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Speaker 1: It is a Football Friday Week nine edition out of

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Speaker 1: the Cardinals handle winning edition Welcome Bird Gang. On today's show,

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Speaker 1: Zach Gershman joins me back to back wins vault of

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Speaker 1: the Cardinals in the first place in the NFC West,

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Speaker 1: and they stay there and they block out the outside noise.

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Speaker 1: All good, by the way, and stick to the process.

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Speaker 1: We'll find out Sunday when they host the Chicago Bears.

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Speaker 1: Speaking of the Bears, we head into enemy territory talk

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Speaker 1: with Kevin Fishbain. He covers the Bears for the Athletic.

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Speaker 1: It's Cardinals Cover two, Episode eight fourteen, and it starts now.

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Speaker 2: Welcome to Cardinals Cover two.

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

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

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

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Speaker 2: dot Com slash podcast.

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

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Speaker 3: Are Hurry Magic.

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Speaker 2: Wow, Here's Craig Griler.

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Speaker 1: Happy November one, Bird Gang and a blink of an eye.

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Speaker 1: Two months into the season. We're halfway through twenty twenty four.

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Speaker 1: Football wise, not coulendar wise.

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Speaker 4: True, there is one of my favorite songs was by

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Speaker 4: Big Time Rush and it's called halfway There. And I

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Speaker 4: just think that that's very apropos for the season.

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Speaker 3: Please, don't it looking good now? Not things gone to

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Speaker 3: get in the way.

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Speaker 1: We've just basically lost our entire audience here on this football.

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Speaker 4: Come on, I think we actually gained a new fan base. Okay,

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Speaker 4: we have to clip that and welcome back to the

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Speaker 4: bird gang. See if it actually manifests what happened there.

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Speaker 4: Cannot go back, No, we cannot go back.

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Speaker 3: Because we're already halfway there. Oh wow, I'm on a

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Speaker 3: roll all right, just like Aaron A card Yeah.

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Speaker 1: Sorry, good transition, thank you, and we move forward. Cardinals

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Speaker 1: move forward here in week nine? Can they win a

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Speaker 1: third straight? Can they maintain their standing in the NFC West,

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Speaker 1: which is first place? How do they handle this success?

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Speaker 1: How do they handle the fact that they've been talked

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Speaker 1: about a lot and for a good reason, all of

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Speaker 1: it praise. Now, the question is how do they handle

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Speaker 1: all of that?

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Speaker 3: Well?

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Speaker 4: I think that this is a team that, yeah, they

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Speaker 4: have to handle the praise, but with the praise and

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Speaker 4: the platforms because it comes a lot of extra criticism

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Speaker 4: as well. The amount of yards that they've allowed passing

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Speaker 4: wise to players like Justin Herbert. That's something that you're

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Speaker 4: in ania talk about how to stop the run. That's

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Speaker 4: something that's going to need to be discussed as well.

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Speaker 4: But yeah, handling the praise of winning, it's very exciting.

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Speaker 4: They they've already matched their win total of the last

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Speaker 4: two seasons and we're only halfway through the season. So

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Speaker 4: it's exciting to see where this team is currently at

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Speaker 4: as they get set to welcome to the Chicago Bears

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Speaker 4: to town. But after the buy, and I know John

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Speaker 4: deagan one is looking too far ahead. He wants us

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Speaker 4: focusing on the Chicago Bears. But you win the game

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Speaker 4: today and you potentially win the game, or not today

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Speaker 4: but on Sunday, and you potentially win the game against

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Speaker 4: the Jets. You're sitting really pretty going into the buy,

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Speaker 4: and you have a chance. A six and four or

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Speaker 4: a five and five record going into the buy is

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Speaker 4: very different. But you want to get off to a

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Speaker 4: hot start and continue rolling along the way.

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Speaker 1: And two of your three games coming out of the

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Speaker 1: buy are against the Seattle Seahawks, so you can put

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Speaker 1: yourself in a great spot moving forward here the second

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Speaker 1: half of twenty twenty four Cardinals and Bears two oh

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Speaker 1: five is the kickoff nine thirty. Pre game covers begins

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Speaker 1: on the Arizona Cardinals Radio network. If you are headed

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Speaker 1: to the game on Sunday, a canned food drive to

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Speaker 1: benefit United Food Bank will be going on around the stadium.

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Speaker 1: It's presented by Verizon Volunteers. Cheerleaders Big Red will be

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Speaker 1: located outside the stadium as well, so come cheer on

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Speaker 1: the Cardinals and then also help those that need it

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Speaker 1: here during this holiday season, because yes, it is the

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Speaker 1: holiday season. We are done with Halloween, you got Thanksgiving

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Speaker 1: and then before you know it, Christmas and all of

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Speaker 1: a sudden, happy New Year, and we're ready to heal

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Speaker 1: for the postseason.

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Speaker 4: It seems like Halloween's a sore subject though for Jonathan Gannon,

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Speaker 4: yeah he's not a fan.

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Speaker 1: During Friday's press conference, in which we got news on

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Speaker 1: Darius Robinson and Johana Williams both are not going to

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Speaker 1: play this week, which is not a surprise, but yeah,

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Speaker 1: questions about Halloween candy, favored Halloween candy and the fact

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Speaker 1: that quote, I haven't enjoyed a Halloween since I was

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Speaker 1: in third grade.

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Speaker 3: According to JG, come on, he's definitely enjoyed it.

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Speaker 4: I mean, he might not necessarily enjoyed the candy, but

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Speaker 4: I'm sure that a guy that is as unpredictable as

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Speaker 4: Jonathan Gannon, although he said he was scared, I'm sure

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Speaker 4: after the fact, really enjoyed that. Buddha Baker came into

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Speaker 4: his office on Halloween Day and surprised him wearing a

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Speaker 4: Michael Myers costume, not saying a word, and JG's sitting there,

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Speaker 4: as he said, very afraid. And then Buddha liftso up

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Speaker 4: his sleeve and you see the number three. And Buddha

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Speaker 4: brought the boo to Halloween scare. I sold that from

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Speaker 4: social media. Somebody like that.

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Speaker 1: By the way, if you have not seen Buddha's Halloween costume,

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Speaker 1: it was very well done. And when he walked into

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Speaker 1: his weekly press conference on Thursday, he was in full

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Speaker 1: costume and sat there for it felt like for an eternity,

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Speaker 1: didn't say anything to I almost wondered, for a split second,

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Speaker 1: do we know if this is Buddha Baker.

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Speaker 3: Under this mask?

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Speaker 1: Can you imagine if it wasn't, it would have been

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Speaker 1: even better.

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Speaker 3: Somebody else.

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Speaker 1: And then Buddha walks in.

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Speaker 3: Yeah.

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Speaker 1: So the Cardinals are feeling good about themselves. They've been

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Speaker 1: playing good football. And we'll get more in depth as

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Speaker 1: far as this matchup coming up on Sunday. Kevin Fishbain,

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Speaker 1: senior writer for The Athletic. He covers the Bears. We

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Speaker 1: had a chance to talk with him earlier in the week.

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Speaker 1: But some news concerning the Cardinals, and as I mentioned

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Speaker 1: Darius Robinson, Jonah Williams not going to be available this week.

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Speaker 1: With Robinson, it's still that Cafe has not practiced all week,

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Speaker 1: has not practice for a while now. And with Joonah Williams, Zach,

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Speaker 1: it's the fact that he is just practiced a couple

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Speaker 1: of times, three times. With that practice window being opened

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Speaker 1: up on Wednesday, seems to be trending in the right direction.

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Speaker 1: But what we've seen from this coaching staff is when

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Speaker 1: that practice window is opened up, they want to give

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Speaker 1: players at least a week. So my guess is Joanah

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Speaker 1: Williams more likely next week versus this week, because one,

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Speaker 1: he is still on injured reserves, so you'd have to

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Speaker 1: make a roster move. But it is good to have

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Speaker 1: your starting right tackle out on that.

