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Head Coach Mike Macdonald On The NFC Championship Win vs. The Rams · Seahawks Press Pass

• 0:02
  Speaker 1: All right, I don't really don't know what to say.
• 0:06
  Speaker 2: I just I'm incredibly proud of our our team. I'm
• 0:12
  Speaker 2: happy for the twelves, you know, happy for our city.
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  Speaker 2: Quite an atmosphere, you know, just to be able to
• 0:19
  Speaker 2: take it in after and understand what our team has
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  Speaker 2: been able to do up to this point and how
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  Speaker 2: they've done it.
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  Speaker 1: Uh, it's just we're just blessed, you.
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  Speaker 2: Know, just really blessed that we got a heck of
• 0:31
  Speaker 2: a group and a great organization and a great owner
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  Speaker 2: and the best fans. So it's humbling too, and it's
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  Speaker 2: just pretty awesome, you know.
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  Speaker 1: It's just I don't know, I'm kind of speechless, but
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  Speaker 1: just really really proud of our guys.
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  Speaker 2: You know, as a team win like and we didn't
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  Speaker 2: play our best game on defense, we made some play
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  Speaker 2: played made.
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  Speaker 1: Enough plays to win.
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  Speaker 2: You got to give them a lot of credit that
• 0:51
  Speaker 2: they had a great game plan.
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  Speaker 1: Did some things that weren't ready for.
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  Speaker 2: We had some we had to adjust again part of
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  Speaker 2: the course for their offense. And uh, a team win,
• 1:00
  Speaker 2: you know, special teams had to pick it up. The
• 1:03
  Speaker 2: drive at the end on offense was just tremendous, and
• 1:05
  Speaker 2: I thought Clint called a great game, and then you know,
• 1:07
  Speaker 2: you can't can't talk about the game without talking.
• 1:10
  Speaker 1: About our quarterback.
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  Speaker 2: I mean, he just shut a lot of people up tonight.
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  Speaker 2: So I'm really happy for him.
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  Speaker 3: What what do you think got you? If you can
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  Speaker 3: key out.
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  Speaker 1: Tonight, you would have took that.
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  Speaker 2: I don't know if anybody could hear me afterward, but
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  Speaker 2: the power of twelve is one is real, you know,
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  Speaker 2: just synergy, people buying in doing it together.
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  Speaker 1: You know, we're not made a bunch, we don't have
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  Speaker 1: a bunch of superstars and all that.
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  Speaker 2: We're just a really good football team that that's tough
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  Speaker 2: and connected and doesn't blink and plays the whole game.
• 1:40
  Speaker 3: You kind of alluded to it there at the end,
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  Speaker 3: but there was sort of this narrative after earlier this
• 1:45
  Speaker 3: season about whether or not Sam is a big game quarterback.
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  Speaker 1: What do you think he showed to.
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  Speaker 2: Three hundred and something yards, three touchdowns, no picks, big
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  Speaker 2: every time they went and scored again, he came back.
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  Speaker 2: We had some big time throws, third down, two minute drive,
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  Speaker 2: four minute drive. The guy barely practiced all week. You know,
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  Speaker 2: just really happy for him. He deserves it. Just just
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  Speaker 2: been been a rock for us the whole year, So
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  Speaker 2: just really happy for him.
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  Speaker 3: The defense held up on the drive up and they
• 2:20
  Speaker 3: got to the sixth there the two players in kind
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  Speaker 3: of made a name.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, uh, that's Devin Witherspoon. That's him.
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  Speaker 2: You know, we actually didn't even execute that play well
• 2:30
  Speaker 2: on the fourth down, but he just covered his guy
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  Speaker 2: forever and just refused to let his guy catch the ball.
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  Speaker 1: And that's who he is. So he is every day.
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  Speaker 1: You know who he is every day. So incredibly proud
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  Speaker 1: of him.
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  Speaker 4: Five games against the Rams in two years, total point
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  Speaker 4: advantage year three in all five games. What is it
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  Speaker 4: about mcvay's teams that seemed to bring out the best
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  Speaker 4: with you?
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  Speaker 2: And they're great teams, they're great, they're early, they're a
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  Speaker 2: great team, and he's as good as it gets him
• 3:01
  Speaker 2: and his staff game plan and wise, they got great players.
