Latest / Bleacher Report / Jacory Croskey-Merritt on Rookie of the Week award & loss to Falcons with Deebo | Cleats & Convos

Transcript

Jacory Croskey-Merritt on Rookie of the Week award & loss to Falcons with Deebo | Cleats & Convos · Bleacher Report

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Welcome back to Cleatson, come fos presented by state form.
• 0:02
  Speaker 1: Don't settle for just any insurance when it's just state form.
• 0:05
  Speaker 1: All right, welcome little bro Bill, Deuce Duce to the
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  Speaker 1: show Man. We're gonna play a little game called presser release.
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  Speaker 1: Press means false, release means true. All right, So you
• 0:17
  Speaker 1: prefer Bill over your Cory?
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  Speaker 2: Oh? Press false? Press mean false, release means true.
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  Speaker 3: I really I I release?
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  Speaker 2: All right. Where did the nickname Bill come from?
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  Speaker 4: It comes from like me just having a bad head
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  Speaker 4: and like my friend, like y'all know the character Little Bill.
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  Speaker 4: So my friends usually just call me little Bill, and
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  Speaker 4: like it just kind of.
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  Speaker 3: Stuck from there.
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  Speaker 1: So you got a ball head with you, like little Bill,
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  Speaker 1: And we gotta find a picture of Bill with a
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  Speaker 1: ball head for sure. Presser release. You are a zero
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  Speaker 1: story recruit going into college.
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  Speaker 3: Release.
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  Speaker 1: Talk about your recruitment process, Like, how was your recruitment
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  Speaker 1: process coming out of high school?
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  Speaker 4: It was kind of crazy. I didn't have that in
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  Speaker 4: the office. I had like two officers and that was
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  Speaker 4: like HBCU office. But I had had great stats in
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  Speaker 4: high school. We just ain't had like the publicity in
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  Speaker 4: my school. So ended up going to Alabama State. Then
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  Speaker 4: wanted to play better competition, so I ended up like
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  Speaker 4: just transferring to New Mexico and like that's when it
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  Speaker 4: like just started to take off.
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  Speaker 1: All Right, we got what we got two more. Your
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  Speaker 1: time at Arizona helped you get into the league release.
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  Speaker 1: I notice not too many people know this, but your
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  Speaker 1: last year at Arizona you was ineligible.
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  Speaker 2: Like what happened?
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  Speaker 4: Basically it's something from our freshman year, like they said,
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  Speaker 4: I played in too many games, and like I mean
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  Speaker 4: it just came back to Viking my senior year, so
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  Speaker 4: I wasn't able to play.
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  Speaker 2: So how was that gift for you? Like knowing you
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  Speaker 2: couldn't play?
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  Speaker 1: But you was also like you know the scout team
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  Speaker 1: running back and then look at you. Now you know
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  Speaker 1: what I'm saying, want two punch between you and the
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  Speaker 1: other back we got? So Like how was that like
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  Speaker 1: process just knowing like you couldn't play, but just like
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  Speaker 1: your mindset of like, yo, you're just gonna get as
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  Speaker 1: good as you can and just see what happens.
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  Speaker 3: My process of my thought process doing the whole thing.
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  Speaker 4: It was basically like I knew I was good, Like
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  Speaker 4: I knew I was gonna get like an opportunity somewhere,
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  Speaker 4: so like whenever it came, like I just wanted to
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  Speaker 4: make sure like I was ready and like just ain't
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  Speaker 4: messing around during the time that I went playing football.
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  Speaker 4: So it's basically it was like me just saying on
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  Speaker 4: the stay focused and like, whenever my opportunity to come, like,
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  Speaker 4: I'm gonna just take advantage of it.
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  Speaker 2: Nah.
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  Speaker 1: For sure, Pressure really your model. You model your game
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  Speaker 1: after mark Ingram, like what you like about this game?
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  Speaker 1: Because I think that's too different.