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Speaker 4: Football field since JG has had the reins here as

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Speaker 4: the head coach of the Arizona Cardinals. I think the

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Speaker 4: only player that they had on injured reserve that they

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Speaker 4: brought back after only three practices was Buddha Baker last

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Speaker 4: season before the game against the Seattle Seahawks. And that's

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Speaker 4: a game and obviously we know what Seattle means to

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Speaker 4: Buddha and it was the first time he's ever missed

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Speaker 4: that amount of games. He was telling us last season,

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Speaker 4: So you know what this coaching staff is typically like

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Speaker 4: and how they like to handle players that are recovering

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Speaker 4: from injuries. With Joana Williams, JG said he's progressing really

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Speaker 4: good and gave a lot of kudos to the training

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Speaker 4: staff out there and said that on Thursday, Jonah had

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Speaker 4: a really solid practice. But then again, we talk about

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Speaker 4: the connectivity along the offensive line, and it's been going

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Speaker 4: on since the second quarter of the game against the

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Speaker 4: Buffalo Bills that this has been the offensive line with

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Speaker 4: Kelvin Beacham sliding into that right tackle spot. So in

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Speaker 4: the offensive line has looked really solid. There really hasn't

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Speaker 4: been much of a drop off, which is exactly what

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Speaker 4: you would hope for when you have to replace a

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Speaker 4: starting player with the depth player, you want to be

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Speaker 4: able to hope that there's no drop off. Cardinals have

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Speaker 4: not allowed a sack in the last three games. I'm

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Speaker 4: not saying you bring back Joana Williams and that necessarily

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Speaker 4: messes something up because Kyler said to us he felt

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Speaker 4: very protected with Jonah there, but they're going to take

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Speaker 4: it easy with the big guy over there, number seventy three.

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Speaker 3: Yeah.

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Speaker 1: That entire right side of the offensive line brand new

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Speaker 1: from what we anticipated going into the series, and the

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Speaker 1: will no Jonah Williams, Noel or Hernandez yet. Props to

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Speaker 1: Kelvin Beacham, Tristan Coloone also Isaiah Adams for manning those

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Speaker 1: spots at right tackle and right guard respectfully and again

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Speaker 1: keeping the quarterback upright and allowing rushing lanes to develop

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Speaker 1: for James Connor and everyone else in the backfield. So

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Speaker 1: something to keep an eye on as we move forward

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Speaker 1: here over the next couple of weeks and then post

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Speaker 1: by week what the Cardinals do on the offensive line

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Speaker 1: as far as the other players without Darius Robinson, that's

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Speaker 1: a banged up defensive line with Roy Lopez dealing with

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Speaker 1: an ankle issue, Nae Kwon Jones a thigh, So this

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Speaker 1: is something to keep an eye on. Without Darius, there's

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Speaker 1: five defensive lineman. My guess is for the third straight week,

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Speaker 1: Ben Stilly will be elevated from the practice squad to

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Speaker 1: give you an extra healthy body because going in, yeah,

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Speaker 1: you might be feeling good with that ankle and thigh,

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Speaker 1: but you never know. You want to protect yourself if

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Speaker 1: you're the Cardinals. So just anticipate a roster move coming

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Speaker 1: on Saturday, and that is an elevation of Ben Stilly and.

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Speaker 4: That's likely what it's going to be. And Ben Stilly

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Speaker 4: has played really solid so far. He had a sack

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Speaker 4: in the Monday night football game against the Los Angeles Chargers.

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Speaker 4: It's been nice to see his development and his growth

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Speaker 4: kind of being that fringe practice squad to fifty three

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Speaker 4: man roster. He's kind of right there on the cusp line.

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Speaker 4: So he'll probably get that elevation. And then what do

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Speaker 4: you do once Darius Robinson is back. All these things

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Speaker 4: start to play a role. But it is exciting and

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Speaker 4: it is encouraging to see Ben Stilly's progress. But you

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Speaker 4: would hope that guys like Roy Lopez and Nakwon Jones,

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Speaker 4: who have proven to also have success every given Sunday.

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Speaker 4: You would hope that they're healthy enough to come back

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Speaker 4: because that defensive line does need to help with the

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Speaker 4: amount of injuries that they faced.

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Speaker 1: Before we get to our conversation with Kevin, how about

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Speaker 1: we highlight Chad Ryland. This is our first opportunity to

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Speaker 1: talk about him since he was named NFC Special Teams

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Speaker 1: Player of the Month. And again I'm not familiar with

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Speaker 1: every single kicker across the conference, but I find it

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Speaker 1: hard to believe anyone had a better month, and obviously

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Speaker 1: not Ben Chad with two game wins kicks at the

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Speaker 1: horn and then three game winning kicks overall accounting for

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Speaker 1: these three wins the Cardinals have had over the last

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Speaker 1: four games.

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Speaker 4: And he nails through a career long fifty seven yarder

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Speaker 4: as well against the Miami Dolphins. So for Chad Ryland

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Speaker 4: to come in and do a complete one eighty on

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Speaker 4: his career after his time in New England to where

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Speaker 4: he is now with the Arizona Cardinals. I saw a

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Speaker 4: lot of people in the comments section on social media,

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Speaker 4: a lot of Patriots fans that were saying, like is

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Speaker 4: this the same kicker we had in New England, and

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Speaker 4: I could tell you one hundred percent it's not the

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Speaker 4: same kicker because Chad Ryland has a level of confidence

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Speaker 4: not just in himself but amongst the guys in the

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Speaker 4: locker room to go out there and deliver. We spoke

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Speaker 4: to plenty of players throughout the week and we asked

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Speaker 4: him the question, was it did it feel like deja

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Speaker 4: vu trotting back out there onto the field, and they said, yeah.

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Speaker 4: We knew we were going to get to a certain

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Speaker 4: part on the field, and we knew that Chad Ryland

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Speaker 4: was going to nail it through because he's been playing

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Speaker 4: really good ball for us. So congratulations to Chad. He's

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Speaker 4: the first Arizona Cardinal to win the NFC's Special Teams

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Speaker 4: Player of the Month since Zane Gonzales did it the

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Speaker 4: kicker back in twenty nineteen. Budda Baker won it in

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Speaker 4: twenty twenty on the Defensive Player of the Month, also

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Speaker 4: in the month of October. Zane Gonzal is also in

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Speaker 4: the month of October, so October is a good month

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Speaker 4: for the Arizona Cardinals and the Cardinals of getting good

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Speaker 4: special teams play across the board, kickoffs, punts, and specifically

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Speaker 4: on the punts, because I know you have a story

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Speaker 4: up on Easycardinals dot Com talking about the entire special

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Speaker 4: teams unit. Blake Gillikin has been very, very solid the

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Speaker 4: past two games. Six of his seven punts have been

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Speaker 4: down inside the fifteen yard line. He's averaging almost fifty

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Speaker 4: yards a punt with a net of forty three. So again,

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Speaker 4: specialists don't get talked about unless something goes wrong. So

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Speaker 4: it's nice to be able to highlight when things are

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Speaker 4: going right. But I think that they do get talked

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Speaker 4: about when things are going really good, and that's exactly

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Speaker 4: what's happening with this Cardinals team. Blake set the single

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Speaker 4: season record last year for punt average at fifty point

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Speaker 4: six yards per Now that when I asked him about it,

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Speaker 4: I'm like, you're not you're on pace, You're I'm pretty

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Speaker 4: sure he's point seven he's point seven behind. And he

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Speaker 4: said to me, he goes, look, last season we were

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Speaker 4: backed up a lot and I had.

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Speaker 3: To boot it deep.

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Speaker 4: But now once we get to the fifty, I already

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Speaker 4: start to know in my head that that's my strong spot.

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Speaker 4: That's really the strong part of my game or if

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Speaker 4: we keep on driving, I got to get prepared to

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Speaker 4: hold for Chad to make these field goals an extra points.

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Speaker 4: So the special teams unit has been doing really well

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Speaker 4: and one of the reasons for it, as we spoke

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Speaker 4: with Johnathan Gannon about, is the fact that a lot

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Speaker 4: of starters play special team snaps here because they understand

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Speaker 4: the importance of special team. And when I asked Blake

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Speaker 4: Gillikin about it, like what does it mean as a

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Speaker 4: specialist to have every down starters making an impact playing

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Speaker 4: a role on special teams, and he said it excites him.

