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Speaker 1: Steven, good afternoon, Thanks for making time for us, buddy. Absolutely, guys,

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Speaker 1: great to be on right on. It's great to have you.

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Speaker 1: I guess, first question, how bad does Dak want to

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Speaker 1: play right now? Has he accepted it or is he

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Speaker 1: still blowing you guys up now we're about to have

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Speaker 1: to incarcerat him. I think he's so ready to go

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Speaker 1: in his mind, he's ready to roll. So, you know,

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Speaker 1: like we said, we got almost protected from himself, but

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Speaker 1: in a good way. I mean, he's just such a

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Speaker 1: fiery competitor and so wants to be out there working

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Speaker 1: and I'm sure you saw bits and pieces of it

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Speaker 1: getting the feel for it off hard knocks. But he's

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Speaker 1: a you know, he just he wants to be out

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Speaker 1: there and working like that. But he'll be just fine.

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Speaker 1: As we said, just do it our way and this

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Speaker 1: thing's gonna work out perfect well, Steven. As we both know,

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Speaker 1: Todd Archer is a troublemaker and he's out here stirning

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Speaker 1: it up. This morning, he tweeted out teams are eyeing

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Speaker 1: a move for Connor McGovern in a potential trade, but

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Speaker 1: the Cowboys would be reluctant to deal him. Do we

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Speaker 1: have any dats on that as the phone phone's ringing. Well,

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Speaker 1: you know, as we all know, and as we saw

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Speaker 1: last year, just because you have you might have your

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Speaker 1: starting five, which certainly hadn't real kinder f mc govern

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Speaker 1: out starting. He's still competing his ass off. But man,

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Speaker 1: you gotta have seven or eight of these guys to

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Speaker 1: make it through a season. So I'd find it really

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Speaker 1: hard to see us wanting to do anything that would

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Speaker 1: hurt us in that area right there, Stephen, Do you

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Speaker 1: feel like that the draft GUIDs did you a favor

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Speaker 1: by drop by dropping Parsons in your lap? We do.

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Speaker 1: I mean, we just see it every day out there,

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Speaker 1: and I'm sure you know those of you who get

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Speaker 1: to be out of practice and see parts of it

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Speaker 1: can feel it too. I Mean, this guy is just

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Speaker 1: a ball hawk. He's around it. He brings a lot

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Speaker 1: of multiple things that you that he can do to

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Speaker 1: make our defense better, whether it's rushing, whether it's dropping,

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Speaker 1: or whether it's just sideline to sideline with his rare speed.

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Speaker 1: You know, I just think we've got us a you know,

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Speaker 1: a football player that's going to make a big, big

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Speaker 1: difference on our defense this year. How much better do

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Speaker 1: you think it's going to be. Well, I don't see

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Speaker 1: any reason why it can't be, uh, you know, a

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Speaker 1: top half of the league. And uh where that falls

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Speaker 1: in the top half yet, uh, you know that yet

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Speaker 1: to be seen. But uh, you know, just as I

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Speaker 1: said all along, I think it starts with our coordinator,

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Speaker 1: who's uh, you know, just really brought a lot to

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Speaker 1: the table in terms of, you know, his energy, his

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Speaker 1: communication skills. It's made its way for the assistant coaches

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Speaker 1: down to the players in terms of how they communicate

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Speaker 1: with one another as coaches and players, and then player

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Speaker 1: to player on the field. The communications outstanding and love

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Speaker 1: the scheme. The players are playing fast. It feels like

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Speaker 1: they know what they're doing. And you know, people say,

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Speaker 1: how can you expect to go from you know, one

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Speaker 1: of the lower defenses in the league to top half? Again,

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Speaker 1: I said, the same reason we went so quickly to

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Speaker 1: the top half of the league. Personnel. We've invested in

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Speaker 1: the off season in the personnel, whether it was free

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Speaker 1: agency or the draft, and I feel like they're I

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Speaker 1: coached up and ready to play fast and uh and

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Speaker 1: make place. And Stephen you mentioned McGovern still fighting to

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Speaker 1: try to be a starter on this team, how many

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Speaker 1: other positions on this team still have that going on

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Speaker 1: when there is a battle. The name I think of

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Speaker 1: is Maurice Kennedy and Jordan Lewis. With Kennedy making plays

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Speaker 1: every day out there, how many guys are realistically still

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Speaker 1: fighting for a starting job. Well, that's it's been one

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Speaker 1: of the more competitive camps we've had. I mean you

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Speaker 1: mentioned linebacker. I mean we've got four really good linebackers,

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Speaker 1: with a lot of them having different skill sets. But uh,

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Speaker 1: you know when you talk about Mike and Neil and

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Speaker 1: then of course Laton and Jayalen. Uh there as you're

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Speaker 1: you know, as you're especially you're start you know, starting

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Speaker 1: at all off in the rundowns. But you know, it's

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Speaker 1: just a really competitive group there. I think the safety

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Speaker 1: groups getting really competitive. I mean, you've got a curse

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Speaker 1: and now Hookers has gone the scene. DT does everything

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Speaker 1: the right way and they're all pushing Kazee and and Donovan.

