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Speaker 1: JJ stink if it's back here at the NFL Combine

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Speaker 1: with Lara Overton. We are joined right now by Dan

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Speaker 1: Graziano from ESPN. You can follow him on Twitter at

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Speaker 1: Dan Grazziano ESPN. Dan, first of all, just thanks for

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Speaker 1: joining us here. What have what have you been your

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Speaker 1: impressions just of the the I guess the rumors, the

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Speaker 1: developments that you've got here at the NFL combent because

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Speaker 1: to me it seems almost a little bit quiet, a

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Speaker 1: little bit, but I think you know, it's always been

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Speaker 1: a place where initial conversations happen, right, so you know

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Speaker 1: more by the end of the week than the beginning.

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Speaker 1: And by you, I mean ideally us, but also the

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Speaker 1: teams and the agents that they are having all these

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Speaker 1: conversations ahead of free agency that they're not technically allowed

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Speaker 1: to have. So and then in terms of the draft,

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Speaker 1: you know, getting to size up some of these guys

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Speaker 1: literally and and see what they're all about. So yeah,

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Speaker 1: I think it's it's been a it's been a real

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Speaker 1: kind of information gathering setup, and I think, you know,

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Speaker 1: as a result, I'm looking forward to conversations over the

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Speaker 1: next couple of days because I think people have a

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Speaker 1: lot more information at this point in the week, What

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Speaker 1: have you learned about the quarterback landscape and what might

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Speaker 1: shape up in the next couple of weeks. It's interesting

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Speaker 1: because we go into the offseason, we're thinking, well, this

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Speaker 1: could be historic, right, Aaron Rodgers could get traded, Russell

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Speaker 1: Wilson could get traded, Jimmy Garoppolo will get traded. And

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Speaker 1: then in the past week it starts to sound like, well,

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Speaker 1: maybe Rogers goes back, and maybe Wilson is finance Seattle.

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Speaker 1: And now Jimmy Garppolo is having surgery and he's not

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Speaker 1: gonna throw it for four months, so are they going

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Speaker 1: to be able to trade him? And who's going to

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Speaker 1: really want him? So now you're thinking, and the draft

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Speaker 1: apparently doesn't have any kind of game changers in the

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Speaker 1: opinions of most people. So you know, someone's gonna probably

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Speaker 1: signed Mitch Drubisky to be their starting quarterback, right, and

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Speaker 1: then Jameis Winston, I'm sure we'll get another look, assuming

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Speaker 1: he comes back healthy off of his injury. So you know,

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Speaker 1: guys like that. So I find it interesting that that

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Speaker 1: we and again Rogers could still leave. He could still

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Speaker 1: demand a trade, right, And then that's gets the wheels

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Speaker 1: turning by. Find it interesting how quickly we got sort

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Speaker 1: of to the next group. You know, with the trades

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Speaker 1: that were made last year, when you look at the

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Speaker 1: RAM was for Matthew Stafford. What would Aaron Rodgers have

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Speaker 1: to command? What would a team have to give up

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Speaker 1: for a guy who is an NFL MVP. Well, I

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Speaker 1: mean I would think there have to be at least

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Speaker 1: one first round pick in the deal, and maybe more.

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Speaker 1: But you know, it's sliding scale, right, because when you

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Speaker 1: bring in Aaron Rodgers, you're gonna have to give him

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Speaker 1: a contract. He's only got the one year left on

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Speaker 1: his contract, and whether he stays or goes, they're gonna

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Speaker 1: have to do something with it because the cab numbers

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Speaker 1: forty six million and they can't afford it, and neither

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Speaker 1: could most teams. So if you know you have to

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Speaker 1: pay him forty five fifty million dollars a year for

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Speaker 1: the next two or three years, that affects what you're

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Speaker 1: willing to give up, right, Like I don't give up

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Speaker 1: like my next three first round draft picks and all

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Speaker 1: that money. Like now I've got nothing. I've only got

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Speaker 1: Aaron Rodgers. If he gets hurt of toast. But yeah,

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Speaker 1: I mean, look, I think you can look at the

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Speaker 1: price for Stafford last year as a as a good gauge,

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Speaker 1: although that's complicated because that also did include golf, who

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Speaker 1: Detroit uses as a starter, and not everybody really has

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Speaker 1: that to offer. So that's the other thing. Green Bay

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Speaker 1: would have to figure out what to do a quarterback

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Speaker 1: if they don't think Jordan loves Ready first. A guy

