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Speaker 1: What's up? Everyone? Welcome into another episode of the Two

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Speaker 1: Minute Drill podcast, presented by Nerd Wallet, Play Smart Finance Harder.

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Speaker 1: I'm JJ Stankovitz, joined again by Colts dot Com writer

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Speaker 1: Amanda Foster ahead of the Colts Week ten game against

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Speaker 1: the Buffalo Bills at Lucas Oil Stadium. Amanda, the Colts

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Speaker 1: on Friday ruled out wide receiver Michael Pittman Junior. He

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Speaker 1: did not participate in practice all week. Shane Steiken told

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Speaker 1: us it is more of the back that's been an

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Speaker 1: issue for about a month now than he's also listed

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Speaker 1: with a finger injury. He told us he dislocated his

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Speaker 1: finger against the Vikings. It's mostly the back though, that's

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Speaker 1: why he's not playing this week. Before we get into

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Speaker 1: just kind of like what it means for pitt you

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Speaker 1: were in the Colts locker room on Friday. You heard

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Speaker 1: from Ady Mitchell, Yes, a guy who you would expect

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Speaker 1: to get some more playing time, you know, him and

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Speaker 1: Ashton Dulan probably getting more of a share of Pittman

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Speaker 1: snaps this week against Buffalo. What did you hear from

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Speaker 1: Ad that you know tells you he might be ready

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Speaker 1: for this opportunity now? After he only had six snaps

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Speaker 1: against the Minnesota Vikings last week.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean, I think first of all, he'll say

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Speaker 2: that he's always been ready, kind of like, this isn't

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Speaker 2: going to be like a big moment for him necessarily

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Speaker 2: because he has had those opportunities, even if they have

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Speaker 2: been limited. So the mindset that he's going into Sunday's

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Speaker 2: game with I think will not be too different than

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Speaker 2: the one that he's had all season, just because that's

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Speaker 2: the kind of player that he is. But halfway through

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Speaker 2: now he has I think kind of learned a little

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Speaker 2: bit more of just kind of how to be a

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Speaker 2: professional athlete in the NFL and be a wide receiver.

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Speaker 2: And he was talking about how important it is to

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Speaker 2: kind of know your role in a play of being

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Speaker 2: on time, whether that's you know, he said something about

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Speaker 2: how you can't be the kind of the fourth option

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Speaker 2: and play like you're the first option and get there

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Speaker 2: too early, and then you can't be the first option

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Speaker 2: but think you're the fourth option and get not get

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Speaker 2: there on time. So a lot of things about kind

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Speaker 2: of timing and things like that that you might not

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Speaker 2: necessarily think a whole lot of because we have kind

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Speaker 2: of seen where he's struggled to get to his routes

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Speaker 2: on time and get through spots on time. And so

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Speaker 2: that's something that I think he's been able to put

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Speaker 2: a lot of emphasis on, and he seems very confident

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Speaker 2: in that aspect of his game. And he talked about

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Speaker 2: working a lot with Reggie Wayne, talking about all the

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Speaker 2: big important things of that everything that goes into making

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Speaker 2: a catch, and talking about that great catch that he

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Speaker 2: had last week against the Vikings, and so I think

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Speaker 2: all of that kind of combined sets him up for

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Speaker 2: I mean, obviously a great opportunity, but I think he's

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Speaker 2: going in with the right mindset too.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, and you know this year he's got twelve catches

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Speaker 1: on thirty two targets for one hundred and forty yards.

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Speaker 1: But I do think that recognition of like, you know,

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Speaker 1: you've got to be open on time more than you've

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Speaker 1: got to be open right is something that a lot

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Speaker 1: of young receivers do have to kind of work through.

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Speaker 1: I mean, you know, I had a couple of guys

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Speaker 1: when I covered the Bears, were young receivers who would

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Speaker 1: say like, well, you know, I got open on that play,

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Speaker 1: and it's like, well, you didn't get open within the

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Speaker 1: timing of the play, and I think it's good to

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Speaker 1: hear ad kind of you know, acknowledge that and recognize

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Speaker 1: that for the Colts and what they're losing in Michael

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Speaker 1: Pittman junior. Though you know, I know the numbers haven't

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Speaker 1: quite been there over the last couple of weeks. He's

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Speaker 1: only had one catch in his last two games a piece.

