Latest / AFR Saints / Chris Olave Is Ready to Take the Next Step as an NFL No. 1 Receiver

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Chris Olave Is Ready to Take the Next Step as an NFL No. 1 Receiver · AFR Saints

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  Speaker 1: my career, there's only one time that I can really
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  Speaker 1: remember fighting this battle seemingly upstream against the collective opinion
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  Speaker 1: of Saints fans on a player. And that was Mark Ingram.
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  Speaker 1: And it's interesting because I feel like I'm doing it
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  Speaker 1: now for the second time in my career with Chris Alave.
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  Speaker 1: And part of that is, I think, rooted in a
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  Speaker 1: misunderstanding of what my opinion of Chris Alave is. I'm
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  Speaker 1: going to get to that here in a second and
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  Speaker 1: hopefully try to clarify some things. But it's interesting that
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  Speaker 1: it's happened here with Ingram and Alave because both of
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  Speaker 1: them were first-round picks. And I think where my opinion
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  Speaker 1: is rooted is, well, it's expectation. By all accounts... Mark
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  Speaker 1: Ingram was a good NFL running back. He was. He
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  Speaker 1: was a good NFL running back. But the New Orleans
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  Speaker 1: Saints traded back into round one to take Ingram. And
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  Speaker 1: he was a guy that the Saints didn't even pick
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  Speaker 1: up his fifth-year option. He had a notoriously slow start
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  Speaker 1: to his career. He was not overly productive until, really,
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  Speaker 1: he was paired with Alvin Kamara when he started having
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  Speaker 1: his best seasons alongside Kamara. But anyway. again, he played
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  Speaker 1: 12 NFL seasons. That is objectively a good career. It's just,
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  Speaker 1: we had greater expectations for him because of what the
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  Speaker 1: saints invested together. And so I feel similarly about Chris Alave.
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  Speaker 1: And I think Chris Alave, I do not hold his
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  Speaker 1: injuries against him whatsoever. It would be foolish to do that.
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  Speaker 1: That is not his fault that he, that he had
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  Speaker 1: concussion issues. That that's not at all. My point about
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  Speaker 1: Chris Alave in any way that doesn't factor into my
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  Speaker 1: opinion on him at all. Um, And I think Chris
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  Speaker 1: Alave has been really a very, very good NFL receiver.
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  Speaker 1: He's been a thousand-yard receiver every year of his career,
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  Speaker 1: except a couple of years ago when he missed half
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  Speaker 1: the season due to the concussions. Chris Alave has been
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  Speaker 1: an outstanding NFL player. I think many of you and
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  Speaker 1: I got sideways on Alave when the Saints decided to
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  Speaker 1: pay him what they did this off season, making him
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  Speaker 1: what is the sixth highest paid receiver in the NFL.
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  Speaker 1: And my contention is a lobby is not the sixth
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  Speaker 1: best receiver in the NFL and shouldn't be paid like it. Um,
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  Speaker 1: and I think that's largely been misunderstood. So as people
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  Speaker 1: to think like, I just don't think a lot of
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  Speaker 1: is a good player, which nothing could be further from
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  Speaker 1: the truth. I think he's outstanding player. Just don't think
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  Speaker 1: he's the sixth best receiver in the NFL, but it
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  Speaker 1: was interesting today because a pro football focus, uh, decided
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  Speaker 1: to pull these numbers. By the way, these are not
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  Speaker 1: PFF numbers. It's just they aggregated the data and put
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  Speaker 1: out a post. And it was interesting because they decided
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  Speaker 1: to look at the best quarterback receiver duos in the
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  Speaker 1: NFL based on several different metrics. And by the way,
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  Speaker 1: these aren't just wide receivers. These are pass catchers. So
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  Speaker 1: it could be a wide receiver, a tight end, a
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  Speaker 1: running back, just anyone that's catching passes. And so they
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  Speaker 1: looked at things like receptions and receiving yards and touchdowns
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  Speaker 1: plus first downs and lots of different things like passer
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  Speaker 1: rating and expected points added. So different things like that.
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  Speaker 1: And Tyler Shuck and Chris Alave did really well, as
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  Speaker 1: you would expect with the way they started the season.
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  Speaker 1: They are first. Shuck and Alave, first in the NFL
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  Speaker 1: as a duo in receiving yards. First in the NFL
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  Speaker 1: in receptions. First in the NFL in turnover-worthy plays. Now,
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  Speaker 1: that is a PFF metric. How many of those pass
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  Speaker 1: attempts are turnover-worthy plays? And they have at zero when
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  Speaker 1: Tyler Shuck is targeting Chris Alave, which is outstanding. It
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  Speaker 1: basically says you're not forcing him the ball in bad situations.
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  Speaker 1: And then first in the NFL in targets. And that's
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  Speaker 1: one that I've talked about a good bit because you
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  Speaker 1: are– because of your lack of other weapons, pushing the
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  Speaker 1: ball his way, giving him more opportunities. So you're going
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  Speaker 1: to see things like receptions and numbers increase. Anyway, this
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  Speaker 1: one I found interesting. There's also the passer rating. So
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  Speaker 1: what is the passer rating for the quarterback when targeting
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  Speaker 1: that receiver? And they rank them all. Number one in
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  Speaker 1: the NFL is, and I'm going to give you these
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  Speaker 1: names so you'll illustrate the company they keep, okay? Number
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  Speaker 1: one in the NFL is Dak and CeeDee Lamb. I
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  Speaker 1: think we can objectively say that's pretty salty. Number two,
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  Speaker 1: Drew Locke and Jackson Smith and Jigba. There we go again.
