Sports
Hour 2: Friday Football Forecast
In this episode of the Friday Football Forecast, the hosts dive into the struggles of the Dallas Cowboys and the recent game between the Raiders and Broncos. With a mix of humor and analysis, they dis...
Hour 2: Friday Football Forecast
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Interactive Transcript
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We talk about the Cowboys because when we do, our ratings go up.
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The reality is the Cowboys are a bad football team and this morning is only so many different
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ways to say that.
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Disturbing, threatening, redoubtable spine-shilling, discouraging, hideous, weird hair-raising,
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unnerving, daunting, dismaying, disconcerting, demoralizing, perturbing, appalling,
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disquieting, or horrid.
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Nightmarish, atrocious, grizzly, monstrous, and macabre.
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Eerie, diarphaled, dire, creepy, gruesome, fearsome, trying, forbidding, and troubling.
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The one word that I would add to that also was unlucky.
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Counterpoint, they blocked the pump with their face.
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We got, we're just gonna get it, it's gonna get a 10 to 10 real quick.
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Woo!
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What are you about? 37, 38 now?
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No, 25.
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You got the cake, and you got the mallet right here, like I feel like it's begging.
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Night!
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Buzzle time!
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Boom, did I call my shot again?
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I take away his, don't hit on Rex Blame Rex.
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Damn, Dan Graziano loves to talk about that streak.
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In the NFC heat.
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I'm concerned.
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I'm not feeling the streak has become part of your persona.
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I'm concerned with the hell am I gonna talk about?
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I'm not gonna actually do some real analysis.
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Let's try the little thing.
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Sign this off, will you Jeff?
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Jeff Saturday, ESPN.
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We had some technical problems that day.
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Look, I say it all the time as we begin our second hour.
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If we start your day with a smile, then we have done our job here.
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It was a fun week in a lot of different ways.
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I was reading all those.
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RC was like, what is this?
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I didn't read those all at once.
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They were spliced together.
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I looked up synonyms for terrible.
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And I just kept reading them as the morning went on.
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Anyway, I could probably bring them all out once again this morning to describe the game
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and death for the last night.
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Between the Raiders and the Broncos, I'm gonna caution you as we roll these highlights.
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Most of it wasn't pretty.
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Raided arm.
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Late in the first quarter, Ashton Gentie for the Raiders RC will punch it in.
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Gentie to rookie for Boyleys State with the physical run to finish over Tallah Noah,
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who fought in 19 carries 60 yards in a touchdown.
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Raiders up 7-0.
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Now Broncos, faking going for it on a fourth down, just listen.
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Ready, Reson?
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Go ahead, one of that ****.
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Get the ****.
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Oh, okay.
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Go ahead.
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Go ahead.
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Go ahead.
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Go ahead.
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Go ahead.
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Let's go.
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****.
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We.
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Ah.
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That's a brutal offense.
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That'll make me snap it just out of spite.
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First test Raiders defense pass in five years.
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Meanwhile Broncos had one good drive last night and this was it.
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43 yards to Pat Bryant on a second in 18 after Nick's extended the play.
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And then he finds Troy Franklin in the end zone.
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Troy Franklin, a big catch.
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Someone who both Nick's nose extremely well, angle route for the touchdown.
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All right.
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So it's 7-7 at the half.
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Now two minutes to go in the third quarter.
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Park Raiders punting and not well.
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Yeah, you never want to hit a double bump bump.
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That just means that the ball's got got a block.
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I mean, it's tremendous field position.
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Games over, right?
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With the ball.
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They are going to be out in with the block.
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Raiders special team coach can't believe it, but the Broncos can't do much with it.
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Following the punt, this on a second in 12.
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Peter, he's got the man wide open.
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Bownex to not look good.
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Look at his feet.
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Look at his feet.
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He was all over the map and this will see if it comes back to haunt them in the second half of the season.
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Your quarterback needs to play better in big spotlight games.
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What is that?
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Raiders need to win a game like this.
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He was kind of trapped with them.
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Broncos kick a field goal is 10-7.
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Now we got a third Nate RC.
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They sack Geno Smith six times.
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Now what the Broncos will do is put pressure on your quarterback.
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They are rushing out a historic rate this year.
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And Geno Smith was worse for the way.
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So the one thing Denver's offense can't do is turn the ball over.
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And guess what they do?
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He threw it through two different Broncos.
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They said it is of the quarterback.
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They costly turnover.
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So the Raiders to your point, Joe, get another gift wrap.
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Here it is.
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Another opportunity.
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Things are going to turn around under Brady.
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The win is going left.
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How do you miss it right?
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Why does Pete Carroll have the rich of sermon face, though?
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Broncos win a 10-7.
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Listen to Bownex after.
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What you think about some of their reaction, the booze and that kind of thing?
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Well, I've been booed before and I'll be booed again.
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So now it's going to be the last time.
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It's obviously unfortunate.
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You don't want your own fans booing you, but it's part of it.
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All right, so you take a look at the odds.
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I mean, the chiefs are two and a half games behind the Broncos.
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Denver actually has a seven game winning streak and has the best record in the national football league.
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And still at ESPN Bet, the chiefs of the favorites to win that division.
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A quick moment on the game.
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RC, I was reading those synonyms earlier.
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This time I will just read the numbers that Henbo sent me from last night's game.
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There were 17 points, 15 points, 9-0 yard drives, 8-3 turnovers, 2 misfield goals,
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1 punt blocked and a partridge in a pair of trees.
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That's what we saw last night, which begs the question.
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These Denver Broncos, who Vegas doesn't think is going to win their division,
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I don't want to ask you if they're good.
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You can't be bad at me, eight and two, but how their offense is bad, though.
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You can say that, right?
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You can say that.
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You can watch this game in Barton knows this, right?
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When you watch all 22, you watch each side of the football separately.
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If you're watching Vance Joseph's defense, you think to yourself,
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this is the team that can win the Super Bowl.
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And if you're watching the offense, you're thinking to yourself,
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this is the team that couldn't beat Ohio State University.
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And that's where they are right now.
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And this crowd wasn't booing the entire team.