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Speaker 1: who's do Another quarterback who's due a payday coming up

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Speaker 1: is Carson Wentz, the current Cults quarterback. From hearing I've

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Speaker 1: heard of him from you have indeed a lot of conversations,

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Speaker 1: in particular this week regarding Carson Wentz, as we had

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Speaker 1: general manager Chris Ballard and head coach Frank Greig both

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Speaker 1: speak to begin all of the media availabilities that have

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Speaker 1: been over the course of these few days at the

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Speaker 1: convention center. In what you heard from both Chris and Frank,

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Speaker 1: did that point you in any direction to where you

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Speaker 1: think this relationship is headed over the next two weeks

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Speaker 1: In regards to carsonal, I think it's pretty clear that

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Speaker 1: they want to look at every possible option, right, and

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Speaker 1: so that tells you obviously that they're not satisfied with

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Speaker 1: what they got from Carson this year. Now, I don't

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Speaker 1: think that means that they're done with him, you know,

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Speaker 1: because they may not come up with a better option.

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Speaker 1: That's the thing people always forget. I mean, you can't

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Speaker 1: just like automatically you make an upgrade appear and he

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Speaker 1: can play. I mean, he has started and had success

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Speaker 1: in the league. But I'm curious to see what they

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Speaker 1: can come up with because I know that. I mean,

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Speaker 1: it's auster that feels like, you know, it's it's pretty close, right,

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Speaker 1: and what they did last year in the run game,

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Speaker 1: the pieces they have on defense, you know, I could

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Speaker 1: see them feeling like the Rams did a year ago, right,

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Speaker 1: I mean like, you know, hey, if we get the

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Speaker 1: right guy in here, we could really kind of hit

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Speaker 1: that next level. So I think they owe it to

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Speaker 1: themselves and to the team and to their fans to

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Speaker 1: to look at that. I just don't know what they're

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Speaker 1: going to come up with. I mean, you know, are

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Speaker 1: you I don't I mean, are you gonna get Russell

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Speaker 1: Wilson to come here? Right like that? That kind of

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Speaker 1: that would be worth it. But would you want to

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Speaker 1: go from Carson Wentz to Trubiski or Garoppolo. I mean

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Speaker 1: like maybe maybe the answers yes, but the answers not

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Speaker 1: obviously yes. And I think that's that's probably the zone

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Speaker 1: they're operating in right now, right and the kind of

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Speaker 1: what you were just talking about, Dan about how you know,

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Speaker 1: it looks like Rogers will stay in Green Bay, Russell

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Speaker 1: Wilson's happy in Seattle. The Kyler Murray thing seems like

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Speaker 1: there's maybe not a whole lot there except some really

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Speaker 1: small text. I think they're stuck with each other those two. Yeah,

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Speaker 1: so you know Derek Carr probably you know Josh McDaniel's

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Speaker 1: committing to him here. So you think about the other

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Speaker 1: options that are out there, and they seem to be

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Speaker 1: dwindling pretty fast. But the Colts are not the only

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Speaker 1: team that are that is evaluating that position and looking

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Speaker 1: to get it get better. It seems like they're probably eight,

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Speaker 1: nine to ten teams in that boat. How does that

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Speaker 1: all play out when you maybe have this shrunken pool

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Speaker 1: of top tier talent that you could go after, but

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Speaker 1: all these other teams still are looking to upgrade there.

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Speaker 1: What happens is it means you're imperfect. You know, Plan

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Speaker 1: B option is going to cost more. Right, Like, if

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Speaker 1: you want true bisky, you're gonna have to fight off

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Speaker 1: three or four other teams. And that means that's great

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Speaker 1: for him, right the partice supply demand, his price goes up. So,

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Speaker 1: I mean, unfortunately the culture in position because of what

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Speaker 1: Valor does with the cap every year that they I mean,

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Speaker 1: they could theoretically add anyone they want, I mean and

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Speaker 1: fit them in, but that doesn't mean they want to

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Speaker 1: do That doesn't mean you want to overpay. So it

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Speaker 1: comes to a point where you're like, is it worth

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Speaker 1: doing this or are we actually better off with paying

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Speaker 1: Carson Wentz twenty two million this year. I know they

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Speaker 1: have a decision because that the remaining seven out to

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Speaker 1: be guaranteed right in a week or so. I forget

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Speaker 1: it was it like third day of the league years

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Speaker 1: I think I think Frank was in March nineteenth. Yeah, so,

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Speaker 1: um they have to figure that out, but um, yeah

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Speaker 1: they will. I think things will start moving quickly once

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Speaker 1: people get out of here. I think there's going to

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Speaker 1: be a sense and once Rogers really lets everybody know

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Speaker 1: what he's doing, and then I think everybody can kind

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Speaker 1: of move to their next their next plan quickly at

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Speaker 1: the bench press. Yes, that is the atmosphere that you're getting.

