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Speaker 1: We head out to the ka Comma Spirit Health Highline

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Speaker 1: to bring on Ian Rappaport, our NFL Network Insider powered

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Speaker 1: by Chevron. Chevron the human Energy company committed to our

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Speaker 1: local communities and safely delivering affordable, reliable, ever cleaner energy.

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Speaker 2: Ian.

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Speaker 3: Good afternoon, sir, Thank you so much for the time.

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Speaker 2: How are you no problem? What's going on? Guys?

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Speaker 1: How are you?

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Speaker 2: Oh?

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Speaker 3: We're fantastic.

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Speaker 1: I mean you can imagine how excited we are here

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Speaker 1: in Denver after winning that game yesterday afternoon. What has

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Speaker 1: been sort of the buzz that you've heard off the

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Speaker 1: Broncos win?

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Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean, I think it's an interesting one. The

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Speaker 2: whole Broncos season has been interesting because you know, I

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Speaker 2: don't know how like aesthetically.

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Speaker 4: Pleasing it's been, you know, and generally when you have

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Speaker 4: teams that have great defenses and the offenses just sort

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Speaker 4: of make plays when it matters, like sometimes it doesn't,

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Speaker 4: you know, quote unquote look great, which I.

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Speaker 2: Think, you know, is probably why Broncos fans are feeling

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Speaker 2: like maybe people don't fully appreciate them. But that's okay,

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Speaker 2: because the winds still count. They're still you know, in

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Speaker 2: commanding possession. Of first place in the division. They still

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Speaker 2: beat the Chiefs and I think, you know, are the

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Speaker 2: biggest threat to Kansas, you know, basically taking away Kansas

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Speaker 2: City stranglehold on the ANFC West really pretty fascinating, honestly, Ian.

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Speaker 5: Around the league, how do people look at the Broncos

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Speaker 5: now at ninety two. I'm sure a lot of people

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Speaker 5: didn't envision this when the season started. They'd be nine

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Speaker 5: to two at the at the break for them, and

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Speaker 5: you said, they've been winning ugly. It hasn't been that

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Speaker 5: pleasant at times, but they certainly seem to have the

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Speaker 5: clutch gene bow Nicks in particular, They're going to be

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Speaker 5: a formidi formidable team down the stretch. How are people

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Speaker 5: looking at them around the NFL?

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Speaker 1: Oh?

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Speaker 2: Yeah, And I think you know, they do the things

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Speaker 2: that good teams really need to do in you know,

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Speaker 2: December and January when it gets really cold, which is

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Speaker 2: they hit and they run the football. You know. Obviously

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Speaker 2: that took a took a hit when JK. Dobbins went

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Speaker 2: out for the season. Obviously there's a chance it could

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Speaker 2: be back in February. But I think, you know, out

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Speaker 2: for the season is generally kind of the thought and

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Speaker 2: you know, so, look, I think they're going to be

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Speaker 2: around when it matters. You know. The interesting thing is,

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Speaker 2: and especially as it relates to bo Nicks, is like,

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Speaker 2: you know, there are plenty of things you can point

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Speaker 2: to where you can say, well, you know, he's he's inconsistent,

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Speaker 2: and like you know, for instance, on you know, on

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Speaker 2: the Thursday night game with it one, it was sort

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Speaker 2: of like, well, it's the main consistencies only really makes

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Speaker 2: plays at the end. But it's sort of like that's

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Speaker 2: what it is, and that's what the NFL is, and

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Speaker 2: I think that's how then the margin Prairie is. You know,

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Speaker 2: if you can hang around and make important plays at

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Speaker 2: the end, you can win plenty games until you know

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Speaker 2: your consistency and your you know, everything else kind of

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Speaker 2: catches up. So, you know, I think the Broncos are

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Speaker 2: good enough. I think the record is going to put

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Speaker 2: them in a place where they're gonna have some advantages

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Speaker 2: in the playoffs. They'll have to go play and win,

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Speaker 2: but certainly looks like they're going to be there again.

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Speaker 3: You know, how would you characterize the AFC right now?

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Speaker 1: It feels relatively wide open, especially as we consider teams

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Speaker 1: like Baltimore's the Kansas City Chiefs, I guess maybe even Cincinnati.

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Speaker 1: In that conversation, the Chargers had a tough loss yesterday

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Speaker 1: and even Buffalo is playing for a wild card. It

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Speaker 1: seems like we have a lot of new blood there

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Speaker 1: at the top of the AFC right now.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, And I think that's you know, for those of

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Speaker 2: us who've been doing this a while, like, you know,

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Speaker 2: nothing against Kansas City, obviously, but you sort of, you know,

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Speaker 2: nothing wrong with some new blood, some new faces. You

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Speaker 2: get into the playoffs and you're learning about people and

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Speaker 2: you're watching new people, and you know, it's like the

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Speaker 2: Bills are great, and my guess is they're going to

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Speaker 2: be there right at the end. But this Patriots team

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Speaker 2: is pretty fun and pretty fun to watch, you know.

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Speaker 2: I think the Ravens are, you know, kind of the

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Speaker 2: team that's lurking right now. One last week didn't even

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Speaker 2: play great, but are you know, back to five hundred

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Speaker 2: and Lamar's healthy, and you know, they're a team to

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Speaker 2: really really keep an eye on. The Cults are another one.