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They weren't booing Vance Joseph in the defense.
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They were booing Boenicks.
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Because he is single handedly holding this offense back.
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When you look at games that they figured out ways,
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Pete called them, Peter called them the Cardiac Kids on Monday.
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And they are.
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And it's because Boenicks has played so badly early on in games.
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He's missed so many throws.
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And even from early on in this season, he is now a worse player.
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And that's something that Sean Payton is going to have to figure out
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because they are Super Bowl caliber on defense,
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even without Patrick'sertainment.
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I would add, they've outscored opponents in the last seven games.
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86 to 20 in the fourth quarter.
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And you think that's a great stat?
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Why do we have to do that, though? That's the question.
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Their first three quarters have been atrocious in all of these games,
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including that dramatic giants come back.
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Last night, it was on a platter.
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Raiders are defeated.
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They've got their fourth string guys out there in some positions.
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They're in Denver.
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And they couldn't get it going.
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If you look at what these other offenses are done,
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and the Jaguars went up and down the field on this defense in Vegas last week,
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they couldn't do anything.
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So it is reason for concern because guess what?
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If you're getting really a aspirations,
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you got to play against Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes at some point.
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On top of that, Lamar Jackson and the Colts and Drake May,
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which means at some point in the playoffs,
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you're going to be asked to win a firefight.
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Like Philadelphia last year was in a war against Green Bay in the Rams early.
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Those were slugfest.
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Then against Washington, it became a firefight.
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Multiplicity, the ability to win a variety of ways.
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The Broncos, if they get into a slugfest with someone early on,
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like Jackson, Bill or Houston, fine, you might be able to win that.
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But if you need to hang 35 against the playoffs team,
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good luck with that offense.
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They play at their next game as Kansas City.
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It's not like it's at Denver.
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So we'll get that real test.
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I just looked ahead on the ESPN app.
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The Chiefs have given a 60% chance of winning that game.
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They overwhelmingly are analytics overwhelmingly favor the Chiefs.
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Yeah, because if you just watch the film,
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the Kansas City Chiefs seem like the better football team.
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But you also have to go to the record and remember that the Kansas City Chiefs
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were who they were last year because they were 12 and old in one score of football games.
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We're seeing the Denver Broncos do that,
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but it just looks so cheeks.
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It looks cheeks.
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Right.
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We aren't saying to ourselves they found a way to win by doing positive things.
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We're saying to ourselves the team may have lost it here,
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or there was a turn over there.
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Oh, Botanix used his legs there.
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When are they going to be able to start these games with something positive
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on the offensive side of the football?
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Because we haven't seen it for a week.
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They're special teams for as well as they played last night with the Black Pon.
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It's been bad too.
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And that is not what we expected from their Rizzi special teams.
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Last night before AJ Colgate set on block,
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they down two at the one yard line,
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putting them in bad positions.
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It just, it didn't feel right at all last night.
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It hasn't only felt right for last several weeks,
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yet they're winning every game.
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That's a tough break for them too.
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If they, you're going to host kids,
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Chiefs aren't going to buy this week, right?
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Right.
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You would be hoping that if you're coming all Thursday night,
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your 10 day rest would get you there.
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You think they can take them on that?
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Yeah, they can buy that.
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Chiefs get two weeks for that.
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That just counteract the whole thing.
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That becomes the big game of next weekend in that AFC West.
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In the meantime, let's do a Friday forecast
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and look to some of the big games of this weekend.
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RC, little crystal ball action.
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What are you forecasting on this Friday morning?
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Oh, well for me, I want a forecast that the Pittsburgh Steel
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is find a way to win.
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What we saw for Terrell Austin's defense last week was phenomenal.
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He had a great game plan.
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He understood how he'd be attacked.
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And I felt like to me in my opinion,
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we've seen so much good from a guy like,
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he's talking to me.
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Okay, yeah, I'm going to get it.
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We've seen so much good from a guy like Aaron Rogers.
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I said, no, I want them to win the AFC North.
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And in order to do that,
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they have to find a way to win this week against the Chargers
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with two games left against the Baltimore Reef.
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Yeah, when it go, Miss Cleal.
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It's a fascinating game.
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Peter, give me a Friday forecast
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as we see Jay Jay McCarthy taking on the ramp.
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I've got the Vikings beating the Ravens.
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And I don't know if it's Jay Jay McCarthy or his alter ego,
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nine.
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I don't know if he saw that.
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He says he goes into a different mode when they need him most
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and he changes personalities.
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Well, they're at home.
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This is a huge win last week in Detroit.
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You talked about Miss Cleal.
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I'm going to go with more Oz the Mentalist
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with that Michigan connection.
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This is it.
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I think Jay Jay finds a way in Minnesota.
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What are the right things to say about Jay Jay McCarthy?
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I feel like I constantly need to remind people.
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He has played three games.
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Right.
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So this would be the equivalent of a rookie playing
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the last week of September.
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But he's doing it with the ultimate microscope.
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This is the biggest gamble that any organization has taken
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in a long time.
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Remember, they had Daniel Jones and they had Sam Donald
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in the building.
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They they they went out and said we don't need any insurance.
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We believe in Jay Jay McCarthy.
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And the biggest the guy that's taking the biggest hit
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is Justin Jefferson who's one of the best receivers in the league.
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But he doesn't have a quarterback that's sophisticated
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enough right now to be able to read defenses and be able to
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to take advantage of this great roster that they have.
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We also have to be fair to Jay Jay McCarthy.
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Right?
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Like we can't we can't cast the spursons and say this is who he is
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and who he will be.
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We got to watch Caleb Williams for that entire year start to build.
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Drake Maillem.
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Right.
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We got to see the same thing for Drake Maillem.
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Jay Jay McCarthy doesn't and I get it.
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His microscope is bigger because of what Daniel Jones is doing
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in Indianapolis because of what Sam Donald is doing in Seattle.
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But when you decide to pick him in the top 10,
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you basically make that decision for yourself.
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And Sam Donald had played well enough where he wasn't going to sit around
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and wait for Jay Jay McCarthy to take his position.
