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Speaker 1: So Trey Benson said it. Do we believe him? Let's

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Speaker 1: talk running back Bird gang god Zach Ershman joining me.

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Speaker 1: Benson is expecting to be more involved this season, and

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Speaker 1: he should. Does that involvement though, equate to in his words,

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Speaker 1: two RB one's on this team. We also discussed the

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Speaker 1: outside linebacker room, more specifically former high school teammates Jordan

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Speaker 1: Birch and Xavier Thomas, plus team chemistry. It's important. It's

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Speaker 1: Cardinals Cover two, episode eight ninety four, and it starts now.

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Speaker 2: Welcome to Cardinals Cover two.

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

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

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

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Speaker 2: dot Com slash podcast.

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

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Speaker 3: so more hurry magic. WHOA, here's Craig Graeler.

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Speaker 1: So welcome to day one without a Boss, Zach.

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Speaker 3: I mean when you put it like that, I guess

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Speaker 3: you're right. It is day one without a boss.

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Speaker 1: Now some context here, Darren Urban.

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Speaker 3: But why are we here? The boss isn't here?

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Speaker 1: That is true?

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Speaker 3: Have a good one.

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Speaker 1: Everybody, Darren Urban our boss supervisor on vacation. So as

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Speaker 1: they say, when the cat's away, the mice will play.

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Speaker 1: Yet here we are doing what we always do. It's

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Speaker 1: Cardinals Cover two.

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Speaker 3: I was when I was growing up in school, you know,

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Speaker 3: all like a few years ago, we used to have

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Speaker 3: a thing that's like, well, if the teacher doesn't walk

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Speaker 3: in the room within the first to fifteen minutes, then

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Speaker 3: you have an excuse to leave.

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Speaker 1: Fifteen minutes. I believe in college it's like a ten

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Speaker 1: minute in.

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Speaker 3: College if you even show up. Well, there you got

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Speaker 3: that's true, you get applauded. Yeah, but yes, no days off.

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Speaker 3: We're here. We're Cardinals cover too.

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Speaker 1: Just make sure Darren is aware that we are here

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Speaker 1: documenting it, documenting everything, providing content phraseycardinals dot com on

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Speaker 1: its many platforms.

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Speaker 3: But when he is going to be, you know, off

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Speaker 3: in the middle of wherever he's going off to, when

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Speaker 3: he gets to listen to this, hopefully he gets a

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Speaker 3: chuckle out of it, and hopefully he learned something. He

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Speaker 3: was a little bit upset, or actually it was you

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Speaker 3: who was a little bit upset. Let's go back here.

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Speaker 3: I was listening to the Red Sea Report. Driving in

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Speaker 3: after my launch and Craig says to me, you were listening,

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Speaker 3: did you learn anything? I'm like, no, but that is

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Speaker 3: not because you didn't talk about anything that was not valuable.

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Speaker 3: Of course it was all valuable, but because I'm so

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Speaker 3: honored to sit in this chair across from you at

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Speaker 3: least once a week, I get to, you know, take

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Speaker 3: it all in good.

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Speaker 1: Safe, I'll say, I was expecting maybe a different answer.

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Speaker 1: Of course I always learn when I listen to you,

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Speaker 1: or listening to Red Sea Reports or Cardinals Underground or

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Speaker 1: the Big Red Ray. You're always learning.

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Speaker 3: You know. I was hoping you would say, Wow, I'm

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Speaker 3: just so honored to have lunch with you, Zach Gershman,

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Speaker 3: knowing that you know you sat in your car in

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Speaker 3: this Arizona heat, wanting to listen to us with the

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Speaker 3: air conditioning on, though yes, the air conditioning was on.

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Speaker 3: If you eat lunch outside in this weather, you need

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Speaker 3: to be checked.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, it's not pleasant at least after what eight eight thirty.

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Speaker 3: When you wake up in the morning, by the way,

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Speaker 3: when you wake up till when you go to sleep

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Speaker 3: in this heat. I was walking with Jordan Birch somebody

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Speaker 3: will talk about a little bit later. And he looks

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Speaker 3: at me and he goes, bro, is it always this

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Speaker 3: hot outside? Now? Mind you? This guy was shirtless, so

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Speaker 3: I was saying to him, I'm a Jordan. It's not

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Speaker 3: even bad yet, but it's going to get bad. Mean,

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Speaker 3: it's bad. It's gonna get even worse.

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Speaker 1: Keep your shirt on zech for all of us.

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Speaker 3: I asked him if I if that was like a

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Speaker 3: prerequisite for to do the interview, as if I had

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Speaker 3: to also take it off, and he thankfully said no.

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Speaker 1: It's again, thankfully for all of us. Uh. Speaking of

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Speaker 1: learning things as we get this show, we're learning a lot. Yeah,

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Speaker 1: I learned this that Trey Benson. He's always been confident,

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Speaker 1: but there seems to be a little bit extra confidence

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Speaker 1: in how he is speaking and even in his appearance

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Speaker 1: and how he looks out on that football field. And

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Speaker 1: I think it's a good reasons. It's that year one

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Speaker 1: to year two jump, the first full offseason which you

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Speaker 1: can fully concentrate on your job the Arizona Cardinals. Yet

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Speaker 1: first offseason it's all right, you're getting ready for the combine,

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Speaker 1: you get drafted, you're learning to playbook and where am

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Speaker 1: I supposed to be where am I supposed to go,

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Speaker 1: and then training camp hits, the regular season begins, and

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Speaker 1: for a lot of rookies, it takes a little while.

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Speaker 1: And it was interesting to hear Benson say he was

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Speaker 1: starting to feel get into a bit of a groove

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Speaker 1: at the time of his ankle injury late last season.

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Speaker 1: Not that it ailed his first season, but he was

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Speaker 1: starting to get it. And I think that's a good

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Speaker 1: sign going into this season.

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Speaker 3: For players coming out of college and entering the draft,

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Speaker 3: like Trey Benson was in twenty twenty four, they only

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Speaker 3: get about three weeks and we're actually right now beginning

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Speaker 3: day one of what the rookies are currently going through

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Speaker 3: in terms of their time off and their time away

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Speaker 3: because you spend so much of your time doing the forty,

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Speaker 3: getting the drills ready, doing whatever you have to do

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Speaker 3: to prepare yourself for the draft, and then a week

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Speaker 3: later you come into the building and you have rookie

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Speaker 3: Mini Camp and then Phase three and mandatory Mini camp

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Speaker 3: and everything else that goes into training camp, which then

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Speaker 3: goes into the regular season. So Trey Benson's first offseason

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Speaker 3: true offseason, only took place just a few short months ago,

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Speaker 3: and he still was one of those players that lived

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Speaker 3: in the facility every single day with Marvin Harrison Junior,

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Speaker 3: with Darise Robinson, with a lot of other rookies in

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Speaker 3: that twenty twenty four class. However, you hit on it, Craig.

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Speaker 3: When he's sitting there at the podium, you see that sense.

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Speaker 3: It's a swagger that you start to see at Florida

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Speaker 3: State quite a bit because he's confidence. No longer that

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Speaker 3: wide eye rookie, that wide eye freshman that has no

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Speaker 3: idea what they're in for. Trey Benson now knows what

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Speaker 3: he's in for. And it was up until the game

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Speaker 3: against the Chicago Bears in the New York Jets that

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Speaker 3: week nine, week ten stretch when the Cardinals were on

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Speaker 3: that winning streak, when Trey Benson was bouncing off a

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Speaker 3: handful of tackles and then started to realize and something

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Speaker 3: clicked and he said, all right, I am ready for this.

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Speaker 3: I am built for this. You hit on the injury

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Speaker 3: that he had that sort of the railed the season

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Speaker 3: towards the back end, but it still lit a spark

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Speaker 3: in Trey Benson's rookie season that gets you excited for

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Speaker 3: what year two could bring.

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Speaker 1: We saw a more decisive Trey Benson middle of the season,

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Speaker 1: understanding that in college, when you bounce it to the outside,

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Speaker 1: you can outrace those defensive ends, those outside linebackers. In

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Speaker 1: the NFL, when you bounce it to the outside, more

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Speaker 1: times than not, you're going to get caught. So being

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Speaker 1: more decisive if you see that that hole run up

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Speaker 1: the middle, even if it's not much of a hole

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Speaker 1: that you're expecting, but trusting yourself and how well you

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Speaker 1: can attack that hole and the blocking in front of you,

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Speaker 1: and not just rely on or attempt to rely on

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Speaker 1: that speed to get the outside, because again, the quickest

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Speaker 1: way to get between point A and point B is

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Speaker 1: a straight line. And I think Trey realized that middle

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Speaker 1: of the Season's like, hey, let me just go right

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Speaker 1: up the middle as opposed to angling to the left

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Speaker 1: or the right.

