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Speaker 1: They are maybe the one team in the division with

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Speaker 1: the least amount of question marks, at least as we

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Speaker 1: speak right now, they are the Los Angeles Rams. God

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Speaker 1: Zach Gershman with me will be joined by Stu Jackson,

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Speaker 1: senior staff writer for the Rams dot Com. We continue

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Speaker 1: our off season tradition taking a look around the rest

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Speaker 1: of the NFC West. It's Cardinals Cover two, Episode eight

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Speaker 1: ninety nine, and it starts now.

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Speaker 2: Welcome to Cardinals Cover two.

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Speaker 3: Boda Baker, What Heart? What rent? This guy's unbelievable.

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Speaker 2: Cardinals Cover two is presented by Hyundai, proud partner of

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Speaker 2: the Arizona Cardinals and by Arizona Cardinals Podcast. Visit Azycardinals

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Speaker 2: dot Com slash podcast.

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Speaker 3: He's at the ten half of five. He's it again.

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Speaker 3: Some more hurry magic.

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Speaker 2: Whow here's Craigcriol.

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Speaker 1: So I'm not sure if you notice Sack, and let's

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Speaker 1: be honest, you probably didn't.

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Speaker 4: Why do you always doubt me?

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Speaker 1: Okay, all right, let's see now.

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Speaker 4: Okay, now, let's scare. Now the pressure's on.

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Speaker 1: Did you know? Did you notice Chargers? Los Angeles Chargers

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Speaker 1: training camp is open. Rookies reported over the weekend Veterans

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Speaker 1: reports on Wednesday. They are the first team to quote

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Speaker 1: unquote officially begin training camp.

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Speaker 4: Is that because of the Hall of Fame game?

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Speaker 1: Yes, so you are kind of somewhat paying attention.

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Speaker 4: This is the part where I take my bow and

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Speaker 4: I say thank you for dubting me, Craig Greelou. I

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Speaker 4: will add you to the list of my haters and detractors.

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Speaker 4: But guess what I did know that You don't want

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Speaker 4: to know how I knew that because we have an

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Speaker 4: open seating concept that I saw you googling it.

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Speaker 1: Very fair, very very very good move on your point.

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Speaker 1: By the way, Cardinals all players reports now week next Tuesday,

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Speaker 1: with the first open practice on that Thursday. Forty nine

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Speaker 1: Ers and Seahawks. The rookies report Tuesday, meaning tomorrow, And

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Speaker 1: if you missed our conversations about those two teams, check

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Speaker 1: out the archives. Last week we talked all things San

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Speaker 1: Francisco forty nine Ers with Matt Barrows. This week, our

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Speaker 1: final stop on our tour of the NFC West, the

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Speaker 1: Los Angeles Rams. Stu Jackson, senior staff rider for the

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Speaker 1: Los Angeles Rams. The Rams dot Com will join us

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Speaker 1: here momentarily. You can follow Stu at STU Jay Rams

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Speaker 1: Rams by the way report on the twenty second, just

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Speaker 1: like the Cardinals. But this is a Rams team, and

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Speaker 1: I'm gonna bring up a subject that is near and

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Speaker 1: dear to your heart, Zach. But the Rams very very

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Speaker 1: easily could have been playing in the super Bowl instead

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Speaker 1: of the Philadelphia Eagles if not for potentially some weather

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Speaker 1: conditions over there in Philly. That was a good Rams

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Speaker 1: team that took the Eagles all the way down to

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Speaker 1: the end.

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Speaker 4: Yeah, well, smile speak you got me on that one.

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Speaker 4: But then again, it's not like the Eagles practice in

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Speaker 4: the snow. They're just used to the cold. Okay, they

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Speaker 4: have a bubble, but see, this is where the bubble,

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Speaker 4: just like the Arizona Cardinals, and this is where you

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Speaker 4: win enough games in the regular season home field advantage.

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Speaker 1: It's an advantage.

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Speaker 4: Which we talk about when you look back at the

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Speaker 4: rules that were trying to be changed. Wasn't it the

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Speaker 4: Detroit Lions that proposed something about how seating resonated or

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Speaker 4: based off the division. At the end of the day

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Speaker 4: that the result happened. And what I care more about

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Speaker 4: is hopefully that the Arizona Cardinals are playing in a

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Speaker 4: playoff game at State Farm Stadium, as opposed to the

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Speaker 4: Los Angeles Rams playing at a playoff game at State

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Speaker 4: Farm Stadium.

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Speaker 1: Rams went ten and seven last season, won the division.

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Speaker 1: And this was a team that, much like twenty twenty

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Speaker 1: three when they started three and six, still made the playoffs.

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Speaker 1: Last year in four still made the playoffs. Notoriously slow

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Speaker 1: starters at least the last couple of seasons, but they

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Speaker 1: always find a way, and in large part because who

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Speaker 1: they have at quarterback in Matthew Stafford year seventeen, year

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Speaker 1: five with the Rams, and as they say, if you

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Speaker 1: have a quarterback, you have a chance. In Matthew Stafford

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Speaker 1: is one of the best in the game.

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Speaker 4: He definitely is. And there's a reason why we'll talk

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Speaker 4: about it in a bit with stew about how the headline, Yes,

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Speaker 4: you brought in DeVante Adams, but if you don't have

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Speaker 4: Matthew Stafford coming back, who's throwing him the rock is

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Speaker 4: very it's going to be a very different conversation over there,

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Speaker 4: and we get to talk about what Matthew Stafford means

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Speaker 4: to not just the Rams on the field, but off

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Speaker 4: the field. He is a leader in that community and

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Speaker 4: you saw that with the Wildfires. You saw it during

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Speaker 4: their trip to Malley, which we'll discuss in just a

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Speaker 4: few moments. Matthew Stafford is a Hall of Fame caliber

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Speaker 4: dude from what he's been able to do with the

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Speaker 4: Los Angeles Rams and how he's been able to transchange

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Speaker 4: his career in the trajectory of his career after his

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Speaker 4: time in Detroit going over to LA Then again, though,

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Speaker 4: when all is said and done, Matthew Stafford is a

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Speaker 4: great quarterback, but the Cardinals have gotten the best of

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Speaker 4: him a handful of times. Now just a matter of

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Speaker 4: trying to get him again.

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Speaker 1: And to see how Matthew Stafford works with DeVonta Adams

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Speaker 1: as opposed to Cooper Cup which is the big change

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Speaker 1: on offense. And then, as we mentioned in our conversation

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Speaker 1: with Stu, on just that defense and specifically when you're

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Speaker 1: talking about Jared Vers, Braden Fisk year one going into

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Speaker 1: year two, Byron Young, who is a young veteran that

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Speaker 1: is a stout defensive front even without Aaron Donald. It's

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Speaker 1: not like you replace one player and all of a

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Speaker 1: sudden it's a better defense. But they've got young pieces

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Speaker 1: along that front seven, which which should make the Rams

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Speaker 1: a formidable opponent for years to come.

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Speaker 4: Which is something that the Cardinals saw first hand in

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Speaker 4: both times that they played the against the Arizona Cardinals

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Speaker 4: versus the La Rams. They have no problems trying to

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Speaker 4: get to the backfield. They are a very stout, strong,

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Speaker 4: young and explosive defensive front seven headlined and anchored by

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Speaker 4: Jared Vers, and you start to question, maybe before the

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Speaker 4: year began, we discussed about how it's a team that

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Speaker 4: probably has the least amount of question marks in the division.

