on the show was nervous. He really did call it and knew this was going to be a dominant comeback.


Big Nate:

• This is why I guaranteed the win. I knew this team would respond this way.
• I can't be pumped up now though after watching what KC did last night.
• I had The Boys at 13-4 as my prediction this year. 7-2, getting closer. (Jesse had them at 9-8)
• Jesse said the DL was just pieces. But you know what, pieces is what makes a Super Bowl team.
• I don't know Atlanta's coaches well... I thought they would come up with something like the team did last week. But I knew Denver's D-Coordinator and what he could do.
• We needed an explosive game. Even though it was ATL, I'm not fooling myself. We beat an NFL team soundly from opening to closing.
• Steele and Collins were better. Atlanta wasn't as good at pass rushing as I thought. LC still needs some better technique, it's fallen off a lot, but he is determined. The guys going against him were no big shakes, but he did what he had to do.
• When CeeDee Lamb opened it up, I think it scared Atlanta to change their gameplan.
• Once Dak started clicking, I knew the game was over.
• My old teams, if we came out 1st quarter and gave you everything we got and it didn't phase the team, we knew we were playing to survive. That's what happened to Atlanta.
• Atlanta needs some more players. They have some growing to do.
• Biggest fear was Grady Jarrett on the LG. Nothing happened. Deion Jones, as good athlete as he is, he's not a straight ahead guy like Micah who has great handwork. 6'3" 220? You go at him and it's end of story.
• (Cedric) Wilson been dealing. But like Jesse said, when you put Gallup and Amari on the outside and CeeDee in the slot, it's a different beast. Gallup is always open. He dropped that one pass, but he's always that guy open.
• (Referring to the play Jesse Holley says below was sweetest play of game) Most QBs would have thrown that ball away. That's why you know Dak has heart.
• A game like that in my career? Had many. Main one I remember though is the Super Bowl against Buffalo.

Jesse Holley:

• Don't make me the bad guy. The reason Hamilton, Basham get a chance to look the way they look is because that offense went up 21 points. When they can pin their ears back, and offense playing 1-handed, they can just go after QB.
• Atlanta Falcons Head Coach Arthur Smith was a teammate in college. Decent offensive linemen. We used to give him a hard time and ask him why was he playing football. His dad is a co-founder and owns FedEx. 150,000 degrees in South Carolina, we ask him why he was there, and he would say he just wanted to make his own way. He loved football.
• Football is a funny girl. Saw a play that last week Denver would intercept from Dak. Atlanta played it perfect, sent blitz, knew hot route, safety jumped slant, hit him in chest, but he dropped it. That was an interception last week with Denver. Falcons went for it and failed. Last week Cowboys couldn't get any 4th downs done. All these little things happen. Sometimes she helps you, sometimes she burns you.
• This game showed me this is a different football team. "Hold my beer. I'm going to show everyone who we are." To compete at such a high level and leave NO doubt this is one of the best teams in football.
• Give Coach Mike some love! He got the troops stepped back in line this year. People were ready to send Mike off to middle of nowhere. Coach of the Year. Coach Mike is very smart with analytics on 4th down. And when it doesn't work, it doesn't scare him.
• Biggest fear for opponents when they play Cowboys is how do I keep up? Denver never had that issue. Atlanta pulled Matt Ryan out in 4th because they knew they didn't have a chance in hell.
• Arthur knew he had to go for that 4th and 7 because he didn't have the hogs to hang. They knew they were chum in the water.
• I look at Denver as a game we should have already had. We should have lost against Vikings.
• Our running game didn't dominate Atlanta. Even Dak didn't have 300 yards. But it was so efficient. And then the ST teams play. 3 interceptions, turnover on downs from defense. All units did their contribution.
• Dak had 6 guys with 2+ receptions. Makes it so hard for a defense to key in on certain players when Dak spreads the ball like that.
• Some WRs, you can't explain it, they're always that 'Johnny on the Spot guy.' Always have that connection where the open space is. That's Gallup. Laurent Robinson was that guy when I played. He had that one 1,000 yard year with Romo and got paid. I'm still bitter about that. (joking)
• One of sweetest plays of game: Dak knew what the coverage was for CeeDee Lamb's touchdown in back of endzone. He is on a different level. He was retreating as soon as he got the ball. He was back pedaling just waiting for perfect moment and made throw so CeeDee could locate it. Had to be patient, if he rushes it, they know its zero coverage and a corner will jump it.
• Trophy for this game with Texas roots. Hunt and Jones family are neighbors. Hunts from Dallas. Been a while since they've played this game.
• If KC leaves Chris Jones in middle, might be a headache for us.
• My game in my career like Sunday was against Atlanta too. I remember because we just signed that returner. I remember because Patrick Crayton is a good friend of mine and was pissed.