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Speaker 3: And I think towards the middle of the season that's

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Speaker 3: when you start to see the tape from Florida State

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Speaker 3: start to transfer over to State Farm Stadium with the

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Speaker 3: Arizona Cardinals. Tray Benson in the beginning half, and I'm

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Speaker 3: not sure if it was just the trust between himself

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Speaker 3: and the offensive linean once again, this is a whole

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Speaker 3: new group of guys that you're playing behind. And this

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Speaker 3: isn't just like you're just you're just trying to get

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Speaker 3: a couple of yards. You're getting hit, So there's a

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Speaker 3: mental component to this as well. Trey Benson found himself

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Speaker 3: as an east west runner moving to the side and

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Speaker 3: then when that gap was you know, was clogged, he

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Speaker 3: kind of stuttered. He didn't know what to do. He

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Speaker 3: stalled right there and there was a lot of yards

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Speaker 3: that were lost through those plays. Then you will get

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Speaker 3: a guy like James Connor, who is one of Trey

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Speaker 3: Benson's mentors in this facility, and Trey and James Connor

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Speaker 3: is that north South bruiser running back, willing to take

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Speaker 3: the hits and get a couple of yards after contact.

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Speaker 3: When you started to see that start to click for

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Speaker 3: Trey Benson, you started to see that one two punch

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Speaker 3: that and Trey Benson talked about how he has the

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Speaker 3: confidence that the Cardinals have two RB ones and it's

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Speaker 3: because of moments like that where it doesn't look like

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Speaker 3: there's a drop off from James Connor to Trey Benson

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Speaker 3: because they have the same skill sets. You just didn't

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Speaker 3: see that in the first few weeks due to a

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Speaker 3: plethora of reasons. Towards the middle half and towards the

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Speaker 3: back end of the season, Trey Benson was an extension

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Speaker 3: of Trey McBrien, or of Trey Benson was an extension

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Speaker 3: of James Connor.

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Speaker 1: And I think Trey Benson is how is how he

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Speaker 1: has worked this offseason on his body. I think he

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Speaker 1: is now better suited to be a North South runner.

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Speaker 1: He mentioned he's seven pounds heavier. So if you look

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Speaker 1: at what he was listed at last season, to sixteen

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Speaker 1: ad seven, we're doing math here, Zach. That's okay, so

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Speaker 1: you too, sixteen ad seven, you get to two twenty three.

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Speaker 3: Three, which is I didn't even he's a calculator for that.

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Speaker 1: Not far off from James Connor. And it's what that

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Speaker 1: two twenty three looks like in the amount of time

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Speaker 1: in the weight room that Benson has worked on this

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Speaker 1: offseason to where he says he feels he's way more explosive,

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Speaker 1: even with the added weight, because typically sometimes you add weight,

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Speaker 1: it slows you down. But it's what kind of weight

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Speaker 1: and what have you done to the rest of your

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Speaker 1: body that he believes he feels much more explosive to

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Speaker 1: not only hesitate, but when you're that decisive attacking the hole,

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Speaker 1: he's gonna get there a lot quicker. And then when

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Speaker 1: he does get that first contact, he's going to get

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Speaker 1: by the first contact and not go down with that

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Speaker 1: first tackle.

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Speaker 3: For rookies going into that second year, their frame is

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Speaker 3: often discussed. But Craig, have you ever experienced a rookie

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Speaker 3: class that has had this much change? You know, especially

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Speaker 3: with their first few picks. Max Mountain looks good, you know,

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Speaker 3: Elijah Jones lean but good. He looks really strong, as

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Speaker 3: Xavier Thomas looks very built obviously, Marvin Harrison junior, Darius Robinson.

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Speaker 3: Can you even recall a moment where it seems like

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Speaker 3: an entire rookie class has started to just transform their body.

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Speaker 1: It's it's a good point and I had not thought

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Speaker 1: about that. But everyone again, when you have that time

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Speaker 1: to really devote, and more importantly that listen to the

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Speaker 1: training's death, listen to the nutrition staff that is in

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Speaker 1: the building, and not just here but across the NFL,

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Speaker 1: and now, all of a sudden, I think those first

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Speaker 1: year players understand what it takes to get through a

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Speaker 1: seventeen game regular season, plus the preseason, hopefully the postseason,

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Speaker 1: and understanding like, Okay, I need to do things a

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Speaker 1: little bit differently to make sure I'm ready physically, obviously mentally,

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Speaker 1: but then how I recover Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday to ramp

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Speaker 1: back up for a game day on Sunday.

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Speaker 3: And I think that's what's going to be interesting for

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Speaker 3: future generations, for future draft prospects. Even some of the

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Speaker 3: guys like this year, what is Cody Simon going to

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Speaker 3: look like? In year number two? He experienced what it

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Speaker 3: was like to play basically a full NFL season because

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Speaker 3: of the college football playoffs and all the different rounds

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Speaker 3: that they had once they expanded the playoff format, and

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Speaker 3: obviously Ohio State taking it all the way to win

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Speaker 3: the National Championship. They've experienced what an NFL schedule might

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Speaker 3: feel like, or at least more they've experienced it to

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Speaker 3: a closer extent than they otherwise would have. I'm interested

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Speaker 3: to see how bodies are going to start to train

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Speaker 3: just simply from you know, when the season ends in

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Speaker 3: college football to the start of the regular season. But

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Speaker 3: this year's group, this year one to year two class,

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Speaker 3: they've talked about how much they live in the building,

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Speaker 3: and I think in some cases everybody talks about how

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Speaker 3: they live in the building, and it's all good and

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Speaker 3: all nice headlines to have, but when you get to

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Speaker 3: actually see it, visibly see it, it's impressive. Not only

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Speaker 3: did we hear and see Trey Benson, but you brought

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Speaker 3: it up as far as what we heard from him

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Speaker 3: talking about I feel like we can have two RB

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Speaker 3: ones on this team. And that stood out to me because, hey,

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Speaker 3: you've got your number one running back in James Connor,

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Speaker 3: but do you have enough confidence trust in Trey Benson

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Speaker 3: to wear Okay, he believes he's getting more opportunities this season,

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Speaker 3: and he should believe that year two, you should get

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Speaker 3: more opportunities based off your year one performance, did you

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Speaker 3: show that you're capable of more opportunities. So one, I

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Speaker 3: think he's earned those opportunities. And then two, if Trey

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Speaker 3: Benson's on the field are getting more touches, whether that's

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Speaker 3: running the ball or catching the ball, then yeah, you

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Speaker 3: don't have James Connor, but you're keeping James fresh. And

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Speaker 3: I know he likes he likes more reps during the

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Speaker 3: course of a game because as the game progresses, he

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Speaker 3: feels he gets better.

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Speaker 1: I get that. Yet later in the season, can you

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Speaker 1: take a couple of touches or snaps off of James

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Speaker 1: Connor to where now, all of a sudden Week thirteen, fourteen,

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Speaker 1: fifteen and so on, he feels better physically and also

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Speaker 1: understanding that even though I'm not on the field, the

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Speaker 1: confidence that this team has that I have is RB

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Speaker 1: one and Trey Benson, We're gonna be just fine.

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Speaker 3: Yeah. I think the leader in James Connor believes that

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Speaker 3: if he does step back a little bit and Trey

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Speaker 3: Benson get some more runs in, I don't think he's

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Speaker 3: gonna have any problems with that. From a leadership component,

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Speaker 3: it's the competitor in James Connor that wants to live

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Speaker 3: and die on that football field and do absolutely whatever

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Speaker 3: it takes, because we've seen James Connor play through injuries

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Speaker 3: because he just doesn't want to get off the field. However,

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Speaker 3: knowing that he has that trust in Trey Benson, maybe

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Speaker 3: he's a little bit more willing to say, Hey, I

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Speaker 3: could use a breather right here. I don't need to

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Speaker 3: overly exert myself in a way that might be actually

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Speaker 3: detrimental to the Arizona Cardinals because they know what they

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Speaker 3: have in Trey Benson. It's gonna be interesting. You expect

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Speaker 3: to see a little bit more involvement from a player

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Speaker 3: going into their second season, and we've talked a ton

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Speaker 3: about all the different guys going into their second season

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Speaker 3: and what that additional play might actually end up looking like.

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Speaker 3: With Trey Benson, though you've seen a lot of clips

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Speaker 3: on social media about him in the passing game as well,

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Speaker 3: that could be another avenue for him to see more

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Speaker 3: feel time.

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Speaker 1: I'm glad you brought that up. Last season, Benson targeted

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Speaker 1: six times, had six catches. Can he elevate that part

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Speaker 1: of his game to where maybe you don't have James

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Speaker 1: Connor on the sideline, Maybe you have both James and

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Speaker 1: Trey on the field at the same time, maybe even

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Speaker 1: in the same backfield, or you have one lined up

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Speaker 1: as a wide receiver or one motion out of the backfield.

