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Jay Harbaugh: "Preseason Is A Huge Deal For Us" · Seahawks Press Pass

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Doing great? Hi everyone? How's the evault? Good? All right?
• 0:04
  Speaker 1: Great for your unit?
• 0:07
  Speaker 2: In particular, how big A deals preseason games to get
• 0:09
  Speaker 2: to see full speed seen a live.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, preseason is a huge deal for us on special
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  Speaker 3: teams and for everybody around the league.
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  Speaker 1: A getting a.
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  Speaker 3: First look at some guys that are newer players, seeing
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  Speaker 3: them in new roles, maybe evaluating the speed and the
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  Speaker 3: decision making and all that.
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  Speaker 1: So something we're really excited for.
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  Speaker 2: Particularly the kickoff, I guess, just kind of seeing it
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  Speaker 2: live for the first time. How curious are you to
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  Speaker 2: see that?
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  Speaker 1: Yeah? Pumped up? It's gonna be pretty cool.
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  Speaker 3: I think the Hall of Fame game the other night
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  Speaker 3: was probably the like the most anticipated preseason viewing maybe
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  Speaker 3: ever that I could think of, at least. So that
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  Speaker 3: was fun to see, and we're really excited to see,
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  Speaker 3: you know, our guys bring what we've practiced to life.
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  Speaker 1: Should be cool. From that game with the kickoff, a
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  Speaker 1: lot of things.
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  Speaker 3: I think maybe the one thing that stood out more
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  Speaker 3: than anything else was the just the speed that everything
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  Speaker 3: happens in terms of the the first contact, the cover
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  Speaker 3: guy and the UH and the return team blocking. Just
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  Speaker 3: how fast that occurred. UH, Like you know it's gonna
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  Speaker 3: be fast. They're only five yards away, but still in
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  Speaker 3: the in the game situation with adrenaline flowing. Uh, the
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  Speaker 3: speed at which that occurred is is Uh, it was
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  Speaker 3: still still a little surprising even though you knew it
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  Speaker 3: was gonna be fast.
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  Speaker 2: Anything Saturday at Loomin when you did those look you
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  Speaker 2: did a few reps of the kickoff there.
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  Speaker 3: Uh, yeah, that was it was, you know, good time
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  Speaker 3: on task there. It was pretty much the same as
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  Speaker 3: stuff we've been working on and all that. But uh,
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  Speaker 3: it's the kind of thing where since it's new, you know,
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  Speaker 3: we're getting every exposure, you're getting uh, new experience, and
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  Speaker 3: you're learning what's good what's not so good, and guys
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  Speaker 3: are getting more and more comfortable with it.
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  Speaker 1: You've had a trading camps.
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  Speaker 3: Are really continue diving into that or are you feeling getting.
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  Speaker 2: A better feel for the types of players that are
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  Speaker 2: going to excel back there returning compared to save the
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  Speaker 2: traditional kickols.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, there's uh, there's it's necessary to build up the
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  Speaker 3: uh you know, a bunch of different guys and have
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  Speaker 3: a lot of possibilities back there, just to see which
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  Speaker 3: which way the roster ends up going at certain spots,
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  Speaker 3: so trying to a bunch of different guys seeing, uh,
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  Speaker 3: you know, who can do what best, what types of
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  Speaker 3: return do different guys run best. So, uh, it's been
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  Speaker 3: it's been an important part of it, just to be
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  Speaker 3: able to picture, Okay, if this guy's active on game day,
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  Speaker 3: this is what you know a good return for him
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  Speaker 3: might be, and so on down the line.
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  Speaker 2: For the coach you're gonna be facing on Saturday.
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  Speaker 3: No, No, it'd be excited to see what our guys
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  Speaker 3: can can do. It'll be fun to see what what
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  Speaker 3: they're building there with obviously with him and then a
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  Speaker 3: bunch of other guys I'm familiar with, So it'd be
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  Speaker 3: cool to see them and and pregame and all that,
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  Speaker 3: and uh, it's just neat to see them and that
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  Speaker 3: you know, first step, just like us, that first step
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  Speaker 3: on a journey where you're trying to build a championship
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  Speaker 3: team and and uh, it'll be it'll be neat to
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  Speaker 3: see in person from what you've seen so far.