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Speaker 4: The biggest question mark in twenty twenty four was about

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Speaker 4: that defensive front and how it was going to look

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Speaker 4: post Aaron Donald era. And it seems like there has

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Speaker 4: been zero drop off. Ap Rookie of the Year, Defense

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Speaker 4: Rookie of the Year and Jared Vers and then Brandon

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Speaker 4: Fisk was also a finalist for that category. They have

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Speaker 4: a lot of good ballplayers and that they're gonna be

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Speaker 4: the ones that lead the NFC West for years down

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Speaker 4: the line, just as Aaron Donald did. But the Cardinals

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Speaker 4: are definitely no slouches either.

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Speaker 1: Matthew Stafford, Devonte Adams, that Rams defense, Let's talk about

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Speaker 1: all of it. Here's our conversation with Stu. So the

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Speaker 1: first question is an obvious one, Stu, how was Maui.

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Speaker 5: Maui was wonderful. I gotta tell you it's it's nice

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Speaker 5: to work for an organization kind of like a tweezer.

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Speaker 5: I mentioned when the trip was happening. Uh, you know

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Speaker 5: that does outside the box kinds of things like that.

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Speaker 5: And so I certainly enjoyed what felt like hosting training

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Speaker 5: camp on the island of Maui for two and a

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Speaker 5: half days, but really enjoyable experience and a lot of fun.

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Speaker 5: The coaches and players really had a great time Tam

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Speaker 5: as well.

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Speaker 1: All Right, So for those that might not understand or

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Speaker 1: know what we're talking about here, and I might even

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Speaker 1: include you, Zac, but uh, we're.

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Speaker 4: Talking about I know what's going on.

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Speaker 1: We got the rundown we were We're not talking about

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Speaker 1: mini camp. It was Maui camp. That's what I kept

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Speaker 1: reading from you on the rams dot Comsto. So, yeah,

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Speaker 1: the uh, the Arizona Cardinals did their mandatory mini camp

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Speaker 1: outside in one hundred drig weather while Stu in the

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Speaker 1: Rams Zach were in Hawaii enjoying sun and sir.

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Speaker 4: We have Cards Camp, they have Mali Camp. I'm not

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Speaker 4: gonna say, because we work for the Cardinals that Cards

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Speaker 4: Camp sounds better. But a little trip to Mali I

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Speaker 4: want to be complaining.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, just how much work was actually done there, Stu.

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Speaker 5: I mean, ramside coach Doot mc bay said it. You

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Speaker 5: know that the expectation going in is like, look, there's

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Speaker 5: it's gonna be tough to accomplish, you know, some things

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Speaker 5: from a football standpoint, or trying to get anything done

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Speaker 5: from a football standpoint. The expectation of that, you know,

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Speaker 5: it was pretty low. But you know it was really

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Speaker 5: about just you know, connecting with people on the island

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Speaker 5: of Maui and you know, helping with some of the

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Speaker 5: efforts in the community because you know they weren't they

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Speaker 5: were impacted by wildfires not too long ago themselves. The

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Speaker 5: two year anniversary of that's coming up here in early August,

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Speaker 5: and so you know, just engaging with fans at those

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Speaker 5: practices which you know we're really you know, walk through

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Speaker 5: case and things like that. It was it was mainly

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Speaker 5: just you know about engaging with fans, engaging in the community,

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Speaker 5: and you know, the crowd seemed really happy to have

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Speaker 5: players and coaches there and get a chance to see

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Speaker 5: those guys in action. So yeah, not not too much

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Speaker 5: done from a football standpoint, but in terms of really

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Speaker 5: engaging with fans and the community, there was a lot

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Speaker 5: that got accomplished.

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Speaker 1: So I'm glad you brought up the community aspect of

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Speaker 1: it because reading on the Rams dot com on the

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Speaker 1: number of appearances and the work with kids, it does Again, Yes,

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Speaker 1: football is what we're all interested in. We got the

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Speaker 1: season right around the corner. But a good move by

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Speaker 1: the Rams to go to Mali for a few days.

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Speaker 1: And one more question for me on that trip, Puka

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Speaker 1: Nakua said, practicing there quote feels like home. Just how

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Speaker 1: popular was he during your stay on the island.

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Speaker 5: Well, I'll tell you this, I asked him in his

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Speaker 5: press conference after I think it was the first or

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Speaker 5: second day in mini camp. Whenever he spoke, I was like,

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Speaker 5: you know what was behind you know, switching numbers because

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Speaker 5: him and a handful of other players of his teammates,

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Speaker 5: you know, wore different practice more different practicers he's out,

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Speaker 5: or different practicers he numbers out. That's I think it

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Speaker 5: was that second day. But anyway, he thought that maybe

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Speaker 5: people wouldn't notice if he wore a different number, and

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Speaker 5: so he ran out there wearing Kyrine Williams number. But

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Speaker 5: I mean that guy smile, the you know, the signature

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Speaker 5: hairdo like, he was hard to miss, and so you know,

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Speaker 5: people recognized him still right away when he when he

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Speaker 5: came out into the field to warm up for practice,

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Speaker 5: there are a lot of cheers, you know, a line

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Speaker 5: of kids, you know, giving high fives to all the players.

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Speaker 5: But obviously they got really excited when he walked out there.

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Speaker 5: And so it's a place that means a lot to him.

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Speaker 5: And you know, everybody was there from you know, the

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Speaker 5: the teams and the kids who participated in in some

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Speaker 5: of the clinics and and and drills that they did

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Speaker 5: after those practices, to you know, the fans that were

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Speaker 5: there for the practice that Wednesday. They were all super

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Speaker 5: excited to see him and it was really cool to witness.

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Speaker 5: I mean, his popularity there is unmistakable. And that's even

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Speaker 5: with you know, some of the big names that the

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Speaker 5: Rams already have on the roster.

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Speaker 4: Well, it looked pretty awesome on social media. Stu, I

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Speaker 4: want to go back a little bit before we look

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Speaker 4: ahead to twenty twenty five. I want to look back

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Speaker 4: at twenty twenty four. It seems like in the Cardinals case,

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Speaker 4: they saw two different Rams teams in the game against

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Speaker 4: in Week two at State Farm Stadium. Cardinals obviously had

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Speaker 4: that big forty one ten victory, and then week seventeen

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Speaker 4: they go to State they go to SOFI Stadium and

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Speaker 4: it's the opposite result. The Los Angeles Rams win that game,

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Speaker 4: ultimately propelling them to the division crown and making that

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Speaker 4: postseason birth. At what point in the season did you

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Speaker 4: think you saw the switch flip that ultimately allowed the

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Speaker 4: Rams to take hold of the division.

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Speaker 5: It's a great question. I think it would probably be

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Speaker 5: around mid season. I want to say, like week eight nine.

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Speaker 5: It was around that time when the pass rush in

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Speaker 5: particular really started to find its stride. Now, some of

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Speaker 5: that had to do, I'm sure, with you know, a

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Speaker 5: little bit of the level of competition they were facing

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Speaker 5: with some of those teams, but at the same time,

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Speaker 5: that confidence that that group gained from learning how to

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Speaker 5: rush off of one another and knowing when their ops were,

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Speaker 5: you know, that was a really big piece to the

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Speaker 5: to the defense, you know, discovering itself and really fixing

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Speaker 5: some of the things that ailed them early in the

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Speaker 5: season and so backed by that and just having a

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Speaker 5: healthier at the time, once Kouka and Akua got healthy

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Speaker 5: and once Cooper Cup got healthy, having them both back,

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Speaker 5: both back on the field at the same time also

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Speaker 5: made a big difference to offensively, and so you put

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Speaker 5: both of those things together, and not to mention just

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Speaker 5: the health and stabilization of the offensive line, because again

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Speaker 5: going back to training camp, I mean that was such

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Speaker 5: a huge story last year, just how injury riddled back

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Speaker 5: group was. You know, Once the offensive line stabilized and

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Speaker 5: found the right combination, that played a huge part too,

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Speaker 5: in addition to the health of Puka and Cooper and

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Speaker 5: helping Matthew Stafford play his best football and in turn

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Speaker 5: the offense being able to compliment the defense with some

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Speaker 5: of those performances they were able to put together.

