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Speaker 1: Fifty three.

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Speaker 2: That's the magic number. Welcome Bird Gang. On today's show,

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Speaker 2: Zach Kershman joins me our thoughts on the initial fifty

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Speaker 2: three man roster, where their surprises sure there always are,

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Speaker 2: Plus what the head coach had to say about the

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Speaker 2: players kept, the players not kept, and the players who

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Speaker 2: were brought back At Cardinals Cover two, Episode seven eighty

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Speaker 2: nine and it starts now.

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Speaker 3: Welcome to Cardinals Cover two.

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Speaker 1: Buda Baker, What Heart? What rent? This guy's unbelievable.

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Speaker 3: Cardinals Cover two is presented by Hyundai, proud partner of

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Speaker 3: the Arizona Cardinals, and by Arizona Cardinals Podcast. Visit Azycardinals

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Speaker 3: dot com slash podcast.

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Speaker 1: He's at the ten half of five. He's it again.

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Speaker 1: Some more hurry magic.

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Speaker 3: Whow Here's craigcriolud.

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Speaker 2: So off the top Bird Gang to let everyone know

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Speaker 2: that Zach Kershman might be a little bit of a

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Speaker 2: fighting mood. If you will like what it did there.

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Speaker 1: I like what you did that, all right?

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Speaker 2: I want to explain everyone before we get into the

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Speaker 2: nuts and the bulls, as far as the fifty three

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Speaker 2: man roster and the practice squad, why do you have

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Speaker 2: a gigantic grin on your face from earlier on Wednesday.

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Speaker 4: Because the Sugar Show came to town and that's pretty sweet.

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Speaker 4: You see what I did there?

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Speaker 2: I did see what?

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Speaker 1: Ah?

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Speaker 4: Yeah, the UFC bantamweight champion Sean O'Malley ahead of his

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Speaker 4: historic bout at the Sphere, which is going to be

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Speaker 4: a historic event because no combat, no live sporting event

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Speaker 4: outside of the NHL Draft has been held inside the

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Speaker 4: Sphere in Las Vegas, but UFC three oh six UFC

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Speaker 4: Noche celebrating Mexican Independence Day weekend is going to be

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Speaker 4: taking place. Sean O'Malley in the main event, defending his

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Speaker 4: title against Marab Devashweli. I'm pretty sure I said his

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Speaker 4: last name correctay, but yeah, he came to the valley.

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Speaker 4: He lives in Arizona, but he came to the Dignity

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Speaker 4: Hell Training Center to come visit the Arizona Cardinals run

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Speaker 4: some drills, and me, being a big UFC fan, a

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Speaker 4: combat sports fan, it was quite awesome to see the

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Speaker 4: champ and to bring the literal championship as well, which

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Speaker 4: is pretty heavy from what the players were saying. I

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Speaker 4: did not hold it, but he handed it off to LJ.

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Speaker 4: Collier and LJ. Collier was like, WHOA, So yeah, very

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Speaker 4: very exciting though and gracious amount of time spent with

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Speaker 4: the champ from the champion, and you get to see

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Speaker 4: guys like Kyler Murray, who's a big UFC fanatic, start

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Speaker 4: to be a fan again. They don't really get that

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Speaker 4: opportunity right now. They're only focusing on Week one beating Buffalo, Buffalo, Buffalo, Buffalo,

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Speaker 4: and only Buffalo is what matters for this team right now.

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Speaker 4: But to finish practice and to see the champ standing

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Speaker 4: over there in the corner holding the belt, the guy's

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Speaker 4: got to be kids again, which is pretty cool.

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Speaker 2: A little bit of a change of pace post practice

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Speaker 2: on Wednesday. So yeah, the fight is September fourteenth. Some

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Speaker 2: videos I've already seen that have been posted in a

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Speaker 2: course azycardinals dot com with more video and an article

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Speaker 2: that Uzek will have written might have already been posted

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Speaker 2: by the time you hear this edition of Cardinals cover too.

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Speaker 2: But Sean O'Malley fighting out of Phoenix eighteen and one,

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Speaker 2: and as I learned, don't ask him about the one.

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Speaker 4: It's not a matter of don't ask him about the one,

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Speaker 4: it's that So Sean O'Malley had a fight. He lost

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Speaker 4: to Cheeto Vera a few a little while ago back

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Speaker 4: in March, beat Cheeto Vera in like the in the

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Speaker 4: second matchup that they had. So by default, one minus one,

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Speaker 4: you know, equals zero. So he hasn't lost yet. So yeah,

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Speaker 4: Sean O'Malley said to me that he's going into this

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Speaker 4: contest and nearly writing a twenty game winning streak, a

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Speaker 4: twenty fight winning streak. So yeah, he's going back into

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Speaker 4: this one with an eighteen and one but in his

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Speaker 4: mind an eighteen record and ready to make it nineteen

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Speaker 4: in one of the biggest UFC events out there.

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Speaker 2: It's fair enough. I'll give him that now. Seeing some

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Speaker 2: of the reactions from the players you mentioned Kyler Murray,

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Speaker 2: Dennis Gardak, Trey McBride, Will Hernandez, a handful of others

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Speaker 2: as well, but again, just the joy that they had,

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Speaker 2: and you mentioned it kind of acting like kids but

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Speaker 2: being fans, because I think that's the one thing with

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Speaker 2: athletes and entertainers. They all have the admiration and the

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Speaker 2: respect for one another. Athletes are big fans of music

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Speaker 2: and other athletes and vice versas. So when you have

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Speaker 2: that crossover all of a sudden, it's the they almost

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Speaker 2: like they know one another, even though they might not

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Speaker 2: have met, but they all really understand what it has

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Speaker 2: taken to get to that level. Whether it's athletics, music, acting,

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Speaker 2: whatever it is, it takes that hard work to be

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Speaker 2: part of that one percent.

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Speaker 4: It's a game respects game sort of motto that this

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Speaker 4: that that a lot of these athletes sort of sort

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Speaker 4: of live by. It's why you see so many celebrities

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Speaker 4: having the sort of relationship with one another that's sort

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Speaker 4: of of friendship and bond because they know what goes

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Speaker 4: into the amount of work, the amount of effort, and

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Speaker 4: as Kyler Murray said to me, the amount of blood,

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Speaker 4: sweat and tears that he sees from these UFC fighters.

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Speaker 1: That's why he.

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Speaker 4: Gets emotional when he hears Bruce Buffer belt out and

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Speaker 4: new chant and you know, Dana White puts the belt

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Speaker 4: around somebody new and hopefully in this case Sean O'Malley's

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Speaker 4: going to be the one to retain, so we will

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Speaker 4: hear and still instead. But yeah, it's an admiration to

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Speaker 4: the work, to the craft when you have players and

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Speaker 4: athletes and individuals that put so much into their craft.

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Speaker 4: From such a young age. I mean, Sean O'Malley was

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Speaker 4: telling me how he was a big sports fan growing up,

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Speaker 4: but once he started growing up, he was so much

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Speaker 4: more focused on training that he wasn't a fan anymore.

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Speaker 4: He grew up a fan. He grew up in Montana.

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Speaker 4: His mom was a Broncos fan, so he grew up

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Speaker 4: a Broncos fan because of his mother. But then once

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Speaker 4: he stopped following the sport, he stopped following football. All

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Speaker 4: allegiances are are kind of gone. He moved to the

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Speaker 4: Valley about ten years ago. He's an Airs, he's on

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Speaker 4: a Cardinals fan, and he told me that he's definitely

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Speaker 4: gonna be trying to come to a handful of games

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Speaker 4: at State Farm Stadium. So if that wasn't if there

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Speaker 4: wasn't enough of a reason for fans to come to

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Speaker 4: State Farm Stadium, now they have even more of a

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Speaker 4: reason because the champ's going to be there too. Hopefully

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Speaker 4: again the fights September fourteenth, details on Azycardinals dot Com

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Speaker 4: and again all of that behind the scenes and the

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Speaker 4: videos and the interaction between the Cardinals players and Sean

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Speaker 4: O'Malley to be posted, if not already across all platforms

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Speaker 4: of the Arizona Cardinals. I mentioned this happened after practice,

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Speaker 4: so let's start with how the day began and begin

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Speaker 4: to practice. It did look a little different out there

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Speaker 4: on Wednesday, something Jonathan Gannon mentioned before practice and Michael

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Speaker 4: Wilson mentioned after practice. There were twenty six less players.

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Speaker 4: Twenty six players who had been released on Tuesday not

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Speaker 4: on the field.

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Speaker 3: Now.

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Speaker 2: Half of those players were brought back on the practice squad,

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Speaker 2: which we'll get into in a minute. You go from

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Speaker 2: ninety really ninety one because of Bernhard'sychowitz, but going from

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Speaker 2: ninety to fifty three, and just the numbers as they

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Speaker 2: break into their different position groups on how fewer there

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Speaker 2: are on the field, and it is a little bit

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Speaker 2: different or eerie, as JG mentioned, But that will quickly

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Speaker 2: get over with and then you keep moving on to

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Speaker 2: the next day. And then, as Michael Wilson mentioned, he

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Speaker 2: considers this week one. I mean they have already started

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Speaker 2: the prep for the Buffalo Bills.

