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Fred Taylor: Efficiency of the run game key for both teams | Countdown to Kickoff · The Jacksonville Jaguars Official Podcast Network

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Time for a weekly conversation with Pride of the Jaguars
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: running back Fred Taylor. The Dallas Cowboys are in town
• 0:07
  Speaker 1: to face the Jacksonville Jaguars in week fifteen. Meaningful December
• 0:12
  Speaker 1: football games continue, and here we are, Fred, what's up?
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  Speaker 1: Just another Sunday JP or or at least that's what
• 0:20
  Speaker 1: we would like to think. Right. You got the Dallas
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  Speaker 1: Cowboys in Jacksonville, Florida. Obviously it's gonna be a crazy atmosphere,
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  Speaker 1: perfect timing for the guys. No excuses, no letdowns. This
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  Speaker 1: is opportunities, just to upset someone and keep your hopes
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  Speaker 1: alive to potentially make a playoff run. Uh So, I
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  Speaker 1: expected to be a crazy, crazy game. The Cowboys have
• 0:45
  Speaker 1: been on upset alert the entire week, at least by
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  Speaker 1: all of the expert analysts you know on those other shows.
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  Speaker 1: But down in Jacksonville, we've we've had them on upset
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  Speaker 1: alert the entire season, and I think these guys can
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  Speaker 1: get it done today. Well, the last time the Jaguars
• 1:02
  Speaker 1: came off a big win against a perennial playoff team
• 1:06
  Speaker 1: was when they beat Baltimore, and then the next week
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  Speaker 1: they laid an egg in Detroit. Didn't play well well
• 1:12
  Speaker 1: last week, they beat Tennessee finally first time in a
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  Speaker 1: long time up in Nashville. The approach this week will
• 1:18
  Speaker 1: be key how they handle the success and then move forward.
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  Speaker 1: Like you said, though, it's a ten and three Dallas
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  Speaker 1: Cowboys team. It's not the Detroit Lions that they're coming
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  Speaker 1: up this week. Detroit's playing well, Don't get me wrong,
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  Speaker 1: but correct. I think the focus should be there this
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  Speaker 1: week for this team. Oh without it, though, I do
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  Speaker 1: think they play up to the level of their competition,
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  Speaker 1: which is, you know, as human nature at times. I mean,
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  Speaker 1: these are very competitive guys, a young group of guys
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  Speaker 1: who quite frankly, just don't know any better most at
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  Speaker 1: a time. But they do know it's the Dallas Cowboys.
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  Speaker 1: They know what comes with that. Uh. They know that
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  Speaker 1: Prescott has coming into town. They know Ezekiel Elliet is
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  Speaker 1: coming to town. Michael Parsons the raging defensive rookie of
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  Speaker 1: the year. Uh, they know Lawrence has come to town.
• 2:10
  Speaker 1: Tray Von Digs is coming to town, guy who let
• 2:12
  Speaker 1: the NFL and interceptions a year ago. So they know
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  Speaker 1: they have some great names coming to town, followed by
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  Speaker 1: the entire Cowboys fan base, which might be sort of
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  Speaker 1: like public Enemy number one hitting somewhere in Jacksonville. They
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  Speaker 1: have fans everywhere everywhere, right, all these undercovered fans that
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  Speaker 1: are living in Jacksonville will be in the stadium. So,
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  Speaker 1: but it's a tall task. I think it's not too
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  Speaker 1: tall for the guys. I think they're gonna go out
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  Speaker 1: there and perform well. But it all starts with minimizing
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  Speaker 1: Dallas is run game, you know, And I know we'll
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  Speaker 1: get into that JP, but I think it starts there,
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  Speaker 1: and then from there you do have to get after
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  Speaker 1: Dak Prescott, get him up his mark, which can be done.
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  Speaker 1: The pressure showed up a bit more a week ago
• 3:00
  Speaker 1: versus the Titans, so they have to duplicate that and
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  Speaker 1: on the others to dot From offensive standpoint, this game,
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  Speaker 1: you got their pacing, the best defensive front and the
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  Speaker 1: entire NFL. So if they can continue their streak of
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  Speaker 1: not allowing the sack, they will win this game. Fred
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  Speaker 1: Taylor with us, all right, you mentioned the running backs.
