GBag Nation
Dallas Cowboys LB Eric Kendricks joins the Nation to talk Ravens/Cowboys fallout; thoughts on what needs to improve for the Defense; preparing for games; and more
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Post-season baseball is here and it is the absolute best time of the year. I'm Rod Bradford of Baseball's and Boring, and we're gonna have you covered every step of the way with instant reactions from players and coaches and managers and fans and reporters and everybody else who is immersed in this awesomeness and all the craziness that comes with October baseball. So follow baseball as I'm Boring in the free Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcasts. (upbeat music) Here we go, it's hour four of the GBAC Nation here on your home of the Cowboys 1053, the fan. About 20 minutes away from the Expressway LA lives coming up at 540 right now. It's time for the Cowboys player show and Eric Kendrix joining us once again here on the fan. - What's up? - Good afternoon sir, how the heck are ya? - Pretty good. - Right on. - Practice to go well and everything? - Practice went well. I think we had rain one or two days ago, so this humidity, you know, still trying to get used to it. - Yeah, yeah, a couple of more weeks here before we're in the clear. - Yeah, someone just told me it wasn't human today though, so, you know, I find that hard to believe. - Yeah, yeah, I don't know. Maybe that was somebody from Houston, but we're it's even worse. - 'Cause that's exactly what it was. (laughing) - There you go. - It's Eric Kendrix here. You know, there's been a lot of talk this week in the locker room about guys trying to be Superman or not just doing their job. What do you see as far as the reason that opposing running games have had so much success here in the last couple of weeks? - Yeah, you know, I feel like obviously we were presented with different challenges these past two weeks, but like you said, you know, I feel like, you know, guys need to settle down, you know, do our job, understand how people are gonna attack us now, and just have a physicality, have a mindset when it comes to the run. - From your experiences, you know, is there the ability to get significantly better at this while the season's already going on? - Oh yeah, for sure. You know, that's the beauty about, you know, this whole situation, obviously, this is not the situation we wanna be in, but at the same time, this is the reality of it, but, you know, it's the first three games, and we're heading into our fourth, and, you know, it's early, but, you know, we definitely, you know, have some work to do for sure. - Hypothetically, just football speaking, how difficult would it be in a fantasy world where you're trying to play linebacker and your defensive tackles aren't very good? Like just how difficult would that be, hypothetically? - I mean, hypothetically, I mean, we can go through hypotheticals all day, you know, I feel like, but, you know, I feel like that's not our situation, you know, we feel like we have, we have a lot of good guys, a lot of, you know, obviously it's a new scheme and things like that, and we're gonna see some new stuff opening up the season, but at the end of the day, you know, I feel like we have what we need, and it's about executing everyone doing their job, and then when the play presents itself, you know, if I'm doing my job, it gives somebody else the opportunity to make the play on the running back, or whoever it may be. - Eric, there was a lot of conversation from some of your teammates about attention to detail. I'm sure you guys had some conversations about that as well. Micah was talking about all 11 on the same page, no hero ball. Can you kind of let us insight on, when you watch on tape, what are some of the things that you're seeing that leads to people saying that that need to be corrected? - Yeah, you know, like, I mean, just from, you know, I just, you know, I'll talk about myself. You know, there was a couple plays early on where it was like, you know, when we go over the film and we rule it out, you know, I'm supposed to be doing one thing, but, you know, as the motions go on and as the heat of the game goes on, you know, you're trying to make a play, you're trying to do something else that you're not supposed to be doing, and you make, you know, you take two or three steps the wrong way, thinking that, you know, you can help make a play when in reality, you know, if I would have just stuck to my job, you know, it would have been cleaner overall. So I mean, you know, that was just, you know, you know, like I said, that was coming from me, so, and I've been in this defense, so it's just like, you know, comment down, you know, everybody, you know, we know the situation and everything like that, so, you know, everybody wants a certain outcome, and that's the, you know, when you have guys who are all wanting to win and all wanting to be, you know, there for their teammates, you know, you kind of have that sometimes, but everyone needs to know that, you know, it's actually by playing team football is when we're going to have the best success. - Eric, is it, you know, when you play on a Thursday night after a physical game against