• 3:08
  Speaker 1: You just you tip your hat.
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  Speaker 2: To them, honestly, man, No, it's you know, I was
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  Speaker 2: supposed say that the division rival and everything, but we
• 3:12
  Speaker 2: respect those guys. They're they're they're a great offense, and
• 3:15
  Speaker 2: they got they're great coaches.
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  Speaker 1: And it's a heck of a matchup.
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  Speaker 2: You know, it's kinda man, it's probably gonna be like
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  Speaker 2: this for a long time. So that final four minute drive,
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  Speaker 2: the first Super Cup guests, the one that can I guess.
• 3:27
  Speaker 3: And then the victor of Jackson before you take out
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  Speaker 3: the way the.
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  Speaker 2: Whole drive on Holden, Uh awesome, you know, you know,
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  Speaker 2: we popped a couple of runs and then stayed aggressive
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  Speaker 2: with some of the passes.
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  Speaker 1: And uh and Sam made it happen. You know, it
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  Speaker 1: was awesome.
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  Speaker 3: You tell the story to Jack one day or how
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  Speaker 3: do you think I've started?
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  Speaker 1: I don't know, Probably won't say anything.
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  Speaker 2: It's kind of show them, you know, let them just
• 3:54
  Speaker 2: experience it, you know, it's just a.
• 4:00
  Speaker 1: Great question.
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  Speaker 2: I don't know.
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  Speaker 1: So I hope.
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  Speaker 2: I hope he sees what we did with our team
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  Speaker 2: and how we played and what type of character this
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  Speaker 2: team has. And that's what I hope he takes from
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  Speaker 2: the whole thing, just in.
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  Speaker 3: Terms of character.
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  Speaker 4: We talked to top the resiliency in the next play
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  Speaker 4: mentality bigtails. We needed it, we didn't.
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  Speaker 2: I mean, look, had us on the rope straight up,
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  Speaker 2: you know. And sometimes it was defense making the play.
• 4:24
  Speaker 2: A lot of times it was offense coming in making it.
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  Speaker 2: Like special teams and that's what we believe, you know,
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  Speaker 2: like we we believe that our team is our edge,
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  Speaker 2: you know, how we play together.
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  Speaker 5: Maybe have a chance to put it away and make
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  Speaker 5: a penalty.
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  Speaker 1: You know, remember the thirteen yard penalty because.
• 4:39
  Speaker 5: You remember, but it could have really been a you know,
• 4:46
  Speaker 5: it really could have been a dark day if it
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  Speaker 5: won the game. What did what did you see? There?
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  Speaker 4: Is there lessons from that?
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  Speaker 2: Or look, reached down a tremendous job for us. And yeah,
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  Speaker 2: like you're frustrated the moment about what's happening, but he
• 5:02
  Speaker 2: just just made it, just made an emotional decision and
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  Speaker 2: you know, but we got to pick them up.
• 5:08
  Speaker 1: You know, you can't. There's not enough.
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  Speaker 2: That's not the time to point, you know, get all upset.
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  Speaker 2: You got to go play the next mine on the
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  Speaker 2: score of the next play, and you got to go
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  Speaker 2: rebound and go back and read came back and played
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  Speaker 2: well the rest of the game. So I mean it
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  Speaker 2: literally is like twelve is one. You know, just keep
• 5:25
  Speaker 2: picking each other up.
• 5:26
  Speaker 1: It was years your thoughts on wind Winstaurnt. There was
• 5:29
  Speaker 1: a third down there maybe a third.
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  Speaker 5: Twelve where you sign them and you've got them, were
• 5:32
  Speaker 5: you I don't know how much you did, but what
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  Speaker 5: was your sort of tackles there to when did when
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  Speaker 5: did the extra guys do look like they had some protection?
• 5:39
  Speaker 2: Well, we were we weren't covering very well, you know,
• 5:42
  Speaker 2: so we're trying to find some solutions in the in
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  Speaker 2: the back end, and so you know, there's a trade
• 5:48
  Speaker 2: off when you do so and the timing of how
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  Speaker 2: you do it. They had a great game plan, you know,
• 5:54
  Speaker 2: they did some things on second down that they hadn't
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  Speaker 2: done all season, and and we had to come up
• 5:59
  Speaker 2: with some new stuff and they're they're frankly, they were
• 6:02
  Speaker 2: really hurting us on second down.
