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Speaker 1: Every Friday at this time, the head coach of America's team,

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Speaker 1: Mike McCarthy with Sean and RJ. Good morning, Mike, how

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Speaker 1: are you. I'm doing great, Sean in RJ. How's it

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Speaker 1: going going pretty well? Coach? Your family and friends back

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Speaker 1: home are rooting for who on Sunday? What's the breakdown

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Speaker 1: of Pittsburgh family and friends for the Cowboys against the Steelers? Oh?

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Speaker 1: I mean the family and friends are rooting for the Cowboys.

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Speaker 1: That's that's always been consistent. But I'm clear there's you know,

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Speaker 1: there's there's some friends that think, well, they can't lose

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Speaker 1: either way. So that's that's I don't I don't know

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Speaker 1: what the hell's you about the level of friendship or

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Speaker 1: how you want to rank it, but but there's a

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Speaker 1: lot of Cowboy fans Pittsburgh. Coach, have you decided who

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Speaker 1: the starting quarterback is going to be for Sunday? We're

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Speaker 1: working through it. I mean, you know, today is it's

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Speaker 1: our you know, Friday, we just have the mock game

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Speaker 1: review and you know it's Mars tomorrow's practice will conclude

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Speaker 1: that process. When did you decide that that Ben was

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Speaker 1: not going to get another start? Well? I think the

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Speaker 1: biggest thing, it was just a combination, uh, you know,

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Speaker 1: the game Sunday night, the opponent in front of us.

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Speaker 1: Uh so, you know, we just we just felt that

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Speaker 1: it was an important to to play with more experience

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Speaker 1: at the quarterback position. So let's if you were to

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Speaker 1: break down the two players that you're deciding against right now,

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Speaker 1: you know, is there one that has the edge right now?

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Speaker 1: Is there one that does more that you're maybe hoping

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Speaker 1: that you might be able to get more out of

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Speaker 1: that one? I mean, who has the edge of the matchup.

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Speaker 1: I really appreciate what you're trying to do, what you're

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Speaker 1: probably wasting really good airtime. Also couldn't consider me good airtime.

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Speaker 1: But it's I think that the reality is the two

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Speaker 1: you know, younger quarterbacks that that really are similar in nature,

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Speaker 1: you know, as far as you know, playing experience. Um

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Speaker 1: So I'm I'm more focused on making sure or they're

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Speaker 1: ready to both play so uh and and as you know,

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Speaker 1: you only have so many repstoring normal weeks. So it's

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Speaker 1: just this is more based on their experienced level how

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Speaker 1: our offense we feel needs to operate come Sunday against

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Speaker 1: the Steelers. Mike, I've always wondered this, when the other

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Speaker 1: team is deciding between two quarterbacks, how much more difficult

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Speaker 1: does that make your tape study? Are you as a

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Speaker 1: coach and you're on the other side of it this time,

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Speaker 1: are you like, damn, Now I gotta review a whole

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Speaker 1: other player and prepare for them equally. How much more

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Speaker 1: of a pain in the butt is that for your

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Speaker 1: extra film study. I don't think it's a real it's

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Speaker 1: a real challenge. I think it, you know, it's it

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Speaker 1: may look harder than it really is, particularly when you

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Speaker 1: look at two quarterbacks. I mean the biggest challenge, um

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Speaker 1: you know, I did, I was ever went through was

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Speaker 1: in a playoff game one when they you know, when

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Speaker 1: one quarterback and the Vikings did a great job of,

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Speaker 1: you know, holding that their starter wasn't going to play,

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Speaker 1: and then they played with a completely different Joe Webb

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Speaker 1: was a quarterback. Then they're plan but you know, so

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Speaker 1: you're playing with a whole different style of quarterback. So yeah,

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Speaker 1: but I don't think it's going to change this want

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Speaker 1: change Pittsburgh's game plan universal offense in my opinion, Mike

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Speaker 1: McCarthy here on one oh five three of the Fan,

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Speaker 1: what are a couple of things that you like or

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Speaker 1: or or a couple of traits that Garrett Gilbert does.

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Speaker 1: Besides the leadership you mentioned with Cooper Rush, Well, what

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Speaker 1: do each of them bring that you like that you're

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Speaker 1: deciding between. Well, I think they're both very similar and

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Speaker 1: the fact that they're smart. Um they did. They have

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Speaker 1: a really good understanding of the game plan. Really the

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Speaker 1: only thing they're missing is is live live reps because

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Speaker 1: they both have picked up the system very quickly. Um,

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Speaker 1: you know, obviously Cooper went through the you know, the spring,

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Speaker 1: the spring with us, you know, and Garrett picked it up.