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Speaker 4: You mentioned something about just the defense started to find

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Speaker 4: their footing, especially with the pass rush. It was also

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Speaker 4: the first season without Aaron Donald. How do you think

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Speaker 4: the defense adjusted to not having number ninety nine on

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Speaker 4: the field.

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Speaker 5: Yeah, I think it was, you know, a learning experience

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Speaker 5: that took some time. Kind of like I mentioned, I mean, again,

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Speaker 5: when you're used to just one guy commanding double and

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Speaker 5: triple teams regularly, and that naturally creating opportunities for everybody

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Speaker 5: else to go from that to Again, you don't replace

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Speaker 5: the player like that, but trying to make up for

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Speaker 5: that loss in the aggregate with the number of guys

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Speaker 5: you got in the draft over the last two classes. Really,

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Speaker 5: I should say in the twenty three and twenty four classes,

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Speaker 5: you knew there was going to be a little bit

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Speaker 5: of a learning curve, but kind of like I mentioned,

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Speaker 5: you know, once they kind of figured out how what

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Speaker 5: each person's past rush style was and better understood their assignments,

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Speaker 5: and when those opportunities were, you know, that's when things

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Speaker 5: really took off, and when they kind of figured out

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Speaker 5: how to truly play without him, if you will.

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Speaker 1: Let's stick with the defense and we'll get to Devanta

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Speaker 1: Adams and the offense here. But since the topic has

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Speaker 1: been broached, it is, at least for me, one of

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Speaker 1: the things from a cardinal's perspective, that is very scary

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Speaker 1: when you look at the Rams, considering Jared Verse, Bryden

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Speaker 1: Fisk bowing young, all these young pieces, whether guys that

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Speaker 1: were rookies or second year players, and now going into

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Speaker 1: year two or year three. But something Jared Verse said,

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Speaker 1: he told you and others there that as well as

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Speaker 1: he played last season, remember he was he led all

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Speaker 1: rookies last season in quarterback kits, pressures, hurries. His eleven

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Speaker 1: tackles for loss were second most, four and a half

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Speaker 1: sacks fifth most. But he mentioned that there's a couple

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Speaker 1: of things I could have done better. What more could

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Speaker 1: Jared Verse had done last year in his first year.

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Speaker 5: Yeah, that's another great question, Craig, because I mean, again,

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Speaker 5: when you look at what he put on tape and

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Speaker 5: just the numbers, even if it was only you know,

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Speaker 5: four and a half sacks just from a pressure standpoint,

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Speaker 5: and you know the attention that he was able to

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Speaker 5: command really on his own. By the end of the season,

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Speaker 5: it was a really impressive and remarkable rookie season. He's

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Speaker 5: talked a little bit about just making sure that he's

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Speaker 5: not it's really about just the pats of the quarterback

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Speaker 5: in the pursuit of that and basically not playing so

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Speaker 5: fast that you missed those opportunities, because that was one

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Speaker 5: thing he talked about early in his rookie years. Actually,

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Speaker 5: when you play against quarterbacks like Kyler Murray twice a

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Speaker 5: year in the division, and you know other quarterbacks with

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Speaker 5: that skill set, who can you know, escape the pocket

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Speaker 5: and escape contain and pick up those extra yards with

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Speaker 5: their legs. You know, one one false step that's gonna

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Speaker 5: could lead to you know, nine to ten yard game,

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Speaker 5: maybe more, you know, depending on you know, how the

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Speaker 5: second level of the defense is shaped up to contain it.

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Speaker 5: So even even just something as simple as that is

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Speaker 5: probably what he's referring to, because I think he told

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Speaker 5: it was on I want to say it was ESPN's

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Speaker 5: Adam Schefter's podcast that he felt like he could have

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Speaker 5: had like ten facts last season or something, or he

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Speaker 5: just kind of speaking to the missed opportunities he had.

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Speaker 5: And so I'm really excited to see what he can

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Speaker 5: do in year two and and how he sort of

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Speaker 5: learned from those those missed opportunities in year one, because again,

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Speaker 5: like when you consider what he was still able to

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Speaker 5: do even as he was kind of learning as a rookie,

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Speaker 5: it was pretty impressive. Correig.

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Speaker 4: I mean, we think about it that touchdown in Week

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Speaker 4: two against where he found Kyler Murray, found Elijah Higgins

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Speaker 4: at the back of the end zone. He got away

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Speaker 4: from Jared Vers twice Kyler Murray did so he brings

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Speaker 4: him down that we have a very different discussion about

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Speaker 4: how that game could have ended up going. But Stu,

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Speaker 4: speaking about Jared Verse, I also want to touch on

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Speaker 4: with Braiden Fisk as well. I wrote an article on

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Speaker 4: Azycardinals dot com about the Ohio State brotherhood here and

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Speaker 4: how it seems like how it seems like maniacin fort

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Speaker 4: the Cardinals GM just keeps going to Columbus to bring

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Speaker 4: in those talents in this case with Braiden Fisk and

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Speaker 4: Jared Verse to Florida State guys. Do you think that

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Speaker 4: that played a role in the defensive front's success and

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Speaker 4: especially both of their successes.

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Speaker 5: I think, Zach, it certainly helps when you've got two

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Speaker 5: guys who, again, as I've talked about quite a bit

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Speaker 5: in our conversation already, when you have two guys who

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Speaker 5: know how to rush off of one another and have

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Speaker 5: that natural chemistry already, and just that work ethic of

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Speaker 5: constantly challenging each other and wanting to bring the best

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Speaker 5: out of the other, that's something that can only benefit

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Speaker 5: a team. And again, not every combination like this turns

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Speaker 5: out as well as it does I mean again, it's

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Speaker 5: you know this, and you know, I'm sure the you

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Speaker 5: know Joe Burrow and Jamar Chase connection in Cincinnati are

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Speaker 5: two of the more notable examples in recent years. You know,

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Speaker 5: it doesn't always work out when you reunite college teammates,

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Speaker 5: but you know, in an example like this, it's something

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Speaker 5: that paid huge dividends for the Rams in particular. You know,

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Speaker 5: these are guys that like you know, they have they

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Speaker 5: had I remember asking them about this not long after

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Speaker 5: they got drafted, like it, when they were at Florida

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Speaker 5: Sty they knew by their chemistry got so far that

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Speaker 5: they all took essentially was a simple head nod to

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Speaker 5: know exactly what stunt they wanted to run or how

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Speaker 5: they wanted to attack an offensive line a certain way.

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Speaker 5: And so when you have that shared understanding and chemistry

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Speaker 5: like that, in addition to the character and background to

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Speaker 5: two guys like that, it's something that can be a huge,

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Speaker 5: huge benefit to a team.

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Speaker 1: The one knock on the Rams defensively last season was

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Speaker 1: the struggle against the run. So you go out and

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Speaker 1: add Puna Ford, what does he do? How does another

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Speaker 1: big body along that defensive front maybe shift things for

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Speaker 1: the Rams to where they're not getting gashed like they

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Speaker 1: were on occasion against running teams.

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Speaker 5: Yeah, Pune Afford great out really well as a run

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Speaker 5: stopper in recent years, and so if you're having trouble

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Speaker 5: defending the run, getting one of the best run stockers

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Speaker 5: available in free agency is certainly an easy way to

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Speaker 5: solve that problem. But even beyond that too, I know

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Speaker 5: that defensive coordinator Chris Shule toward the end of the

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Speaker 5: off season program mentioned that they really feel like he's

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Speaker 5: got some really good upside as a pass rusher too,

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Speaker 5: and showing them more in that area than maybe they

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Speaker 5: even realized. And so, you know, stopping and run first

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Speaker 5: and foremost is going to be, you know, his calling card,

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Speaker 5: but that's not the only thing that he's capable of,

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Speaker 5: based on what this staff has seen, even in just

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Speaker 5: the again that Ota shorts and T shirt workout setting.

