‘Produces At The Highest Level’: Shemar James Sizes Up Trey McBride Before First Home Game Wearing Cowboys’ Green Dot
FRISCO, Texas — Trey McBride has caught at least 7 passes in every game the Arizona Cardinals have played this season. Shemar James wants the Dallas Cowboys’ best cover players on the Arizona tight end Sunday at AT&T Stadium.
James will call the defense at home for the first time. He wore the green dot, which marks the defender with the radio in his helmet, for the first time Monday night in a 38-21 win over the Philadelphia Eagles. He played 58 defensive snaps and tied DeMarvion Overshown for the team lead with 6 tackles.
McBride has 59 catches for 472 yards and 4 touchdowns through seven games. On Sunday, he caught 10 passes for 111 yards and a touchdown in a 30-16 loss to the Denver Broncos, and both totals were season highs. Last season, he caught 126 passes for 1,239 yards.
Arizona is going to “force-feed” McBride the ball, James said after practice Wednesday, and Dallas has to make sure it has double coverage on him or some of its best coverage players on him. He called McBride “a great player and a guy that we’ll be looking out for.” The production comes from McBride himself and from the way the Cardinals use him, in James’ view.
“I would say a combination of both. I mean, they’re targeting a guy, and he’s doing what he has to do with the ball,” James said. “I mean, when he catch the ball, he got … He has a bunch of YAC, and he produces at the highest level. So, I mean, he’s just a guy that has the skill set and the system to help him maximize it.”
Shemar James Prepares For The Green Dot With Scott Symons
Overshown started the season with the green dot. Rookie Jaishawn Barham took it over after Overshown hurt his hamstring in the opener, and Dee Winters has been out since he was injured at Green Bay on Oct. 18. With Overshown and Barham both available Monday, Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer said James earned the job.
Every linebacker practiced with the green dot during training camp to see who could handle it best. James learned early last week that it was his for Philadelphia.
“I think CP and my position coach, they let that be known early in the week,” James explained, referring to defensive coordinator Christian Parker.
“Kind of like to get my mind ready for, kind of like, because prep is a little bit different when you have the green dot and you have to make sure all the other 10 guys are lined up and ready to go,” James continued.
His position coach is Scott Symons, who joined Dallas in February as inside linebackers coach after four seasons as SMU’s defensive coordinator. This is Symons’ first NFL job.
“I definitely go over with Coach Symons. Scott Symons is my linebacker coach,” James said. “Anything that I may be in a gray area, that may not be 100% certain, when I go to him and be like, ‘What do you see here? Is there anything that you see differently than I see?’ And just things of that nature.”
The middle linebacker’s job, as James describes it, is to make sure the other 10 defenders are doing the right thing and staying calm, cool, and collected. He would like to think he is, too.
“I’d probably say just film study, just preparation throughout the week. Von Miller said it best, just getting that inner peace, I would say,” James said. “Just getting that inner peace Tuesday through Saturday or Sunday whenever we play, and just go out there and play free.”
James Expects A Louder Test Against Arizona Cardinals
Dallas is 1-1 at AT&T Stadium this season. The defense has not played there since the Oct. 8 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
“I think everything went smooth considering that we were playing away, so the crowd noise isn’t that much when we’re on defense,” James said. “But, I mean, there are challenges when we’re at home. You have the crowd noise. You really have to get the guys tighter in the huddle and actually, like, listen for the calls.”
James’ wife went into labor during Dallas’ 34-30 win at Houston on Oct. 4, and he flew back with the Jones family after the game. His No. 50 jersey now reads “James Sr.”
“It was amazing. It was amazing. I remember I walked into my locker, and Mike was like, ‘Just to let you know, I put senior on the back of there.’ I was ecstatic,” James said. “No, I did ask for it, but I thought it was going to come last week, but it came this weekend. No, I was ecstatic.”
With a newborn at home, James is not getting much sleep. The film work has not stopped.
“He’s watching the film with me. I mean, he’s going to be a dang good Mike one day. So, I mean, he’s watching it with me,” James said. “My wife, she makes it easy on me. I mean, she doesn’t just force-feed me a baby when I come home. She knows that I have a job ultimately. But, I mean, I always spend time with my kid and my wife.”
Dallas took James in the fifth round of the 2025 draft out of Florida. The Cowboys are 3-4, Arizona is 2-5, and kickoff Sunday is set for noon CT on FOX.