a physical team, you know, Sunday with the Ravens, is it harder for you mentally, or is it harder for you physically to get back on that horse on Thursday? - I don't know, you know, I feel like if you're built for it like me, you know, it's just, you just get ready. You know, it is what it is, you know, I can sit here and make every excuse in the book, but that game is not going to change days, you know, my body is my responsibility, so I need to get my, you know, my work in and get it feeling right for that game day, and mentally, you know, last week is last week, and now we have an opportunity to play, you know, the Giants on Thursday night, everybody's going to be watching, and, you know, it's a huge out. - You have a pretty stoic approach to football, is that a common theme in your life? - I mean, I feel like there's just a, I try to be, you know, I try to be a similar person, you know, coming to work every day, and I feel like that's why I've had the success I've had, is because when times are good, when times are bad, I rely on the same kind of process, you know, I'd obviously post-game, I'd give myself the, you know, those, that day or so to process how I'm feeling, you know, you know, maybe things are good, maybe things are bad, but either way I'm processing how I'm feeling, and then once that, once that we turn the page, it's like, okay, what do I need to do? I need to get my acupuncture, I need to get my body work, I need to, you know, hydrate, I need to eat, right, I need to do all the things where, you know, study my playbook, study my opponent, and it's like, I have to do these things on the week to week, and I can't really, you know, I can't really fade off one of the weeks or the other, because, you know, they're going to be, the other team's going to be taking advantage of that, and I feel like, oftentimes, you know, you hear about the rookie wall and things like that, and that's the thing I can kind of compare it to, and it's like, I remember when I was a rookie, and I didn't think I was going through it, I didn't think I was going through it, and all of a sudden, I had a little bit of a rib injury, and I was out for a week, and then, like, kind of the whole rush of the season kind of hit me, like, man, this is a long season, and it's like, no, you know, like, that's why you have to rely on your process, and you have to rely on your routine, because that'll carry you through. - It's Eric Hendricks here with you on the fan. Okay, what is the perfect weather to play a football game in? 'Cause I think you might have it Sunday, pretty good time of the year to be heading to New York, 71 degrees, partly cloudy. - Oh, yeah, I mean, come on, yeah, I feel like I may be a little crazy in this sense, but I feel like anywhere between 30 to, anywhere between 30 to 70 degrees, clear skies, I'm okay with. - That's the Minnesota year's talking right there. - And that's just because, like, sometimes when it's like 40 degrees, you know what I mean? 30 degrees, I even, I'm a little skewed, like I said. Let's go 40 degrees, 40 to 70, that's more reasonable, but like-- - Yeah, both freezing. - You get that, you get that brisk air, you know, and you get that, you know, and you can breathe a little bit better. You know, the sweating, the hydration is a little bit different of a factor, you know. Sometimes you got to hydrate so much. You're out in the field and you got a belly full of liquid, you know, it doesn't feel the best, but you need to do it to hydrate. - Yeah, I mean, what is, when it comes to the, like how cold can it be for you to be like, okay, I can justify wearing sleeves, or is there, is it never cold enough for that? - You can't, I can't justify myself to do that personally, you know, it's no sleeves no matter what. However, I think that any game, like my scale is any game above, any game above eight degrees I'm okay with. - Wow. - Wow. - That's great. - Okay, you more, are you more worried about your toes? See, I worked for the Packers, so five years of my life, I stood watching games on the sidelines there. Were you more worried about your toes or your fingers when you're playing in above eight degrees? - I think that it's just a matter of having a, you know, you got to stay warm in the sideline, obviously, that's the key, but like, if there's no wind and it's above eight, I feel like you could do a pretty good job of that. You know, obviously, when you're on the field, the key is to stay moving and stay, you know, you know, kind of stay bouncing around on the sideline, but like, you get the blanket, you get the, you know, the jacket. - You spent it over here. - Now at T-Mobile, get four 5G phones on us and four lines for $25 a line per month when you switch with eligible traders, all on America's largest 5G network. Minimum of four lines for $25 per line per month without a paid discount using debit or bank account, $5 more per line without auto pay, plus taxes and fees and $10 device connection charge. Phones will be at 24 monthly bill credits for well qualified customers. Contact us before canceling entire accounts to continue bill credits or credit stop and balance on a required finance agreement, too. Bill credits end if you pay off