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Press Pass | Liam Coen Reviews Strong Week of Practice, Talks Game Plan for Colts · Press Pass

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: It's nice in here now it's better it's better i
• 0:02
  Speaker 1: did i did told him to make sure these guys
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: are nice and comfortable nice and cozy it's florida we
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: get chilly all right let's roll hey.
• 0:14
  Speaker 2: Liam um obviously the focus is on this sunday but
• 0:17
  Speaker 2: with the thursday night.
• 0:18
  Speaker 3: Game coming up do you peek ahead a little bit
• 0:21
  Speaker 3: just to get a little advance?
• 0:23
  Speaker 2: I did not.
• 0:24
  Speaker 1: Some of our assistants kind of, you know, guys have
• 0:27
  Speaker 1: been doing a lot of some of the background work
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  Speaker 1: and they were able to do some of that throughout
• 0:32
  Speaker 1: the bye, right? A lot of that ground work and
• 0:34
  Speaker 1: leg work was able to get on the bye. I
• 0:37
  Speaker 1: personally have not been.
• 0:38
  Speaker 2: Able to do that yet.
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  Speaker 1: You know, I kind of, I've done in the past
• 0:43
  Speaker 1: where I've been a part of staffs that like they
• 0:46
  Speaker 1: fully game plan or do like a lot of the
• 0:48
  Speaker 1: game plan Let's call it like Saturday of like tomorrow,
• 0:53
  Speaker 1: if you will. And some of our guys will be
• 0:55
  Speaker 1: able to do some of that stuff. I personally, as
• 0:57
  Speaker 1: a play caller, can't do that. I just I've struggled
• 1:01
  Speaker 1: when I've done that a little bit to go. And
• 1:04
  Speaker 1: then you're talking about, you know, even if it's similar
• 1:06
  Speaker 1: things like, right, you're going to have different different personnel.
• 1:10
  Speaker 1: It's different ways of attacking. It's different play callers. And
• 1:13
  Speaker 1: so I've tried not to do that. I'm kind of
• 1:15
  Speaker 1: aware and a big picture of what they do in
• 1:18
  Speaker 1: some ways. So much of Thursday night games, just in general, philosophically, it's.
• 1:26
  Speaker 2: Like, okay, what do we do best? What fits their structure?
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  Speaker 1: As much carryover as you can have from previous weeks.
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  Speaker 1: Maybe it's not just all stuff that we're having in
• 1:39
  Speaker 1: this game plan, but we have had in previous game
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  Speaker 1: plans that can.
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  Speaker 2: Carry over and work.
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  Speaker 1: You're really not trying to throw new at the guys
• 1:49
  Speaker 1: next week specifically. It's hard for me to dual do that.
• 1:55
  Speaker 3: Yesterday was our best football.
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  Speaker 2: Practice we've had in a long time all together.
• 2:11
  Speaker 1: The energy, the individual periods, the execution, the competitiveness. It
• 2:18
  Speaker 1: was just a good, sharp, clean practice. They handled it
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  Speaker 1: the right way. I was very pleased with yesterday's practice specifically.
• 2:27
  Speaker 1: And really Wednesday was nice and physical as well. So
• 2:32
  Speaker 1: I've been pleased with the way that they've come out.
• 2:34
  Speaker 1: Monday of the bonus was good to get out there.
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  Speaker 1: It wasn't probably our cleanest and best practice of the season,
• 2:42
  Speaker 1: but the intent was right. We got out there buzzing around,
• 2:47
  Speaker 1: but they handled Wednesday and Thursday specifically how you would expect.
• 2:54
  Speaker 1: We're coming off a bye, guys. We should have some
• 2:56
  Speaker 1: fresher legs. We should be able to bop around a
• 2:58
  Speaker 1: little bit more. and have a little bit more physicality
• 3:01
  Speaker 1: at practice and intentionality. And I think that those guys,
• 3:06
  Speaker 1: the building handled it the right way this week.
• 3:09
  Speaker 3: How is the offense handled using the wet ball?
• 3:12
  Speaker 1: Yeah, it was all Wednesday, all Thursday and all of
• 3:16
  Speaker 1: our individual periods and all of our ball security periods,
• 3:21
  Speaker 1: routes on air. It's just it's annoying because it's probably overkill.
