- 2 days ago
Babe Laufenberg joined The K&C Masterpiece to discuss the Cowboys/Buccaneers upcoming matchup. Laufenberg discussed offensive line depth, Dak Prescott, defensive struggles, and more.
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00:00Let's chat with Dallas Cowboys broadcaster, former Cowboys quarterback, master teller of stories.
00:08He's here on a game day. It is Babe Laufenberg. Good afternoon, sir.
00:13Good afternoon, gentlemen. And let me just start by saying, you know, I enjoy the Monday night games and the
00:18Thursday night games.
00:19Obviously, if the Cowboys are playing on a Sunday, you know, I don't get to watch all the games during
00:23the day, right?
00:24You're not there three hours early to drive home. Now I've watched stuff during the week. I watch the highlights
00:28that night.
00:29So all this week I've been saying to myself, gosh, who's the Thursday game this week?
00:35And then I'm like, oh, wait a minute, where's the Thursday game?
00:37So I will get to watch it, and I get to watch it in person, I guess, today.
00:41That's a good thing. That's a good thing.
00:43Babe, I wanted to start off with this question from the fan text real quick.
00:47From the 512, ask Babe, why do they have to wear a coat and tie to broadcast a game that's
00:54on radio?
00:55Inquiring minds want to know.
00:56And I don't know, there's a couple, I wanted to give you a little back story here, babe.
01:02I don't know if you do wear the coat and tie the entire game, but you came to speak to
01:07Hank Dickinson's class when I was at the University of North Texas,
01:10and you brought Dandy Killeen with you, and you said, always have a couple of shirts, a couple of black
01:17and blue coat, and a few ties.
01:19You just always want to look presentable.
01:22And that was something that always stuck with me.
01:24Well, let me just clarify, I did not bring Dandy Killeen with me.
01:28Dandy Killeen is the king of North Texas.
01:30He brought me with him.
01:32That is true.
01:33You know, that was in the day I was doing TV.
01:35So you never wanted to be in a situation where you go, you cover something, you're having lunch, and then
01:41you're going to go into the station or whatever, and then you spill on your shirt.
01:43Right.
01:43Yeah.
01:44So that's why I always kept that.
01:46Now, let me just tell you quickly, I do wear a coat and tie.
01:49I've worn a coat and tie to every game I've ever done for the Cowboys.
01:55And I always believed, and this started way back in my radio days.
01:59I started out doing radio at KZPS when I first finished playing, and that was back in the day when
02:04you did sports, news, weather.
02:06Anyway, our morning DJ said, I found out a long time ago, if you dress like the morning DJ,
02:12which basically meant don't brush your teeth, don't comb your hair when you get up in the morning.
02:19He said, they're going to treat you like the morning DJ.
02:21So we always just had a nice go.
02:22So when I show up at the game tonight, I'm going to be dressed no different than Kirk Herbstreet or
02:27Al Michaels.
02:28And people, when you go to a game and you're in a coat and tie, okay, especially summer, outdoors, whatever,
02:35people just let you do whatever you want.
02:37There you go.
02:38They say, okay, he must have a reason for being here.
02:42They don't even check your ID.
02:43I'll go ahead.
02:43Go ahead.
02:44Nobody wears a coat in time.
02:45Oh, man.
02:47It's like walking in with a ladder, Kevin.
02:49People just let the ladder guy go.
02:51Yes.
02:52You always want to look like you belong.
02:55Can I tell a Jason Garrett story quickly?
02:56Sure.
02:58Okay, I'm going to try to make this very succinct.
03:0120 seconds is a yellow light.
03:0240 seconds is a red light.
03:04So Jason was telling me the story years ago.
03:06He's playing for the Giants.
03:07He gives a family friend tickets to the Giants game.
03:10The guy says, hey, I have tickets to the, I'm a season ticket holder for the Metropolitan Opera or whatever.
03:16So he goes after the season, gets tickets.
