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Speaker 1: It is a Football Friday Week three edition, First Division

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Speaker 1: game edition. God Zach Gershman with the Berg Gang. After

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Speaker 1: taking care of two NFC South Division opponents, Cardinals tackle

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Speaker 1: the NFC West for the first time. They hit the

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Speaker 1: road face the San Francisco forty nine Ers on Sunday.

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Speaker 1: We gave our thoughts on the matchup, and here from

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Speaker 1: Matt Barrows. That's right, we venture in the enemy territory

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Speaker 1: and speak with Matt who covers the forty nine Ers

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Speaker 1: for the Athletic. It's Cardinals Cover two, Episode nine six,

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Speaker 1: and it starts now.

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Speaker 2: Welcome to Cardinals Cover two.

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Speaker 3: Buona 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 ad the ten half of five.

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Speaker 4: He's it again, so more urry magic.

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Speaker 2: Whow Here's Craig Graeler.

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Speaker 1: So this is an interesting week and even though Jonathan

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Speaker 1: Gannon doesn't like to look ahead, we can here on

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Speaker 1: Cardinals Cover two because we've.

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Speaker 5: Talked about it a little bit.

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Speaker 1: But you play a game on Sunday on the road

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Speaker 1: in San Francisco, and then four days later you've got

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Speaker 1: a game at home against Seattle. So the first time

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Speaker 1: facing the NFC West, and you're doing it back to

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Speaker 1: back weeks, and I get that some people you kind

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Speaker 1: of think, all right, well, how much do we really

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Speaker 1: want to show or are you game planning on Sunday

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Speaker 1: with an eye towards Thursday? And I would say no, Now,

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Speaker 1: maybe that's wrong, but I would think based off of

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Speaker 1: you focus and concentrate on the one game in front

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Speaker 1: of you and do whatever it takes to that game,

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Speaker 1: and then whatever happens Monday morning, all right, now you

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Speaker 1: figure out, okay, well we're limited on reps, guys are

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Speaker 1: paying up, and it might play a factor in what

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Speaker 1: you do on Thursday, but it's take care of Sunday

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Speaker 1: before you start looking ahead to Thursday, at least for me.

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Speaker 4: Zach and I understand that JAYG said that he's looking

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Speaker 4: ahead a little bit, and not because he's not taking

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Speaker 4: the forty nine ers seriously, but because he's a head coach,

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Speaker 4: and that's something that you have to do. You have

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Speaker 4: to be able to multitask a little bit and not

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Speaker 4: just be somebody that's coaching your teams in the x's

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Speaker 4: and o's during those sixty minutes comes Sunday, But you

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Speaker 4: also have to look ahead in terms of how you're

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Speaker 4: gonna be structuring your week, looking at.

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Speaker 3: Film with the opponent.

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Speaker 4: There's a lot of different things in for Jonathan again,

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Speaker 4: and this is gonna be his first Thursday Night game

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Speaker 4: as a head coach, So it's even though he's in

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Speaker 4: his third season now as head coach of the Arizona Cardinals,

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Speaker 4: there's still a lot of first that are being checked off.

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Speaker 4: So in his case, yeah, he is gonna be looking ahead.

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Speaker 4: We at this point also are looking ahead, but for

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Speaker 4: different reason since they're looking ahead the Thursday Night for similarly,

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Speaker 4: because of the structure of the week, the rivalries game,

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Speaker 4: it's something that's going to be exciting. There's a lot

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Speaker 4: of elements that are going to be put out into

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Speaker 4: the universe which will be I'm looking forward to. But

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Speaker 4: the only way that the game could be magnified even

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Speaker 4: more is when you go into it with a three

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Speaker 4: and oh record first place in the division. That's what

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Speaker 4: the Cardinals have on the line this week against the

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Speaker 4: forty nine ers.

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Speaker 1: Cardinals two and oh forty nine, ers two and oh

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Speaker 1: one twenty five is the kickoff eight thirty Pregame coverage

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Speaker 1: begins on the Arizona Cardinals Radio Network. Full disclosure here,

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Speaker 1: Bird Gang.

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Speaker 5: We are speaking.

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Speaker 1: Prior to Friday's practice, and as a Friday morning according

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Speaker 1: to the head coach, no one has been ruled out.

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Speaker 1: Now we can speculate because and I've mentioned this before,

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Speaker 1: Will Johnson not practicing on Thursday to me was big

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Speaker 1: a rookie not practicing Wednesday Thursday, regardless if he's on

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Speaker 1: the field on Friday, typically you don't play on Sunday. Now,

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Speaker 1: a Buddha baker can practice or not practice the entire week,

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Speaker 1: still play on Sunday. He's been in the league. We

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Speaker 1: know what Buddha can do. I just think, especially considering

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Speaker 1: that Will Johnson was on the sideline for that final

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Speaker 1: drive dealing with a groin short week on Thursday, my

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Speaker 1: guess is Will Johnson does not play.

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Speaker 5: Now.

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Speaker 1: I could be completely wrong, but that's my feeling as

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Speaker 1: we speak here on Friday.

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Speaker 4: I'm in the same boat as you for that one.

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Speaker 4: It's encouraging because we're in the locker room and truthfully,

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Speaker 4: full disclosure again, when players are injured, they're not as

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Speaker 4: frequently in the locker room, but both Will Johnson and

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Speaker 4: Max Mellan have been in the locker room throughout the

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Speaker 4: week and they were answering questions. Will Johnson said that

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Speaker 4: he's quote optimistic about everything. When it comes to if

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Speaker 4: he's optimistic about playing in the game, he said that

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Speaker 4: he's feeling better. There's a chance, though, that the Cardinals

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Speaker 4: are being smart with him because he's still a young player,

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Speaker 4: and let's let's call a spade of spade, he has

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Speaker 4: a significant injury history as well, so there's a chance

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Speaker 4: that the Cardinals are trying to be more mindful and

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Speaker 4: cautious of that. We still are very early on into

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Speaker 4: the season, and it's not like this team is zero

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Speaker 4: to two.

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Speaker 3: They're two to zero. They're in a better.

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Speaker 4: Position, so you don't need to rush Will Johnson back

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Speaker 4: if he's not healthy enough to return, even if he's

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Speaker 4: only at seventy percent eighty percent. I'm okay with that

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Speaker 4: because at this point it looks like Max melon is

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Speaker 4: likely going to be playing in the game. He's looked

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Speaker 4: good at practice. Limited participant in both Wednesday and Thursday.

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Speaker 4: Once again, we're recording heading into Friday, he'll probably be

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Speaker 4: listed as questionable on the injury report. I'm i'm I

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Speaker 4: believe that Max melon will play based off of what

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Speaker 4: we've seen, and in Will Johnson's case, even if he

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Speaker 4: doesn't play this week, it wouldn't surprise me if by

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Speaker 4: Thursday he's back out there.

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Speaker 1: The good news on the injury front. As far as

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Speaker 1: the cornerback position is concerned. You brought up Max Melton,

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Speaker 1: but I do think how well Denzel Burke played. He

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Speaker 1: went from zero defensive snaps to sixty seven three passes defense. Yeah,

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Speaker 1: he did get beat, but what corner doesn't His first

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Speaker 1: time playing and you're talking about a fifth round pick.

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Speaker 1: I thought he held his own. Now, Keith Trell Clark

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Speaker 1: played late in that game, again, some big plays. But

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Speaker 1: now you've got a three man rotation at cornerback. We'll

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Speaker 1: see if Elijah Jones sees his first defensive snaps, and

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Speaker 1: then the course everyone's assuming myself included without Garrett Williams

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Speaker 1: on the field, that Jalen Thompson moves into that slot

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Speaker 1: corner role when you go into nickel situations, and we'll

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Speaker 1: see what happens, or if it happens, is whether we

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Speaker 1: see six defensive backs, but you've got a good rotation

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Speaker 1: at safety with Buddha JT. Rabbit and maybe Keaton Crawford

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Speaker 1: sees some defensive snaps, which he has not done so

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Speaker 1: through the first two games.

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Speaker 4: Yeah, we've seen him mostly on special teams in that capacity.

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Speaker 4: I will say though with den Burke, yes, he did

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Speaker 4: hold his own, but I would expect for him to

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Speaker 4: hold his own because when you look at the wide

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Speaker 4: receivers he was guarding, it was Xavier le Guett, who

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Speaker 4: has only been in the league for a year, and

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Speaker 4: a fellow rookie in Ted McMillan. These are guys that

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Speaker 4: Denzel Burke saw a lot of or the likes of

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Speaker 4: during his time at Ohio State. During those four years

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Speaker 4: we had fifty one games played. With his time at

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Speaker 4: the Buckeyes, I'm not surprised to see him play as

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Speaker 4: well as he did because he wasn't lining up across

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Speaker 4: from a lot of experienced wide receivers. I'm curious to

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Speaker 4: know how he would have lined up across from a

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Speaker 4: wide receiver that's been in the league for four years,

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Speaker 4: five years in the league. But then again, we could

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Speaker 4: speculate all we want about what it could have been, like,

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Speaker 4: it's what he did do, and he did lock up

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Speaker 4: those guys and he played really well and he held

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Speaker 4: his own I kind of found it funny in the

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Speaker 4: locker room earlier in the week somebody asked him what

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Speaker 4: he thought of his game, and he.

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Speaker 3: Said, pretty good. Put on the tape.

