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Speaker 1: Stephen Jones Cowboys cooo joining us for the Stephen Jones

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Speaker 1: Show here on the Fan, and a good afternoon, sir.

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Speaker 1: How are you. I'm doing good, guys, just as you said,

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Speaker 1: looking forward to another big game here this weekend, Yes, sir.

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Speaker 1: And there's been lots of big ones between these teams

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Speaker 1: over the last what is it thirteen years or so,

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Speaker 1: some incredible moments. What's it gonna take to get the

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Speaker 1: best of Russell Wilson and the Seahawks this time around? Well,

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Speaker 1: I don't know that you ever get the best of

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Speaker 1: Russell Wilson, but we certainly want to beat him. I'm

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Speaker 1: sure he's gonna make his plays and you know and

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Speaker 1: be you know, the special quarterback that he is. But uh,

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Speaker 1: you know, we just got to make more plays than

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Speaker 1: he makes. And uh no, Coach Nolan's got a good

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Speaker 1: game plan put in, you know for these guys, and

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Speaker 1: you know, they're explosive, They've got explosive receivers, they you know,

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Speaker 1: they do everything well. And then defensively, they've you know,

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Speaker 1: they always have been strong on defense. So we've got

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Speaker 1: our work cut out for us. But at the same time,

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Speaker 1: we feel like we've got our share of playmakers that

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Speaker 1: we make some big plays too, and hopefully come come

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Speaker 1: out of there with a win when it's all said

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Speaker 1: and done. Now obviously, Stephen, Uh, you know, sports with

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Speaker 1: Corona is not as much fun as sports without Corona.

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Speaker 1: But you might be catching a break here without that crowd.

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Speaker 1: What do you think, Oh, there's no question. I mean

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Speaker 1: they got probably you know, the number one home field advantage.

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Speaker 1: I think I've seen somewhere where they've you know, they

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Speaker 1: have the best home field record of any club in

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Speaker 1: the NFL over the past either seven to ten years.

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Speaker 1: But it's, uh, you know, it's impressive. And we've been

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Speaker 1: up there a lot and played a lot of games

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Speaker 1: up there, and you know, their fandom up there as special, uh,

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Speaker 1: and do a great job with the presentation, and you

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Speaker 1: know it's difficult to get a win up there with

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Speaker 1: those fans and think they're not gonna you know, have

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Speaker 1: that going for him, Uh, you know, you know, certainly helps.

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Speaker 1: But that's a damn good football team we're going up against,

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Speaker 1: and it's uh, you know, it's going to take our

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Speaker 1: best effort to to beat them. Stephen, I wanted to

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Speaker 1: ask you about this and in this week in the media,

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Speaker 1: we've we've heard and you talk about the efforts you're

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Speaker 1: going to have to have, but you know, some of

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Speaker 1: your players, your defensive players, have come out and talked

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Speaker 1: about maybe having to simplify some things defensively. Is that

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Speaker 1: concerning to you that we're into week three and we're

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Speaker 1: talking about already having to simplify some things or is

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Speaker 1: this just a product of not having OTA's mini camps,

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Speaker 1: training camps and all that stuff. I think it's the latter, Brian.

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Speaker 1: At the end of the day, you know, we've got

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Speaker 1: a new staff, and in particular on the defensive side

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Speaker 1: of the ball. You know, Mike's bringing in a new system,

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Speaker 1: and we didn't get any time to work on it.

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Speaker 1: Nobody's making any excuses. That's just part of it. Nobody

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Speaker 1: got OTAs or many camps. But I do think, you know,

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Speaker 1: I probably had a more profound effect on the teams

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Speaker 1: that you know, we're putting in new systems, whether it's

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Speaker 1: a new defensive coordinator or new offensive coordinator or new

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Speaker 1: head coach. You know it's and you didn't get the

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Speaker 1: time you might normally getting. Usually, as you know, especially

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Speaker 1: teams with new head coaches get extra time. So you

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Speaker 1: know that that's part of it. But uh, you know,

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Speaker 1: if you were going to say we need to simplify it,

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Speaker 1: it should be earlier, not later and when you see it.

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Speaker 1: And I think it's just a matter of time of

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Speaker 1: our players getting our hands around it, and might getting

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Speaker 1: getting his hands around the personnel that he has. And

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Speaker 1: you know, we certainly had some great conversations this week

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Speaker 1: about who ought to be doing what on that side

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Speaker 1: of the ball, and I'm very convicted we're going to

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Speaker 1: get our hands around it and uh, you know, be

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Speaker 1: able to be and do what we want to do

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Speaker 1: as a football team. So I think it's just uh,

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Speaker 1: you know, having a new new system, uh, some new

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Speaker 1: coaches and obviously some new personnel. It's just getting your

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Speaker 1: hands around it. But I still think we can play

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Speaker 1: very sound football and uh you know and go up

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Speaker 1: there and hopefully have give ourselves a chance to win

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Speaker 1: the game. Stephen, you're so hands on your self with

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Speaker 1: the team every day and the involvement that you have.