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Speaker 4: It excites him to see a guy like Max Mountain,

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Speaker 4: who he knows is going to have to play gunner

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Speaker 4: and then trot out with the defense right afterwards. To

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Speaker 4: know that a true ball player is by his side

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Speaker 4: on special teams, it excites him and maximalland said that

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Speaker 4: that's just a part of the fabric and it's one

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Speaker 4: of the reasons why he was excited to be drafted

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Speaker 4: by the Arizona Cardinals because he played special teams all

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Speaker 4: four years a Rutgers Again. Azycardinals dot Com for that

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Speaker 4: article on special teams. By the way, I'm just looking

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Speaker 4: at Gillikins numbers and the average. Yeah, you'd want a

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Speaker 4: high average, But how about you just pay attention to

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Speaker 4: how many punts inside the ten yard line or inside

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Speaker 4: the red zone. I should say inside the twenty ten

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Speaker 4: of his twenty five point punts, that's forty percent of

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Speaker 4: your kicks. That number, to me, is better than having

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Speaker 4: a fifty yard average. How many times are you pinning

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Speaker 4: your opponent inside the twenty yard line. It's also a

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Speaker 4: mix of the net punt in their return how what

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Speaker 4: their return ultimately equates to. But when I asked him

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Speaker 4: about his strategy and his logic, he said to me

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Speaker 4: that the plan is always kicked to the seven or

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Speaker 4: eight yard line, and he knows once it comes off

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Speaker 4: his foot if it's going to reach that mark. The

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Speaker 4: reason for it is because you want to have a

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Speaker 4: guy behind the returner if they're in case they're being

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Speaker 4: a decoy, and you want to have a guy in

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Speaker 4: front of the returner in case he bobbles the ball.

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Speaker 4: And that's something that the Cardinals have done in back

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Speaker 4: to back games where Joey Blunt was able to pin

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Speaker 4: him at the one yard line in the game against

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Speaker 4: the Chargers and the game against the Dolphins, Greg Dortch

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Speaker 4: was backed up behind the punter who are behind the

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Speaker 4: punt returner who Blake Gillickin said, I could right away

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Speaker 4: tell was being a decoy just based off watching film,

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Speaker 4: and that gave Greg Dortch an opportunity to bat the

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Speaker 4: ball to Aaron Brewer and down him inside the five.

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Speaker 4: So that's always the plan, and if it happens again

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Speaker 4: this week, I would definitely not be surprised.

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Speaker 1: And make sure you're in attendance this week. Cardinals and

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Speaker 1: Bears on Sunday two of five is the kickoff if

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Speaker 1: you are headed out to the game, A can food

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Speaker 1: drive to benefit United Food Bank. It's presented by Verizon.

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Speaker 1: All Right, for more on this matchup against the four

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Speaker 1: and three Bears, let's hear it from Kevin Fishbains, senior

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Speaker 1: rider for the Athletic he covers the Bears. Zach and

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Speaker 1: I cut up with Kevin earlier in the week. Well,

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Speaker 1: I guess we got to start here Kevin last week

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Speaker 1: and how last week's game ended for the Bears. What's

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Speaker 1: the fear, if any at all, that one play beats

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Speaker 1: the Bears again, meaning maybe they need another week to

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Speaker 1: get past the hell, Mary, Yeah.

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Speaker 5: Well, that's the goal this week is to not let

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Speaker 5: that compound into a bigger problem and not let it linger.

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Speaker 5: I mean, look, it's I've seen a lot of bad

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Speaker 5: Bears losses, but it's hard to top losing like that,

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Speaker 5: and it's a it was a conversation topic for several days,

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Speaker 5: understandably in the building outside the building. So yeah, so

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Speaker 5: this is, uh, it's important for them to not let

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Speaker 5: that happen and and and to prove that in the

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Speaker 5: close game they're gonna make the right decisions and make

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Speaker 5: the right calls so that they can you know, get

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Speaker 5: pass this and get back on the winning track. So,

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Speaker 5: you know, I do think this team's got a lot

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Speaker 5: of veterans, a lot of leaders. It's more talented group

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Speaker 5: than most Bears teams uncovered, So you think they had

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Speaker 5: the player to kind of overcome it and be able

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Speaker 5: to move forward. They moved. They rebounded earlier in the

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Speaker 5: season when they had back to back losses with the

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Speaker 5: offense of the mess. They figured things out, they got going,

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Speaker 5: they won three in a row. So this is another hurdle.

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Speaker 5: But this is this is a big one. This is

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Speaker 5: this is gonna be tough.

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Speaker 4: I was reading the article that you collabed with about

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Speaker 4: just the accountability in the locker room, and then also

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Speaker 4: how the topic of conversation, at least entering this one

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Speaker 4: as of when we're recording, has not really been as

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Speaker 4: much about the Arizona Cardinals. But you mentioned some of

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Speaker 4: the players in the leadership in the room. I know

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Speaker 4: Tyrek Stevenson came out and he apologized to the team,

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Speaker 4: but how have you seen the guys sort of rally

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Speaker 4: around him in this situation?

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Speaker 5: Yeah, you know, look, this is not this is obviously

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Speaker 5: Kyry Stevenson is a player who has had troubled penalties.

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Speaker 5: He's been beat on big plays. But you know, he's

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Speaker 5: he works hard, he's at every practice, He's well liked

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Speaker 5: in the locker room. It was a mistake, but everybody

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Speaker 5: is generally rallying around him, coaches, players, and trying to

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Speaker 5: support him because they need him. I mean, he's a

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Speaker 5: good player. He's a starting corner. Whether or not he

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Speaker 5: starts Sunday, I don't know, but you know, I do

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Speaker 5: think that this it's such a rare thing. I mean,

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Speaker 5: never seen anything like that. It's so rare to see

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Speaker 5: a team losing a hill Mary period. But to see

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Speaker 5: a team will losing to Hail Mary when the players

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Speaker 5: off talking to the fans, I mean, you just it's

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Speaker 5: hard to fathom, and it's also hard to project how

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Speaker 5: everyone's going to react. So I think there are a

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Speaker 5: lot of tough conversations. There are a lot of you know,

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Speaker 5: difficult questions and things to sort through. But you know,

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Speaker 5: in the end, it's a good player and somebody who

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Speaker 5: leads the team passes defense right now, and somebody who

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Speaker 5: if the Bears are going to be competitive, they're going

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Speaker 5: to need him playing at a high level.

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Speaker 4: But before we look more ahead to this game, I

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Speaker 4: have to ask you, on a personal level, what was

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Speaker 4: your reaction to it? Because I'm sure covering the team

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Speaker 4: for all these years, as you mentioned, you mentioned that

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Speaker 4: it's a very rare way to lose, So what was

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Speaker 4: your reaction to it?

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Speaker 5: Stunned? I mean, you know, it's funny. I mean, you

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Speaker 5: guys know how this works. You know, you're you're in

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Speaker 5: the press box and it's a crazy finish and you're

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Speaker 5: kind of frantically writing things and I missed I since

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Speaker 5: I missed it, I didn't really contextualize the thirteen yard

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Speaker 5: play before the Hail Mary. I just I didn't process

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Speaker 5: it in the moment because I was trying to do

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Speaker 5: like ten things at once, and you just kind of

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Speaker 5: assumed that they were going to win. And you know,

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Speaker 5: just as a sports reporter and a fan of the game,

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Speaker 5: to see and experience and feel the stadium erupt the

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Speaker 5: way it did was just like, it's a moment I'll

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Speaker 5: never forget, and then you kind of realize, oh, it's

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Speaker 5: gonna be a long week. So yeah, it was. It

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Speaker 5: was stunning, and it's one of those things where I

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Speaker 5: rewatched that play fifteen twenty times. It felt like every

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Speaker 5: time I watched it, else didn't make sense. You know,

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Speaker 5: why didn't they call time out? Why was that their

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Speaker 5: rush package? Why were there the defensive lineman in the field.