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Speaker 4: And in that case, you do put on the tape

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Speaker 4: and there's a lot of learning that could be done

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Speaker 4: and he would probably say as such, and the coaching

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Speaker 4: staff has said as much. But he did look really

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Speaker 4: good out there. And if he's there on the opposite

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Speaker 4: of Max Mountain, let's say that's gonna be good because

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Speaker 4: it's not just going to be relying on Denzel Burke

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Speaker 4: playing in his second game as a as a defensive

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Speaker 4: back being your CB one big emphasis, big focus, big

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Speaker 4: spotlight to me, because of the cornerback situation is going

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Speaker 4: to fall on the front seven. Can you get consistent

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Speaker 4: pressure on the forty nine ers quarterback whomever it's going

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Speaker 4: to be. Certainly we'll get into that here momentarily with

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Speaker 4: Matt Barrows. But interesting that a question was asked on

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Speaker 4: Friday to JG about Darius Robinson because through two games

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Speaker 4: it's been hard to see, least statistically anything from number

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Speaker 4: fifty six. Now you look at how much Darius has

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Speaker 4: played fifty six percent of the defensive snaps in week one,

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Speaker 4: fifty two percent in week two, and the only stat

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Speaker 4: one tackle now on this surface, that does not look good.

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Speaker 4: JG gave a very solid response, said, Darius is playing

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Speaker 4: excellent in the run game. And sometimes when you're playing

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Speaker 4: defensive line. Now in paraphrasing here, but when you play

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Speaker 4: defensive line, there are some assignments and then all of

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Speaker 4: a sudden, you're doing your job.

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Speaker 5: You don't get.

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Speaker 1: Credit for the tackle or whatever it is, but the

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Speaker 1: guy next to you does. And JG mentioned that Darius

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Speaker 1: is doing a lot of that, allowing others to make plays.

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Speaker 1: With that being said, Zach, he's a first round draft pick.

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Speaker 1: One tackle in two games, not good enough. You want

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Speaker 1: to see some of those splash plays, impact plays. Haven't

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Speaker 1: seen it through two games. Is it a red flag

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Speaker 1: for me? Not yet, considering that last year was not

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Speaker 1: really a full season for him, and this is, as

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Speaker 1: JG said in the offseason, kind of one point five

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Speaker 1: year and a half for Darius in twenty twenty five.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, at this point. I'm rounding up.

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Speaker 4: We're calling it his second year. Well, I have two

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Speaker 4: instances that I think are notable, and they're not necessarily

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Speaker 4: referencing Darius Robinson.

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Speaker 3: I'm gonna try to tie the two in together.

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Speaker 4: We're gonna beat to speak with Matt Barrows and Kyle

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Speaker 4: Shanahan was very complimentary of first round pick Mikel Williams

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Speaker 4: that they have not because he was flashing on the

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Speaker 4: stat sheet.

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Speaker 3: He hasn't.

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Speaker 4: I'm pretty sure through two games he only has four tackles. However,

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Speaker 4: he drew the defensive lineman in that allowed Nick Bosa

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Speaker 4: to get a sack. That's something you see a lot

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Speaker 4: of when it comes to Darius Robinson. Similar situations. In

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Speaker 4: an article I just wrote on Azycardinals dot Com about

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Speaker 4: a Keem Davis Gather and his versatility, a Q Shipley

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Speaker 4: or Cardinals radio analyst, was giving a breakdown of the

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Speaker 4: Josh sweat Force fumbled as Daven Collins recovered in the

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Speaker 4: end zone, and it was a Keem Davis Gather who

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Speaker 4: because of the way that the Cardinals disguise a lot

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Speaker 4: of their schemes, they had a seven man front and

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Speaker 4: they were able to drop two guys back a Keem

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Speaker 4: Davis Gather basically confused the center because he ran into it,

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Speaker 4: got the center stuck, and allowed Josh Sweat to be

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Speaker 4: that free hitter. You see a lot of that with

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Speaker 4: Darius Robinson helping a lot of the other guys get

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Speaker 4: their tackles, get their reps. In Buddha Baker, the reason

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Speaker 4: why he flies on the stat sheet and appears on

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Speaker 4: the statue as much as he does is because of

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Speaker 4: the disruption that Darius Robinson causes up front. I see

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Speaker 4: on Twitter so many of these different graphics of run

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Speaker 4: game analytics and this and that, and Darius Robinson's at

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Speaker 4: the bottom of every single list, and I understand why

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Speaker 4: that's a cause of concern and why fans could be

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Speaker 4: upset about him. I'm sure Darius wants to pop up

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Speaker 4: on the stat sheet. He was a guy at the

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Speaker 4: Zoo that was a first team All SEC. He was

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Speaker 4: that guy down there with the Tigers. With that being said, though,

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Speaker 4: he is in a different league in the NFL right now,

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Speaker 4: and if you're still doing your job and you're helping

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Speaker 4: your teammates get their licks and get their snaps up,

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Speaker 4: this coaching staff recognizes that.

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Speaker 1: Well said, everyone's got a job to do, even though

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Speaker 1: maybe it doesn't show up at the end of the

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Speaker 1: game on a piece of paper. And that's where sometimes, yeah,

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Speaker 1: you can look at stats, but coaches look at the film.

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Speaker 1: Would love to see Darius pop out and pop off

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Speaker 1: this week, and I do think we're going to see it.

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Speaker 5: It's just you haven't through two games.

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Speaker 1: And there was a lot of excitement with Darius because

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Speaker 1: of how well he looked in the preseason a year

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Speaker 1: ago before the calf injury, and all of a sudden, Okay,

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Speaker 1: now he's healthy, let's go. And it's been slow out

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Speaker 1: of the gate as far as numbers aren't.

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Speaker 3: And he looks like that.

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Speaker 4: He looked like that during training camp this year. He

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Speaker 4: looked equally as solid, he looked equally as fast, and

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Speaker 4: he said he wanted to pick up where he left off,

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Speaker 4: and I believe he has picked up where he has

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Speaker 4: left off. Look, the game has probably slowed down a

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Speaker 4: lot more for d Rob than it was when he

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Speaker 4: made his NFL debut in Minnesota. The game has probably

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Speaker 4: changed quite a bit.

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Speaker 3: And we see.

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Speaker 4: All the time of him speaking with Kalais Campbell, him

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Speaker 4: speaking with Dalvin Thomlinson, Dante Stills. He's still a student

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Speaker 4: of the game. And if there's anybody in this locker

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Speaker 4: room that you cannot argue as the student of the game,

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Speaker 4: it is Darius Robinson. We see him all the time,

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Speaker 4: and the way he talks about football, you could tell

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Speaker 4: that that's just his ball. IQ is far and be

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Speaker 4: a far and beyond everybody. And now that's not to

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Speaker 4: insult anybody, but it's to give credit to d rob

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Speaker 4: Just the way he talks about football is fascinating. It

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Speaker 4: will click at some point for Darius and it will

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Speaker 4: allow him to appear more on the stat sheet. For now, though,

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Speaker 4: with the way that this defense is schemed up, he

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Speaker 4: is part of the players that are generating those four

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Speaker 4: man pressures, those four rushers, which is important and you

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Speaker 4: want to see a lot more of that as well

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Speaker 4: for him to get to the quarterback and get his licks.

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Speaker 4: But let's also calm down, it's only been two weeks.

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Speaker 1: Everybody, sooner rather than later, and maybe as soon as

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Speaker 1: Sunday for Darius Robinson again. Cardinals at the forty nine

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Speaker 1: Ers one twenty five is the kickoff eight thirty. Pre

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Speaker 1: game coverage begins on the Arizona Cardinals Radio Network.

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Speaker 5: All Right, as I.

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Speaker 1: Mentioned off the top, Zach and I had the chance

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Speaker 1: this week to speak with Matt Barrows. He covers the

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Speaker 1: forty nine ers for the Athletic. Let's dive deeper into

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Speaker 1: Sunday's game. So we're speaking here on Thursday morning. Matt,

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Speaker 1: your best educated guests on who will be quarterbacking in

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Speaker 1: the forty nine.

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Speaker 5: Ers on Sunday.

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Speaker 6: Best guess is drum roll mac Jones, because I think

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Speaker 6: that the forty nine ers, if there's any question about

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Speaker 6: Rockberdy's toe, they're gonna air on the side of caution.

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Speaker 6: They showed in New Orleans that they can win with

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Speaker 6: mac Jones as their quarterback. So my thought is, you know,

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Speaker 6: why even go down that path? Why risk it becoming

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Speaker 6: more of a chronic thing. The flip side of that

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Speaker 6: argument is that rock Perdy feels better and better as

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Speaker 6: he goes through practices this week, and they say, well,

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Speaker 6: you know, it looks like he's close to one hundred,

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Speaker 6: and if he's feeling good and the toe is feeling good,

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Speaker 6: what's the point in keeping him out? But like I said,

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Speaker 6: it just seems like if you have the means to

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Speaker 6: give him another week of rest to get that toe

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Speaker 6: back to you know, close to one hundred percent.

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Speaker 5: You take that, and I.

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Speaker 4: Think that makes sense, especially when you're a team that's

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Speaker 4: two and zero versus zero and two the trajectory of

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Speaker 4: your season. It's a long season, and it definitely does

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Speaker 4: make a difference in the case that it is mac Jones.

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Speaker 4: What might he bring to the offense that brock Purty

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Speaker 4: doesn't and vice versa.

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Speaker 6: Well, I think the big difference between the two of

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Speaker 6: them is that Matt Jones is not going to wriggle

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Speaker 6: out of pressure and extend a play for you know,

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Speaker 6: six seconds and toss the ball into the end zone.