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Speaker 1: Though have you had some discussions with Mike though about

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Speaker 1: you know, some of the players talking about, hey we

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Speaker 1: have I'd rather have my hand down. I don't want

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Speaker 1: to stand up. I mean that that to me is

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Speaker 1: like one of those things where coaches try to put

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Speaker 1: the players in best positions to make plays. Are we

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Speaker 1: kind of seeing that right now with some of the guys,

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Speaker 1: with Everson Griffin talking about that. No, I think it's

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Speaker 1: evolving and I think it'll continue to evolve. And you know,

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Speaker 1: Mike McCarthy's the best and he's the leader of the

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Speaker 1: staff back there, the best at you know, putting really

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Speaker 1: good football players in the best possible position to make plays.

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Speaker 1: And I think, well, we're evolving, we'll continue to evolve,

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Speaker 1: and it's a long season and hopefully we'll continue to

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Speaker 1: get better. It's Steven Jones with us here on your

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Speaker 1: Home of the Cowboys one oh five three the Fan.

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Speaker 1: How close to is Dak to being as good as

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Speaker 1: Russell Wilson? You know, that's just not that's a tough question.

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Speaker 1: I want to go there, you know, Okay, it's like

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Speaker 1: asking about do you like, uh, compare your son to

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Speaker 1: that boy. I mean, you're you're always gonna like your

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Speaker 1: own better and so but we all know Russell's obviously

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Speaker 1: having a off to an MVP type type season, and uh,

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Speaker 1: he's playing lights out. Dak's playing lights out. Uh, you know,

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Speaker 1: they're both great leaders for their football team, and uh,

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Speaker 1: you know, I probably as far as I'd take it,

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Speaker 1: but both really, I mean, and they're great football players

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Speaker 1: and do a great job for their teams, and Tufta

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Speaker 1: really wouldn't want to get into comparing the individual right on.

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Speaker 1: I appreciate you saying what you can right there. Is

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Speaker 1: it accurate to say that when Dak goes up tempo

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Speaker 1: like right before half against the Rams or in the

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Speaker 1: in the fourth quarter against Atlanta, that something extra happens

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Speaker 1: with him and he's at his best in in those moments.

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Speaker 1: Would would you agree with that assessment? Well, it seems

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Speaker 1: to he as of late, especially, I mean, you know,

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Speaker 1: the pace and the tempo seems to be suiting us

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Speaker 1: or at least in success that we're having. And you know,

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Speaker 1: as I was just telling Brian a second ago, whether

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Speaker 1: it's defense, offense, special teams were evolving and uh, you know,

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Speaker 1: Mike's getting his hands around this team. His stas getting

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Speaker 1: his hands around this team, and we're going to continue

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Speaker 1: to evolve and hopefully what makes us a championship caliber

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Speaker 1: football team. Stephen, you we cheered you when you drafted

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Speaker 1: ceedee Lamb seventeenth overall. I mean it's like gift from

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Speaker 1: the draft guards if you ask me. But you know,

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Speaker 1: as you've seen him play these first couple of weeks,

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Speaker 1: what he's he's he's been such a difference maker for

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Speaker 1: you already at such a young age. Yeah, he's just

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Speaker 1: a natural. I mean he's got you know, everything that

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Speaker 1: uh and more that we thought he might bring to

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Speaker 1: the table as a receiver. He's just a natural. He's

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Speaker 1: uh got great football instincts, great football iq H. He

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Speaker 1: wants to be the best. It's in him. He loves

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Speaker 1: to play the game. You know, he just got the

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Speaker 1: full package. And you know, having said all that, I

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Speaker 1: think the you know, the sky's a limit for him.

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Speaker 1: And you know, he's even the greatest compliment I can

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Speaker 1: give him is he's better than advertised. And we had

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Speaker 1: him up there at the very top of the draft

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Speaker 1: and uh, you know, in the top handful of players.

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Speaker 1: So he's certainly performing to that level, if not better.

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Speaker 1: And you know, to be able to walk you know,

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Speaker 1: be a walk in contributor like he's doing is special. Yeah.

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Speaker 1: I mean to put up forty points without your starting tackles,

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Speaker 1: who gets the credit for it besides seeing everybody on.

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Speaker 1: I mean, is that Dak's decision making the collection of

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Speaker 1: wide receivers the backup tackles that was really impressive overcoming adversity. Stephen, Well,

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Speaker 1: I think it's the full body of work. I think,

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Speaker 1: you know, you just you said it best without saying everybody.