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Speaker 4: Yeah, we've always we've recently been asking about how will

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Speaker 4: this roster look because as much as you are planning

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Speaker 4: for Week one, you're also planning for a preseason game,

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Speaker 4: or whether it was joint practices or whatever it might

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Speaker 4: have been during the offseason, or just trying to field

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Speaker 4: the roster out there as you're trying to learn the

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Speaker 4: systems and new schemes, any new terminology. But now all

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Speaker 4: eyes are locked in on Buffalo and it was a

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Speaker 4: little different walking out to practice and seeing not as

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Speaker 4: many faces, not as many jerseys out there, but you

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Speaker 4: did start to get a glimpse of who and why

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Speaker 4: they were high on certain people. You know what Chris

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Speaker 4: Barnes could bring to the table, which is one of

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Speaker 4: the reasons why they brought him back in the linebacker room.

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Speaker 4: But one of the new faces was Julian Aquara, who

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Speaker 4: the Cardinals acquired signed to their practice squad. He was

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Speaker 4: released from the Philadelphia Eagles, spent the summer with them,

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Speaker 4: but previously was in Detroit. Nine games out there in

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Speaker 4: twenty twenty three, had a handful of really impressive snaps.

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Speaker 4: So the Cardinals decided to bring some reinforcements to that

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Speaker 4: outside linebacker room because they already traded away Cam Thomas,

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Speaker 4: and then on top of that, Tyreek Smith, your only

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Speaker 4: other outside linebacker that you release, has a reunion in Seattle,

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Speaker 4: so they had to bring in another body to the

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Speaker 4: outside linebacker room in Aquia it is.

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Speaker 2: It's gonna be interesting to see how you maneuver this

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Speaker 2: roster moving forward and who gets active on game day,

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Speaker 2: who gets that uniform, because if you have a uniform,

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Speaker 2: then you have a role that particular week. Though as

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Speaker 2: JG mentioned, they quote the dust has not settled end

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Speaker 2: quote as far as the roster is concerned. But right

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Speaker 2: now the Cardinals are keeping two quarterbacks. We know Kyler

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Speaker 2: Murray and Clayton Tune. Right now is QB two Desmond

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Speaker 2: rid Or released, brought back to the practice squad, But

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Speaker 2: Tune is the guy that will back up Kyler Murray

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Speaker 2: and his production, his decision making and the protection of

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Speaker 2: the football. Outside of that interception, which did not look

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Speaker 2: good in Denver, though to hear, JG mentioned that it

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Speaker 2: was not all Tune's fault because immediately when a quarterback

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Speaker 2: gets sacked or turns the ball over, it's like, oh,

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Speaker 2: quarterback's fault. Not always the case. I've learned that with

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Speaker 2: Drew Stanton sitting in that chair next to you, Zach

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Speaker 2: enough times to know that quarterbacks, as far as the sacks,

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Speaker 2: sometimes it's the offensive line or someone missed a block

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Speaker 2: as far as an interception, did you run the right route?

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Speaker 2: Was the ball tipped? And without getting into details, JG's

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Speaker 2: mentioned that all eleven players weren't doing what they were

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Speaker 2: supposed to on that particular play. But he did like

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Speaker 2: the improvement that Clayton Tune has made from a year

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Speaker 2: ago to now and he was just a little bit

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Speaker 2: better than Desmond written.

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Speaker 4: Night and day difference between last year and this year

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Speaker 4: when it comes to Clayton Tune operating that huddle. And

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Speaker 4: I think when you watch some of the games and

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Speaker 4: you watch the tape back and they showed the close

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Speaker 4: up shots of Clayton Tune talking to the ten other

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Speaker 4: players in that huddle, you see that he has more

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Speaker 4: of a command of the huddle. That's very encouraging for

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Speaker 4: a player only going into his second year. And in

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Speaker 4: that one snap against the Denver Broncos that result in

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Speaker 4: the ninety four yard pick six, a few things come

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Speaker 4: into play. One and something that JG talked about, Yes,

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Speaker 4: you want your backup quarterback to always have the mindset

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Speaker 4: that you are a snap away, one potentially really bad

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Speaker 4: snap away from you needing to go back out there.

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Speaker 4: But in this case, he already did his time, and

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Speaker 4: when you're a backup, you think, Okay, I am going

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Speaker 4: to be going into the game given moment. Once you

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Speaker 4: already played in the game, you're not thinking, Okay, I'm

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Speaker 4: going back into the game at any given moment. So

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Speaker 4: that was a little bit of a difference. But it

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Speaker 4: was interesting to hear JG mentioned that it was a

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Speaker 4: matter of everybody need to be needing to do their job,

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Speaker 4: and in that specific moment it did not happen. So, yeah,

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Speaker 4: the blame could be thrown onto Clayton Tune because it

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Speaker 4: seemed just like a wild throw that a quarterback shouldn't

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Speaker 4: be making. In the NFL. However, there's a lot as

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Speaker 4: you mentioned, and as Drew's talked about, and as we've

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Speaker 4: heard plenty of times throughout covering the NFL, everything needs

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Speaker 4: to go right, and when one thing doesn't go right,

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Speaker 4: whether it's Audrey Dentson talking about the time he didn't

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Speaker 4: block for Dan Marino, whatever it is, everybody has to

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Speaker 4: be doing their job for the play to be executed

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Speaker 4: to perfection.

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Speaker 2: QB two the number one storyline of the preseason. The

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Speaker 2: second storyline of preseason the running backs. How many were

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Speaker 2: they going to keep could they even keep five? Well,

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Speaker 2: the answer is no, they did not. Cardinals kept four

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Speaker 2: running backs, but a fifth did land on the practice squad.

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Speaker 2: Michael Carter is back restus shured Bird Gang that he

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Speaker 2: is on the team, just on the practice squad. That

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Speaker 2: to me and probably naive of me in our discussion

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Speaker 2: about the running back room, Yeah, keep them all because

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Speaker 2: DJ Dallas is going to be your return specialist. Yet

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Speaker 2: at the same time you kind of look beyond that

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Speaker 2: as far as the numbers game, does it make sense

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Speaker 2: to keep that many running backs When James Connor is

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Speaker 2: gonna get fifteen to twenty catches or touches a game.

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Speaker 1: He might get catches too. The passing game he does.

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Speaker 2: He does, and he's got great hands. But if you

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Speaker 2: have James Connor that involved, then what's the trickle down?

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Speaker 2: Is there enough for a Trey Benson, Amar Dear Mericado,

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Speaker 2: a Michael Carter and then also DJ Dallas doesn't make

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Speaker 2: a whole lot of sense to keep that many, though

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Speaker 2: you do want to keep the most talented players. And

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Speaker 2: then the other aspect of this is finances, And with

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Speaker 2: the release of Michael Carter, the Cardinals saved themselves three

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Speaker 2: million dollars in cap savings. Now, yeah, they have a

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Speaker 2: lot of cap space, but does it make sense to

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Speaker 2: have someone on your roster making that much money standing

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Speaker 2: on the sideline and not participating, whether that's on offense,

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Speaker 2: defense or special teams, It just doesn't make financial sense.

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Speaker 2: The move was made and Michael Carter Clared Waivers was

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Speaker 2: not picked up and is now back with the team,

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Speaker 2: just on the practice squad.

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Speaker 4: Just because you have money doesn't mean you need to

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Speaker 4: spend it. And that's sort of the and I might

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Speaker 4: have earned out the hard way sometimes, but that's the mindset.

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Speaker 4: And that's a fair mindset to have. And we know,

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Speaker 4: whether it's talking about free agency with many austin for it,

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Speaker 4: they want to be very wise about where that money

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Speaker 4: is being allocated towards and who it's being allocated towards,

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Speaker 4: who who's checking account and banking account's going to receive

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Speaker 4: that benefit. They have to be very smart about that

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Speaker 4: because you need to have While you do have app space,

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Speaker 4: that's not to say that in the future when you

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Speaker 4: start looking at free agency or potential need during the

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Speaker 4: during the season, you need to sign somebody or make

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Speaker 4: whatever sort of deals possible. You want to be able

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Speaker 4: to have the money at your at your disposal, So

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Speaker 4: it makes sense. And while we had that realization together

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Speaker 4: when we were looking at the cap and we're saying, okay,

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Speaker 4: now it makes a little bit more sense when you

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Speaker 4: start to look at the dollars, dollars make sense. And

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Speaker 4: that's exactly what happened here with Michael Carter. So the

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Speaker 4: dust hasn't settled on Michael Carter specifically. That was a

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Speaker 4: player that John Degannon mentioned by a name and that

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Speaker 4: specific moment. But it's nice to see that he's on

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Speaker 4: the practice squad because he does fit in really well

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Speaker 4: with this team and in this building.

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Speaker 2: And who's to say that you wind up on the

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Speaker 2: practice squad, You get elevated that particular week and you

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Speaker 2: have a role that particular week, while someone on the

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Speaker 2: fifty three man roster perhaps is inactive and doesn't have

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Speaker 2: a role. That is certainly the case, and it's not

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Speaker 2: just the Arizona Cardinals, it's across the word league. What

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Speaker 2: best players give you the best chance to win that

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Speaker 2: particular week, whatever the game plan is on offense or defense.

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Speaker 2: So that's this aspect, and Gannon was asked repeatedly, and

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Speaker 2: he was steadfast and how he views the practice squad

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Speaker 2: Cardinals was seventeen players as many as seventeen currently right

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Speaker 2: now they have a fifteen man practice squad, but how

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Speaker 2: to use those players' development but also to supplement your

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Speaker 2: active roster on game day, and those players play a

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Speaker 2: huge role each and every week.

