Latest / AFR Saints / Saints vs Ravens Week 2 Preview: Key Baltimore Injuries & Matchup Breakdown

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Saints vs Ravens Week 2 Preview: Key Baltimore Injuries & Matchup Breakdown · AFR Saints

• 0:00
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  Speaker 2: Saints 0-1.
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  Speaker 1: Hit the road week two to take on the Baltimore Ravens.
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  Speaker 1: Jesse Minter, what a debut for the Ravens head coach,
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  Speaker 1: replacing John Harbaugh, as we know, after nearly two decades
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  Speaker 1: on the sideline there in Baltimore. And Jesse Minter and
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  Speaker 1: the Ravens went on the road to Indianapolis week one
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  Speaker 1: and put.
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  Speaker 2: A hurtin' on the Colts.
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  Speaker 1: 41-23 was that final part of the reason why New
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  Speaker 1: Orleans is an 8.5-point road dog. here in week two
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  Speaker 1: in Baltimore. Kellen Moore and Jesse Minter both met with
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  Speaker 1: reporters on Monday, recapping their team's performances and kind of
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  Speaker 1: setting the stage for week two. One of the things
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  Speaker 1: that I think is going to be most relevant to
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  Speaker 1: watch this week for the Ravens is what happens with
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  Speaker 1: Zay Flowers. So Zay Flowers and Jacoby Lane both injured.
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  Speaker 1: Jesse Minter gave an update on Monday.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, Zay's probably a little bit more like in the
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  Speaker 3: day-to-day range. You know, feel pretty good about where that's at.
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  Speaker 3: We'll see how the week goes, though, there. You know,
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  Speaker 3: Jacoby may be a little bit longer. We're getting some
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  Speaker 3: more things looked at right now and talking to different people.
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  Speaker 3: That's kind of where those two guys are at.
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  Speaker 1: Okay, so two receivers down with injury. And Zay Flowers
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  Speaker 1: had a heck of a day before he had the
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  Speaker 1: hamstring injury.
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  Speaker 4: Now.
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  Speaker 1: There was a report from Rapoport that if it were
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  Speaker 1: a playoff game, I think the way he phrased it
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  Speaker 1: was if it was a playoff game, Zay Flowers would
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  Speaker 1: have gone back in. It's a mild hamstring deal. But
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  Speaker 1: Zay Flowers had five catches for 150 and a score.
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  Speaker 1: He had a 54-yard touchdown. Of course, that was the long.
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  Speaker 1: Five catches on six targets. What a day before he exited.
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  Speaker 1: Jacoby Lane had just the one catch for 11 yards.
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  Speaker 2: This is the.
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  Speaker 1: This is the kind of thing that just makes me
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  Speaker 1: a little uneasy when we talk about the Saints. Because,
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  Speaker 1: you know my feeling, I've said it all offseason, so
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  Speaker 1: if you've been here, I don't really need to repeat it,
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  Speaker 1: but I think the biggest mistake the Saints made this
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  Speaker 1: offseason was not addressing cornerback. Being content with Kool-Aid McKinstry
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  Speaker 1: and Quincy Riley as your one-two, there's just not going
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  Speaker 1: to be a day, not going to be many days
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  Speaker 1: in the NFL, where You take the field and you
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  Speaker 1: feel like your one-two punch at corner can hold up
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  Speaker 1: against an elite one-two receiver tandem. We saw it this
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  Speaker 1: past weekend in Detroit with Amon Ross St. Brown and
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  Speaker 1: Jamison Williams. Both of them made big plays, deciding plays
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  Speaker 1: against those two cornerbacks. In the first touchdown of the game,
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  Speaker 1: it was a third and eight. They went to Amon
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  Speaker 1: Ross St.
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  Speaker 2: Brown.
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  Speaker 1: I'm sorry, to Jamison Williams against Kool-Aid down around the
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  Speaker 1: goal line on a third and eight and beat Kool-Aid.
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  Speaker 1: Got down your first and goal, and they scored. After
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  Speaker 1: the second turnover, the fumble in the third quarter, 25-yard
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  Speaker 1: catch where Quincy Riley got dusted by Amon Ross St.
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  Speaker 2: Brown. Your guys aren't good enough. They're just not. They're
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  Speaker 2: not good enough to hold down the best in the NFL.
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  Speaker 2: And so... If Zay Flowers is out there, that's.
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  Speaker 1: A real problem for New Orleans. So you may catch
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  Speaker 1: a break if he's not able to go. A mentor
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  Speaker 1: was also asked if the Ravens plan to add any
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  Speaker 1: receivers this week with the Flowers and Lane injuries.
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  Speaker 3: I think there's potential for that. But again, like Tez
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  Speaker 3: Walker and Surratt, like I got a lot of confidence
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  Speaker 3: in those guys. Those guys have had a ton of
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  Speaker 3: reps within our offense. Tez was dealing with something minor
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  Speaker 3: this past week that we sort of pushed him. And
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  Speaker 3: so Those two guys, I think, have a real opportunity
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  Speaker 3: to get themselves into the boat, get themselves in rhythm.
