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Speaker 1: A team captain. Did that surprise you or with your

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Speaker 1: reaction to that honor?

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Speaker 2: Yeah, I'm very honored, you know, to be able to

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Speaker 2: be voted by my teammates and peers. Uh, you know,

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Speaker 2: be able to be a captain on the team and

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Speaker 2: and that you know my teammates. You know, I think

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Speaker 2: that way of me. So I'm very honored by it,

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Speaker 2: and uh, it means a lot to me.

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Speaker 3: So, yeah, it's something you were expecting or did it

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Speaker 3: kind of catch you by surprise or anything like that.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean I wasn't really thinking about it. You know.

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Speaker 2: I've just been trying to get better every day, come

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Speaker 2: to practice, trying to push the guys around me and

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Speaker 2: be ready for week one, and uh, that's really just

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Speaker 2: where my mindset has been. So when we came in

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Speaker 2: for a meeting and we had voted about stuff, I

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Speaker 2: was like, shoot, you know, I sort of forgot about

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Speaker 2: voting for captains and all that kind of stuff. And

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Speaker 2: then once we came back a couple of days later

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Speaker 2: and saw my name on the board, I was like, wow,

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Speaker 2: Like what an honor? So yeah, well, how would you put.

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Speaker 4: Into words what you've done in the past six months

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Speaker 4: to get to this point where you were able to.

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Speaker 3: Play in a season.

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Speaker 2: Yeah. Man, I'm just so thankful, you know, to be

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Speaker 2: able to go through what I've done, just in terms

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Speaker 2: of the rehab, have all the help that I've had

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Speaker 2: with you know, all the physical therapist, my surgeon, uh,

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Speaker 2: the strength and conditioning staff and everyone here, medical staff,

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Speaker 2: with the Niners, They've all played a huge role. And

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Speaker 2: so it wasn't just me, and so I had a

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Speaker 2: lot of help and I'm very thankful for everyone that

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Speaker 2: I played a part in that. But yeah, it was

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Speaker 2: a it was a somewhat of a long six months.

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Speaker 2: But at the same time, it's like, man, you know,

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Speaker 2: I felt like that Eagles game was just yesterday. So

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Speaker 2: here we are getting ready for Game one, and I'm

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Speaker 2: really excited about it.

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Speaker 4: The loading week last week, did you did you feel

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Speaker 4: a noticeable difference? How is it maybe helps you or

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Speaker 4: how do you feel it this week?

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Speaker 2: Yeah? It was good last week to be able to

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Speaker 2: you know, just sort of let the arm, you know,

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Speaker 2: dload in terms of reps and Whatnotuh, just so it's

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Speaker 2: fresh and one hundred percent ready to roll for the

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Speaker 2: season and stuff. It's gonna be a long ride, uh,

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Speaker 2: for the season, So it was, uh, it was all

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Speaker 2: part of the plan and arm feels really good.

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Speaker 1: So you talked about pushing players around you. What have

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Speaker 1: you learned about pushing players in an environment where there's

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Speaker 1: so many self motivated guys. I mean, how do you

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Speaker 1: know what buttons to push or is that how you

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Speaker 1: even approach it?

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Speaker 2: Yeah. I don't feel like you have to come into

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Speaker 2: this locker room and be a raw rock guy and

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Speaker 2: tell guys and and you know, try a lot of

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Speaker 2: fire under guys you know here, everyone you know knows

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Speaker 2: what the job is, what the standard is. But I

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Speaker 2: feel like once you get out in the field and

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Speaker 2: you're practicing in the weight room, just the way you

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Speaker 2: carry yourself and you're willing to like show the guys

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Speaker 2: around you know that hey, like this guy, he wants

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Speaker 2: to win. And so I feel like that is sort

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Speaker 2: of like my my route of I guess motivation for

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Speaker 2: the guys you know around me. But you know, we

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Speaker 2: have such a older team and and a lot of

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Speaker 2: guys with the experience and stuff. So to be able

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Speaker 2: to come in just do your job, do it well,

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Speaker 2: and then guys will respect that around you. So that's

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Speaker 2: really you know, where my mindset has been with that,

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Speaker 2: and and you know, I've learned guys obviously, like Fred Warner,

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Speaker 2: George Kittle, Christian you know, how they go about their

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Speaker 2: business and and makes me better and you know it

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Speaker 2: makes everyone else better in our locker room.

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Speaker 3: So last year was such a role win for you.

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Speaker 3: I mean, once you got into the lineup, it was

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Speaker 3: a game every week and sometimes a short week. What's

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Speaker 3: it been like for you to just kind of hone

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Speaker 3: in and I don't know how long you've focused on

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Speaker 3: specifically facing the Steelers, but what's that process been like

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Speaker 3: for you this season?

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Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean, honestly taking what I had learned last year,

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Speaker 2: just in terms of how I prep for a game,

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Speaker 2: what the week looks like. Obviously, I feel like it

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Speaker 2: changed a little bit, as you know, from the beginning

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Speaker 2: of the year all the way to the end. As

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Speaker 2: I became the starter, I did a lot of a

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Speaker 2: lot of similar things that I did as a backup

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Speaker 2: that you know, allowed me to be ready for my opportunity.