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Speaker 4: One hundred percent. You think about some of the players,

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Speaker 4: especially last year, and I think Jonathan Gannon kind of

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Speaker 4: mentioned it where he said, we've shown that if you're

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Speaker 4: on the practice squad, you're not just going to remain

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Speaker 4: there for the entire year. We're gonna use your activation

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Speaker 4: and your elevations to the main roster. We're gonna use

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Speaker 4: those wisely. And whether it was Andre Bacchelli being brought

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Speaker 4: up many different times throughout the season last year, Dana

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Speaker 4: as well, who else we got out there. Phil Hoskins

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Speaker 4: started on practice squad. He started on practice squad, then

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Speaker 4: you brought him up. Roy Lopez started on practice squad,

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Speaker 4: He brought him up. Andre Shascher was on practice squad,

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Speaker 4: you sign him to the active roster. It's not just

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Speaker 4: all talking. And a large part of that was because

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Speaker 4: of the injuries that the Cardinals sustained last year. But

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Speaker 4: once again, this is football, and it's a violent game,

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Speaker 4: and it's a physical game, and injuries are the known

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Speaker 4: known of the end of the game. So you have

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Speaker 4: to have a quality depth in your practice squad so

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Speaker 4: that you have at your disposal to elevateive needed and

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Speaker 4: they've shown that they will. Let's keep going through this

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Speaker 4: roster and stick with the offense before we turn our

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Speaker 4: attention to the defense. Wide receiver six kept with Zach Pascal,

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Speaker 4: Chris Moore as your veterans, and.

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Speaker 2: Then Xavier Weaver. Weaver the receiver as Paul Calvis he

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Speaker 2: likes to call him, does make the team as an

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Speaker 2: undrafted free agent out of Colorado. He was just too

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Speaker 2: good to not keep on this roster. He made himself

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Speaker 2: a valuable asset to this team, not only catching the

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Speaker 2: ball and the contested catches, but on special teams in

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Speaker 2: the return game. And this is this is a route

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Speaker 2: in which now all of a sudden, Weaver, if you're

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Speaker 2: active on game day as a special teamer. Now perhaps

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Speaker 2: there might not be as many wide receivers active, yet

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Speaker 2: Weaver playing special teams can go in and get a

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Speaker 2: couple of snaps if he's part of the game plan.

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Speaker 2: But you always like to see those players they don't

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Speaker 2: hear their name called during the draft and then all

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Speaker 2: of a sudden their road becomes that much more difficult.

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Speaker 2: But here he is a part of the initial fifty

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Speaker 2: three man roster.

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Speaker 4: And I spoke to Xavier Weaver after he didn't get

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Speaker 4: drafted when we went to when all the rookies went

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Speaker 4: to the Diamondbacks game, I was into the suite with

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Speaker 4: Zay Weaver and I was talking to him about it,

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Speaker 4: and I said, Hey, you played under Dion Sanders, the

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Speaker 4: guy who has a quote for absolutely everything. What did

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Speaker 4: he tell you about you going on drafted? And Prime

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Speaker 4: Time told Zay Weaver he said, it's your time. And

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Speaker 4: also go prove all the thirty one other teams wrong

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Speaker 4: and prove the one team that you did get signed to,

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Speaker 4: the Arizona Cardinals, prove them right. And that's exactly what happens.

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Speaker 4: Zay Weaver has the makeup of a really strong wide

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Speaker 4: receiver that shows the speed, is willing voluntarily to take

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Speaker 4: part in special teams and truly give it as all.

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Speaker 4: And I think that there's moments where you saw in

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Speaker 4: the game against Denver Clayton Tune scrambles out to the

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Speaker 4: outside throws the forty three yard pass to Zay Weaver.

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Speaker 4: Zay Weaver laid absolutely out for it could not have

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Speaker 4: gone further if he even tried. But that's what you

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Speaker 4: want from these players, is the guys that are willing

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Speaker 4: to give it their absolute all. They have that in

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Speaker 4: a guy like Zay Weaver, and he wants to prove that.

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Speaker 4: While he understands that this is a business, he's in

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Speaker 4: it for himself too. He's in it to improve the team,

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Speaker 4: but he's also in it to show what he's able

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Speaker 4: to bring to the table, which will ultimately complement the team.

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Speaker 2: Cannot wait to see Xavier Weaver in action, whether on

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Speaker 2: special teams or on offense. Cardinals Again, one other point,

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Speaker 2: because I think that this does apply to Zay Weaver

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Speaker 2: a little bit. I asked Jean again and how did

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Speaker 2: the roster construction, how was it impacted after with fifty

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Speaker 2: three when you consider the new kickoff rule, and he said,

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Speaker 2: it's not just a kickoff rule, it's all phases of

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Speaker 2: special teams. That's where you want is That's one of

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Speaker 2: the reasons why I think Zay Weaver made this roster

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Speaker 2: because of his ability in the punt return game. We

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Speaker 2: saw flashes of it throughout practices and then a little

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Speaker 2: bit into the preseason him saying that it's all phases,

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Speaker 2: including punt return, including kick return. That is one of

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Speaker 2: the reasons why I think Zay Weaver had a step up,

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Speaker 2: a leg up when he was a matter of cracking

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Speaker 2: the fifty three man roster. So looking at the offense,

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Speaker 2: they keep twenty five players, two quarterbacks, four running backs,

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Speaker 2: six wide receivers, four tight ends, nine offensive linement. We

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Speaker 2: mentioned Michael Carter's on the practice squad, three wide receivers

386
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Speaker 2: on the practice squad including Dan Senna and Andre Bicelli,

387
00:20:01,720 --> 00:20:05,399
Speaker 2: and draft picked ta John Palmer, and three offensive linemen

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Speaker 2: on the practice squad. Now, the Cardinals did have one

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Speaker 2: player claimed off waivers, tight end Trevor Newawski claimed by

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Speaker 2: the Lions, so he goes back to Detroit. The Lions

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Speaker 2: signed him as an undrafted free agent in twenty twenty three.

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Speaker 2: Cardinals claimed him off waivers last December, so he goes

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Speaker 2: back to Detroit. Now the Cardinals did they claim a player,

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Speaker 2: I'm sure they did. They were not awarded any claims

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Speaker 2: on a player despite Zach the fact that they had

396
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Speaker 2: the fourth spot in order because the team's ahead of him,

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Speaker 2: the Panthers, Commanders and Patriots probably claimed maybe a player

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Speaker 2: that the Cardinals wanted, but because they were ahead, they

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Speaker 2: get that player. Well. Specifically, the Panthers and Patriots claimed

400
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Speaker 2: ten players, so maybe those were players the Cardinals were interested.

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Speaker 2: Who knows, but Cardinals did not on the initial release

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Speaker 2: as far as players, no awarded claims for the Cardinals.

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Speaker 4: That's the beauty and the curse of having a waiver

404
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Speaker 4: spot so high up is because you know that there

405
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Speaker 4: might be a player that you're so close to grabbing,

406
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Speaker 4: but there are a few other teams and their general

407
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Speaker 4: managers have to make a decision in order if they

408
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Speaker 4: want to keep them or not, if they want to

409
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Speaker 4: potentially let that player trickle on down the waiver wire

410
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Speaker 4: and potentially land that number four to the Cardinals. But

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Speaker 4: you think back to last year the Cardinals in twenty

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Speaker 4: twenty three, they were third in the waiver wire claim

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Speaker 4: They had a league high six claims and a lot

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Speaker 4: of important players still on this roster that were brought

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Speaker 4: in through that time. Elijah Higgins at tight ends, darlingk

416
00:21:36,160 --> 00:21:39,440
Speaker 4: Thomas Trista Cologne makes the initial fifty three man roster.

417
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Speaker 4: Keith Ishmael is here on the practice squad, so there,

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Speaker 4: it's definitely something that this organization values and they keep

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Speaker 4: their eye on. But once again, with claiming so many

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Speaker 4: players as the Patriots and the Panthers did, they have

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Speaker 4: to also release a lot of different players, and that

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Speaker 4: opens up the opportunity for Monty austin Ford and his

423
00:21:59,160 --> 00:22:02,119
Speaker 4: staff to scoop in or to swoop in rather and

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00:22:02,119 --> 00:22:05,600
Speaker 4: scoop up a couple players. JG talked about being convicted

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Speaker 4: on a waiver claim. If you are awarded that claim,

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Speaker 4: then yet to your point, Zach, all of a sudden

427
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Speaker 4: there has to be a corresponding roster move. None of

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Speaker 4: that happened on Wednesday. We'll see what happens over the

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Speaker 4: coming days. Again, the dust has not settled, in the

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Speaker 4: words of head coach Jonathan Gannon, maybe not until Monday.

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Speaker 4: So we talked about the offense, Let's turn our attention

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Speaker 4: to the defense. As far as the roster, the initial

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Speaker 4: fifty three man roster and the one position group that

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Speaker 4: continues or was a main talking point and probably will

435
00:22:36,040 --> 00:22:37,840
Speaker 4: continue to be a main talking point.

436
00:22:38,119 --> 00:22:43,080
Speaker 2: Is outside linebacker. Five kepts Zavin Collins, Dennis Gardek, Victor

437
00:22:43,119 --> 00:22:48,240
Speaker 2: du mccagee, Jesse Lukette, and Xavier Thomas. Noticeable absence, well,

438
00:22:48,280 --> 00:22:50,080
Speaker 2: that would be Cameron Thomas who was traded to the

439
00:22:50,160 --> 00:22:53,960
Speaker 2: Chiefs for a seventh round pick. So right now, again,

440
00:22:54,560 --> 00:22:58,880
Speaker 2: still uncertainty. And what I liked from hearing from Jonathan

441
00:22:58,920 --> 00:23:03,720
Speaker 2: Gannon earlier on Wednesdays, he understands that people have questions.