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Speaker 5: Why didn't have their linebacker spying or running back? Why

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Speaker 5: was Tyreek Stevenson all the way over here? Would why

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Speaker 5: didn't somebody else peel around to the back. Like so

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Speaker 5: many things went wrong on a play that still needed

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Speaker 5: to go perfectly for Washington for us to be kind

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Speaker 5: of having the conversation today. So that's you know that

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Speaker 5: the players kind of had been saying, like it's called

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Speaker 5: the Hail Mary for a reason, like it's a prayer

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Speaker 5: and they got it. But the problem is that the

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Speaker 5: Bears was a position to lose on it as well.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, one play and the difference between four and three

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Speaker 1: and five and two, and feeling much better about where

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Speaker 1: the Bears are coming into this game. On Sunday and

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Speaker 1: before the Washington game, Caleb Williams he'd been playing well,

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Speaker 1: did not play finish the game well against Washington, but

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Speaker 1: the start of the game wasn't great. So how do

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Speaker 1: you think he bounces back? How do you think he's

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Speaker 1: gone so far through the first seven games.

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Speaker 5: Yeah, you know, it's been some typical rookie roller coaster

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Speaker 5: type stuff. And I mean you see it within games too,

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Speaker 5: from quarter to quarter certainly, And obviously the Bears have

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Speaker 5: been really had had really tough times early in games

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Speaker 5: agetting the offense going, but you also see the talent,

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Speaker 5: the ability, it's all there, the you know, the accuracy,

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Speaker 5: which is why the Washington game was kind of surprising,

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Speaker 5: how kind of uncarious, uncharacteristic that was. So Yeah, you know,

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Speaker 5: it's like the game is kind of it's new data

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Speaker 5: point and you're you're trying to build it out and

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Speaker 5: you're you're trying to kind of as we evaluate, you're

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Speaker 5: trying to take it week by week. But you've certainly

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Speaker 5: seen a lot of good things, and you've seen obviously

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Speaker 5: seen a lot of things that reminds you how tough

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Speaker 5: this sport is and out top of the professional uh,

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Speaker 5: you know, the National Football League is for rookies.

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Speaker 4: Expanding on that a little bit, in what ways has

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Speaker 4: he shown why he was that number one pick? I

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Speaker 4: guess to even say a little bit wiser beyond his years,

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Speaker 4: and what ways has he been able to prove that?

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Speaker 2: Yeah?

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Speaker 5: You know, I do think from a physical standpoint, he

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Speaker 5: obviously does some really impressive things on the run improvisationally.

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Speaker 5: You know, just last week he had the side armed throw,

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Speaker 5: you know the things, the other with his arm angles

436
00:21:24,720 --> 00:21:27,000
Speaker 5: to get it between two defenders to receive at the

437
00:21:27,000 --> 00:21:30,560
Speaker 5: one yard line. And then even he wants to stay

438
00:21:30,560 --> 00:21:33,119
Speaker 5: in the pocket like he is not looking to run first.

439
00:21:33,760 --> 00:21:36,600
Speaker 5: And he's very accurate. As I said, I thought, you know,

440
00:21:36,640 --> 00:21:40,000
Speaker 5: the first three quarters of Blacktually's game was he was off.

441
00:21:40,119 --> 00:21:42,879
Speaker 5: You could tell there was miscommunication, he was having trouble

442
00:21:42,880 --> 00:21:46,000
Speaker 5: with the blitz, all those things. But he's really accurate.

443
00:21:46,000 --> 00:21:47,960
Speaker 5: I mean he puts it on these guys in stride

444
00:21:49,119 --> 00:21:51,080
Speaker 5: and actually pressed and then kind of off the field.

445
00:21:51,480 --> 00:21:54,800
Speaker 5: You know, everything here. I mean, the guy just he's

446
00:21:54,800 --> 00:21:57,679
Speaker 5: a leader from day one, and he's not really phased

447
00:21:57,680 --> 00:21:59,920
Speaker 5: by the moment. I think you could argue that maybe

448
00:22:00,400 --> 00:22:02,520
Speaker 5: in the moment he was a little phase in Washington,

449
00:22:02,560 --> 00:22:06,000
Speaker 5: you know, there's a playoff atmosphere, and maybe he was

450
00:22:06,000 --> 00:22:08,919
Speaker 5: a little amped up. But generally he is taken to

451
00:22:09,080 --> 00:22:12,000
Speaker 5: all the attention with ease and has not been rattled

452
00:22:12,240 --> 00:22:13,320
Speaker 5: by everything thrown his away.

453
00:22:13,680 --> 00:22:17,240
Speaker 1: One more about the Bears offense for from me, Kevin,

454
00:22:17,280 --> 00:22:20,639
Speaker 1: and that is the run game and DeAndre Swift. You know,

455
00:22:20,680 --> 00:22:23,600
Speaker 1: the Cardinals have struggled to consistently stop the run the

456
00:22:23,600 --> 00:22:25,959
Speaker 1: Bears the last two weeks one hundred and fifty two,

457
00:22:26,240 --> 00:22:29,840
Speaker 1: one hundred and ninety six yards on the ground. Is

458
00:22:29,880 --> 00:22:33,240
Speaker 1: that more of the identity or does just DeAndre Swift

459
00:22:33,400 --> 00:22:35,520
Speaker 1: playing at a high level these past couple of weeks.

460
00:22:37,160 --> 00:22:39,560
Speaker 5: Yeah, I think you've seen, you know, I think the

461
00:22:39,600 --> 00:22:42,000
Speaker 5: identity shifted a little bit when they were having such

462
00:22:42,040 --> 00:22:44,600
Speaker 5: trouble in weeks two and three. Running the football. He

463
00:22:44,640 --> 00:22:47,639
Speaker 5: saw some more under center runs. He saw the screen

464
00:22:47,720 --> 00:22:50,680
Speaker 5: game start working, which then helps you run the ball

465
00:22:50,800 --> 00:22:53,880
Speaker 5: as well. The offensive line showed some continuity. Now they're

466
00:22:53,880 --> 00:22:55,520
Speaker 5: going to lose that this week because they've got a

467
00:22:55,560 --> 00:22:58,880
Speaker 5: lot of guys who are hurt. But that certainly helped

468
00:22:58,880 --> 00:23:01,199
Speaker 5: and Deandres shift himself. Thinkers just run the ball a

469
00:23:01,240 --> 00:23:05,760
Speaker 5: lot better. You've seen him really make quicker decisions when

470
00:23:05,760 --> 00:23:08,640
Speaker 5: he gets out in space. You've seen and the offensive

471
00:23:08,640 --> 00:23:10,639
Speaker 5: line has given him more room. So yeah, I mean,

472
00:23:10,680 --> 00:23:13,480
Speaker 5: weeks one through three, he was maybe one of the

473
00:23:13,720 --> 00:23:17,040
Speaker 5: three worst running backs in football, and weeks four through

474
00:23:17,119 --> 00:23:19,439
Speaker 5: eight he's one of top five. So I think a

475
00:23:19,480 --> 00:23:22,760
Speaker 5: lot of things from play calling, to line play to

476
00:23:22,880 --> 00:23:26,920
Speaker 5: Swift's own improvement has really factored in what we've seen

477
00:23:26,920 --> 00:23:27,600
Speaker 5: from him lately.

478
00:23:27,960 --> 00:23:31,360
Speaker 4: Slipping over to the defensive side of the ball, Opposing

479
00:23:31,400 --> 00:23:33,200
Speaker 4: offenses have not been able to put up a lot

480
00:23:33,240 --> 00:23:36,600
Speaker 4: of points on this Bears defense. What would you attribute

481
00:23:36,600 --> 00:23:39,159
Speaker 4: that most to because no team has gone over twenty

482
00:23:39,200 --> 00:23:40,280
Speaker 4: points against the Bears.

483
00:23:40,960 --> 00:23:42,720
Speaker 5: Well, they're really good in the red zone. I mean,

484
00:23:42,720 --> 00:23:45,240
Speaker 5: you saw Washington had what four hundred and eighty yards

485
00:23:45,280 --> 00:23:48,320
Speaker 5: of offense and one touchdown on Sunday. You know that

486
00:23:48,359 --> 00:23:50,160
Speaker 5: Bears held him to four field goals, you know, would

487
00:23:50,160 --> 00:23:52,640
Speaker 5: have been four field goals and that was it had

488
00:23:52,640 --> 00:23:54,600
Speaker 5: things gone differently on the last play of the game.