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It's also a sign of respect when you think about it because in Atlanta,
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no one cares about the panic's cousins thing because they're not winning.
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Minnesota is respected.
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So that's why there's a lot of differences.
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Minnesota, all these other quarterbacks you mentioned is the only team
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that they had Sam Donald on their team right now.
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We would say the day are super bowl front runners.
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That's the problem.
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Everybody's ready to win a super bowl but maybe the quarterback is the only thing that can hold them back.
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What can he possibly do to erase that?
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What could he possibly do for us to say?
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Yes, the race.
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Yes, the better than Donald or yet.
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Well, no, he's last week he went into Detroit and found a way.
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And he drove 140 to 5.
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That's the way that he made the play.
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Oh, it's about, for Jay Jay McCarthy, and this is my opinion,
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for Jay Jay McCarthy, it's not about how much he wins.
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It's not about bringing his team to an NFC championship.
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It's about showing growth.
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It's about showing that you can be the franchise quarterback.
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This team doesn't win a super bowl this year.
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Period.
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You can watch him play.
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Right.
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You know that.
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And so last week, even last week wasn't anomaly because what this is what happened.
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Brian Flores figured out if I could get Jameer Gibbs to stay in the backfield in block,
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I can win.
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Right.
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So he brought inside.
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Bless her.
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That was about Brian Flores, not Jay Jay McCarthy, how many times can you do that Donald's stretch?
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All right, so the interesting one, because to your point,
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that they are measuring him the way we measure some of the other rookies,
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but he's in a different situation than they are.
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That isn't his making, but it is his lot in life.
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Let's keep going with Friday forecasts, because we got a couple of young quarterbacks this weekend.
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Bart, what are you forecast?
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Well, I'm looking into my magic eight ball.
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And I'm saying that, listen, Jackson Dart is doing more with less than any other young quarterback in the NFL.
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I think it's not a lot to be happy about in New York, but this is one of the things.
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He has a bright future. He may save some jobs when you think about Shane,
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you think about Dave Ball, because he's just that talented.
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On the other side, Caleb Williams has everything that you can ask for as a quarterback,
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and he's underwhelming us.
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All right, so I like that one.
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We're going to have time to dive into it here, but I will get back to it later.
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Joe, give us one RC.
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You're going to like this one.
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Joe, give us a football forecast for college.
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LSU is going to give Alabama everything they can handle.
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I'm not going to speak for everyone at the table all the way.
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Getting the sense that Brian Kelly wasn't very liked at LSU for my family.
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When a coach gets fired, a team can go one of two ways.
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You can go into the tank like Penn State.
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Up to them, Joe.
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You can rally like you see.
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Up to them, Joe.
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I think with the town in that locker room, with the magnitude of this rivalry,
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with two weeks to get ready, LSU is going to be right in there.
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I like the nine and a half.
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I'm not going to say anything.
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Take them up right.
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Take them out right.
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I like the nine and a half.
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Come to me right now.
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Hey, Joe.
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Stay, Joe.
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LSU, about to go into Alabama and win the game.
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Frank Wilson got it going different.
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What do you do?
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What's the first thing he do?
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He calls all the old players.
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Tells everybody to come back.
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He got Jacob Hester, the original number 18.
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Give us big news.
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I'm not our seat.
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I'm not our seat.
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Let it direct us.
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For George Barry, who played on that very field.
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Give us big news to the team.
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We are going to Alabama.
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Fresh off of the pie.
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You know what we was doing?
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Getting back to the basics.
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You know what else?
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He ain't got a fake accent.
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I'm here for my family.
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He's from New Orleans now.
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No, Joe.
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No, Joe.
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No, Joe.
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No, Joe.
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Listen, man.
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That's what Roy is going to let us in.
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That's what I'm saying.
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That's what I'm saying.
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There's another static electricity here.
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The Blower Danfield.
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You better cop down.
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Quit moving so fast.
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They're going to be so.
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They're going to maybe cover the spread.
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Yeah.
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So he's going to keep it in time.
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Make sure.
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That looks you.
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To the upset.
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At Bryant Denny.
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No, no, no, no, no.
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Maybe he's like, hey, just get the you didn't say.
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So, hey, anybody need a Tesla charge?
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Just touch RC with the court.
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Roy just killed him.
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Definitely get shot.
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I don't know.
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Did Jay Brown, what does he have to say about the Eagles game in Green Bay?
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It's actually what he didn't say about his future in Philadelphia.
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That may have been the most interesting part of it.
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All you'll hear, our thoughts, plus, was it a soft schedule?
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Or are they real contenders?
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Why will Drake Man and the Patriots prove this Sunday against Tampa?
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All that and more is we roll on.
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And someone get this man a fresco.
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Oh, look at her.
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It's a tough hard time.
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Fresh go.
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Fresh go.
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Fresh go.
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I love the perfect out of all things.
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Fresh go.
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Because they're excellent, by the way.
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They are.
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Nice.
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Friday, we get up presented by oral BIO Electric Toothbrush.
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And our next game, Fortenbaugh, is for you.
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It's more or less brought to you by ESPN Bet Sportsbook.
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Let's look at some of the more interesting props this weekend.
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92 and a half rushing yards.
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Rejana Conteleur against Atlanta.
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What do you think?
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More, only 14 carries against Pittsburgh last week.
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Head coach Shane Stagginson after the game.
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We have got to get more carries into the hands of Jonathan Taylor.
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Second lowest all season.
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Guess what?
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Here's Atlanta.
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Borscht run defense in the NFL.
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I wouldn't be surprised if he goes for a buck 50 in this game.
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All right.
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Let's go to the most productive receiver then.
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How about 96 and a half receiving yards for JSN against Arizona?
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This is going to be less.
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Five career games in Arizona.
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He's never gone over this number.
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Schematically, Jonathan Ganon knows how to defend JSN.
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What do I mean by that?
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Arizona plays a lot of cover three.
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Cover three limits big plays down the field.
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Which is what JSN right here is very good at.
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Go back to that Thursday night game a few weeks ago.
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JSN didn't have a reception until the third quarter.
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And then one more.
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Caleb Williams against the Giants.