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Speaker 1: You know, this is this third week. So smart, instinctive,

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Speaker 1: they known to go where they didn't. They know where

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Speaker 1: to go if the football have a really clear understanding

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Speaker 1: and protections and obviously pressure will be you know, we'll

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Speaker 1: be premiere in this game. That's the way Pittsburgh plays. So,

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Speaker 1: I mean, you're you know they I mean they're adversion

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Speaker 1: right now close to eighty percent the pressure on normal

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Speaker 1: down and distance. So so that's that's part of the

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Speaker 1: having the experience level with this position. We felt it

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Speaker 1: was vital this week. Coach. Last night, Buck and Eigman

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Speaker 1: were saying Kyle Shanahan was like excited by the challenge

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Speaker 1: of scoring points with no quarterback and all his guys

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Speaker 1: hurt as an offensive guy and just a football guru.

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Speaker 1: Is part of this fun for you? Or is it

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Speaker 1: just oh my gosh, how are we going to do

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Speaker 1: this with all these guys hurt? Is it? Is it

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Speaker 1: a fun challenge trying to figure out ways to try

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Speaker 1: to win with the amount of injuries you have. Definitely,

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Speaker 1: I think any time your challenge is hard, it's it's fun.

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Speaker 1: So I mean this is this is a harder way

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Speaker 1: to go about it. I mean, it's not your preferred

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Speaker 1: but it's it's definitely. Uh yeah, there's a there's a

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Speaker 1: lot of fun in this. Uh you know, there's a

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Speaker 1: lot of excitement and the preparation, a little bit of

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Speaker 1: the unknown of how certain guys are gonna play. I mean,

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Speaker 1: use he get to play these um, these these individuals

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Speaker 1: in preseason games to see him go out there for

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Speaker 1: the first time. So you know, we've had it seems

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Speaker 1: like the here we go for the first time, Mojo

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Speaker 1: you know, every week because it's so you know, it's

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Speaker 1: it's just has been something different every week. So there

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Speaker 1: there there's always some excitement into that because you know,

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Speaker 1: you're excited for the player getting his first opportunity, and

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Speaker 1: you know as a challenge. He's a coach, it's our

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Speaker 1: responsibility to make them successful. So yeah, there's there's definitely

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Speaker 1: a lot of excitement that goes into those situations. Mike

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Speaker 1: McCarthy Joiner is here one oh five three of the

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Speaker 1: fan zeke his workload before. We've been talking about this

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Speaker 1: quite a bit. What do you expected to be? How

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Speaker 1: was this? Uh? How was his helping? We had a

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Speaker 1: day off the other day. Yes, he's uh, you know,

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Speaker 1: he's working through a hamstring. So really we'll see how,

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Speaker 1: you know, how much practice he does to mar um

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Speaker 1: so you know he didn't do a whole lot yesterday. Um,

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Speaker 1: so we you know, we have the light practice today,

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Speaker 1: the mock game and and then uh you know he'll

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Speaker 1: need to get loosened up and and then and you know,

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Speaker 1: let it go to mar see exactly where he is.

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Speaker 1: Do you envision, like, you know, as the season moves on,

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Speaker 1: you know, if if the you know, depending on where

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Speaker 1: the team is record wise, do you look at reducing

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Speaker 1: his workload moving forward? You know, just you know, give

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Speaker 1: him rest for next year? Does that even play into

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Speaker 1: your mind ever at all? No, I mean that's we

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Speaker 1: have by Away coming up, and we're doing everything we

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Speaker 1: can to win this game Sunday. Yeah, I'm not even

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Speaker 1: thinking what next year? Coach eight games in, what are

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Speaker 1: you the most encouraged about? Um in watching your team

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Speaker 1: develop from either the OTA's off season, but you know

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Speaker 1: that you feel good about the Cowboys and your team

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Speaker 1: doing what we're showing. What as the season has progressed,

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Speaker 1: what would that what stands out for you? Well, the

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Speaker 1: significant areas or you know is always the first the

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Speaker 1: turnover differential, film, position, time, and possession in quarterback rating differentials.

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Speaker 1: I mean, to me, those are the four major focal

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Speaker 1: points of your team identity. So if you look at

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Speaker 1: the treadlines at those four, you know, the turnover ratio

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Speaker 1: finally traded up for the for the first time all year.