489
00:23:54,920 --> 00:23:57,880
Speaker 5: So they really do a good job of tightening up

490
00:23:57,920 --> 00:24:00,480
Speaker 5: in those situations. They're one of the better third down defenses.

491
00:24:00,520 --> 00:24:02,280
Speaker 5: I think they might be the best goal to go

492
00:24:02,400 --> 00:24:04,680
Speaker 5: defense in football right now. So you're doing a great

493
00:24:04,760 --> 00:24:08,160
Speaker 5: job keeping teams to field goals, and you know, there's

494
00:24:08,320 --> 00:24:10,360
Speaker 5: there's a lot of reasons for that. I mean, their

495
00:24:10,400 --> 00:24:13,560
Speaker 5: strength has generally been their cornerbacks. You know, Jalen Johnson's

496
00:24:13,560 --> 00:24:16,200
Speaker 5: the Pro bowler we talked about Tyreek Stevenson earlier, does

497
00:24:16,320 --> 00:24:19,280
Speaker 5: not look like Kyler gornolly back at the nickel, but

498
00:24:19,320 --> 00:24:22,600
Speaker 5: they've got good depth at corner, so they play good

499
00:24:22,600 --> 00:24:25,560
Speaker 5: coverage on these guys. When you've got linebackers like Tremaine

500
00:24:25,640 --> 00:24:27,119
Speaker 5: Edmonds and t J. Edwards, that helps you in the

501
00:24:27,119 --> 00:24:29,280
Speaker 5: middle of the field. And then they're you know, they

502
00:24:29,359 --> 00:24:31,280
Speaker 5: they've been able to rush the passer. Not great rushing

503
00:24:31,280 --> 00:24:33,000
Speaker 5: the pass there still gotta be better, but they have

504
00:24:33,040 --> 00:24:35,600
Speaker 5: a lot of options to get after the quarterbacks. So

505
00:24:35,640 --> 00:24:39,320
Speaker 5: all these those things seem to operate at their best

506
00:24:39,800 --> 00:24:42,280
Speaker 5: when the team is up against it. When it's third down,

507
00:24:42,560 --> 00:24:44,320
Speaker 5: when it's in the red zone, when it's gold to go.

508
00:24:44,680 --> 00:24:46,639
Speaker 5: So that's been a big reason they've been able to

509
00:24:46,680 --> 00:24:49,280
Speaker 5: kind of hold these teams down. They just seem to

510
00:24:49,280 --> 00:24:51,520
Speaker 5: play their best and have the best kind of schemes

511
00:24:51,880 --> 00:24:54,960
Speaker 5: to really confuse quarterbacks and then those those players are

512
00:24:54,960 --> 00:24:56,840
Speaker 5: making plays when they get any of the goal line.

513
00:24:57,200 --> 00:25:00,439
Speaker 1: On the coverage aspect, the Cardinals kind of finally unlocked

514
00:25:00,440 --> 00:25:02,960
Speaker 1: their passing game last week in Miami. But when it

515
00:25:03,000 --> 00:25:06,960
Speaker 1: comes to Jalen Johnson and Tyreek Stevenson, who gets the call?

516
00:25:07,000 --> 00:25:09,359
Speaker 1: Who gets the nod against Marvin Harrison Junior?

517
00:25:09,440 --> 00:25:11,520
Speaker 3: Do you think so the.

518
00:25:11,520 --> 00:25:17,880
Speaker 5: Bears generally play side? They don't now. I am curious

519
00:25:17,920 --> 00:25:22,159
Speaker 5: to see if they changed that. Jalen Johnson would be

520
00:25:22,240 --> 00:25:24,199
Speaker 5: the guy. I mean, he is the best corner on

521
00:25:24,240 --> 00:25:26,359
Speaker 5: the team. He's one of the best corners in the league.

522
00:25:26,520 --> 00:25:29,560
Speaker 5: He relishes that opportunity. He always wants to follow the

523
00:25:30,000 --> 00:25:33,840
Speaker 5: best receiver. It's just not really something we've seen from

524
00:25:33,880 --> 00:25:37,480
Speaker 5: this scheme. Certainly, if a guy goes inside, if a

525
00:25:37,520 --> 00:25:40,520
Speaker 5: receiver ever goes inside, Jalen Johnson will not travel there

526
00:25:40,560 --> 00:25:44,120
Speaker 5: with him. But yeah, that's that's gonna be an interesting

527
00:25:44,160 --> 00:25:47,520
Speaker 5: part because I think that if the Bears continue that

528
00:25:47,600 --> 00:25:51,080
Speaker 5: and they decide to play side whenever Marvin Harrison's lined

529
00:25:51,119 --> 00:25:55,200
Speaker 5: up against Tyrek Stevenson, orfis Trell Smith at times that

530
00:25:55,400 --> 00:25:58,199
Speaker 5: is where I would expect Calmerray to go, and you know,

531
00:25:58,240 --> 00:25:59,959
Speaker 5: maybe he's got to go. Maybe that happens a few

532
00:26:00,119 --> 00:26:02,119
Speaker 5: times and they make a change, or maybe they do

533
00:26:02,119 --> 00:26:04,760
Speaker 5: have Jalen Johnson shadowed him. I'm not sure, but it's

534
00:26:04,760 --> 00:26:08,000
Speaker 5: not something we've seen from the Bears. You know, they

535
00:26:08,040 --> 00:26:10,960
Speaker 5: do believe in Tyrek Stevenson. Terrell Smith, who Stevenson's backup

536
00:26:10,960 --> 00:26:12,840
Speaker 5: who might get some snaps on Sunday, they believe in

537
00:26:12,920 --> 00:26:15,479
Speaker 5: him as well. He's a long, fast player who can

538
00:26:15,520 --> 00:26:18,320
Speaker 5: kind of run with guys down the sideline. But yeah,

539
00:26:18,359 --> 00:26:21,080
Speaker 5: you know that's gonna be a huge matchup to watch

540
00:26:21,280 --> 00:26:22,920
Speaker 5: in terms of how they handle it. You start, Terry

541
00:26:22,960 --> 00:26:26,439
Speaker 5: McLaurin have a huge play against Stevenson last week, but

542
00:26:26,480 --> 00:26:29,159
Speaker 5: he didn't do a whole lot after that. So you

543
00:26:29,200 --> 00:26:31,360
Speaker 5: know that that's gonna be because the two things I'm

544
00:26:31,400 --> 00:26:33,520
Speaker 5: kind of watching, I mean, obviously you guys know, I mean,

545
00:26:33,560 --> 00:26:36,240
Speaker 5: the three biggest weapons I should say are Harrison, Kyler

546
00:26:36,320 --> 00:26:39,320
Speaker 5: Murray's legs and when James Connor, the Bears have been

547
00:26:39,359 --> 00:26:41,879
Speaker 5: a little bit leaky against the run this year, and

548
00:26:41,920 --> 00:26:44,239
Speaker 5: they gave him some big runs to Jaydon Daniels some

549
00:26:44,320 --> 00:26:47,160
Speaker 5: key third down scrambles, So all those things are gonna

550
00:26:47,160 --> 00:26:50,119
Speaker 5: be kind of paramount in that matchup when the Bears

551
00:26:50,400 --> 00:26:51,160
Speaker 5: are on defense.

552
00:26:51,440 --> 00:26:53,640
Speaker 4: That does kind of weeds right into the next question

553
00:26:53,640 --> 00:26:55,359
Speaker 4: I was going to ask about. You know, if you

554
00:26:55,400 --> 00:26:57,919
Speaker 4: do limit a guy like Marvin Harrison Jr. You do

555
00:26:58,000 --> 00:27:01,520
Speaker 4: have the threat of Kyler Murray's leg Is that something?

556
00:27:01,680 --> 00:27:05,400
Speaker 4: Obviously they played against one another last year and Kyler

557
00:27:05,480 --> 00:27:07,679
Speaker 4: Murray was still coming off of his ACL injury and

558
00:27:07,800 --> 00:27:10,600
Speaker 4: was still recovering. Now he's looks a lot faster, he

559
00:27:10,680 --> 00:27:13,399
Speaker 4: looks as good as he ever has. How much of

560
00:27:13,440 --> 00:27:16,200
Speaker 4: an emphasis is that, because you do have the threat

561
00:27:16,359 --> 00:27:18,440
Speaker 4: of being able to hand the ball off to James

562
00:27:18,440 --> 00:27:21,600
Speaker 4: Connor if Kyler Murray doesn't have any openings for him

563
00:27:21,600 --> 00:27:22,000
Speaker 4: to run.

