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Speaker 1: We are joined now by Rodney Thomas Cold Safety. Going

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Speaker 1: into your third year on this scene, getting better at

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Speaker 1: this level, coming out where you did, and obviously you're

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Speaker 1: gonna have to learn on the fly coming out of

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Speaker 1: a small school. Hey, you're going into your third year.

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Speaker 1: It's a big time now. Is this game slowed down

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Speaker 1: for you at all?

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Speaker 2: No, definitely slowed down just understanding things that's going on.

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Speaker 2: Was asking me and the level play that you got

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Speaker 2: to be at, the competing in this league.

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Speaker 1: I'm not asking for game plans, I'm not asking for

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Speaker 1: defensive blueprints. But the last couple of years, agus Bradley

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Speaker 1: talked about getting better, getting better in different specifics. A

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Speaker 1: lot of you guys are back, same faces and everything.

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Speaker 1: Does this scheme change up a little bit from years past?

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Speaker 2: Just working on just flying around, putting some different things in,

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Speaker 2: just just fixing up on different things, touching things up,

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Speaker 2: just trying to make sure they're all just out there

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Speaker 2: playing fast at that we can and just on accused,

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Speaker 2: just being able to just help each other out.

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Speaker 3: Ronnie, what are some things that, as Jeffrey said, going

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Speaker 3: into your third year, how do you find yourself playing

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Speaker 3: a little bit faster and more instinctual because you've had

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Speaker 3: all this experience and all this time within this defense.

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Speaker 2: No, definitely, like you said, just got time and experience

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Speaker 2: in it. So you see, like you see like at first,

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Speaker 2: like you don't really understand like how you're going to

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Speaker 2: be attacked just because you're not used to it. And

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Speaker 2: then but just understanding like what offense is gonna throw

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Speaker 2: at you, just to try to just try to make

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Speaker 2: plays on the on the reverse side as us trying

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Speaker 2: to stop the offense what they're doing. Just being ahead

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Speaker 2: of different things like that, just knowing what's coming before

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Speaker 2: it comes, and just being able to be on top

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Speaker 2: of different things.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, going into this third year for you, how have

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Speaker 3: you found yourself becoming more of or feeling more like

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Speaker 3: a veteran and a leader. Now you're kind of like

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Speaker 3: the You're no longer the guy that you know needs help.

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Speaker 3: You're the guy helping other people that are coming into

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Speaker 3: this defense for the first time.

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Speaker 2: No, definitely, like you said, guys coming in coming in

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Speaker 2: after us, Like we've been in those same shoes that

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Speaker 2: they're in coming into, so we know exactly like what

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Speaker 2: went on, like things that happen, just things that you

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Speaker 2: could Uh, like just get like different pointers, different things

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Speaker 2: you could look out for them, just so they don't

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Speaker 2: make the same mistakes you did and just help the

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Speaker 2: team out of.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, speaking of that, you've got You've got twenty five

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Speaker 3: starts under your belt going into your third year. You've

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Speaker 3: got a lot of experience. You know, you're a seventh

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Speaker 3: round draft pick going into your third year. You are,

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Speaker 3: we talked before, you are very mature and wise beyond

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Speaker 3: your years. Have you had a chance to kind of

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Speaker 3: reflect on your journey and you know, appreciate how far

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Speaker 3: you've come and what you've accomplished to this point in

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Speaker 3: your career.

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Speaker 2: H Yeah, I feel like like I always do that,

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Speaker 2: But I'm still I know I got stuff to do.

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Speaker 2: I know I got to get better. I know I

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Speaker 2: got things that make happen. So head down, just grinding,

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Speaker 2: trying to be better.

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Speaker 1: Julian Blackman brought back into the mix a guy sitting

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Speaker 1: out there for a couple of weeks. Coach decided to

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Speaker 1: bring him back. His leadership is veteran. How does he

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Speaker 1: affect you a guy like Julian Blackman and make you better?

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Speaker 2: No, JB. He's a dude where you know, you know

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Speaker 2: he's gonna be on the field. If he's on the field,

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Speaker 2: you'll know he's there. His presence, communication, just poys, just

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Speaker 2: directing things like like you said, he's a vet, he's

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Speaker 2: been got a lot of a lot of games under

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Speaker 2: his belt, a lot of experience on his belt, so

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Speaker 2: he knows what going on. So it's a great guy

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Speaker 2: to be in the room with.