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Speaker 6: And that's something that brought Purty probably didn't get a

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Speaker 6: lot of credit for coming out of Iowa State, but

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Speaker 6: you've been good at that sort of this this NFL

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Speaker 6: thing now where you guys see it all the time

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Speaker 6: where if a quarterback can extend a play, take a

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Speaker 6: broken play and turn it into a backbreaking play, it's often,

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Speaker 6: you know, the the momentum changing play of the game,

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Speaker 6: and and Purdy has the ability to add lib like that.

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Speaker 6: I don't think that mac Jones has that ability. What

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Speaker 6: he does, though, is he's very pretty like in he's

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Speaker 6: a good pocket pascher. He's got good patience, he's got

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Speaker 6: good poise, and he's accurate with his throws and and

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Speaker 6: he anticipates well. So he's he's a standard Kyle Shanahan

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Speaker 6: type quarterback, talking like Kirk Cousins Rock Purty, but without

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Speaker 6: a lot of mobility.

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Speaker 4: Craig, it's a change of pace too when you look

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Speaker 4: at what the Cardinals have faced in the first two

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Speaker 4: weeks with two very mobile quarterbacks and Spencer Ratler and

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Speaker 4: Bryce Young.

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Speaker 1: Absolutely, that's a big difference here in Week three. Another

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Speaker 1: big difference is Christian McCaffrey. Cardinals missed him last season.

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Speaker 1: Matt how is he looks? How much do the Niners?

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Speaker 1: How much does that offense revolve around him?

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Speaker 6: Well, it revolves around him a lot in normal situations,

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Speaker 6: and this is not a normal one. For the forty

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Speaker 6: nine ers. You mentioned Matt Jones, George Kittle won't be

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Speaker 6: out there, Brandon Aiyuk won't be out there. This is

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Speaker 6: the last game that DeMarcus Robinson, a receiver that your

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Speaker 6: listeners are probably familiar with from his days with the Rams.

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Speaker 6: He's been suspended for the first three games, of the season.

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Speaker 6: He was a big part of the offense in training

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Speaker 6: camp in the preseason, so it's not full tilt fight

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Speaker 6: by any stretch. So I think that that is going

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Speaker 6: to be a big factor going to this game. As

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Speaker 6: far as as far as McCaffrey is concerned, I think

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Speaker 6: that they're, you know, a cognizant of over taxing him.

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Speaker 6: I remember early in that twenty twenty three season where

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Speaker 6: he won Offensive Player of the Year, he would get

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Speaker 6: one hundred percent of the snaps some games and usually

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Speaker 6: in the high eighties in other games. So far, it's

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Speaker 6: been in the low seventies with Brian Robinson Junior coming

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Speaker 6: in to spell him, so he's getting a little bit

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Speaker 6: more rest than he normally has. But when he's out there,

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Speaker 6: he looks like Christian McCaffery and he has some big

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Speaker 6: games against the Cardinals back in twenty twenty three. So yeah,

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Speaker 6: a huge part of the of the offense, probably a

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Speaker 6: bigger part of the passing game over the first two

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Speaker 6: weeks than he has been the running game in terms

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Speaker 6: of his positive yards and total yards and things like that.

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Speaker 6: So that's something to watch. Using him as a wide receiver,

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Speaker 6: which they did quite a bit in New Orleans.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, no, need to remind Cardinals fans Matt about what

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Speaker 1: Christian McCaffrey did in twenty twenty three is quite impressive.

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Speaker 1: But the passing game going through McCaffery, he does lead

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Speaker 1: the team in targets and reception. How long is that sustainable?

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Speaker 6: Well, I mean until somebody stops it, it's indefinitely sustainable.

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Speaker 6: I mean, that's that's the whole beauty of christ McCaffrey

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Speaker 6: and having him out there with tight ends that also

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Speaker 6: can catch passes and usually that's George Kittle. But you know,

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Speaker 6: you put defenses in a bune. Do you put linebackers

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Speaker 6: out there to stop the run or do you put

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Speaker 6: defensive backs out there to stop the patch. And you know,

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Speaker 6: that's that's what how Shanahan wants to do is give

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Speaker 6: the defense that conundrum and then when they make a choice,

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Speaker 6: do the opposite do something that exploits that choice. But

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Speaker 6: there were times, you know, when the Saints knew that

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Speaker 6: McCaffrey was going to be, you know, out there as

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Speaker 6: a re and they still got him the ball. They

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Speaker 6: had a really good two minute try before halftime in

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Speaker 6: New Orleans that ended with a Christian McCaffery touchdown catch

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Speaker 6: where he was lined up in the slot and basically

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Speaker 6: ran a route that separated himself from a nickel cornerback.

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Speaker 6: So sometimes even when the matchup it's favorable to the defense,

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Speaker 6: you're still able to exploit it.

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Speaker 4: I think it's all, but it's going to be for

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Speaker 4: sure that the Cardinals fans are going to have to

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Speaker 4: hear Christian McCaffrey's names on the broadcast throughout it. I

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Speaker 4: know Juwan Jennings is another player that Cardinals fans are

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Speaker 4: accustomed to facing, especially last season in that season finale game.

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Speaker 3: Who had he had an early.

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Speaker 4: Exit in now when he's a feisty one out there,

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Speaker 4: but he's potentially one of the receivers. I know he's

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Speaker 4: on the injury report right now at least as of Wednesday,

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Speaker 4: missing practice. But who are some of the other players

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Speaker 4: that Cardinals fans might hear on the broadcast because you're

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Speaker 4: not going to hear George Kittle's name, Brock Purty potentially

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Speaker 4: being out well. Who are some of the names that

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Speaker 4: Cardinals fans might need to expect to hear well.

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Speaker 6: Ricky Pearsall was their their top pick last year from

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Speaker 6: the state of Arizona played at Arizona State. I think

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Speaker 6: that Cardinals fans are already familiar with him and what

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Speaker 6: happened to him early last year. He's been a favorite

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Speaker 6: target of both Perdy and mac Jones. He's averaging twenty

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Speaker 6: point five yards per catch so far. That's that's a

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Speaker 6: huge number, you know, Brandon I you you know, in

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Speaker 6: his best season averaged something like seventeen point nine. So

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Speaker 6: he's been getting open. He's been getting open deep and

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Speaker 6: they haven't been hesitant in throwing him those balls. With Iukal,

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Speaker 6: you know, he's there sort of man coverage beater. He's

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Speaker 6: the guy that catches those deep crosses, you know, in

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Speaker 6: the middle of the field. And you know, Ricky Piersall

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Speaker 6: has really kind of stepped into that role and he's

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Speaker 6: done a good job of, you know, doing so so far.

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Speaker 6: You know, he's not perfect. He tends to get rerouted sometimes,

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Speaker 6: he's has to deal with physical coverage, but he's been

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Speaker 6: getting better and better, so he's won. And then basically

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Speaker 6: it's a trio that have come in to try to

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Speaker 6: replace George Kittle, and it might be Kyle youth Check

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Speaker 6: as well. He had a concussion in New Orleans didn't

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Speaker 6: practice on Wednesday either, so it could be that the

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Speaker 6: forty nine ers are without youth Check and Kittle, And

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Speaker 6: I was talking to you about, you know, the Kyle

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Speaker 6: Shanahan desire to put defenses into a bind. Both of

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Speaker 6: those guys do that. They're both really good pass catchers

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Speaker 6: and really good blockers, So without both of them, I

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Speaker 6: think that they're real minus for the forty nine ers.

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Speaker 6: And then you're leaning on guys like Jake Tandris and

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Speaker 6: Brayden Willis who are technically tight ends, but they can

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Speaker 6: also line up up in the backfield. They did a

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Speaker 6: good job at the you know, they played three quarters

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Speaker 6: of the game on Sunday without youth Check and without Kittle,

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Speaker 6: and you know, the forty nine ers may do, but

435
00:23:13,760 --> 00:23:17,040
Speaker 6: it's a rare game when both of those guys are

436
00:23:17,119 --> 00:23:20,159
Speaker 6: missing from the offense, and it brought Purdy is also missing.

437
00:23:20,760 --> 00:23:25,359
Speaker 6: I think that's a pretty significant loss for the forty

438
00:23:25,440 --> 00:23:28,800
Speaker 6: nine ers. That's sort of their identity, and the question

439
00:23:28,880 --> 00:23:34,160
Speaker 6: would be can they replicate that identity with lesser players on.

440
00:23:34,080 --> 00:23:36,239
Speaker 1: The other side of the ball. I remember speaking with

441
00:23:36,280 --> 00:23:38,879
Speaker 1: you over the summer about the defense. A lot of

442
00:23:38,880 --> 00:23:42,120
Speaker 1: new names, but then there are the familiar names, Nick Bosa,

443
00:23:42,280 --> 00:23:46,000
Speaker 1: Fred Warner. How is everyone And I know small sample size,

444
00:23:46,000 --> 00:23:47,960
Speaker 1: but how does everyone kind of fit together?

445
00:23:48,880 --> 00:23:51,800
Speaker 6: Yeah, I think the unit's been better than expected. Now.