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  Speaker 2: As the type of player you're gonna want to have
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  Speaker 2: on coverage units, is that and even blocking you, is
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  Speaker 2: that any different than what.
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  Speaker 1: You would have wanted in the past? Under the old
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  Speaker 1: system for kickoffs, is that player ideally different than anyone? Yeah.
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  Speaker 3: The the question is you know, with a with a
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  Speaker 3: typical coverage player be different than it was in the past,
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  Speaker 3: And I would say that I think in general you'll
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  Speaker 3: get a bigger guys on the field maybe than you
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  Speaker 3: had in the past.
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  Speaker 1: Just because you've taken away a.
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  Speaker 3: Good chunk of the running that may have precluded a
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  Speaker 3: guy that was two seventy five to eighty five two
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  Speaker 3: ninety from being on the unit before because they didn't
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  Speaker 3: have the speed.
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  Speaker 1: So now that's not an issue. Those guys can be
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  Speaker 1: on the field.
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  Speaker 3: So I think in general you might see one or
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  Speaker 3: two more guys like that per team, But I don't
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  Speaker 3: think it can be all that different because it's still
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  Speaker 3: the same active roster and same positions to pull from.
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  Speaker 3: So that would be our guest for now, but we'll
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  Speaker 3: all find out soon enough.
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  Speaker 2: Construction, though, if you're looking at you know, some of
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  Speaker 2: the some of the guys that are doing that you
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  Speaker 2: just when you put the fifty two together. I know
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  Speaker 2: it's a big job, not just you, but do you
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  Speaker 2: think maybe some guys in you know, just like X
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  Speaker 2: number of this position are going to make the team.
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  Speaker 1: Kadachan, it's a it's an interesting question. I'm not really sure.
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  Speaker 3: I think I think that it'll play into the roles
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  Speaker 3: that that different guys can play. So a bigger body
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  Speaker 3: would have a little more versatility. Now let's say a
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  Speaker 3: guy was uh, you know, six five two seventy five,
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  Speaker 3: and maybe maybe he was on punt. Maybe there was
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  Speaker 3: a role for a month kick return before, but he
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  Speaker 3: was never able to play on kickoff.
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  Speaker 1: Now that guy might be able to.
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  Speaker 3: Uh so in that way, it could, but you know,
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  Speaker 3: I think it will still be pretty similar to how it's.
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  Speaker 1: Been return or what the traits does he have to him.
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  Speaker 3: He's a guy who's practiced really well. He's shown explosiveness
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  Speaker 3: with the ball in his hand. He has really good vision.
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  Speaker 3: He's uh, you know, you'd use the phrase natural ball
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  Speaker 3: carrier for him. He just has a knack for putting
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  Speaker 3: the ball where it should go. He runs with good
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  Speaker 3: ball security and and you know, occasionally you'll be standing
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  Speaker 3: there in front of the return team and when when
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  Speaker 3: he hits a hole in his running at you.
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  Speaker 1: He's a pretty big guy.
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  Speaker 3: Uh, he's a pretty stout guy, and and uh to
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  Speaker 3: have his elusive. This his vision with with that size
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  Speaker 3: is an exciting thing. So he's a guy I'm excited
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  Speaker 3: to watch him in preseason returners.
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  Speaker 2: Ball security of horror elusiveness.
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  Speaker 3: So everything will start with ball security, for sure. That's
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  Speaker 3: the kind of the price of mission to be on
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  Speaker 3: the field. You got to be a guy that's great
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  Speaker 3: at feeling the ball and then super trustworthy decision making wise,
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  Speaker 3: all the game situations and the rules and all that stuff.
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  Speaker 1: So I would say, once, once.