564
00:27:23,240 --> 00:27:25,800
Speaker 5: Yeah, you know, it's interesting because the Bears have two

565
00:27:25,960 --> 00:27:29,520
Speaker 5: really good linebackers and TJ. Edwards Intre Made Edmunds, so

566
00:27:29,560 --> 00:27:32,639
Speaker 5: their key in this whole operation. But it's not like

567
00:27:32,680 --> 00:27:36,320
Speaker 5: those guys are running four three forties, Like, it's still

568
00:27:36,680 --> 00:27:38,280
Speaker 5: a lot of it's going to be angles, a lot

569
00:27:38,320 --> 00:27:40,479
Speaker 5: of it's going to be kind of keeping him in

570
00:27:40,560 --> 00:27:43,240
Speaker 5: the pocket. The defensive ends all those different rush things,

571
00:27:43,480 --> 00:27:45,400
Speaker 5: and then those linebackers are obviously gonna be key when

572
00:27:45,400 --> 00:27:47,840
Speaker 5: it comes to containing Connor. You know, I watched a

573
00:27:47,840 --> 00:27:49,879
Speaker 5: lot of that Cardinals Chargers game, which I thought Connor

574
00:27:49,880 --> 00:27:54,560
Speaker 5: looked outstanding in that game, breaking tackles, running physical, you know,

575
00:27:55,040 --> 00:27:57,480
Speaker 5: and the Bears the middle of the defense is struck.

576
00:27:58,400 --> 00:28:00,520
Speaker 5: Andrew Billion is one of the best run stuff defensive

577
00:28:00,520 --> 00:28:02,520
Speaker 5: tackles and football if your vond Dexter's having a really

578
00:28:02,520 --> 00:28:04,840
Speaker 5: good year at three technique. But teams have had success

579
00:28:04,840 --> 00:28:06,919
Speaker 5: for running the ball against the Bears, so you know

580
00:28:07,040 --> 00:28:12,000
Speaker 5: that is where you know what's happened is run the

581
00:28:12,000 --> 00:28:17,280
Speaker 5: ball really well. You know, the Rams game is the

582
00:28:17,280 --> 00:28:19,920
Speaker 5: one that comes to mind where the Rams are running

583
00:28:19,920 --> 00:28:21,920
Speaker 5: the ball great, throwing the ball great, and they got

584
00:28:21,920 --> 00:28:24,160
Speaker 5: in the red zone and everything's like nothing made sense

585
00:28:24,880 --> 00:28:26,640
Speaker 5: and the play calling was on and then they just

586
00:28:26,760 --> 00:28:29,359
Speaker 5: settled for field goals and Bears ultimately won that game.

587
00:28:29,440 --> 00:28:32,880
Speaker 5: So you know, for Arizona, I would recommend whatever's working,

588
00:28:33,000 --> 00:28:34,280
Speaker 5: keep it up, because when you get to the red

589
00:28:34,359 --> 00:28:35,800
Speaker 5: zone and get the third down. That's where the Bears

590
00:28:35,800 --> 00:28:36,640
Speaker 5: are at their best.

591
00:28:36,880 --> 00:28:40,040
Speaker 1: Should be a fun matchup coming up on Sunday. Cardinals

592
00:28:40,080 --> 00:28:43,760
Speaker 1: host the Bears at two o five at State Farm Stadium. Kevin,

593
00:28:43,880 --> 00:28:46,840
Speaker 1: great information, Appreciate the time, and look forward to seeing

594
00:28:46,880 --> 00:28:47,600
Speaker 1: you on Sunday.

595
00:28:48,280 --> 00:28:49,120
Speaker 5: All right, sounds good.

596
00:28:49,120 --> 00:28:52,560
Speaker 3: Take care, guys, appreciate Kevin joining us.

597
00:28:52,640 --> 00:28:55,120
Speaker 1: And I've got to share this with everyone, Zach, because

598
00:28:55,600 --> 00:28:59,760
Speaker 1: during our conversation, we've got NFL Network on the TVs

599
00:28:59,800 --> 00:29:04,000
Speaker 1: here in the studio. NFL Network was replaying the Bear's

600
00:29:04,080 --> 00:29:07,440
Speaker 1: Commander's game and it was late in the game, meaning

601
00:29:07,480 --> 00:29:09,120
Speaker 1: the fourth quarter, in the comeback.

602
00:29:08,920 --> 00:29:10,920
Speaker 3: Right after they scored. It was yeah, it was.

603
00:29:10,960 --> 00:29:13,680
Speaker 1: It just we didn't bring it up during the interview

604
00:29:13,680 --> 00:29:16,280
Speaker 1: because it just seemed odd. But on the corner of

605
00:29:16,320 --> 00:29:19,719
Speaker 1: our eyes, we could see the Bears scoring, the Bears

606
00:29:19,760 --> 00:29:23,240
Speaker 1: fumbling the Commander's coming back, throwing the Hail Mary, and

607
00:29:23,240 --> 00:29:26,960
Speaker 1: all of a sudden uproar and bedlam in our nation's capital.

608
00:29:27,040 --> 00:29:29,840
Speaker 4: But it's interesting because because we asked him about what

609
00:29:29,920 --> 00:29:32,160
Speaker 4: his reaction was like when he was watching the game,

610
00:29:32,200 --> 00:29:34,160
Speaker 4: and you know, we know what it's like the chaos

611
00:29:34,200 --> 00:29:36,640
Speaker 4: of a close game and in the press box, and

612
00:29:36,960 --> 00:29:39,200
Speaker 4: although it's got to be silent up there, the ment

613
00:29:39,560 --> 00:29:41,280
Speaker 4: your your fingers are kind of going all over the

614
00:29:41,320 --> 00:29:43,400
Speaker 4: places because you have to have a story prepared. If

615
00:29:43,400 --> 00:29:45,520
Speaker 4: the team wins the game, team loses the game, what's

616
00:29:45,520 --> 00:29:48,200
Speaker 4: your tweet gonna say? All that type of things, and

617
00:29:48,720 --> 00:29:52,040
Speaker 4: you when hey like that, the hail Mary. You never

618
00:29:52,720 --> 00:29:55,480
Speaker 4: prepare for something like that to happen. It's rare, as

619
00:29:55,600 --> 00:29:58,880
Speaker 4: Kevin was talking to us about, so to see and

620
00:29:59,040 --> 00:30:01,520
Speaker 4: know exactly what was about to happen, and to hear

621
00:30:01,640 --> 00:30:04,960
Speaker 4: Kevin's thought process and his mentality as it was taking

622
00:30:05,000 --> 00:30:06,280
Speaker 4: plays was pretty neat.

623
00:30:06,400 --> 00:30:06,880
Speaker 3: By the way.

624
00:30:06,920 --> 00:30:11,440
Speaker 1: With that loss, the Bears now are winless on the road.

625
00:30:11,680 --> 00:30:15,360
Speaker 1: They are four to zero at home, averaging almost thirty

626
00:30:15,400 --> 00:30:19,280
Speaker 1: points a game, allowing just over fifteen with a plus

627
00:30:19,360 --> 00:30:24,760
Speaker 1: eight turnover differential, away from Chicago zero to three, averaging

628
00:30:24,880 --> 00:30:28,600
Speaker 1: less than fifteen points a game, allowing more than nineteen,

629
00:30:28,960 --> 00:30:32,960
Speaker 1: and have a minus three turnover differential. Let's hope that continues.

630
00:30:33,000 --> 00:30:34,880
Speaker 1: Those numbers continue this week.

631
00:30:34,960 --> 00:30:36,640
Speaker 4: That's why you need the bird game to be loud

632
00:30:36,680 --> 00:30:39,680
Speaker 4: when that Bears offense is out on the field, because

633
00:30:39,960 --> 00:30:42,680
Speaker 4: you could tell that it does make a difference.

634
00:30:42,680 --> 00:30:44,200
Speaker 3: Home Field advantage.