• 3:26
  Speaker 1: You know, like these guys are taking the ball. dumping
• 3:29
  Speaker 1: it in a bucket and then taking it out, which
• 3:33
  Speaker 1: isn't truly realistic because, you know, the refs, you know,
• 3:37
  Speaker 1: they take the ball and will try to, you know,
• 3:39
  Speaker 1: help you out a little bit. But it does happen.
• 3:42
  Speaker 1: I mean, remember last year here, I didn't recall how
• 3:46
  Speaker 1: much it did rain in that game last year here
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  Speaker 1: in terms of some of the plays on both sides
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  Speaker 1: of the ball, especially when you're in like a two-minute drill,
• 3:55
  Speaker 1: which we were at the end of the half kind of.
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  Speaker 1: where the ball's not getting subbed out and you're trying
• 4:01
  Speaker 1: to throw a grenade a little bit at times. So
• 4:05
  Speaker 1: I just know Trevor threw it really good last time
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  Speaker 1: in the rain specifically. And he's never really worried about it.
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  Speaker 1: He's a guy that does have big hands. And so
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  Speaker 1: I think that helps. It's more of the pass catchers, right?
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  Speaker 1: Like the gloves, no gloves. And The comfort level there
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  Speaker 1: and how much we have focused on this week and
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  Speaker 1: through the bye of just our hands in general, right?
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  Speaker 1: Our hands in blocking, our hands in block disruption, our
• 4:34
  Speaker 1: hands on the offensive line blocking, on the perimeter blocking,
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  Speaker 1: and then also a big part of this game plan
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  Speaker 1: is the pass catchers and skill players really having great
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  Speaker 1: focus and intentionality with their hands.
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  Speaker 3: Something to a guy, specifically quarterbacks, that they really like
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  Speaker 3: playing a certain team and they've had really good success
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  Speaker 3: regardless of staffs and personnel and coordinators they're facing. Is
• 5:01
  Speaker 3: there something to that?
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  Speaker 2: I don't know.
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  Speaker 1: I think there's probably, especially in division, where you play
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  Speaker 1: a team a number of times. You play them throughout
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  Speaker 1: your career. um that you you you know get excited
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  Speaker 1: to play for or feel confident against for whatever reason
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  Speaker 1: I mean I'm trying to think back to LA um
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  Speaker 1: of like games and teams in which maybe our quarterbacks
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  Speaker 1: had like consistent success against and I nothing's like truly
• 5:30
  Speaker 1: poking out at me um but I think there's probably
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  Speaker 1: something there I just can't probably put my finger on
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  Speaker 1: what and why but um.
• 5:42
  Speaker 2: That's what I was just actually thinking of.
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  Speaker 1: Like, New Hampshire, probably for me, was UMass New Hampshire
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  Speaker 1: was a game we played a lot. And I did
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  Speaker 1: typically play well in that game for whatever reason. And
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  Speaker 1: so I think you're, you know, you got games that
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  Speaker 1: you just walk into the week of like, all right,
• 6:00
  Speaker 1: I kind of know them a little bit more.
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  Speaker 2: Right.
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  Speaker 1: And like you said, personnel sometimes changes. staffs change schemes
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  Speaker 1: do change um but you just go into it with
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  Speaker 1: a little bit more comfort knowing like all right i've
• 6:13
  Speaker 1: you know we've been in this team before we we
• 6:15
  Speaker 1: know them a little bit and so i think that
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  Speaker 1: can help any player regardless of position but especially at
• 6:20
  Speaker 1: the quarterback position what do.
• 6:21
  Speaker 2: You like about cave on air weather how it's kind of.
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  Speaker 1: Stepped up yeah um need cave on to continue to
• 6:27
  Speaker 1: step up and evolve um but being with him in
• 6:30
  Speaker 1: tampa you know he was a guy that you know,
• 6:33
  Speaker 1: really helped on teams and played his tail off there,
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  Speaker 1: but was also.
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  Speaker 2: You know, able to step in.
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  Speaker 1: And we started, I think, like eight games for us
• 6:42
  Speaker 1: that year in 24 at safety.
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  Speaker 2: The game wasn't too big for him.
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  Speaker 1: And then when you went and watched him transition to
• 6:49
  Speaker 1: Houston and then watched him throughout the preseason and the
• 6:52
  Speaker 1: regular season on special teams, like you could tell he
• 6:55
  Speaker 1: took on some of the identity and ways in which
• 6:58
  Speaker 1: Houston plays, right? That physicality, like running the football, burning
• 7:02
  Speaker 1: it down and going and playing your ass off. That
• 7:06
  Speaker 1: was something that was intriguing for us as well. And
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  Speaker 1: I've always just thought the game wasn't ever too big
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  Speaker 1: for Kayvon, never really got too high, too low. And
• 7:15
  Speaker 1: he's done a nice job stepping in for us.
