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Speaker 1: The Cincinnati Slingers are set to begin play in the

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Speaker 1: International Arena League, with the first home game happening at

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Speaker 1: the Heritage Bank Center Saturday, April the twenty fifth, when

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Speaker 1: the Slingers take on Arizona. The head coach of the

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Speaker 1: Cincinnati Slingers is a Sean King. It's awesome to have you, coach.

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Speaker 1: What about this opportunity to join this franchise was appealing

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Speaker 1: to you?

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Speaker 2: Well, I mean just a stability that when Tom presented

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Speaker 2: it to me, just the stability of the league, and

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Speaker 2: then just an opportunity to get back to giving back

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Speaker 2: to this game that has done so much for me.

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Speaker 2: And so when this opportunity arose, you know, I took

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Speaker 2: the time to do my research and check things out,

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Speaker 2: and then once you know, once we examined all that,

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Speaker 2: it just felt it felt like the right situation for me.

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Speaker 1: So the first question that everybody has is when a

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Speaker 1: team announces its formation, is all right, where you're going

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Speaker 1: to get players from? So describe for me what the

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Speaker 1: the player acquisition process has been like.

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Speaker 2: Well, I mean, you know, I've been around the game

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Speaker 2: for a while, so I had some resources out there

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Speaker 2: with that kind of stuff. But you know when we

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Speaker 2: started looking for guys when we first got to find it,

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Speaker 2: and you know, you're looking for a quarterback, somebody who

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Speaker 2: can lead and has had some success and understands the game.

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Speaker 2: And that was the first thing I did. And you know,

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Speaker 2: I had Charles McCallum the day I signed. He was

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Speaker 2: already ready to go. So I feel like having him

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Speaker 2: as our you know, our key centerpiece is huge for us,

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Speaker 2: just in how we wanted to build and and and

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Speaker 2: gave us you know, a good starting to point to

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Speaker 2: then just build around that and then from there, you know,

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Speaker 2: we we wanted to build from the inside out. And

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Speaker 2: I wanted to get lineman, make sure I got the

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Speaker 2: right lineman authentsively and defensively, because you know, without without

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Speaker 2: protecting ours and getting up to theirs, the game of

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Speaker 2: football is, you know, it can be hard on you.

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Speaker 2: So if we can do those things, if we can

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Speaker 2: protect it and get out to theirs, then we're doing,

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Speaker 2: you know, doing a good job. And then then I

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Speaker 2: went after you know, our skill guys and started to

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Speaker 2: grab some some guys that had played for me, and

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Speaker 2: guys who had had some some success in the uh

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Speaker 2: indoor or arena game. Some vets and then mixed that

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Speaker 2: with a couple of you know, rookies here and there,

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Speaker 2: and then that's you know, that's what you're building there.

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Speaker 2: So you want, you know, you you obviously want some

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Speaker 2: some uh, you know, starters and stars who have who've

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Speaker 2: been in the game and things like that, but you

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Speaker 2: also need some rookies, uh to to you know, they're

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Speaker 2: they're young, they're they're fresh meat, and they can get

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Speaker 2: out there and get after it.

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Speaker 1: How many of your players will play both sides of

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Speaker 1: the ball, uh.

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Speaker 2: To be honest with you, not many. We have a

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Speaker 2: lineman that well, well, let's let's put it this way.

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Speaker 2: There's a multiple there's a lot of guys that can

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Speaker 2: that can play both, but we're only we're only asking

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Speaker 2: guys to play one side of the ball. So if

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Speaker 2: they can give us the best that they can on

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Speaker 2: that side of the ball, then that will be great.

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Speaker 2: But we do have a couple of special guys that

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Speaker 2: can uh get after it on both sides of the ball.

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Speaker 2: And you'll see that too, So there'll be a handful

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Speaker 2: of guys that can do that, you know in arena football,

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Speaker 2: but more versatile you are, the better off your situation.

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Speaker 2: Is so you know, you're only suiting up twenty guys

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Speaker 2: to go to a game anyway. And so if you

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Speaker 2: got guys that can you know, can rush the faster

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Speaker 2: or play a little linebacker and mix up little things

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Speaker 2: here and there, then that that does well. And then

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Speaker 2: also on the other side, if you have a receiver

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Speaker 2: who can play a little dB, that helps you with

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Speaker 2: a swing guy that way as well. So, like I said,

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Speaker 2: the more guys that you have that can play both

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Speaker 2: ways or do multiple things, the better you are. But

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Speaker 2: you're not you know, hopefully you got enough talent where

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Speaker 2: you were only asking one guy to have to do

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Speaker 2: one thing. But you do come into you know, football

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Speaker 2: is a special game. You do come into cases where

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Speaker 2: one guy is that special and he can do things

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Speaker 2: that can help on both sides of the ball.