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Speaker 1: He never Pittman, by the way, he never had fewer

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Speaker 1: than two catches in consecutive games in his entire career,

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Speaker 1: and now he's had one catch in consecutive games against

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Speaker 1: Houston and Minnesota. So clearly, you know there's something else

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Speaker 1: going on there because that's not the Michael Pittman junior

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Speaker 1: we know. But you know, the Colts are going to

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Speaker 1: have to be without kind of this this physical, vocal

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Speaker 1: leader out there in Pitt, and it's going to be

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Speaker 1: incumbent on this offense to even without Pitt, you know,

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Speaker 1: not with Pitt not being on the field, to still

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Speaker 1: kind of match that physicality, because this Buffalo team is

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Speaker 1: one of the most physical defenses in the NFL across

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Speaker 1: the board. Iman, you know, as you've kind of got

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Speaker 1: to know the impact Pitt can make just by being

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Speaker 1: on the field and available. While the point I'm trying

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Speaker 1: to make is his production may not have been there,

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Speaker 1: but like the impact that pitt has on the entire

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Speaker 1: offense just being on the field will be felt with

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Speaker 1: him not out there.

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Speaker 2: Oh yeah, because even if he's not making all these catches,

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Speaker 2: he's still blocking. First of all, because he's such a

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Speaker 2: physical guy that you know that you can rely on

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Speaker 2: him for that.

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Speaker 3: You have the threat of the idea.

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Speaker 2: Of Michael Pittman Junior out there on the field, which

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Speaker 2: has to impact the defense in one way or another.

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Speaker 2: And so those are the things that you're going to

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Speaker 2: be missing, not more so than his catches. But like

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Speaker 2: we said, he hasn't been catching or been targeted as

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Speaker 2: much as he has been in the past. But it

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Speaker 2: is the veteran leadership of just kind of knowing what

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Speaker 2: to look for, knowing what you're seeing, being able to

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Speaker 2: communicate and act in that way is.

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Speaker 3: Definitely going to be missed. But I think the way

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Speaker 3: that this.

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Speaker 2: Wide receiver room is built, and we've talked about this

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Speaker 2: a lot, because obviously a couple of weeks ago we

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Speaker 2: were talking about potentially Michael Pittman being out for an

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Speaker 2: extended period of time when it was first reported that

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Speaker 2: he might go on injured reserve. With everybody is still

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Speaker 2: comfortable and confident in their roles, and everybody's confident in

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Speaker 2: the depth than the talent of the wide receivers that

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Speaker 2: while obviously not having Pittman for this game is going

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Speaker 2: to be a big blow, I don't think it's going

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Speaker 2: to be game defining because you have so many other

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Speaker 2: options and so many other things that you can do

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Speaker 2: with the people that you're going to have out on

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Speaker 2: that field.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, I think you know, Ashton Dulan being a big

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Speaker 1: part of this. You know, you saw him get a

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Speaker 1: little bit involved last week against Minnesota with some of

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Speaker 1: the Jets sweep stuff. But he's a guy who you

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Speaker 1: know you're going to probably see out there. I wonder

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Speaker 1: how the snapcount's going to shake out with him and

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Speaker 1: ad Yeah.

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Speaker 3: I was actually just talking about that with Bill Brooks

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Speaker 3: before I came back here.

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Speaker 1: Good person to talk with that about it.

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Speaker 3: Either of us were really totally sure what they were

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Speaker 3: going to do, So.

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Speaker 1: I mean you could see I could see a world

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Speaker 1: where Dulan does get more snaps than Adie Mitchell, just

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Speaker 1: because Dulan is a veteran. They trust him in a

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Speaker 1: lot of those spots. But you know, Adie Mitchell run.

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Speaker 1: He absolutely really fast. Yeah. I mean, I don't want

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Speaker 1: to discount Dulan's playmaking ability, but Adie Mitchell has He's

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Speaker 1: got that special something if you can kind of harness

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Speaker 1: it and unlock it. So it could be an opportunity

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Speaker 1: for that this week against Buffet. One other thing to

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Speaker 1: talk about here, Bernard Ryman's back. That's really good news

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Speaker 1: for this offensive line. I thought Macknzalez battled his butt

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Speaker 1: off last week up until.

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Speaker 3: Against Minnesota too, right. Stuff.

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Speaker 1: That's a really good front. They do a lot of

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Speaker 1: funky stuff, and they've got like really good players, you know,

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Speaker 1: Jonathan Bernard, Andrew Van Ginkol, those guys. But getting Bernard

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Speaker 1: Ryman back is really important. I think that'll help the

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Speaker 1: run game out. He's a guy who's so versatile in

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Speaker 1: what you're able to get to in the run game

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Speaker 1: with him at left tackle that I think that is

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Speaker 1: going to help out a an offense that you know,

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Speaker 1: is looking for a way to run the football consistently

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Speaker 1: with Joe Flacco instead of Anthony Richardson back. There I

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Speaker 1: think Bernie being back helps out Jonathan Taylor in that regard,

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Speaker 1: and then obviously Ryman he is a very very good

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Speaker 1: pass protector at left tackle, and also.