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Speaker 1: That's another way to both have two RB ones on

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Speaker 1: the field, because within that particular play or that drive

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Speaker 1: or that quarter, you've got two running backs joining maybe

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Speaker 1: two tight ends and a wide receiver. Another wrinkle within

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Speaker 1: this offense in year three that perhaps Drew Petson didn't

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Speaker 1: have in his first two seasons because of what Trey

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Speaker 1: Benson has shown in year one and then the work

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Speaker 1: that he put in this offseat and say all right,

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Speaker 1: let's see if we can't get number thirty three on

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Speaker 1: the field just a little bit more, but not at

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Speaker 1: the expense of less snaps for James Connor.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, I think with I'm looking right now at Trey

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Speaker 3: Benson and his receiving numbers and just where he was

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Speaker 3: projected where he received the ball mostly and it was

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Speaker 3: all behind the sticks. It was a lot of those

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Speaker 3: screen pass plays that you wanted to see him break

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Speaker 3: free and go down the field. James Connor because he's

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Speaker 3: a little bit bigger, and now I guess with the

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Speaker 3: seven pounds added bringing him to do twenty three, they're

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Speaker 3: right around the same size. But the physicality that James

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Speaker 3: Connor plays the game with, you don't necessarily need to

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Speaker 3: only throw screen passes to him. He could be a

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Speaker 3: receiving back with Trey Benson. Maybe it was because of

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Speaker 3: the size, maybe it was because of the speed. I mean,

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Speaker 3: I'm looking at it here. In a lot of cases,

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Speaker 3: it's five yards behind the line of scrimmage where Trey

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Speaker 3: Benson has received the football a lot of checkdowns. So

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Speaker 3: if you want to get him more involved in the

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Speaker 3: passing game, I saw the Arizona Cardinals posted on social

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Speaker 3: media clip of Trey Benson on a will rat. It

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Speaker 3: looked like you want to have a speed guy go

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Speaker 3: down the field. That's another way for him to get involved.

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Speaker 3: Trey Benson is a competitor, just as James Connor is.

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Speaker 3: So whatever he has the ability to do to get

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Speaker 3: down the field and make plays and get additional yards

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Speaker 3: for this Cardinals offense, I think he's gonna be willing

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Speaker 3: to do that. Benson had less than seventy total touches

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Speaker 3: last season, and just looking at his carries a year ago,

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Speaker 3: finished with sixty three, so it's not a lot when

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Speaker 3: you break it down by game. Only twice in the

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Speaker 3: thirteen games that he played he had at least ten carries.

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Speaker 3: There were four games in which he had eight or

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Speaker 3: more carries. All right, can you add maybe that thirteen

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Speaker 3: fourteen carry average? Because you look at what James Connor

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Speaker 3: he had a career year a year ago, but he

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Speaker 3: also had a career high with two hundred and thirty

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Speaker 3: six rushing attempts. It seems like an awful lot over

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Speaker 3: two hundred. Yeah, I get that, but two thirty six,

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Speaker 3: maybe by design, maybe by necessity, But can you lower

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Speaker 3: that number and increase the reps rushing rushing attempts for

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Speaker 3: a Trey Benson. Not that they're equal, not that they

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Speaker 3: both have one hundred and fifty, but there's a little

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Speaker 3: bit more.

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Speaker 1: There's a little bit more of Trey Benson on the foot.

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Speaker 3: Yeah. I think it also depends on how much you're

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Speaker 3: gonna have Kyler Murray running the football.

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Speaker 1: Is Well, there's the wild card.

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Speaker 3: Because that's what that's what it comes down to. When

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Speaker 3: you have a quarterback with that rushing capabilities and that

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Speaker 3: that dual threat ability, you don't necessarily need to hand

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Speaker 3: it to the running back every single time. I do

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Speaker 3: appreciate how unpredictable it is when you do have Trey

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Speaker 3: Benson out on the field. You're not always gonna be

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Speaker 3: expecting and I think now going forward, rather you're not

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Speaker 3: only going to be expecting a run play because Trey

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Speaker 3: Benson is starting to grow in the passing game. So

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Speaker 3: when it comes down to it, you have the ability

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Speaker 3: to give him the rock. You have the ability for

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Speaker 3: Kyler Murray to take it himself and just run down

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Speaker 3: the field with it. But now you want to see

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Speaker 3: a little bit more in the passing game. But at

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Speaker 3: the end of the day, goes back to your point,

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Speaker 3: James Connor had a lot of rushes in twenty twenty

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Speaker 3: four and he's getting up there in age now. He

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Speaker 3: will smack you in the face if you start to

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Speaker 3: say it like that because it comes with that negative connotation. However,

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Speaker 3: Connor has defied age. He's gone better as the years

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Speaker 3: went on, back to back a thousand plus rushing guard seasons.

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Speaker 3: Had his best rushing season last year, so he one

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Speaker 3: ninety four rushing guards in total. He's only getting better.

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Speaker 3: But some time you gotta look at it. The stereotype

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Speaker 3: is a stereotype for a reason.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, running backs when they hit that thirty year age

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Speaker 1: mark all of a sudden, that's when typically there's a decline.

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Speaker 1: Have not seen that with James Connor. We have this

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Speaker 1: conversation knowing this Berd gang. James Connor is Trey Benson's

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Speaker 1: number one supporter. You watch last season whenever Trey did anything,

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Speaker 1: James was one of the first guys, if not the

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Speaker 1: first guy up off the bench on the sideline, ready

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Speaker 1: to congratulate his teammate. This is not a competition in

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Speaker 1: which the young guys trying it's to plant the veteran.

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Speaker 1: Maybe that happens over time, but this is more two guys,

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Speaker 1: the veteran and the young guy working together. And we

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Speaker 1: heard that from James earlier this offseason. He was the

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Speaker 1: one that first mentioned how much Trey had been in

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Speaker 1: the building working on his body in the weight room,

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Speaker 1: getting ready for this season, and high praise from the

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Speaker 1: starter when the guy over his shoulder is chopping at

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Speaker 1: the bit to get on the field a little bit more.

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Speaker 3: So, it's also because of that friendly competition. They're trying

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Speaker 3: to make each other better. And I think back to

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Speaker 3: when Kyler Murray took all the guys to Los Angeles

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Speaker 3: to UCLA and they're all working out and he posted

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Speaker 3: on his vlog James Connor was in the weight room

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Speaker 3: meleague two in the morning. So when you see that

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Speaker 3: that's who you're competing with, not against, you're competing with

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Speaker 3: them to make the Arizona Cardinals a better football team.

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Speaker 3: You gotta be willing to step it up. But to

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Speaker 3: break down the passing because now I'm just looking at

402
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Speaker 3: it as you and I are talking here, Craig, Trey

403
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Speaker 3: Benson was on the field for forty five different pass plays.

404
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Speaker 3: He had all different types of routes, but on first

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Speaker 3: and second down is when he was mostly used in

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Speaker 3: those past situations because on third down it was all

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Speaker 3: James Connor.

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Speaker 1: And third down is another area in which maybe a

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Speaker 1: Trey Benson could see the field more. Third down obvious

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Speaker 1: passing situation. How good has Trey Benson worked on his

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Speaker 1: blocking the blitz protection? Typically, That's that's why Mario de

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Speaker 1: Mercado is on this team, was on this team, still

413
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Speaker 1: is on this team, is because he was able to

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Speaker 1: protect the quarterback. But if you have year two, Trey

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Speaker 1: Benson can run the ball more explosive, hits the hole,

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Speaker 1: catches the ball out of the backfield. Now, all of

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Speaker 1: a sudden, is he a three down back? Can he?

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Speaker 1: Does he have the trust of the coaches?

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Speaker 3: Does he have.

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Speaker 1: Kyler's trust to step in front of an outside linebacker

421
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Speaker 1: or a corner blitz to pick up that extra defender

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Speaker 1: and be in again. Now, all of a sudden, that's

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Speaker 1: another snap he's on the football field.

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Speaker 3: And when you start to put on your general manager's

425
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Speaker 3: cap and you have to trend this roster down from

426
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Speaker 3: ninety to fifty three. The more you could do if

427
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Speaker 3: you could have Trey Benson both being a receiving running

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Speaker 3: back and a blocking running back. Not to say that

429
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Speaker 3: Amario de mer Kyle is gonna end up getting cut,

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Speaker 3: but that completely changes the roster configuration around here. I'm

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Speaker 3: just watching some of these plays, and the forty five,

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Speaker 3: according to True Media, were plays where he could have

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Speaker 3: been an intended receiver. It wasn't necessarily he was out

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Speaker 3: there for more than just forty five offensive plays when

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Speaker 3: Kyler threw the football, but in some of those he

436
00:22:29,000 --> 00:22:31,760
Speaker 3: could have been blocking as the as the running back there.