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Speaker 1: And we will do that in your career. And you

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Speaker 1: go back years in the arena game, how often have

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Speaker 1: you had to teach a guy a position that he's

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Speaker 1: never played before just so he can play two ways?

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Speaker 2: Well, I mean that's when I I mean I used myself.

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Speaker 2: For example, I came into the arena game as an

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Speaker 2: offensive specialist. I was just a receiver, kick returner guy.

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Speaker 2: And then uh, later in my career, as I found

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Speaker 2: out the niches of this game, you know, to to

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Speaker 2: stick around, and most coaches wanted to, you know, have

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Speaker 2: extra offensive guys around, I had to go play two way.

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Speaker 2: So when I signed with New York, I signed as

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Speaker 2: an offensive, a two way guy. So I played offense

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Speaker 2: and I played defensive back, which I hadn't played defense

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Speaker 2: since Pop Warner, you know what I'm saying. So then

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Speaker 2: and then from there I played another year and won

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Speaker 2: a championship playing receiver linebacker. And you know, I mean

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Speaker 2: I'm not the linebacker size or that I hadn't played,

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Speaker 2: like I said, defense since Pop Warner. But I was

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Speaker 2: one of those guys that had to be taught, you know.

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Speaker 2: Once I started to understand the game a little bit more,

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Speaker 2: I had to be taught how to play linebacker. Uh.

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Speaker 2: And once I was able to do that, you know,

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Speaker 2: and it's this the and change I was. Once I

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Speaker 2: was able to do that and learn that, I'm able

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Speaker 2: to now teach that to guys and help them just

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Speaker 2: with the little nuances because this is a little bit

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Speaker 2: different there than the NFL. Obviously, I mean, he has football,

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Speaker 2: but there's some there's some little specialties that you need

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Speaker 2: to acquire when playing arena football, and if you don't

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Speaker 2: understand those things, then it's going to make it harder

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Speaker 2: for you.

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Speaker 1: So so so take me, Sean King is with us,

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Speaker 1: the head coach of the brand new Cincinnati Slingers. Give

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Speaker 1: me some of the nuances that for for somebody who's

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Speaker 1: who's never watched the indoor game before it is going

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Speaker 1: to go to a Slingers game for the first time

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Speaker 1: and they compare it to quote traditional eleven on eleven football.

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Speaker 1: Give me some of the nuances that make your game different.

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Speaker 2: Okay, So well let's start with the guy in high motion,

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Speaker 2: all right, So at the snap of the ball, you

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Speaker 2: can have one of your receivers running towards the line

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Speaker 2: of scrimmage, and so the object is, yes, to get

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Speaker 2: up on their defensive back toes and beat your guy.

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Speaker 2: When we have a what we call either an option

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Speaker 2: route poco route, where you get up on a guy's

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Speaker 2: toes that you have the option to go post or

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Speaker 2: corner on him. And so that's that's arena football at

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Speaker 2: a nutshell, because if the team is playing man a

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Speaker 2: man and your best guy is beating their best guy

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Speaker 2: in this man the man of situation. Then you're doing okay,

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Speaker 2: you know. So that's one of the nuances on offense.

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Speaker 2: So you'll have a guy in high motion, things are

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Speaker 2: happening a lot quicker, which is kind of what translated

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Speaker 2: into Kurt Warner's game back in those days. That's a quarterback.

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Speaker 2: That's what helped him go on to be successful with

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Speaker 2: the Rams because he had learned at first when he

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Speaker 2: first got to arena, football wasn't slowing down. The game

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Speaker 2: goes fast. It happens fast. You got to slow the

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Speaker 2: game down. And then once it slowed down for Kurt,

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Speaker 2: it helped him then to lead the Iowa Barnstormers to

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Speaker 2: a championship or get there. And then and then he

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Speaker 2: got that opportunity with the Rams, and then the game

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Speaker 2: slowed down and now you're on a bigger field. So

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Speaker 2: it made it like you know, he had great pieces

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Speaker 2: around it, so it made his job a little easier.

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Speaker 2: So on the offensive side, it does that for you.

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Speaker 2: It quickens up to everything and then you have a

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Speaker 2: guy in high motion. And then on the defensive side,

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Speaker 2: like if you're watching the linebackers, you'll see two linebackers

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Speaker 2: out there. Well, they both can't just do what traditional

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Speaker 2: linebackers do. They both can't just run in and blitz

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Speaker 2: and and attack the quarterback. You're MAC. You have two linebackers,

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Speaker 2: and one is a MAC linebacker, which is like a

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Speaker 2: traditional six three two hundred and fifty pound guy. And

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Speaker 2: then you have your jack linebacker and he can range

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Speaker 2: from being a defensive back to a receiver or another linebacker.