635
00:30:43,760 --> 00:30:46,360
Speaker 4: Is a serious thing that these fans and mean that

636
00:30:46,400 --> 00:30:49,360
Speaker 4: these players talk about, and that the coaching staff is

637
00:30:49,520 --> 00:30:52,479
Speaker 4: very aware of. It changes silent counts, it changes all

638
00:30:52,520 --> 00:30:55,560
Speaker 4: these different things. And I'm sure that the Bears were

639
00:30:55,600 --> 00:30:59,120
Speaker 4: definitely frustrated that that loss happened on the road in

640
00:30:59,240 --> 00:31:01,720
Speaker 4: Washington because it was Mayhem and Maryland.

641
00:31:02,160 --> 00:31:05,200
Speaker 3: That was a good one. You're just I'm on every

642
00:31:05,240 --> 00:31:06,600
Speaker 3: today today.

643
00:31:07,280 --> 00:31:09,360
Speaker 1: Let's hope the Cardinals continue to be on a roll

644
00:31:09,520 --> 00:31:11,600
Speaker 1: this week, and then we can point back to Friday's

645
00:31:11,760 --> 00:31:15,680
Speaker 1: Cardinals cover two episode and have Zach as the beneficiary

646
00:31:15,720 --> 00:31:15,920
Speaker 1: of the.

647
00:31:15,920 --> 00:31:19,880
Speaker 3: Spur everything on. I'm gonna be the cliche guy. You've

648
00:31:19,880 --> 00:31:23,960
Speaker 3: got the enough cliches. We heard Kevin mention.

649
00:31:25,240 --> 00:31:28,600
Speaker 1: James Connor and how well he's running the football, and

650
00:31:29,000 --> 00:31:31,920
Speaker 1: how well the Bears have been against the run at

651
00:31:32,000 --> 00:31:36,080
Speaker 1: least middle of the pack. They're fourteenth defensively against the run.

652
00:31:36,680 --> 00:31:37,560
Speaker 3: Not great.

653
00:31:37,720 --> 00:31:40,040
Speaker 1: Last week they allowed a season high one hundred and

654
00:31:40,040 --> 00:31:43,760
Speaker 1: sixty eight yards to the Commanders. But this is a

655
00:31:43,800 --> 00:31:47,240
Speaker 1: big game for James Connor. It's a milestone game for him.

656
00:31:47,280 --> 00:31:51,040
Speaker 1: It's his one hundredth of his career fiftieth with the Cardinals.

657
00:31:51,080 --> 00:31:54,000
Speaker 1: And by the way, we've now seen Buddha Baker celebrate

658
00:31:54,040 --> 00:31:57,880
Speaker 1: his one hundredth career starts, Ball Nichols have his one

659
00:31:57,920 --> 00:32:01,360
Speaker 1: hundredth career game, and now James Connor with his one

660
00:32:01,440 --> 00:32:05,200
Speaker 1: hundredth career game. And again, numbers kind of mean different

661
00:32:05,200 --> 00:32:07,880
Speaker 1: things to different players, but I think one hundred is

662
00:32:07,920 --> 00:32:10,640
Speaker 1: one of those milestones, whether it's a starts or a

663
00:32:10,720 --> 00:32:15,560
Speaker 1: games played. Not a lot of NFL players reach one hundred.

664
00:32:15,960 --> 00:32:18,760
Speaker 1: Not a lot of people reach one. That's well, yeah,

665
00:32:18,760 --> 00:32:21,200
Speaker 1: you so to see you and I are a perfect example.

666
00:32:21,200 --> 00:32:26,640
Speaker 4: Weeks I'll put our games covered in the games played category. No,

667
00:32:26,840 --> 00:32:30,080
Speaker 4: it's very exciting, and I think what's fascinating is he

668
00:32:30,080 --> 00:32:33,320
Speaker 4: played in even fifty games with the Steelers and fifty

669
00:32:33,360 --> 00:32:35,640
Speaker 4: games with the Arizona Cardinals. I think with more people

670
00:32:36,000 --> 00:32:38,960
Speaker 4: most people think of James Connor from a national media lens,

671
00:32:39,120 --> 00:32:41,080
Speaker 4: they might think of his time in Pittsburgh because he

672
00:32:41,120 --> 00:32:42,880
Speaker 4: was the guy that came right out of pit, got

673
00:32:42,960 --> 00:32:45,680
Speaker 4: drafted by the hometown team, spent time in the same

674
00:32:45,760 --> 00:32:49,680
Speaker 4: facility he practicing in college at heinz Field and just

675
00:32:49,720 --> 00:32:53,960
Speaker 4: in the UPMC Medical Center. Facility that the Pittsburgh Steelers

676
00:32:54,000 --> 00:32:56,640
Speaker 4: and the pitt Panthers play in, and then he comes

677
00:32:56,640 --> 00:32:59,800
Speaker 4: over here to the Valley a completely new opportunity and

678
00:32:59,840 --> 00:33:04,000
Speaker 4: he he's made a very meaningful impact on this team,

679
00:33:04,040 --> 00:33:06,640
Speaker 4: in this organization. He's one of the best free agency

680
00:33:06,760 --> 00:33:09,440
Speaker 4: signings period just because you know what he's been able

681
00:33:09,440 --> 00:33:11,920
Speaker 4: to bring to the table. And a thousand yard season

682
00:33:11,960 --> 00:33:14,080
Speaker 4: last year. He's on pace to do that again if

683
00:33:14,080 --> 00:33:17,400
Speaker 4: he stays healthy. So it is exciting to see and

684
00:33:17,480 --> 00:33:21,880
Speaker 4: it's a big kudos to JC because johnathanan has called

685
00:33:21,920 --> 00:33:24,440
Speaker 4: him the blueprint for how he takes care of his body,

686
00:33:24,480 --> 00:33:27,520
Speaker 4: his leadership, and now he gets another milestone, you know,

687
00:33:27,680 --> 00:33:29,160
Speaker 4: notched under his belt, which is exciting.

688
00:33:29,280 --> 00:33:32,760
Speaker 1: Top ten in the league in rushing attempts, rushing yards,

689
00:33:32,840 --> 00:33:36,800
Speaker 1: and he has forced a league high fifty four missed tackles.

690
00:33:36,840 --> 00:33:39,160
Speaker 1: He is hard to bring down. We'll see what he

691
00:33:39,200 --> 00:33:42,160
Speaker 1: does this week against the Bears. Anything else about this matchup,

692
00:33:42,200 --> 00:33:45,160
Speaker 1: I know we didn't bring up Montes sweat with Kevin.

693
00:33:45,200 --> 00:33:49,080
Speaker 1: He's dealing with a shin issue. But there's someone that

694
00:33:49,160 --> 00:33:51,840
Speaker 1: I'm sure the Cardinals are very well aware of because

695
00:33:51,960 --> 00:33:55,480
Speaker 1: of what he did last year against the Cardinals and

696
00:33:55,720 --> 00:33:58,840
Speaker 1: overall when he joined the Chicago Bears. But Sweat is

697
00:33:58,960 --> 00:34:02,320
Speaker 1: second on the team in sacks, first in tackles for lost,

698
00:34:02,320 --> 00:34:04,560
Speaker 1: and oh yeah, he's also got six quarterback hits as well.

699
00:34:04,600 --> 00:34:04,719
Speaker 5: Well.

700
00:34:04,760 --> 00:34:07,360
Speaker 4: Even before they played the Bears a writer out Christmas

701
00:34:07,360 --> 00:34:08,880
Speaker 4: time last year, they played in Week one when he

702
00:34:08,960 --> 00:34:10,120
Speaker 4: was with the Washington.

703
00:34:10,280 --> 00:34:12,279
Speaker 1: Third time they've seen him in a year and a half.

704
00:34:12,400 --> 00:34:14,480
Speaker 3: It's like he's a division opponent at this point.

705
00:34:14,719 --> 00:34:17,040
Speaker 4: But yeah, it's gonna be. That's something you're gonna need

706
00:34:17,080 --> 00:34:20,040
Speaker 4: to be mindful of. I'm confident in this offensive line now.

707
00:34:20,040 --> 00:34:21,880
Speaker 4: We know Joan Williams is not gonna be out there.

