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Speaker 1: This is the Drive with Dale Lolly and Matt Williamson,

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Speaker 1: home of the Black and Gold Steelers Nation Radio. Welcome

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Speaker 1: to the Drive. I'm Dale Lolly here with Matt Williamson.

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Speaker 1: It is a Friday here in Pittsburgh, and well, all

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Speaker 1: kinds of stuff happenings of stuff around the league. It's

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Speaker 1: almost like as the world turns here. Every every five minutes,

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Speaker 1: something different is happening. And um, at least from a

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Speaker 1: Steeler's perspective, kind of calm, kind of calm. Titans too, right,

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Speaker 1: strangely enough, UM, fun game last night. You know, we

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Speaker 1: got COVID news popping left and right. There's talk of

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Speaker 1: moving games even as we record this. Yeah, I am

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Speaker 1: not in favor of moving games at this late, this

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Speaker 1: late in the season, because the NFL at the beginning

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Speaker 1: of Yeah, all the buys are gone. The NFL came

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Speaker 1: out at the beginning of the season said we will

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Speaker 1: not move games this year. That's what they said. Yeah,

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Speaker 1: it's been discussed there. There will be no movement of games.

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Speaker 1: We've given you an expanded roster, We've given you ability,

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Speaker 1: the ability to sign guys immediately and do all this stuff.

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Speaker 1: This isn't new anymore. You don't know what you're getting into, right,

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Speaker 1: And oh, by the way, you know this, this o

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Speaker 1: macron variant of covid um doesn't look nearly as virulent

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Speaker 1: as as the previous um. And then they changed the rules.

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Speaker 1: But if you were the Chiefs and the Chargers last night,

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Speaker 1: the NFL comes out in the afternoon and says, hey,

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Speaker 1: we're gonna change the rules here if you have if

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Speaker 1: you have a test um you know and you and

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Speaker 1: you test negative the next day, you can play. Well,

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Speaker 1: that was too late. Let's say if Chris Jones, who

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Speaker 1: had been on it was a big major part of Hey, yeah,

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Speaker 1: he's the chief best defensive player. Let's say he tested

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Speaker 1: negative yesterday. Sorry, sorry, those rules aren't like you gotta

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Speaker 1: keep but not you too. You gotta keep everything on

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Speaker 1: equal ground for every team. Yes, um, a couple of

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Speaker 1: things unpeeled there is. First of all, I had a

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Speaker 1: problem with the movings of the games last year. Absolutely

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Speaker 1: not just because it was this is not something new, right,

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Speaker 1: I mean not just because it was a Steelers. But

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Speaker 1: the Steelers got the short end of the stick, kind

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Speaker 1: of got screwed out of a by playing on weird

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Speaker 1: days of the they've played. They've already played a couple

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Speaker 1: of games without Ben Roethlisberger in the last yeah, two years,

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Speaker 1: they played without making Fitzpatrick. I mean, they've dealt with

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Speaker 1: this and you just move on. You just play. Um

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Speaker 1: the two teams that got that weren't applicable last night.

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Speaker 1: I do think those rule changes are good, though, I

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Speaker 1: mean it sounds like they're not. As you know, one

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Speaker 1: one clean test, great good, Okay, that makes sense. Obviously

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Speaker 1: the league is pushing these players to get vaccinated too,

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Speaker 1: because if you're not, actually, you know, that'smatically outre and

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Speaker 1: it still boggles my mind that more aren't. But whatever,

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Speaker 1: that's up to them. Um. As for this week, I'm

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Speaker 1: gonna steal your words. The Raiders are the ones really

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Speaker 1: getting the short end of the Still there's no in

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Speaker 1: because of the travel and you know they gotta leave.

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Speaker 1: They're not playing like any minute. You know, right what

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Speaker 1: they could have practiced today, they practice. They you know,

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Speaker 1: the guys are getting ready to make a trip, so

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Speaker 1: they you know, they do everything again right now. And

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Speaker 1: in Vegas it's noon. We're recording this to Eastern by

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Speaker 1: the way, and you know that they're they're probably getting

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Speaker 1: ready to get on the plane. So they had a

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Speaker 1: practice early in the morning. Now all of a sudden,

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Speaker 1: you say, well, now we're gonna we're gonna push the

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Speaker 1: game back till Tuesday. So you send all them home

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Speaker 1: as opposed to doing football stuff and working and you know, right,

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Speaker 1: and how do you handle tomorrow and all those type

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Speaker 1: of things. Hey, I feel for the Browns and Washington

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Speaker 1: and all that. I mean, it's that's a shame. All

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Speaker 1: the all the complaining about this has come out of Cleveland. Right.