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One and a half touchdown passes for the former number one pick.
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What do you think?
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Less.
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He's only gone over this in three of eight games this year.
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So it's not something that happens all the time.
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You might look at the Giants defense and say to yourself,
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he should explode.
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The reality is, if you're smart against the Giants,
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you want to run the ball.
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One of the worst run defense is the NFL.
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And that's what Ben Johnson in the Bears offense has been doing.
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And he's leaning into running the football.
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So Williams could play well, but it's going to be a running game for Chicago.
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And Bart earlier said he thought Jaxson would outplay Caleb.
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We'll see.
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If you like Joe's picks, they are a parlay.
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The over on Jonathan Taylor rushing the under on Jaxson Smith and Jigler receiving.
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And the under on Caleb William passing touchdowns.
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They were parlay at the ESPN bed sports book app.
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Look for the more or less featured parlay on the home page.
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And in the parlay lounge.
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Meanwhile, our football Friday rolls on a green bay.
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Eagles and Packers Monday night.
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Filly coming off a buy after back to back wins over the Vikings and Giants.
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Giving them total control of the NFC East.
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It's a sidebar we've joked a lot this week.
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Who is Dan Graziano if the NFC East has a team win it and back to back seasons.
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That's such a part of his persona.
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So the Eagles have that in their side.
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The Packers, meanwhile, obviously have the lines they got to deal with in a very tough division.
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But here's what I want to know for you two guys.
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And particularly will be there Monday, as you always are for the games.
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I've watched the Eagles with interest.
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They finally got Sequan going in the last in their last game.
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Do you expect that they've had their buy now?
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They're making their playoff push maybe after a super busy season last year in which he had, you know, near record touches.
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Do you expect them to ramp up Sequan and them to start looking a little more like the offense we saw in Europe?
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You know what I think?
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I think it's exactly what Joe said in the first hour.
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I expect him in Kevin Pizzulo to do what they need to do to win the football game.
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Early on in the season, they couldn't do that.
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There wasn't that versatility.
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The run game wasn't working.
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They weren't being able to push the football down the field.
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But we saw against Minnesota, Jalen Hertz come alive as a passer.
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And then versus the Giants in the last week, we saw Sequan barkly back to those explosive plays that became a signature of this offense last year.
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And to me, it all started when Kevin Pizzulo moved.
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Jalen Hertz under center.
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The play action game got going the week before.
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And then the next week we watched Sequan barkly with the ability to have vision and be set a little farther back,
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be able to create those big plays.
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I think going forward, it's going to be pick your poison with the Philadelphia Eagles, which in my opinion is when they're best.
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But the play action only works if you're able to run the football and style as a run.
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I think early on, they really are struggling for the loss of my kayak back then because he was such a physically gifted guy that created so many big holes for Sequan barkly.
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When you talk about the historical touches that Sequan got last year, him Beesie appreciate you.
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I think it was 482 touches.
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That used to be the kiss of death for running back.
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When you go over 300 or something touches, you struggle to the next year.
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I think that's what I brought in AJ Dylan.
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But he's starting to wake up because now he's starting to get fresh.
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And his body's healing up.
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Remember Sequan, somebody who's struggled with staying healthy for a second of years.
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So now you're waking the sleeping beast and I think he's going to be poised for a great second half of the year.
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But Henry Regiment, Derek Henry always gets better as the season wears on.
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Guys don't want to tackle.
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Yeah, because November of the time.
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It's a passion.
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I'm back with questions like truly.
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Let's say Sequan barkly is not having a great game.
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You think if Jalen Hertz turns around, sticks the football out of you.
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Sequan barkly do that.
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As a linebacker, you're going to go, oh, he's not having a great game.
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Let me get this drop.
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No, it's not.
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He doesn't have to be successful running.
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It has to be the ability to consist.
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That's it.
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Call the run.
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And if you do that, the play action pass can work.
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Whether or not he's getting big play in the run game.
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Yeah, but you have to convince me that it's effective because listen, sometimes when you talk about somebody, especially when a quarterback is killing me, throwing a ball behind me, because I keep stepping up and I open up windows behind for these great receivers, I got to err on the side of pass before I go to run.
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But the Eagles look at it.
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It's a year point.
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So good in so many ways and they make the big acquisitions on the defensive side.
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And then there is a little extra in this game.
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This matchup that I don't know, everyone is quite aware of just how much there is between the Eagles.
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We always talk about trees and these guys work with it.
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Like, LaFlora has no real relationship with Cereani.
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So you don't have this like great friendship there.
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And I'm not saying that two of them have anything against each other.
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But last year, it's season started.
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They go to Brazil, Eagles win that game.
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Jordan Love gets her.
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Then we go to the final book end of their season, a playoff game, where the Eagles beat them handedly.
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And that packers defense said we need to get better.
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They go and get micro-parts.
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But in the off season, just to remind everyone for a thousandth time,
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the packers were the ones who presented to the league office.
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Let's get rid of the touch players.
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They're the off.
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They're the off.
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Part of that, a lot of people said was because they don't have an owner.
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So an owner doesn't have to come out there and be the face of it.
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So let's just have the packers do it.
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And they're not going to be the ones that have to enter to 31 other owners.
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That said, LaFlora was pretty vocal.
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There's no place for this in the game.
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And I think now you've lost twice.
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You had that in the off season.
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Yeah.
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Maybe a little extra something, especially with this game being in Green Bay at home.
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First time they've had that into here.
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The packers are one of those prize fighters that's going to try to win it on the cards.
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They're going to try to out-point you.
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They're going to go to the cards and they're going to look to win the decision.
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Philadelphia's playing for the knockout.
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At some point, at Green Bay wants to take the next step in their evolution,
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they got to win a knockout.
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But Philly, I wanted to say this to because last week we killed the loss against Carolina.
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The defense, though, they gave up a hundred yards passing and basically, you know,
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16 points.
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The defense played their job.
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That defense is going to be ready for this one.
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I mean, well, Philadelphia now with the addition of Jalen Phillips,
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Philly has the opportunity to tie the front end with the back end.
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It hasn't been their secondary has played at a lead level.