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Speaker 2: He's just another body depending on your personnel and who

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Speaker 2: you're playing that week. He's the other body that you

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Speaker 2: want out there and to defend the offense. Like if

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Speaker 2: the team has a running quarterback or they like to

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Speaker 2: run the ball a lot, you're not gonna want a

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Speaker 2: receiver at jack linebacker. You're gonna want to put another

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Speaker 2: defensive guy, you know, whether it be a bigger DV

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Speaker 2: or a linebacker. Put one of those guys out there,

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Speaker 2: and now they can help stop the run. But a

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Speaker 2: flip side a couple of the rules for those linebackers.

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Speaker 2: The MAC linebacker can blitz forward through the A gap

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Speaker 2: either a gap on either side of the nose guard,

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Speaker 2: so he can only go up the A gaps. He

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Speaker 2: cannot rush outside the ends. There's only three linemen out there,

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Speaker 2: So there's a nose and two ends. He cannot go

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Speaker 2: outside of the end. Once he goes outside the end,

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Speaker 2: it's considered an illegal rush. All right. So that's your

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Speaker 2: mac linebacker. He can go up either a gap. He's

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Speaker 2: either going straight across, he's going straight ahead, or he's

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Speaker 2: gonna loop around around the nose guard and to the

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Speaker 2: other a gap and then on the uh for your

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Speaker 2: jack linebacker. Again, like I said, his rules are a

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Speaker 2: little bit different. So as you're if you're at a

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Speaker 2: game watching, you'll be like, well, why can't that guy

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Speaker 2: he should just run over there? Or he can even

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Speaker 2: restricted to it, all right? Yeah, yeah, because you know

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Speaker 2: you're just thinking you're outside playing Sam Lott football. But

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Speaker 2: there's rules and regulations to the situation. So uh, the

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Speaker 2: linebacker who can go kind of freelance a little bit

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Speaker 2: is a jack linebacker, and in our league he can

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Speaker 2: be he can go no deeper than five yards to

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Speaker 2: the line of the ball, up the line of stammate,

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Speaker 2: so he can than five yards, but he can go

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Speaker 2: sideline to sideline to snap to the ball. So when

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Speaker 2: they say, you know, when the team we're gonna snap

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Speaker 2: the ball, he can depending on what your defensive call is.

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Speaker 2: He can fly to the sideline, to the right or

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Speaker 2: to the left, but he can't go deep. He can't

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Speaker 2: drop back into coverage.

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Speaker 1: That's the most nuanced answer I've ever heard from a

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Speaker 1: football coach about anything that was that was awesome. Sean

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Speaker 1: King is with his head coach of the Cincinnati Slingers,

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Speaker 1: what will it be like in a league that has

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Speaker 1: tell me, if I'm wrong, five teams from overseas.

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Speaker 2: Well, it would be I mean, it'd be solidd I mean,

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Speaker 2: we got I'm speaking for our teams over here in

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Speaker 2: the United States. We have guys who have lots of

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Speaker 2: experience of coaching over here and playing, and then you know,

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Speaker 2: we we expect some of that to translate because we

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Speaker 2: have some some of our coaches going over there as well.

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Speaker 2: So I you know, I expect it to be a

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Speaker 2: high quality brand of football by the time we get

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Speaker 2: to the playoffs. You know, obviously the cream will have

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Speaker 2: risen to the top. So at that point we'll see

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Speaker 2: who has whose season has come into fruition and whose

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Speaker 2: season has not been what they wanted to be. But

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Speaker 2: I expect it to be, you know, a high quality

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Speaker 2: brand of football. We've all done, you know, our due

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Speaker 2: diligence of going out and finding the best players that

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Speaker 2: we can do, that we can bring in to help

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Speaker 2: make this league successful.

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Speaker 1: It's it's gonna be fun, always interesting to talk with

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Speaker 1: a coach who's helping assemble a new roster gets underway.

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Speaker 1: First home game on April the twenty fifth against Arizona

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Speaker 1: the Cincinnati Slingers, playing at the Heritage Bank Center. Coach,

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Speaker 1: can't thank you enough for the time. Welcome to Cincinnati

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Speaker 1: and we'll chat against to you man, Thanks so much.

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Speaker 2: All right, thank you, thank you for having me on.

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Speaker 1: Sean King, the head coach of the newly formed Cincinnati

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Speaker 1: Slingers of the International Arena League. You can learn more

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Speaker 1: about their team and their upcoming schedule at Cincinnati Slingers

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Speaker 1: dot com