Your Dark Companion Podcast

The Cowboys’ season is officially over, the Super Bowl will once again proceed without them, and somebody has to explain how we got here. So Mike Rhyner, Grubes, and Joseph Hoyt of the Dallas Morning News sit down to do exactly that — calmly, rationally, and with just the right amount of disbelief.
This episode breaks down a Cowboys season that somehow featured one of Dak Prescott’s best years and one of the worst defenses the franchise has ever fielded. Joe Hoyt walks us through the Matt Eberflus experience, the communication breakdowns, the Trayvon Diggs divorce, and why continuity becomes a tough sell when the EPA numbers look like a horror movie.
Along the way, the guys dig into George Pickens’ future (and the inevitable contract drama), Javonte Williams running like he’s mad at the ground, Brian Schottenheimer winning over an entire locker room, and why the draft might make fans angry before it makes the team better.
It’s honest, slightly painful, occasionally funny, and very Cowboys — a full post-mortem on a season that promised a lot and delivered confusion.
Chapters
00:00:00 - Lightning Strikes, Cowboys Fall, and the Season Is Officially Over00:04:48 - The Two-Faced Season: Elite Offense, Disaster Defense00:07:07 - Dak Prescott’s Best Year (Yes, Really)00:11:33 - Zone Coverage, Miscommunication, and Defensive Chaos00:13:25 - Matt Eberflus: Scheme, Personnel, and the Blame Game00:17:23 - Jerry Jones, Riverboat Gambling, and Changing Philosophy00:21:36 - Rebuilding a Defense Without Any Money00:24:02 - Mid-Show Reality Check: CBD, Pain, and Survival00:25:47 - Javonte Williams Runs Like He’s Fighting Gravity00:28:52 - Brian Schottenheimer Wins the Locker Room00:33:00 - Draft Day Dreams and Defensive Needs00:37:05 - Trayvon Diggs, Divorce Season, and Moving On00:40:44 - Dak’s Window Is Open — Now What?

Show Notes

The Cowboys’ season is officially over, the Super Bowl will once again proceed without them, and somebody has to explain how we got here. So Mike Rhyner, Grubes, and Joseph Hoyt of the Dallas Morning News sit down to do exactly that — calmly, rationally, and with just the right amount of disbelief.

This episode breaks down a Cowboys season that somehow featured one of Dak Prescott’s best years and one of the worst defenses the franchise has ever fielded. Joe Hoyt walks us through the Matt Eberflus experience, the communication breakdowns, the Trayvon Diggs divorce, and why continuity becomes a tough sell when the EPA numbers look like a horror movie.

Along the way, the guys dig into George Pickens’ future (and the inevitable contract drama), Javonte Williams running like he’s mad at the ground, Brian Schottenheimer winning over an entire locker room, and why the draft might make fans angry before it makes the team better.

It’s honest, slightly painful, occasionally funny, and very Cowboys — a full post-mortem on a season that promised a lot and delivered confusion.

Chapters

00:00:00 - Lightning Strikes, Cowboys Fall, and the Season Is Officially Over
00:04:48 - The Two-Faced Season: Elite Offense, Disaster Defense
00:07:07 - Dak Prescott’s Best Year (Yes, Really)
00:11:33 - Zone Coverage, Miscommunication, and Defensive Chaos
00:13:25 - Matt Eberflus: Scheme, Personnel, and the Blame Game
00:17:23 - Jerry Jones, Riverboat Gambling, and Changing Philosophy
00:21:36 - Rebuilding a Defense Without Any Money
00:24:02 - Mid-Show Reality Check: CBD, Pain, and Survival
00:25:47 - Javonte Williams Runs Like He’s Fighting Gravity
00:28:52 - Brian Schottenheimer Wins the Locker Room
00:33:00 - Draft Day Dreams and Defensive Needs
00:37:05 - Trayvon Diggs, Divorce Season, and Moving On
00:40:44 - Dak’s Window Is Open — Now What?

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Creators and Guests

Host
Mike Rhyner
Mike Rhyner… "a little on the bumpy side, but rather likable"…so stated famously by a grade school teacher in Oak Cliff, where Mike grew up. A complicated guy, yet a guy who can do long division and remember call strike three to A Rod. Probably best left unattended. Don't expect assistance from him if a medical situation arises.

What is Your Dark Companion Podcast?

"Whatever I want it to be about on a given day; is what it is." Your Dark Companion couples your familiar friends from radio, Mike and Grubes! Mike brings his classic interviews that draw you in, and Grubes—The Devil—drops…well the drops, and throws the occasional grenade. Mike likes to draw on his fascinating acquaintances and friends allowing them to tell their stories as you've never heard them. But he also goes outside his network, sharing Grubes' network, and often outside of both, to bring you those they don't know, but believe have a story that will make you laugh, make you think, think differently, or just entertain you…"that's what we are trying to do here."