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Speaker 4: See now flipping over to the offensive side. For all

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Speaker 4: the talk we could have about the defense, it seems

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Speaker 4: like the offense was very much in the topic of

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Speaker 4: conversation throughout the offseason, especially with quarterback Matthew Stafford and

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Speaker 4: his contract. And I know you wrote about on the

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Speaker 4: Rams dot Com about how he said twenty twenty four

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Speaker 4: was a bit of a unique year for him, dealing

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Speaker 4: with all the contracts and then throughout all the offseason work.

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Speaker 4: But now that he is returning, what does his return

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Speaker 4: mean for this Rams team?

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Speaker 5: Well, I mean, as you guys know, I mean, when

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Speaker 5: you have an experienced quarterback, you know under center, that

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Speaker 5: solves a lot of problems offensively and mitigates quite a

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Speaker 5: bit it And so you know, going into year seventeen

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Speaker 5: and having someone who has had, you know, just that experience,

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Speaker 5: accumulation of experience, that wealth of knowledge, that's going to

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Speaker 5: be huge for this offense. Again, experience at the quarterback

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Speaker 5: position will always give you a really strong chance to

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Speaker 5: win every every week in the NFL, and having someone

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Speaker 5: like Matthew Stafford at the helmet makes that no different.

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Speaker 5: And so I've written about this before, but he takes

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Speaker 5: a lot on his plates and making easier for teammates

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Speaker 5: in terms of, you know, just giving guys an understanding

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Speaker 5: of knowing knowing what where they're where they're supposed to be,

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Speaker 5: what their assignment is, and you know, having patients to

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Speaker 5: be able to do that and work with everybody regardless

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Speaker 5: of their level of experience in the offense. So just

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Speaker 5: between that and just the respect he has as a teammate,

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Speaker 5: as a as a captain. UH can't underestimate the importance

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Speaker 5: of having him back and what that means.

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Speaker 1: How strange do was it watching Stafford throw to DeVante Adams,

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Speaker 1: who's now wearing a RAMS uniform.

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Speaker 5: You know, I will admit it was a little bit different.

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Speaker 5: But man, I'll tell you what, Davante still got some juice.

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Speaker 5: I mean that's something that the coaches have said throughout

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Speaker 5: throughout the spring, but I mean I see that even

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Speaker 5: just from you know, watching him in the open Ota practices,

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Speaker 5: just you know, the body control, the tempo and the

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Speaker 5: route running all those things. I mean again, it's you know,

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Speaker 5: not the same. The pads are not in all those things.

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Speaker 5: Different rules for okas and spring workerouts obviously compared to

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Speaker 5: training camp once we eventually get there. But he's someone

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Speaker 5: that I think can be, you know, a real difference

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Speaker 5: maker for this team. And by no means has has

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Speaker 5: he lost the step.

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Speaker 4: There were clips that were swirling around with Davante Adams

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Speaker 4: seeming like he was helping out Pooka Nakua. He obvious

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Speaker 4: he went from having Cooper Cupp a great in his

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Speaker 4: own right to now another great Indavante Adams. Speaking of Puka,

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Speaker 4: in what ways do you think those he has learned from,

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Speaker 4: like Davante, like Cooper Cupp can help elevate his game.

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Speaker 5: Yeah, that's a great question. I think. You know, with

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Speaker 5: with with Cooper, you know, just the precision and the

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Speaker 5: route running and what it takes to take care of

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Speaker 5: your body and be available, like those are things that

436
00:23:29,600 --> 00:23:32,880
Speaker 5: were probably some of the most important, you know, pieces

437
00:23:32,880 --> 00:23:36,280
Speaker 5: of advice that he gathered from him. You know, Cooper

438
00:23:36,400 --> 00:23:39,760
Speaker 5: was one of the smartest players on the team, might

439
00:23:39,760 --> 00:23:42,240
Speaker 5: even might have even right up there, as I would

440
00:23:42,280 --> 00:23:44,720
Speaker 5: say with with Stafford, just in terms of football IQ

441
00:23:44,920 --> 00:23:48,080
Speaker 5: and things like that, just with his knowledge of the

442
00:23:48,119 --> 00:23:51,040
Speaker 5: offense and the way every single part worked. And that's

443
00:23:51,320 --> 00:23:54,760
Speaker 5: something else that I would say that you know, Cooper

444
00:23:54,800 --> 00:23:58,120
Speaker 5: taught him and parted onto him. And then with Devonte

445
00:23:58,840 --> 00:24:00,840
Speaker 5: you know a lot of the same things, just you know,

446
00:24:00,920 --> 00:24:02,840
Speaker 5: teaching in different things about leverage. That was one of

447
00:24:02,880 --> 00:24:07,639
Speaker 5: the things that Puka mentioned and also just you know,

448
00:24:08,520 --> 00:24:12,399
Speaker 5: very varying temple with routes and whatnot. Just all the

449
00:24:12,440 --> 00:24:16,120
Speaker 5: things that everybody is seeing Davonte do. He's just been

450
00:24:16,240 --> 00:24:21,400
Speaker 5: very willing to share and that's something that I think

451
00:24:21,440 --> 00:24:24,720
Speaker 5: will certainly help Puka. But both of those guys have

452
00:24:24,760 --> 00:24:27,760
Speaker 5: been tremendous resources, and you'd be hard pressed to find

453
00:24:27,800 --> 00:24:33,920
Speaker 5: anybody else who's had that. I would say as much,

454
00:24:35,240 --> 00:24:37,199
Speaker 5: kind of like I was talking before, wealth of knowledge,

455
00:24:37,200 --> 00:24:40,000
Speaker 5: wealth of experience to learn from their first two or

456
00:24:40,000 --> 00:24:41,639
Speaker 5: three seasons in the NFL.

457
00:24:42,040 --> 00:24:45,160
Speaker 1: The running game for the Rams. Kyen Williams going into

458
00:24:45,160 --> 00:24:47,480
Speaker 1: the final year of his rookie contract. I know there's

459
00:24:47,520 --> 00:24:51,679
Speaker 1: been talks of an extension, but he's been around and

460
00:24:51,760 --> 00:24:54,399
Speaker 1: I think that's important for guys to be around, even

461
00:24:54,440 --> 00:24:56,879
Speaker 1: though maybe they are still looking for that new deal

462
00:24:57,080 --> 00:25:00,439
Speaker 1: or an extension of a deal, but him part of

463
00:25:00,480 --> 00:25:03,680
Speaker 1: this offense now with DeVante Adams. Do you see Kyen's

464
00:25:03,760 --> 00:25:07,800
Speaker 1: role changing at all or expanding or just basically more

465
00:25:07,840 --> 00:25:08,320
Speaker 1: of the same.

466
00:25:10,040 --> 00:25:12,639
Speaker 5: Yeah, I think it'll be more of the same. I

467
00:25:12,640 --> 00:25:17,120
Speaker 5: don't I don't see anything really changing with Kyen's role

468
00:25:17,600 --> 00:25:20,840
Speaker 5: at this point, at which I mean, I don't think

469
00:25:20,840 --> 00:25:23,080
Speaker 5: that should be taken as a negative. He's had back

470
00:25:23,080 --> 00:25:25,720
Speaker 5: to back years with double digit rushing touchdowns in over

471
00:25:25,720 --> 00:25:30,120
Speaker 5: one thousand rushing yards. So you know, he's been very

472
00:25:30,160 --> 00:25:32,600
Speaker 5: productive in the role he's had over the last two years,

473
00:25:32,600 --> 00:25:35,600
Speaker 5: and so you know, I think if if if he

474
00:25:36,040 --> 00:25:38,919
Speaker 5: gives the Rams that production again this year, that's something

475
00:25:38,960 --> 00:25:42,000
Speaker 5: that they would certainly be happy about.