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  Speaker 3: You've satisfied that you've you've checked that box, then after that,
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  Speaker 3: of those remaining players, you want somebody that's got some
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  Speaker 3: explosiveness and ability to hit the home run. So if
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  Speaker 3: you're gonna pick though, you're there on the side of
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  Speaker 3: being sure handed and trustworthy back there.
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  Speaker 2: How the new rule kind of changes the construction of
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  Speaker 2: the different blockers that you want on the kickoff return.
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  Speaker 2: Does it change the skill set you're looking for in
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  Speaker 2: the returner himself at all?
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, So a lot of people have talked about that.
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  Speaker 1: I think it's interesting.
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  Speaker 3: I could see it either way, and it's not so
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  Speaker 3: super different than the previous world. Like last year, for instance,
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  Speaker 3: or ten years ago, you had people that were running
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  Speaker 3: more man type of returns where hey, the ball can
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  Speaker 3: go anywhere and he's.
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  Speaker 1: Gonna find a crease.
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  Speaker 3: And then there's also people running you know, more gap
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  Speaker 3: scheme type plays where we're gonna double team a guy
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  Speaker 3: and then trap and it's more like an offensive power play.
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  Speaker 3: And the returners, hey, you're running this course and hitting
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  Speaker 3: this gap like that's always existed. And moving forward, I
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  Speaker 3: think it'll still be the same. I think you'll see
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  Speaker 3: different types of plays, and so I would imagine that
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  Speaker 3: there'll still be a few different body types, the more
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  Speaker 3: punt returner type of bodies and then the bigger, more
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  Speaker 3: downhill type of runners.
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  Speaker 1: I think you'll see it all being the running back background.
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  Speaker 1: With the returns you mentioned, there's been gap and you know, man.
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  Speaker 2: Blocking, but now with everybody who's so tighten it together.
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  Speaker 1: Just having that.
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  Speaker 3: Background where you're used to be running from.
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  Speaker 2: Behind the line of scrimmage and having those blockers tight
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  Speaker 2: together like that, do you see that playing an advantage
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  Speaker 2: with this new port.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, I would say I would say it definitely. Could
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  Speaker 3: you need a guy with vision, you know what I'm saying.
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  Speaker 3: So I think those running backs, obviously they have just
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  Speaker 3: a ton of time on task with the ball, looking
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  Speaker 3: at blockers blockers, evaluating gaps and putting the ball where
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  Speaker 3: it should go. But you know, I think there's receivers
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  Speaker 3: that have that kind of vision. Trey Brown is a
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  Speaker 3: guy who has good kick return experience and has a
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  Speaker 3: very good vision. So I don't think it precludes other positions.
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  Speaker 3: But I do think Tyler's right. They those guys just
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  Speaker 3: have a lot of reps in that from that vantage point.
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  Speaker 2: Now with you and your dad, like before, you're together
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  Speaker 2: and probably sharing ideas all the time, how does that change,
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  Speaker 2: Like how far are you guys talking?
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  Speaker 1: Do you even talk football anymore?
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  Speaker 2: Is it just kind of more personal check ins and out?
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  Speaker 3: I would say it's a mix. We football tends always
• 7:43
  Speaker 3: find its way to the conversation. It's kind of always
• 7:46
  Speaker 3: been that way. And it's nice that we don't play
• 7:49
  Speaker 3: them on the schedule in the regular season, so some
• 7:52
  Speaker 3: of those things are can happen. And and and I
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  Speaker 3: think he's the best coach in the world. And enjoy
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  Speaker 3: being able to just like I used to be, to
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  Speaker 3: be able to, you know, ask him for advice and
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  Speaker 3: learn from him. I had the benefit of being able
• 8:06
  Speaker 3: to do that in Michigan for a while, so that
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  Speaker 3: was a dream come true. And and you know, be
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  Speaker 3: able to continue that is really awesome.
• 8:17
  Speaker 1: Thanks everyone appreciate you.