446
00:23:51,920 --> 00:23:55,320
Speaker 6: You know, they played the Seahawks in Week one and

447
00:23:55,359 --> 00:23:57,600
Speaker 6: the Seahawks are learning a new offense, and they played

448
00:23:57,600 --> 00:24:01,080
Speaker 6: the Saints in Week two and you guys got a

449
00:24:01,080 --> 00:24:03,600
Speaker 6: good look at the Saints. So they haven't played any

450
00:24:03,680 --> 00:24:08,560
Speaker 6: of the offensive juggernauts yet, so batmy have something to

451
00:24:08,600 --> 00:24:11,560
Speaker 6: do with it. But they looked good. You know. They

452
00:24:12,119 --> 00:24:17,719
Speaker 6: They've been struggling over the years to find a defensive

453
00:24:18,000 --> 00:24:22,200
Speaker 6: end bookend for Nick Bosa, and I think that they've

454
00:24:22,240 --> 00:24:25,199
Speaker 6: at least found a really good combination this year. They

455
00:24:25,520 --> 00:24:29,520
Speaker 6: created for Bryce Huff, who's somebody who played for Robert

456
00:24:29,600 --> 00:24:33,080
Speaker 6: Shalah with the New York Jets and had ten sacks

457
00:24:33,480 --> 00:24:37,199
Speaker 6: his first year with Sala hasn't been able to duplicate that,

458
00:24:37,359 --> 00:24:39,960
Speaker 6: but he's off to a good start. So he's sort

459
00:24:39,960 --> 00:24:44,639
Speaker 6: of their pass rush ace opposite Bosa. And then the

460
00:24:44,680 --> 00:24:47,760
Speaker 6: base down ace opposite Bosa is their first round pick

461
00:24:47,800 --> 00:24:53,600
Speaker 6: Michael Williams, who looked really good on Sunday as well,

462
00:24:53,760 --> 00:24:57,520
Speaker 6: So that is so far, so good. They've gotten good

463
00:24:57,640 --> 00:25:01,080
Speaker 6: production out of some of their rookies. The safety will

464
00:25:01,080 --> 00:25:05,480
Speaker 6: be a rookie, the nickelback will be a rookie. There'll

465
00:25:05,520 --> 00:25:09,960
Speaker 6: be two rookies rotating in at defensive tackle, so they

466
00:25:10,600 --> 00:25:15,040
Speaker 6: have not been hesitant about leaning on young players to

467
00:25:15,080 --> 00:25:15,800
Speaker 6: start the season.

468
00:25:16,280 --> 00:25:19,040
Speaker 4: And speaking of familiar faces, as you mentioned Robert Salo

469
00:25:19,160 --> 00:25:21,560
Speaker 4: returning back to the Bay, is it still a little

470
00:25:21,600 --> 00:25:24,399
Speaker 4: bit too early to tell the differences between his first

471
00:25:24,440 --> 00:25:28,399
Speaker 4: stint to the current stint.

472
00:25:28,520 --> 00:25:32,439
Speaker 6: You know, I think the comparison is that there is

473
00:25:32,480 --> 00:25:37,840
Speaker 6: a comparison that there's a sort of a trust and

474
00:25:37,920 --> 00:25:41,400
Speaker 6: a confidence in Sala that might not have been there

475
00:25:41,520 --> 00:25:46,840
Speaker 6: the two previous seasons with first time coordinator Nick Torrenson

476
00:25:47,240 --> 00:25:50,920
Speaker 6: last year and then Steve Wilkes the year before. Wilkes

477
00:25:51,000 --> 00:25:56,640
Speaker 6: kind of coming in from a different system and they

478
00:25:56,680 --> 00:25:59,680
Speaker 6: sort of put him in a very awkward position where Okay,

479
00:25:59,720 --> 00:26:02,800
Speaker 6: you're defensive coordinator, but you have to come in without

480
00:26:02,840 --> 00:26:06,800
Speaker 6: any of your own assistants, without any of your guys,

481
00:26:06,880 --> 00:26:09,360
Speaker 6: the players that you played with in the past, and

482
00:26:09,520 --> 00:26:13,280
Speaker 6: learn a different system. So that didn't work out. Nick

483
00:26:13,320 --> 00:26:16,600
Speaker 6: Swarrenson was a little bit better last year but he

484
00:26:16,720 --> 00:26:20,200
Speaker 6: just doesn't have the experience. And now you've got Sala

485
00:26:20,640 --> 00:26:23,879
Speaker 6: who kind of built this defense to begin with, and

486
00:26:23,920 --> 00:26:28,520
Speaker 6: then you know, is bringing in some different things from

487
00:26:28,560 --> 00:26:30,760
Speaker 6: his experience in New York with him. This year, they're

488
00:26:31,040 --> 00:26:35,720
Speaker 6: blitzing more. That rookie Nickelback I talked about. His name

489
00:26:35,800 --> 00:26:39,480
Speaker 6: is upton Stout. He blitzed five times against the Saints

490
00:26:39,480 --> 00:26:43,239
Speaker 6: and came away with a sack. So that's something that

491
00:26:43,320 --> 00:26:47,720
Speaker 6: I don't think the twenty nineteen forty nine Ers defense,

492
00:26:47,760 --> 00:26:51,000
Speaker 6: for example, did very much at all. But the forty

493
00:26:51,080 --> 00:26:54,360
Speaker 6: nine ers practiced it this summer and they've used it

494
00:26:54,760 --> 00:26:56,720
Speaker 6: pretty extensively the last two weeks.

495
00:26:57,160 --> 00:26:59,520
Speaker 4: Last one here, Matt, once again, appreciate you taking the

496
00:26:59,560 --> 00:27:02,399
Speaker 4: time here on Cardinals cover two. What did the forty

497
00:27:02,480 --> 00:27:05,439
Speaker 4: nine ers defense learn from facing off and trying to

498
00:27:05,480 --> 00:27:08,440
Speaker 4: guard Trey McBride last year? The photo I feel like

499
00:27:08,520 --> 00:27:11,200
Speaker 4: I see it once every few weeks of him trying

500
00:27:11,240 --> 00:27:14,200
Speaker 4: to hurdle over Tig Brown and instead putting a cleat

501
00:27:14,240 --> 00:27:16,240
Speaker 4: to the face mask. So he's been a tough guy

502
00:27:16,280 --> 00:27:18,760
Speaker 4: for the forty nine ers to bring down. What has

503
00:27:18,760 --> 00:27:20,520
Speaker 4: that defense learned when trying to guard him?

504
00:27:21,800 --> 00:27:26,040
Speaker 6: Well, they learned that the personnel group that they had

505
00:27:26,119 --> 00:27:29,800
Speaker 6: last year wasn't going to work. They had an injured

506
00:27:30,400 --> 00:27:34,640
Speaker 6: Drake Greenlaw and they played a veteran in Devondre Campbell

507
00:27:35,080 --> 00:27:37,760
Speaker 6: for most of the season. This is right next to

508
00:27:38,200 --> 00:27:42,240
Speaker 6: Fred Warner, and you know, it was a step down.

509
00:27:42,920 --> 00:27:47,159
Speaker 6: And this year they've got a guy in the Winters

510
00:27:47,320 --> 00:27:51,360
Speaker 6: that's that's sort of a name that's become big around here,

511
00:27:51,440 --> 00:27:54,960
Speaker 6: and that Cardinals fans will probably be hearing a lot

512
00:27:55,000 --> 00:27:59,000
Speaker 6: on Sunday. My joke as I call him Dre Winters

513
00:27:59,080 --> 00:28:03,239
Speaker 6: because he looks and it's not the greatest joke, but

514
00:28:03,280 --> 00:28:06,199
Speaker 6: it kind of gets the point across.

515
00:28:05,760 --> 00:28:07,239
Speaker 3: That I smiled at it.

516
00:28:07,800 --> 00:28:12,240
Speaker 6: Okay, good, thank you for the courtesy smile. But yeah,

517
00:28:12,280 --> 00:28:15,040
Speaker 6: I mean he's built a lot like Drake Greenlaw, sort

518
00:28:15,080 --> 00:28:17,240
Speaker 6: of lower to the ground. He's very fast, and he's

519
00:28:17,280 --> 00:28:20,960
Speaker 6: been very effective the first two weeks. So they just

520
00:28:21,040 --> 00:28:25,760
Speaker 6: have a better personnel group in there. Now. I forget

521
00:28:25,800 --> 00:28:29,320
Speaker 6: exactly the weeks that the forty nine ers played the

522
00:28:29,320 --> 00:28:33,040
Speaker 6: Cardinals last year, but I believe that they were the

523
00:28:33,080 --> 00:28:36,879
Speaker 6: weeks that Fred Warner was dealing with a broken bone

524
00:28:36,920 --> 00:28:40,200
Speaker 6: in his ankle. He had gotten off to such a

525
00:28:40,240 --> 00:28:43,960
Speaker 6: fast start last year, really looked like a Defensive Player

526
00:28:44,000 --> 00:28:47,200
Speaker 6: of the Year candidate, and then in Week four he

527
00:28:47,960 --> 00:28:51,040
Speaker 6: broke a bone in his ankle. He played every week,

528
00:28:51,120 --> 00:28:54,680
Speaker 6: so it never really fully healed until the season was over,

529
00:28:54,760 --> 00:28:57,480
Speaker 6: and you could frankly see that in his play, and

530
00:28:57,680 --> 00:29:01,720
Speaker 6: there was a definite dip in his play, and I

531
00:29:01,720 --> 00:29:04,560
Speaker 6: think that included both of the Cardinals games as well.

