THIS Is Further Proof That Cowboys Fans are SEVERELY Overconfident These Days

A caller named Willingham got on the line, guaranteed the Cowboys would win 17 straight games, told everyone to keep their receipts, and then hung up before anybody could challenge him. Phone drop. Old school. Sounded like a landline, too.

"Remember my name and team name and keep your receipt," he said, and that was that.

Seventeen and oh is a lot. It is also not the strangest thing about the segment, because the strangest thing about the segment is that Rich spent the rest of it agreeing with Jerry Jones.

Jones had just taken a small victory lap on adding Von Miller and hinted Dallas might not be finished. Asked directly whether more moves are coming, he did not hedge much.

"If we saw something that would help us anyplace, we'd do it," Jones said, adding that he is "even more excited today than I was when we started camp" and that with some luck and some health, this team "could really be something that we all want to be, and that's a team that's competing for the big game."

That is usually where the eye roll lives.

"Normally, when Jerry's talking this time of year, I'm thinking two words," Rich said. "I'm thinking flim and flam." The receipts for that skepticism are extensive. All in. The handshake between player and owner treated like a blood oath. Telling you it is raining under a blue sky in Oxnard.

This year is different, and Rich said so without reaching for the high register. Two of the best receivers in the business on the same side. A quarterback who is among the best in the league when he keeps the interceptions down and stays healthy. A tight end in Jake Ferguson who finished with the third-most catches and second-most touchdowns at the position. A backfield fronted by Javonte Williams that the room believes is light years better than last year's, and Rich does not much care which back it ends up being as long as it is the best one.

And a kicker who, in Rich's estimation, could split the uprights in AT&T Stadium from Oxnard. Cross the 50 and you are in field goal range. Good field position plus one first down is three points.

"I'm listening to Jerry Jones and I'm nodding my head as opposed to shaking it," Rich said. "Which is a new sensation."

The other piece of it is the calendar. Jones is 83, and turns 84 in October. He has three rings, which nobody can take from him, and the show's read is that he is looking at his own birthdate and deciding this is the roster and this is the time.

Rich also thinks he has the coach, and the new defensive coordinator has the room buzzing enough that even the skeptics in studio admitted Dallas scares them a little. Then came the immediate walk-back that this same team could just as easily go 8 and 9, because that is the NFL, and the schedule is difficult, though it is difficult for a lot of teams.

The best detail was saved for the end. Years ago, on a Cowboys anniversary show, Jones told Rich he had made a deal with a higher being while chasing his third title. Give me this one and I will not ask for another.

He is now thinking about redoing that deal.