• 6:03
  Speaker 1: So we had to be it. We had to adjust.
• 6:06
  Speaker 3: So much happened in the second half. It might be
• 6:08
  Speaker 3: easy to kind of forget the first apple, but but
• 6:10
  Speaker 3: that sequence from the end where they get the ball,
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  Speaker 3: they're trying to drive and then.
• 6:13
  Speaker 1: Nick breaks up a couple of passes back in quick cutshout.
• 6:16
  Speaker 1: I thought Nick played a great game.
• 6:19
  Speaker 2: A lot of players in the ball and we're asking
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  Speaker 2: him to do a lot of stuff.
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  Speaker 1: Now he's playing the end line of scrimmage. He's you know,
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  Speaker 1: he's playing both both dB spots. That was awesome, And
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  Speaker 1: then you know, because I think we had the drive
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  Speaker 1: earlier and.
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  Speaker 2: We really didn't do anything, and then defense picked it
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  Speaker 2: up with a three and out, which we I don't
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  Speaker 2: think we've done that the whole maybe except for.
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  Speaker 1: The first drive.
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  Speaker 2: And then uh Sam made the huge play to Jacks
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  Speaker 2: and he held onto it after the big hit and
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  Speaker 2: made a heck of a play, you know, to score.
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  Speaker 2: I think that I think it was a seven cut
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  Speaker 2: the Jacks for the touchdown, so stayed in there and
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  Speaker 2: made a heck of a throw. Some there's some say
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  Speaker 2: what it was like. I'm not in a quarterback expert,
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  Speaker 2: but that has some high power quarterbacking going on in
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  Speaker 2: that game.
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  Speaker 1: By by number fourteen for sure.
• 7:01
  Speaker 3: Said I've had a line has been an issue for
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  Speaker 3: this team for so many years. This game opened up
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  Speaker 3: the run game early and protected Sam pretty well. What
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  Speaker 3: did you see from Macrovin Charles especially.
• 7:11
  Speaker 1: Yeah, guys played a great game.
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  Speaker 2: Charles banged up, played through it. Yeah, incredible guys, team effort,
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  Speaker 2: I'm telling you like it literally takes all the same
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  Speaker 2: time about George Hallane not playing for however many weeks,
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  Speaker 2: coming in practicing for one week, getting ready to play,
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  Speaker 2: making some big time plays for us. Just you know,
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  Speaker 2: cam Aker's coming in and playing just really awesome.
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  Speaker 3: Stepping up of one hundred and eleven yards in a touchdown,
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  Speaker 3: stepping at the primary role.
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  Speaker 1: What can he say about? Just I'm happy for him.
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  Speaker 1: You know, he's just he's just worked. It's all he's done.
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  Speaker 2: Now he's had an opportunity to really carry the load
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  Speaker 2: and he's doing a great job.
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  Speaker 1: So we're gonna need it for one more game.
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  Speaker 5: You talk so much about cul bery football, it seems
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  Speaker 5: today in the passing game that you guys.
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  Speaker 3: Had culpanty football going on big plays downfield, getting it
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  Speaker 3: after the catch Chucks ken Walker's catch there that last try.
• 8:01
  Speaker 4: How critical was it to be able to happy to
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  Speaker 4: have that kind of confident asking attack to get a
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  Speaker 4: step today?
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  Speaker 2: Well, I think I think it's I think it's an
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  Speaker 2: example of like you can't press, and you can't just
• 8:10
  Speaker 2: try to go like Hunt. You can't try to force
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  Speaker 2: your way to make place. What you can't do is
• 8:15
  Speaker 2: just keep playing on a play by pay basis and
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  Speaker 2: go through your reads and go through your progressions, and
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  Speaker 2: take sack if you need to throw it away when
• 8:22
  Speaker 2: you need to.
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  Speaker 1: And just do that over and over again.
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  Speaker 2: And we got great players that you know, when the
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  Speaker 2: ball finds them, they're gonna they're gonna make plays.
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  Speaker 3: For us all season to do what he did, just.
