Troy Aikman is a busy man this time of year.
The Fox Sports NFL color analyst and Pro Football Hall of Famer is calling every "Thursday Night Football" game this season in addition to his weekly Sunday game with play-by-play partner Joe Buck.
In a wide-ranging Q&A, Sporting News caught up with Aikman, speaking on behalf of Tide, to talk about his long-running relationship with Buck, his take on the Cowboys' start to the NFL season, his thoughts on the league's 2018 offensive evolution and more.
MORE: Zeke on importance of 'Skins game
Note: Portions of the interview have been edited for brevity and clarity.
SPORTING NEWS: You and Joe Buck have been calling games together for 17 years. How have you been able to build on your chemistry year after year?
TROY AIKMAN: I don’t know that we are building on it now so much. We are just really great friends. It’s like any relationship, I suppose. We are friends beyond just the fact that we work together and I think that has really allowed us to make it work. We went through a lot of life experiences at the same time. He has two daughters just like I do, we both got divorced right around the same time and kind of dealt with a lot of personal issues.
On a professional level, the time that we have been able to work together has been great. We enjoy each other and what I have learned is that is not always the case with broadcast partners. I appreciate how hard he works and the time he puts into it. It’s pretty awesome.
SN: This is a busy time for Buck with the MLB postseason overlapping with the NFL. How does he handle pulling double duty and make it seem so efficient?
TA: He handles it well, and this year even more so with the Thursday night game. In the past, he would do baseball and would miss three of the Sunday afternoon games with me, and this year he will end up missing only one game so it’s quite a load for him, to do our game (Thursday in Arizona) and turn around and go to Milwaukee to call the (MLB postseason) game (Friday), but he handles it seamlessly.
You would never know that he is pulled in so many different directions and that is probably what I marvel at the most with him. Just how he is able to find the time to be totally prepared for whatever sport he is doing, particularly in the month of October.
SN: The NFL's new roughing the passer rule has been a point of contention so far this season. As a former quarterback yourself, what are your thoughts on it?
TA: I think that the rules in and of themselves are good, trying to protect the quarterback and have player safety, which has obviously been going on for a number of years. I think in terms of what actually constitutes as roughing the passer has been the frustrating part — not only for the defensive players, but for the fans. That is what the league is still trying to figure out exactly with the players is how to do the things they are being asked to do to avoid being penalized.
The outcomes of these games are being impacted by that and that’s the thing that nobody really wants to see. My guess is it will continue to get cleaned up this season and into the offseason, but it seems that it was put together really quickly without anyone understanding how it would be officiated and what the impact might be on the sport.
SN: How would you evaluate the job that Jason Garrett has done with the Cowboys this season?
TA: I think right now, you look at their record at 3-3 and that is probably the job that everybody has done (in the NFC East), which is an average job. They have had some moments where they have looked really good and they have had some moments where they haven’t played well at all.
I think this (Sunday) will be certainly a big game for them in the division, but also to show that they can go on the road and play well. They have played awfully well at home but have struggled when they need to travel. Some of that has been that they have played good defensive units. This will be a good test for them at Washington and I know that they came into this year with big expectations, and they still have them being in a division that has struggled this season — the NFC East.
They need to get on a roll and start putting together some wins, just like many other teams in this league.
SN: What do the Cowboys need to do the rest of the way to win the NFC East?
TA: I think that they just have to continue to do what we saw them do last (Sunday) in the win against Jacksonville. I think certainly, this is an offense that is build around running the football and having as good of a runner as there is in the game, and I think the added element of Dak Prescott and his ability to run and keep the defense honest.
I think that puts a lot of stress on the defense as it did on Sunday. If they can continue to do some of those things and then create some of the big plays that they quite frankly had been lacking last year and most of this year, that gives them a chance. Their defense is the real deal and they are much improved from where they were a few years ago. They have got some people who can get after the quarterback and, playing at the level they are, they give them a chance in every ballgame, so that is a good thing.
NFL UNIFORM RANKINGS:
Cowboys' threads best in league?
SN: We have seen the recent emergence of young QBs like Patrick Mahomes, Carson Wentz and Jared Goff. Are you encouraged by the future of the position?
TA: I think we have got some really good, young quarterbacks in our game, and some rookies as well. Their time is coming also. When you start looking at guys like Brett Favre, for instance, and other great quarterbacks that have played — Peyton Manning — you say, ‘Gosh, how will these guys be replaced?’
When Tom Brady ultimately leaves, Drew Brees, Aaron Rodgers — he’s on the second half of his career — you say, ‘What’s the season going to look like, who will be the faces of the NFL?’ That’s pretty much the case throughout our game is other quarterbacks come in and they play well. We have some really bright young guys that are playing at a high level, and I think they represent the game well. They will be great ambassadors to our sport and I think we are in good hands.
SN: We know the NFL is always evolving. What is one thing you have noticed in the league this year that has pleasantly surprised you?
TA: I wouldn’t say that anything has jumped out at me and pleasantly surprised me. I think that what I’ve seen from the offensive side is, we have always seen offenses going back to the '80s with Bill Walsh, putting pressure on a defense horizontally, where as back in the '70s it was more vertical. I’m seeing more of that with some of the motions and things that are happening, especially when you watch the Chiefs or the Rams, and the Saints to a certain extent.
I think they are displacing certain players and creating space for these athletes that are just so talented with the ball in their hands, and they are doing it more through motioning and formations as opposed to just blocking people and creating space that way. I think that has been interesting and fun to follow.
SN: Many people saw your Tide commercial with Joe Buck these past two Thursday nights. How did that come about and what was the reception that you got from it?
TA: (The reception has) been good and it will continue. I think Tide has definitely kept hands on their toes through the first part of the season with the last few weeks that we have run some of those ads, and it will continue. We have some other people, some other familiar faces that will be a part of it.
It started in the Super Bowl with the Tide Ad and people asking themselves, ‘Is this a game or is this a Tide commercial?’ I think the advertising is clever and basically the messaging is that clean is one of those things that people don’t typically notice and Tide is changing that. Once you start to notice clean, the big question on Thursday night is you’re asking yourself, ‘Is this a football game or a Tide ad?’
It definitely kept the viewers on their toes whether they were going to break or not going to break or what exactly they were watching.