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Speaker 1: The Rams in Washington have just as many, if not

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Speaker 1: more players on the COVID list and then the Browns do.

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Speaker 1: But the Browns are the only team complain thing about it. Oh,

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Speaker 1: by the way, J C. Treader, who's the NFL p

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Speaker 1: A president place for the Browns. Yeah, that's a conflict,

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Speaker 1: conflict of interest, you know, I'm sorry. I mean, I understand,

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Speaker 1: these are big games. There's jobs at Steak, there's playoff

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Speaker 1: spots at Steak. But we kind of knew what we

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Speaker 1: were getting into. I mean, last year was new material,

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Speaker 1: was new ground, such as life, you know, I mean,

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Speaker 1: we're gonna adapt on the fly. This this isn't what

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Speaker 1: I planned on talking about. But I still think having

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Speaker 1: to buy weeks is the best thing for this league

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Speaker 1: because then you don't have short weeks on Thursdays to

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Speaker 1: begin with, and have you know, if YOU'RENNA talk about

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Speaker 1: players safety, would give you're a little more flexibility when

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Speaker 1: bad things happen. Scheduling wise, Maybe not this late in

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Speaker 1: the year. You're not gonna have a second by week seventeen,

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Speaker 1: but that would be helpful too, And that's not built

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Speaker 1: into the process. Um, I don't know. I don't have

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Speaker 1: a lot. It just strikes me like one of the

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Speaker 1: arguments that that I saw by Baker Mayfield put out there,

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Speaker 1: this is about players safety. Okay, Baker tell me this.

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Speaker 1: Then you play next Saturday too. Oh they on Saturday

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Speaker 1: back to back because they play Christmas Day. So how

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Speaker 1: is it beneficial for your guys to play on Tuesday

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Speaker 1: if the game gets moved to Tuesday and then go

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Speaker 1: turn around a play on Saturday, a long week. Now,

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Speaker 1: sure you're healthy, but how's it gonna be on the

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Speaker 1: back end of this thing? Play you play the game.

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Speaker 1: I think you played the game if you have enough,

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Speaker 1: If you have enough players and they do you play

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Speaker 1: the football game? Yeah? I mean I feel for Cleveland

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Speaker 1: and Washington, and I mean Washington and Philly. You're sort

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Speaker 1: of battling for a playoff spot. The Rams are. The

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Speaker 1: Rams are playing like obviously, you know, if the Rams

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Speaker 1: lose on on Sunday, all the momentum that they gain

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Speaker 1: by beating Arizona last week out the window because of COVID.

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Speaker 1: But you knew this was a possibility. Yeah, And that's

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Speaker 1: the thing is you started this season. You got on

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Speaker 1: the roller coaster knowing even if I throw up, I'm

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Speaker 1: still gonna finish the world coaster. You mean, you're on

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Speaker 1: the ride. You're you're You're here, and they in Philly.

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Speaker 1: Things interesting to me because they play this week, then

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Speaker 1: there's one in between, and they play again next week.

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Speaker 1: It's a crucial, crucial stretch. But you can't be altering plans,

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Speaker 1: you know, I mean, you gotta play it out again.

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Speaker 1: The Raiders are getting on a plane here. I mean,

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Speaker 1: no one cares about that Baltimore might not have their

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Speaker 1: quarterback because you've heard his ankle. I don't think it's

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Speaker 1: much different, you know what I mean? Frankly, it's it's

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Speaker 1: it's really is no different than if if the flu

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Speaker 1: went through somebody's building, and you didn't have seven or

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Speaker 1: eight guys available, And that's happened many times in n

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Speaker 1: without a doubt, and you and you had seven other

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Speaker 1: guys that were out with injuries. You know, the Steelers.

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Speaker 1: The Steelers played their playoff game what year was it?

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Speaker 1: Seventy six with Reggie Harrison at running back because because

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Speaker 1: Frankie and Rocky Rocky were Franco and Rocky were hurt,

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Speaker 1: Like you just play? Can't we postpone this a couple

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Speaker 1: of weeks? No, because if you move this, what happens

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Speaker 1: if it happens in the playoffs? Oh might you're gonna

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Speaker 1: move a playoff game? Right? I mean you can't. You can't.