532
00:29:04,640 --> 00:29:10,320
Speaker 6: So my point being that it's a healthier, faster, shabbier

533
00:29:10,400 --> 00:29:14,120
Speaker 6: group out there at linebacker, and that's the one that's

534
00:29:14,160 --> 00:29:17,080
Speaker 6: going to have to take on Frey McBride and take

535
00:29:17,160 --> 00:29:19,360
Speaker 6: on the other two tight ends as well. I know

536
00:29:19,400 --> 00:29:24,480
Speaker 6: that they've been incorporated heavily into the Cardinals offense early on.

537
00:29:25,120 --> 00:29:28,920
Speaker 1: First Division matchup for the Cardinals coming up on Sunday

538
00:29:29,040 --> 00:29:32,840
Speaker 1: in San Francisco. Matt always appreciate the time. Zach and

539
00:29:32,880 --> 00:29:35,600
Speaker 1: I are not traveling this week, but we look forward

540
00:29:35,640 --> 00:29:37,760
Speaker 1: to seeing and speaking with you later on in the

541
00:29:37,800 --> 00:29:40,680
Speaker 1: season when the forty nine ers come here to Arizona.

542
00:29:42,000 --> 00:29:43,960
Speaker 6: I do as well. Thanks for having me on, guys.

543
00:29:44,720 --> 00:29:47,640
Speaker 1: Great stuff there For Matt, you can follow him at

544
00:29:48,000 --> 00:29:51,880
Speaker 1: Matt Barrows and again here as we speak on this Friday,

545
00:29:52,320 --> 00:29:55,080
Speaker 1: I'm in agreements with Matt. When it comes to the

546
00:29:55,160 --> 00:29:59,959
Speaker 1: quarterback situation, why risk it with Rock Party. Mac Jones

547
00:30:00,280 --> 00:30:04,600
Speaker 1: played well last week, more of a pocket passer as

548
00:30:04,600 --> 00:30:07,440
Speaker 1: opposed to the mobility that the Cardinals have seen in

549
00:30:07,480 --> 00:30:10,760
Speaker 1: the first two weeks, which you noted during the interview, Zach.

550
00:30:10,840 --> 00:30:14,520
Speaker 1: But again, I think, based off our conversation earlier here

551
00:30:14,560 --> 00:30:17,600
Speaker 1: on Cardinals Cover two with Will Johnson, I think the

552
00:30:17,640 --> 00:30:21,480
Speaker 1: same applies with a mac Jones. It's week three. You

553
00:30:21,520 --> 00:30:25,680
Speaker 1: got to look down the road. I think you're gonna

554
00:30:25,680 --> 00:30:28,840
Speaker 1: see mac Jones over brock Party on Sunday.

555
00:30:28,920 --> 00:30:31,800
Speaker 4: How about though the forty nine ers are media availability,

556
00:30:31,800 --> 00:30:34,520
Speaker 4: they had both brock Party and mac Jones speak to

557
00:30:34,600 --> 00:30:35,200
Speaker 4: the media.

558
00:30:35,280 --> 00:30:38,840
Speaker 1: I remember, I want to say, it was when Ken

559
00:30:38,880 --> 00:30:41,760
Speaker 1: wizen Hunt was the head coach, and typically here with

560
00:30:41,840 --> 00:30:45,280
Speaker 1: the Cardinals, the starting quarterback speaks on a Wednesday, and

561
00:30:45,560 --> 00:30:48,560
Speaker 1: this one particular week and I can't remember the two quarterbacks,

562
00:30:48,600 --> 00:30:52,040
Speaker 1: but they did. They had both quarterbacks step up and

563
00:30:52,160 --> 00:30:57,840
Speaker 1: address reporters because a decision had not been quote unquote

564
00:30:57,880 --> 00:31:00,320
Speaker 1: made yet and you wanted to lay it as long

565
00:31:00,360 --> 00:31:03,240
Speaker 1: as possible, at least publicly. Of course, inside the building

566
00:31:03,320 --> 00:31:06,600
Speaker 1: everyone knows what's going on, but yet It's a handful

567
00:31:06,640 --> 00:31:08,960
Speaker 1: of teams have done that in the past. To continue

568
00:31:09,000 --> 00:31:10,800
Speaker 1: along that gamesmanship angle.

569
00:31:10,880 --> 00:31:13,760
Speaker 4: Can you imagine before week one of John Again's first game,

570
00:31:13,800 --> 00:31:16,160
Speaker 4: he had both Josh Dobbs and clayon tune speaking to

571
00:31:16,200 --> 00:31:19,440
Speaker 4: the media. That would have been electric. Look, but that's

572
00:31:19,440 --> 00:31:22,360
Speaker 4: something that getting back to the topic at hand, which

573
00:31:22,400 --> 00:31:24,040
Speaker 4: is who the forty nine ers are going to trot

574
00:31:24,080 --> 00:31:28,280
Speaker 4: out there. All signs are pointing to it being Mac

575
00:31:28,360 --> 00:31:31,320
Speaker 4: Jones and I know Klay's Campbell was talking about it

576
00:31:31,400 --> 00:31:34,680
Speaker 4: on Good Morning or on the Insiders. Well he was

577
00:31:34,680 --> 00:31:36,520
Speaker 4: talking about it, right, But he had a whole media

578
00:31:36,600 --> 00:31:39,200
Speaker 4: tour which is also everywhere that he was doing a

579
00:31:39,200 --> 00:31:42,160
Speaker 4: lot of stuff promoting Cardinals Climb, cardinalsclimb dot com, you know,

580
00:31:42,240 --> 00:31:44,440
Speaker 4: helping out the new community effort that the Cardinals are

581
00:31:44,440 --> 00:31:46,640
Speaker 4: going to be doing. On February twenty first, twenty twenty

582
00:31:46,680 --> 00:31:49,920
Speaker 4: six at State Farm Stadium, and he was wearing the

583
00:31:50,240 --> 00:31:52,960
Speaker 4: early six shirt, so was Budda Baker in his press conference.

584
00:31:53,120 --> 00:31:55,320
Speaker 4: But when he was doing the media tour, he talked

585
00:31:55,360 --> 00:31:58,120
Speaker 4: I believe on The Insiders with Tom and Ian Rapaport,

586
00:31:58,120 --> 00:32:00,000
Speaker 4: two guys who have also been on Cardinals Cover two

587
00:32:00,080 --> 00:32:03,920
Speaker 4: with US and we was talking I'm a promoter at heart,

588
00:32:04,080 --> 00:32:06,480
Speaker 4: you know, make me the manager in w W Lee and.

589
00:32:06,440 --> 00:32:08,160
Speaker 3: We'll be ready to go ahead. Wressell palooza.

590
00:32:08,520 --> 00:32:12,959
Speaker 4: No, he was talking about how, whoever the quarterback is,

591
00:32:13,520 --> 00:32:16,880
Speaker 4: if you'd rather face off against Brock Purdy or mac Jones.

592
00:32:17,000 --> 00:32:20,160
Speaker 4: And he said mac Jones, not as a dick at

593
00:32:20,200 --> 00:32:23,400
Speaker 4: Mac Jones, but just talking about Look, look, it's very

594
00:32:23,440 --> 00:32:26,240
Speaker 4: different because he doesn't have a mastery of the system

595
00:32:26,240 --> 00:32:28,640
Speaker 4: and the way that brock Purty does, and a Kyle

596
00:32:28,680 --> 00:32:31,440
Speaker 4: Shanahan offense is not easy.

597
00:32:31,080 --> 00:32:32,040
Speaker 3: To pick up.

598
00:32:32,360 --> 00:32:35,760
Speaker 4: So with that being said, it wouldn't surprise me if

599
00:32:36,360 --> 00:32:38,680
Speaker 4: that most of the players in this locker room want

600
00:32:38,800 --> 00:32:40,920
Speaker 4: mac Jones to be the guy. It won't surprising if

601
00:32:40,960 --> 00:32:43,680
Speaker 4: they expect mac Jones to be the guy out there,

602
00:32:43,840 --> 00:32:45,880
Speaker 4: because we expect for that to be the case. Brock

603
00:32:45,920 --> 00:32:49,760
Speaker 4: Purty is a talented quarterback. His name is listed all

604
00:32:49,800 --> 00:32:52,440
Speaker 4: throughout the record books and in a lot of different ways,

605
00:32:52,440 --> 00:32:55,160
Speaker 4: even dating back to his time here in Arizona when

606
00:32:55,200 --> 00:32:58,680
Speaker 4: he went to Perry High. He's a good quarterback. It's

607
00:32:58,680 --> 00:33:01,160
Speaker 4: something though that when we look at it, they have

608
00:33:01,240 --> 00:33:02,840
Speaker 4: to be mindful of it. The forty nine ers have

609
00:33:02,880 --> 00:33:05,280
Speaker 4: been decimated with injuries left and right, and you don't

610
00:33:05,280 --> 00:33:07,760
Speaker 4: want to put your quarterback of all positions out there

611
00:33:07,880 --> 00:33:11,920
Speaker 4: to potentially be dealt a more significant injury we see

612
00:33:11,920 --> 00:33:14,080
Speaker 4: with the turf toe situation. And I know he was

613
00:33:14,120 --> 00:33:16,640
Speaker 4: talking about that to the media out there and the

614
00:33:16,720 --> 00:33:18,600
Speaker 4: Bay and he was talking about how he has a

615
00:33:18,640 --> 00:33:21,440
Speaker 4: different appreciation for players that have been dealing with a

616
00:33:21,480 --> 00:33:23,880
Speaker 4: toe injury. You see the significant of what it can

617
00:33:23,960 --> 00:33:26,040
Speaker 4: be with a guy like Joe Burrow, you don't want

618
00:33:26,040 --> 00:33:29,040
Speaker 4: to potentially reaggravate it if you're Rock Party. So Kyle Shanahan,

619
00:33:29,040 --> 00:33:31,600
Speaker 4: if you're listening to me, because I know you are

620
00:33:32,600 --> 00:33:34,960
Speaker 4: possibly trodout Mac Jones.