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  Speaker 1: Zeke Elliott has been established there for a long time, obviously,
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  Speaker 1: but Tony Pollard's really come on the last year or so,
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  Speaker 1: and this year he's out gaining Zeke, and they've got
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  Speaker 1: two different style of running backs back there, and they're
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  Speaker 1: both effective. What do you like about Pollard and Elliott?
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  Speaker 1: Maybe as a tandem, but certainly individually I love him
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  Speaker 1: as a tandem. I think from a longevity standpoint, they
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  Speaker 1: take care of each other. You know, Zeke has been
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  Speaker 1: a star straight out Ohio State. He made his mark
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  Speaker 1: on the NFL by being the league leading rusher multiple occasions.
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  Speaker 1: But he slowed down something. He's getting up there a
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  Speaker 1: bit in the ages, approaching his thirties. But they have
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  Speaker 1: an amazing insurance policy. And Tony Pollard guy they drafted
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  Speaker 1: in twenty nineteen, so he's been around. Maybe I don't
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  Speaker 1: want to shorten his career something like that, but he's
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  Speaker 1: been around, uh as long as Zeke. But a guy
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  Speaker 1: who has tremendous bursts, you know, and he's out playing Zeke.
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  Speaker 1: As you said it a lot of times. We like
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  Speaker 1: to say the running back position is the luck of
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  Speaker 1: the draw, meaning some guys you get in there. Sometimes
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  Speaker 1: this guy gets a great blocking opportunity and gets a hold,
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  Speaker 1: while this guy may not. And regardless of that, you
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  Speaker 1: still want to be dynamic and make a play and
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  Speaker 1: put your your your team in a great UH position
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  Speaker 1: to capitalize by scoring. But they have two guys that
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  Speaker 1: are threats. Pollard can take it a distance with his speed.
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  Speaker 1: Zeke he could do the same. Zeke's gonna give you
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  Speaker 1: more power UH. Poler is gonna give you more jump
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  Speaker 1: cut slashing ability. But together they make up the best
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  Speaker 1: tandem UH in the NFL. Right on the other side,
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  Speaker 1: it's been a little bit since Travis E. T N
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  Speaker 1: has put it together, at least statistically. Some you know,
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  Speaker 1: the game situations have dictated some of that. Trevor's playing well,
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  Speaker 1: they're throwing it, they'll have to rally whatever happens, right
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  Speaker 1: they get away away from it, or it's just not
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  Speaker 1: effective where he's dinged up right. Well, this is one
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  Speaker 1: of those weeks where they better run the ball and
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  Speaker 1: stay ahead of the chains. And yes, Trevor is playing
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  Speaker 1: well and throwing well. He's the FC offensive player of
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  Speaker 1: the week. But you don't want to get in the
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  Speaker 1: habit as you mentioned earlier, standing back there at third eight,
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  Speaker 1: third and ten with Michael Parsons and Lawrence coming off
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  Speaker 1: the edge. So this seems like a Travis E. T
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  Speaker 1: N game. Can they get him going, and how do
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  Speaker 1: they get him going on the ground JP, You and
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  Speaker 1: I both know well that if you want to minimize
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  Speaker 1: pass rush, you have to run the ball effectively, or
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  Speaker 1: if you do have to pass it, you don't want
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  Speaker 1: to be in third and forever, meaning you know third
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  Speaker 1: and seven plus you don't want to you want to
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  Speaker 1: I'll avoid those to avoid those situations. Uh. And then
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  Speaker 1: the third thing, if you are in those situations, you
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  Speaker 1: want to be able to have certain protections called where
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  Speaker 1: the backs are releasing outside so he can get a
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  Speaker 1: nice chip or I like to call him chunks front
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  Speaker 1: off the defense off the pass rusher. So either way,
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  Speaker 1: whether it's through run game success or being involved in
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  Speaker 1: the past game, they're gonna need Travis E. T n
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  Speaker 1: to be at the top of his game, whether it's
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  Speaker 1: you know, a receiver out at the backfield, getting the
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  Speaker 1: short uh checkdowns and then doing something with those. Those
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  Speaker 1: are really extended handoffs. They're just recategorize it as a
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  Speaker 1: as a reception or a pass. But I'll take those
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  Speaker 1: any day of the week as long as the ball
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  Speaker 1: is moving and you're not giving them uh. Huge sign
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  Speaker 1: to t off on and long down situations. So UM,
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  Speaker 1: but yeah, running the ball will be somewhere. They need
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  Speaker 1: to start some quick here to traps, you know something
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  Speaker 1: right up to gut some quick call and play some
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  Speaker 1: draws to keep them off balance. Either case, they're gonna
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  Speaker 1: have to mix it up really well bred Taylor with us.