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Speaker 2: The veteran presence. Going back to that, I feel like

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Speaker 2: not to harp on that too much, but again, without

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Speaker 2: Ryan Kelly now at center right now that he's uninjured reserve,

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Speaker 2: you in theory could have had three very young, three rookies,

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Speaker 2: three rookies starting on your offensive line, and all of

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Speaker 2: them have done their jobs and been good. But there's

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Speaker 2: such a big difference between have a rookie, having a

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Speaker 2: rookie and a veteran, and so I think obviously, like

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Speaker 2: you said, just Ryman being back is is big in

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Speaker 2: a lot of ways.

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Speaker 3: Yeah.

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Speaker 1: No, it's a really good point about you know, I

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Speaker 1: think those guys have shown they're ready. Talton, Tucker, Tanner,

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Speaker 1: Bordolini and Mecans all those, But yeah, you having three

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Speaker 1: rookies start on your line, eventually some team might find

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Speaker 1: a way around that, right, even if those guys are

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Speaker 1: playing really good football and they're you know, they've prepared

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Speaker 1: really well. With Tony Sperano. One other thing to talk

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Speaker 1: about with this game, I think this is this One's

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Speaker 1: really interesting to me in that if the Colts are

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Speaker 1: able to beat Buffalo, and I know Buffalo is you know,

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Speaker 1: favored by whatever, and they're seven and two and they

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Speaker 1: got Josh Allen and all this, But if the Colts

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Speaker 1: are able to win this game, you get back to

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Speaker 1: five and five.

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Speaker 3: Yep.

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Speaker 1: And for all the doom and gloom about this season

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Speaker 1: over the last couple of weeks, or the Colts have

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Speaker 1: lost two games in a row, they're still right there.

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Speaker 3: Right, And we say that every week.

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Speaker 1: We say that every week. I mean, yeah, you know,

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Speaker 1: I'm watching the Thursday night game being like Man's Cincinnati

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Speaker 1: looks really good. They're four and six and they're two

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Speaker 1: and four in the AFC, which would be a tiebreaker

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Speaker 1: because the Colts don't play the Bengals this year. And

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Speaker 1: it's like, the Colts still have a really good opportunity

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Speaker 1: in front of them, right. They've got to play better football,

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Speaker 1: they've got to continue playing well on defense, and they've

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Speaker 1: got to fix some stuff on offense. But Amanda, it's

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Speaker 1: like it's still right in front of this team, and

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Speaker 1: you get that sense that in that locker room that

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Speaker 1: is still a focus in something that this team really

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Speaker 1: does believe that they are capable of doing is making

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Speaker 1: a push for the playoffs.

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Speaker 2: This year, right well, and that's because I think all

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Speaker 2: of them know that they haven't all played their best

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Speaker 2: football together at the same time. And so when you

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Speaker 2: can kind of think of that, and first of all,

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Speaker 2: you know all the places that you have to improve,

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Speaker 2: but you know that you haven't hate your ceiling. That's

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Speaker 2: not going to dissuade you. You know you're just going

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Speaker 2: to get more not necessarily confidence, but you're going to

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Speaker 2: be more inspired maybe to keep playing and keep playing

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Speaker 2: well because you know that you can keep playing better.

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Speaker 1: Yeah. And also just one other random thing here are

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Speaker 1: all three of the Colts losses in the AFC have

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Speaker 1: been in their division, which is a little a little weird, uh.

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Speaker 1: And then the other two losses have come to NFC opponents.

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Speaker 1: So you know, you're starting to get this point of

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Speaker 1: the year where if the Colts are going to contend,

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Speaker 1: you're looking at conference tiebreakers, and the Colts sitting at

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Speaker 1: three and three not a bad place to be right there,

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Speaker 1: with a game and coming up against the Denver Broncos.

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Speaker 1: So a win this weekend, and I think we are

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Speaker 1: we are right, like the pendulum is gonna swing right

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Speaker 1: back to talking about this team as a playoff contender.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, you got to take it week by week.

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Speaker 1: That's all you can, really, Yeah, I mean your head

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Speaker 1: will spin if you don't, yea. Yeah, all right, Well

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Speaker 1: that's going to do it for this update. Here on

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Speaker 1: the two minute Drill for Amanda Foster. I'm JJ Stankowitz.

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Speaker 1: We are brought to you by nerd Wallet, Play smart

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Speaker 1: finance Harder, Amanda and I will be back next week

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Speaker 1: before the Colts played the New York Jets. So long,