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Saints vs. Lions Preview: Everything You Need to Know Before Detroit · AFR Saints

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  Speaker 1: that say they're gonna beat them Saints? Let's head behind
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  Speaker 1: to Enemy Lines to preview this week's matchup. I don't know.
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  Speaker 1: I don't feel good about this. I don't want to
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  Speaker 1: call her an enemy. She's not. She's a dear friend.
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  Speaker 1: And honestly, that silver and blue, it's a good color scheme.
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  Speaker 1: And Detroit's had a lot of misfortune throughout its entire history,
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  Speaker 1: not only as organizationally, but just as a city. All right,
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  Speaker 1: we'll go behind enemy lines to talk to our friend,
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  Speaker 1: Brooke Kirchhofer, now covers the Detroit Lions, working for the Lions. Brooke,
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  Speaker 1: how are you?
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  Speaker 2: I'm good, Matt. Never enemies, ever.
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  Speaker 3: Ever?
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  Speaker 2: Even if I'm on the other side, it's so good
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  Speaker 2: to talk to you.
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  Speaker 1: How in the world did you end up in Detroit? Detroit.
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  Speaker 2: Man, it is a long story, but long story short,
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  Speaker 2: when I started covering the Saints in 2019, kind of
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  Speaker 2: had an inkling that I wanted to be a team
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  Speaker 2: reporter down the line if the right job ever opened up.
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  Speaker 2: And Matt, I know you've been covering everything this week,
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  Speaker 2: following the Detroit Lions heading into week one, the storylines,
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  Speaker 2: their health, what they bring back.
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  Speaker 3: Couldn't be a better time for me to.
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  Speaker 2: Be a part of this organization.
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  Speaker 1: Well, congratulations on an awesome opportunity there with Detroit. We're
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  Speaker 1: excited for you. And of course, naturally, your first game
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  Speaker 1: with Detroit is against the freaking Saints. So naturally, here
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  Speaker 1: we go. Okay, let's start with the big picture one
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  Speaker 1: that you just talked about was the health of the team.
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  Speaker 1: What do we need to know going into week one?
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  Speaker 2: Well, I'll tell you a fun story. Just this morning,
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  Speaker 2: we did a film breakdown with Dan Campbell. The Lions
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  Speaker 2: are very good to us in terms of what content
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  Speaker 2: we can get in-house. And we looked at each other
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  Speaker 2: and said, couldn't have drew it up any perfectly. My
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  Speaker 2: first week here, and it's the New Orleans Saints, obviously
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  Speaker 2: covered Dan Campbell when he was the tight ends coach
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  Speaker 2: there in New Orleans. But switching gears to this Lions
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  Speaker 2: team heading into 2026, when you look at what they
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  Speaker 2: bring back just offensively, Jared Goff, Amon Ross St. Brown,
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  Speaker 2: Jamison Williams, Jameer Gibbs, Panay Sewell, Sam Laporta. I think
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  Speaker 2: that makes up 14 Pro Bowls.
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  Speaker 1: I believe.
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  Speaker 2: Hey, hey, chill out, chill out, chill out, chill out.
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  Speaker 2: And a healthy Aiden Hutchinson on the other side of
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  Speaker 2: the ball. Jack Campbell, who they're very confident in. And
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  Speaker 2: the Saints will get to see a guy who used
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  Speaker 2: to be a game wrecker with the Bucs, Devin White.
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  Speaker 3: You will see him.
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  Speaker 2: Suit up in uniform and a Lions uniform as well.
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  Speaker 2: So just top to bottom, this is a group. And
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  Speaker 2: of course, we're going to get to the secondary. That's
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  Speaker 2: where a lot of the question marks are. But the
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  Speaker 2: Lions feel like they've at least answered that for now
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  Speaker 2: as they wait for guys to get healthy.
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  Speaker 1: Devin White. This conversation keeps getting worse and worse, Brooke.
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  Speaker 1: I don't like this at all. Hey, did you cover
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  Speaker 1: Dan Campbell when you were covering the Saints?
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  Speaker 3: I did.
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  Speaker 2: So in 2019, I very clearly remember him as the
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  Speaker 2: tight ends coach, and I believe he had like an
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  Speaker 2: associate head coaching role whenever he was under Sean Payton.