• 7:17
  Speaker 3: What's an element of the Colts that, obviously the storyline
• 7:20
  Speaker 3: has been the guys that they've traded, but what's some
• 7:22
  Speaker 3: underrated things that the Colts.
• 7:23
  Speaker 2: Do really well?
• 7:24
  Speaker 1: Yeah, I think, Shane, I really believe that they're a
• 7:28
  Speaker 1: very well-coached football team in all three phases. I've got
• 7:32
  Speaker 1: a ton of respect for Lou. I've known and competed,
• 7:34
  Speaker 1: coached against Lou for a very long time. Shane does
• 7:38
  Speaker 1: things offensively. I think they're very well coached up front.
• 7:41
  Speaker 1: I think their skill players are well coached. Like, it's
• 7:44
  Speaker 1: just a good operation. You can see it. And so
• 7:47
  Speaker 1: you saw it last year when they made that, you know,
• 7:49
  Speaker 1: that run. I remember talking to Sean McVay after the
• 7:52
  Speaker 1: Colts-Rams game last year when they really only won on
• 7:55
  Speaker 1: a 10, you know, they had 10 on the field
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  Speaker 1: on a long pass. Sean was like, man, that is
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  Speaker 1: a good, well-coached group.
• 8:01
  Speaker 2: And you can see it.
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  Speaker 1: Like, their run schemes, like, they're not running runs into
• 8:05
  Speaker 1: bad looks. And they're running multiple different schemes. Their offensive
• 8:09
  Speaker 1: line's well-coached. Their tight ends are good. So it's like,
• 8:13
  Speaker 1: you know, they're really, I mean, unless you can get
• 8:16
  Speaker 1: some turnovers, right? I mean, they're not going to just
• 8:18
  Speaker 1: screw it up by scheme or screw it up by
• 8:21
  Speaker 1: poor coaching or something like that.
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  Speaker 2: That's not happening.
• 8:24
  Speaker 1: So, You listen to Jonathan Taylor's comments and all that
• 8:27
  Speaker 1: stuff throughout the week. This is going to be a
• 8:29
  Speaker 1: team ready to go. I mean, it always stinks to
• 8:33
  Speaker 1: lose players, without a doubt. But these guys are pros.
• 8:36
  Speaker 1: They know what's on the line. They know it's a
• 8:39
  Speaker 1: division game. And I know Shane and their group are
• 8:43
  Speaker 1: going to be ready to play on Sunday.
• 8:44
  Speaker 3: How are you seeing the program.
• 8:46
  Speaker 2: Progress over the course of the season?
• 8:48
  Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean, look, it's– It's always with a rookie
• 8:52
  Speaker 1: offense alignment plan, it's always going to be some new, right,
• 8:56
  Speaker 1: some newness every week. And so that's why it's so
• 8:59
  Speaker 1: good to get him this exposure and this experience. I mean,
• 9:03
  Speaker 1: he's definitely brought a physicality to our group and a
• 9:08
  Speaker 1: people mover to our group. The challenge is to continue
• 9:12
  Speaker 1: to ascend and evolve at the second level. And as
• 9:14
  Speaker 1: we go and in space and at the second level,
• 9:17
  Speaker 1: being able to use his length, You don't always have
• 9:20
  Speaker 1: to maybe be in the perfect body position for him specifically.
• 9:26
  Speaker 2: To get a block done. And then if you are
• 9:29
  Speaker 2: out of position, use your length.
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  Speaker 1: As a weapon, to be able to just stick an
• 9:33
  Speaker 1: arm out there, and you can maybe be able to
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  Speaker 1: shield that guy or block him without getting into a
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  Speaker 1: compromising position where you may have to feel like you
• 9:43
  Speaker 1: need to hold. I think he's done a nice job
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  Speaker 1: in pass protection, especially as of late, specifically, was challenged
• 9:50
  Speaker 1: against Denver, obviously early in the year, which is great
• 9:53
  Speaker 1: to be able to get that experience. But you talk
• 9:56
  Speaker 1: about MAs and missed assignments as a rookie, that's not
• 9:59
  Speaker 1: popping up. He's not coming out of each game with
• 10:02
  Speaker 1: two or three missed assignments.