devices early. ctmobile.com. - Post season baseball is here and it is the absolute best time of the year. I'm Rob Bradford of Baseball's and Boring, and we're gonna have you covered every step of the way with instant reactions from players and coaches and managers and fans and reporters and everybody else who is immersed in this awesomeness and all the craziness that comes with October baseball. So follow baseballs and Boring in the free Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcasts. (upbeat music) - When you sit on the bench with the heat coming up to the feet, you can maintain, you know what I mean? And that's obviously my psycho skewed mindset being, you know, playing in maybe a 25. - I learned, I learned, you are psychotic. - Yeah, I learned you could take that cape, you could put it, you could almost make a tent out of it. You know, don't put it around your shoulders, but kind of make a tent with the air blows up into it. - Oh yeah. - So you're like, you're not, you sit on that jacket, it's not gonna, it's not gonna get you warm. I mean, you gotta make it kind of a tent out of it and then that way you can stay warm on the sidelines. - Definitely. - You get the belly full of liquids going. I mean, don't you wish they have that blue tent there for like the injury tent? Don't you wish they have like a little, little porta-john over there on the sidelines for you guys from time to time? Why the hell don't they? - Yeah, that's not an option, you know. You know, I think the thing is to get it done before you give, you know, obviously there's emergency situations, but um. - Yeah, tell me about those. - If you got a pee, you got a pee on yourself. - Okay, so Eric was trying to get you to say that. - Are you speaking for experience? - Yeah. - You're asking if I peed on myself before? - Yeah, you know. - Absolutely, okay. What about on the field, though? - On the field, that's what I'm saying. - I'm just kidding. - So you're just kind of like making a tackle or something. You know, I mean, if you're super, super hydrated, it's not like you're doing a full, you know, restroom on yourself, but. - Gotcha. - Yeah, I mean, I'll be lying if I said no. - Would you ever weaponize that against the opposition? - Never, never. (laughing) - No, I try to treat people how I want to be treated out there. (laughing) Everything's, all things fair and fair and square, you know, but at the same time, I'm not trying to, I'm not trying to do that. - Can you describe some of those piles, man? I know people are doing weird stuff. They're eye gouge and they're doing weird stuff. - Yeah. Yeah, you know, like when that ball's losing the pile, you know, it's fair game. It's everyone's trying to get that ball. So, you know, it's, yeah, I feel like it was a little bit crazier in college 'cause there was less money being taken away. But, you know, that, yeah, college was absolutely psycho. - Man, okay, so we had a spit gate go down with the Saints and Eagles game. Have you ever witnessed the spit-uation type of thing going down? - No, I think in high school, that was a thing, you know. I haven't, you know, or someone tried to poke my eyes in high school, I remember, but I got the visor now. It's a lot harder, and like I said, you know, we can get big funds now and other sorts of things. So, I'm just a little bit less than that. - It's Eric Kendrick's with us here on the fan. You mentioned high school football. So, did you grow up? Just, you were always that dude on your team. You play in both ways? I mean, what was that like? - I wouldn't say, I wouldn't say I always grew up that dude. You know, one of the things that I did have in his advantage was my brother, when my brother was, you know, going to be a senior, he was that dude. So, that kind of instilled confidence in me. Like, I play basketball against my brother. I do this against my brother. I beat him, you know? So, I was like, I'm, you know, my brothers looked at it like this, but I feel like I'm better. So, that, that instilled confidence in me, but, yeah, no, I feel like I was a late bloomer always. I, you know, my junior year, I started kind of getting, you know, a little bit of recognition. I started getting my first offers, my senior year in high school. So, you know, I was a little bit late to the, late to the party, but like I said, I was always a late bloomer going into college. You know, I was probably one of the lowest recruits in the, in the class, we had a UCLA. I got put on the red shirt list automatically, you know, they didn't even get a really fair shot at, you know, playing as a true freshman. And I just worked my way up the totem pole. - Yeah, you did. It's Eric Kendrick here with you on the fan. And it looks like you were a pretty good basketball player along the way, huh? - I was, I was pretty solid. You know, I had a, I played obviously for my school. And my senior year, we made it to state playoffs, but I also played for a, you team called Organized Chaos. And, yeah, I mean, we had some goons on that squad for sure. - Who did you ever come up against any players that turned out to be NBA guys or have anybody liked that on your team? - Yeah. We played against this guy. I think, no, what was his name? Josh