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Speaker 1: We're just really wanting to be sure that you enjoy

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Speaker 1: the full flavor of the Combine experience. Listen, so that

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Speaker 1: he's high up somebodys in like the thirties at this point,

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Speaker 1: that hype guy twenty seven. That the hype guy there

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Speaker 1: who's trying to that guy was not out till three

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Speaker 1: a'm a prime last night. He wasn't or unless he

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Speaker 1: just he just got here from there, right, exactly exactly

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Speaker 1: I would like I mean, I would like him to

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Speaker 1: come to the house sometimes right and and help me

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Speaker 1: get through the morning work. Just just hop you know,

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Speaker 1: just give me ten minutes. Kendall tool yelling at you.

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Speaker 1: That's right, and it's exactly what it is. Well, you

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Speaker 1: mentioned how the Colts manage their cap space. When you

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Speaker 1: look at this impending free agency period, we're gonna hit

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Speaker 1: free agency before we get into the draft, which is

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Speaker 1: the purpose here of the NFL combine. What are the

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Speaker 1: areas of free agency that are particularly strong or particularly

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Speaker 1: weak this year where you like the Colts might be pursuing.

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Speaker 1: You mentioned being close but needing some pieces. Where are

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Speaker 1: those areas of free agency, the Colts could make some

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Speaker 1: additions with guys who are going to come available on

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Speaker 1: the open market. I don't get the sense that it's

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Speaker 1: an overall and especially strong free agent year, And I

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Speaker 1: think that's why, you know, this draft is of such

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Speaker 1: significant interest to people. I mean, like the Colts biggest

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Speaker 1: piece of offseason business, other than figuring out quarterback is

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Speaker 1: probably getting that Quentin Nelson deal done, right, So that's

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Speaker 1: that's internal. I would think, you know, it's I don't

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Speaker 1: know if they agree, but I think they probably could

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Speaker 1: stand a beef up at receiver. And there are some

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Speaker 1: interesting Look the Cowboys are going to cut Amari Cooper,

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Speaker 1: you know, Chris Godwin's free agent Alan Robinson. I mean,

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Speaker 1: there are some really accomplished players at that position. If

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Speaker 1: you felt like stretching and paying top of the market

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Speaker 1: value for a guy because you need a one to

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Speaker 1: go with Pittman who you really like, yeah, I could

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Speaker 1: see doing that. And I mean, everybody always needs help

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Speaker 1: on the back end of the defense, right, And I

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Speaker 1: think there are some guys out there, but overall, I mean,

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Speaker 1: most teams don't like to hit free agency hard. I

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Speaker 1: know the Colts are one of those teams. You wait

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Speaker 1: for the second wave, third wave, find some bargains, and

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Speaker 1: I think that's probably going to be the approach this

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Speaker 1: year too. You mentioned the approach. Do you see the

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Speaker 1: fact that we had the two teams go to the

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Speaker 1: Super Bowl, The Bengals and the Rams got to the

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Speaker 1: Super Bowls doing so in very different approaches with how

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Speaker 1: they built their roster. How does that force any trends

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Speaker 1: this offseason? How will other teams take cues from the

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Speaker 1: way either of those teams built conference championship, super Bowl

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Speaker 1: contending type of rosters. We've talked about this, like the

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Speaker 1: idea would teams try and copy what the Rams did?

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Speaker 1: But I think there's a I think there's a slightly

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Speaker 1: inaccurate perception out there about what the Rams did. Of

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Speaker 1: those two teams, the Bengals spent significantly more in free

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Speaker 1: agency last year in the year before. I mean the

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Speaker 1: Bengals I think gave out the fourth most money of

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Speaker 1: any team and free agency over the last two years

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Speaker 1: they needed to right. The Rams roster was already strong,

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Speaker 1: and then they add Stafford and then oh von Miller's available, Yes,

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Speaker 1: that could really help us. Let's do that. So it's

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Speaker 1: a really targeted approach, right, Whereas the Bengals were like,

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Speaker 1: we need offensive line, we need a pass rush, we

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Speaker 1: need right. So I think I think the lesson is

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Speaker 1: the first and most important thing is to figure out

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Speaker 1: what you are, right, like what kind of team are you?