442
00:23:03,800 --> 00:23:07,600
Speaker 2: He was asked, how comfortable are you with your pass rush?

443
00:23:07,720 --> 00:23:12,240
Speaker 2: He answered, I'm comfortable and then he added this, you

444
00:23:12,320 --> 00:23:16,360
Speaker 2: guys might not be comfortable. Everyone has their own opinion,

445
00:23:16,640 --> 00:23:19,760
Speaker 2: and he understands that. But the player the Cardinals have

446
00:23:19,920 --> 00:23:25,120
Speaker 2: right now for the outside linebackers and getting to opposing quarterbacks,

447
00:23:25,280 --> 00:23:29,040
Speaker 2: it's not just the outside linebacker. It's perhaps Mike MacWilson

448
00:23:29,080 --> 00:23:32,359
Speaker 2: senior at inside linebacker. It's the defensive line. Can the

449
00:23:32,400 --> 00:23:34,560
Speaker 2: guys in the back end and the secondary cover a

450
00:23:34,600 --> 00:23:37,119
Speaker 2: little bit longer to allow the quarterback to hang on

451
00:23:37,160 --> 00:23:39,560
Speaker 2: to the football. But right now, yeah, it's going to

452
00:23:39,600 --> 00:23:42,360
Speaker 2: be a question until we get answers and who who

453
00:23:42,400 --> 00:23:44,000
Speaker 2: knows how long that's going to take.

454
00:23:44,359 --> 00:23:47,800
Speaker 4: Very fair for Jonathan and to admit that and acknowledge that.

455
00:23:47,800 --> 00:23:49,600
Speaker 4: I also recognize that people are going to have their

456
00:23:49,640 --> 00:23:53,880
Speaker 4: opinions about this team, a team that had there had

457
00:23:53,920 --> 00:23:56,520
Speaker 4: some issues getting to the quarterback and causing some problems

458
00:23:56,600 --> 00:23:59,119
Speaker 4: last year, and you haven't really seen much of a

459
00:23:59,240 --> 00:24:02,840
Speaker 4: difference in that room outside of Julian Aquara, who they

460
00:24:02,960 --> 00:24:06,199
Speaker 4: brought into their practice squad, and you start to question

461
00:24:06,320 --> 00:24:08,520
Speaker 4: why that might be the case. Well, I think it's truthfully,

462
00:24:08,520 --> 00:24:11,160
Speaker 4: because we don't see what's actually going on in these

463
00:24:11,200 --> 00:24:13,680
Speaker 4: meetings rooms, in these locker rooms. We know about the

464
00:24:14,240 --> 00:24:18,200
Speaker 4: injury battles that the Cardinals were dealt with last year, Well,

465
00:24:18,240 --> 00:24:20,400
Speaker 4: that didn't really open up a lot of opportunities for

466
00:24:20,480 --> 00:24:23,320
Speaker 4: the outside linebackers to really rush the passer and the

467
00:24:23,359 --> 00:24:25,640
Speaker 4: way that we know that they potentially could be capable

468
00:24:25,920 --> 00:24:29,159
Speaker 4: of doing. So they see something that allows them to

469
00:24:29,160 --> 00:24:31,719
Speaker 4: feel convicted about the guys that they have in this room,

470
00:24:31,760 --> 00:24:34,840
Speaker 4: because we know as a staff they have zero issues

471
00:24:35,119 --> 00:24:37,040
Speaker 4: letting go of players if they do not think that

472
00:24:37,080 --> 00:24:40,280
Speaker 4: they could help them beat Buffalo week one. So the

473
00:24:40,280 --> 00:24:42,479
Speaker 4: guys that they have there, there's definitely a level of

474
00:24:42,880 --> 00:24:45,040
Speaker 4: confidence in that room. And that's not to say that

475
00:24:45,080 --> 00:24:47,199
Speaker 4: they're not looking. I'm sure that they are looking, but

476
00:24:47,200 --> 00:24:50,159
Speaker 4: then again, they're always looking, as is every team. So

477
00:24:50,320 --> 00:24:53,600
Speaker 4: what will that room end up being in a few weeks.

478
00:24:53,720 --> 00:24:54,160
Speaker 1: Who knows?

479
00:24:54,240 --> 00:24:56,439
Speaker 4: The dust has not settled. And that's a term that

480
00:24:56,960 --> 00:25:00,399
Speaker 4: you and I will continue to have mentioned it probably

481
00:25:00,400 --> 00:25:03,280
Speaker 4: continue to mention throughout the remainder of this podcast. So

482
00:25:03,320 --> 00:25:06,600
Speaker 4: that outside linebacker room it's up. It's also up to

483
00:25:06,640 --> 00:25:09,679
Speaker 4: the coaches, which is something John Degannon talked about. Normally

484
00:25:09,680 --> 00:25:11,359
Speaker 4: we look at the players, but you also have to

485
00:25:11,359 --> 00:25:14,320
Speaker 4: have your coaches put them in positions. Rob Rodriguez has

486
00:25:14,359 --> 00:25:16,560
Speaker 4: to get his guys ready to go, but that also

487
00:25:16,600 --> 00:25:19,720
Speaker 4: goes hand in hand with Derek Leblond helping the defensive

488
00:25:19,760 --> 00:25:22,280
Speaker 4: line making sure that they're that they're able to cause

489
00:25:22,400 --> 00:25:25,240
Speaker 4: enough pressure in the trenches so that you're outside linebackers

490
00:25:25,240 --> 00:25:27,720
Speaker 4: could let their hair down and run. And you mentioned

491
00:25:27,800 --> 00:25:31,360
Speaker 4: earlier about this secondary and needing the secondary to stay

492
00:25:31,400 --> 00:25:34,119
Speaker 4: on there, on their on their coverage a lot longer.

493
00:25:34,160 --> 00:25:35,760
Speaker 4: So all those things go hand in hand.

494
00:25:35,840 --> 00:25:39,320
Speaker 2: And remember this coaching staff, this defensive coaching staff led

495
00:25:39,320 --> 00:25:44,000
Speaker 2: by Jonathan and ask their outside linebackers to do things differently,

496
00:25:44,119 --> 00:25:47,800
Speaker 2: whether that's technique and also as far as rolls within

497
00:25:47,800 --> 00:25:50,960
Speaker 2: the defense, it's not just getting to the quarterback. It's

498
00:25:51,040 --> 00:25:55,000
Speaker 2: rushing the quarterback, it's steadying the edge, it's dropping into coverage.

499
00:25:55,080 --> 00:25:58,080
Speaker 2: And if you can't do all those three things, then

500
00:25:58,240 --> 00:26:00,480
Speaker 2: you're just not a part of this team. There is

501
00:26:00,520 --> 00:26:02,520
Speaker 2: no room for you. I don't think they have room

502
00:26:02,640 --> 00:26:05,199
Speaker 2: for as we'd like to say, a one trick pony

503
00:26:05,440 --> 00:26:08,080
Speaker 2: where they have one guy just go get the quarterback.

504
00:26:08,240 --> 00:26:11,159
Speaker 2: Maybe eventually they find that guy, but they also have

505
00:26:11,240 --> 00:26:13,840
Speaker 2: to be able to do everything else, set the edge,

506
00:26:14,000 --> 00:26:17,560
Speaker 2: drop into coverage because they like that versatility. They like

507
00:26:17,680 --> 00:26:20,119
Speaker 2: to be adaptable on defense. And if you don't have

508
00:26:20,160 --> 00:26:23,280
Speaker 2: players who can fit that mold, then they're going to

509
00:26:23,320 --> 00:26:25,840
Speaker 2: find someone who does. And I think a large part

510
00:26:25,880 --> 00:26:29,040
Speaker 2: that's a big reason why Cameron Thomas was traded to

511
00:26:29,040 --> 00:26:32,359
Speaker 2: the Kansas City Chiefs. The Cardinals don't see a fit

512
00:26:32,720 --> 00:26:36,399
Speaker 2: for him within their defense. Now, who's to say Cam

513
00:26:36,440 --> 00:26:38,800
Speaker 2: doesn't go out and ball out with the Chiefs, who

514
00:26:38,840 --> 00:26:41,199
Speaker 2: play a different defense of four to three versus a

515
00:26:41,240 --> 00:26:44,600
Speaker 2: three four here with the Cardinals. Wish Cameron Thomas all

516
00:26:44,640 --> 00:26:47,520
Speaker 2: the best. It was just not going to be His

517
00:26:47,600 --> 00:26:51,000
Speaker 2: career was not going to continue with the Arizona Cardinals

518
00:26:51,200 --> 00:26:54,280
Speaker 2: because they have right now five guys who they feel

519
00:26:54,359 --> 00:26:57,280
Speaker 2: are better and right now, all I'll say, ber Gang is,

520
00:26:57,720 --> 00:27:00,200
Speaker 2: let's let it play out. Let's see how it goes,

521
00:27:00,280 --> 00:27:02,560
Speaker 2: and if changes are made, then changes are made. But

522
00:27:02,600 --> 00:27:05,240
Speaker 2: it does you no good to be upset right now

523
00:27:05,720 --> 00:27:07,119
Speaker 2: because we don't know.