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  Speaker 1: From what you remember covering him, what's that, six, seven
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  Speaker 1: years ago to now, how would you compare and contrast
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  Speaker 1: just being able to know him then to what you
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  Speaker 1: see now?
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  Speaker 2: You know, he reminds me of Zach Streif, and I
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  Speaker 2: think a lot of people think that Zach Streif could
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  Speaker 2: be a head coach in the NFL one day just
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  Speaker 2: from recent memory in New Orleans. But from what I
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  Speaker 2: remember then to now with Dan Campbell, I mean, just
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  Speaker 2: as a guy who seemed– like he would have an
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  Speaker 2: opportunity like this if the right opportunity came about.
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  Speaker 3: And I think him.
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  Speaker 2: Being a former Lion as well, understanding kind of the grittiness,
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  Speaker 2: what it takes to be a head coach specifically in
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  Speaker 2: this city. I mean, these fans know their football, and
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  Speaker 2: so they're going to smell a fake. I love that
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  Speaker 2: about the fan base early on is they want to,
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  Speaker 2: they want.
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  Speaker 3: A guy who's going to come in here and be
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  Speaker 3: a bruiser.
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  Speaker 2: And it's a no nonsense type coach. I think he's
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  Speaker 2: found the right offensive coordinator and drew pet thing. Obviously
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  Speaker 2: you hate to see a Ben Johnson out the building,
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  Speaker 2: but now he's a head coach. And then of course
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  Speaker 2: they're confident with another LSU guy and Kelvin Shepard, their
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  Speaker 2: defensive coordinator. And so I think he's just built together
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  Speaker 2: a really great support staff and it allows him to
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  Speaker 2: do what he does best as a head coach.
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  Speaker 1: Let's go, and Brooke Kirchhofer's with us, Detroit Lions in-house
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  Speaker 1: media there. I want to talk about Drew Petzing. So
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  Speaker 1: you mentioned Ben Johnson. They had the great season two
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  Speaker 1: years ago when they were 15-2. Johnson becomes head coach
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  Speaker 1: of the Bears. Last year, it's John Morton. Partway through
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  Speaker 1: the season, Dan Campbell takes over play-calling duties. They let
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  Speaker 1: him go. Now in comes Drew Petzing. What do we
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  Speaker 1: expect from Drew Petzing his first season here as the
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  Speaker 1: OC in Detroit?
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  Speaker 2: Well, you can see where, if you just look at
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  Speaker 2: recent history with Drew Petzing in Arizona, you can almost
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  Speaker 2: look at the situation and be like, kind of an
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  Speaker 2: unfair situation to judge. But prior to that, he was
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  Speaker 2: in Minnesota for a long time, helping build that offense. Again,
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  Speaker 2: I feel like I'm bringing up all the bad memories.
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  Speaker 2: He was part of the Minnesota Miracle. We're just going
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  Speaker 2: to move.
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  Speaker 3: Right past that.
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  Speaker 2: Drew Petzing and what he built, I think people forget
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  Speaker 2: the Ben Johnson-Drew Petzing connection. Matt, they were in each
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  Speaker 2: other's weddings. These are two guys who started out their
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  Speaker 2: coaching careers together, I believe, back in a GA position.
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  Speaker 2: They have very similar philosophies, love to use a lot
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  Speaker 2: of motion, a tight end friendly offense. But the one
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  Speaker 2: thing that it's so obvious to see is him and
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  Speaker 2: Jared Goff are speaking the same language at this point
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  Speaker 2: in training camp. And we even heard Jared Goff on
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  Speaker 2: a national podcast. He talked about One situation, and let's say,
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  Speaker 2: I think it was the second to last scrimmage of
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  Speaker 2: training camp. Cause remember they didn't do joint practices. So
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  Speaker 2: it was Detroit on Detroit and Aminara St. Brown was hot.
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  Speaker 2: They were like, we got to keep feeding the ball.
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  Speaker 3: How do we do that?
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  Speaker 2: How do we give them a different look, a new
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  Speaker 2: wrinkle in a live situation against their defense, something they
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  Speaker 2: hadn't seen. And Drew Petzing literally let Jared Goff like
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  Speaker 2: draw something up right then and there they ran.
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  Speaker 3: It and it was a touchdown.