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Speaker 1: And then what do you need to do about it?

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Speaker 1: So I think if you really looked at those two

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Speaker 1: teams and the different ways they went about it, you'd say, well,

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Speaker 1: the Bengals, they drafted the quarterback. They knew we need

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Speaker 1: to hit this when we think this guy's special. We

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Speaker 1: need to hit this window when he's on his rookie deal.

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Speaker 1: It means we need to get outside our comfort zone

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Speaker 1: and add players to put around him. So we have

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Speaker 1: a strong team right away and it worked. Um, whereas

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Speaker 1: the Rams had been built, they've been in the Super Bowl,

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Speaker 1: what two three years ago, and you know they have superstars, right,

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Speaker 1: I mean you have Aaron Donald, you know, so they're like, well,

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Speaker 1: what are we missing? Well, we could our quarterbacks, okay,

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Speaker 1: but if he was great, we might win the super Bowl.

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Speaker 1: And then they got a guy who who could be great.

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Speaker 1: So I think that's the key. Right. So if you're

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Speaker 1: the Colts, if you're any team right now, you're huddling going, well,

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Speaker 1: what are we really and how close are we really?

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Speaker 1: And then what do we need to add to get there?

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Speaker 1: And what's the best way to do it? One of

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Speaker 1: those spots that the Colts do need to address as

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Speaker 1: left tackle. Yea, And that's that's one that you know,

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Speaker 1: we'll see what happens with Toronto Armstead in New Orleans.

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Speaker 1: But if if he winds up staying in New Orleans somehow,

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Speaker 1: they you know, wave a wand at the cap and

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Speaker 1: make it go away for another couple of years, and

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Speaker 1: as they do as they as they often do, then

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Speaker 1: Eric Fisher probably becomes the number one tackle on the

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Speaker 1: free agency market. What do you I don't know if

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Speaker 1: you've heard anything about him, but what do you anticipate

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Speaker 1: the market looking like for him at left? I mean, look,

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Speaker 1: I think I think a veteran left tackle, if he's

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Speaker 1: healthy and he's accomplished, is always going to be of

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Speaker 1: interest to teams. And it may be that the Colts

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Speaker 1: decide the best thing is to try and keep him.

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Speaker 1: It may be that these guys that are thrown around

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Speaker 1: these bench press numbers right now are the guys you

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Speaker 1: should be looking at for your left tackle because this

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Speaker 1: draft is supposedly strong at the offensive line positions. So

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Speaker 1: it's tough. I mean, look, the Colts went through this

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Speaker 1: literally a year ago, right You signed Eric Fisher, who

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Speaker 1: wasn't even healthy when you signed him, because like that

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Speaker 1: was your best option. It's a very difficult position to find.

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Speaker 1: Armstead is going to be if he gets on a market,

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Speaker 1: very very highly sought after, because players like that don't

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Speaker 1: usually hit the market. So that's a tough one. I

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Speaker 1: think it's almost I mean, quarterback gets the headlines and

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Speaker 1: for good reason, but I think that's almost as big

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Speaker 1: an issue for them as as a quarterback position. First

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Speaker 1: time we've been back here in two years. In terms

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Speaker 1: of the NFL combine, and one thing that we learned recently,

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Speaker 1: there are more players coming out and available this year

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Speaker 1: because of some guys who took additional years for a

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Speaker 1: COVID year and all of those things. The amount of

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Speaker 1: work that is done, the amount of assessment that is done,

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Speaker 1: and then for you, the amount of contacts guys were

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Speaker 1: able to see. What's been the greatest benefit for you

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Speaker 1: this week in terms of approaching the next you know,

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Speaker 1: month and a half to two months that we are

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Speaker 1: talking about free agency, the draft, and then evaluating all

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Speaker 1: these guys going into their first few weeks with their

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Speaker 1: respective teams following a draft. For me, it's FaceTime. I mean,

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Speaker 1: that's what was missed in twenty twenty into a large

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Speaker 1: extent last year as well. I mean, people are more

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Speaker 1: likely to call you back if they've met you in person,

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Speaker 1: right Like, I mean, that's so you try to meet people.