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Speaker 1: Look at pull some things from Rodney. A lot of

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Speaker 1: people are talking about this around the league, and a

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Speaker 1: guy for you. I think these OTAs this offseason conditioning

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Speaker 1: as a team. There's some talk of hey, putting it away,

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Speaker 1: you know what I'm saying, starting training camp may be

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Speaker 1: a week earlier or something. How important have these been

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Speaker 1: to you this time of year to make you a

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Speaker 1: better player?

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Speaker 2: No, definitely I take every opportunity I can, whether it's

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Speaker 2: just walk through fool speed camp, just meeting room like you,

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Speaker 2: no matter what it is.

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Speaker 1: Are you in four are you in four our schedule

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Speaker 1: like that? Or does this say this is the foundation?

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Speaker 1: This is it?

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Speaker 2: I'm not really too sure. I don't even know what,

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Speaker 2: like all the changes would be with the new like program,

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Speaker 2: different things like that.

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Speaker 1: But I mean, regardless you're saying this is helpful for

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Speaker 1: you this time of year.

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Speaker 2: No, yeah, everything so well, I like, I just like

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Speaker 2: being around guys, like playing footballs like you know on

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Speaker 2: the guys, just learning, just getting better. I just like

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Speaker 2: it's like football in general.

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Speaker 3: So Ronnie, with all the continuity coming back yourself included,

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Speaker 3: eleven starters are back within this defense. Loaded question here,

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Speaker 3: I know, but you know you're a qualified guy to

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Speaker 3: answer it because of all that experience. We discussed what

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Speaker 3: what is the next step for this defense to go

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Speaker 3: from where you were last year pretty good to a

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Speaker 3: great elite defense under Gus Bradley.

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Speaker 2: Just sticking together Dan, Like I said, just staying on

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Speaker 2: top of our keys. We know, we know what we

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Speaker 2: gotta do. We know on film if something went wrong

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Speaker 2: it's probably a mistake on our end or different things

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Speaker 2: like that. Things like like all like correctable things. So

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Speaker 2: if we just if we're on top of what we

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Speaker 2: gotta be on, we're gonna be just high.

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Speaker 3: Well, what's most beneficial about this time of year to

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Speaker 3: give yourself a head start going into training camp? Collectively

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Speaker 3: as a defense, when you guys all know each other,

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Speaker 3: you know each other both position wise but also personality wise,

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Speaker 3: and individually, you know, on this team, but specifically within

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Speaker 3: this defense.

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Speaker 2: Not definitely like we always like already thought we were close,

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Speaker 2: but like as you know, like like just the more

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Speaker 2: time you spend with each other, like you just build

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Speaker 2: even like the like the relationship never stopped like building,

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Speaker 2: Like you just get stronger together, you get you more bonded,

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Speaker 2: you can gel it in with each other like that,

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Speaker 2: and then you just want to play harder for the

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Speaker 2: guy beside you. So just seeing like the same group

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Speaker 2: of guys and just battling with the same group of

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Speaker 2: guys like all off season going into the season, it

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Speaker 2: just makes you want to play that much better for

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Speaker 2: the guy.

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Speaker 1: Next could safety Rodney Thomas, And I'm just that guy.

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Speaker 1: I gotta tell you, you're coming out of the seventh

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Speaker 1: round out of a small school, great school, but a

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Speaker 1: small school football wise, he's not going to make it.

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Speaker 1: He's not there. Welcome to year three. How does that

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Speaker 1: make you feel being a professional football player coming from

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Speaker 1: where you did out of the IVY League.

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Speaker 2: It's just hungry, just trying to do more. I'm not

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Speaker 2: satisfied with nothing that did and just trying to be better.

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Speaker 1: This is the kind of attitude that coaches and other

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Speaker 1: teammates that we talked about about Rodney Thomas is he's

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Speaker 1: all ball all the time. That's the stuff that keeps

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Speaker 1: guys like him in this league.

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Speaker 3: Well, speaking of attitude, you always have a healthy attitude.

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Speaker 3: You have a pretty clear picture of things, a good

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Speaker 3: head on your shoulders. That competition that you're going to have,

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Speaker 3: it's starting now, but it's obviously going to go into

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Speaker 3: the fall and training camp. What's the balance you have

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Speaker 3: with making Nick Cross better, him making you better, but

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Speaker 3: also competing with him for playing time at the same time.