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Speaker 1: It's hard not to say everybody. He's got a finger

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Speaker 1: and you know, making it all work. I mean, uh,

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Speaker 1: you know, coach Philbin and the offensive line group, I

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Speaker 1: think you have done a great job bringing Steal and

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Speaker 1: Night along. Obviously, hats off to the person who department

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Speaker 1: will and our scouting department on uh, you know, finding

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Speaker 1: you know, undrafted free agents like Night and Steal that

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Speaker 1: can come in and play your you know, play your

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Speaker 1: right and left tackle and as you said, as fourth

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Speaker 1: and fifth tackles on your team, be able to be

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Speaker 1: able to have that kind of production. And then of

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Speaker 1: course you then you get into the game plan with

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Speaker 1: Kellen and coach McCarthy and you know the things they're

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Speaker 1: doing and uh, and then the players just executing. So

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Speaker 1: it's a it's a full body of work and uh,

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Speaker 1: it is something to think that we're you're able to

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Speaker 1: take your fourth and fifth tackles going into camp and

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Speaker 1: be able to move the ball like that, Stephen, I

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Speaker 1: was going to ask you me, I'm just going boldly

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Speaker 1: to say that Tyren Smith's going to play this week

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Speaker 1: unless you tell me different. But you know you're gonna

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Speaker 1: have to if that's the case, Are you gonna have

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Speaker 1: to make a decision at right tackle or a steal?

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Speaker 1: Done enough in the last two games to say no,

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Speaker 1: we're just gonna keep Night as the swing guy. Yeah,

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Speaker 1: I think we'll just uh, as as you know, uh,

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Speaker 1: Tyring will be a game time decision. Again. He's certainly

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Speaker 1: making great progress and you know, I love for him

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Speaker 1: to be able to play. We'll see how that works out.

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Speaker 1: But no, I think, you know, we made a conscious

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Speaker 1: decision to keep Steal out there, and I think Nights

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Speaker 1: are proven guy who could probably do either and also

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Speaker 1: be a guard if you needed to be. So we'll

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Speaker 1: just kind of see how that goes. It's nice to

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Speaker 1: have a guy like Night who's got the flexibility and

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Speaker 1: the versatility to to help you out. And uh, you know,

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Speaker 1: obviously the injury bugs not just happening into the Dallas Cowboys.

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Speaker 1: That's as we all know happening around the league, and uh,

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Speaker 1: you know this is going to be one of those

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Speaker 1: years where you just gotta embrace your situation and then

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Speaker 1: you know, as things come at you, you got to

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Speaker 1: do the best with what you have. I think, uh,

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Speaker 1: you know, seeing somebody talking about coach McCarthy about what

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Speaker 1: a great job he's done throughout his career of being

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Speaker 1: able to make some things work when you got some

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Speaker 1: situations that aren't perfect, and uh, he was telling us

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Speaker 1: about one in particular where he played the Bears with

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Speaker 1: four high sensive guards in a center and just uh

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Speaker 1: walking us through the game plan and how he made

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Speaker 1: it work. And I think he said he had two

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Speaker 1: five step drops and both of them were sacks. So

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Speaker 1: that was the end of that and he went to

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Speaker 1: the quicker game. And but the good news for us

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Speaker 1: is we were able to do, uh, you know, a

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Speaker 1: lot with with these tackles and execute. So so that's

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Speaker 1: a plus. Stephen, one of the things you always taught

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Speaker 1: me when I worked for you was to protect yourself

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Speaker 1: with players. And you know, in your roster and stuff,

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Speaker 1: do you did you did you have When you signed

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Speaker 1: Brandon Carr, there was talk about him playing safety, But

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Speaker 1: with how banged up you are at corner, do you

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Speaker 1: envision him maybe taking some snaps also being that flexibility

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Speaker 1: where he could play a corner and also play safety

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Speaker 1: for you if he had to. Absolutely, that was the

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Speaker 1: beauty of getting him. You know, he's got that talked about,

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Speaker 1: that flexibility versatility to be able to do both. He's

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Speaker 1: played at a high level at both in this league,

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Speaker 1: and certainly to have him sitting there when we're banged

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Speaker 1: up there with Anthony Brown and Cheeto and Diggs being

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Speaker 1: a little limited some the beginning of the week, you know,

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Speaker 1: you certainly have to look at a veteran guy like

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Speaker 1: that to help you there. So it's great to have

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Speaker 1: a guy like Brandon on the roster. Appreciate you as always, Steven,

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Speaker 1: give him hell up there on Sunday. We'll be pulling

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Speaker 1: for you. Thanks a lot, guys, always great being on

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Speaker 1: with you.