621
00:33:34,880 --> 00:33:38,959
Speaker 1: Rock Party three and one and four starts against the Cardinals.

622
00:33:39,000 --> 00:33:41,920
Speaker 1: Mac Jones who started only one game against the Cardinals,

623
00:33:42,000 --> 00:33:43,800
Speaker 1: I was back in twenty twenty two when he was

624
00:33:43,840 --> 00:33:46,400
Speaker 1: with the Patriots. He won that game. That was also

625
00:33:46,440 --> 00:33:49,440
Speaker 1: the game Kyler Murray tore his ACL. So again, I

626
00:33:49,440 --> 00:33:52,800
Speaker 1: think the anticipation, the expectation is that we will see

627
00:33:52,840 --> 00:33:55,400
Speaker 1: mac Jones. If we don't, then it certainly will be

628
00:33:55,520 --> 00:34:00,800
Speaker 1: a surprise. Now, regardless of who the quarterback is, focus

629
00:34:00,960 --> 00:34:03,120
Speaker 1: with the forty nine ers is Christian McCaffrey.

630
00:34:03,240 --> 00:34:03,880
Speaker 5: He's healthy.

631
00:34:04,000 --> 00:34:06,360
Speaker 1: He has looked very good through these first two games,

632
00:34:06,800 --> 00:34:09,799
Speaker 1: and without a George Kittle and Juwan Jennings not one

633
00:34:09,880 --> 00:34:13,360
Speaker 1: hundred percent, you're going to see a lot of CMC

634
00:34:13,760 --> 00:34:16,880
Speaker 1: running the football, catching the football. He leads the team

635
00:34:17,080 --> 00:34:20,759
Speaker 1: in targets and receptions. And I just think he has

636
00:34:20,800 --> 00:34:25,920
Speaker 1: always played well against the Cardinals. In that twenty twenty

637
00:34:25,920 --> 00:34:28,160
Speaker 1: three season, the last time he was on the field

638
00:34:28,200 --> 00:34:31,040
Speaker 1: against the Cardinals, seven total touchdowns.

639
00:34:30,480 --> 00:34:32,520
Speaker 5: And he was just a nightmare.

640
00:34:32,640 --> 00:34:37,560
Speaker 1: And you could argue beat the Cardinals by himself based

641
00:34:37,600 --> 00:34:41,399
Speaker 1: off his impact in those two games. So focus on

642
00:34:41,520 --> 00:34:44,080
Speaker 1: McCaffrey and figuring out, all right, you're not gonna stop.

643
00:34:43,880 --> 00:34:48,240
Speaker 5: Him, but let someone else beat you, not CMC.

644
00:34:48,160 --> 00:34:49,880
Speaker 4: Trying to figure out a way to limit it. And

645
00:34:50,000 --> 00:34:53,600
Speaker 4: but with that being said, it's worth noting week one

646
00:34:53,640 --> 00:34:57,200
Speaker 4: against Alvin Kamara, week two against Juba Hubbard, two running backs,

647
00:34:57,200 --> 00:34:59,160
Speaker 4: that the Cardinals were able to keep to their rushing

648
00:34:59,160 --> 00:35:01,600
Speaker 4: attack to under eight yards. If I'm not mistaken, and

649
00:35:01,640 --> 00:35:03,880
Speaker 4: I think that that's something the Cardinals have done a

650
00:35:03,960 --> 00:35:06,120
Speaker 4: really solid job at. If you would have told us,

651
00:35:07,120 --> 00:35:10,360
Speaker 4: not understanding who the Cardinals brought in from a defensive perspective.

652
00:35:10,360 --> 00:35:12,440
Speaker 4: But after what Chuba Hubbard did with one hundred and

653
00:35:12,480 --> 00:35:15,800
Speaker 4: fifty two yards in that Week six team matchup last season,

654
00:35:16,160 --> 00:35:18,360
Speaker 4: knowing the type of caliber of talent that you have

655
00:35:18,440 --> 00:35:20,799
Speaker 4: in Alvin Kamara, you're keeping both of those guys to

656
00:35:20,880 --> 00:35:23,279
Speaker 4: under one hundred rushing yards. You'll take that any day

657
00:35:23,320 --> 00:35:25,120
Speaker 4: of the week. So the Cardinals have figured out a

658
00:35:25,200 --> 00:35:27,920
Speaker 4: formula through two games to keep the rushing attack to

659
00:35:28,239 --> 00:35:31,040
Speaker 4: a low. Maybe that's because you started off so strong

660
00:35:31,080 --> 00:35:35,120
Speaker 4: offensively that you had to force your opponents to throw

661
00:35:35,160 --> 00:35:37,680
Speaker 4: the ball more than run it. Maybe that's something that

662
00:35:37,680 --> 00:35:38,960
Speaker 4: the Cardinals need to just try to get and take

663
00:35:38,960 --> 00:35:41,160
Speaker 4: advantage of. Is try to get on the board early

664
00:35:41,200 --> 00:35:43,200
Speaker 4: and often put the forty nine ers in the buying

665
00:35:43,280 --> 00:35:46,279
Speaker 4: to make mac Jones beat you, because single handedly, that's

666
00:35:46,320 --> 00:35:48,040
Speaker 4: what CMC did. And I asked a bunch of guys

667
00:35:48,040 --> 00:35:52,440
Speaker 4: in the locker room, Dante Stills, Dalvin Tomlinson about going

668
00:35:52,520 --> 00:35:55,359
Speaker 4: up against a guy like Christian McCaffrey. He's a tough

669
00:35:55,360 --> 00:35:58,359
Speaker 4: guy to bring down. He has those ability in the

670
00:35:58,440 --> 00:36:01,360
Speaker 4: pass catching game as well. Ante Stells was, you know,

671
00:36:01,440 --> 00:36:03,640
Speaker 4: he It started to bring some flashbacks a little bit

672
00:36:03,680 --> 00:36:07,080
Speaker 4: to what twenty twenty three was Dalvin Tomlinson had Dalvin

673
00:36:07,120 --> 00:36:09,799
Speaker 4: Thomlinson had said to me that he remembers his time

674
00:36:09,800 --> 00:36:12,799
Speaker 4: from the Panthers what Christian McCaffrey was able to do.

675
00:36:12,880 --> 00:36:14,120
Speaker 3: So they're all very.

676
00:36:14,000 --> 00:36:16,120
Speaker 4: Familiar with what CMC brings to the table.

677
00:36:16,120 --> 00:36:17,760
Speaker 3: They just got to try to stop two three.

678
00:36:18,200 --> 00:36:22,760
Speaker 1: The one big difference between CMC and the first running

679
00:36:22,760 --> 00:36:26,040
Speaker 1: back to Cuba Hubbard and Alvin Kamara. Cuba is not

680
00:36:26,200 --> 00:36:31,520
Speaker 1: involved heavily in the past game Kamara can be. Saints

681
00:36:31,600 --> 00:36:35,200
Speaker 1: typically rely on others with the forty nine or zero

682
00:36:35,239 --> 00:36:38,800
Speaker 1: and given their injury situation, if you take away CMC

683
00:36:39,120 --> 00:36:42,600
Speaker 1: running the football, that's fine, But now all of a sudden,

684
00:36:42,600 --> 00:36:45,400
Speaker 1: you got to pay attention to him catching the football,

685
00:36:45,480 --> 00:36:49,480
Speaker 1: and maybe it's more screens, bubble screens, passes in the flat,

686
00:36:49,680 --> 00:36:53,120
Speaker 1: get him out in space. It's almost a it's a

687
00:36:53,200 --> 00:36:55,799
Speaker 1: run play, but it's through the air, and then you

688
00:36:55,920 --> 00:36:58,319
Speaker 1: let him do what he does best. So again it's

689
00:36:58,560 --> 00:37:01,720
Speaker 1: to me, it's all about McCaffrey and how to handle

690
00:37:01,840 --> 00:37:02,720
Speaker 1: him on Sunday.

691
00:37:02,800 --> 00:37:05,239
Speaker 4: If there's anything that the Cardinals need to work on

692
00:37:05,400 --> 00:37:08,200
Speaker 4: this week throughout practice, and we've seen it a bit

693
00:37:08,280 --> 00:37:10,640
Speaker 4: throughout the open portion of practice, but we see it

694
00:37:10,960 --> 00:37:14,120
Speaker 4: every practice. They have to tackle, they have to bring

695
00:37:14,200 --> 00:37:16,840
Speaker 4: him down. He is a running back that is able

696
00:37:16,880 --> 00:37:20,080
Speaker 4: to bounce off contact very well and get those yards

697
00:37:20,080 --> 00:37:23,239
Speaker 4: after contact. The Cardinals need to be able to try

698
00:37:23,280 --> 00:37:24,799
Speaker 4: to bring him down. And when I was talking to

699
00:37:24,840 --> 00:37:27,520
Speaker 4: Dalvin about it, if he's one of the more challenging

700
00:37:27,600 --> 00:37:29,479
Speaker 4: running backs to bring down, he said, while I lined

701
00:37:29,560 --> 00:37:32,080
Speaker 4: up across from Marshawn Lynch and he was the toughest

702
00:37:32,080 --> 00:37:35,399
Speaker 4: guy to bring down Christian McCaffrey. Though I'm not saying

703
00:37:35,400 --> 00:37:38,400
Speaker 4: he is anything like Marshaan Lynch. Are two very different

704
00:37:38,719 --> 00:37:42,400
Speaker 4: running backs, but similarly, he's a guy that embraces contact

705
00:37:42,880 --> 00:37:46,320
Speaker 4: and is able to get those extra yard, extra two yards.