524
00:27:07,520 --> 00:27:09,720
Speaker 4: Yeah, we're all we're all fans at the end of

525
00:27:09,800 --> 00:27:13,960
Speaker 4: the day, and when something isn't going as you would

526
00:27:14,119 --> 00:27:17,439
Speaker 4: hope or or predict, all you're gonna do is start

527
00:27:17,480 --> 00:27:21,159
Speaker 4: to sound the sirens and and and all Hell's breaking

528
00:27:21,280 --> 00:27:22,760
Speaker 4: was for a back, for a lack of a better

529
00:27:22,840 --> 00:27:26,720
Speaker 4: term in this case, though, there's confidence in the guys

530
00:27:26,720 --> 00:27:28,359
Speaker 4: that they have there. And I think it also goes

531
00:27:28,400 --> 00:27:33,840
Speaker 4: to the unpredictability that Nick Rollis's defense presents that opposing offenses.

532
00:27:34,119 --> 00:27:37,160
Speaker 4: I think back to Matthew Stafford when they played against

533
00:27:37,160 --> 00:27:39,280
Speaker 4: the Los Angeles Rams, and he was talking about how

534
00:27:39,320 --> 00:27:42,400
Speaker 4: he saw some coverages and some schemes that he has

535
00:27:42,440 --> 00:27:45,320
Speaker 4: not seen. That's a decade long pro uh in this

536
00:27:45,680 --> 00:27:48,040
Speaker 4: In the NFL. I'm pretty sure Matt Stafford's been in

537
00:27:48,040 --> 00:27:49,760
Speaker 4: the league for over a decades. It feels like it

538
00:27:50,560 --> 00:27:53,359
Speaker 4: feels he's a Super Bowl champion, So he's got the

539
00:27:54,040 --> 00:27:56,320
Speaker 4: credit to say something like that, but that's also a

540
00:27:56,359 --> 00:27:59,439
Speaker 4: credit to Nick Rollis and what he brings to the

541
00:27:59,480 --> 00:28:01,080
Speaker 4: table as a defensive coordinator.

542
00:28:01,400 --> 00:28:02,080
Speaker 1: As that.

543
00:28:02,200 --> 00:28:06,119
Speaker 4: I know K One gave Drew Petsing the genius label,

544
00:28:06,160 --> 00:28:08,760
Speaker 4: but I wouldn't necessarily say that Nick rowl Is, especially

545
00:28:08,840 --> 00:28:11,480
Speaker 4: considering how young he is, is that far behind from

546
00:28:11,520 --> 00:28:15,680
Speaker 4: that genius label in terms of creating a unique system.

547
00:28:15,760 --> 00:28:19,320
Speaker 4: You have three man fronts, you have four outside linebackers

548
00:28:19,359 --> 00:28:21,560
Speaker 4: where it looks like they're rushing the passer. We talked

549
00:28:21,600 --> 00:28:23,400
Speaker 4: about his Davin Collins and nearly had to take part

550
00:28:23,440 --> 00:28:26,719
Speaker 4: in half a dozen positions last year, and it's not

551
00:28:26,760 --> 00:28:30,600
Speaker 4: what you typically see from your standard outside linebacker, the

552
00:28:30,600 --> 00:28:33,560
Speaker 4: conventional guy that's just gonna go rush the passer, let

553
00:28:33,600 --> 00:28:35,600
Speaker 4: the hair down. He had to drop back into coverage.

554
00:28:35,600 --> 00:28:38,240
Speaker 4: So we've seen a lot of different forms and whether

555
00:28:38,360 --> 00:28:41,520
Speaker 4: Cam Thomas could have fit in the system we saw

556
00:28:42,000 --> 00:28:45,240
Speaker 4: last year twenty twenty three. There were moments, but not

557
00:28:45,280 --> 00:28:47,560
Speaker 4: really towards the latter half of the year. The preseason

558
00:28:47,600 --> 00:28:50,360
Speaker 4: he did look really sharp. You can't knock him on

559
00:28:50,400 --> 00:28:53,960
Speaker 4: that one. He looked really sharp. But he's gonna hopefully

560
00:28:53,960 --> 00:28:56,400
Speaker 4: flourish in Kansas City, because you do wish the best

561
00:28:56,440 --> 00:28:57,200
Speaker 4: for a guy like that.

562
00:28:57,280 --> 00:28:58,880
Speaker 2: Oh yeah, I had to go all of that. For

563
00:28:59,080 --> 00:29:01,920
Speaker 2: Cameron Thomas, there were big things, there were big expectations

564
00:29:01,960 --> 00:29:04,040
Speaker 2: on him when he was selected in the third round.

565
00:29:04,040 --> 00:29:07,840
Speaker 2: It just never materialized here in Arizona, wishing well in

566
00:29:07,920 --> 00:29:10,960
Speaker 2: Kansas City. Now, if Michael Carter was the biggest surprise

567
00:29:11,160 --> 00:29:15,280
Speaker 2: release on offense, defensively, I'd have to go with inside

568
00:29:15,280 --> 00:29:19,920
Speaker 2: linebacker Chris Barnes because one, he was very good last

569
00:29:20,000 --> 00:29:24,000
Speaker 2: season in a reserve role, was playing very well this preseason.

570
00:29:24,240 --> 00:29:27,080
Speaker 2: And then you look at the roster and you're like, okay,

571
00:29:27,080 --> 00:29:30,960
Speaker 2: there's Kaisier White, there's Owen Papo, MacWilson Senior, and that's it.

572
00:29:31,040 --> 00:29:34,360
Speaker 2: There's three inside linebackers. Now, the Cardinals did add two

573
00:29:34,400 --> 00:29:36,880
Speaker 2: to the practice squad in addition to Chris Barnes. Marcus

574
00:29:36,960 --> 00:29:40,080
Speaker 2: Bailey is back with the Cardinals. But just to see

575
00:29:40,360 --> 00:29:44,800
Speaker 2: Barnes's name back on a roster, whether it's practice squad

576
00:29:44,920 --> 00:29:46,720
Speaker 2: or not, and then to see him on the field

577
00:29:46,760 --> 00:29:49,640
Speaker 2: earlier on Wednesday, I think gave everyone a little bit

578
00:29:49,760 --> 00:29:53,040
Speaker 2: of a pause to say, all right, Okay, that's okay,

579
00:29:53,200 --> 00:29:56,880
Speaker 2: and maybe looking ahead a little bit, I could certainly

580
00:29:56,920 --> 00:29:59,560
Speaker 2: see Chris Barnes being one of those practice players that

581
00:29:59,600 --> 00:30:02,960
Speaker 2: gets l elevated the day before Week one, just how

582
00:30:03,000 --> 00:30:06,320
Speaker 2: well he was spoken about by Jonathan Gannon.

583
00:30:06,440 --> 00:30:09,480
Speaker 4: He spoke very highly of KB and I think it's

584
00:30:09,520 --> 00:30:13,040
Speaker 4: also a testament we talked about the competition battles, especially

585
00:30:13,080 --> 00:30:17,040
Speaker 4: at quarterback. We're at cornerback, the second year players are

586
00:30:17,080 --> 00:30:20,800
Speaker 4: still holding their own, which is something very encouraging to see.

587
00:30:20,800 --> 00:30:23,360
Speaker 4: Whether it's a guy like Dante Stills, a second year

588
00:30:23,360 --> 00:30:26,880
Speaker 4: player that showed a lot last year and didn't seem

589
00:30:26,920 --> 00:30:29,400
Speaker 4: to fall off at all, didn't seem to hear, didn't

590
00:30:29,440 --> 00:30:32,760
Speaker 4: seem to fall into that second year slump going throughout

591
00:30:32,760 --> 00:30:35,600
Speaker 4: the offseason. In preseason, he looked really good Key trou

592
00:30:35,760 --> 00:30:39,280
Speaker 4: Clark and also could have potentially been on the bubble

593
00:30:39,480 --> 00:30:42,080
Speaker 4: at cornerback. He's out there on the active roster and

594
00:30:42,160 --> 00:30:44,760
Speaker 4: Clayton Tune beating out Desmond Ritter for that spot. I

595
00:30:44,760 --> 00:30:47,920
Speaker 4: would very much put Owen Papo in that same category.

596
00:30:48,320 --> 00:30:51,520
Speaker 4: Owen Papo has looked really sharp. He's received his flowers

597
00:30:51,520 --> 00:30:53,960
Speaker 4: from Kaisier White in the coaching staff, but they've also

598
00:30:53,960 --> 00:30:56,400
Speaker 4: shared their love and respectives. You mentioned for Chris Barnes

599
00:30:56,400 --> 00:30:58,959
Speaker 4: with how highly they spoke about him. This is a

600
00:30:59,000 --> 00:31:03,040
Speaker 4: staff that has zero problems elevating their players, bringing them

601
00:31:03,040 --> 00:31:05,800
Speaker 4: to the active roster of the fifty three, and then

602
00:31:05,800 --> 00:31:07,840
Speaker 4: sending them back down to the practice squad. But we

603
00:31:07,880 --> 00:31:10,720
Speaker 4: saw time and time last year, especially in the defensive

604
00:31:10,720 --> 00:31:13,000
Speaker 4: side of the ball, with guys like Phil Hoskins or

605
00:31:13,240 --> 00:31:15,600
Speaker 4: Roy Lopez, when you signed him and you signed him

606
00:31:15,600 --> 00:31:17,840
Speaker 4: initially to your practice squad, and then you elevated him

607
00:31:17,960 --> 00:31:20,320
Speaker 4: to your fifty three and then signed him full time

608
00:31:20,480 --> 00:31:21,720
Speaker 4: to the fifty three man roster.

