Edwards: Cowboys Made Mistake In Paying Dak & CeeDee

Mr. Edwards, thank you for taking the time, coach. My pleasure.

Thanks for having me, my friend. No doubt about it, I guess the first question, one of the top of line items right now is finding out that Shane Waldron is no longer the offensive coordinator of the Chicago Bears. This obviously affects Caleb Williams. What is your evaluation of what we've seen so far from Caleb as well as the Chicago Bears as they've been scuffling? I think about rookie quarterbacks, now Jayden Daniels is kind of a step above all these guys right now. And then I thought he hit a spot where the game slowed down for him. He was starting to play better.

And then the loss against the Patriots was a little bit of a head scratcher. And I just think that when you look at all these young quarterbacks, you got Daniels in Washington, you got Drake May with the Patriots, Bo Nix, Denver, Caleb there with the Bears, and Levis with Tennessee. All of them are playing, now Jayden's above all of them right now when you look at his numbers, but most of them are right around the same number. Look, Jayden's nine touchdowns, throwing one and four running. What he doesn't do, and he didn't do it in college, he had to turn the ball over and two interceptions. Drake May, seven touchdowns, five interceptions. Bo Nix, ten touchdowns, six interceptions. Caleb Williams, nine touchdowns, five interceptions.

And Levis, seven touchdowns, seven interceptions. And that's what it looks like. And now the team that's in the hunt is Washington. Washington is there in the NFC East, and we thought this division was going to be between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Dallas Cowboys, but the Dallas Cowboys have lost four in a row.

They might be done, they are done. And Washington are the two teams in the NFC East, the Eagles and the Commanders trying to figure out who's going to win the division. Herm Edwards is here with us, the JR sport re-show. Coast to Coast, you talk about the development of these young quarterbacks. There's only one Jayden Daniels, we got Caleb Williams here. We saw what CJ Stroud did last year. Are quarterbacks being asked to do too much too soon as it relates to their development, or is it strictly about, hey, we're paying them so much money, we need these results ASAP? Well, quarterbacks have a lot to do with the system that you're asking them to play in.

And if you're not putting them in a system that allows them to flourish or play well, then you've got a problem. And Jayden has a unique situation with Cliff Kingsbury. You know, Cliff Kingsbury in college had a mobile quarterback in Murray. Cliff Kingsbury was at Arizona when I was the head coach at Arizona State. He knows Jayden. He watched Jayden in college. So now he's the coordinator with Washington. So he's built the offense around Jayden's skill set.

Drake May is in a situation with New England. You know, the quarterback is tied to the coordinator. But the coordinator has to be understandable and understand my system has to be flexible enough to allow this quarterback to be successful.

And I might have to give him some things that maybe I didn't want to do before. You know, here's a prime example of it. When you think about Russell Wilson, okay, Russell Wilson, veteran quarterback. He goes to Denver with Sean Payton, quarterback whisperer.

Sean Payton is a West Coast guy. He's a West Coast offense guru. He wants a quarterback to get the ball out of his hand, all these things. That is not the strength of Russell Wilson. Russell Wilson is a guy that wants to throw the ball down the field. And now he's at a place in Pittsburgh, the same kind of offense he ran where?

In Seattle. They ran the ball, they played good defense, I can throw the ball down the field. Well, now he looks like Russell Wilson again.

Kind of interesting. Without a shadow of a doubt, former head coach Herman Edwards is here with us on the JR Sportbreeze show. Someone else known to throw that football is Patrick Mahomes. All by his standards, this might be an undefeated team.

But there are critics who look at him and go, Oh, my God, he's not the same guy. Oh, 12 touchdowns, nine interceptions. When you see the Chiefs, all I see is wins.

What do you see, coach? That right now, they're a team that knows how to win. And in big moments, they make the plays necessary to win. And that's the key to winning. Bottom line, that's what the good teams do. You look at any team historically in any sport, when games are close. And sometimes these games are closer than you could imagine to think that this game should be over.

Why are these guys letting them hang around? And you're talking about Patrick Mahomes, the best quarterback on the planet. And he doesn't have the numbers that everybody thinks he should have. But he has the one number.

They're 9-0. And here's what I keep telling everybody. Well, okay, you don't like the way he's playing. What if he starts playing really good? Then what's going to happen?

You got a problem. It's going to be scary. Well, we know the teams that are typically in competition with the Chiefs, it's the usual suspects. The Bills are a quiet 8-2.