706
00:37:46,560 --> 00:37:49,640
Speaker 4: And in a scheme and in a league where fourth

707
00:37:49,719 --> 00:37:52,319
Speaker 4: and one is a chance where you're gonna be a

708
00:37:52,320 --> 00:37:55,640
Speaker 4: lot more aggressive than fourth and three or whatever, it's

709
00:37:55,680 --> 00:37:57,560
Speaker 4: something that the Cardinals are gonna to try to do

710
00:37:57,680 --> 00:37:59,560
Speaker 4: is limit them from getting those extra.

711
00:37:59,400 --> 00:38:01,520
Speaker 3: Yards, try to bring him down on first contact.

712
00:38:01,640 --> 00:38:04,080
Speaker 1: On the other side, when you talk about this forty

713
00:38:04,160 --> 00:38:07,560
Speaker 1: nine ers defense, and it was interesting to hear Matt

714
00:38:07,600 --> 00:38:10,640
Speaker 1: talk about how much more he has seen this defense

715
00:38:10,680 --> 00:38:14,200
Speaker 1: against small sample size, but through two games, blitz a

716
00:38:14,200 --> 00:38:17,520
Speaker 1: little bit more. I went back and looked according to

717
00:38:17,600 --> 00:38:21,200
Speaker 1: next Gen Stats, through two games, Kyler versus the Blitz

718
00:38:21,680 --> 00:38:25,680
Speaker 1: twelve of sixteen, one hundred and fourteen yards and two touchdowns.

719
00:38:25,920 --> 00:38:29,280
Speaker 1: He's been sacked three times. I know there's that narrative

720
00:38:29,320 --> 00:38:32,000
Speaker 1: out there that Kyler doesn't deal well with pressure, but

721
00:38:32,520 --> 00:38:36,720
Speaker 1: pressure versus the Blitz is two different things, and against

722
00:38:36,760 --> 00:38:40,440
Speaker 1: the Blitz, Kyler's numbers are pretty darn good. So I'm

723
00:38:40,440 --> 00:38:43,000
Speaker 1: curious how the forty nine ers handle that. This week

724
00:38:43,320 --> 00:38:44,880
Speaker 1: it's Kyler Murray.

725
00:38:44,920 --> 00:38:45,359
Speaker 3: His run.

726
00:38:45,400 --> 00:38:47,680
Speaker 4: That thirty one yard scramble is something that they're gonna

727
00:38:47,680 --> 00:38:50,520
Speaker 4: be very mindful of. And you think back to last

728
00:38:50,560 --> 00:38:53,799
Speaker 4: season at the Bay at Levi Stadium, he called a

729
00:38:53,840 --> 00:38:55,960
Speaker 4: shot from forty five yards out, he threw his arm

730
00:38:56,000 --> 00:38:58,640
Speaker 4: up into the air on a Reid option play. He grabbed,

731
00:38:58,680 --> 00:39:01,279
Speaker 4: he took it himself, pulled it, and you ran all

732
00:39:01,280 --> 00:39:04,799
Speaker 4: the way to the end zone. That's something that Nick

733
00:39:04,840 --> 00:39:06,920
Speaker 4: Bosa talked a little bit about and that they're going

734
00:39:06,960 --> 00:39:08,880
Speaker 4: to need to be mindful of. They think that they

735
00:39:08,920 --> 00:39:10,960
Speaker 4: have a good plan. I'm pretty sure somebody said I

736
00:39:10,960 --> 00:39:13,240
Speaker 4: read somewhere that they have some tricks up their sleeve

737
00:39:13,280 --> 00:39:15,680
Speaker 4: when it comes to trying to limit Kyler Murray and

738
00:39:15,719 --> 00:39:17,480
Speaker 4: what he's able to do and try to generate that

739
00:39:17,520 --> 00:39:21,160
Speaker 4: pressure where his numbers aren't nearly as high, but Kyler

740
00:39:21,239 --> 00:39:23,760
Speaker 4: seemed to embrace it when it comes to playing against

741
00:39:23,800 --> 00:39:26,120
Speaker 4: the forty nine ers. He's had some really solid games

742
00:39:26,800 --> 00:39:29,960
Speaker 4: against his NFC West rival. I'm expecting for a little

743
00:39:30,000 --> 00:39:30,560
Speaker 4: bit more of that.

744
00:39:31,000 --> 00:39:34,040
Speaker 1: Expecting a lot more from the run game this suns

745
00:39:34,719 --> 00:39:37,880
Speaker 1: as well as far as the running backs are concerned.

746
00:39:37,880 --> 00:39:40,480
Speaker 1: And that's been a topic of discussion all week long.

747
00:39:40,600 --> 00:39:43,680
Speaker 1: And can you be effective in the ground game to

748
00:39:43,760 --> 00:39:46,960
Speaker 1: open up the past game where I've i said, unlock

749
00:39:47,200 --> 00:39:49,920
Speaker 1: the pass game and see some of those chunk throws

750
00:39:49,960 --> 00:39:52,520
Speaker 1: and maybe the ball spread around a little bit more.

751
00:39:52,560 --> 00:39:55,360
Speaker 1: And how about just being on the field sustaining those drives.

752
00:39:55,840 --> 00:40:00,120
Speaker 1: Forty eight offensive plays last week, penalties and of a

753
00:40:00,120 --> 00:40:03,040
Speaker 1: sudden you're playing from behind the sticks. So can you

754
00:40:03,080 --> 00:40:06,359
Speaker 1: be a more efficient offense this week? Improved to three?

755
00:40:06,440 --> 00:40:11,440
Speaker 1: And oh and maybe hey, here's what you can dream

756
00:40:11,760 --> 00:40:15,040
Speaker 1: and take care of this game early and then maybe

757
00:40:15,040 --> 00:40:18,720
Speaker 1: in the fourth quarter it's one sided. You can rest

758
00:40:18,800 --> 00:40:21,680
Speaker 1: some guys because as we talked about off the top

759
00:40:22,120 --> 00:40:25,360
Speaker 1: a game four days later at home against Seattle. Do

760
00:40:25,400 --> 00:40:26,840
Speaker 1: you expect for it to be No, I do not,

761
00:40:26,920 --> 00:40:29,399
Speaker 1: of course not. It's the National Football League. Games are

762
00:40:29,760 --> 00:40:34,399
Speaker 1: close in mostation games, yes, I mean, was it I'd say,

763
00:40:35,800 --> 00:40:37,120
Speaker 1: I don't know off the top of my head. But

764
00:40:37,280 --> 00:40:40,439
Speaker 1: most games, what ninety ninety five percent of games during

765
00:40:40,440 --> 00:40:42,480
Speaker 1: the course of the season, they're one score games. So

766
00:40:42,560 --> 00:40:46,640
Speaker 1: that's that's the parody in this league. And then on

767
00:40:48,120 --> 00:40:50,680
Speaker 1: are you on the right side of those one score

768
00:40:50,760 --> 00:40:53,359
Speaker 1: games more times than not? Last year Cardinals were three

769
00:40:53,400 --> 00:40:55,359
Speaker 1: and five and one score games. This year they're two

770
00:40:55,400 --> 00:40:58,279
Speaker 1: and oh so can you maintain that? Even though it's

771
00:40:58,480 --> 00:41:01,839
Speaker 1: again makes for some anxious moments, especially for a lot

772
00:41:01,840 --> 00:41:02,399
Speaker 1: of the fan base.

773
00:41:02,440 --> 00:41:05,360
Speaker 4: Yeah, obviously we would have loved to see the Cardinals

774
00:41:05,360 --> 00:41:07,680
Speaker 4: head to the Bay and by halftime years starting to

775
00:41:07,680 --> 00:41:09,719
Speaker 4: say to yourself, all right, we're ready to rest some

776
00:41:09,760 --> 00:41:11,800
Speaker 4: of the guys. But then again, that's what the Cardinals

777
00:41:11,800 --> 00:41:13,120
Speaker 4: were saying this past week.

778
00:41:13,280 --> 00:41:16,040
Speaker 1: All you have to do is look at Thursday night football.

779
00:41:16,280 --> 00:41:20,000
Speaker 1: The Miami Dolphins were not expected to give the Bills

780
00:41:20,120 --> 00:41:23,080
Speaker 1: any kind of a game, especially in Buffalo, and that

781
00:41:23,160 --> 00:41:26,240
Speaker 1: game was closer than I think a lot of people anticipated,

782
00:41:26,520 --> 00:41:29,719
Speaker 1: and then you know, Bills get the win. But that's

783
00:41:31,200 --> 00:41:34,440
Speaker 1: games are are decided in those last four or five minutes.