609
00:31:22,040 --> 00:31:23,040
Speaker 1: Chris Barnes could.

610
00:31:22,880 --> 00:31:24,960
Speaker 4: Very well fall into that category of being a guy

611
00:31:25,000 --> 00:31:27,720
Speaker 4: that could be elevated the first few weeks and then

612
00:31:27,880 --> 00:31:30,440
Speaker 4: ultimately ends up being signed full time.

613
00:31:30,480 --> 00:31:32,959
Speaker 2: I don't think there's any question about that all right.

614
00:31:33,000 --> 00:31:37,520
Speaker 2: Looking at the secondary, eleven defensive backs kept, six cornerbacks,

615
00:31:37,720 --> 00:31:42,240
Speaker 2: five safeties. The six cornerbacks Sean Murphy Bunting, Max Melton,

616
00:31:42,280 --> 00:31:45,880
Speaker 2: Garrett Williams, Elijah Jones, Darling Thomas, and Key Trell Clark.

617
00:31:46,200 --> 00:31:48,800
Speaker 2: We'll see how that materializes as far as the rotation

618
00:31:48,960 --> 00:31:52,480
Speaker 2: opposite Sean Murphy Bunting and then safety five seems like

619
00:31:52,600 --> 00:31:54,640
Speaker 2: a high number, at least it was for me when

620
00:31:54,640 --> 00:31:57,800
Speaker 2: I was kind of doing my own roster construction. But

621
00:31:57,880 --> 00:32:02,280
Speaker 2: Buddha Baker, Jalen Thompson, Rabbit, Joey Blunt, big special teams player,

622
00:32:02,560 --> 00:32:05,600
Speaker 2: and Darren Hall, who I think, based off his preseason play,

623
00:32:05,960 --> 00:32:09,200
Speaker 2: played himself onto this roster, someone that you just couldn't

624
00:32:09,320 --> 00:32:12,680
Speaker 2: keep off based off his production with the Arizona Cardinals

625
00:32:12,680 --> 00:32:13,360
Speaker 2: in the preseason.

626
00:32:13,440 --> 00:32:16,360
Speaker 4: And I we'll go back in time a little bit.

627
00:32:16,400 --> 00:32:19,560
Speaker 4: I spoke to Darren Hall ahead of the final preseason

628
00:32:19,600 --> 00:32:23,360
Speaker 4: game against the Denver Broncos, and I asked him, I go, Darren,

629
00:32:23,400 --> 00:32:25,800
Speaker 4: look you know, and we had like a little bit

630
00:32:25,840 --> 00:32:27,240
Speaker 4: of a heart to heart, you know what I mean,

631
00:32:27,320 --> 00:32:30,560
Speaker 4: And I said, dearest Darren. Now, I said to them,

632
00:32:30,560 --> 00:32:32,560
Speaker 4: I go, look, we all know that fans have their

633
00:32:32,720 --> 00:32:36,560
Speaker 4: opinions about preseason games. John again and says that he

634
00:32:36,760 --> 00:32:40,520
Speaker 4: values them above all. But still it's the preseason finale.

635
00:32:40,560 --> 00:32:43,040
Speaker 4: You're not going to see the star players. Does that

636
00:32:43,080 --> 00:32:46,720
Speaker 4: ever frustrate you? And He's like, now, because I was

637
00:32:46,760 --> 00:32:49,000
Speaker 4: that fan that said that same exact thing, But I

638
00:32:49,160 --> 00:32:51,480
Speaker 4: have now been in the NFL locker rooms long enough

639
00:32:51,760 --> 00:32:54,640
Speaker 4: to see how much these preseason games mean to the

640
00:32:54,640 --> 00:32:56,600
Speaker 4: guys that are on the bubble, and he's a guy

641
00:32:56,600 --> 00:32:59,640
Speaker 4: that was on the bubble and he showed enough throughout practices.

642
00:33:00,400 --> 00:33:02,480
Speaker 4: John again and said that he was very sticky in

643
00:33:02,560 --> 00:33:06,960
Speaker 4: coverage during gameplay against the New Orleans Saints and Indianapolis Colts,

644
00:33:07,000 --> 00:33:09,040
Speaker 4: and then the finale against the Denver Broncos. He earned

645
00:33:09,120 --> 00:33:12,120
Speaker 4: himself a spot on that fifty three man roster and

646
00:33:12,240 --> 00:33:15,880
Speaker 4: ultimately beating out Andre Shasherat, who was not signed to

647
00:33:15,920 --> 00:33:18,840
Speaker 4: the fifty three. Joey Blunt could be very similar to

648
00:33:19,280 --> 00:33:21,280
Speaker 4: what you see on the offense side of the ball

649
00:33:21,320 --> 00:33:25,040
Speaker 4: with Xavier Weaver, where he could show flashes at that spot.

650
00:33:25,080 --> 00:33:28,680
Speaker 4: But what they bring to special teams certainly gives them

651
00:33:28,760 --> 00:33:31,280
Speaker 4: that edge, and Joey Blunt is a special team's ace

652
00:33:31,280 --> 00:33:34,240
Speaker 4: that we've seen time in and time again do really

653
00:33:34,280 --> 00:33:35,960
Speaker 4: well in that gunner role on punt coverage.

654
00:33:35,960 --> 00:33:38,160
Speaker 2: And it just shows you the role that assistant or

655
00:33:38,200 --> 00:33:40,920
Speaker 2: i should say special teams coordinator assistant head coach Jeff

656
00:33:40,960 --> 00:33:44,440
Speaker 2: Rodgers has when it comes to roster construction. Also with

657
00:33:44,760 --> 00:33:48,600
Speaker 2: Darren Hall, someone who is a cornerback but is playing

658
00:33:48,640 --> 00:33:51,360
Speaker 2: more safety with the Arizona Cardinals. So he has made

659
00:33:51,760 --> 00:33:55,360
Speaker 2: that transition against someone that you like those stories, and

660
00:33:55,600 --> 00:33:58,440
Speaker 2: a credit to you, Zach for hyping up Darren Hall.

661
00:33:58,600 --> 00:34:00,840
Speaker 2: And then all of a sudden, what happened. He makes

662
00:34:00,840 --> 00:34:01,240
Speaker 2: the team.

663
00:34:01,360 --> 00:34:03,720
Speaker 4: So you see it common trend? I do, yes, what's

664
00:34:03,760 --> 00:34:06,320
Speaker 4: that common trend that you see? Speak to Zach good

665
00:34:06,320 --> 00:34:09,560
Speaker 4: things happen. Then go see good things happen. You knew

666
00:34:09,600 --> 00:34:10,760
Speaker 4: exactly what I was thinking.

667
00:34:11,920 --> 00:34:14,560
Speaker 2: We'll get to more good things with Zach and speaking

668
00:34:14,600 --> 00:34:19,160
Speaker 2: things into existence. The other position group, the defensive line

669
00:34:19,239 --> 00:34:22,760
Speaker 2: six kepts Darius Robinson on I are designated to return,

670
00:34:22,880 --> 00:34:25,399
Speaker 2: just like Christian Jones, so those two players will miss

671
00:34:25,400 --> 00:34:28,920
Speaker 2: at least the first four games. But justin Jones, Blal Nichols,

672
00:34:29,040 --> 00:34:32,480
Speaker 2: Roy Lopez, l J Collier, Dante Stills, and Kyrie's Tonga

673
00:34:32,880 --> 00:34:37,200
Speaker 2: the sixth player, probably Tonga getting a roster spot because

674
00:34:37,440 --> 00:34:40,239
Speaker 2: of Darius's injury, and maybe not, maybe they were maybe

675
00:34:40,440 --> 00:34:43,360
Speaker 2: Tonga was one of those players as a true nose

676
00:34:43,480 --> 00:34:47,160
Speaker 2: tackle that they want because of the ability to stop

677
00:34:47,200 --> 00:34:50,239
Speaker 2: the run. But right now the Cardinals defensive line has two.

678
00:34:50,480 --> 00:34:53,400
Speaker 2: There was not a single defensive lineman excuse me, there

679
00:34:53,480 --> 00:34:57,000
Speaker 2: was Ben Stilly signed to the practice squad. I correct myself, Sorry, Ben,

680
00:34:57,200 --> 00:34:58,840
Speaker 2: he is with the team.

681
00:34:58,600 --> 00:35:01,080
Speaker 1: That was quick. Yeah, I was quick. I liked it.

682
00:35:02,120 --> 00:35:05,319
Speaker 2: So yeah, it's it's six and I think again, there

683
00:35:05,320 --> 00:35:08,040
Speaker 2: are questions about the pass rush and the outside linebackers,

684
00:35:08,080 --> 00:35:09,600
Speaker 2: and there might be a little bit of an unknown

685
00:35:09,640 --> 00:35:12,879
Speaker 2: with the defensive line because Jones and Nichols are new.

686
00:35:13,080 --> 00:35:16,440
Speaker 2: Lopez is half a season under his belt with the Cardinals.

687
00:35:16,640 --> 00:35:16,839
Speaker 1: LJ.

688
00:35:16,960 --> 00:35:20,720
Speaker 2: Collier we saw for less than half a game last season.