437
00:22:31,880 --> 00:22:35,479
Speaker 3: But according to True Media, was a route running receiver

438
00:22:35,640 --> 00:22:37,000
Speaker 3: at least forty five times.

439
00:22:36,840 --> 00:22:42,720
Speaker 1: So a designed route as opposed to maybe just a

440
00:22:42,760 --> 00:22:44,360
Speaker 1: security blanket a safety.

441
00:22:44,480 --> 00:22:46,840
Speaker 3: Essentially, he wasn't just going to be there as an

442
00:22:46,840 --> 00:22:49,800
Speaker 3: additional blocker. He wasn't just going to be by Kyler

443
00:22:49,920 --> 00:22:52,480
Speaker 3: Murray's side. Now there are moments here, as I'm watching

444
00:22:52,640 --> 00:22:55,520
Speaker 3: through the film start to start to taper through here

445
00:22:55,520 --> 00:22:58,040
Speaker 3: a little bit. He you know, he had moments where

446
00:22:58,080 --> 00:23:00,360
Speaker 3: he had an initial chip block and then went out

447
00:23:00,400 --> 00:23:04,359
Speaker 3: for a receiving pass to be a route runner. But

448
00:23:04,480 --> 00:23:06,800
Speaker 3: I will say this, when Trey Benson's in motion, and

449
00:23:06,840 --> 00:23:09,120
Speaker 3: we talk a lot about receivers being in motion. When

450
00:23:09,160 --> 00:23:12,040
Speaker 3: Trey Benson's in motion from the backfield, I'm watching the

451
00:23:12,040 --> 00:23:13,960
Speaker 3: film here from the game against the New York Jets,

452
00:23:14,480 --> 00:23:16,600
Speaker 3: it confuses opposing defenses.

453
00:23:17,440 --> 00:23:21,159
Speaker 1: I would love to see more two backs on the field,

454
00:23:21,520 --> 00:23:26,240
Speaker 1: whether that's backfield receivers or combination of both. And I

455
00:23:26,280 --> 00:23:29,320
Speaker 1: do think that's the way for Trey to get on

456
00:23:29,359 --> 00:23:32,480
Speaker 1: the field more and feel like he did when he

457
00:23:32,560 --> 00:23:34,920
Speaker 1: told us, I feel like we can have two RB

458
00:23:35,000 --> 00:23:38,320
Speaker 1: ones on this team. Was at a hints of things

459
00:23:38,320 --> 00:23:41,320
Speaker 1: to come. Does he know stuff that we will see

460
00:23:41,359 --> 00:23:44,000
Speaker 1: maybe in training camp or not until the regular season

461
00:23:44,320 --> 00:23:47,240
Speaker 1: based off how this offense evolves into year.

462
00:23:47,119 --> 00:23:49,040
Speaker 3: Three, potentially I'm looking out of clip here from the

463
00:23:49,080 --> 00:23:52,800
Speaker 3: game against the Chicago Bears, where you have it's twenty

464
00:23:52,880 --> 00:23:55,960
Speaker 3: two personnel because you have Tip Ryman and Trey McBride

465
00:23:55,960 --> 00:23:58,000
Speaker 3: out there. You have the two running backs James Connor

466
00:23:58,000 --> 00:24:00,639
Speaker 3: and Trey Benson's in motion, and the other wide receiver

467
00:24:00,760 --> 00:24:03,919
Speaker 3: quote unquote wide receiver is Elijah Higgins, he's on the outside,

468
00:24:03,960 --> 00:24:06,040
Speaker 3: but because he's in that wide receiver role, it doesn't

469
00:24:06,080 --> 00:24:09,080
Speaker 3: become thirty two personnel. I don't it just or twenty

470
00:24:09,080 --> 00:24:11,680
Speaker 3: three personnel rather, I don't know. It's fascinating to see.

471
00:24:11,800 --> 00:24:15,480
Speaker 3: We know about Drew Petsing's innovation with the offense, it's

472
00:24:15,480 --> 00:24:17,639
Speaker 3: moments like this where you could truly expand on that.

473
00:24:18,040 --> 00:24:21,280
Speaker 1: It's run first, maybe even run second, but how do

474
00:24:21,320 --> 00:24:25,359
Speaker 1: you get how do you get those pieces together to

475
00:24:25,400 --> 00:24:29,239
Speaker 1: where maybe you do see some more explosive plays in

476
00:24:29,280 --> 00:24:33,080
Speaker 1: the passing game as far as run after catch, run

477
00:24:33,119 --> 00:24:38,080
Speaker 1: after contact, and it's good, it's it's I don't I

478
00:24:38,119 --> 00:24:42,160
Speaker 1: don't mind the comment. And I'm not dismissing Trey Benson's

479
00:24:42,160 --> 00:24:45,600
Speaker 1: belief that he feels that there are two starting running

480
00:24:45,600 --> 00:24:47,480
Speaker 1: backs on this team, because I can certainly, as we've

481
00:24:47,520 --> 00:24:50,240
Speaker 1: been discussing, there is a way for that to happen

482
00:24:50,320 --> 00:24:55,320
Speaker 1: without same number of rushing attempts. But maybe the playing time,

483
00:24:55,359 --> 00:24:58,359
Speaker 1: the number of snaps between he and James Connor are

484
00:24:58,359 --> 00:25:02,040
Speaker 1: a little bit more in balance as opposed to James

485
00:25:02,080 --> 00:25:05,280
Speaker 1: always being on the field and Trey White waiting biding

486
00:25:05,320 --> 00:25:05,960
Speaker 1: his time.

487
00:25:05,760 --> 00:25:07,720
Speaker 3: And we could we talk a lot about the or

488
00:25:07,720 --> 00:25:09,560
Speaker 3: at least I have talked a lot about just Trey

489
00:25:09,560 --> 00:25:11,679
Speaker 3: Benson being in the passing game. That could also be

490
00:25:11,800 --> 00:25:13,920
Speaker 3: all for not because if you're going to be looking

491
00:25:13,920 --> 00:25:15,760
Speaker 3: at your weapons out there, you don't want to be

492
00:25:15,760 --> 00:25:17,840
Speaker 3: getting Tredy bentson the football unless you have to get

493
00:25:17,840 --> 00:25:19,879
Speaker 3: Trey Benson the football. You want to be able to

494
00:25:19,880 --> 00:25:23,560
Speaker 3: get Marvin Harrison Junior, Michael Wilson, Trey McBride, Elijah Higgins.

495
00:25:23,560 --> 00:25:25,399
Speaker 3: You want to be able to get your playmakers the

496
00:25:25,480 --> 00:25:27,879
Speaker 3: football out in space and do what they could do.

497
00:25:28,240 --> 00:25:32,200
Speaker 3: But it's how you utilize both that balance between Trey

498
00:25:32,240 --> 00:25:34,680
Speaker 3: Benson and James Connor, because when James Connors out there,

499
00:25:35,080 --> 00:25:37,159
Speaker 3: you know number six is going to get his touches.

500
00:25:37,400 --> 00:25:41,680
Speaker 1: It's a fascinating discussion and it's a hopefully dynamic duo

501
00:25:41,880 --> 00:25:45,320
Speaker 1: in that running back room coming up this season. Now

502
00:25:45,320 --> 00:25:49,560
Speaker 1: there's another dynamic duo perhaps on the other side of

503
00:25:49,600 --> 00:25:53,720
Speaker 1: the ball, that is outside linebacker with Jordan Birch and

504
00:25:53,840 --> 00:25:56,159
Speaker 1: Xavier Thomas and Zach You've got a story up on

505
00:25:56,240 --> 00:25:58,600
Speaker 1: Azy Cardinals dot com or soon to be posted on

506
00:25:58,640 --> 00:26:02,680
Speaker 1: Azycardinals dot com. Blast from the Past to Present day.

507
00:26:03,200 --> 00:26:07,720
Speaker 1: Jordan Birch and Xavier Thomas reunite your title I do.

508
00:26:07,920 --> 00:26:09,240
Speaker 1: Did you come up with that or was that a

509
00:26:09,640 --> 00:26:12,440
Speaker 1: It was instead a suggestion. It's someone else.

510
00:26:12,440 --> 00:26:14,680
Speaker 3: You know, it's stemmed from a quote I asked Jordan Birch.