Smith. Josh Smith was a, you know, his head is in high school. And I mean, we, I definitely played against a bunch of people, but I remember Josh Smith, it was my first game on varsity. And I went to pump fake and like his, like size 17 shoe or whatever it was, like was on, he stepped on my, my front foot. So I couldn't like really go anywhere because his foot was on top of my foot. So I put up this like little lazy shot and he just swatted my, he swatted it to the next, next court over, you know, it was like a bunch of scrimmages next, next to each other. And he just swatted it to the next game. (laughing) - That's awesome. - Have you gotten, have you had any conversation, any, any talk in the locker room, perhaps, about the basketball players to football or football players to basketball in which one would be easier to pull off? - Yeah, you know, I think, we always talk about this, but skill wise, I think basketball is a much more skilled sport. However, I think the better athletes play football and also, you know, you have to be kind of crazy person to play football too, you know, and it's like, yeah, you know, you get a bunch of football players playing basketball, you could put together a pretty good team, but like, I don't know who, you know, like, I think that if it was the other way, you know, take a bunch of basketball players and put them on the football field, you know, obviously there'll be a couple positions kind of missing and, you know, besides receiver and, like, I don't, maybe DN or, you know, maybe tight end or quarterback, but, I don't know, you know, that's my bias opinion. I think that, I had a friend who said that we turned a lot of basketball players, or we turned a lot of football players into basketball players. (laughing) - We're just shopping it up with Eric Kendrick here on 105 through the fan Cowboys linebacker. So, it's obviously your first year in Dallas, you played for a long time in Minnesota, you were with the Chargers, out one and two, last two weeks didn't exactly go your way about to be two and two after you kicked the Giants ass, but have you noticed a difference in just maybe that the vibe around the team, the media is a little more challenging, anything at all when it comes to distractions with the Cowboys compared to other places? - You know, I feel like the pressure's there, obviously, I think that it's just, you know, the pressure's the pressure anywhere you're at. You know, I think that it's a little bit more heightened here because, you know, it is what it is, but at the same time, like, for me, you know, like I said, I just rely on, you know, what I know and what I've been doing, I've played on teams that, you know, have been really successful, I've played on teams that, you know, have struggled a bit, you know, like last year and you gotta just really lean in on the fundamentals of things, you know, control the controllables and just fight, you know. So, you know, I'm a fighter at heart and that's what I'm gonna do. - Well, that's why Cowboys fans love you already, Eric. Now, final question, did you guys have a good laugh in the locker room or anything about the Jerry Jones video there with Jamie Foxx? - I didn't even, I hadn't even seen it. Am I that unplugged where I just like-- - You might be, congrats, man. You're off socials apparently. - No, I mean, I'm not off socials, but I just kind of like, I just like cars and like weird things when I'm off the field. - Go look it up. - Have you ever seen those videos where it's like how it's made type things where it's like-- - Yeah, yeah, yeah. - Yeah, those are my name. - I don't know, I just like to see how things are built. (laughing) - Well, this thing's pretty big, I'm surprised you didn't see it. (laughing) Thanks, Eric. Have a great week. We'll catch you up with you next Thursday, normal time there. The Eric Kendrick Show here on your home of the Cowboys 105.3. The fan usually Thursdays at 5.5.20, but of course, you know, I gave the weather report, I aired that the game was Sunday, it's Thursday night right here on your home of the Cowboys. Pre-game at four, right, Brian? - Pre-game at four. - All right, I'm looking forward to that. ♪ He's been up over here ♪ - After investing billions to light up our network, T-Mobile is America's largest 5G network. Plus, right now, you can switch, keep your phone, and we'll pay it off up to $800. See how you can save on every plan versus Verizon and AT&T at T-Mobile.com/KeepAndSwitch. (upbeat music) - Up to four lines, the virtual prepaid guard will have 15 days, qualifying unlocked device credits, service, boarded 90-plus days with device and eligible carrier and timely redemption required. Card has no cash access and expires in six months. Post-season baseball is here and it is the absolute best time of the year. I'm Rod Bradford of Baseball's and Boring, and we're gonna have you covered every step of the way with instant reactions from players and coaches and managers and fans and reporters and everybody else who is immersed in this awesomeness and all the craziness that comes with October baseball. So follow baseball as I'm Boring in the free Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcasts. (upbeat music)