689
00:35:20,960 --> 00:35:24,560
Speaker 2: Dante Stills right now is at least wearing a Cardinals uniform,

690
00:35:24,840 --> 00:35:27,879
Speaker 2: the most productive defensive lineman in that room as far

691
00:35:27,920 --> 00:35:31,520
Speaker 2: as week one to week seventeen and eighteen.

692
00:35:31,640 --> 00:35:34,959
Speaker 4: And it's gonna each each player that they've brought in

693
00:35:35,520 --> 00:35:38,879
Speaker 4: has you know, shown flashes of why that they remain here.

694
00:35:38,920 --> 00:35:41,239
Speaker 4: And I think that a guy like Kyrie's Tonga is

695
00:35:41,280 --> 00:35:44,680
Speaker 4: probably the one that was potentially on that bubble between

696
00:35:45,040 --> 00:35:48,360
Speaker 4: cracking the fifty three and or potentially being on practice squad,

697
00:35:48,400 --> 00:35:51,719
Speaker 4: but he's shown a good chunk throughout the offseason. The

698
00:35:52,120 --> 00:35:55,840
Speaker 4: real wild card here is what happens with Darius Robinson.

699
00:35:56,040 --> 00:35:59,279
Speaker 4: How much time does he end up missing. He's designated

700
00:35:59,320 --> 00:36:02,080
Speaker 4: to return, placed on IR but that means for at

701
00:36:02,160 --> 00:36:05,279
Speaker 4: least the first four games he's going to be inactive.

702
00:36:05,440 --> 00:36:09,319
Speaker 4: After that, the Cardinals have the opportunity to put him

703
00:36:09,320 --> 00:36:12,160
Speaker 4: on the twenty one day practice window and ultimately ease

704
00:36:12,200 --> 00:36:14,960
Speaker 4: him back into potentially taking part in some games. And

705
00:36:15,120 --> 00:36:17,560
Speaker 4: John de Gannon was very hesitant and did not give

706
00:36:17,840 --> 00:36:20,080
Speaker 4: a timeline because he said that those are the type

707
00:36:20,080 --> 00:36:22,960
Speaker 4: of things that you can't speculate, especially with an injury.

708
00:36:23,280 --> 00:36:25,839
Speaker 4: We don't know what the injury is outside of the

709
00:36:25,840 --> 00:36:28,839
Speaker 4: fact that it's a calf injury. But those could be

710
00:36:29,160 --> 00:36:32,320
Speaker 4: short injuries and quick recoveries, or they could be longer. Clearly,

711
00:36:32,320 --> 00:36:35,400
Speaker 4: they saw that enough time was going to happen in between.

712
00:36:35,480 --> 00:36:37,839
Speaker 4: But the pass rush room is the room that Mani

713
00:36:37,920 --> 00:36:41,560
Speaker 4: asin fort heavily invested in throughout the offseason. You haven't

714
00:36:41,600 --> 00:36:44,879
Speaker 4: really had the chances outside of one on ones during

715
00:36:44,920 --> 00:36:47,560
Speaker 4: training camp to see what that room could actually be.

716
00:36:48,120 --> 00:36:51,239
Speaker 4: Sunday when they played the Buffalo Bills next Sunday, that's

717
00:36:51,280 --> 00:36:54,279
Speaker 4: when you're really going to start to see why all

718
00:36:54,320 --> 00:36:56,799
Speaker 4: that money and all the resources were placed into that

719
00:36:56,880 --> 00:36:58,000
Speaker 4: outside linebacker room.

720
00:36:58,760 --> 00:37:00,520
Speaker 1: Inside the defense line room.

721
00:37:00,600 --> 00:37:04,640
Speaker 2: Yeah, six defensive linemen, three inside linebackers, five outside linebackers,

722
00:37:04,680 --> 00:37:08,399
Speaker 2: six corners, five safeties, and then special teams Matt Prater,

723
00:37:08,560 --> 00:37:11,239
Speaker 2: Blake Gillikin, and Aaron Brewer your kicker, punter, and long

724
00:37:11,239 --> 00:37:15,120
Speaker 2: snapper respectively. Overall, the Cardinals did retain all twelve of

725
00:37:15,160 --> 00:37:18,439
Speaker 2: their draft picks, with Darius Robinson and Christian Jones going

726
00:37:18,480 --> 00:37:22,240
Speaker 2: on ir Tejon Palmer Jayden Davis signed to the practice squad.

727
00:37:22,360 --> 00:37:26,600
Speaker 2: So again very fluid. The dust has not settled, according

728
00:37:26,640 --> 00:37:29,800
Speaker 2: to head coach Jonathan Gannon, and really, this entire roster

729
00:37:29,880 --> 00:37:34,319
Speaker 2: will be in flux for all every single week and

730
00:37:34,360 --> 00:37:37,040
Speaker 2: hopefully into the postseason. But it is something to keep

731
00:37:37,040 --> 00:37:41,080
Speaker 2: an eye on, not to be too comfortable in your spot, unless,

732
00:37:41,080 --> 00:37:43,839
Speaker 2: of course, you are a mainstay and your name might

733
00:37:43,880 --> 00:37:45,920
Speaker 2: be Kyle Murray and Marvin Harrison, junr. And there's a

734
00:37:45,920 --> 00:37:50,440
Speaker 2: handful of others Buddha Baker. But again, this is something

735
00:37:50,480 --> 00:37:54,319
Speaker 2: that will change. But right now feel pretty comfortable and

736
00:37:54,360 --> 00:37:57,640
Speaker 2: confident going into Week one that if there are changes

737
00:37:57,680 --> 00:38:00,879
Speaker 2: it's going to be maybe minor tweaks before week one.

738
00:38:01,000 --> 00:38:04,360
Speaker 4: Once again, the dust has not settled, so a lot

739
00:38:04,480 --> 00:38:07,239
Speaker 4: is going to I wouldn't assarily say a lot, but

740
00:38:07,440 --> 00:38:11,280
Speaker 4: I think a lot in the next four to five weeks,

741
00:38:11,840 --> 00:38:14,359
Speaker 4: that's when you're gonna see a lot of changes being

742
00:38:14,400 --> 00:38:17,120
Speaker 4: made because, once again we talk a lot about it,

743
00:38:17,200 --> 00:38:20,480
Speaker 4: this is the time when roster construction is at its

744
00:38:20,560 --> 00:38:23,160
Speaker 4: peak in a sense, because you have to trim down

745
00:38:23,160 --> 00:38:27,120
Speaker 4: from ninety to fifty three and then you start to see, Okay,

746
00:38:27,160 --> 00:38:28,960
Speaker 4: what did the first few weeks of the season look

747
00:38:29,040 --> 00:38:30,560
Speaker 4: like with the pieces you brought in? Do you have

748
00:38:30,600 --> 00:38:33,920
Speaker 4: to potentially make a handful of different changes because we

749
00:38:33,960 --> 00:38:36,680
Speaker 4: did not see Starling Thomas play much in the beginning

750
00:38:36,719 --> 00:38:39,600
Speaker 4: half of the season. Roy Lopez wasn't on the roster

751
00:38:40,000 --> 00:38:44,560
Speaker 4: until week four, so they're up until then, and they

752
00:38:44,560 --> 00:38:46,759
Speaker 4: have a gauntlet of a schedule, which we've talked a

753
00:38:46,760 --> 00:38:49,719
Speaker 4: lot about since the schedule was released a few months ago,

754
00:38:50,160 --> 00:38:52,640
Speaker 4: starting off in Buffalo and then the home opener against

755
00:38:52,640 --> 00:38:55,280
Speaker 4: the Los Angeles Rams and the two other home games

756
00:38:55,280 --> 00:38:57,799
Speaker 4: after that. It's gonna be a lot for this team

757
00:38:57,840 --> 00:39:00,719
Speaker 4: to handle. But these day they are confident that they

758
00:39:00,719 --> 00:39:02,600
Speaker 4: have the guys that could get the job done.

759
00:39:02,760 --> 00:39:06,920
Speaker 2: So outside of Michael Carter, Chris Barnes released added to

760
00:39:06,960 --> 00:39:10,480
Speaker 2: the practice squad, and maybe three inside linebackers overall. Kept

761
00:39:10,600 --> 00:39:13,799
Speaker 2: Clayton Tone beating out Desmond Ritter for QB two, although

762
00:39:13,880 --> 00:39:17,359
Speaker 2: Ritter is now on the practice squad. Anything else as

763
00:39:17,400 --> 00:39:20,319
Speaker 2: far as surprises or anything like that, as far as

764
00:39:20,320 --> 00:39:23,200
Speaker 2: the fifty three plus the fifteen guys on the practice.