• 10:05
  Speaker 2: That doesn't happen. And the guys.
• 10:07
  Speaker 1: At Oregon said that would be the case, right? He's
• 10:10
  Speaker 1: going to work extremely hard throughout the week to understand
• 10:13
  Speaker 1: and know the game plan. There's going to be some
• 10:15
  Speaker 1: new things that he has to maybe do once or
• 10:17
  Speaker 1: twice throughout the course of the week before he gets
• 10:19
  Speaker 1: right on Sunday, which is totally fine. That's part of
• 10:22
  Speaker 1: a process of practice.
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  Speaker 2: But I'm glad we have him.
• 10:26
  Speaker 1: With your play call sheet with you and Trevor, is
• 10:28
  Speaker 1: the hay in the barn by the time you leave
• 10:29
  Speaker 1: here today, or is.
• 10:31
  Speaker 2: It tomorrow night?
• 10:32
  Speaker 1: No, the game plan's done today. We try really hard
• 10:38
  Speaker 1: not to add on Saturdays. Unless it's a tweak of
• 10:43
  Speaker 1: a play that's already in the plan that we've repped
• 10:45
  Speaker 1: that maybe we want to just tweak the can or tweak,
• 10:51
  Speaker 1: can we cut a motion? Can we cut some of
• 10:53
  Speaker 1: this stuff, if anything? But yeah, the game plan is
• 10:57
  Speaker 1: done right now. And so really tomorrow, your focus is
• 11:02
  Speaker 1: specifically on situational football, right? Like I have my game
• 11:05
  Speaker 1: management meeting tomorrow. The players had their situational masters meeting today.
• 11:11
  Speaker 2: With Shane.
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  Speaker 1: And so towards the end of the week, you're obviously
• 11:14
  Speaker 1: focusing on red zone today and short yardage goal line.
• 11:17
  Speaker 1: And then tomorrow, it's like, hey, we're really trying to
• 11:20
  Speaker 1: bring it all together, wrap it all in, be able
• 11:23
  Speaker 1: to get a ton of walkthrough reps, which is great.
• 11:26
  Speaker 1: And then situational football is really the Saturday focus, understanding that, hey,
• 11:30
  Speaker 1: wind rain, weather is going to be a part of
• 11:33
  Speaker 1: this game, and making sure that we're all on the
• 11:35
  Speaker 1: screws with some of the situational stuff.
• 11:37
  Speaker 2: But yeah, the.
• 11:38
  Speaker 1: Plan is usually 99% done on Fridays. Earlier in the season.
• 11:43
  Speaker 3: I remember you were saying how you're never worried about
• 11:46
  Speaker 3: if the team is going to show up to games.
• 11:48
  Speaker 3: Does that kind of take some, I don't want to
• 11:51
  Speaker 3: say pressure or stress off of.
• 11:52
  Speaker 2: You, but you know you're not going to have to
• 11:54
  Speaker 2: motivate guys?
• 11:55
  Speaker 3: Definitely.
• 11:56
  Speaker 2: You know, I mean, it does. Look at you.
• 11:59
  Speaker 1: It's innate as a coach. I've been a part of
• 12:02
  Speaker 1: it so many times, especially as an assistant, where you're
• 12:05
  Speaker 1: so hyper-focused on your group. Like, hey, I hope my
• 12:08
  Speaker 1: group plays well today. I hope my position plays well today.
• 12:12
  Speaker 1: As a head coach in general, I hope we all
• 12:16
  Speaker 1: play well, but I kind of expect us to.
• 12:18
  Speaker 2: I do.
• 12:19
  Speaker 1: I don't expect us to walk out on the field
• 12:22
  Speaker 1: and give lack of effort or guys not run to
• 12:25
  Speaker 1: the football.
• 12:27
  Speaker 2: Is it going to happen on some plays?
• 12:28
  Speaker 1: Yeah. But as a whole, as a group, I do
• 12:32
  Speaker 1: expect these guys to walk out on the field on
• 12:35
  Speaker 1: Sunday and give their best effort for the most part
• 12:38
  Speaker 1: and Is it always perfect?
• 12:40
  Speaker 2: No. And that's what we're striving for.