03:18He goes.
03:19And the guy tells him there's a little VIP reception next door for the season ticket holders.
03:23So Jason's in the room, right?
03:27And he said, Bambino.
03:28He said, I'm not, I'm dressed nice.
03:30But he said, people are dressed to the nines.
03:32He said, they're walking around.
03:33They've got these shrimp cocktails and caviar and champagne.
03:37And I said, it was really great.
03:40And he said, the show was like eight o'clock.
03:42And he said, about 745.
03:44I'm thinking, no, we're getting pretty close.
03:47And then at 750, he says to one of the workers there, hey, are they going to ring the bell
03:51or something to let us know when to go in?
03:53And the guy says, what are you talking about?
03:55Long and short, he was in the, he was in the East Wing.
03:58The reception was in, he crashed the party.
04:00Oh, no.
04:02But he looked like he belonged.
04:03That's the whole point.
04:04You just say, hey, can I, hey, a little more caviar over here there, mister?
04:09Oh, yes.
04:09So that's why you wear a coat and tie to a gate.
04:11There you go, Kevin.
04:12Oh, my goodness.
04:13Lessons learned.
04:14That is amazing.
04:16I have a million of those Jason stories where he just stumbles into something and nobody ever questions it.
04:22But, yeah, my favorite Jason Garrett story ever is when we brought up that Dean Cain was, at the time,
04:35the NCAA's all-time leader in interceptions per game.
04:40And we were talking about it.
04:41He's like, you know, he dated Brooke Shields.
04:43And I just thoroughly enjoyed that statement.
04:49Early on in our careers, yeah.
04:51All right.
04:51That's not a bad double gig.
04:53You say, I was Superman in the movies and I dated Brooke Shields.
04:56Right.
04:57Absolutely.
04:58It's worked out.
04:58Now, for the Cowboys, they have been, with the exception of, you know, maybe the start and finish to that
05:06one game that we all got really frustrated about, incredibly efficient in the red zone.
05:11They are going up against a defense that has been really good at keeping opponents out of the end zone
05:17this season.
05:19Listen, Tampa Bay, fifth best opponent red zone percentage for touchdowns this year.
05:24What do you think gives in this matchup?
05:27Is it the Cowboys offense that takes over and continually gets into the end zone?
05:31Or do you think the Tampa Bay defense can hold them to a whole bunch of field goals?
05:36It's a good question.
05:38You know, really, this game in its most simplistic form is Dallas has a great offense and they have no
05:44defense.
05:45Tampa has a great defense and they have no offense.
05:48Right.
05:48So, which is going to win out?
05:50And, you know, that's when it played a game, right?
05:52So, we're going to get out there and it's not going to be easy scoring on Tampa and that defense
05:57is good.
05:57I think Todd Bowles, who, by the way, was a teammate of mine in Washington, he's one of the really
06:03great defensive coordinators.
06:04As a matter of fact, he doesn't even have a defensive coordinator.
06:08I could be wrong, but I think it's the only team that doesn't list someone.
06:11Now, Clayton Adams, for instance, is the offensive coordinator for the Cowboys, but he's not the play caller, right?
06:18Shoddy's the play caller.
06:19So, you kind of have that title and you do more than the assistant coach, per se, but...
06:25What do you do then?
06:27Sorry, babe.
06:27Todd Bowles doesn't even have a coordinator.
06:29He is the coordinator.
06:30Yeah.
06:30So, we were just talking about that because D'Amico Rides is like, I'm going to call plays for the
06:35defense, but they still have a DC.
06:36Like, what do the coordinators then head up if they're not calling the plays?
06:43It's just a way to get a pay raise.
06:45You put that next to your name and then they say, hey, I'm a coordinator, give me, I need more
06:48money from, you know.
06:50No, there is, trust me, they are doing, you know, Clayton Adams is a big part in that offense, but
06:55when it comes game time, you know, if you're not calling the plays, your rear end is not on the
07:01line the way the play caller is.