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I think they're holding teams quarterbacks to 81 yards for the QBR.
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But when you look at their inability to get sacks with Jalen Phillips coming there,
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I think he's going to at least card her and I think they're going to start taking it.
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Nothing.
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I think also Nolan Smith's practice window is opening as well.
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So if he gets healthy along with what Jalen can do,
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Jalen Phillips coming over for Miami, I think that could be huge.
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Harry Rose with the win.
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That's right.
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It's a great game.
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Oh.
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They're taking it a little unnecessary.
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Oh, no, no reason.
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Oh, it's just a statement of fact.
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What?
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Penn State, the Steelers.
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They're not better than the Eagles.
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They've been a fact.
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Isn't that like personal?
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I mean, some facts don't need to be stated.
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As we continue, we're getting to colleges.
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We go Texas A&M.
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Could those be the national champions?
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Jordan Rodgers is going to stop by to explain why the answer to that question is probably yes.
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And a reminder, you can score more from the game this football season,
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where the ESPN bet these sportsbooks for sports fans.
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Right now, new customers get $100 in bonus bets.
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When you bet $10, sign up for the promo code GetUp to get started today.
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Music
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Bottom of the hour, back on GetUp on a football Friday time for our most flattering photo.
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It is Peter Schradger in the best photo I've ever seen on him and the Schradger 5.
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And an interesting little thing this week, the most important acquisitions that were made during the off season
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as we reach the halfway point of this year.
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It's a good time to check in, fresh off the trade deadline, which moves worked out.
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Let's start with number five, Greeney.
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I think Devonte Adams, signing with the Rams, was a very bold move.
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Remember, they said goodbye to Cooper Cup.
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It's a great controversy.
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How could you let a triple crown winner, who's the guy that we love?
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And they said, we're going to upgrade.
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We go with Devonte Adams, who's coming off a weird finish with the Jets last year to his season.
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I think this has been huge.
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Obviously, they have all these touchdowns in the red zone, and they're only getting started.
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Stafford looks amazing at 37.
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Number four, how about the one right before the start of the season?
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Micah Parsons has been awesome for the Packers.
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It's actually helped immensely.
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This guy leads the NFL with NFL pressures at 34.
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He did that in just eight games.
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Micah Parsons has been fantastic.
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The offense leaves a little bit of a dior sometimes from the Packers.
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The defense has get them to where they need to be.
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They've been outstanding.
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That trade has worked out.
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That's number four.
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Number three.
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Number three.
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How about the MVP candidate that we were talking about a week ago?
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Daniel Jones.
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Look, they're still seven and two.
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I know he had all those turnovers, six turnovers in the game last week.
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He was sack five times.
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But Daniel Jones' numbers have been outstanding.
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And if anybody, when they made that move in March, told you that Daniel Jones was going to be in the conversation
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for most valuable player in November, I would like to meet that person, that person's a genius.
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I like that.
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But he's not been the best quarterback acquisition.
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No, this guy has.
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Sam Darnal.
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Yeah.
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And what a maneuver it was.
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They had Geno Smith.
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Geno Smith played well last year.
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They moved from Geno and they say we're going to roll the dice on Sam Darnal.
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Despite the fact, his last eight days as a Minnesota Viking went about,
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as badly as any quarterback could have imagined.
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Horrible finale in the regular season.
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Terrible playoff performance.
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He's been outstanding.
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And yet, not number one.
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Number one is this guy.
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Let's go.
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Terrible and the hiring of Mike Verrible has been the number one offseason move that any team in the NFL has made this last eight months.
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Verrible has this team in order.
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Drake May looks good.
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And with Verrible came a Josh McDaniels.
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With Verrible came a Todd Downing, an entirely new coaching staff that joins him in New England.
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They look like a professional outfit and they are in the first place position right now in the AFC.
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I can't argue with the word of it.
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And I tell you what it is about Verrible.
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Rex says it all the time.
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The best way to judge a coach are your players getting better.
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The players have gotten better in New England.
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It's an interesting thing if you think about it.
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Before the year began, we would have been one Rick Wierz, Aaron Rodgers, going to wind up.
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And he's played fine.
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That's the thing.
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But I would agree with you.
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All of these have been more impactful.
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I don't know if you could substitute Rodgers for any of these.
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He said he's played well.
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I think all five of these people have been more valuable to their teams.
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I think got it right.
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Now let's talk about Verrible's team.
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The Patriots yesterday, Dan Orlovsky said there was a tough road test ahead.
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Where the MVP candidate, the quarterback Drake May, here's Dan.
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This will be the biggest challenge Drake May has faced in his NFL career.
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This game.
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100% because this defense won very good against the run, Tampa.
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And then two makes you constantly think.
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They're constantly changing the question on you.
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Pre-snap the post-snap.
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This pressure is coming from here.
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This guy's dropping from here.
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This blitz is coming from here.
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This coverage is rotating that way.
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He hasn't really seen that.
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So we're going to know a lot more about Drake May.
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Just as far as how, how, how good after this week.
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Let's talk about him against this test.
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Todd Bowles is defense's legendary for blitzing since he joined the Buccaneers.
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First is the defensive coordinator.
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Now is the head coach.
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No team in the NFL blitzes.
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More often than they do.
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So do you agree with Dan?
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Will this be the toughest test Drake May has had so far?
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Absolutely.
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I mean, from a schematic standpoint, but also from a roster standpoint.
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Going on the road, playing the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
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And the way that Todd Bowles manipulates coverage and pressure post-snap.
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He's going to have to figure out things on the run.
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And let's, we often forget or we have forgotten that Miles Garrett had five sacks against the New England Patriot.
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His team just sucks.
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And so now when you play against Tampa Bay Buccaneers, if you give up those levels of sacks,
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if you maybe turn the football over like we saw Drake May and the Patriots do five times to the Pittsburgh Steelers,
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now you find yourself in a fight with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers that are getting healthier
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and also have an MVP candidate themselves, especially early on in the year in Baker Mayfield.
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Bar, I know you well enough and you're a face well enough to know that you are a tough grader.
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You're a skeptic by nature.