We see Lamar Jackson having a ridiculous season, another MVB caliber year. What team out of the AFC do you think has the best chance of knocking the Chiefs off? Well, I think obviously the game this week, I think the Buffalo Bills can get them in Buffalo.

The Ravens obviously, Lamar Jackson, the way he's playing. I don't count the first game of the season when Kansas City beat them. I mean, I don't even start counting games until after the fourth week because these guys don't play in the preseason anymore. So you don't know what type of team you got. I mean, they don't play. So the first regular season games to me, the preseason. The problem is they can't because the players don't play football anymore. So I don't count those games. The first four, I throw them out the window.

They don't matter to me. Now, the season started now. Now we know we got eight games left. There are teams in position to win divisions. Some teams have already won the division. And the fact that no one's going to catch them, I mean the Buffalo Bills might be one of those teams. The Kansas City Chiefs, kind of interesting. I mean, I think they win this division.

And I think there's a team, look, and I said before the season, I said, you better be worried about those Chargers. They're going to be better. They are better. They're better. And everybody said, nah, that's going to be too fast.

No, it's not. No, they got some talented players. Coach is going to come in there with his program and they're going to be a tougher football team. They're playing excellent defense. They're going to run the ball. They're going to, you know, control the line of scrimmage.

And the quarterback's going to play better because they're not going to put it all on his shoulders. They're not going to ask him, you just got to drive the car, man. You just drive the car. Everything around you will work. You just drive the car.

Do what you need to do. So that's a team that's kind of interesting. Houston, obviously they're going to run away with that division. That was a bad loss for them. You know, you get five turnovers at home against Detroit and you can't win that game. That was a bad loss. And they haven't scored in the last two weeks, the second half.

So they got to get back in the meeting rooms and figure out what's wrong with that. I think Pittsburgh is coming, but I don't know if Pittsburgh can, you know, I don't know if they can overtake the Ravens, obviously. And you already talked about the Buffalo Bills. So to me, those are the teams that are kind of hovering right now.

Herm Edwards is here with us on the JR Sport Brief Show. You talk about the team that took the Texas lunch money. That happens to be those lines, despite the five interceptions from Goff.

They're still lighting up the scoreboard. We know the Niners are getting healthy. Who do you see in control of the NFC? Well, best team, for me right now, if you just look, if you just listen to your eyes and you watch all these teams play in the NFC or the AFC, who's the best team?

Just be truthful. It doesn't matter. It's the Lions. It's the Lions. They're the best team. They're the most complete team right now. And they're playing that way. And their defense is much improved.

Aaron Glenn has done a nice job with his defense. And remember, they lost their best defensive player. He's not even available. He hurt.

He's out for the year. So the Lions are a team right now, in my opinion. You know, they're the best team. Now, we've still got a lot of football left. There ain't no doubt about that.

I know the Lions turned that ball over five times against the 49ers or the Philadelphia Eagles or the Washington Commanders. They're going to lose that game. I know that much. But obviously, they're a team. And I think they don't get enough credit for the talent they have. They have a lot of talent on both sides of the ball. Well, they're tough and physical.

They're bad. But they have talent that's skilled players. They've got a good offensive line. I mean, they're just a team that's playing very well right now. Lord Herm, I got to ask you about a team that you used to coach. They have hit the skids another year. Not looking good for the Jets. You have coached in the market. You are familiar with the market and the team.

What do you think happens in the future with these Jets, especially knowing the personality of Rodgers and historically what the squad has been? Well, I think you've got to let the season play out and evaluate this football team because they've got a lot of nice pieces. They really do. They're talented all over the place. But I've always said this in sports. It's great to have talent, but teams win. Teams win.

Okay? Let's just always remember that. You can just go back and look at sports and any sport that you follow. There's a lot of talented teams that have never reached their potential because they've got talent, but they don't play together as a team. This is a team that has some talent.

There's no doubt about it. I think the season will end. We'll see how many games they can win. And then the question you're going to have to ask yourself, if you're the Jets, do we continue to do this with a 41-year-old quarterback? That's the question you're going to have to ask yourself. And only management can answer that. The GM's going to have to answer that.

Aaron Rodgers obviously will be in the conversation. If you want to come back, I don't know if they're going to get in the playoffs. It's going to be very difficult. But that's the question you're going to have to ask. And if you're in New York, you're going to have to ask the same question. You're a New York team.

You're in the New York market. You're a 2-A football team. Your best player got in the taxicab, and you basically sent him to Philadelphia. And he's flourishing in Philadelphia. And you decided to stay with the quarterback. That's fine.