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Speaker 2: You know, nobody came into the season talking about the Colts,

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Speaker 2: and I think they've showed that they do it. The

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Speaker 2: right way. They have some great weapons, they played defense well,

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Speaker 2: and they run the heck out of the ball. That's enough,

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Speaker 2: you know. But I'm looking forward to seeing some new

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Speaker 2: teams and learning about some new teams as you get

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Speaker 2: deep into the season and the postseason.

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Speaker 5: Here Ian, regarding the Chiefs five and five, I'm here,

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Speaker 5: some people say the end of a dynasty. Patrick Mahomes

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Speaker 5: not having a great year. They didn't look that great

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Speaker 5: yesterday against the Broncos. I could see why people would

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Speaker 5: say that maybe the dynasty's over for this season. But

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Speaker 5: let's go look a little bit forward after the season.

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Speaker 5: Do you think they can rebuild that mojo that they

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Speaker 5: had with this group they have right now?

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Speaker 2: Yeah. I'm not even ready to give up on the

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Speaker 2: season though, because as long as they have Patrick Mahomes,

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Speaker 2: they got a shot. I mean again, like God forbid,

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Speaker 2: they get into the playoffs. Let's say they get into

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Speaker 2: the playoffs and they're the seventeen Who in the world

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Speaker 2: wants to face Who in the world wants to face

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Speaker 2: Patrick Mahomes? You know who in the world. So I

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Speaker 2: think that's you know, I am not ready to give

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Speaker 2: up on the dynasty, and it's you know, It's like

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Speaker 2: when when Joe Burrow said and his own said, you know,

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Speaker 2: how long is the Bengals playoff window open? He says,

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Speaker 2: as long as I'm playing. I would say this is

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Speaker 2: very very same thing for Kansas City, no doubt, as

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Speaker 2: long as Mahomes is playing, the window is opening.

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Speaker 1: Have you heard anything on Jayden Daniel's potential availability on

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Speaker 1: the other side of this buy for Washington? I know

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Speaker 1: they lost yesterday. They're on a bit of a losing

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Speaker 1: streak right now. Does that impact at all the way

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Speaker 1: they would prepare to bring him back?

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Speaker 2: It might? Yeah, you know, I just if he's going

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Speaker 2: to get back out there, you sort of let if

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Speaker 2: it was all worth it, you know. Now, he's gonna

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Speaker 2: want to play, just like Joe Burrow is gonna want

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Speaker 2: to play. All these guys want to play. They are

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Speaker 2: football players and know.

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Speaker 5: What they do.

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Speaker 2: They play football. So he's gonna want to get out there,

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Speaker 2: and it'll be interesting to see, you know, kind of

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Speaker 2: what the team does. Do they you know, protect him

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Speaker 2: from himself and if he's fully cleared, you know, shouldn't

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Speaker 2: he be able to say, like, I want to play.

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Speaker 2: So I think there's some big decisions coming my general

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Speaker 2: sense was that, you know, the Broncos game would maybe

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Speaker 2: be a game too early, but no one has ruled

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Speaker 2: it out either, so you know, we'll we'll see, and

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Speaker 2: I think more information coming later in the week because

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Speaker 2: the plan was to evaluate Jayden throughout the bye and

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Speaker 2: that's kind of where they're at now.

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Speaker 1: Last one I have for you, Michael Pennix Junior going

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Speaker 1: on I are kind of another tough injury for him

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Speaker 1: over the course of his young career. The Falcons are

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Speaker 1: three and seven, and I obviously going to go Kirk Cousins. Now,

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Speaker 1: what do you think that this does for maybe their

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Speaker 1: future plans at quarterback, assuming that this season continues down

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Speaker 1: the trajectory that they missed the playoffs.

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Speaker 2: Well, I would say this like there's some ACL damage

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Speaker 2: for Michael Pennix, and so if he ends up having

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Speaker 2: ACL reconstruction is probably right up against the start of

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Speaker 2: the year next year. At the very least, they're going

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Speaker 2: to have to bring in some protection for him, a

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Speaker 2: bridge starter, a really good backup, you know, someone like

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Speaker 2: Kirk Cousins, but hard to imagine it is Kirk countin

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Speaker 2: als he decides to take a very very very low deal.

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Speaker 2: You know, or unless he, you know, maybe plays lights

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Speaker 2: out the next month and everything has to be reconsidered,

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Speaker 2: so you know, they'll need sort of a backup plan.

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Speaker 2: But if you're asking, do I think that they've stopped

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Speaker 2: thinking Michael Penicks as a franchise quarterback, I don't. I

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Speaker 2: think the people who are there still invested in him,

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Speaker 2: people who made the pick. I think there's a lot

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Speaker 2: to like. He's just, you know, a quarterback without a

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Speaker 2: ton of NFL experience, who you know, unfortunate. It has

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Speaker 2: done some things, It made some throws, it makes At

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Speaker 2: various times it makes you think that he's the guy.

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Speaker 2: But then at other times you're kind of like, all right,

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Speaker 2: is he So I'm still plenty of answers to come

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Speaker 2: in Atlanta.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, no doubt about it. Ian always appreciated me, and

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Speaker 3: we'll check in me next week.

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Speaker 2: Okay, thanks guys, thank you, Thank you.

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Speaker 3: Ian Rockaport Our NFL Network Inside