07:03The way we saw Schottenheimer's rear end on the line, right?
07:07A couple weeks ago against Baltimore.
07:08Yeah.
07:11The Tyler Smith been activated.
07:16How much of a...
07:18Or that's what Ian Rapoport has reported this morning, but I think we're all in agreement.
07:22Yeah, he's playing.
07:23How much of a...
07:25I can break news on both fronts.
07:28Okay.
07:29Tyler Smith will play tonight.
07:31Babe Waffenberg will not.
07:32You can sharpie those in.
07:34All right, got to go back to Kalshi real quick.
07:38How big of an advantage does he give you?
07:41Like, what is it that is the difference between maybe him and Bass?
07:46And I have this question.
07:48Does it hurt at all that he's playing his first game this year?
07:53You know, you're obviously not going to be as sharp as you would if you had been playing all along.
07:58The good thing about that injury that he had to that thumb is you can still do your conditioning.
08:04You know, it becomes difficult if you're coming back from a hamstring, an ankle, any, obviously, lower body injury.
08:10Your conditioning is not going to hold up.
08:12But he's been able to condition.
08:14Now, let me just say this.
08:16Conditioning and being on the ropes and off to the side and running some sprints is not the same conditioning
08:21as playing an NFL football game.
08:23But he should be pretty good there.
08:26And what he gives you...
08:27And T.J. Bass, hey, he was solid.
08:29There's a reason why the Cowboys, you know, tended him as a second...
08:33Tendered him, excuse me, as a second rounder and made it a priority to re-sign him.
08:37He played well, but, you know, Tyler Smith, maybe he's one of the best guards in the NFL, okay?
08:45I don't know if he's number one, two, three, but he's certainly a top five NFL guard.
08:50And he's just going to make it better.
08:51And I think he'll help the run game.
08:53You know, he's just a more powerful player than T.J. Bass is.
08:57And right next to him, what have you thought about the play of Tyler Guyton, not only at the line
09:05of scrimmage, but obviously you go back to that Texans game, you can find a couple of different plays.
09:10But I know you tweeted out one of them where he just continues to pull that block, not only about
09:17eight yards down the field, but also all the way off the sideline.
09:22It was like the linebacker said, hey, can you tell me where my seed is?
09:28And Tyler Guyton said, sure.
09:29And I mean, he didn't just take him to the sideline or through the sideline or through the bench.
09:33It was almost like he sat him in the stands.
09:35It was unbelievable.
09:36I'm never one of those that say, hey, check my Twitter out.
09:38But if you want to check the play out, it is on my Twitter, at Babe Laufenberg.
09:43And it was just unbelievable.
09:45The other thing about Tyler, he's playing great, obviously.
09:48But he's only had one penalty.
09:50And that was problematic for him last year.
09:53He was good for one penalty a game, and those are killers.
09:57But he's only had one penalty in the first four games.
09:59Now, as I say that, he's going to get three tonight, and you guys are going to say that.
10:02Damn, babe.
10:04That is the curse of being a broadcaster.
10:05You'll be back tomorrow to answer for that.
10:08A broadcaster's curse.
10:09Hey, can I apologize ahead of time since I'm not doing the Friday show?
10:13Yeah, that sounds good.
10:14Babe, you tweeted this out earlier in the week,
10:17and I just kind of thought it was very interesting.
10:20The offense ran 78 plays against Houston.
10:24The defense had, what, 55, I think is what you said?
10:27Yeah, yep.
10:28How do you, in a short week after running that many plays,
10:31how do you get your legs back?
10:33What does the weekly thing go through?
10:36Emmitt was one of those to get quad massages and all those things.
10:40What do these guys do to prep their body for something like that?
10:44Yeah, I mean, you just, all the massages and the diet,
10:47everything is so much better today than it was, right?