511
00:26:15,359 --> 00:26:18,480
Speaker 3: You know, he's shared the practice field already with Xavier Thomas,

512
00:26:18,640 --> 00:26:20,600
Speaker 3: but when he gets out to State Farm Stadium for

513
00:26:20,640 --> 00:26:23,360
Speaker 3: the first time during the preseason and he looks across

514
00:26:23,480 --> 00:26:26,600
Speaker 3: the line and sees somebody that was his high school

515
00:26:26,680 --> 00:26:29,560
Speaker 3: mentor out on the field, Xavier Thomas called himself his

516
00:26:29,600 --> 00:26:33,359
Speaker 3: big brother to Jordan Burch, when that moment happens, what's

517
00:26:33,359 --> 00:26:35,040
Speaker 3: that going to feel like? And he said, it's gonna

518
00:26:35,240 --> 00:26:37,040
Speaker 3: feel like a moment from the past. So I went on,

519
00:26:37,200 --> 00:26:39,280
Speaker 3: blast from the past. He could go with that, neither

520
00:26:39,320 --> 00:26:42,400
Speaker 3: here or there, but it was, you know, to see

521
00:26:42,520 --> 00:26:46,560
Speaker 3: guys from the same small town flor in South Carolina

522
00:26:46,760 --> 00:26:48,840
Speaker 3: to be on the big stage over two thousand miles

523
00:26:48,840 --> 00:26:51,760
Speaker 3: away here in ten Pi, Arizona, repping the same team,

524
00:26:51,800 --> 00:26:53,879
Speaker 3: coming from a city where not a lot of people

525
00:26:53,920 --> 00:26:56,800
Speaker 3: make it out. According to Jordan Birch, Xavier Thomas was

526
00:26:56,880 --> 00:26:59,480
Speaker 3: the standard for a lot of those players and now

527
00:27:00,280 --> 00:27:02,760
Speaker 3: followed suit It's pretty special to see him on the

528
00:27:02,800 --> 00:27:04,639
Speaker 3: same field. Big brother, little brother.

529
00:27:04,920 --> 00:27:07,480
Speaker 1: It was big brother Xavier Thomas who got all the

530
00:27:07,480 --> 00:27:11,919
Speaker 1: accolades in high school, yet I mean in college, in

531
00:27:12,000 --> 00:27:13,600
Speaker 1: high school and in college.

532
00:27:13,400 --> 00:27:15,080
Speaker 3: One of the top players in high school in the

533
00:27:15,119 --> 00:27:16,040
Speaker 3: recruiting class.

534
00:27:15,920 --> 00:27:18,960
Speaker 1: And yet David Thomas had to wait until round five

535
00:27:19,040 --> 00:27:22,520
Speaker 1: to hear his name called last season. Jordan Birch a

536
00:27:22,720 --> 00:27:27,320
Speaker 1: third round pick, and just looking at two outside linebackers that,

537
00:27:27,880 --> 00:27:31,840
Speaker 1: at least size wise, I think are dramatically different. Zay

538
00:27:31,960 --> 00:27:35,360
Speaker 1: is six two two forty four. Jordan is sixty four

539
00:27:35,480 --> 00:27:38,920
Speaker 1: two seventy nine, closer to what Darius Robinson is as

540
00:27:38,960 --> 00:27:41,480
Speaker 1: a defensive end. Yet we know Jordan is going to

541
00:27:41,520 --> 00:27:45,720
Speaker 1: be a stand up outside linebacker. He has he can

542
00:27:46,080 --> 00:27:48,000
Speaker 1: put his hand in the dirt. But you're talking about

543
00:27:48,359 --> 00:27:52,040
Speaker 1: Jordan Birch, who has the physical traits of an outside linebacker,

544
00:27:52,119 --> 00:27:57,439
Speaker 1: just goes straight ahead. Zavid Thomas maybe more like an

545
00:27:57,520 --> 00:27:59,679
Speaker 1: inside linebacker body type.

546
00:28:00,200 --> 00:28:02,480
Speaker 3: Go Craig Greenlule, you hit it on the head. We'll

547
00:28:02,480 --> 00:28:04,800
Speaker 3: share a little bit of breaking news here because it'll cut.

548
00:28:04,800 --> 00:28:08,480
Speaker 3: The article will be posted on Thursday on Asycardinals dot

549
00:28:08,520 --> 00:28:11,480
Speaker 3: com and it'll be called blasting the past, Jordan Bird,

550
00:28:11,560 --> 00:28:14,600
Speaker 3: Savior Thomas re unite, as we previously alluded to. But

551
00:28:14,920 --> 00:28:16,680
Speaker 3: Xavier Thomas, when I was talking to him, he told

552
00:28:16,720 --> 00:28:18,600
Speaker 3: me that his role was going to expand a little

553
00:28:18,640 --> 00:28:21,280
Speaker 3: bit because when we saw him out there fourteen games played,

554
00:28:21,480 --> 00:28:24,520
Speaker 3: only had you know, ten tackles two and a half sacks.

555
00:28:24,760 --> 00:28:26,520
Speaker 3: Obviously made a big play in that game against the

556
00:28:26,560 --> 00:28:29,040
Speaker 3: New York Jets, bringing down Aaron Rodgers on that strip

557
00:28:29,119 --> 00:28:32,520
Speaker 3: sack fumble. But I asked him how much different that

558
00:28:32,600 --> 00:28:34,520
Speaker 3: role was actually gonna look because we only primarily saw

559
00:28:34,560 --> 00:28:36,840
Speaker 3: him on third down. He said that the Cardinals had

560
00:28:36,880 --> 00:28:38,840
Speaker 3: been moving him around a little bit, putting him in

561
00:28:38,880 --> 00:28:41,959
Speaker 3: a little bit more of a sam linebacker role, dropping

562
00:28:42,040 --> 00:28:45,160
Speaker 3: him back into coverage. He's gonna be playing on earlier downs,

563
00:28:45,520 --> 00:28:47,640
Speaker 3: not just on third down like we saw him in

564
00:28:47,720 --> 00:28:50,760
Speaker 3: twenty twenty four, just strictly getting after the passer. So

565
00:28:50,960 --> 00:28:54,200
Speaker 3: it's it's fascinating because when you start to put on

566
00:28:54,240 --> 00:28:56,840
Speaker 3: the GM cap, as we previously talked about, where does

567
00:28:56,880 --> 00:29:00,880
Speaker 3: Xavier Thomas fall in a room that you resigned Baron Browning,

568
00:29:01,000 --> 00:29:03,960
Speaker 3: you bring in Josh Sweat, you have Zavon Collins who

569
00:29:03,960 --> 00:29:07,000
Speaker 3: you put on a contract extension during the previous offseason.

570
00:29:07,280 --> 00:29:10,120
Speaker 3: B Jo Julari's returning from injury. Oh yeah, and you

571
00:29:10,200 --> 00:29:13,040
Speaker 3: just drafted your high school teammate Jordan Birch in the

572
00:29:13,040 --> 00:29:15,520
Speaker 3: third round. Where does Xavier Thomas fall into the mix?

573
00:29:15,840 --> 00:29:17,560
Speaker 3: And now in his case, you have to try to

574
00:29:17,600 --> 00:29:19,680
Speaker 3: find a role. When you're giving a jersey on game day,

575
00:29:19,680 --> 00:29:21,600
Speaker 3: what are you going to do with it? It seems

576
00:29:21,600 --> 00:29:24,479
Speaker 3: like Nick Rollis and his innovative ways is trying to

577
00:29:24,560 --> 00:29:28,560
Speaker 3: move Xavier Thomas from not just a pass rush role,

578
00:29:28,720 --> 00:29:31,240
Speaker 3: but into more of an inside linebacker willing to drop

579
00:29:31,280 --> 00:29:32,080
Speaker 3: back into coverage.

580
00:29:32,120 --> 00:29:36,440
Speaker 1: And remember with outside linebacker and why the Cardinals love

581
00:29:36,560 --> 00:29:39,680
Speaker 1: Zave and Collins so much, is are you a three

582
00:29:39,720 --> 00:29:43,280
Speaker 1: down linebacker? It's not just last year for Xavier Thomas,

583
00:29:43,280 --> 00:29:46,720
Speaker 1: you had one job. All this passing situation, Go get

584
00:29:46,720 --> 00:29:50,920
Speaker 1: the quarterback. Yet, what Nick Rolis likes is the versatility

585
00:29:51,680 --> 00:29:54,440
Speaker 1: you stay on the field. It's not a tell, Hell,

586
00:29:54,520 --> 00:29:57,800
Speaker 1: here comes Xavier Thomas, they're rushing. If you're a three

587
00:29:57,800 --> 00:30:02,280
Speaker 1: down linebacker, it's you'll get the quarterback, stop the run,

588
00:30:02,680 --> 00:30:05,760
Speaker 1: set the edge, and oh yeah, drop in the coverage

589
00:30:06,160 --> 00:30:11,160
Speaker 1: to where now you might have the same outside linebacker

590
00:30:11,200 --> 00:30:13,280
Speaker 1: on the field for all three downs, but you don't

591
00:30:13,320 --> 00:30:16,080
Speaker 1: know what they're going to do on that particular play.