476
00:25:42,280 --> 00:25:44,280
Speaker 4: It seems like Sean McVay and all the behind the

477
00:25:44,280 --> 00:25:47,360
Speaker 4: scenes clips I saw during the draft process, was very

478
00:25:47,680 --> 00:25:50,840
Speaker 4: pumped up to get Terrence Ferguson in the building. What

479
00:25:51,200 --> 00:25:53,280
Speaker 4: do you have you seen from the Oregon tight end

480
00:25:53,280 --> 00:25:56,000
Speaker 4: and how do you think he's gonna mesh in that offense?

481
00:25:57,760 --> 00:26:01,240
Speaker 5: Yeah, just kind of like what you know McVeigh and

482
00:26:01,240 --> 00:26:04,600
Speaker 5: offensive coordinator Mike L. Flora mentioned, just somebody who you

483
00:26:04,640 --> 00:26:07,199
Speaker 5: know is really mature for a rookie, has brought a

484
00:26:07,240 --> 00:26:11,680
Speaker 5: steady demeanor and just doesn't seem like any the game

485
00:26:11,800 --> 00:26:15,840
Speaker 5: is too big for him, you know, like like all

486
00:26:15,840 --> 00:26:19,119
Speaker 5: all rookies still learning, and you know has had some

487
00:26:19,200 --> 00:26:22,120
Speaker 5: promising moments again in those open O TA practices that

488
00:26:22,160 --> 00:26:25,960
Speaker 5: we've been able to watch. But you know somebody that,

489
00:26:26,320 --> 00:26:29,879
Speaker 5: uh McVeigh said on his uh you know mini camp

490
00:26:29,960 --> 00:26:32,800
Speaker 5: recap show with our play by play voice JB. Long,

491
00:26:32,880 --> 00:26:35,720
Speaker 5: that's you know, he they expect him to have a role,

492
00:26:35,760 --> 00:26:38,040
Speaker 5: but it's a role that he's gonna and they expected

493
00:26:38,119 --> 00:26:40,159
Speaker 5: to contribute, but that's a role that he's going to

494
00:26:40,240 --> 00:26:44,000
Speaker 5: have to earn, just like the rest of the rookies

495
00:26:44,400 --> 00:26:48,080
Speaker 5: on the roster as well. So similar to Jared, just

496
00:26:48,200 --> 00:26:50,639
Speaker 5: really excited to see what he can do in training

497
00:26:50,680 --> 00:26:53,760
Speaker 5: camp and and and how he continues to to develop

498
00:26:53,800 --> 00:26:55,360
Speaker 5: here over the summer and into the fall.

499
00:26:55,760 --> 00:26:59,199
Speaker 1: My last question for you, Stu concerns the offensive line.

500
00:26:59,760 --> 00:27:02,960
Speaker 1: A lot of continuity there, even bring back Coleman Shelton,

501
00:27:03,040 --> 00:27:07,640
Speaker 1: who after one season in Chicago is back in Los Angeles.

502
00:27:07,680 --> 00:27:10,760
Speaker 1: But you got the question mark of Alric Jackson. DJ

503
00:27:10,840 --> 00:27:14,679
Speaker 1: Humphries has been signed former Arizona Cardinals offensive lineman, So

504
00:27:15,359 --> 00:27:18,359
Speaker 1: DJ goes while he was, according to his agency, at

505
00:27:18,440 --> 00:27:19,879
Speaker 1: least a part of the forty nine ers for a

506
00:27:19,920 --> 00:27:22,639
Speaker 1: little while, but now he's with the Rams. Just the

507
00:27:22,680 --> 00:27:27,000
Speaker 1: health of the offensive line overall, and maybe DJ's role

508
00:27:27,240 --> 00:27:29,840
Speaker 1: on that offensive line this season.

509
00:27:31,000 --> 00:27:33,040
Speaker 5: Yeah, I think I think that role for DJs to

510
00:27:33,119 --> 00:27:36,879
Speaker 5: be determined. It was more McVeigh kind of mentioned us

511
00:27:36,960 --> 00:27:40,919
Speaker 5: more about just kind of having contingency plans and getting

512
00:27:40,920 --> 00:27:44,400
Speaker 5: their dutchs in a row, if you will. Between you know,

513
00:27:44,640 --> 00:27:51,159
Speaker 5: Rob Henstein's shoulder procedure, you know, keeping him sideline at

514
00:27:51,240 --> 00:27:55,000
Speaker 5: least no from practices for mini camp. And you know

515
00:27:55,160 --> 00:27:57,080
Speaker 5: McVeigh had said in the spring or earlier in the

516
00:27:57,160 --> 00:28:01,359
Speaker 5: offseason that the while he would be sidelined for the

517
00:28:01,359 --> 00:28:03,639
Speaker 5: off season program, he should be good to go for

518
00:28:05,480 --> 00:28:09,399
Speaker 5: training camp. But they also signed did Questenberry, who was

519
00:28:09,480 --> 00:28:13,720
Speaker 5: I believe most recently with the Vikings and then before

520
00:28:13,760 --> 00:28:17,920
Speaker 5: that the Titans. But it's more just about having having

521
00:28:17,920 --> 00:28:21,760
Speaker 5: that plan in place just in case, because again, kind

522
00:28:21,760 --> 00:28:24,119
Speaker 5: of like I talked about earlier in our conversation together,

523
00:28:25,720 --> 00:28:29,080
Speaker 5: when you look think back to the situation with all

524
00:28:29,119 --> 00:28:31,639
Speaker 5: the injuries in the offensive line, especially early in camp

525
00:28:31,720 --> 00:28:34,560
Speaker 5: last year, and trying to find those bodies and bring

526
00:28:34,600 --> 00:28:36,879
Speaker 5: them in in the middle of all that makes a

527
00:28:36,920 --> 00:28:39,880
Speaker 5: lot more challenging. And so if you can address that

528
00:28:40,080 --> 00:28:42,880
Speaker 5: or be proactive about it in the spring obviously instead

529
00:28:42,880 --> 00:28:44,880
Speaker 5: of that first week of training camp or second or

530
00:28:44,920 --> 00:28:48,560
Speaker 5: whatever it may be, it puts you in a better

531
00:28:48,600 --> 00:28:52,040
Speaker 5: position to be prepared should that situation change at all.

532
00:28:52,160 --> 00:28:55,760
Speaker 5: And so again, well we'll see what that means for

533
00:28:56,320 --> 00:28:59,560
Speaker 5: Dja's role, but I would say that's to be determined

534
00:28:59,560 --> 00:29:03,479
Speaker 5: as a right now so there's more clarity when players

535
00:29:03,480 --> 00:29:06,480
Speaker 5: and coaches report to training camp on those best situations.

536
00:29:06,720 --> 00:29:08,480
Speaker 1: Yeah, as there are gonna be a lot of time

537
00:29:08,560 --> 00:29:12,000
Speaker 1: between now and when the Cardinals first see the Rams,

538
00:29:12,040 --> 00:29:16,480
Speaker 1: not until weeks fourteen and eighteen, so we'll have to

539
00:29:16,480 --> 00:29:19,440
Speaker 1: see where things stand between these two teams. Do kind

540
00:29:19,440 --> 00:29:22,920
Speaker 1: of later in the regular season, but always good to

541
00:29:22,920 --> 00:29:25,240
Speaker 1: catch up here in the offseason. Jealous of your time

542
00:29:25,360 --> 00:29:27,520
Speaker 1: and Mali, but a job well done.