10:51I mean, before you got your legs back by drinking more beer.
10:54Yeah, that's the way.
10:55I always tell the story.
10:56When I was in Washington, okay, I get drafted in 1983,
10:59and I'm in there.
11:01Lunch, they brought in McDonald's.
11:03Nice.
11:04That's what we had for lunch.
11:05Crispy fries.
11:06You think, well, and I was, you know, quarter pound, no, you know,
11:10I mean, the boxes were huge.
11:11I mean, they were like, they were like,
11:13like you've got that pod thing in front of your house.
11:19They were that big.
11:20This thing would back in.
11:21It was like they backed up an 18-wheeler,
11:23and there were 48,000 quarter pounders with cheese and Big Macs and fries.
11:28And I say, if you want to be super healthy, you've got the Filet-O-Fish.
11:32But times have changed.
11:34Right, right.
11:36But 78 plays, that's a lot of plays to go through to try to get your legs back
11:39four days later.
11:41And I'm sure they're all going to somewhat struggle with it.
11:44And maybe no one more than CeeDee Lamb,
11:46since he went for about 4,000 yards in that last game.
11:49Okay.
11:49We're expecting a big game from Pickens then, right?
11:52All right.
11:52So then that's my question.
11:55Surely at some point,
11:56teams will stop continuing to roll their coverage toward George Pickens.
12:01And I guess if they don't, will CeeDee Lamb just continue to crush opponents?
12:08Well, okay.
12:10In that Houston game, he caught 17 passes, right?
12:14We know that.
12:1517 completions.
12:16On all 17, he was never pressed.
12:18They never had a guy up on the line of scrimmage on him, redirecting him, rerouting him.
12:23It was just shocking how they just let him get into his route every time.
12:28They never pressed him on those.
12:31And there wasn't a single completion where he was pressed.
12:35You know, you just can't let him have a free run the whole game.
12:38And they did.
12:39And he caught 17 passes.
12:40But, you know, it's going to go back and forth between the two.
12:43Pickens is going to have a big game.
12:46You know, it's coming.
12:47We know that.
12:48I don't know when.
12:49I would have thought he would have had won four games in.
12:51But at some point, you know, things are going to open up where he starts getting the ball.
12:55You know, the interesting thing is, since they've been together, and obviously it was just last season and four games
12:59this year,
13:00they've never had 100 yards together in the same game.
13:04They've each had, obviously, multiple 100-yard games.
13:06I think Pickens had five last year.
13:08But they've never been together.
13:10So, you know, they're going to spread that ball around a little bit.
13:13One guy is going to have the big game one week.
13:15And the next week, it's going to be the other guy.
13:18How excited are you to see more Joey Porter Jr.?
13:21Because I know we've talked ad nauseum already about the struggles of the defense.
13:25I think they've shown some flashes here or there in the run stop, especially going back to that Baltimore game.
13:31But having somebody like Joey Porter Jr. feels like a help the more we get to see him.
13:36Oh, no question.
13:37And pretty phenomenal last week.
13:40You know, he was here for three days.
13:41Right.
13:42You know, you think about it, too.
13:43People don't understand.
13:46You know, he's trying to get set up.
13:48You're trying to get your clothes, right?
13:49I mean, you're trying to get clothes sent down to you, and you're staying in a hotel, and you're trying
13:54to figure out, okay, where's the bathroom?
13:56All this stuff going on.
13:57Three days later, you're playing an NFL game.
14:00So that's difficult.
14:02And learning the defense, all those things.
14:04But there's no question, obviously, he's going to help.
14:07He's a really good player.
14:09And I'm excited to see him play 25 snaps last week.
14:13I would think that will increase this week.
14:15The shame is it's a short work week, so, you know, if he had had a full week, get a
14:19little more of that defense down and that type of things.
14:22But, yeah.
14:23The other thing, this defense has been so bad in the past defense.
14:27Yes.