592
00:30:16,120 --> 00:30:18,360
Speaker 3: And I think Xavier Thomas I didn't include this in

593
00:30:18,400 --> 00:30:21,080
Speaker 3: the article, so once again, this is some juicy details

594
00:30:21,080 --> 00:30:23,680
Speaker 3: coming right here. On Cardinals Cover two. He told me that,

595
00:30:24,280 --> 00:30:27,760
Speaker 3: you know, warning the defense as a rookie was a challenge,

596
00:30:27,840 --> 00:30:29,160
Speaker 3: you know, he said to me, He goes, straight up,

597
00:30:29,160 --> 00:30:31,320
Speaker 3: I didn't really feel like I knew the defense all

598
00:30:31,400 --> 00:30:34,120
Speaker 3: that much. And he still started to see some flashes

599
00:30:34,160 --> 00:30:36,480
Speaker 3: of why the Cardinals were willing to take a flyer

600
00:30:36,640 --> 00:30:40,040
Speaker 3: on Xavier Thomas considering his six years at Clemson and

601
00:30:40,080 --> 00:30:42,760
Speaker 3: everything else that he went through. But he said, now

602
00:30:42,920 --> 00:30:45,200
Speaker 3: it has made a lot more sense draft the offseason,

603
00:30:45,200 --> 00:30:48,240
Speaker 3: now that he's had more time to work on it.

604
00:30:48,360 --> 00:30:51,080
Speaker 3: The opportunities are growing. And I said to him, I go, well,

605
00:30:51,120 --> 00:30:53,920
Speaker 3: it sure has to feel nice knowing that you have

606
00:30:54,000 --> 00:30:56,960
Speaker 3: a nice pass rush on the interior defensive line with

607
00:30:57,040 --> 00:31:01,080
Speaker 3: Kalay's Campbell, Dalvin Thomlinson, Walter Nolan, Darius Robinson being fully

608
00:31:01,080 --> 00:31:03,680
Speaker 3: healthy going into this point of the season. And he said, yeah,

609
00:31:03,840 --> 00:31:05,880
Speaker 3: because all of us now are able to just get

610
00:31:05,880 --> 00:31:08,400
Speaker 3: home and go after the quarterback and it doesn't have

611
00:31:08,520 --> 00:31:11,120
Speaker 3: that tell. As you mentioned that when Xavier Thomas is

612
00:31:11,120 --> 00:31:14,040
Speaker 3: out there, it only means that that's happening now because

613
00:31:14,040 --> 00:31:16,800
Speaker 3: of his expanded role, that's not always going to fully

614
00:31:16,840 --> 00:31:17,280
Speaker 3: be the case.

615
00:31:17,400 --> 00:31:21,800
Speaker 1: You look at last year's Week one roster five outside linebackers.

616
00:31:22,120 --> 00:31:26,600
Speaker 1: So twenty twenty five, you still keep five? Do you

617
00:31:26,680 --> 00:31:30,840
Speaker 1: go one fewer because of what you have at defensive line? Oh,

618
00:31:30,960 --> 00:31:34,840
Speaker 1: by the way, Mac Wilson Senior can rush the quarterback

619
00:31:34,920 --> 00:31:39,240
Speaker 1: and be that quote unquote outside linebacker type. He's shown

620
00:31:39,360 --> 00:31:42,120
Speaker 1: he can rush the passer. So again it goes back

621
00:31:42,160 --> 00:31:48,520
Speaker 1: to the innovation and the exotic packages that Nick Rolis

622
00:31:48,800 --> 00:31:52,040
Speaker 1: sometimes was forced to use last season based off personnel.

623
00:31:52,560 --> 00:31:56,440
Speaker 1: Now it's based off personnel and what they do well.

624
00:31:57,120 --> 00:31:59,520
Speaker 1: You can make mix and match a little bit differently.

625
00:31:59,560 --> 00:32:03,480
Speaker 1: But maybe he utilized to say, same eleven for an

626
00:32:03,640 --> 00:32:09,520
Speaker 1: entire set of downs because you are confident in moving

627
00:32:09,520 --> 00:32:12,120
Speaker 1: those pieces a little bit, giving the offense a different

628
00:32:12,160 --> 00:32:14,840
Speaker 1: look even though the personnel hasn't changed.

629
00:32:14,880 --> 00:32:17,600
Speaker 3: You saw a rotation. How much of that was because

630
00:32:17,600 --> 00:32:20,520
Speaker 3: of just the talent difference between some of the guys

631
00:32:20,520 --> 00:32:22,080
Speaker 3: that you had in there and you needing to give

632
00:32:22,240 --> 00:32:25,600
Speaker 3: guys like Xavin Collins a break on every couple of snaps,

633
00:32:25,680 --> 00:32:27,400
Speaker 3: just to let him, you know, get his get to

634
00:32:27,480 --> 00:32:29,960
Speaker 3: get his uh get, just get some air back into

635
00:32:30,000 --> 00:32:32,840
Speaker 3: his system. After playing all those other snaps and being

636
00:32:32,920 --> 00:32:34,920
Speaker 3: used in all the different ways, you didn't know how

637
00:32:35,000 --> 00:32:37,000
Speaker 3: much of a difference it was between just the talent

638
00:32:37,120 --> 00:32:40,240
Speaker 3: structure versus Nick Rolis just trying to scheme things together.

639
00:32:40,720 --> 00:32:43,680
Speaker 3: Now Nick Rolis has all the toys out there to

640
00:32:44,080 --> 00:32:47,200
Speaker 3: play with and to make magic happen out on the field.

641
00:32:47,480 --> 00:32:49,120
Speaker 3: It's gonna be very exciting. I want to go to

642
00:32:49,200 --> 00:32:51,680
Speaker 3: a quote here that I didn't include, but when I

643
00:32:51,720 --> 00:32:55,040
Speaker 3: asked Xavier Thomas about the Russian cover, cover and rush,

644
00:32:55,200 --> 00:32:57,680
Speaker 3: he said here that the philosophy that we have and

645
00:32:57,800 --> 00:33:00,360
Speaker 3: everything just makes a lot more sense now in the

646
00:33:00,360 --> 00:33:03,280
Speaker 3: defense for another year, everything is starting to come together

647
00:33:03,320 --> 00:33:05,600
Speaker 3: a lot more and things like that allow you to

648
00:33:05,680 --> 00:33:09,000
Speaker 3: play free and play fast, especially once you know the

649
00:33:09,040 --> 00:33:09,800
Speaker 3: defense that way.

650
00:33:09,880 --> 00:33:14,640
Speaker 1: And that's the advantage Xavier Thomas has over his little

651
00:33:14,720 --> 00:33:18,560
Speaker 1: brother Jordan Birch little in terms of years, not the

652
00:33:18,720 --> 00:33:23,920
Speaker 1: size size wise, because Zay's been here and Jordan Birch

653
00:33:24,080 --> 00:33:27,120
Speaker 1: is still learning. How quickly now can Jordan pick this

654
00:33:27,320 --> 00:33:29,920
Speaker 1: up to where all of a sudden he sees playing

655
00:33:30,000 --> 00:33:32,880
Speaker 1: time or a lot of rookies. It takes a little

656
00:33:32,880 --> 00:33:34,600
Speaker 1: while and all of a sudden you get passed on

657
00:33:34,640 --> 00:33:37,840
Speaker 1: that depth chart because maybe not based off of talent,

658
00:33:37,960 --> 00:33:41,480
Speaker 1: but based off of knowledge and how well they understand

659
00:33:41,520 --> 00:33:44,640
Speaker 1: the defense and can play fast as opposed to thinking

660
00:33:44,720 --> 00:33:45,320
Speaker 1: out on the field.

661
00:33:45,400 --> 00:33:48,800
Speaker 3: Look, and kudos to Xavier Thomas. He's still playing that

662
00:33:48,880 --> 00:33:51,640
Speaker 3: big brother role. Their lockers are right next to each other,

663
00:33:51,720 --> 00:33:54,680
Speaker 3: Jordan Birch and Xavier Thomas, so when they're standing down

664
00:33:54,680 --> 00:33:57,320
Speaker 3: next to each other, they reflect a lot. And Jordan

665
00:33:57,400 --> 00:34:00,920
Speaker 3: Birch told me that he's always asking Xavier Tomas questions,

666
00:34:01,000 --> 00:34:03,880
Speaker 3: and Xavier Thomas told me he's always giving him advice

667
00:34:03,920 --> 00:34:05,560
Speaker 3: to be like, hey, you got to keep the main

668
00:34:05,600 --> 00:34:07,920
Speaker 3: thing the main thing. Keep your head up, don't don't

669
00:34:07,960 --> 00:34:10,319
Speaker 3: let days that are too high be too high, don't

670
00:34:10,360 --> 00:34:13,240
Speaker 3: let low days be too low. You know, find that balance.