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  Speaker 4: I say, I say, Press, I mean I like him
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  Speaker 4: here a great running back, but I mean I kind
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  Speaker 4: of like see myself like as a different back then.
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  Speaker 1: Like so all right, that's uh, that was it for
• 3:03
  Speaker 1: the presson release. Now we're gonna play a game called
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  Speaker 1: guesst the Performance. I'm gonna show you a picture. I
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  Speaker 1: got three hints on this paper and if you need
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  Speaker 1: hold on.
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  Speaker 3: So you got the stats, right, Oh yeah, I got so.
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  Speaker 1: But the thing is you got to guess the stats.
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  Speaker 1: But if you need a hint based on the picture,
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  Speaker 1: I got hints for you. All right, all right, so
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  Speaker 1: let's get to it. Let show bill picture one.
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  Speaker 3: That's against my former team. Uh, Mexico.
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  Speaker 4: That was my first game in Arizona, the only one
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  Speaker 4: I played. But one hundred cis yards and a touchdown.
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  Speaker 1: Nah, for sure, that's that's facts. How was it going
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  Speaker 1: to going against that team once you left?
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  Speaker 3: Man?
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  Speaker 4: It was crazy because like I really consider New Mexico,
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  Speaker 4: like that's a team that really like like gave me
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  Speaker 4: an opportunity, like to be on the biggest platform. And
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  Speaker 4: it was crazy because I knew everybody that and like
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  Speaker 4: it was it was fun playing against for real.
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  Speaker 2: For sure. All right, picture number two.
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  Speaker 3: It's against the Giants. I'll say that eighty three eighty
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  Speaker 3: three yards and the touchdown.
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  Speaker 2: See we got Rooks already giving itself extra yurds. You only.
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  Speaker 1: We're giving itself extra yards. How was it scoring your
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  Speaker 1: first touchdown? And you know what I'm saying in the
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  Speaker 1: real game, I know you had one in the preseason, like,
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  Speaker 1: and what was the like, what was the celebration?
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  Speaker 3: Man? It was?
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  Speaker 4: It was crazy, It was. It was definitely excited, exciting
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  Speaker 4: and like when I score, I always said keep the ball,
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  Speaker 4: but I ended up dropping it just because like my
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  Speaker 4: emotions be taken over.
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  Speaker 3: But I mean it was, it was.
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  Speaker 4: It was definitely like a dream come true to like
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  Speaker 4: the like scoring in real Sunday and like the celebration.
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  Speaker 4: I mean it just it was like a little thing
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  Speaker 4: that I did when I saw my first touchdown. Yeah,
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  Speaker 4: that's when I scored my first touchdown. And like I
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  Speaker 4: don't know if y'all seen it or not, but when
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  Speaker 4: I was doing it, it was like somebody in the
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  Speaker 4: stands doing it. Any kind of went viral and it
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  Speaker 4: was like, you need to do that when you score.
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  Speaker 4: So I was like, I just stick with you.
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  Speaker 2: We got we got to clip.
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  Speaker 3: The fan was in the background doing it while I
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  Speaker 3: was doing.
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  Speaker 2: Like, no, that was shirt, that's turt. Let's turn allright.
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  Speaker 2: We got one last picture.
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  Speaker 3: I want to use. Seven carries, thirty yards.
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  Speaker 2: See he's taking cares away and adding yards.
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  Speaker 1: It was my boy had eight Russian attempts, twenty six
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  Speaker 1: rushing yards and a touchdown. What's up with the brooks
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  Speaker 1: man just giving themselves extra you know there's an extra credit?
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  Speaker 3: Like you gotta do it, you gotta you gotta add
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  Speaker 3: a list on that.
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  Speaker 2: What's your for? Show?
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  Speaker 4: Uh?
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  Speaker 1: Enough with the funny games, now, let's talk a little
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  Speaker 1: commandis football. People want to get to know about you?
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  Speaker 1: A good little bit outside of football. Like what do
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  Speaker 1: you do like play games? Music, favorite artists? Like what's
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  Speaker 1: on your pre game playlist?