Now, are you going to continue to do that? They're on a five-game losing streak right now. So when you're in New York, if you're a sporting team, you know New York's different. You know that as a player. You know that as a coach.

You know that as management. New York fans are quite unique. So both these teams right now are struggling. Yeah, the only good team in New York happens to be in western New York or the state.

There you go. That's the Buffalo Bills. Hey, Herman, as we start to wrap things up, I want to talk about someone who you used to work with, Antonio Pierce. We see what he's doing out with the Raiders trying to turn things around and players getting traded. Luke Getze, the offensive coordinator, is done. What are your thoughts on how he can right the ship? Of course, this is his first year.

No ship goes through smooth sailing. What are your thoughts on how the Raiders can get things together? Well, I just think obviously it's going to start with the offseason and them figuring out how to get a quarterback, right? I think, you know, this is a very competitive team.

Not no shame of it all now. They got to win a game or two just to get them feeling better about themselves because they've lost five in a row. And you know, that's a tough role to hold. I mean, you've lost five in a row. They're like the Giants. Giants have lost five in a row. You know, those are the two teams that have lost five in a row.

The Raiders, obviously, and the Giants. And so they got to get a win just for the locker room. Look, they're not going to the playoffs.

We know that. But I think if you're Antonio and you're the management, now you're evaluating the players. You're evaluating the guys that continue to put their professional ability out there and continue to compete because you find out a lot about your locker room. To be quite honest, when you're a two and seven football team and you lost five in a row, you figure out who your leaders are.

You figure out the guys that have already tapped out that are just playing out the string, you know, wanting to get home for Christmas. That's all a part of it. I mean, it's the truth.

It's a whole part of it. You know that. And you you always tell players they look at the end of the day.

You got to remember this man. The name on the back of that jersey belongs to you. And when you go out on that in the arena, you're representing not only this organization, but you represent yourself as a professional football player. And when people watch you and I'm talking about the professionals that watch you, the guys you play against and when you're on tape and at other teams watching you, they know if you tapped out or not.

So don't fool yourself. Well, I got to ask you this in finality. I think this team is pretty much tapped out on the season, but the soap opera goes on. When and how can the tide turn for the Dallas Cowboys? Now they're talking about the sun coming through the stadium and the coach doesn't know the sun where it is. When does the soap opera stop?

It continues. These are the Dallas Cowboys, right? And it's a shame because here again, this is another team with a lot of talent. But I think Jerry's going to have to make some tough decisions. You know, at the end of the season, what he wants to do.

Obviously, you know, it's always the coach first, but then you got to make some decisions on some players as well. Now, he's paid a few already, but there's a few obviously asking for more. And, you know, this is what I said earlier in the season. I said, look, if you're Jerry Jones, you know, if I was management, I wouldn't have paid any of those guys.

Oh, wow. I'd have played out the season because, you know, he's been good in this, paying his star players. But what is it getting us? I want to see him win. I want to see him get in the playoffs and win the playoff game. I'll pay him then because you have all these stars. But at the end, it's the same result.

They get more money, but it's the same result. You're watching the playoffs at home. So, I mean, I'm a player.

I'm also the players. But if I put my management hat on, I'd go, wait a minute, I got all these good players, but we get the same old record all the time. We can't win in the playoffs.

And this year we ain't even getting to the playoffs. And I paid two of my stars already. I got some more guys won some money. I'm going to pay those guys too?

For what? Yeah, I guess this year, the difference is the Cowboys won't get to those 12 wins or the playoffs. So I guess this year will be a little different. Yeah, well, I certainly will be.

I mean, I don't know. And they got a lot of issues, man, that Jerry's going to have to look at. And this is why he's the owner. He's going to have to figure out what direction you want to go in with this football team and some of the players on the team. That's his decision. It's his team.

But it's the same old result. Maybe a worse year than they anticipated than any of us anticipated. We thought this division was going to be highly contested by the Philadelphia Eagles and the Dallas Cowboys. And the commanders have taken the Dallas Cowboys spot. I guess all things considered, the first thing Jerry Jones could do is, I don't know, like buy a gigantic shade, but we'll see how that happens.

Hey, Herm, thank you so much for the time. Where can people find you, watch you, follow you, all that good stuff? Man, look, they can watch me on ESPN. That's about it. I don't do a whole lot of that social media stuff. I kind of stay away from that. I'm an old school guy.

I do my TV part and that's about it. Hey, Herm, we appreciate the time and you enjoy the rest of the season. We'll catch you down the line. Okay, have a good evening. You too, my friend. Thank you.