• 8:35
  Speaker 2: Like Sam, It's like, I'm not surprised, you know, and
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  Speaker 2: we're gonna we need those efforts for us to be
• 8:39
  Speaker 2: productive on offense. And and uh, happy for jacks Man
• 8:42
  Speaker 2: if you know, he's just guy's an absolute stud.
• 8:45
  Speaker 3: Cover on the there's a sequence Compass converted their down
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  Speaker 3: lock down field to help Fred something.
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  Speaker 4: He gets the touchdown, you fire the professionalism.
• 8:54
  Speaker 1: This guy has to marvel at it. And I'm just happy.
• 8:57
  Speaker 2: I mean, how about that Coop against his former team
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  Speaker 2: NFC champions Ship gets a touchdown. Some whispers and before
• 9:02
  Speaker 2: the game, like, how cool would it be if Coop
• 9:04
  Speaker 2: scored a touchdown today?
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  Speaker 1: You know? And he did so, I mean, we love him.
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  Speaker 1: He's the best.
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  Speaker 3: In the first half, Dreeke young gunner, he he avoided
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  Speaker 3: running the Hunter Turner when I got him up to
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  Speaker 3: the chance. Was that an adjustment to settle him in
• 9:20
  Speaker 3: front of the return of the second time when.
• 9:22
  Speaker 1: He I mean, Drake's played great football for us all year.
• 9:25
  Speaker 2: I think in that moment he thought he was playing
• 9:27
  Speaker 2: for the like the end line, when really you should
• 9:31
  Speaker 2: have been in front of the guy to so we just
• 9:34
  Speaker 2: just quick fix back to back to your rule.
• 9:37
  Speaker 3: Michael Dickson, his money, his plans.
• 9:39
  Speaker 2: Oh yeah, I mean we needed a full field position
• 9:41
  Speaker 2: and put the guy on his seels and forced to
• 9:43
  Speaker 2: make a great catch and unfortunately for him and he
• 9:46
  Speaker 2: dropped it.
• 9:46
  Speaker 3: You almost understand, like what it took to get Sam
• 9:48
  Speaker 3: ready for this game.
• 9:49
  Speaker 1: He said he hardly practiced this week.
• 9:51
  Speaker 4: What was the week like for him?
• 9:54
  Speaker 2: Well, like coming from the medical folks, it was it
• 9:56
  Speaker 2: was always optimistic that he was great and he kept
• 9:58
  Speaker 2: getting better. But I think I think from you, I'm
• 10:01
  Speaker 2: not gonna put words in Sam's mouth, but just trying
• 10:04
  Speaker 2: to be as smart as possible to get him ready
• 10:06
  Speaker 2: to play, and he's confident and to come out the
• 10:08
  Speaker 2: way he played barely practicing, was just barely throwing the
• 10:11
  Speaker 2: balls really incredible. I mean, it's like should go down
• 10:15
  Speaker 2: as one of the best performances in playoff history.
• 10:18
  Speaker 1: Out of match.
• 10:19
  Speaker 2: I mean, it's hard to stack it, but I can't
• 10:21
  Speaker 2: imagine aybody playing any better.
• 10:23
  Speaker 3: I mentioned Sam in the Hot Car Quarterback and you know,
• 10:25
  Speaker 3: their narrative seems like it's followed still as you can
• 10:27
  Speaker 3: to make the big mistake.
• 10:28
  Speaker 1: Yeah, well you just you know, talk about where talk
• 10:33
  Speaker 1: about earlier, but like where he is now is where.
• 10:35
  Speaker 4: He's come and played the best.
• 10:36
  Speaker 3: Game in this situation.
• 10:37
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean, everyone wants to make a narrative about
• 10:39
  Speaker 2: this guy, but it's like he's been the same guy
• 10:41
  Speaker 2: since he walked in the door. So it's like, you
• 10:45
  Speaker 2: don't want me writing the stories because I would not
• 10:46
  Speaker 2: write the narratives that are out there.
• 10:48
  Speaker 1: I'd be really boring.
• 10:49
  Speaker 2: But like, this guy's the man, and and his teammates
• 10:52
  Speaker 2: love him, and he's competitive as crap, and he's tough,
• 10:55
  Speaker 2: and he's really talented and he's a winner.
• 11:00
  Speaker 1: That would be the story. So don't let me write
• 11:03
  Speaker 1: the story.