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Speaker 1: You can't set that precedent. I think it's I think

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Speaker 1: you'd be the wrong decision, Frankly, So I don't know,

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Speaker 1: maybe even during this broadcast will find out if there

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Speaker 1: is a decision, But I think you're the thing that

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Speaker 1: whatever takes into account. It's kind of like we talked

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Speaker 1: about earlier and what how how they affected the Steelers

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Speaker 1: last year? Is how do I pre prep for this game?

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Speaker 1: And I have no skin in the game except for

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Speaker 1: I'm gonna go play it. I mean, if I got

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Speaker 1: to alter my practice schedule or get on a plane

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Speaker 1: and then land and come back home or something crazy.

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Speaker 1: The Raiders sitting on the runway right now, waiting and

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Speaker 1: then all of a sudden the league comes up today.

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Speaker 1: By the way, you're not going to play until and

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Speaker 1: then you get off there like no, that doesn't in

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Speaker 1: the air. They call you back and like, oh I

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Speaker 1: because there's more COVID test Clowney was today. I mean,

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Speaker 1: and as you guys, as you mentioned before, it doesn't

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Speaker 1: mean that the Brownies are gonna be a lot healthier

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Speaker 1: on Monday or Tuesday. Not only that, but they could

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Speaker 1: get six or seven guys back tomorrow. We don't know, yeah, right,

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Speaker 1: especially the new rules, right yeah, we don't know who's

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Speaker 1: vactually and who isn't in all that kind of So

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Speaker 1: to me, it's to me it's a non star to

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Speaker 1: leave it as it is, you know, And I want

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Speaker 1: I did. I don't know if where was the NFL

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Speaker 1: p A on this last year. Yeah, I don't know.

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Speaker 1: I'm not sure. I didn't hear. I didn't hear them

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Speaker 1: banging the table on this. We can't play these games,

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Speaker 1: shafe like it just strikes me as somewhat self serving.

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Speaker 1: There's also a bunch of fans that don't have millions

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Speaker 1: of dollars that can change things at a whim, that

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Speaker 1: are making you know, they got tickets and they're gonna

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Speaker 1: go to this game, but they can't go on Tuesday,

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Speaker 1: Cleveland today, and they're getting to Cleveland today for to

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Speaker 1: go for this game, right right, Like, Hey, I got

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Speaker 1: a life here too. I mean, I can't just call

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Speaker 1: my office and say I'm not gonna be here maybe

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Speaker 1: until Wednesday, or you know, I'm gonna stay in Cleveland, right,

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Speaker 1: I'm just gonna drop everything. Yeah, I'm just not a

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Speaker 1: fan of it. Play the game. You have enough players,

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Speaker 1: play the game. And they have enough players, right, and

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Speaker 1: the rosters were expanded and they've prepped for this. And

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Speaker 1: the Broncos played a game without a quarterback last year.

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Speaker 1: I don't seem that we for that. It's also ironic

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Speaker 1: that this is happening potentially to the Raiders. If you

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Speaker 1: remember the Raiders last year went into they had a

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Speaker 1: whole week where they didn't have their entire offensive line.

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Speaker 1: Oh right, right right, and then they got a couple

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Speaker 1: of those guys back on Saturday, the day before the game,

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Speaker 1: and they a couple of them played, not all of them,

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Speaker 1: but a couple of them. But they played the game.

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Speaker 1: They played again, right, And I don't think either one

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Speaker 1: of us is saying this because the Browns being hit

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Speaker 1: so hard by COVID. We both been very consistent on this.

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Speaker 1: We didn't like it last year when they moved to

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Speaker 1: Steelers games around. I don't like it this year. I

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Speaker 1: don't like moving games. No. I mean, I think it

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Speaker 1: really hurts the Raiders and the Eagles. Washington game to

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Speaker 1: me is the more pressing one because those two are

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Speaker 1: division rivals fighting for one spot. Yeah, I mean the

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Speaker 1: Seahawks Rams is a big deal. Yeah. Yeah. People don't

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Speaker 1: gonna be talking about the Rams, but they should be.

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Speaker 1: I mean, they got a ton of them too, big

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Speaker 1: dame guys, right, you know, So I just I don't

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Speaker 1: I'm not in favor of if they If they do it,

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Speaker 1: I think it's a huge mistake. I think it opens

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Speaker 1: a can of worms because you just said you weren't

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Speaker 1: going to right no matter what. That was the that

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Speaker 1: was the edict that came down at the beginning of

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Speaker 1: the sea. We're not gonna do what we did last year.