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  Speaker 3: And then we'll look at all options, obviously, to figure
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  Speaker 3: out what's best for the 70 guys that we have
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  Speaker 3: available as we talk about the 53 and the practice squad.
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  Speaker 2: Now, that's offense.
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  Speaker 1: If you flip it over, Jesse Minter, of course, by trade,
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  Speaker 1: is a defensive coach. And even though he's the head coach,
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  Speaker 1: he's also managing defensive play calling. Now, it's not uncommon
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  Speaker 1: in the NFL– for offensive-minded head coaches to call plays.
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  Speaker 1: Sean Payton called plays for years. Andy Reid called plays
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  Speaker 1: for years. Sean McVay. And we go down the list
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  Speaker 1: of offensive head coaches that also handle play. Kellen Moore
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  Speaker 1: handles play calling duties. I don't know why it feels
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  Speaker 1: a bit odd to see a defensive-minded head coach handle
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  Speaker 1: play calling duties, but that's what.
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  Speaker 2: Jesse Minter is doing.
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  Speaker 1: And he was asked about balancing being a head coach
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  Speaker 1: and calling the defensive plays.
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  Speaker 3: That was a great experience because it definitely felt more
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  Speaker 3: than the preseason, more real than the preseason. But it's
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  Speaker 3: mainly really for me, Having a really, really good defensive
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  Speaker 3: staff that while we're on defense, I can obviously have
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  Speaker 3: my focus there. As soon as we get off the field,
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  Speaker 3: I can quickly talk to Weave and those guys and
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  Speaker 3: talk about anything that happened. Can still hear the offensive
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  Speaker 3: side of the headset and the great job that those
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  Speaker 3: guys do. And really at that point, it's just like
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  Speaker 3: a lot of fourth down things, special teams things, where
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  Speaker 3: we're at on the field, areas where we may be
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  Speaker 3: looking to be aggressive on fourth down, things like that.
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  Speaker 3: So as Dex calling the game, he has an idea
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  Speaker 3: of what we're trying to do. And so it was good.
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  Speaker 3: I think I'll get better at it as we go.
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  Speaker 3: A lot of things to improve on. I didn't think
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  Speaker 3: I did a great job on the first drive defensively.
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  Speaker 3: I thought we adjusted well, but definitely something I'll be
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  Speaker 3: trying to chase and get better at each week.
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  Speaker 1: Calling a defense is nothing new to Jesse Minter. Remember,
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  Speaker 1: he was the D.C. at Vanderbilt for a season back
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  Speaker 1: in 2021, and then Harbaugh hired him in Michigan. And
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  Speaker 1: so he was at Michigan with Harbaugh as the D.C.
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  Speaker 1: in 22 and 23, and then Harbaugh brought him to
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  Speaker 1: the Chargers when Harbaugh jumped into the NFL.
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  Speaker 2: And he was the D.C.
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  Speaker 1: In 24-25, and now is the head coach of the
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  Speaker 1: Ravens and is still maintaining those defensive play-calling duties. Now,
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  Speaker 1: from the Saints' perspective, your mentor is a defensive-minded head
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  Speaker 1: coach overseeing that. Kellen Moore is an offensive-minded head coach
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  Speaker 1: still calling the plays on the offensive side of the ball.
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  Speaker 1: And the real issue that the Saints had a year
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  Speaker 1: ago that persisted on Sunday is the slow start. Saints
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  Speaker 1: were shut out in the first half, even if they
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  Speaker 1: had gotten the defensive score, but the offense was shut
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  Speaker 1: out in the first half. And they caught fire of late,
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  Speaker 1: as we all know, and they rallied from down three
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  Speaker 1: touchdowns and forced overtime and put up 400 passing yards
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  Speaker 1: and all that stuff. But What is going on with
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  Speaker 1: the slow starts? Here was Kellen Moore.
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  Speaker 4: I think it's just guys being on the same page
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  Speaker 4: and just communicating. I think so much of it comes
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  Speaker 4: down to communication. When everyone's aligned and communicating and everyone
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  Speaker 4: understands the responsibilities, it's just about going out and executing.
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  Speaker 4: And so I thought from a protection standpoint, there's some
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  Speaker 4: things that we just got to get better at. Most
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  Speaker 4: of it's, I think, at the end of the day, communication.
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  Speaker 4: And then when you have those opportunities downfield, you can
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  Speaker 4: take advantage of them.
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  Speaker 1: Kellen Moore, at times... is the most boring soundbite ever.
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  Speaker 1: He's just a cliche machine. And I wish he would
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  Speaker 1: actually give me an answer. It's totally his prerogative whether
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  Speaker 1: he wants to say something meaningful or not. And consistently,
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  Speaker 1: that's what he is. He just, he's very even keeled.
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  Speaker 1: He doesn't get high or low. He is just, remember
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  Speaker 1: Levitard show that used to do the useless sound montage?
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  Speaker 1: Kellen Moore would just be gold for that bit every
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  Speaker 1: week because he says nothing. But it's one of those
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  Speaker 1: things where I would love to know what.
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  Speaker 2: Is the answer. Okay, communication.