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  Speaker 2: And so I think when you have that sort of
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  Speaker 2: chemistry between a veteran quarterback, who's allowed to have a
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  Speaker 2: bit of a say and is willing to listen to him,
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  Speaker 2: I think it goes just hand in hand. It could
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  Speaker 2: be really dangerous.
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  Speaker 1: Um, flip it back over to defense. It'll be interesting
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  Speaker 1: to see what happens offensively there. Uh, you mentioned Shep,
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  Speaker 1: obviously everyone here loves Shep, not really pulling for him
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  Speaker 1: to have much success on Sunday, but, um, uh, Really
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  Speaker 1: good year one, but you mentioned we'd get to the secondary.
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  Speaker 1: So let's talk a little bit about that unit there
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  Speaker 1: in the defensive backfield.
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  Speaker 2: I don't think in-house people are... I feel like they're
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  Speaker 2: on stable ground right now with what they have with
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  Speaker 2: Avante Maddox and Chuck Clark, likely as your starting safeties
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  Speaker 2: week one. Each has nine years of experience. We know
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  Speaker 2: Avante Maddox won the Super Bowl with the Eagles. That
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  Speaker 2: was at the cornerback position, but they're confident in him
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  Speaker 2: at safety. And so, number one, you have reliable veterans
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  Speaker 2: that you can lean on that have seen.
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  Speaker 3: A lot of football.
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  Speaker 2: And two, of course, when Brian Branch and Kirby Joseph
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  Speaker 2: are healthy, they're going to be welcoming them back. But
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  Speaker 2: I think for now, the fact that you can have
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  Speaker 2: a veteran presence in the backfield, and they think they've
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  Speaker 2: got the best front seven in the NFL, it's definitely
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  Speaker 2: one of the best from what we've seen. They feel
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  Speaker 2: really confident. It just lends to a secondary who's going
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  Speaker 2: to have to try and figure it out and prove
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  Speaker 2: it to start the season. But just based on what
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  Speaker 2: I've seen, Avante Maddox and Chuck Clark, it's Kelvin Shepard
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  Speaker 2: putting them in.
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  Speaker 3: Positions to succeed.
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  Speaker 2: He's not trying to leave those guys out on an island.
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  Speaker 2: He's going to pull what is best from each of
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  Speaker 2: those players and put them in positions to win. And
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  Speaker 2: I think if you were looking at it, oh, you know,
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  Speaker 2: they're bringing in a rookie or a first or second
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  Speaker 2: year guy, okay.
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  Speaker 3: You might have a few more question marks.
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  Speaker 2: But the fact that you get two vets that you
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  Speaker 2: can put there for now, I think you're in a
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  Speaker 2: pretty good spot.
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  Speaker 1: Brooke, either side of the ball, where would you say
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  Speaker 1: going into week one is the biggest question for Dan
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  Speaker 1: Campbell's squad?
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  Speaker 2: Biggest question. Well, they have a new center with Drew
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  Speaker 2: Scruggs coming in from the Texans. He was a backup
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  Speaker 2: center there in Houston. They really loved Cade Mays. They
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  Speaker 2: got him in the off season from Carolina. Everything was
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  Speaker 2: clicking between him and Jared Goff. And, you know, it
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  Speaker 2: just happened. He just had a freak injury and they
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  Speaker 2: expect him back this season. But I spent a lot
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  Speaker 2: of time in New Orleans and how often, you know,
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  Speaker 2: when you don't have stability at the center position, what
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  Speaker 2: that can look like. Well, at this point, again, you
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  Speaker 2: bring in a veteran guy who has been there since OTAs.
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  Speaker 2: Drew Scruggs wasn't a plug and play guy in training camp.
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  Speaker 2: So he's gotten the reps with Jared Goff. He understands
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  Speaker 2: the role as a backup coming in. And when there's
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  Speaker 2: an injury, it happened in Houston as well. So, They
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  Speaker 2: feel good about the position. Still competition at left guard,
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  Speaker 2: but I would say right now the offensive line, the
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  Speaker 2: left guard and the center position are the two that
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  Speaker 2: they would like to sure up, at least in the
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  Speaker 2: middle of the season.
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  Speaker 1: Certainly something to watch as the week goes along. Hey,
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  Speaker 1: I'm not sure. Two more for you. I'm not sure.