784
00:41:35,400 --> 00:41:38,640
Speaker 4: But I think what this staff is starting to do

785
00:41:38,680 --> 00:41:40,439
Speaker 4: that might be a little bit different than what we've

786
00:41:40,480 --> 00:41:43,040
Speaker 4: experienced in the past. And by in the past, I

787
00:41:43,040 --> 00:41:45,640
Speaker 4: mean the past two games is the Cardinals have had

788
00:41:45,920 --> 00:41:49,160
Speaker 4: leads that they've let start to dwindle down and they

789
00:41:49,239 --> 00:41:51,479
Speaker 4: let teams get right back into it. And they talked

790
00:41:51,480 --> 00:41:54,520
Speaker 4: a lot about finishing and the urgency behind it, and

791
00:41:54,600 --> 00:41:57,680
Speaker 4: Nick Rolis and Johnathan Ganning, we're talking about the when

792
00:41:57,680 --> 00:42:01,320
Speaker 4: it comes to defensive play, calling your heart versus your gut,

793
00:42:01,600 --> 00:42:04,239
Speaker 4: what's it telling you? And the Cardinals defense played a

794
00:42:04,239 --> 00:42:06,960
Speaker 4: little bit more conservative towards the back end of the game,

795
00:42:06,960 --> 00:42:09,920
Speaker 4: and that allowed for the Carolina Panthers to come right

796
00:42:09,960 --> 00:42:12,399
Speaker 4: back into it. I think, with this being a division game,

797
00:42:12,600 --> 00:42:14,759
Speaker 4: if the Cardinals are able to stretch a lead and

798
00:42:14,760 --> 00:42:18,800
Speaker 4: somehow get ahead early in the game, I don't expect

799
00:42:18,840 --> 00:42:20,840
Speaker 4: for them to let their foot come off the pedal

800
00:42:20,960 --> 00:42:23,719
Speaker 4: at all, because this is something that they just saw.

801
00:42:24,040 --> 00:42:26,000
Speaker 4: I think that that game against the Panthers last week

802
00:42:26,080 --> 00:42:27,960
Speaker 4: kind of instilled some fear in this team, and not

803
00:42:28,080 --> 00:42:30,000
Speaker 4: in a bad way, but in a way that can

804
00:42:30,080 --> 00:42:34,560
Speaker 4: ignite some fire. I think to the Super Bowl this

805
00:42:34,640 --> 00:42:37,000
Speaker 4: past year, Jalen Hurts, even though because he was so

806
00:42:37,040 --> 00:42:39,799
Speaker 4: scarred by what happened against the kansasitate Chiefs the first

807
00:42:39,800 --> 00:42:42,360
Speaker 4: go around, even though the Eagles were up by thirty points,

808
00:42:42,360 --> 00:42:45,040
Speaker 4: he was saying in the micd up clip to Nick Sirianni, like,

809
00:42:45,080 --> 00:42:47,759
Speaker 4: are you sure? Are we actually sure right now? And

810
00:42:47,800 --> 00:42:49,760
Speaker 4: there was only five minutes left in the fourth quarter

811
00:42:50,000 --> 00:42:52,000
Speaker 4: at that point of the game. That's something that I

812
00:42:52,000 --> 00:42:54,359
Speaker 4: couldn't see a Buddha Baker going up to Johnathan again

813
00:42:54,400 --> 00:42:55,520
Speaker 4: and saying, are you sure?

814
00:42:55,680 --> 00:42:56,080
Speaker 3: Are you sure?

815
00:42:56,120 --> 00:42:58,279
Speaker 4: We're ready to pull back a little bit in this

816
00:42:58,320 --> 00:43:00,920
Speaker 4: game though, when it comes to the division, keep your

817
00:43:01,000 --> 00:43:03,759
Speaker 4: foot on the gas, keep your foot on their neck,

818
00:43:03,800 --> 00:43:06,200
Speaker 4: and do whatever you can to try to expand the lead,

819
00:43:06,320 --> 00:43:09,600
Speaker 4: because with the Seattle Seahawks on deck once again, Johnathan

820
00:43:09,600 --> 00:43:12,080
Speaker 4: Gannon might be peeking towards it a little bit. The players,

821
00:43:12,080 --> 00:43:16,080
Speaker 4: aren't we are ore? I am last, Yeah, you want

822
00:43:16,120 --> 00:43:19,600
Speaker 4: to start to instill some fear in your opponents as well, since.

823
00:43:19,560 --> 00:43:22,680
Speaker 1: You brought it up, can your Eagles do the Cardinals

824
00:43:22,719 --> 00:43:24,920
Speaker 1: a solid on Sunday and beat the Rams.

825
00:43:25,040 --> 00:43:27,080
Speaker 4: Well, when we talk about my Eagles, you mean my

826
00:43:27,120 --> 00:43:32,040
Speaker 4: hometown Philadelphia Eagles, and I hope, so, I hope. So Look,

827
00:43:32,080 --> 00:43:35,120
Speaker 4: it's I want every team the division to lose.

828
00:43:36,400 --> 00:43:38,680
Speaker 1: So we're rooting for the Eagles and we're rooting for

829
00:43:38,719 --> 00:43:40,840
Speaker 1: the Saints. By the way, the Saints are running the

830
00:43:40,880 --> 00:43:43,200
Speaker 1: table on the NFC West and they have yet.

831
00:43:43,040 --> 00:43:46,359
Speaker 4: To secure a win. So Kellen Moore needs to get

832
00:43:46,360 --> 00:43:47,640
Speaker 4: his first win this weekend.

833
00:43:48,040 --> 00:43:49,240
Speaker 5: Why not against Seattle?

834
00:43:49,320 --> 00:43:53,239
Speaker 4: Why not against Seattle and the Cardinals. I just look,

835
00:43:53,280 --> 00:43:55,480
Speaker 4: the NFC West right now is one of the toughest divisions.

836
00:43:55,480 --> 00:43:58,480
Speaker 4: It's the only division with three undefeated teams and the

837
00:43:58,520 --> 00:44:01,279
Speaker 4: only time the Seattle Sea Hull loss was to the

838
00:44:01,320 --> 00:44:04,759
Speaker 4: San Francisco forty nine ers. I just I want to

839
00:44:04,800 --> 00:44:07,520
Speaker 4: start seeing some crooked numbers in that uh in that

840
00:44:07,560 --> 00:44:08,640
Speaker 4: box score a little.

841
00:44:08,440 --> 00:44:11,120
Speaker 3: Bit except for except for us, of course.

842
00:44:11,160 --> 00:44:12,719
Speaker 4: Okay, I just want to make that I want to

843
00:44:12,760 --> 00:44:15,200
Speaker 4: see a zero in our lost column.

844
00:44:15,640 --> 00:44:17,440
Speaker 3: You're ready for Sunday, so ready.

845
00:44:17,680 --> 00:44:20,200
Speaker 4: I'm excited for it. Division play, this is when you

846
00:44:20,239 --> 00:44:23,080
Speaker 4: could really start to measure yourself as to where you're

847
00:44:23,120 --> 00:44:25,640
Speaker 4: at This is the Cardinals' way of making it to

848
00:44:25,680 --> 00:44:28,239
Speaker 4: the postseason. And I know it's still very premature, but

849
00:44:28,320 --> 00:44:31,480
Speaker 4: we talk about the competitiveness and all the other divisions

850
00:44:31,480 --> 00:44:34,080
Speaker 4: as well, starting to really you know, play out in

851
00:44:34,120 --> 00:44:38,120
Speaker 4: the NFC West. I'm here the Cardinals have an opportunity

852
00:44:38,360 --> 00:44:40,440
Speaker 4: to start to extend that lead a little bit more,

853
00:44:40,440 --> 00:44:43,319
Speaker 4: and to go into a Thursday night primetime game in

854
00:44:43,360 --> 00:44:45,959
Speaker 4: a first place slot with an undefeated record, I would

855
00:44:45,960 --> 00:44:46,560
Speaker 4: be pretty sweet.

856
00:44:46,600 --> 00:44:47,120
Speaker 3: So I'm ready.

857
00:44:47,120 --> 00:44:49,719
Speaker 1: Craig two and oh Cardinals two and oh forty nine

858
00:44:49,800 --> 00:44:54,080
Speaker 1: ers at Levi's Stadium on Sunday one is the kickoff

859
00:44:54,239 --> 00:44:57,560
Speaker 1: eight thirty. Pre game coverage begins on the Arizona Cardinals

860
00:44:57,640 --> 00:45:02,680
Speaker 1: Radio Network. Hope to have everyone anxiously listening to Cardinals

861
00:45:02,760 --> 00:45:04,600
Speaker 1: Early Bird on Sunday morning.

862
00:45:05,719 --> 00:45:07,839
Speaker 5: At what time? Eight thirty, am, Zach.

863
00:45:07,960 --> 00:45:08,840
Speaker 3: That's good enough for me.

864
00:45:09,040 --> 00:45:11,399
Speaker 5: Okay, mark it down, young Zach.

865
00:45:11,480 --> 00:45:14,560
Speaker 1: Will be up by eight thirty on Sunday morning, Yes,

866
00:45:14,760 --> 00:45:15,239
Speaker 1: I will be.

867
00:45:16,239 --> 00:45:16,920
Speaker 5: We will see.

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Speaker 1: On that note, we will put a lid on this

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Speaker 1: edition of Cardinals Cover two presented by Hyundai, proud partner

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Speaker 1: of the Arizona Cardinals. As always special thanks to our

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Speaker 1: executive producer Jim Mamahundra, our associate producer Coddy Fincher. For

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Speaker 1: Zach Kershman, I'm Craig Real Lou. We'll talk to you

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Speaker 1: next time here on Cardinals Cover two.