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Speaker 1: And and but you know negative of that is we

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Speaker 1: still gave the ball way, you know, we gave it

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Speaker 1: away twice. So just staying the course after that because

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Speaker 1: that that that that will be the key as we

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Speaker 1: move forward into the future of being successful consistently. So

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Speaker 1: the turnover differential is you know he is getting that

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Speaker 1: treadline to stay moving up film position. We've made some

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Speaker 1: steps there, you know, because there was obviously such a

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Speaker 1: such a deterrent um in there in early games. And

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Speaker 1: really a lot of it had to do with the

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Speaker 1: with us giving the football way and you know tim

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Speaker 1: and possession. You know, we're running the ball better, We're

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Speaker 1: running the ball more, you know, as far as the

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Speaker 1: ratio or run the past Tom business. The last couple

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Speaker 1: of weeks just trended in the right thression. You know,

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Speaker 1: in our quarterback grating differential is definitely improved from the

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Speaker 1: way the defense has played, um So, particularly last week.

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Speaker 1: So you know, last week was ever both science, just

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Speaker 1: trying to get the major emphasis, you know, what you

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Speaker 1: want your team to look like, the identity you want

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Speaker 1: to play too. You know, last week we definitely had it.

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Speaker 1: It started to trend back the right way where obviously

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Speaker 1: it was not before that coach every week, uh, you know,

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Speaker 1: on social media, the fans, the media, you know ourselves,

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Speaker 1: we do the same thing. Jalen Smith and DeMarcus Lawrence

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Speaker 1: are basically just criticized Tank. I know, yeah, I know

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Speaker 1: the man, I know the nicknames, Yeah, um So and

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Speaker 1: and and I know that they're graded out by the team,

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Speaker 1: by other you know, websites. They're graded out much better

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Speaker 1: than we give them credit for. What do you think

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Speaker 1: the biggest difference in the perception versus their performances? Because

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Speaker 1: I know you guys grade both players out. It's better

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Speaker 1: than the fans do. Well, I would listen to the

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Speaker 1: coaches crazy. Well, yes, I guess is the answer the

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Speaker 1: question right? But like, what do they do? What do

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Speaker 1: they do? What are we missing when we're watching these games?

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Speaker 1: And how good they actually are playing? But the perception

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Speaker 1: is that they're underperforming I think consistently in this business

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Speaker 1: external evaluation, Um, there's there's more. There's more involved on

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Speaker 1: the emotional aspect of it, and less involved of knowing

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Speaker 1: all the characteristics and variables of how they are greater

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Speaker 1: than internally would be the most act answer. It gives you, coach,

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Speaker 1: what are you seeing in the Steelers tape? Does this

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Speaker 1: feel like? I know they're undefeated, but does this feel

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Speaker 1: like a great, great football team that you're watching or

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Speaker 1: a great defense that that's jumping out? With their seasons

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Speaker 1: so far, they're definitely on the trend of playing too great,

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Speaker 1: you know, because they're playing very well in all three years.

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Speaker 1: And when you have that, um, you know, when you

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Speaker 1: have a bad day, you know, one area takes up

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Speaker 1: for the next and that and that's you know, they're

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Speaker 1: in that groove, uh is in my opinion. You know,

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Speaker 1: it starts with the defense. So you can see the

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Speaker 1: opportunities that they're limiting the offense. They're getting the turnovers.

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Speaker 1: You know, the field position is definitely in their favor.

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Speaker 1: They're you know, they're sacking the quarterback. They're number one

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Speaker 1: in the the league there, you know. And then offensively, you know,

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Speaker 1: I think they have a really good balance. They have

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Speaker 1: an excellent offensive line, you know, and Ben's back, he

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Speaker 1: doesn't he's done a lot more ball distribution. Um. You know,

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Speaker 1: as as I was here and say that, that that mays

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Speaker 1: we'll probably take more shots down the field. So I

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Speaker 1: mean they're so they have good balance going there. And

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Speaker 1: I thought you one of I think they're special teams

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Speaker 1: is a really good unit too. So they have a

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Speaker 1: lot of depth. That's a talented football team. But they're

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Speaker 1: playing very well in all three in all three phases. Coach,

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Speaker 1: thanks a lot for the time, enjoy your Friday and

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Speaker 1: have a great weekend. Good look on Sunday we'll be

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Speaker 1: watching and listening. Okay, thank you gentlemen. You guys have

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Speaker 1: a great weekend. Thank you too. Mike McCarthy right here

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Speaker 1: on one oh five three The Fan