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  Speaker 3: My pre game playlist is of course young boy, I
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  Speaker 3: like future. Yeah. What I'm doing my free time, I
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  Speaker 3: just be I be chilling.
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  Speaker 4: Like after practice, like we have a long day, I
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  Speaker 4: probably get on the game for a little bit and
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  Speaker 4: sleep and of course study a little bit.
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  Speaker 3: But like I mean, nothing too crazy that special, not
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  Speaker 3: for sure.
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  Speaker 1: I definitely just like me like all after I'm done
• 6:17
  Speaker 1: like looking over everything that we got to look over,
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  Speaker 1: I hop on the game hopefully it's Monday or Thursday and.
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  Speaker 2: Just watch some football.
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  Speaker 3: A sidder fact.
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  Speaker 2: But like what's just like being a young player on
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  Speaker 2: this VET team that we have?
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  Speaker 3: It's crazy, I mean it's good.
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  Speaker 4: Like I mean I grew up watching some of some
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  Speaker 4: of the players we got on our team and like
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  Speaker 4: just to be able to be on the field and
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  Speaker 4: just like put in work with her, like like that's
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  Speaker 4: a dream come true.
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  Speaker 2: So who's been You're who's been the VET on the team?
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  Speaker 3: So far? To you?
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  Speaker 4: Oh, I say, Austin, shout out Austin, h you honestly
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  Speaker 4: obviously and a couple more guys like Bobb It just
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  Speaker 4: saying how y'all carry y'allself? Like, I mean, they just
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  Speaker 4: they just get me better each day, and y'all probably
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  Speaker 4: don't even know it, but I mean, like young guys
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  Speaker 4: like us, just like we look up to people who've
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  Speaker 4: been in the lead for a minute.
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  Speaker 2: What did it mean for you to be named a
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  Speaker 2: starter as a seventh round pick?
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  Speaker 4: It meant a lot to me, Like I've been through
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  Speaker 4: a lot, and like I just I just know that
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  Speaker 4: the end goal and like what I put in work
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  Speaker 4: for and like just to see like it's paying off,
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  Speaker 4: but it's just the beginning, like you feel me, It
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  Speaker 4: mean a lot.
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  Speaker 2: For sure.
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  Speaker 1: I kind of kind of can go back and answer
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  Speaker 1: a couple of your questions, like my vent like when
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  Speaker 1: I was you know, when I was a real like
• 7:37
  Speaker 1: I had Mayuel Sanders. Yeah, I'm pretty sure you know
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  Speaker 1: who that is. Future Hall of Famer for sure. West
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  Speaker 1: was one of my coaches. He coached us as well.
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  Speaker 1: But it mayue like literally taught me everything about this
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  Speaker 1: game or it's like you know what I'm saying, like
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  Speaker 1: what it takes to be one of the guys you
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  Speaker 1: know he was, He was definitely one of the guys
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  Speaker 1: in this league. And I still think he can play
• 7:55
  Speaker 1: to day, but he you know, he hung his shoes up.
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  Speaker 1: But I still communicate with him all the time and
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  Speaker 1: just like to reflect back to you, like you know,
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  Speaker 1: I tell you all the time, bro, Like when we
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  Speaker 1: was in camp, like just seeing the way you work
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  Speaker 1: and how hard and like all the hard work you
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  Speaker 1: didn't put in, like day in and day out. And
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  Speaker 1: I tell all the coaches like I was like, Bro,
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  Speaker 1: this little kid here's gonna be a problem. But like
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  Speaker 1: for sure, you definitely you know what I'm saying. Just
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  Speaker 1: keep doing what you're doing. And you know what I'm saying.
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  Speaker 1: I always tell you Scott's limit, bro. And like you
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  Speaker 1: were named Rookie of the Week week one, What did
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  Speaker 1: that mean to you?
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  Speaker 3: I mean a lot.