543
00:29:29,040 --> 00:29:31,280
Speaker 5: Hey, thanks Craig, appreciate you and Zach for having me on.

544
00:29:31,360 --> 00:29:35,240
Speaker 5: Enjoyed our conversation. And who knows, maybe there can be

545
00:29:35,240 --> 00:29:38,280
Speaker 5: a joint practice between the Rams and the Cardinals or

546
00:29:38,320 --> 00:29:40,240
Speaker 5: something out there on the island down the road.

547
00:29:40,480 --> 00:29:41,920
Speaker 4: The only thing I know is it's going to be

548
00:29:41,960 --> 00:29:42,880
Speaker 4: hot regardless.

549
00:29:44,400 --> 00:29:47,560
Speaker 1: That's right, speak it into existence, Sue, appreciate.

550
00:29:47,080 --> 00:29:49,000
Speaker 5: It, Thank you guys. Thanks for the time.

551
00:29:50,040 --> 00:29:53,800
Speaker 1: Yes, it would be nice if the Cardinals and Rams

552
00:29:53,880 --> 00:29:57,840
Speaker 1: held a joint practice. Not gonna happen. Doesn't happen with it?

553
00:29:58,200 --> 00:30:01,520
Speaker 4: I mean, let's be real, won't it.

554
00:30:01,560 --> 00:30:03,120
Speaker 1: Won't you just want to go to Mali?

555
00:30:03,200 --> 00:30:05,800
Speaker 4: Of course? I would you wear like a Hawaiian, like

556
00:30:05,840 --> 00:30:09,360
Speaker 4: a flowery T shirt with the Cardinals logo on it. Sure, Okay,

557
00:30:09,440 --> 00:30:11,720
Speaker 4: I'm just because I will hold you to that because

558
00:30:11,840 --> 00:30:15,560
Speaker 4: the Arizona Cardinals beat typically on the last day of

559
00:30:15,640 --> 00:30:20,960
Speaker 4: Cardinals training camp, all wears Hawaiian T shirts. Correct, last year,

560
00:30:20,960 --> 00:30:22,160
Speaker 4: you weren't wearing one.

561
00:30:22,160 --> 00:30:23,000
Speaker 1: We weren't in Mali.

562
00:30:23,360 --> 00:30:26,680
Speaker 4: We weren't in Mali. So if you squint, State Farm

563
00:30:26,760 --> 00:30:27,800
Speaker 4: Stadium looks.

564
00:30:27,560 --> 00:30:32,880
Speaker 1: Like it, Yeah, not gonna happen. Teams within the division

565
00:30:32,960 --> 00:30:36,920
Speaker 1: just don't do that. But again, it's something it's nice

566
00:30:36,920 --> 00:30:42,920
Speaker 1: to think about and perhaps hopefully again it's what the

567
00:30:43,040 --> 00:30:46,040
Speaker 1: Rams did, and as Stu brought up and you can

568
00:30:46,080 --> 00:30:47,840
Speaker 1: read it on the Rams dot com, it was not

569
00:30:48,120 --> 00:30:51,719
Speaker 1: all about football. It was about community and trying to

570
00:30:51,760 --> 00:30:56,080
Speaker 1: get some sense of normalcy back for those people. And

571
00:30:56,120 --> 00:30:59,280
Speaker 1: then again, this is where sports can have that positive

572
00:30:59,440 --> 00:31:01,480
Speaker 1: impact and kind of give you a little bit of

573
00:31:01,480 --> 00:31:04,600
Speaker 1: a break and a chance to just kind of think

574
00:31:04,600 --> 00:31:06,400
Speaker 1: about something else for a little while.

575
00:31:06,480 --> 00:31:08,320
Speaker 4: A few weeks ago, when I was filling in for

576
00:31:08,400 --> 00:31:11,440
Speaker 4: Darren Urban on the Cardinal's mailbag, somebody asked me about

577
00:31:11,440 --> 00:31:15,360
Speaker 4: the pros and cons of players having social media, and

578
00:31:15,560 --> 00:31:18,320
Speaker 4: I think one of the pros was just the avenue

579
00:31:18,320 --> 00:31:20,680
Speaker 4: of being able to connect with some of these people

580
00:31:20,920 --> 00:31:23,640
Speaker 4: through the people of Maui on the island. Getting to

581
00:31:23,680 --> 00:31:27,600
Speaker 4: watch somebody like Puka Nakua representing you know, the island

582
00:31:27,720 --> 00:31:31,520
Speaker 4: and just their their heritage and their lineage on the

583
00:31:31,560 --> 00:31:34,760
Speaker 4: biggest stage possible in the NFL. They feel that connection.

584
00:31:34,920 --> 00:31:37,640
Speaker 4: So when they got to Maui and they touched down

585
00:31:37,640 --> 00:31:39,600
Speaker 4: and they were doing all the efforts in the community,

586
00:31:40,000 --> 00:31:42,360
Speaker 4: that's when you could really start to sense the impact

587
00:31:42,360 --> 00:31:47,400
Speaker 4: that sports has. These are talented individuals on the football field,

588
00:31:47,440 --> 00:31:49,160
Speaker 4: but they are also people, and I think when you

589
00:31:49,200 --> 00:31:51,560
Speaker 4: get to have these sort of one on one interactions,

590
00:31:51,560 --> 00:31:53,480
Speaker 4: you get to see that human element of it. It's

591
00:31:53,480 --> 00:31:54,160
Speaker 4: pretty special.

592
00:31:54,360 --> 00:31:57,800
Speaker 1: The biggest takeaway I took from our conversation with Stu

593
00:31:58,320 --> 00:32:02,120
Speaker 1: was how well he talked or how much he talked

594
00:32:02,160 --> 00:32:06,240
Speaker 1: about what DeVante Adams looked like. Again, they're talking about

595
00:32:06,520 --> 00:32:09,800
Speaker 1: OTA's mini camp. You're in T shirt, shorts, you're not

596
00:32:09,880 --> 00:32:13,320
Speaker 1: in full pads. But it does seem like that move

597
00:32:13,720 --> 00:32:16,400
Speaker 1: from the East Coast to the West Coast, and we

598
00:32:16,480 --> 00:32:20,800
Speaker 1: heard from Devonte Adams mentioned that signing was quote exactly

599
00:32:20,840 --> 00:32:23,680
Speaker 1: what I needed, And it does seem that it's kind

600
00:32:23,680 --> 00:32:26,640
Speaker 1: of given him a second or now case a third

601
00:32:27,240 --> 00:32:29,760
Speaker 1: lease on life in the NFL and maybe kind of

602
00:32:29,760 --> 00:32:32,000
Speaker 1: give him a little bit of a jump start to

603
00:32:32,080 --> 00:32:34,680
Speaker 1: his career tail towards the tail end of his.

604
00:32:34,680 --> 00:32:37,320
Speaker 4: Cur This would be his fourteen because he had the Raiders,

605
00:32:37,400 --> 00:32:40,560
Speaker 4: that's right, Jets and now and now his time in

606
00:32:40,600 --> 00:32:42,959
Speaker 4: Los Angeles. Obviously he kicked off his career with the

607
00:32:42,960 --> 00:32:45,680
Speaker 4: Green Bay Packers. I think what people were expecting when

608
00:32:45,720 --> 00:32:48,080
Speaker 4: DeVante Adams got to the New York Jets was for

609
00:32:48,160 --> 00:32:50,520
Speaker 4: him to look like the Green Bay DeVante Adams that

610
00:32:50,640 --> 00:32:53,200
Speaker 4: have that rapport with Aaron Rodgers. But as we saw

611
00:32:53,280 --> 00:32:55,840
Speaker 4: with Aaron Rodgers, it wasn't the same. And it's gonna

612
00:32:55,840 --> 00:32:58,800
Speaker 4: be very interesting to see what, you know, his next

613
00:32:58,840 --> 00:33:00,680
Speaker 4: season in Pittsburgh is gonna end up looking like. But

614
00:33:00,680 --> 00:33:02,880
Speaker 4: we're obviously gonna be focusing a lot more on what

615
00:33:02,960 --> 00:33:05,840
Speaker 4: DeVante Adams look like in the Blue and Gold, because

616
00:33:05,880 --> 00:33:08,640
Speaker 4: it's gonna be a very interesting player that the Cardinals

617
00:33:08,680 --> 00:33:10,800
Speaker 4: are gonna have to line up against. You lined up

618
00:33:10,800 --> 00:33:13,280
Speaker 4: across from Cooper Cup, a triple Crown winner in twenty

619
00:33:13,280 --> 00:33:15,800
Speaker 4: twenty one, you knew the stud that he was out there.