14:28They've allowed a passer rating of 123, okay?
14:32It's the worst in the NFL.
14:34Matthew Stafford was the NFL MVP last year.
14:37He had a passer rating of 109.
14:40So that gives you a little perspective on just how bad they've been in past defense.
14:45Yeah, if they'll get you like that sometimes.
14:47Oh, man.
14:48The long and short is Joey Porter's going to help that.
14:51Well, and I was on the Cowboys crosstalk last night with James Washington.
14:55I maybe said 10 words the whole night.
14:58James Washington, he did a very good job of entertaining last night.
15:01But he was talking about, you know, that secondary and how young they were whenever he was playing and talking
15:07about Woodson was a rookie and just going through the group.
15:10And he was like, I was kind of in charge of that group at the time.
15:14And I'm watching Caleb Downs, you know, try and take command of this young group and get them all together.
15:20The question, though, that Bobby, I think, asked James was what's going to create them being a good defense together.
15:27And it just doesn't it feel like it's just them playing together more and knowing what their roles are and
15:33their responsibilities?
15:35Doesn't that feel like that's going to be the thing?
15:37Healthy, obviously, is going to be is going to make them a better defense because they have some talent there.
15:42Yeah, the talent is you can't even begin to compare it to last year.
15:46It's night and day.
15:47But the results are the same.
15:49Right. Yeah.
15:51And, you know, after week one, you said, well, week two, they'll they'll settle down.
15:55They won't have the communication issues.
15:56And then here comes week three.
15:58And, well, we think they gave up all these points to Baltimore.
16:01And well, here comes week four.
16:02And C.J. Stroud looked like the C.J. Stroud, his rookie year.
16:07I mean, they're making these guys look good.
16:10The other part, I just quickly about, well, it'll get better.
16:13It'll get better.
16:15I'll never forget.
16:15I was talking to Ron Washington one year.
16:18We were just talking off the side.
16:19I always had a great relationship.
16:20Oh, I love Washington.
16:21And we had a great relationship.
16:23And we're just we're just talking.
16:24And we're on the field before a game.
16:26And there were maybe 30 games into it.
16:29You know, we're maybe early May, whatever it was.
16:31And he was, you know, bemoaning.
16:35They were not playing well.
16:36They were not winning games.
16:38And they weren't hitting well.
16:40And I said to Walsh, I said, well, Walsh, you know, at the end of the year, I mean,
16:43Michael Young's going to bat 300.
16:44And he's going to have 200 hits.
16:47You just know that he's coming around a couple other guys.
16:49And Walsh, in his colorful language, of course.
16:52He said, babe, I can't have to wait around for the end of the year.
16:56We've got to win now.
16:58I can't do a Walsh.
17:00So the long and short is, it's like, okay, they'll be better next week.
17:03They'll be better next week.
17:05And, I mean, I hope they will, right?
17:07And they should be and all that.
17:10But, you know, it has not been good for four weeks.
17:13And, hey, sometimes the light at the end of the tunnel is a train coming in the opposite direction.
17:22Are we going to talk a little Daniels?
17:24Are we going to talk about their quarterback?
17:27Oh, yeah.
17:27Do you think he's going to run for 100 yards today?
17:31Well, you know, the Cowboys have given up the most rushing yards.
17:34Oh, I'm well aware, yeah.
17:36But let me say this, too.
17:37You know, they've come up against Lamar Jackson and, you know, Jackson Dart.
17:45I'm getting all confused on these.
17:46Jalen Daniels.
17:47Jalen Daniels for half a game.
17:49So they've come up on these running quarterbacks that are going to get their yards.
17:54And Jalen Daniels is going to get his yards tonight.
17:56But I got some bad news for you and some good news.
17:59Okay, you ready?
18:00Yep.
18:00Ready for the bad news?
18:01Yep.
18:03Okay, quarterbacks who did not start in the season opener are 9-2 this year.