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  Speaker 1: Did you get a chance, if you got a chance,
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  Speaker 1: to look at the initial injury report, which just dropped,
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  Speaker 1: I don't know, maybe 20 minutes ago or so. There's,
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  Speaker 1: let's see, three players were limited today. Um, for Detroit,
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  Speaker 1: anything stand out on the injury report that we should,
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  Speaker 1: we should be aware of.
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  Speaker 3: Not at all.
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  Speaker 2: I think this is a team that's healthy going into
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  Speaker 2: the season. No surprises. Um, Christian is he, and I
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  Speaker 2: think they see him as more of a nickel corner
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  Speaker 2: and there's a, it's a three-way competition right now, for
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  Speaker 2: that spot. And the two guys that are healthy are
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  Speaker 2: going to look really good this week. They feel good
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  Speaker 2: about one of them. One of their draft picks, Keith Abney,
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  Speaker 2: and he's looked really good in training camp, but I've
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  Speaker 2: got more of a question mark on Alvin Camara's game status.
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  Speaker 2: I think that's the biggest question mark for the saints.
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  Speaker 3: Because you add an HNN and what does that.
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  Speaker 2: Offense look like with AK and HNN healthy? I think
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  Speaker 2: that's the danger point if any team is facing New Orleans. But,
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  Speaker 2: of course, that will be the one that we keep
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  Speaker 2: an eye on is Alvin Kamara's health leading up to
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  Speaker 2: game day.
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  Speaker 1: Brooke Kirchhofer is with us, Detroit Lions. Last thing for you,
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  Speaker 1: I always like to ask this question, Brooke. We often
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  Speaker 1: don't talk enough about special teams if it does come
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  Speaker 1: down to a kick. Jake Bates was awesome two years ago.
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  Speaker 1: And then last year, good, solid, just not as awesome.
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  Speaker 1: He was 79%. If it comes down to a kick,
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  Speaker 1: like this is a giant, a gigantic question mark with
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  Speaker 1: New Orleans right now is the place to kick a battle.
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  Speaker 1: I mean, we know Daniel Carlson won it, but, like,
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  Speaker 1: I don't know that anybody's confident. What's the confidence level
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  Speaker 1: there in Detroit with Bates?
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  Speaker 2: 100% confident, and that's directly from Dan Campbell in training camp.
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  Speaker 2: That's not lip service from me. That's directly from the
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  Speaker 2: head coach. They did not bring– because we've seen in
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  Speaker 2: New Orleans, too, where there's a kicker competition or a
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  Speaker 2: punter competition– I mean, they're not sniffing out any other kickers.
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  Speaker 2: Jake Bates is their guy, somebody that they are counting
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  Speaker 2: on and have full confidence in. I think it just happens, right?
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  Speaker 2: Like we saw a dip for Will Lutz, and then
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  Speaker 2: look what he's doing now in Denver. Speaking of, I
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  Speaker 2: saw Blake Grupe on the sidelines.
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  Speaker 3: In Indianapolis, and I was like, wait a minute, when
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  Speaker 3: did you get here?
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  Speaker 2: And we both kind of saw each other and were like,
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  Speaker 2: wait a minute, what's happening?
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  Speaker 1: It's the NFL.
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  Speaker 3: It's the NFL, right?
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  Speaker 2: And so I think they're confident with Jake Bates.
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  Speaker 1: Brooke Kirchhofer, she's on Twitter, X at Brooke Chesney. You
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  Speaker 1: want to go give her a follow, do that. Now
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  Speaker 1: in-house with the Detroit Lions. So bizarre that your first
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  Speaker 1: game with Detroit has got to be against the Saints,
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  Speaker 1: but at least get it out of the way early.
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  Speaker 1: It's great to chat, great to visit. We appreciate the time.
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  Speaker 1: Good luck this year. We'll be following, all right?
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  Speaker 2: Thanks so much, Matt. And just a weird roundabout way,
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  Speaker 2: apparently our family immigrated here back in the 1800s to Detroit.
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  Speaker 2: So how about that for a connection? I never knew that.
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  Speaker 3: I would have never known had I not.
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  Speaker 2: Gotten this job. So very cool to be here and
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  Speaker 2: very excited to see all of you guys this weekend.
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  Speaker 1: You're at your homeland. There you go, Brooke. We appreciate it.
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  Speaker 1: Thanks for the time.
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  Speaker 3: Thanks, Matt.
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  Speaker 1: All right.