620
00:33:16,040 --> 00:33:18,760
Speaker 4: Pokinnakua burst on the scene and everyone's like, wow, look

621
00:33:18,760 --> 00:33:21,640
Speaker 4: at this guy. Cooper cup leaves to go to Seattle,

622
00:33:21,640 --> 00:33:24,720
Speaker 4: and what do you have? You have an incredible replacement

623
00:33:24,880 --> 00:33:26,880
Speaker 4: in Devonte Adams. I'm pretty sure the quote was that

624
00:33:26,920 --> 00:33:30,600
Speaker 4: he felt rejuvenated to be playing with Sean McVay and

625
00:33:30,680 --> 00:33:34,200
Speaker 4: Matthew Stafford, and it's that's great if you're a fan

626
00:33:34,280 --> 00:33:36,480
Speaker 4: of the sport. It's something that the Cardinals are definitely

627
00:33:36,520 --> 00:33:38,200
Speaker 4: gonna have to keep an eye out on. But when

628
00:33:38,240 --> 00:33:40,720
Speaker 4: they play him in week fourteen and week eighteen, you're

629
00:33:40,760 --> 00:33:42,840
Speaker 4: gonna have a very long season until you get to

630
00:33:42,880 --> 00:33:45,480
Speaker 4: that point. So it could look very different to two out.

631
00:33:45,520 --> 00:33:49,080
Speaker 1: Well is back as well in that receiver's room for

632
00:33:49,120 --> 00:33:54,120
Speaker 1: the Rams, and as we speak here in July, we're

633
00:33:54,160 --> 00:33:56,719
Speaker 1: not gonna see the Rams, as you mentioned, until the

634
00:33:56,760 --> 00:34:00,000
Speaker 1: back half of the regular season. So who's the same

635
00:34:00,280 --> 00:34:03,520
Speaker 1: that things are going well for the Rams or what

636
00:34:03,560 --> 00:34:06,320
Speaker 1: the Rams might even look as far as the personnel

637
00:34:06,400 --> 00:34:09,120
Speaker 1: on the field offense and defense. But again, just to

638
00:34:09,200 --> 00:34:11,600
Speaker 1: kind of catch up on what they've what they have

639
00:34:11,800 --> 00:34:14,880
Speaker 1: done so far this offseason, at least to me, it's

640
00:34:15,120 --> 00:34:18,680
Speaker 1: maybe the as I mentioned, maybe the least amount of

641
00:34:18,760 --> 00:34:21,360
Speaker 1: question marks. Yeah, there are new faces. But when you

642
00:34:21,360 --> 00:34:23,480
Speaker 1: have your quarterback and you have a young defense, then

643
00:34:23,520 --> 00:34:26,480
Speaker 1: you're just kind of plugging pieces around those you.

644
00:34:26,520 --> 00:34:28,319
Speaker 4: Mentioned too too out well, and that's not somebody we

645
00:34:28,400 --> 00:34:30,880
Speaker 4: really had a chance to discuss about with Stu. But

646
00:34:31,160 --> 00:34:33,440
Speaker 4: I saw a quote from Sean McVay who kind of

647
00:34:33,440 --> 00:34:35,759
Speaker 4: put his hand up and said, I haven't fully used

648
00:34:35,920 --> 00:34:38,840
Speaker 4: to to out well all that well. And I think

649
00:34:39,280 --> 00:34:41,520
Speaker 4: that's gonna be a player that you know, you know

650
00:34:41,560 --> 00:34:44,240
Speaker 4: what you're gonna have in Puka Nakua and Devonte Adams,

651
00:34:44,280 --> 00:34:47,280
Speaker 4: or at least you expect to see with Davante Adams,

652
00:34:47,360 --> 00:34:49,040
Speaker 4: especially if he lives up to the hype and the

653
00:34:49,040 --> 00:34:52,080
Speaker 4: way that Stu was talking about him in But if

654
00:34:52,239 --> 00:34:54,080
Speaker 4: the Rams start to use because we know how much

655
00:34:54,080 --> 00:34:56,960
Speaker 4: Sean McVay likes pre snap motions and doing things of

656
00:34:57,000 --> 00:35:00,279
Speaker 4: that nature, when you get to see another player, other

657
00:35:00,360 --> 00:35:02,719
Speaker 4: card added to the deck, that's gonna be something that's

658
00:35:02,719 --> 00:35:06,240
Speaker 4: gonna be very interesting, Just another weapon for Matthew Stafford

659
00:35:06,320 --> 00:35:09,440
Speaker 4: to have for a team that was playoff bound and

660
00:35:09,480 --> 00:35:12,080
Speaker 4: made the playoffs and could have gone even further than that.

661
00:35:12,160 --> 00:35:15,799
Speaker 4: As you kicked off Cardinals Cover two, discussing they are

662
00:35:15,800 --> 00:35:18,680
Speaker 4: a very talented team, the more weapons they have, and

663
00:35:18,719 --> 00:35:21,400
Speaker 4: of course Terrence Ferguson who asked about the tight end

664
00:35:21,440 --> 00:35:23,720
Speaker 4: that they draft in the second round out of Oregon,

665
00:35:23,960 --> 00:35:26,600
Speaker 4: It's going to be a very explosive Rams offense. We

666
00:35:26,680 --> 00:35:29,360
Speaker 4: already discussed how explosive the defensive front is going to be.

667
00:35:29,640 --> 00:35:31,520
Speaker 4: The Cardinals and the Rams are the two teams in

668
00:35:31,520 --> 00:35:32,920
Speaker 4: my mind that are going to be fighting for the

669
00:35:32,960 --> 00:35:34,520
Speaker 4: top of the division. I know that there's a lot

670
00:35:34,560 --> 00:35:37,200
Speaker 4: of hype surrounding the San Francisco forty nine ers now

671
00:35:37,200 --> 00:35:40,360
Speaker 4: that you have Christian McCaffrey coming back Seattle. Obviously we

672
00:35:40,400 --> 00:35:42,320
Speaker 4: are expecting to have a little bit of a learning

673
00:35:42,360 --> 00:35:45,080
Speaker 4: curve with Sam Darnold. But I do believe that this

674
00:35:45,160 --> 00:35:48,279
Speaker 4: division comes down to what that Week eighteen game is

675
00:35:48,320 --> 00:35:50,640
Speaker 4: going to look like between the Rams and the Cardinals.

676
00:35:50,800 --> 00:35:53,279
Speaker 1: Let's hope that's the case. And look, the Rams are

677
00:35:53,320 --> 00:35:56,319
Speaker 1: the measuring stick. They're the champs until they are no

678
00:35:56,400 --> 00:35:58,799
Speaker 1: longer the champs, and that's what you have to go

679
00:35:58,920 --> 00:36:01,440
Speaker 1: in if you want to make the playoffs. The easiest

680
00:36:01,440 --> 00:36:05,040
Speaker 1: way is to win the division, capture that NFC West crown,

681
00:36:05,480 --> 00:36:10,200
Speaker 1: and you're invited to that seven team postseason party. And

682
00:36:10,239 --> 00:36:13,920
Speaker 1: to me right now, it's the Rams until they're not

683
00:36:14,920 --> 00:36:16,640
Speaker 1: until there's some other team, and hopefully it is the

684
00:36:16,640 --> 00:36:18,200
Speaker 1: Cardinals atop the standings.