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  Speaker 1: Give me an example of your inability to communicate and
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  Speaker 1: why it continues to reflect in bad first quarter and
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  Speaker 1: first half offensive performances. Because if that is the answer
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  Speaker 1: and you just went through a whole season of that
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  Speaker 1: and it carried over into week one of the second season,
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  Speaker 1: you know it's the issue and you haven't fixed it.
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  Speaker 2: Well, now I'm looking at you.
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  Speaker 1: And I'm hopeful that this gets fixed because everyone can
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  Speaker 1: point to it and see that it's a problem. The
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  Speaker 1: best answer that I've heard so far is what James
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  Speaker 1: Hurst told us on this show a day ago. And
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  Speaker 1: he pointed to the fact that they didn't.
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  Speaker 2: Play.
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  Speaker 1: The starters didn't play in the preseason. And I asked him, Hurst,
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  Speaker 1: when he felt comfortable, and he said, you just like
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  Speaker 1: 25 snaps. So two or three possessions and you feel
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  Speaker 1: like you've gotten a little bit of a groove. So
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  Speaker 1: if you get that out of the way in the preseason,
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  Speaker 1: maybe it doesn't carry over in the regular season.
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  Speaker 2: That's fine.
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  Speaker 1: And that might make sense for this week. We'll see
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  Speaker 1: how they do in Baltimore here in week two. But
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  Speaker 1: that was an issue all of last year. They were
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  Speaker 1: the worst team in the NFL offensively in the first
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  Speaker 1: quarter a season ago as far as scoring.
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  Speaker 2: So how do you fix that?
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  Speaker 1: Because if you continue to play from behind, I mean,
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  Speaker 1: stating the obvious here, like you can't playing from behind
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  Speaker 1: all the time. So, um, just puts an undue stress
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  Speaker 1: on your defense and on your offense. You, the, the issue,
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  Speaker 1: like you don't get to force the issue and dictate terms.
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  Speaker 1: Now the game is dictating the terms to you when
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  Speaker 1: you have to go for it, when you have to
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  Speaker 1: be more aggressive because you're playing from behind and you
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  Speaker 1: have to go for certain things. So in any event, um,
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  Speaker 1: see if the saints can maybe check that box, get
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  Speaker 1: a little better here early in the game on week two,
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  Speaker 1: when they go to Baltimore, but what a, a really, um,
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  Speaker 1: Difficult task to start the season that everybody knew. Opening
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  Speaker 1: at Detroit, at Baltimore, was just going to be so
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  Speaker 1: unenviable for New Orleans. If you managed to scratch out
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  Speaker 1: a win in one of these, it would have felt great.
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  Speaker 1: I don't think anybody was expecting it. I certainly don't
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  Speaker 1: expect them to win Sunday in Baltimore. I'd be thrilled
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  Speaker 1: if somehow they managed to go on the road and
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  Speaker 1: get that win. But the great news for New Orleans
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  Speaker 1: is after this pressure cooker the first two weeks, it
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  Speaker 1: just lightens up considerably. You come home against the Raiders,
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  Speaker 1: then you're home against the Falcons, which who knows even
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  Speaker 1: what their quarterback situation is going to look like here
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  Speaker 1: in a couple of weeks. You get the Vikings in
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  Speaker 1: New Orleans. You know the Vikings had a really nice
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  Speaker 1: comeback win against Green Bay. in week one, but their
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  Speaker 1: quarterback situation is very much up in the air. Going
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  Speaker 1: to the Giants now looks a little more difficult than
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  Speaker 1: it did. Giants just beat the Cowboys on Sunday night football.
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  Speaker 1: Before you go overseas to take on the Steelers in Paris,
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  Speaker 1: we'll see what that game looks like. Steelers beat the
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  Speaker 1: Falcons week one, but certainly didn't look great offensively, scoring
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  Speaker 1: just 20 points. Then you get the Browns and Panthers
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  Speaker 1: at home. So my point is, we knew how this
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  Speaker 1: was going to shape up for New Orleans. Really tough
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  Speaker 1: first couple of weeks, but then straight throughout the rest
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  Speaker 1: of September and through October, you just have a very
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  Speaker 1: manageable schedule where you can make hay before you hit
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  Speaker 1: the toughest stretch, which is at Chicago, at Cincinnati, home
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  Speaker 1: against Green Bay. And then Panthers, Bucs, Cardinals, Falcons, Bucs
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  Speaker 1: to finish. So we've talked about the schedule plenty. It's
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  Speaker 1: not going to be fun or pleasant to look at
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  Speaker 1: an 0-2 start if that's how it plays out, but
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  Speaker 1: you realize it is going to lighten up considerably for
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  Speaker 1: New Orleans.
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  Speaker 2: Work on you. Get better.
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  Speaker 1: Maybe you mess up and you scratch out a win.
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  Speaker 1: I mean, the Cardinals beat the Chargers in week one
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  Speaker 1: as a nine and a half point dog. My goodness,
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  Speaker 1: can it happen? Sure it can. Don't know that I'm
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  Speaker 1: necessarily expecting it, but we'll see if the Saints can
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  Speaker 1: maybe continue to improve here week two as they head
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  Speaker 1: to Baltimore.