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Speaker 1: We're not going to move games. And then all of

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Speaker 1: a sudden, you move a game, and I keep getting

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Speaker 1: blurbs on my phone. There are inactive discussions as we speak.

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Speaker 1: You know, are they're gonna do it or not? I

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Speaker 1: bet they do. It wouldn't surprise me. It's just my hunch.

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Speaker 1: I think I bet they do. But again, we know

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Speaker 1: money rules the day. What are the TV people on

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Speaker 1: Saturday gonna say. We're like, oh, you're gonna give me

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Speaker 1: a Tuesday at four o'clock game, thanks a lot. Everyone's

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Speaker 1: sitting on their couch holiday season watching Brownies Raiders with

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Speaker 1: no college football. That's why they have the st games

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Speaker 1: right now, because there's no college football to to fight

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Speaker 1: with here. You've got a lot of eyeballs on those games,

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Speaker 1: if you know. And then the sponsors I bought spots

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Speaker 1: on that game. You're not giving like that now the TVs,

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Speaker 1: you know, television has to start paying money back to

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Speaker 1: the sponsors were giving them others lots somewhere else and

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Speaker 1: and happy, Yeah, nobody's happy. UM, don't talk big picture analytics,

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Speaker 1: go for it. Let's do it, okay, because that's been

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Speaker 1: a big topic after the last night's game. UM, for

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Speaker 1: those didn't watch, the Chargers are very young, coach analytically

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Speaker 1: driven team went forward five times on fourth down. They

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Speaker 1: got four of them hindsight today or two of them.

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Speaker 1: I'm if they had gotten four of them. Nobody's talking

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Speaker 1: about the genius stalius um clearly, and there's some Monday

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Speaker 1: morning quarterback going on here. If they kick field goals

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Speaker 1: and they go through the uprights, the Chargers probably win

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Speaker 1: that game. It doesn't go to over time there, so

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Speaker 1: be it. I got a couple of takes on it.

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Speaker 1: First of all, I think people know I'm into analytics.

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Speaker 1: I think it's a very very useful tool. And I'm

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Speaker 1: probably steal your thunder here a little bit that no

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Speaker 1: mathematician can tell you if your field goal kicker has

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Speaker 1: a bad hamstring, or if it's a windy day, or

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Speaker 1: if you're left guard and center camp block Aaron Donald

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Speaker 1: or your quarterbacks off that day, I mean, or just

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Speaker 1: you don't have a play humane leave. Yeah, I mean,

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Speaker 1: you don't have the right play on fourth and five

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Speaker 1: that you think can convert. And I also bugs me

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Speaker 1: that everyone always just says, well take the three. Well,

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Speaker 1: the ball doesn't always go in the uprights. You know.

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Speaker 1: I mean, it's not always a sure thing. But one

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Speaker 1: of my favorite aspects of this, just to bring it

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Speaker 1: back to the Steelers, is what coach Tomlins said after

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Speaker 1: the Ravens game. It's like, if you know that the

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Speaker 1: opponent is married to analytics, well they're easier to play

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Speaker 1: against because they're predictable. Now, yeah, and everyone knows the book,

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Speaker 1: some follow it, some don't. You're not sneaky. So if

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Speaker 1: you know the Ravens Chargers are gonna go for it

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Speaker 1: on fourth down, you play third down like it's second down.

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Speaker 1: You know, you called different defenses, you know you you

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Speaker 1: know what the opponent's gonna do, because they do every time.

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Speaker 1: And so what I'm curious about is, okay, going for

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Speaker 1: it on fourth downd by the numbers, not the human

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Speaker 1: element was smart analytically three years ago, four years ago,

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Speaker 1: when not ever in the world knew you were doing it.

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Speaker 1: But now that I know that, you know that, I

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Speaker 1: know that, you know. I'm curious this summer when the

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Speaker 1: analytics folks go back and have a year's worth more

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Speaker 1: of data with everyone on the same page, maybe they'll

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Speaker 1: say that has changed. You know what I mean, It's

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Speaker 1: almost like you know, went back in twenty team when

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Speaker 1: the Steelers were going for a lot of two point conversions. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

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Speaker 1: So defensively, um, when you prepped to play the Steelers,

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Speaker 1: you probably worked on a lot of two point defense.