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  Speaker 4: I mean that was that was that was being for
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  Speaker 4: me my family, like them just being able to like
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  Speaker 4: to witness it, like me being like the first to
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  Speaker 4: like just really take sports serious in my family, like
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  Speaker 4: and like with them, just seeing all the sacrifices they
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  Speaker 4: made for me, Like it was just I was really
• 8:45
  Speaker 4: more so happy for them, like they was able like
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  Speaker 4: to see that. So I mean, I just want to
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  Speaker 4: like just look forward to keep building on that.
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  Speaker 2: Nah for sure.
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  Speaker 1: Nah, I ain't even know this, but they're crazy right here.
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  Speaker 1: I is graded PFF rusher through four weeks. What does
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  Speaker 1: that mean? To be on the list of guys like
• 9:01
  Speaker 1: James Cook, Kenneth Walker, and Karen Williams.
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  Speaker 2: Them all someome dogs right now?
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  Speaker 3: Fast? Those is some dolls.
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  Speaker 4: But I mean, I mean I always say, like I
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  Speaker 4: want to be with the best, Like I mean, I
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  Speaker 4: ain't happy just being here, you feel me so like
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  Speaker 4: kind I kind of.
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  Speaker 3: Expect expect that, like.
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  Speaker 4: Like do great things and like be with the best
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  Speaker 4: of No, I got a lot of more work, but
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  Speaker 4: I mean, I mean it feel it feels good just
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  Speaker 4: to like just put work in and get recognized for it.
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  Speaker 1: Nah for sure. All right, so let's just reflect on
• 9:33
  Speaker 1: you know what I'm saying. What makes Ato Atlanta Falcons
• 9:37
  Speaker 1: defense challenging?
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  Speaker 2: You know his opinion? Like, you know, I think we
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  Speaker 2: kind of.
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  Speaker 1: Shot ourselves in the foot, you know, early on, not
• 9:45
  Speaker 1: starting off fast and even like coming out of half
• 9:48
  Speaker 1: after the two big runs that you had, and after
• 9:51
  Speaker 1: that we end up first and thirty. Like you can't
• 9:53
  Speaker 1: start the game behind the sticks. So I think you
• 9:55
  Speaker 1: know what I'm saying, it's more of us than them,
• 9:59
  Speaker 1: and just in all honesty, like you know what I'm saying,
• 10:01
  Speaker 1: we shot ourselves in the foot more so, like you
• 10:04
  Speaker 1: know what I'm saying, like defense, like we it was
• 10:07
  Speaker 1: just stuff that we gotta clean up that we know
• 10:08
  Speaker 1: we gotta clean up. So I kind of like reflect
• 10:10
  Speaker 1: this as you know, after we played Green Bay Packers
• 10:15
  Speaker 1: the next week, our defense is playing lights out. So
• 10:17
  Speaker 1: it's like, you know, I expect nothing less coming into
• 10:19
  Speaker 1: this week for sure.
• 10:21
  Speaker 4: Basically basically what he said, we just gotta we just
• 10:23
  Speaker 4: gotta play more clean football, like just play our standard
• 10:26
  Speaker 4: of football, and we definitely gonna.
• 10:28
  Speaker 3: Get to that. So we just gotta clean up the mistakes.
• 10:30
  Speaker 2: And we'll be good, nah for sure.
• 10:33
  Speaker 1: Now looking looking ahead to the Chargers, you know we're
• 10:36
  Speaker 1: both coming off the loss playing like you know what
• 10:38
  Speaker 1: I'm saying. Chargers got a good offense, good defense. You know,
• 10:42
  Speaker 1: they got my guy Derwick James over there all right.
• 10:45
  Speaker 1: The Chargers are the third best team in the NFL
• 10:48
  Speaker 1: with points allowed. So like you know, I I come
• 10:51
  Speaker 1: into this game, like you know what I'm saying, Like
• 10:53
  Speaker 1: we two and two at this point, so we we
• 10:55
  Speaker 1: all we're done with the first quarter, our first quarter
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  Speaker 1: probably you know this week or next week. But like
• 11:00
  Speaker 1: you know what I'm saying, both coming off and lost
• 11:02
  Speaker 1: and you know we didne lost two on the road,
• 11:04
  Speaker 1: so it's like, what like what is gonna take for
• 11:06
  Speaker 1: us to get over as hump for It's like, you
• 11:07
  Speaker 1: know we zero and two on the road, two and
• 11:09
  Speaker 1: oh at home. And you know what I'm saying, you
• 11:11
  Speaker 1: always want to finish the first quarter like on top.