685
00:36:18,360 --> 00:36:21,680
Speaker 4: But then again, you don't win the division in July.

686
00:36:21,920 --> 00:36:24,759
Speaker 4: You don't win the division in September, October. It's what

687
00:36:24,840 --> 00:36:27,600
Speaker 4: happens in January. And you mentioned the start that the

688
00:36:27,680 --> 00:36:30,440
Speaker 4: Rams have had. They've been a team that is notoriously

689
00:36:30,719 --> 00:36:33,640
Speaker 4: started slow and then they start when adversity strikes. For

690
00:36:33,680 --> 00:36:35,680
Speaker 4: a lot of teams, it seems like the Rams are

691
00:36:35,680 --> 00:36:38,560
Speaker 4: always that one squad that just somehow manages to push

692
00:36:38,600 --> 00:36:43,200
Speaker 4: through and persevere and hoptifully find themselves put in postseason contention.

693
00:36:44,080 --> 00:36:46,400
Speaker 4: I'm expecting to see that be the case again. But

694
00:36:46,480 --> 00:36:49,480
Speaker 4: with the Cardinals, we know that they've struggled post by

695
00:36:49,880 --> 00:36:53,560
Speaker 4: back to back seasons, and that's been a common trend

696
00:36:53,640 --> 00:36:55,920
Speaker 4: that you hope to shake this coming year. The buys

697
00:36:56,000 --> 00:36:58,120
Speaker 4: earlier than in the past, and Week eight and then

698
00:36:58,160 --> 00:37:01,240
Speaker 4: you go Week nine, Monday Night Football against the Dallas Cowboys.

699
00:37:01,440 --> 00:37:03,040
Speaker 4: That back end of the season is going to be

700
00:37:03,040 --> 00:37:05,000
Speaker 4: when you need to see the Cardinals in that full

701
00:37:05,080 --> 00:37:07,319
Speaker 4: fource similar to what you've seen in the past with

702
00:37:07,400 --> 00:37:08,520
Speaker 4: the Los Angeles Rams.

703
00:37:08,640 --> 00:37:12,439
Speaker 1: So we had stops in Seattle, San Francisco, and now

704
00:37:12,600 --> 00:37:16,359
Speaker 1: Los Angeles. Next stop State Farm Stadium, and we can

705
00:37:16,400 --> 00:37:18,759
Speaker 1: put all of our attention on the Arizona Car.

706
00:37:18,960 --> 00:37:21,360
Speaker 4: The best stop. And I'm excited to see what the

707
00:37:21,400 --> 00:37:23,759
Speaker 4: guys look like once they throw the pads on how

708
00:37:23,840 --> 00:37:26,960
Speaker 4: much they've been able to do since June when they

709
00:37:26,960 --> 00:37:29,120
Speaker 4: had mandatory mini camp. It's going to be a very

710
00:37:29,120 --> 00:37:30,880
Speaker 4: exciting time, Craig, and we get to cover it all

711
00:37:30,920 --> 00:37:31,960
Speaker 4: here on Cardinals Cover too.

712
00:37:32,080 --> 00:37:35,240
Speaker 1: And by the way, before I forget an excellent job

713
00:37:35,680 --> 00:37:37,880
Speaker 1: filling in for Darren on the mailbag.

714
00:37:37,880 --> 00:37:41,160
Speaker 4: Thank you. I survived. But I appreciate all the questions

715
00:37:41,360 --> 00:37:45,360
Speaker 4: a lot because you decided to bring up Philly. I'm

716
00:37:45,440 --> 00:37:48,520
Speaker 4: just I'm from Philadelphia. Let's put that out there. A

717
00:37:48,560 --> 00:37:51,440
Speaker 4: lot of questions about East Coast bias. I put a

718
00:37:51,719 --> 00:37:53,839
Speaker 4: I mentioned something in Cardinals Underground when I was also

719
00:37:53,880 --> 00:37:57,920
Speaker 4: filling in for Darren Irvan about how the ESPN released

720
00:37:57,920 --> 00:38:00,239
Speaker 4: that All quarter century team. I'm pretty sure sure and

721
00:38:00,280 --> 00:38:02,399
Speaker 4: they left fits out off of it. Pretty sure Aaron

722
00:38:02,440 --> 00:38:04,520
Speaker 4: Donald was on the list, which he should be on

723
00:38:04,560 --> 00:38:08,120
Speaker 4: the list, but so should Larry Fitzgerald. Even though it's

724
00:38:08,160 --> 00:38:10,800
Speaker 4: been like an hour month. Still pretty hot about it.

725
00:38:10,800 --> 00:38:13,800
Speaker 1: It should be all Cardinals fans should be. But again

726
00:38:13,880 --> 00:38:16,719
Speaker 1: now it's looking forward to twenty twenty five. In a

727
00:38:16,800 --> 00:38:18,759
Speaker 1: successful twenty twenty five season.

728
00:38:18,480 --> 00:38:21,520
Speaker 4: What I'm most excited about we've obviously had the chance

729
00:38:21,600 --> 00:38:23,360
Speaker 4: that we're gonna have the chance to speak with a

730
00:38:23,360 --> 00:38:26,360
Speaker 4: lot of people. You know, a lot of those national pundits.

731
00:38:26,760 --> 00:38:28,959
Speaker 4: We've heard them over the last two seasons since Shan

732
00:38:29,080 --> 00:38:31,560
Speaker 4: again and has come to town. Now going into year

733
00:38:31,640 --> 00:38:35,360
Speaker 4: number three, very interested to see what those national experts

734
00:38:35,560 --> 00:38:37,560
Speaker 4: have to say about the twenty twenty five hours on

735
00:38:37,600 --> 00:38:38,160
Speaker 4: the Cardinals.

736
00:38:38,160 --> 00:38:40,400
Speaker 1: We've been talking about it for a long time. Training

737
00:38:40,440 --> 00:38:44,600
Speaker 1: camp literally right around the corner a goo the Azcardinals

738
00:38:44,640 --> 00:38:48,200
Speaker 1: dot com for all the information as far as training

739
00:38:48,200 --> 00:38:52,840
Speaker 1: camp dates, open practices, and yes, admission is free, parking

740
00:38:53,000 --> 00:38:55,200
Speaker 1: is free, but we asked you to sign up for

741
00:38:55,400 --> 00:38:58,960
Speaker 1: digital tickets so we can make sure and accommodate everyone

742
00:38:59,000 --> 00:39:01,640
Speaker 1: who wants to be at State Farm Stadium to see

743
00:39:01,880 --> 00:39:05,240
Speaker 1: the twenty twenty five Arizona Cardinals. And on that notes,

744
00:39:05,360 --> 00:39:07,640
Speaker 1: we'll put a lit on this edition of Cardinals Cover

745
00:39:07,680 --> 00:39:10,680
Speaker 1: two presented by Hundai, probably partner of the Arizona Cardinals

746
00:39:10,920 --> 00:39:13,840
Speaker 1: as always, special thanks to our executive producer Jim Mamahudre

747
00:39:14,080 --> 00:39:17,520
Speaker 1: our associate producer Coddy Fincher. For Zach Kershman, I'm Fregrial Lou.

748
00:39:17,600 --> 00:39:19,719
Speaker 1: We'll talk to you next time you're on Cardinals. Cover

749
00:39:19,800 --> 00:39:20,000
Speaker 1: two