18:08So guys get hurt.
18:09The other guy comes in as starters, they're 9-2.
18:12That's pretty good.
18:14Yeah.
18:15That's bad news for the Cowboys.
18:17Oh, no.
18:18Yeah, Jalen Daniels didn't start.
18:20Now, here's the good news.
18:21Of those two losses, Jalen Daniels has one of them.
18:25Okay.
18:25All right.
18:26There you go.
18:26I'll accept.
18:27I feel better.
18:27Yeah, that makes me feel a little bit better about this.
18:29Plus, hey.
18:31And you know what's funny?
18:32Everybody, he started against Green Bay last year.
18:36And really an impossible situation.
18:38Impossible.
18:39You're playing an undrafted rookie, getting his first start in the NFL.
18:43I wouldn't care if he was a number one overall pick.
18:45Week four, you get thrust into the starting lineup.
18:48And Green Bay blitzed him.
18:49And Green Bay is not a big blitz team.
18:51But I'm always of the philosophy.
18:52If you get a guy like that, make him read things out.
18:55Make him, you know, because if you come after him, and we just got one-on-one,
18:59you throw the ball up in the air, and all of a sudden, your corner slips, or whatever
19:02the case may be, and there's a 70-yard touchdown.
19:06I want to make him read things out.
19:08Make him on a drive.
19:09I want him to complete four third-down passes.
19:12You know, you get him to third down.
19:14Eventually, you're going to get him off the field.
19:16Because he's just not prepared to read the coverage and complete balls on third down four
19:22times in the drive.
19:23I always remember John Elway said, hey, they pay me for third down.
19:27Exactly.
19:28But it's true.
19:28We can run boots on first down and do all these different things and quick screen.
19:33But all of a sudden, it's third and eight.
19:34You've got to put your foot in the ground and find a guy down the field.
19:37They pay me for third down.
19:39Got to make a big-time throw.
19:40Well, I like the matchup against the Bucs because they have no wins.
19:44And every team the Cowboys have beaten so far have had no wins at the time.
19:48You didn't have to throw that in there, dude.
19:50I'm feeling good about this.
19:51But can I tell you this?
19:52What's the line tonight?
19:53I'm not a gambler.
19:54I'm not allowed to.
19:55What is it, like, eight or nine or something?
19:57Good answer.
19:58It's eight and a half is the last I saw.
20:00Eight and a half.
20:01Okay.
20:02Oh, it's up to nine and a half.
20:05Nine and a half.
20:06Okay.
20:08Tampa Bay has played one possession games for their last ten games.
20:15One possession at the end of the game.
20:17It's the longest streak right now going.
20:20But they don't lose by a touchdown.
20:24Now, the problem is in those ten games that they played, they're two and eight.
20:28Yeah.
20:28They lose.
20:29They don't lose by a touchdown.
20:31No, but they, I mean, they're keeping it.
20:34They keep it closed.
20:35And in large part because the defense keeps them in the games.
20:38That could be it tonight, Kevin.
20:40That absolutely could.
20:41All right.
20:41I'm going to go out on a limb and say that trend gets broken tonight.
20:45But we'll see.
20:46We'll see.
20:47We shall see.
20:48You bring great information to the table.
20:51As always, good sir.
20:52We'll miss you tomorrow.
20:53But we look forward to hearing you on the call this evening.
20:57And I know we're used to the Friday 1220 hit.
21:00And people have always accused me of being a day late and a dollar short.
21:03But, hey, I'm a day early.
21:05Yeah, look at that, man.
21:06Look at that.
21:06Hey, I'm about him.
21:08Appreciate it.
21:08Let me clarify.
21:09I'm still a dollar short.
21:10Well, we'll see about that because I'll text you about something that I think could make up for all of
21:15that.
21:16All right.
21:16Thank you very much, good sir.
21:17We appreciate you.
21:19Thank you, guys.
21:19Appreciate it.