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  Speaker 1: I'm sitting here looking up your career stats against the
• 7:13
  Speaker 1: Dallas Cowboys. Spread. Oh man, I don't know what they
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  Speaker 1: are j people, but I can't tell you this. My
• 7:19
  Speaker 1: rookie year, the fourth preseason game, maybe two weeks after
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  Speaker 1: they called me a bust. That was crazy. I scored
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  Speaker 1: my fourth first touchdown NFL career against the Dallas Cowboys
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  Speaker 1: at a home preseason game. Uh So I remember that,
• 7:35
  Speaker 1: like well yesterday. The Cowboys were in the team that
• 7:39
  Speaker 1: I grew up watching. I remember to Tall Jones and
• 7:42
  Speaker 1: a few other guys, obviously Emma Smith back in the day,
• 7:46
  Speaker 1: Herschel Walker. So I was a huge Cowboys fan growing up,
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  Speaker 1: and then that sort of kind of went away with time.
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  Speaker 1: But um, I remember having a thirty carry game against
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  Speaker 1: the Cowboys in Dallas on the turn there. We won
• 8:01
  Speaker 1: that game. I don't remember many more after that. I
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  Speaker 1: didn't get a chance to play him many times but
• 8:07
  Speaker 1: the preseason game, the thirty carry game, I remember, like
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  Speaker 1: happy yesterday. Well, Fred, let's go through them that. You're right,
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  Speaker 1: you had in two thousand week nine, you had thirty
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  Speaker 1: one carries a hundred seven yards against Dallas and three
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  Speaker 1: yards of pop. That's a tough day. That's a lot
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  Speaker 1: of carries. Uh, that's old school football. Into two thousand
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  Speaker 1: two at Dallas. Both of those games of Dallas, this
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  Speaker 1: one carries one hundred yards for you in a lost
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  Speaker 1: twenty one nineteen Dallas wins, okay. And then two thousand six,
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  Speaker 1: the last time Dallas played in Jacksonville, by the way,
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  Speaker 1: you had twenty one carries for seventy four yards and
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  Speaker 1: a touchdown. You also caught six balls on six targets
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  Speaker 1: for forty one yards. Jags win. Alright, so I I
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  Speaker 1: I guess that's just stained over a from a total
• 9:02
  Speaker 1: yards standpoint over a hundred yard average. Yeah. So you
• 9:05
  Speaker 1: were yeah, one total yards three point nine yards per
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  Speaker 1: carry against Dallas. Okay, So but I have a two
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  Speaker 1: and one record. That's right, all right, we'll take that.
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  Speaker 1: We can do something with that. It's all about the w's, right,
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  Speaker 1: It's all about the devil's and that's what it's about
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  Speaker 1: today JP. So hopefully they can get it done. Bread
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  Speaker 1: We'll talk to you in the post game. Enjoy it.
• 9:28
  Speaker 1: I'll be here waiting to celebrate with you. Me and
• 9:30
  Speaker 1: my coffee like I had a week ago. I need
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  Speaker 1: some of that coffee too, all right, I see it.