• 11:13
  Speaker 1: So like my thing is like like basically what I
• 11:16
  Speaker 1: just said for is like starting fast, getting playing comforment
• 11:19
  Speaker 1: with football from special teams, the offensive defense, and you
• 11:22
  Speaker 1: know what I'm think. You know what I'm saying, Like
• 11:24
  Speaker 1: when we had that that home game, like we was
• 11:27
  Speaker 1: lights out where everybody was just on one accord.
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  Speaker 4: Yeah, I feel like we basically just gotta gotta create
• 11:33
  Speaker 4: our own energy, Like we just gotta come out, come
• 11:36
  Speaker 4: out swinging from the from the beginning of the game.
• 11:39
  Speaker 4: And once we do that, I feel like we'll be fine.
• 11:43
  Speaker 2: Nah for sure.
• 11:43
  Speaker 1: Now it's time for don't Settle segment presented by State Form.
• 11:47
  Speaker 1: So what we're gonna do here is we're gonna build
• 11:48
  Speaker 1: your running back. We're gonna go Speed, Jukes, Vision, Agility, Receiving, Durability,
• 11:55
  Speaker 1: all right, come on, all right, So for speed, Chris Johnson,
• 12:00
  Speaker 1: Marl Charles, Oh, I like, I like christ Jenson. Why
• 12:05
  Speaker 1: do you take Chris Johnson because that's.
• 12:07
  Speaker 4: Who like, That's who I watched, and I think he
• 12:09
  Speaker 4: was like the fastest in his steak or something like that.
• 12:12
  Speaker 2: All right, boy, this hell, this this hell tough.
• 12:16
  Speaker 1: Right here, you got duke and agility, say Kwarn Barkley
• 12:20
  Speaker 1: or LaShaun McCoy.
• 12:24
  Speaker 3: Me personally, I gotta go, I gotta go. I gotta go.
• 12:29
  Speaker 1: McCoy Probably coy definitely had that pop pop even though
• 12:32
  Speaker 1: it's bass.
• 12:33
  Speaker 2: Security was not it? Yes, Shady, I say your ball,
• 12:36
  Speaker 2: security was not it. Vision. We're going Le'veyon Bell or
• 12:39
  Speaker 2: Aaron Foster.
• 12:41
  Speaker 3: I say Le'veyon Bell y'all.
• 12:44
  Speaker 1: Nah, for sure, I go LaVey On Bell too. We
• 12:46
  Speaker 1: go Power, we go Derrick Henry or Adrian Peterson. I say,
• 12:53
  Speaker 1: Derrick here, all right, we go Receiving. Christian McCaffrey or
• 12:57
  Speaker 1: Marshall Fault. Christian mc he probably he probably don't nothing. Really,
• 13:02
  Speaker 1: I know that you know who it is, but I
• 13:04
  Speaker 1: really just watch his film like, but oh, we got durability.
• 13:10
  Speaker 1: You're going Frank Gore or Emmitt Smith, Emmy Smith. All right,
• 13:15
  Speaker 1: So I got one more question for you. What do
• 13:17
  Speaker 1: you want to add to your game to improve as
• 13:20
  Speaker 1: your career go on.
• 13:22
  Speaker 3: I would say breaking talk of ability.
• 13:27
  Speaker 4: I feel like I can be better at that, like
• 13:30
  Speaker 4: better contact balance.
• 13:32
  Speaker 1: Thanks for watching. Cletan Gumbos presented by State Farm. Don't
• 13:35
  Speaker 1: sell them for any insurance unless it's state farmed