• 12:41
  Speaker 1: You're striving for that perfect balance, but it's such an
• 12:46
  Speaker 1: imperfect game. But it is nice to know, this is
• 12:50
  Speaker 1: the way I feel, that our guys are going to
• 12:52
  Speaker 1: play on Sundays. With the Colts having multiple injuries to
• 12:56
  Speaker 1: guys that play in the nickel at times, does that
• 12:59
  Speaker 1: make it difficult to anticipate how they might handle that situation?
• 13:03
  Speaker 2: Without a doubt, no.
• 13:05
  Speaker 1: It's more just, okay, how does Lou and those guys
• 13:08
  Speaker 1: want to either protect or attack in.
• 13:12
  Speaker 2: A lot of ways?
• 13:13
  Speaker 1: Are they going to play it a little bit more
• 13:15
  Speaker 1: safe and sound and let those guys go play football
• 13:18
  Speaker 1: and play coverage and be able to do those things?
• 13:21
  Speaker 2: Or is it like, hey, man, we're going to?
• 13:22
  Speaker 1: Heat you up and here we go we're going to
• 13:24
  Speaker 1: apply the pressure regardless of who's in put our guys
• 13:27
  Speaker 1: in the back end in some different difficult spots but
• 13:30
  Speaker 1: hey we're just going to go attack and so I
• 13:33
  Speaker 1: think it'll probably end up being a balance of both
• 13:36
  Speaker 1: of those things just knowing some of the personality of
• 13:39
  Speaker 1: those guys and what they want to get done on
• 13:41
  Speaker 1: defense but yeah it can create some challenge because you're
• 13:44
  Speaker 1: like all right you're trying to create matchups and get
• 13:47
  Speaker 1: the best matchups when you're not exactly sure who's going to.
• 13:50
  Speaker 2: Be in there.
• 13:50
  Speaker 1: But again, it is a healthy, helpful reminder that, especially
• 13:56
  Speaker 1: when you get late in the week, you know, as
• 13:59
  Speaker 1: Ryan just said, Hayes already, like, let's not worry too
• 14:01
  Speaker 1: much about them, right? This is so much more about us,
• 14:04
  Speaker 1: our execution, whoever's in there. Our guys got to go beat.
• 14:08
  Speaker 1: We got to go win one-on-one matchups. We got to
• 14:10
  Speaker 1: call a good game to put them in a position
• 14:12
  Speaker 1: to be successful. But it can create some, some, uh,
• 14:15
  Speaker 1: you know, cat and mouse, uh, questions for sure.
• 14:19
  Speaker 3: Do you have the feeling that Chris is starting to
• 14:21
  Speaker 3: really get rolling?
• 14:23
  Speaker 2: I do see Roger talking about, yeah, yeah, I do.
• 14:25
  Speaker 2: He's only the only Chris, right? Uh, uh, that's stupid,
• 14:29
  Speaker 2: stupid response.
• 14:30
  Speaker 1: Um, yeah, I, I have felt, I've challenged him a
• 14:34
  Speaker 1: little bit, um, over the last couple of weeks. Um,
• 14:38
  Speaker 1: Challenged him to continue to have that patience and be
• 14:43
  Speaker 1: able to have that vision while also running as hard
• 14:46
  Speaker 1: as he has. And I think he's answered that in
• 14:50
  Speaker 1: a lot of ways. I think he's tried to be intentional.
• 14:54
  Speaker 1: He's done, I think, where he has ascended in a
• 14:56
  Speaker 1: lot of ways that shows trust. is in pass protection.
• 15:00
  Speaker 1: It's been in that spot, whether it's in normal D & D,
• 15:05
  Speaker 1: known passing situations. Chad, myself, Grant, we feel like we
• 15:09
  Speaker 1: can trust to put him in the football game in
• 15:12
  Speaker 1: those settings. which usually helps earn trust and usually shows
• 15:17
  Speaker 1: a player is starting to get it, right? Like he's
• 15:20
  Speaker 1: starting to understand the bigger picture and starting to understand
• 15:23
  Speaker 1: and take hold of the role, not just as, oh,
• 15:26
  Speaker 1: I'm a first and second down runner.
• 15:28
  Speaker 2: You know?
• 15:29
  Speaker 1: And so hopefully we're going to need him, you know,
• 15:31
  Speaker 1: this Sunday specifically, knowing what kind of game this is
• 15:35
  Speaker 1: likely to be in a lot of ways.
• 15:37
  Speaker 2: But I've been pleased with him, especially obviously the relationship prior.
• 15:43
  Speaker 3: All right, thank you.