671
00:34:13,440 --> 00:34:16,080
Speaker 3: And for somebody who has gone through the emotional challenges

672
00:34:16,120 --> 00:34:18,319
Speaker 3: that Xavier Thomas has in the past, and you know,

673
00:34:18,400 --> 00:34:21,600
Speaker 3: his story has been a well documented on asycardinals dot com,

674
00:34:22,320 --> 00:34:25,319
Speaker 3: to have that sort of leader and it's not just

675
00:34:25,400 --> 00:34:28,800
Speaker 3: a veteran leader, but somebody that just went through it.

676
00:34:28,800 --> 00:34:31,600
Speaker 3: It's fresh in his mind. If you ask Kalis Campbell

677
00:34:31,800 --> 00:34:34,640
Speaker 3: stuff about his rookie season, things might be a little

678
00:34:34,640 --> 00:34:37,840
Speaker 3: bit more foggy compared well, I guess Kalais has the

679
00:34:38,320 --> 00:34:41,760
Speaker 3: you know, the the the mindset of still a rookie

680
00:34:41,800 --> 00:34:44,600
Speaker 3: with just the fierce competitiveness that he plays the game with.

681
00:34:44,640 --> 00:34:47,000
Speaker 3: And that rookie season was certainly, you know, a time

682
00:34:47,040 --> 00:34:50,759
Speaker 3: for the Arizona Cardinals, but when you think back to it,

683
00:34:50,760 --> 00:34:53,719
Speaker 3: it was a long time ago from Kalais being a

684
00:34:53,840 --> 00:34:56,560
Speaker 3: kid again, being in Xavier Thomas's shoes, being in Jordan

685
00:34:56,640 --> 00:34:59,960
Speaker 3: Birch's shoes. When you have a guy like Xavier Thomas

686
00:35:00,040 --> 00:35:03,200
Speaker 3: who just went through this, it hits a little bit differently.

687
00:35:03,239 --> 00:35:06,040
Speaker 1: And that's why I think Xavier Thomas and Jordan Birch,

688
00:35:06,120 --> 00:35:09,160
Speaker 1: it's not just the time they're spending together here at

689
00:35:09,200 --> 00:35:12,480
Speaker 1: the facility, but it's time away from the facility. That's

690
00:35:12,480 --> 00:35:16,719
Speaker 1: something we've heard consistently throughout this entire offseason from a

691
00:35:16,800 --> 00:35:19,680
Speaker 1: number of different players, and we've seen it as well.

692
00:35:19,800 --> 00:35:23,480
Speaker 1: You specifically, you are a part of Mac Wilson Senior

693
00:35:24,000 --> 00:35:27,520
Speaker 1: schedule release rap video behind the scenes you are at

694
00:35:27,560 --> 00:35:30,200
Speaker 1: the d Backs game, most recently with the rookie class,

695
00:35:30,520 --> 00:35:32,920
Speaker 1: in which Walter Nolan the third throughout the first pitch.

696
00:35:32,960 --> 00:35:37,040
Speaker 1: So guys are spending time together away from like the

697
00:35:37,239 --> 00:35:40,520
Speaker 1: x's and oh's the football part. And does that equate

698
00:35:40,560 --> 00:35:44,600
Speaker 1: to wins in a regular season. Who knows. But I

699
00:35:44,760 --> 00:35:48,040
Speaker 1: just know that if you enjoy being around your teammates,

700
00:35:48,040 --> 00:35:52,600
Speaker 1: you respect your teammates personally, you're gonna fight a little

701
00:35:52,600 --> 00:35:56,719
Speaker 1: bit harder for your teammates as opposed to Yeah, I

702
00:35:56,760 --> 00:35:58,920
Speaker 1: don't care what you do. I'm gonna do my own thing. No. No,

703
00:35:58,960 --> 00:36:01,760
Speaker 1: we're working together together for the benefit of the team.

704
00:36:01,840 --> 00:36:06,040
Speaker 3: Look. I go back to DJ Humphries talking about rehabbing

705
00:36:06,040 --> 00:36:07,960
Speaker 3: with Kyler Murray and how they got to know each

706
00:36:07,960 --> 00:36:11,480
Speaker 3: other a lot closer, and hump said during that press

707
00:36:11,480 --> 00:36:14,520
Speaker 3: conference during training camp, you play a lot harder for

708
00:36:14,560 --> 00:36:17,680
Speaker 3: the people that you love, And that moment stuck with

709
00:36:17,719 --> 00:36:20,600
Speaker 3: me because there was all this talk about Kyler Murray

710
00:36:20,800 --> 00:36:24,120
Speaker 3: and his personality and this and that, and hump I

711
00:36:24,160 --> 00:36:26,120
Speaker 3: think saying that being a leader on the team at

712
00:36:26,120 --> 00:36:30,279
Speaker 3: the time truly showed that a brotherhood is needed for

713
00:36:30,480 --> 00:36:33,840
Speaker 3: in order to put a solid product out onto the field,

714
00:36:34,080 --> 00:36:36,520
Speaker 3: and every year that Jonathan Gannon has been here, the

715
00:36:36,920 --> 00:36:40,040
Speaker 3: team has gotten closer and closer. A connected team is

716
00:36:40,080 --> 00:36:42,160
Speaker 3: a dangerous team in a lot of ways, and I

717
00:36:42,200 --> 00:36:44,359
Speaker 3: think that that's something that you're starting to see a

718
00:36:44,360 --> 00:36:47,400
Speaker 3: lot more players are open to doing stuff in the community.

719
00:36:47,480 --> 00:36:50,839
Speaker 3: Mac Wilson Senior had his community day, Kyler Murray had

720
00:36:50,960 --> 00:36:54,399
Speaker 3: his celebrity softball event, and you had guys from the team.

721
00:36:54,480 --> 00:36:56,600
Speaker 3: It wasn't just a bunch of celebrities coming in from

722
00:36:56,640 --> 00:36:59,080
Speaker 3: different teams. You had a lot of your own dudes,

723
00:36:59,120 --> 00:37:01,439
Speaker 3: a lot of your teammate It's your friends, the guys

724
00:37:01,440 --> 00:37:04,080
Speaker 3: that you share a locker room with. Is they're supporting you.

725
00:37:04,360 --> 00:37:07,560
Speaker 3: Does that connect to a win? Maybe maybe not, But

726
00:37:07,640 --> 00:37:09,440
Speaker 3: at least you know that you have the trust and

727
00:37:09,480 --> 00:37:11,919
Speaker 3: the friendship and the camaraderie so that you could hold

728
00:37:11,920 --> 00:37:14,560
Speaker 3: that you could at least hold each other accountable. When

729
00:37:14,600 --> 00:37:17,719
Speaker 3: it comes to the rookie class and at that Diamondbacks game,

730
00:37:17,880 --> 00:37:20,320
Speaker 3: I mentioned it in my article on azycardls dot com

731
00:37:20,520 --> 00:37:24,319
Speaker 3: about just the connection that this rookie class has only

732
00:37:24,360 --> 00:37:26,399
Speaker 3: being in the building for a little over a month

733
00:37:26,400 --> 00:37:28,680
Speaker 3: a month and a half at this rate, Walter Nolan

734
00:37:28,760 --> 00:37:30,520
Speaker 3: went out to the mount. I asked him before him,

735
00:37:30,520 --> 00:37:32,560
Speaker 3: I'm like, well, you're throwing from the rubber what are

736
00:37:32,600 --> 00:37:34,239
Speaker 3: you feeling right now? And he said he wanted to,

737
00:37:34,480 --> 00:37:36,600
Speaker 3: and then was told no, he's not allowed to. So

738
00:37:36,840 --> 00:37:39,759
Speaker 3: all of his rookie buddies started to, you know, give

739
00:37:39,800 --> 00:37:41,880
Speaker 3: it to him. They start to heckle from the foul line,

740
00:37:41,960 --> 00:37:44,359
Speaker 3: and Walt turned back over to them and started giving

741
00:37:44,400 --> 00:37:46,759
Speaker 3: it back to them, and then he turns to me.

742
00:37:46,719 --> 00:37:48,719
Speaker 3: He goes, make sure you know I have this on

743
00:37:48,800 --> 00:37:51,920
Speaker 3: video too. He's like, you guys are my witness. They

744
00:37:51,920 --> 00:37:53,920
Speaker 3: wouldn't allow me to throw from the mount. But just

745
00:37:53,960 --> 00:37:59,240
Speaker 3: that connection, that brotherhood, it's it's a stark. It's very evident,

746
00:37:59,360 --> 00:38:01,839
Speaker 3: is what I should say. It's very evident, very early on,

747
00:38:01,920 --> 00:38:03,520
Speaker 3: and that could only help this team.