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And I appreciate that about you.
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Are you bought in on the Patriots?
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I think I'm getting there.
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And we talk about Vrable being the best acquisition of the offseason.
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Well, how about Josh McDaniels?
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And his ability to develop a young quarterback.
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Right?
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Drake May looks like a totally different person this year.
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He's calm.
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He has answers to the test.
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And even though this is going to be something he's never seen, it's definitely something that Josh McDaniels have seen
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and dealing with Rex Ryan within that division, which is kind of a clone of what Ty Boes likes to do.
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See, the difference between Cleveland and what Miles Garrett did individually is that when you live by the Blitz,
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being from Blitzburg, you understand this, you die by the Blitz.
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And Josh McDaniels going to have one or two opportunities to get explosive plays because they have to manufacture pressure.
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It's not natural by being able to have seven guys in covers so you can double everybody.
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They're not sneaking up with anybody.
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I think that Sunday night game would be a bigger win because it was in Buffalo and you look at the standings.
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But this one, all eyes are on it.
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I read that this was Jim Nance and Tony Ramos first time doing a Patriots game since 2023.
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Meaning you're getting the spotlight.
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Like, tears.
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And they're not sneaking up on anyone at this moment.
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So here comes Tampa off a buy, getting healthier.
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It feels like this is a, all right, let's level set expectations here.
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But if they win, the sky is the limit.
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You're going to have a lot more of the big and interesting talk coming off this game because the thing that is lost in all of this is the New England defense a bit overvalued right now.
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The last four teams they played ranked 28th or worse in scoring it.
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Lanna, Cleveland, the Saints and the Titans.
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You're going to beat up on those teams.
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You're going to make it look good. The stats are going to look good.
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This is not those teams.
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This is Baker Mayfield, alpha by who wasn't MVP candidate earlier in the year.
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So when this game's all said and done, we got something.
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Why are you so funny?
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I'm saying you say like just like Rocky three.
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They were all bombs all set up.
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They were there.
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And they were in Texas.
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You're the final word.
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You're the only one I know.
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You're the only one I know England.
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I don't know if you remember this, Greeney.
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In the off season, you ask, what topic are we not talking about that we need to speak up on the more?
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And I said, Drake May.
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I thought Drake May could be ascending to be one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL.
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And we've seen it.
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I expect him to understand how valuable this game is.
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I expect Mike Vrable, who has been in these positions as a player and a coach to have this team extremely prepared to play and understand what's at stake.
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And when you go into Buffalo and win against that team and win against that quarterback, that builds your confidence.
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This is the next step for the new England.
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But it's familiarity there, right?
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When you play a divisional opponent.
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This is the young known and the things they've seen before.
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He hasn't had that young moment this year.
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Let's see if he has it this time.
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Really interesting game.
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No question about it.
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Meanwhile, we have great college games this weekend as well.
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Here's our ABC Saturday college football triple header.
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College game day will be on site.
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Patrick Mahomes will be the guest picker.
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Oh, cool.
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As BYU takes on Texas Tech, then we will have Texas say an M-take on number 22, Missouri.
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And we cap the day.
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But the game RC is looking for number four Alabama hosting LSU.
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Each game also available on the all new ESPN app.
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Now, is that bring Jordan in?
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Let me remind you for those of you who didn't watch it this week.
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The first college football playoff rankings came out.
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Ohio State is number one, followed by Indiana.
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And Texas say an M.
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I told you the Aggies have that showdown with Mizzou tomorrow.
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There are a lot of people who believe they should already have been ranked number one.
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And I think our friend Jordan Rogers is one of those people.
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Jordan, you came on here the other day and you said you think Texas say an M is being disrespected.
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If they win this weekend, where do you think they should find themselves?
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And what do you expect in their game against Mizzou?
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Yeah, I think they should be number one based on the schedule that they've played.
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Something the committee said they were going to emphasize a lot.
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But I get it. The one thing we haven't seen from Texas say an M is then be dominant for four quarters.
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We've seen that from Indiana.
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We've seen that from Ohio State.
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The reason I think they should be number one, I think they will be at some point,
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is they have the highest ceiling.
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They can beat you in so many different ways, especially on offense.
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They can run at you with Rubin Owens.
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They can dice you up on the outside with two of the most explosive receivers in the SEC.
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Marcel Reed, the most dynamic dual threat quarterback in the SEC at 100 plus rushing yards.
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Last week, the problem is for four quarters, this defense hasn't showed up.
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It's been two quarters at times, three quarters at times.
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Last week, they got down to LSU and then rattled off a 35 to seven scoring margin in the second half.
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So I need to see Cassius Howe, Tori in York, Scooby Williams.
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Those guys, I need to see them be dominant for four quarters.
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They have as much talent and volatility as anybody.
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I need to see a little more consistency and they'll get there.
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Let me follow up quickly just on that, you know, because the more casual fans of the sport Jordan,
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they think of the brand names in the SEC.
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You got Alabama, Georgia, Texas, et cetera.
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LSU having a down season, but obviously those are the traditional big boys.
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Is Texas saying, I'm the best team in the conference this year?
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Oh, boy, it's really close with Alabama just because I think Ty Simpson is playing at such a high level.
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But again, I think with their best, if they show up with three or four quarters of their best football,
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A&M is the best team right now because they can beat you in so many ways.
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They're so dynamic on defense, the way they get after you with some of the pressures
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and the simulated pressures that Mike Elko and that defense can dial up with Cassius Howell.
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So I like the way they can attack you in a multitude of ways.
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The most consistent team right now has been Alabama though.
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That's why it may be lean towards down the road. It's going to be an A&M.
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Right now it's Alabama, but I really think A&M is going to prove that this week against Missouri.
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They can do it for four quarters.
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All right, how about a tough test this weekend?
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Which of the big boys do you think has the toughest weekend ahead?
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I think it's going to be Georgia.
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Look, I don't know if you've ever been to Starkville.
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You've ever seen a game there.
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The Cal Bells are as intimidating as they are annoying.
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And one thing Georgia has done this year is they've given everybody a head start.
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They've had to come from behind in five of their six SEC games.