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

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Speaker 1: competitive group. A young guy is is making plays back there,

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Speaker 1: so you know that's a very competitive group. And then uh,

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Speaker 1: you know you've got our our corners, our young corners,

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Speaker 1: or pushing a b and uh, you know, to hold

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Speaker 1: on to his spote. Obviously Diggs is entrenched, but you know,

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Speaker 1: it's just a it's a competitive, competitive camp for us. Steven,

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Speaker 1: when when Jeff and I were evaluating the draft at

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Speaker 1: Hooker came out of I felt like he was one

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Speaker 1: of the top defensive players in the draft at that time.

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Speaker 1: Indianapolis grabs him. Was he one of those guys. I'm

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Speaker 1: not going to ask where he sat on your board,

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Speaker 1: but is the reason why you've guys have kind of

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Speaker 1: stayed after this so long is that you had hit.

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Speaker 1: You had some really good positive reports and thoughts about him. Absolutely, Ryan,

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Speaker 1: I mean, we had him right there where everybody else

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Speaker 1: had him. Top ten type defensive player and a playmaker.

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Speaker 1: And you know, he's just been unfortunate. He's had a

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Speaker 1: lot of injuries and uh, you know in his career

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Speaker 1: and he's coming off in Achilles, and uh, you know,

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Speaker 1: they've held him back some. But uh, you know, we

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Speaker 1: just see we certainly see what made us like him

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Speaker 1: coming out and practice. Now that he's working back into practice,

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Speaker 1: if we're gonna get to get a he's gonna get

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Speaker 1: some good work in the game. You know Tomar against

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Speaker 1: the Texans and then even more work hopefully against the Jaguars,

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Speaker 1: and you know, feel good about him. Stephen. There was

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Speaker 1: a report yesterday Jalen Smith is going to be transitioning

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Speaker 1: to a role which includes special teams. Would you be

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Speaker 1: more of a backup role? Can you confirm that at

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Speaker 1: this time? No, not at all. They're they're all competing. Uh,

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Speaker 1: you know between George Edwards and Dan. They're communicating with

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Speaker 1: all four of those guys and they feel about what

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Speaker 1: their roles are going to be and they're very comfortable

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Speaker 1: with the what that is. But no way, what I

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Speaker 1: confirmed that's accurate at all. Okay, are you guys looking

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Speaker 1: at at backup quarterback going into these final two games?

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Speaker 1: Is that role for for Gilbert or another player essentially

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Speaker 1: on the line in these games? Well, I think Gilbert

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Speaker 1: and Cooper got to continue to work and they're fighting

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Speaker 1: for that number two spot and obviously Gilbert's has got

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Speaker 1: a little advantage there, but uh, you know, they're obviously

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Speaker 1: working to hold onto that role there. But as I

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Speaker 1: sent time and time again, player acquisitions three hundred and

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Speaker 1: sixty five days a year, and we're always looking to

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Speaker 1: get better and you know, they're not only competing against

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Speaker 1: each other, but they're competing against other people in the NFL,

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Speaker 1: just as people at other positions on our football we

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Speaker 1: were doing the same thing. All right. I know you

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Speaker 1: got a busy afternoon, but I do have one more

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Speaker 1: question for you, Steve. And I saw that Terrell Owens

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Speaker 1: said somebody in the NFL told him to stay in shape.

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Speaker 1: That wasn't you, guys, was it. I think you look

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Speaker 1: at our receiving corps and see that we're feeling pretty

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Speaker 1: good about our don't need a veteran fourth or seventh guy.

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Speaker 1: You guys are loaded in, appreciate, hopefully like our group,

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Speaker 1: and we've liked the group behind our top three. There's

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Speaker 1: a you know a lot of reasons too. I feel

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Speaker 1: good about, you know, our six or seven guys we

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Speaker 1: have over there. Stephen. Are you aware of the existence

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Speaker 1: of the Governor's Cup. That's what we're playing for this

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Speaker 1: weekend is the Governor's Cup. So I'm looking for a

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Speaker 1: w here. Well, we are too. We always want to

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Speaker 1: win the game, and uh certainly we're gonna go out

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Speaker 1: there and get better and hopefully we can take that

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Speaker 1: Governor's Cup home with us. Sounds good man, getting held

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Speaker 1: down there, we'll be pulling for you. Sounds great. Guys,

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Speaker 1: Take care, yes, sir, There he goes. The great Steven

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Speaker 1: Jones with you on one oh five three. The Fan