765
00:39:22,800 --> 00:39:27,319
Speaker 4: Squad outside of that, I mean not really. I think

766
00:39:27,360 --> 00:39:30,000
Speaker 4: you kind of hit on everything, and that's because we

767
00:39:30,360 --> 00:39:32,040
Speaker 4: saw the writing on the wall with a lot of

768
00:39:32,080 --> 00:39:36,000
Speaker 4: these different things. Fair, but it has been encouraging to

769
00:39:36,040 --> 00:39:39,640
Speaker 4: see players like Xavier Thomas, you know, stand out and

770
00:39:40,239 --> 00:39:43,320
Speaker 4: make that fifty three man roster. It's been very exciting

771
00:39:43,360 --> 00:39:46,960
Speaker 4: to see what and to predict what Xavier Weaver could

772
00:39:47,080 --> 00:39:49,880
Speaker 4: look like in the system. These are guys that I

773
00:39:49,880 --> 00:39:52,560
Speaker 4: don't not necessarily Xavier Thomas, but Xavier Weaver. If Zay

774
00:39:52,560 --> 00:39:55,200
Speaker 4: Weaver did not make the roster, I think fans could

775
00:39:55,239 --> 00:39:56,759
Speaker 4: be bummed out about it. But I don't think fans

776
00:39:56,760 --> 00:40:00,440
Speaker 4: will be shocked about it. But they are very at

777
00:40:00,480 --> 00:40:03,839
Speaker 4: least from what we've seen in the comments section. The Weaver,

778
00:40:04,000 --> 00:40:07,560
Speaker 4: the receiver gang has been very pumped about the addition

779
00:40:07,719 --> 00:40:09,040
Speaker 4: to keep him on the fifty three.

780
00:40:09,200 --> 00:40:11,360
Speaker 2: Yeah, he's got a following, there's no question.

781
00:40:11,400 --> 00:40:12,319
Speaker 1: I'm primed about that.

782
00:40:12,560 --> 00:40:14,759
Speaker 2: And someone else who has a following, or we hope

783
00:40:14,800 --> 00:40:17,719
Speaker 2: that he has a following. We brought up Roy Lopez

784
00:40:17,920 --> 00:40:22,240
Speaker 2: and again for those who regularly listening, listened to Cardinals

785
00:40:22,320 --> 00:40:26,319
Speaker 2: Cover two one, We Appreciate two. The last time Zach

786
00:40:26,360 --> 00:40:28,799
Speaker 2: and I had a conversation about Roy Lopez, we were

787
00:40:29,080 --> 00:40:33,040
Speaker 2: teasing and highlighting Zach's story about Roy Lopez and how

788
00:40:33,080 --> 00:40:38,600
Speaker 2: wrestling shaped him and his football career story. As of

789
00:40:38,760 --> 00:40:42,200
Speaker 2: press time here on this Wednesday, has not been posted.

790
00:40:42,400 --> 00:40:45,560
Speaker 2: I promise you, bird Gang, it has not been killed.

791
00:40:45,880 --> 00:40:49,040
Speaker 2: I've read it. It's very well done. It just hasn't

792
00:40:49,080 --> 00:40:50,520
Speaker 2: been posted, hasn't seen.

793
00:40:50,280 --> 00:40:50,960
Speaker 1: The light of day.

794
00:40:51,400 --> 00:40:54,280
Speaker 2: The goal, the hope is for it to be posted

795
00:40:54,719 --> 00:40:57,879
Speaker 2: this week, going into the Labor Day weekend, Sit back,

796
00:40:58,120 --> 00:41:01,360
Speaker 2: open up the Cardinals app and Rea about Roy Lopez

797
00:41:01,440 --> 00:41:04,000
Speaker 2: and as one hundred and thirteen and three high school

798
00:41:04,200 --> 00:41:08,080
Speaker 2: career record and two time state champion. Things just kind

799
00:41:08,080 --> 00:41:10,759
Speaker 2: of tend to happen, and they've been happening a lot.

800
00:41:10,800 --> 00:41:13,520
Speaker 2: Things get busy, and things kind of get pushed aside,

801
00:41:13,840 --> 00:41:18,400
Speaker 2: but not completely ignored. So yes, we were talking about

802
00:41:18,400 --> 00:41:21,520
Speaker 2: it the last time, and now we're talking about it again.

803
00:41:21,640 --> 00:41:24,480
Speaker 1: It is a good story exactly. I think it's why

804
00:41:24,480 --> 00:41:26,040
Speaker 1: should we, you know what, we should.

805
00:41:25,840 --> 00:41:28,200
Speaker 4: Talk about these stories every single week, just to have

806
00:41:28,239 --> 00:41:30,560
Speaker 4: one really good story and just talk about it time

807
00:41:30,600 --> 00:41:32,560
Speaker 4: and time and time and time and time again. Now

808
00:41:32,600 --> 00:41:35,200
Speaker 4: it will be posted at some point. At least now

809
00:41:35,239 --> 00:41:38,719
Speaker 4: I can confirm that the Sean O'Malley visit story has

810
00:41:38,760 --> 00:41:41,680
Speaker 4: been posted onto the website while we've been recorded.

811
00:41:41,680 --> 00:41:44,520
Speaker 1: It happen. It did happen, So we're not making it up.

812
00:41:44,560 --> 00:41:50,760
Speaker 4: If you are like just yearning for combat sports, while

813
00:41:50,800 --> 00:41:53,720
Speaker 4: football is still in the phase where they can't fully

814
00:41:53,760 --> 00:41:56,320
Speaker 4: hit each other and they haven't been able to outside

815
00:41:56,320 --> 00:41:58,600
Speaker 4: of a handful of preseason games where you haven't seen

816
00:41:58,600 --> 00:42:01,040
Speaker 4: your stars hit each other, you get to read that article,

817
00:42:01,120 --> 00:42:04,080
Speaker 4: but no, this story about Roy Lopez. It will come

818
00:42:04,120 --> 00:42:06,600
Speaker 4: out at some point. Uh. But you know, good things

819
00:42:06,640 --> 00:42:11,360
Speaker 4: take time. That's what I've let it exactly. You know,

820
00:42:11,440 --> 00:42:14,759
Speaker 4: it's it's it's we had to cut weight all around,

821
00:42:14,960 --> 00:42:17,600
Speaker 4: you know, cut of story here, do this there, you know,

822
00:42:17,760 --> 00:42:21,520
Speaker 4: maneuver it around. But soon enough, it will be soon enough,

823
00:42:21,520 --> 00:42:23,640
Speaker 4: it will be game time and we'll be walking out.

824
00:42:24,280 --> 00:42:27,200
Speaker 4: You'll hear Bruce Buffer over the PA system and you'll

825
00:42:27,200 --> 00:42:30,680
Speaker 4: say Azycardinals dot com and bam, article will be there.

826
00:42:31,000 --> 00:42:36,759
Speaker 2: There is roster construction and there's also content construction, and

827
00:42:36,760 --> 00:42:39,160
Speaker 2: that's what we learned here on this Wednesday.

828
00:42:39,239 --> 00:42:42,279
Speaker 4: It takes a it takes a village to make what

829
00:42:42,360 --> 00:42:46,839
Speaker 4: we UH call a profession happen, and very fortunate about

830
00:42:46,880 --> 00:42:48,640
Speaker 4: all the different people that can make it happen. We

831
00:42:48,680 --> 00:42:51,840
Speaker 4: also need the players, and uh, we're very thankful for

832
00:42:51,880 --> 00:42:54,359
Speaker 4: them and the opportunity and the access that they that

833
00:42:54,360 --> 00:42:56,399
Speaker 4: they do end up giving us. And Roy Lopez, well

834
00:42:56,520 --> 00:42:58,680
Speaker 4: what a guy I saw he he right away shook

835
00:42:58,680 --> 00:43:02,200
Speaker 4: hands with uh with Sean Mali wore the belt a

836
00:43:02,239 --> 00:43:04,600
Speaker 4: little bit. I said to Roy, I go Roy, we

837
00:43:04,680 --> 00:43:07,879
Speaker 4: just talked about wrestling. We gave each other a look.

838
00:43:08,520 --> 00:43:12,319
Speaker 2: Yeah you got that connection. Hey, quick programming note here,

839
00:43:12,320 --> 00:43:16,200
Speaker 2: as we go into the Labor Day weekend, the players

840
00:43:16,239 --> 00:43:18,399
Speaker 2: have been given a little bit extra time off. We're

841
00:43:18,400 --> 00:43:21,200
Speaker 2: gonna take it with them as well, because once next

842
00:43:21,200 --> 00:43:24,799
Speaker 2: week arrives, it is basically full speed ahead with no

843
00:43:24,840 --> 00:43:27,719
Speaker 2: one looking back. So we will rejoin you here on

844
00:43:27,800 --> 00:43:32,920
Speaker 2: Cardinals cover two next week, unless, of course, as we say,

845
00:43:33,320 --> 00:43:36,040
Speaker 2: the dust has not settled on this roster. If there's

846
00:43:36,080 --> 00:43:38,600
Speaker 2: a reason to come back, we will come back and

847
00:43:38,640 --> 00:43:39,960
Speaker 2: we will put Zach Kershman.

848
00:43:39,680 --> 00:43:42,480
Speaker 4: To work the only way I know how exactly content

849
00:43:42,520 --> 00:43:43,320
Speaker 4: ever sleeps not.

850
00:43:43,640 --> 00:43:46,480
Speaker 1: Do we well? Good work this week likewise, Craig.

851
00:43:46,640 --> 00:43:48,200
Speaker 2: And on that note, we'll put a lit on this

852
00:43:48,360 --> 00:43:51,280
Speaker 2: edition of Cardinals Cover two presented by Hyundai, proud partner

853
00:43:51,320 --> 00:43:53,960
Speaker 2: of the Arizona Cardinals. As always, special thanks to our

854
00:43:54,000 --> 00:43:57,440
Speaker 2: executive producer Jim Mama Hundre, our associate producer Cody Fincher.

855
00:43:57,440 --> 00:43:59,560
Speaker 2: For Zach Kershman, I'm Craig real Lou. We'll talk to

856
00:43:59,560 --> 00:44:09,560
Speaker 2: you next time here on Cardinals Cover two. H