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At some point it's going to bite them in the butt.
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I did the Florida game last week.
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The thing that concerns me in this matchup is giving up explosive plays on busted coverages.
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There was three times last week that they had guys running wide open down field Florida did.
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One time, DJ Legway hit a touchdown.
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One time, just completely overthrew a guy.
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And at the end of the game, if he sets his feet,
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Jay Michael Sturd event is running wide open for a touchdown.
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And Florida's up in that game with a couple minutes to play.
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Mississippi State has two dynamic receivers, Brennan Thompson,
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is possibly the fastest receiver in the entire country.
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Anthony Evans, the former Georgia Bulldog is dynamic.
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If Georgia gives those, Cal Bells a little bit of a head start
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and give up some explosive plays, this is a bad matchup for them in a bad spot.
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Horton ball.
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Completely agree.
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Texas A&M's eight one against the spread this season.
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More importantly, Georgia doesn't win by margin.
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This isn't the same pass rush.
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We were remembering years past.
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They're winning games, but they're beating Ole Miss by eight.
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They're beating Florida by four.
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They beat Tennessee by three.
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That's a lot of points for the Bulldogs in this one.
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I like the dog here.
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RC.
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Yeah, so Georgia, first off, where are you?
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Because that's definitely an SEC City hotel room.
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RC.
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The lockkinta and Starkful, and I'm on a ground level.
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I'm looking at people getting in their cars right now outside the window.
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They might be peeking in here at me.
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The bed is so perfect.
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I need that, by the way.
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I'm going to make sure I'm going to make a big event.
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Last week, they had a guy mowing the lawn right outside.
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I know it was so loud.
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I couldn't hear you.
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SEC, baby.
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When you go to these SEC schools, you are not staying in big-time quality hotels.
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Do I have a question?
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The LSU Tigers, how much of a chance do you give them to have a great game or push the Alabama
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Crimson Tide to the limit when they go to Tuscaloosa?
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RC.
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I think this might be the best we see of LSU.
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I talked to Kirby Smart last week doing the Florida game.
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You said you have to be really weary of the interim juice that teams can have.
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After you fire a coach, there's a new voice, a new leadership, new energy, something to prove.
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There's still a lot of talent in that locker room on both sides of the football.
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I think they put it together this week.
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I don't think it's going to be enough to beat Bama.
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But I think it's the best version of Garrett and Usmire in these weapons on offense we have seen.
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Because of just the renewed energy, maybe a lot of that weight off their shoulders and other brand killies out of there.
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Outstanding.
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Fortenburg gave you the exact same thing before.
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Jordan Outstanding, thank you.
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You can tell the guy he can go back to mowing now, thank you for having a great while we were alive.
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And we'll see you this weekend coming up, speaking to this weekend.
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Ken Lamar, Jackson's dominance of NFC teams, push the Ravens past the Vikings.
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You'll find out why one member of our crew thinks JJ McCarthy is going to steal that spotlight.
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But first, here we go.
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There's nothing in the world that makes trigger more nervous than going up against Hembo.
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The March Action starts his 100th career game on Sunday.
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Which quarterback produced the most touchdowns, passing plus rushing in his first 100 NFL starts?
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That's the question. Answer is next.
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The question.
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This everyone in the room agrees this is a great question.
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Great question.
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Which quarterback, Lamar Jackson's playing as 100th game this weekend?
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Which quarterback produced the most touchdowns of passing and rushing in his first 100 NFL starts?
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I love the question.
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I love that.
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I'm going to go way off the board here.
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I'm going to say that guy who is back in groceries at the high V way back when I'm going to say Kurt Warner out of the gate had monster seasons.
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That's not right.
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It's Aaron Rogers.
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Patrick Holmes was very close.
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My Holmes is second.
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That's great.
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With 237 Josh Allen Danmarino Lamar Jackson who will climb onto this list this weekend and Brett Farr.
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Warner, nowhere to be found.
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Warner, not particularly.
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He didn't run for many.
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That's fair.
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He threw a lot of touchdowns.
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I kept underlying.
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I didn't know if you would pick up on it.
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I kept getting the word starts.
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Yeah.
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You can remember.
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You had your sat a long time before he started starting.
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All right.
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Score that one for Hembo.
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So that's who we got in that one.
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Great question.
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Let's finish it up on this football Friday with the game of who you got.
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Joe Fortenbach.
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Steelers, Chargers, NLA.
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Chargers are a two and a half point favorite who you got.
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Chargers.
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If the Steelers are coming all the way across the country, you're telling me I don't even have to lay the full three points for home field in this matchup.
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I'll take L.A.
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The Joe Alt injury is concerning.
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But Pittsburgh a bit overvalued after what we just saw.
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Nice win over the Colts, but you four six turnovers.
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I don't see that as sustainable.
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Chargers don't generally have your true home field advantage as far as fandom and all that kind of stuff they're missing their tackles.
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RC, it's a game the Steelers need to win.
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Do you believe they will?
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First off, they're going to be more terrible towels than anything inside of SoFi.
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And the other piece of this is the Steelers are starting to find the way they need to play in order to win games.
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The quick throws by Aaron Rogers.
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They're trying to be more physical in the run.
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And they're 12 and 13 personnel using Darnell Washington as a pass catcher alone with Pat Firemuth has been huge.
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But it's about the defense.
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I believe that Terrell Austin found something last week, especially with Kyle Dugger and Jalen Ramsey at the safety position.
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We'll see if he can keep it going this week against Bart Warty like the Chargers.
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I mean, I just think that it's a tall task for the Steelers going across the country.
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But also, you know, what they did yesterday last week, it was impressive because they got the turnovers.
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But you can't rely on that.
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Even with that being said, the only one by seven points.
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I think that, you know, we, I don't know if this secondary has been fixed yet.
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I don't know if it's ready to go because yet they don't have the protection, but they also they have great receivers on the outside.
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You know, I know you lying on you, you'll believe that.
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You just hate it.
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You started stuttering right out the gate.
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And soon as he asked you, you know, my, you know, my middle name is Joe.
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Yeah, he's stood as a stud of.