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Speaker 1: There are people here that that help you throughout the year,

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Speaker 1: and this may be the only time all year you

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Speaker 1: see them in person, so last year we can get

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Speaker 1: to do it. So to me like being back here

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Speaker 1: and I mean it feels like nothing ever happened, which

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Speaker 1: is kind of in some cases a little unnerving in

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Speaker 1: this packed restaurant or bar and you're like, wait, should

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Speaker 1: we be are in masks? I'm not sure, but it's

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Speaker 1: nice to feel like, you know that that we've come

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Speaker 1: out of the whole thing. But I think there's for

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Speaker 1: me personally, it feels like people are in pretty good

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Speaker 1: moods to be just to be around and feel like

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Speaker 1: normal again. So I think that's been the biggest benefit

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Speaker 1: is just sort of getting back to doing the job

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Speaker 1: the way it's most effective and most enjoyable. So yeah,

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Speaker 1: it's just to me, it's felt like the same old combine,

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Speaker 1: which is great. I hope I hope they don't move it.

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Speaker 1: That was literally what I was going to ask you next,

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Speaker 1: because you know, there there is all that talk about it, um,

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Speaker 1: you know, Dallas, Los Angeles putting in bids far it.

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Speaker 1: I thought it was interesting Dan, you know, going through

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Speaker 1: the transcripts of the coaches, the only coach who outside

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Speaker 1: of you know, our guys here in Indie who talked

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Speaker 1: about how much he likes to combine in Indianapolis is

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Speaker 1: Mike McCarthy, who's the head coach of a team that

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Speaker 1: is bidding to host a combine, which I think we're

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Speaker 1: telling some trouble for that, right, You're on You're off message, Mike.

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Speaker 1: You know, I supposed to bring it to Dallas. Yeah,

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Speaker 1: but just from that standpoint, when you think about what

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Speaker 1: Indianapolis has to offer for the combine and what just

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Speaker 1: what number combine is this for you here? Oh gosh?

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Speaker 1: I mean, well, you know, I was a baseball writer

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Speaker 1: for frifteen year. I didn't start covering the NFL until

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Speaker 1: twenty ten, right, thereabouts. So it's however many that is,

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Speaker 1: you've probably done you know, ten or more here. I

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Speaker 1: never mean yeah, somebody who's trying. Somebody's telling me yesterday like,

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Speaker 1: oh well, if you're walking back to the hotel, you

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Speaker 1: should try going I'm good, Like on indian downtown, Indianapolis geography,

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Speaker 1: I'm I got it. You know where you're going, right,

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Speaker 1: if it does move, How difficult would it be to

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Speaker 1: replicate everything that this is, you know, this has to

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Speaker 1: offer here? I think it'd be impossible. I mean I

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Speaker 1: think because first of all, people would react in a

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Speaker 1: way that made it more different, Like I think maybe

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Speaker 1: fewer people would go right. And part of the part

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Speaker 1: of what makes it so important for me to come

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Speaker 1: to this event every year is you can just you

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Speaker 1: can make no plans and walk around and just bump

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Speaker 1: into enough people to make your day worth it. Right,

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Speaker 1: So in Lows, I just spent a week in Los

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Speaker 1: Angeles for the Super Bowl. I didn't see anybody at

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Speaker 1: knew like, it's so spread out, so um that we

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Speaker 1: would lose that And I think that would be unfortunate

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Speaker 1: just from the standpoint of the reason I we have

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Speaker 1: so many people to cover the draft and the player

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Speaker 1: evaluation is not what my background. It's like, I don't

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Speaker 1: It's not that I don't pay attention, but that's not

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Speaker 1: I'm not here to see these guys run the forty

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Speaker 1: and and do the bench press. I'm here for the

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Speaker 1: other stuff because it's an NFL convention where everybody right.

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Speaker 1: And if that weren't the case and it was spread

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Speaker 1: out over a place like Dallas, Fort Worth or Los Angeles,

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Speaker 1: I would personally find it. I'd have to think about

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Speaker 1: whether to go, honestly, like, I'd probably go the first

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Speaker 1: year and see and then maybe, you know, assess whether

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Speaker 1: it's worth it. So I'm I'm strongly in the camp

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Speaker 1: of don't mess with a good thing, But unfortunately I

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Speaker 1: think they want to Dan Grattiana from ESPN, Hopefully we

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Speaker 1: see you at the combine back here, I hope next year.

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Speaker 1: Thanks for joining us. My pleasure,