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Speaker 2: And so I've taken that and you know, applied it,

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Speaker 2: you know, for for this year, you know, really starting

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Speaker 2: in camp all the way up up until now and

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Speaker 2: I'll continue to do it. So I feel like, you know,

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Speaker 2: the co which is everyone around me has has a

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Speaker 2: you know, just a great schedule and plan laid out,

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Speaker 2: and I just gotta trust, you know, what they're trying

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Speaker 2: to teach and show me and stuff, and then obviously

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Speaker 2: I do what you know, I think is necessary for myself.

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Speaker 2: So just trusting to trust in the process and you know,

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Speaker 2: not changing, but just be myself.

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Speaker 3: So what what stands out about the Steelers when you

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Speaker 3: watch them on film? They obviously good players on all

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Speaker 3: three levels of the What do you watch them?

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Speaker 2: Yeah, you know, I feel like they you know, they

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Speaker 2: play really hard for four quarters. You know, they're a

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Speaker 2: team that I feel like, uh, you know last year

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Speaker 2: they got really hot as a team. You know, they

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Speaker 2: have this like fire that they play with, and you know,

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Speaker 2: obviously it starts with their front, their backers, their secondary.

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Speaker 2: They're just well coached and you know, when you watch

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Speaker 2: the film, you know they there's just guys that pop

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Speaker 2: out and you know it's like, man, we got to

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Speaker 2: play four quarters really hard against this team, so it's

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Speaker 2: gonna be it's gonna be a tough, tough opponent and

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Speaker 2: we respect them, and you know they're gonna be a

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Speaker 2: team that like that brings it every single play. There's

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Speaker 2: no plays off I feel like from really anyone on

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Speaker 2: their defense.

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Speaker 1: So did you Did you meet Pickett at all during

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Speaker 1: the whole rookie quarterback thing during whether it was Combine

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Speaker 1: or any other place.

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Speaker 2: At the combine? Yep, So he was. He was a

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Speaker 2: great guy. Everyone loved being around him. I love being

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Speaker 2: around him. You know. Obviously we haven't really hung out

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Speaker 2: or anything much outside of that, but got to meet

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Speaker 2: him a little bit there, and he's a great guy.

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Speaker 4: Have you had any time and you look back at

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Speaker 4: where you were last year and this year obviously preparing

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Speaker 4: for the game, but have you had a moment of, well, come.

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Speaker 1: Along with.

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Speaker 2: I mean, honestly, you know, there's some some I guess

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Speaker 2: moments where I'm able to sort of set back and

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Speaker 2: be thankful for everything and whatnot. But at the same time,

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Speaker 2: it's like, man, there's a lot in front of me that,

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Speaker 2: you know, I'm trying to handle and prepare for, obviously

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Speaker 2: with this game coming up, and then really this whole

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Speaker 2: offseason has been about my arm, getting it right, getting healthy.

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Speaker 2: So I'm just trying to take it one day at

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Speaker 2: a time, and you know, not trying to get caught

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Speaker 2: up in too much other stuff. But for me, it's

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Speaker 2: you know, I want to win and were to play football

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Speaker 2: and I love the game, and you know that's where

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Speaker 2: I'm out in my life.

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Speaker 5: So I like Menka Fitzpatrick six interceptions. It seems that

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Speaker 5: he does some freelancing. He's he's obviously, Uh, somebody gets

146
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Speaker 5: in a lot of throwing lenes.

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Speaker 3: Is it. How difficult is it.

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Speaker 5: To prepare for somebody that has that much responsibility and

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Speaker 5: in such a you know, space eater on the back end.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, no, Yeah, he's all over the film, you know,

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Speaker 2: just flying around obviously reading the quarterback's eyes like they

152
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Speaker 2: give him a lot of freedom. I feel like to

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Speaker 2: be himself and play and so definitely definitely respect him.

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Speaker 2: But yeah, while watching it and stuff, it's like, man,

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Speaker 2: we got to play our game. I got to play

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Speaker 2: within you know, our scheme, not trying to get wrapped

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Speaker 2: up in just one single guy. Because they have players

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Speaker 2: all across the board, so it's not just him. We

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Speaker 2: respect him everything that he does, Yes, but you know,

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Speaker 2: I gotta just play the play, the play that coach

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Speaker 2: calls and and do what we're, you know, trying to

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Speaker 2: get accomplished throughout the game, every single drive, every single play.

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Speaker 2: So definitely respect him what he does. But you know,

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Speaker 2: there's there's ten other guys on the field to that

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Speaker 2: are also really good.

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Speaker 4: Patrick Peterson is predicted intercept you.

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Speaker 2: No, he said that.

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Speaker 4: Yeah, if I can give you the quote.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, there is.

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Speaker 3: I'm fifty one.

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Speaker 4: There are some tell signs out there that tells us

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Speaker 4: what plays we're gonna get from these guys in certain situations.

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Speaker 4: When I get my pick Sunday, we'll talk about it.

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Speaker 4: I mean, like, I don't mean to freak you out here,

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Speaker 4: but I mean, do you say that like, oh my gosh,

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Speaker 4: yeah whatever, or you know, is that just kind of

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Speaker 4: some pre dame.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, I mean I don't really know what to

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Speaker 2: say about that. I mean, he's a good player. Patrick

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Speaker 2: Peterson is a great player. I grew up watching him

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Speaker 2: and everything. I was obviously from Arizona. He played for

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Speaker 2: the Cardinals and stuff. So yeah, it's the competitive nature,

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Speaker 2: I guess of football. So we'll see