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I was saying this.
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I, we have to go back in the archives.
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I'm not sure Bart has ever picked the Steelers to win a game on this show.
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I think that Joe Walt lost his huge Chargers and especially against TJ White.
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I'd also say to RC's point, I saw duck Hodges and the Steelers go into California.
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And it'll be terrible towels and beat them in that building.
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I think there's going to be a big Pittsburgh contingent there.
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And I've seen West match up in a huge one.
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We moved these teams played on a Thursday night earlier in the season.
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It was a great one.
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Joe Rams and Niners.
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It's a big number for, in favor of the Rams.
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What do you like?
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Open three up the four and a half.
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I wouldn't lay the four and a half.
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If I got to make a play, I'll lean to the Rams.
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I like over 49 and a half points.
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I think this is going to be an absolute firefight given the state of the Niners defense.
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Bottom 10 pass rush and it'd be worse.
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If you didn't count the Boce games from early in the season,
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Rams out for revenge after what we saw on that Thursday night game.
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But the Niners do have a history of keeping this thing close.
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Shannie Hand knows McVeighwell.
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Great track record against him.
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Yeah, you know, you look at the Rams right now.
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This is a team that's hot.
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I think Devonte Adams is starting to come along even more with that chemistry
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with Matthew Stafford.
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But to me, it's about this defense.
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We saw Mac Jones play extremely well.
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342 yards in the first meeting.
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I think Chris Schule makes that adjustment to the short,
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quick passing game, the motion with Christian McAfry.
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And the Rams understand what's at stake.
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And when this game gets a very banged up, 49ers.
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Yeah, I mean, I just look at the Rams and just Matthew Stafford is coming into his own.
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I think he's playing at an MVP level.
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And his defense, they have the most balance.
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And I think, you know, the fact that you can't, you know,
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get to get to Matthew Stafford.
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Naturally, what a rush means is that Saul is going to have to do something
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that he doesn't really like to do.
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And that's blitz.
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And I think Matthew Stafford is going to eat it up.
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I don't mean to be dismissive of the players that are on the field.
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But this is such a shell of what the 49ers defense was even the last time they played.
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They are so banged up.
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So many injuries.
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The Michael Williams injury was huge last week.
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And I think the Rams do have a score to settle.
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I think the Rams, when I think the Rams have been big in this one.
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I'm merely doing what Scott Van Peltow is doing with you on Monday nights.
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I'm saving the graphic.
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I'm going up the Oppo.
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And you know what?
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It almost always works.
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All right, finally one here.
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Joe, we got Minnesota and Baltimore.
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The Vikings are a four and a half point favorite.
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Excuse me, the Vikings are a four and a half point dog at home.
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Who do you got?
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Best way to bet this one is Baltimore in the first half minus two and a half.
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No quarterback in NFL history is more profitable against the first half point spread than Lamar Jackson's 63%.
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When he's on the road and on the road is a favorite, that number gets even better.
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You want a full game pick?
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I'll still go with the Ravens.
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10 days to get ready, which is the key here.
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Brian Flores blitz is more than anybody in the NFL.
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Lamar traditionally has had some struggles against the blitz.
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But if you give them 10 days to get ready for it, that tweaks the advantage back over to the Ravens.
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He also has an ungodly record against the NFC.
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24 and what?
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Three?
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I think it's same against the NFC.
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Yeah, it's either 24, 3 and 3 and 4.
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Whatever it is, it's a ridiculous little.
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Is that?
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I've always wondered about that though.
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Like that encompasses so many different teams and so many different situations.
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I think first off, when you don't see him unlock, it's actually startling in person.
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When you don't get to prepare.
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Like, oh he fast.
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Right.
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Exactly.
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Damn.
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Like I thought, you had to have the angle.
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The guy becomes the spy indeed.
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You realize, oh wait, that's not the right angle.
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And I think so many times when you play Lamar Jackson the first time, there's this level of fear that he capitalizes on with execution.
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And I think we'll see what Brian Flores has cooked up for him because he's one of the best in-game schemers in the league right now.
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Well, I got this staff from him, Beesey.
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When you talk about, you know, Brian Flores and how aggressive it is.
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A lot of times, that's cover one.
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What do you never do against a running quarterback?
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Go cover one, turn your back to the court.
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Right.
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So last week we talked about Justin Herbert having like 60-something yards rushing.
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What is that for Lamar?
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Lamar can create explosive plays from scrambling.
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And also, he's been so good last week with throwing the touchdown pass that he's found that balance of being able to buy time in the pocket, still throw the ball down the field.
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If you want the opposite side of the spectrum, you got Lamar Jackson, he's a dynamic athlete.
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You look at him, and then he got Indra Van Ginkel, who just got back from the Vikings with this long hair.
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He doesn't look the part, and yet is such a different maker.
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And it's like these guys, Van Ginkel might be the right guy.
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It's like Tommy Gunn versus like, man, come on, get out of here, man.
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I'm sorry, man.
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What more wrong?
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What more wrong?
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It's an error, no bail.
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I'm not a rider.
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You're not a rider, you're not a rider.
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We are rolling along on this football Friday and first take, picked up the baton coming up next.
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So the Broncos have a bow nicks problem.
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Is Daniel Jones the quarterback under the most pressure this weekend?
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Steve and A. Cam and Company first take top of the hour here on ESPN.
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Get up is presented by Oral B, the electric toothbrush that gives you a perfect clean.
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All right, huge weekend coming up, including college basketball tonight,
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seven o'clock Eastern time, a battle of the blue bloods.
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He got Kansas taken on Carolina, all the action tonight, seven Eastern on ESPN and the old new ESPN app.
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And if the NBA is your game, we got to cover it tomorrow night, late night,
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suns and clippers going head to head.
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Evening will start with NBA countdown at 10 o'clock Eastern, followed by all the action coming your way.
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10 30 Eastern on ESPN and the ESPN app.
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And that is all the time we have on this football Friday.
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Thanks for getting up with us.
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Enjoy all the action this weekend and we'll see you back and better than every Monday.
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Same time, same place.
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Get up on ESPN.
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