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Speaker 2: No, definitely could. We know we know competition. We're only

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Speaker 2: going to be as good as the weakest link. So

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Speaker 2: and we all know that we're competitive against each other

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Speaker 2: and stuff on the field, but when it comes to Sundays,

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Speaker 2: we're on the same team. We're trying to beat the

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Speaker 2: other team across from us. But the only way to

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Speaker 2: get to that point is to push each other in

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Speaker 2: practice and bring the best out of us in practice

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Speaker 2: every day, and everything's like that. So when Sunday kind

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Speaker 2: of translates right over to the game and then we're

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Speaker 2: all side by side brothers battling another team for change.

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Speaker 3: How much. Are you kind of chopping at the bit

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Speaker 3: to get going? I mean, how fast can the regular

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Speaker 3: season get hear for you? Considering what happened to this

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Speaker 3: team collectively at the end of the year, losing that

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Speaker 3: Week eight team game.

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Speaker 2: No, definitely, we're definitely We're definitely looking forward to this season.

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Speaker 2: We're definitely looking just looking forward to just putting some

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Speaker 2: things on tape and just flying around. Like Guy's been

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Speaker 2: saying that, we know, we know the capabilities we got

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Speaker 2: in our room, we know the guys that we're coming

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Speaker 2: out with. We're just excited to just let a show.

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Speaker 3: Well with so much continuity again coming back, is it

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Speaker 3: almost like, I know it's tough to view it this way,

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Speaker 3: but almost like a blessing in disguise going through what

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Speaker 3: you went through, because again, that was essentially a playoff game. Winning,

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Speaker 3: you're in playoff atmosphere, but to have it go against you,

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Speaker 3: does it help drive and help fuel the offseason going

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Speaker 3: into what is hopefully a pretty fruitful year.

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Speaker 2: No, yeah, definitely. Everything everything that doesn't go how you

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Speaker 2: wanted to go, you got to turn it into motivation.

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Speaker 2: You got to use it as a fire underneath you

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Speaker 2: to just want to be better to where if you're

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Speaker 2: in that situation the next time, you can change the outcome.

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Speaker 3: All right, last one for me, summer plans. How do

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Speaker 3: you how do you balance getting away from the game

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Speaker 3: knowing that once you do come back, I should say

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Speaker 3: four training camp it's on, it's it's seven days a

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Speaker 3: week for six and a half seven months, but also

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Speaker 3: staying engaged that you come in and shape and ready

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Speaker 3: to go.

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Speaker 2: No, for sure, really would never say like it's off

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Speaker 2: like like my mind, Like it's always like even like

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Speaker 2: in the off season, different things like that, Like the

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Speaker 2: off season is just preparation for the season. So like

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Speaker 2: every day, uh, you could you could be doing something

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Speaker 2: every day, you could be doing anything just to improve

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Speaker 2: your game, whether it's like mentally, just physically eating, just

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Speaker 2: different things like that. It's never really like no, like

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Speaker 2: balancing in downtime. You always gotta be focused, locked in

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Speaker 2: because every decision you make it'll effect ly you know,

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Speaker 2: affect the season, your preparations, everythings like that. So you

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Speaker 2: always want to be on top of any any travel traveling, Yeah,

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Speaker 2: travel just to train.

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Speaker 1: It's gonna answer four seven Rodney Thomas joining us right now,

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Speaker 1: your teammates at Yale. Just follow me here. What would

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Speaker 1: Rodney Thomas be doing right now if the NFL dream

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Speaker 1: didn't work out like it has been and you'll be

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Speaker 1: here a while? Don't get me wrong. What my teammates said,

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Speaker 1: what what? What are your teammates doing now at Yale?

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Speaker 1: They didn't go to the next level of football? And

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Speaker 1: what would you be doing right now if you didn't

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Speaker 1: make this this jump to the NFL.

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Speaker 2: No, I got. I got a bunch of friends, a

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Speaker 2: bunch of people in my classes across the board, just

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Speaker 2: working in different just different jobs like banking like No,

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Speaker 2: for sure, we got we got guys in all types

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Speaker 2: of different fields. I met a lot of good people

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Speaker 2: at that school. But me, I I have no idea

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Speaker 2: what i'ld be doing right now.

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Speaker 1: I'm glad you're doing what you're doing right there, Colts fans,

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Speaker 1: he'd be sul Yeah, that's for sure. He makes a

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Speaker 1: difference on this defense. Rodney Thomas looking for big things

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Speaker 1: out of year year three. Thanks for the time today.

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Speaker 2: I appreciate you having me