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Speaker 1: I would imagine we needn't work in our short yardage,

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Speaker 1: you know, goal line type defense stuff, and so you

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Speaker 1: prep for it. You know, it's that the element of

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Speaker 1: surprise is gone. It's gone, right right right. The Chargers

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Speaker 1: are now fifteen twenty six on fourth downs this year. Okay,

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Speaker 1: so that's that's great, that sounds good. But you turned

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Speaker 1: the football over eleven times at the same spot you

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Speaker 1: had you possessed it. That's what I was about to say.

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Speaker 1: Miss field goals, you cast yourself forty plus yards a

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Speaker 1: field position, yes, without question, or three points whatever it

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Speaker 1: may be. It's not a fifty. It's not if oh

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Speaker 1: you're over, it's a good call because the consequences are bad.

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Speaker 1: Losing a fourth down or missing a field goal is

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Speaker 1: exactly the same as a turnover, you know. Like it's funny.

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Speaker 1: I just started looking at the Chiefs this morning. The

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Speaker 1: Chiefs after after that game, the Chiefs turnover ratio is zero.

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Speaker 1: They've missed as many field goals as they've made this year,

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Speaker 1: so stay zero. But there plus eleven on fourth dound conversions.

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Speaker 1: Now that stuff matters. I mean, so really they're a

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Speaker 1: plus eleven turnover team, even though over one's gonna say, oh,

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Speaker 1: they're even you know, they're making up for you know,

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Speaker 1: where they were bad earlier in the year. The other

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Speaker 1: thing is yeah, yeah. The other thing is disingenuous about

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Speaker 1: it is when people talk about, oh, he's trusting his offense.

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Speaker 1: I don't like that either, right, because that tells me

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Speaker 1: then he doesn't. He either doesn't trust his defense or

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Speaker 1: he doesn't trust he doesn't trust his offense to get

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Speaker 1: down there again, right right, right, right, It works both ways.

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Speaker 1: You know, if you kick the field opening drive, they

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Speaker 1: get down there. There's fourth and goal from the two. Okay, um,

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Speaker 1: you kicked the field goal there to take a three

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Speaker 1: nothing lead. He goes for it. He's saying, out of

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Speaker 1: the gate, Well, we don't think that we can hold

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Speaker 1: the We don't think we can hold the Chiefs the

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Speaker 1: entire game. We don't think our defense is good enough.

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Speaker 1: We don't we think we're gonna get into an offensive shootout,

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Speaker 1: which the game was not, but it really wasn't right

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Speaker 1: until until late in the game. The other thing, if

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Speaker 1: he's going to live by the book of analytics, the

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Speaker 1: analytics say that when you scored to go up to

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Speaker 1: thirteam before you kicked the extra point, you go for

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Speaker 1: two early in the fourth quarter, you're already up seven.

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Speaker 1: He missed. That doesn't make eight. Doesn't make a big

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Speaker 1: difference as nine does. Scores nine two scores. You need

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Speaker 1: another possession. Possessions are what the whole key. It's all

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Speaker 1: about possessions. And when it comes down to it is

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Speaker 1: if I move on lose on fourth down, I am

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Speaker 1: handing the football to the opponent. You only get eleven

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Speaker 1: or twelve of them per game. It's like an extra

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Speaker 1: inning of it. Bats. The Chargers didn't punt. They made

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Speaker 1: a big deal of this on the Chargers making their

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Speaker 1: first punt on their last possession in regulation. That's when

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Speaker 1: they punted. They never touched the ball again, Oh right right,

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Speaker 1: They pointed and boom. They punted it once. But they

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Speaker 1: turned the football over on downs three times, and they

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Speaker 1: and they threw an interception. Those are the same as turnovers. Again,

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Speaker 1: I'm all four being more aggressive than the old school

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Speaker 1: coaches on fourth down, but not black and white yes

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Speaker 1: or no, going into the game and not deciding it.

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Speaker 1: And you remember when the Ravens lost to Derrick Henry

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Speaker 1: in two or three playoffs seasons ago, and Lamar set

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Speaker 1: the record for most every yards by a human being,

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Speaker 1: and they went for it a whole bunch of times,

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Speaker 1: for it a whole bunch of times. And I think

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Speaker 1: they went for it like five times. They got one

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Speaker 1: of them or zero of them. Right, that's why they lost.