748
00:38:03,640 --> 00:38:06,719
Speaker 1: And whether or not you believe that that team chemistry

749
00:38:06,880 --> 00:38:11,040
Speaker 1: equals wins and is a product or vice versa wins

750
00:38:11,280 --> 00:38:14,080
Speaker 1: and now all of a sudden you have team chemistry.

751
00:38:14,120 --> 00:38:17,080
Speaker 1: But let me just say this, and someone who played

752
00:38:17,120 --> 00:38:20,319
Speaker 1: the game for a number of years, Kalayis Campbell. Yeah,

753
00:38:20,320 --> 00:38:23,080
Speaker 1: he's played the game since two thousand and eight. He

754
00:38:23,160 --> 00:38:25,880
Speaker 1: mentioned this when asked about how everyone seems to be

755
00:38:25,920 --> 00:38:29,799
Speaker 1: getting along, at least from our perspective watching on the outside.

756
00:38:29,800 --> 00:38:33,880
Speaker 1: But he mentioned quote the best teams have that camaraderie,

757
00:38:34,040 --> 00:38:37,960
Speaker 1: and I think that safe to say. If Klayus says it,

758
00:38:38,040 --> 00:38:40,400
Speaker 1: he believes it, and it's true at least in a

759
00:38:40,440 --> 00:38:45,279
Speaker 1: player's mind. So again, I do think it matters how

760
00:38:45,320 --> 00:38:47,799
Speaker 1: well you get along, not that your best friends are

761
00:38:47,840 --> 00:38:50,799
Speaker 1: hanging out all the time, but yeah, what you do

762
00:38:50,880 --> 00:38:55,759
Speaker 1: away from the facility as a team can help on

763
00:38:55,840 --> 00:38:58,040
Speaker 1: the football field. On Sunday, is.

764
00:38:58,000 --> 00:39:00,520
Speaker 3: It awesome during the open portion of practice to watch

765
00:39:00,600 --> 00:39:04,320
Speaker 3: Kalayis working with Dalvin Tomlinson and working with Darius Robinson

766
00:39:04,320 --> 00:39:06,960
Speaker 3: and Walter Nolan and giving him tidbits right there on

767
00:39:07,000 --> 00:39:09,680
Speaker 3: the spot. Yeah, it is awesome. What stands out to

768
00:39:09,680 --> 00:39:13,320
Speaker 3: me is seeing that how did Kyler Murray refer to

769
00:39:13,400 --> 00:39:15,640
Speaker 3: him as a gargantuan human being?

770
00:39:16,239 --> 00:39:16,880
Speaker 1: Yeah, what was the.

771
00:39:18,760 --> 00:39:24,160
Speaker 3: Yeah, gargantuan human being? And seeing him dance with Walter

772
00:39:24,239 --> 00:39:27,680
Speaker 3: Nolan and Darius Robinson and Dante Stills. Those moments stand

773
00:39:27,719 --> 00:39:31,040
Speaker 3: out a lot more because, yes, the impact that Khalaius

774
00:39:31,080 --> 00:39:33,080
Speaker 3: is going to have on this defensive line room will

775
00:39:33,120 --> 00:39:38,320
Speaker 3: show on the field, but it allows the personalities allow

776
00:39:38,480 --> 00:39:41,680
Speaker 3: a guy like Walt Nolan and Darius Robinson to feel

777
00:39:41,680 --> 00:39:43,560
Speaker 3: a lot more comfortable to ask a Venter in those

778
00:39:43,560 --> 00:39:44,200
Speaker 3: type of questions.

779
00:39:44,320 --> 00:39:46,480
Speaker 1: Yeah, you want to be able to feel comfortable to

780
00:39:46,600 --> 00:39:50,399
Speaker 1: approach your elder if you will, much like how you're

781
00:39:50,440 --> 00:39:54,920
Speaker 1: comfortable approaching myself or even older than me, Darren, I

782
00:39:55,560 --> 00:39:58,560
Speaker 1: can as I can't because.

783
00:39:58,239 --> 00:39:58,759
Speaker 3: He's not here.

784
00:39:58,880 --> 00:39:59,880
Speaker 1: We established he's not.

785
00:40:00,120 --> 00:40:02,319
Speaker 3: How am I supposed to ask these questions? You are

786
00:40:02,520 --> 00:40:05,040
Speaker 3: my boss in the meantime, you are my supervisor.

787
00:40:05,239 --> 00:40:08,040
Speaker 1: No, do not do not say that out loud. By

788
00:40:08,080 --> 00:40:09,480
Speaker 1: the way, since you do not have you.

789
00:40:09,440 --> 00:40:12,080
Speaker 3: Don't you don't want me to say that you're my supervisor,

790
00:40:12,160 --> 00:40:14,799
Speaker 3: So that when I mess around and do all these

791
00:40:14,880 --> 00:40:17,760
Speaker 3: terrible things over these next few weeks, I can't blame

792
00:40:17,800 --> 00:40:18,160
Speaker 3: it on you.

793
00:40:18,480 --> 00:40:20,880
Speaker 1: I do got to ask, you know, without a boss,

794
00:40:20,920 --> 00:40:23,440
Speaker 1: why are you still Why are you still here on

795
00:40:23,480 --> 00:40:24,160
Speaker 1: this Wednesday?

796
00:40:24,239 --> 00:40:26,720
Speaker 3: Because I got to talk about football with Craig Greelun

797
00:40:26,800 --> 00:40:27,799
Speaker 3: What could be better than that?

798
00:40:28,080 --> 00:40:30,719
Speaker 1: All? Right? Again, we were monitoring all this, Cody on

799
00:40:30,719 --> 00:40:32,360
Speaker 1: the other side, making sure you clip everything.

800
00:40:32,480 --> 00:40:34,960
Speaker 3: Okay, I know that there's gonna be moments where this

801
00:40:35,040 --> 00:40:39,040
Speaker 3: is going to come back to haunt me. I'll take

802
00:40:39,080 --> 00:40:41,080
Speaker 3: it on the chin, by the way.

803
00:40:41,160 --> 00:40:44,279
Speaker 1: Great work with the Jordan Bird Savior Thomas story on

804
00:40:44,320 --> 00:40:47,840
Speaker 1: Easycardinals dot Com in addition to the Diamondbacks game and

805
00:40:47,880 --> 00:40:51,040
Speaker 1: hanging out with the rookies on Friday. All good stuff

806
00:40:51,080 --> 00:40:54,240
Speaker 1: on Easycardinals dot Com. Anything else you want to plug

807
00:40:54,320 --> 00:40:57,040
Speaker 1: promote that you're working on into the not too not

808
00:40:57,120 --> 00:40:58,239
Speaker 1: too distant future.

809
00:40:58,040 --> 00:41:00,400
Speaker 3: We're gonna have a lot of features on some of

810
00:41:00,440 --> 00:41:03,680
Speaker 3: the guys that you don't necessarily know about on the

811
00:41:03,719 --> 00:41:06,520
Speaker 3: Cardinals rookie in those Cardinals rookies class. Yeah, you know

812
00:41:06,560 --> 00:41:09,800
Speaker 3: about Walton Nolan and will be undrafted rookies. How about

813
00:41:09,920 --> 00:41:13,000
Speaker 3: Elliott Brown coming from the CFL. How about Valentin send

814
00:41:13,040 --> 00:41:15,480
Speaker 3: in his journey from Austria. These will be the type

815
00:41:15,520 --> 00:41:17,960
Speaker 3: of stories that you'll see in the next coming weeks

816
00:41:18,000 --> 00:41:20,840
Speaker 3: on Azycardinals dot Com and a lot more as well.

817
00:41:21,000 --> 00:41:23,359
Speaker 1: And that's why you're still here despite not having a boss,

818
00:41:23,360 --> 00:41:26,160
Speaker 1: because somebody's got to work. Someone's got to work, and

819
00:41:26,200 --> 00:41:28,960
Speaker 1: that's what we do here. We work all the time,

820
00:41:29,320 --> 00:41:31,879
Speaker 1: all day, every day. On that note, we will put

821
00:41:31,920 --> 00:41:34,320
Speaker 1: a lid on this edition of Cardinals. Cover two presented

822
00:41:34,320 --> 00:41:37,280
Speaker 1: by Hundai probably partner of the Arizona Cardinals. As always,

823
00:41:37,280 --> 00:41:40,680
Speaker 1: special thanks to our executive producer Jim Almahare, our associate

824
00:41:40,680 --> 00:41:44,400
Speaker 1: producer Cody Fincher for Zach Gershman who works all the time. Darren,

825
00:41:44,560 --> 00:41:46,480
Speaker 1: I'm Craig Grioloup. We'll talk to you next time you're

826
00:41:46,520 --> 00:41:47,680
Speaker 1: on Cardinals Cover two,