708
00:34:22,040 --> 00:34:25,759
Speaker 4: But regardless of where Montes Sweat lines up, assuming he

709
00:34:25,800 --> 00:34:28,359
Speaker 4: plays in this game, I think that the Cardinals are

710
00:34:28,360 --> 00:34:30,759
Speaker 4: gonna have a good answer for him because think about

711
00:34:30,800 --> 00:34:32,919
Speaker 4: all the other edge players that they've had to face

712
00:34:32,960 --> 00:34:35,040
Speaker 4: this year. You face Nick Bosa already with the San

713
00:34:35,040 --> 00:34:38,160
Speaker 4: Francisco forty nine ers, you faced Aiden Hutchinson, and the

714
00:34:38,160 --> 00:34:40,000
Speaker 4: Cardinals have done a pretty solid job.

715
00:34:39,800 --> 00:34:42,600
Speaker 1: Limiting these guys, all right. So that is the matchup

716
00:34:42,680 --> 00:34:46,520
Speaker 1: on Sunday. Your advance on Asycardinals dot com to be

717
00:34:46,560 --> 00:34:50,760
Speaker 1: posted this weekend. How about a tease for the bird gag.

718
00:34:50,680 --> 00:34:52,160
Speaker 3: A little tease? Is this?

719
00:34:53,239 --> 00:34:55,600
Speaker 4: You gotta stay tuned for eight now? Well, yeah, just

720
00:34:55,600 --> 00:34:57,719
Speaker 4: don't break your ezy Cardinals. Don't break into song.

721
00:34:58,360 --> 00:35:00,200
Speaker 3: I will not do that.

722
00:35:01,600 --> 00:35:04,799
Speaker 4: The advance and what fans have the opportunity to read

723
00:35:04,800 --> 00:35:08,799
Speaker 4: about on Azycardinals dot Com starting on Saturday, is just

724
00:35:09,000 --> 00:35:11,840
Speaker 4: the importance of this game for both teams. For the

725
00:35:11,920 --> 00:35:15,759
Speaker 4: Chicago Bears bouncing back after that loss, what sort of

726
00:35:15,800 --> 00:35:19,600
Speaker 4: team responds, As we've talked about before with the Chicago Bears,

727
00:35:19,640 --> 00:35:21,880
Speaker 4: when you have a gut punch loss like that, do

728
00:35:22,040 --> 00:35:25,000
Speaker 4: you start to lose confidence, do you start to lose

729
00:35:25,000 --> 00:35:29,120
Speaker 4: team chemistry? Or do you stay connected and bounce back

730
00:35:29,160 --> 00:35:31,440
Speaker 4: because you want to wipe the taste out of your

731
00:35:31,480 --> 00:35:34,839
Speaker 4: mouth from that loss. For the Arizona Cardinals, you're right

732
00:35:34,880 --> 00:35:37,160
Speaker 4: in the hunt for playoff contention. And I'm not sure

733
00:35:37,160 --> 00:35:39,640
Speaker 4: that that's something that many people thought they would be

734
00:35:39,640 --> 00:35:42,480
Speaker 4: able to say going into this matchup in Week nine

735
00:35:42,520 --> 00:35:44,839
Speaker 4: against the Chicago Bears. But they're right in the thick

736
00:35:44,880 --> 00:35:47,319
Speaker 4: of it. They're in first place right now. Each win

737
00:35:47,840 --> 00:35:50,960
Speaker 4: is something more and more important, but also for each team,

738
00:35:51,080 --> 00:35:54,120
Speaker 4: considering that the forty nine ers the Seahawks and the

739
00:35:54,160 --> 00:35:56,640
Speaker 4: Cardinals are all four and four. Every win and every

740
00:35:56,719 --> 00:35:59,520
Speaker 4: loss matters even before you get into the latter half

741
00:35:59,600 --> 00:36:02,000
Speaker 4: of the Vision Games. So it's going to be an

742
00:36:02,040 --> 00:36:04,680
Speaker 4: important matchup. And I spoke with players like Roy Lopez

743
00:36:04,719 --> 00:36:07,840
Speaker 4: about just the human element of it. You know what

744
00:36:07,880 --> 00:36:10,799
Speaker 4: people were saying about you before the season began? Now

745
00:36:10,840 --> 00:36:12,719
Speaker 4: where are you at? So get ready to read about

746
00:36:12,719 --> 00:36:14,520
Speaker 4: that on Ezycardinals dot com.

747
00:36:14,200 --> 00:36:18,800
Speaker 1: Again full circle here. How do the Cardinals respond to success?

748
00:36:18,960 --> 00:36:21,200
Speaker 1: How do they deal with that success? How do they

749
00:36:21,239 --> 00:36:25,040
Speaker 1: deal with people talking about them glowingly? And are they

750
00:36:25,120 --> 00:36:29,440
Speaker 1: reading those press clippings cliche because no one reads a

751
00:36:29,480 --> 00:36:30,240
Speaker 1: newspaper anymore.

752
00:36:30,280 --> 00:36:35,480
Speaker 3: Everything's on their phone. But what's that? Yeah? What the newspaper? Yeah? Yeah, exactly.

753
00:36:35,920 --> 00:36:39,200
Speaker 1: Cardinals and Bears again kickoff two to oh five, So

754
00:36:39,280 --> 00:36:42,720
Speaker 1: zach pay attention to the new kickoff time because again,

755
00:36:42,960 --> 00:36:44,160
Speaker 1: time clocks is crazy.

756
00:36:44,320 --> 00:36:44,680
Speaker 3: I know it.

757
00:36:45,160 --> 00:36:47,920
Speaker 1: We don't change clock, but we just now are Mountain

758
00:36:47,960 --> 00:36:51,080
Speaker 1: Standard time, so we're an hour ahead of West Coast

759
00:36:51,200 --> 00:36:53,920
Speaker 1: and now two hours behind East Coast. I gotta look

760
00:36:53,960 --> 00:36:56,400
Speaker 1: up the history of that, because that's one of the

761
00:36:56,400 --> 00:36:58,200
Speaker 1: things that I was warned about when I moved out

762
00:36:58,200 --> 00:37:01,279
Speaker 1: here was time zone or time change is not a thing.

763
00:37:01,840 --> 00:37:03,360
Speaker 1: So now I got and now when I talk to

764
00:37:03,360 --> 00:37:05,240
Speaker 1: my people in the East Coast, it's only two hours.

765
00:37:05,400 --> 00:37:08,120
Speaker 3: My people, my people, okay.

766
00:37:07,840 --> 00:37:10,399
Speaker 4: My family, all right, my friends, there you go.

767
00:37:10,400 --> 00:37:11,880
Speaker 3: Your people, okay.

768
00:37:12,239 --> 00:37:17,680
Speaker 1: Number one, pay attention two of five kickoff nine thirty

769
00:37:17,680 --> 00:37:20,000
Speaker 1: pre game coverage and a reminder if you are headed

770
00:37:20,040 --> 00:37:22,520
Speaker 1: to the game at State Farm Stadium, a can food

771
00:37:22,600 --> 00:37:26,480
Speaker 1: drive to benefit United Food Bank, presented by Verizon. Cardinals,

772
00:37:26,560 --> 00:37:29,359
Speaker 1: looking to improve to five and four and run their

773
00:37:29,360 --> 00:37:32,600
Speaker 1: winning streak to three in a row, look forward to

774
00:37:32,600 --> 00:37:36,479
Speaker 1: seeing everyone out at the stadium on Sunday. On that note,

775
00:37:36,480 --> 00:37:38,520
Speaker 1: we will put a lid on this edition of Cardinals.

776
00:37:38,520 --> 00:37:41,680
Speaker 1: Cover two, presented by Hundai, probably partner of the Arizona Cardinals,

777
00:37:41,760 --> 00:37:44,560
Speaker 1: has always special thanks to our executive producer Jim Mamhundra,

778
00:37:44,840 --> 00:37:47,839
Speaker 1: our associhip producer Coddy Fincher for Zach Gershman, I'm Craig

779
00:37:47,880 --> 00:37:49,600
Speaker 1: real Lou. We'll talk to you next time here on

780
00:37:49,680 --> 00:37:50,719
Speaker 1: Cardinals Cover two,