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Speaker 1: You know what I mean. Everyone can play. They don't

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Speaker 1: have a passing game. They can't win this league, well,

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Speaker 1: not when you hand the ball the other team five

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Speaker 1: times at midfield or wherever. Sometimes it's better to play

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Speaker 1: field position. And that's the human element of the game.

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Speaker 1: Are you throwing the ball to Jared Cook on fourth down,

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Speaker 1: which quite frankly is at fifty proposition about whether he's

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Speaker 1: gonna get going to catch it or not. Are you

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Speaker 1: throwing the ball to to Donald Parham and all of

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Speaker 1: a sudden he's gonna bang his head on the on

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Speaker 1: the it's the human element of him, yeah, exactly. You

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Speaker 1: know it's different to me on Madden when they catch

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Speaker 1: the ball. You know that this. I threw the ball

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Speaker 1: to this guy and he catches it every single time

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Speaker 1: there's no win. Yeah, hey, you got something clicking. They

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Speaker 1: can't stop Jerome bad this on fourth and one to

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Speaker 1: save their life. I'm gonna do it on my own

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Speaker 1: two yard line. I mean, they lost a fumble to

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Speaker 1: that was one of the other you know, So I

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Speaker 1: don't know. I just don't think that the answer is

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Speaker 1: you're right or you're wrong. And I've been very critical

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Speaker 1: of Tomlin over the years, and he's one of the

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Speaker 1: most conservatives on fourth down. I think he could be

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Speaker 1: more aggressive. I'm not gonna take back what I said,

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Speaker 1: but he is less predictable, you know. I mean again,

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Speaker 1: if I know that guy is going forward on every

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Speaker 1: fourth down, that isn't crazy fourth and twelve or deep

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Speaker 1: in your own end, I'm going to play him differently

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Speaker 1: on third you know. You know it's commonly makes a

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Speaker 1: huge difference, it does, you know. And there's a lot

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Speaker 1: more data now and everybody knows now it's not like, boy,

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Speaker 1: this analytically driven team so far ahead of everybody else.

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Speaker 1: The Jags No. Two and even though they you know,

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Speaker 1: this isn't secrets. If you and I know that every

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Speaker 1: team knows. So looking at that Chargers team, they're now

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Speaker 1: eight and six. They've get the Texans, the Broncos and

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Speaker 1: Raiders coming up. They're Gonnafiefs are going division, but they're

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Speaker 1: gonna be a wild card because of that lost less.

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Speaker 1: If they win that game, they're probably probably win a division.

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Speaker 1: Chiefs are strong. We'll talk a lot of Chiefs next week.

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Speaker 1: I mean, they've won seven in a row. Um. I

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Speaker 1: came away from that game feeling better about both teams

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Speaker 1: than I did going into the game. I thought my

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Speaker 1: Homes played better, but didn't look like my homes. Chiefs

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Speaker 1: D was a letdown, but Charges ran on them. Yeah

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Speaker 1: a lot, almost alost two hundred yards in that game.

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Speaker 1: Herbert was and it wasn't Herbert running it like it

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Speaker 1: was it was. It was legit. Yeah, running down the

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Speaker 1: throat without your star left tackle, your star rookie left.

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Speaker 1: Their offensive line was all banged up, Chris Jones was out,

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Speaker 1: but still Chiefs D to me wasn't all that impressive

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Speaker 1: at all. But I think both those teams are good

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Speaker 1: and they're both going to postseason. Yeah, they're both they're

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Speaker 1: both in um so uh Yeah, we'll talk a little

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Speaker 1: bit more here about the UH. I don't even know

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Speaker 1: if we if we should go over all the games

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Speaker 1: this week as we usually hard to talk about. Yeah,

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Speaker 1: we don't know, we don't know what's gonna happen, but

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Speaker 1: we well, and we'll talk about the Steelers game. Um,

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Speaker 1: we'll do that when we come back. He is Matt Williamson.

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Speaker 1: I'm Dale Lally. You're listening to the drive here on

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Speaker 1: Steelers Nation Radio. We'll get the injury report as well

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Speaker 1: as soon as they come out. We have some ideas

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Speaker 1: about who's in who's out with the Titans. Still waiting

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Speaker 1: on the Steelers final injury report. I have some ideas

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Speaker 1: there too, but I can't really say it until they

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Speaker 1: make it official. But we'll take a break. We'll be

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Speaker 1: right back with more right after this.