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  Speaker 1: Brock Purdy, Mike Evans is number three. Trevor Lawrence, Jacoby Myers,
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  Speaker 1: number four. Mahomes and Kelsey, five. Burrow, Jacecki, six. Lamar
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  Speaker 1: Jackson's a flower, seven. And wouldn't you know it, the
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  Speaker 1: Saints duo is eight. But not the Saints duo you're
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  Speaker 1: thinking of. The highest passer rating when Tyler Shuck is
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  Speaker 1: thrown is to Juwan Johnson. 145.1. Chris Alave and Shuck
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  Speaker 1: on this list are 37th in the NFL. The expected
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  Speaker 1: points added, they're 19th. Duo. Duo. My opinion has been,
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  Speaker 1: and don't leave me yet. Don't leave me. Bear with me, okay?
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  Speaker 1: Bear with me. This is not a bag on Chris
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  Speaker 1: Alave segment, I promise you. I'm going to compliment Chris
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  Speaker 1: Alave in a big way. Bear with me. I'm just
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  Speaker 1: hoping you can listen objectively to what I'm saying. Chris
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  Speaker 1: Alave is a great NFL player. He has had 1,000
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  Speaker 1: receiving yards every year of his career, except the year
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  Speaker 1: where he missed half the season due to injury. He's
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  Speaker 1: a great player. My contention has been, like, if Olave
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  Speaker 1: was the number two with New Orleans, he would be
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  Speaker 1: the best number two in the NFL. And people hear that,
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  Speaker 1: and they think of it as a diss. Muse, help
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  Speaker 1: me out here. See if you can help me. Who
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  Speaker 1: do you think is the best number two receiver in
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  Speaker 1: the NFL? T. Higgins. That's a really good one. I
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  Speaker 1: wrote him down. Who else do you think would be
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  Speaker 1: on that list? Hmm. How about Devontae Adams? Yeah, Devontae Adams.
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  Speaker 1: Pukunuku is the one in L.A.? Devontae Adams is number two.
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  Speaker 1: He's a pretty good player, isn't he? Really good, yeah.
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  Speaker 1: Led the NFL in touchdowns a year ago. How about
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  Speaker 1: George Pickens? Yeah, he doesn't stink. He's pretty good. CeeDee Lamb, one.
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  Speaker 1: Pickens is the two. How about Jamison Williams? Is he good?
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  Speaker 1: He's pretty good. Amon Ross St. Brown, one. Jamison Williams, two.
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  Speaker 1: How about Jordan Addison? Yeah, yeah. Jets? Jordan Addison. Yeah,
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  Speaker 1: for sure. My point is, when people hear me say,
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  Speaker 1: I think he could be the best number two in
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  Speaker 1: the NFL, I think he could be better in his
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  Speaker 1: role than Pickens and Higgins and Adams and Williams and Addison. Like,
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  Speaker 1: it's not an insult. It's not. I think he's an
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  Speaker 1: outstanding player. And I am not interested in volume stats.
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  Speaker 1: I'm not. Like, week one against Detroit, Olave had 180 yards. Oh, yeah.
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  Speaker 1: I don't think he was impactful in that game. He
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  Speaker 1: had one big catch downfield. He also had two drops
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  Speaker 1: in that game. But I will tell you this. This
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  Speaker 1: past Sunday against the Raiders, and I said it here
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  Speaker 1: on Monday after that game, and despite the loss, I
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  Speaker 1: think Sunday was the best game that I have seen
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  Speaker 1: Chris Alave play in a Saints uniform. They lost. But
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  Speaker 1: it felt like every catch he made was impactful. And
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  Speaker 1: that's what I want to see. First touchdown drive for
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  Speaker 1: the Saints. They faced a third and 11 after the
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  Speaker 1: illegal shift. A lave. Boom. First down. Second touchdown drive.
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  Speaker 1: They went back-to-back plays on first down. 13 yards, 16 yards.
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  Speaker 1: Got them right downfield into Raiders territory. They scored. That
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  Speaker 1: third quarter touchdown drive, when it was... Jawan Johnson, who
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  Speaker 1: scored at the goal line. But remember, Olave made the
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  Speaker 1: contested catch at the goal line when it looked like
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  Speaker 1: maybe he crossed. But he got him down there making
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  Speaker 1: a contested catch. And then the drive that started in
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  Speaker 1: the third quarter went into the fourth quarter that ended
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  Speaker 1: with the sack fumble that was controversial on that drive.
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  Speaker 1: And remember, that was a point in the game where
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  Speaker 1: the Raiders had gotten back within a touchdown. Your defense
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  Speaker 1: got to stop, thankfully. The offense gets the ball back,
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  Speaker 1: and you don't want to give them the ball back
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  Speaker 1: with a chance to go take the lead in the
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  Speaker 1: fourth quarter. Third and five, boom, Olave. Third and nine, boom, Olave.
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  Speaker 1: The next play after the third and nine conversion was
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  Speaker 1: the strip sack fumble that really changed the game at
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  Speaker 1: that point. But the point is, I thought Olave was
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  Speaker 1: awesome on Sunday because every time you needed a big play,
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  Speaker 1: Olave made the big play. And I get it. Johnson
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  Speaker 1: and Fant are the ones who scored the touchdowns. I'm
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  Speaker 1: telling you, I thought Olave had a bigger impact on Sunday.
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  Speaker 1: It was awesome to see. Prove me wrong. Please prove
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  Speaker 1: me wrong. Please continue to have days like Sunday because
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  Speaker 1: the Saints are investing $ 31 million a year in Chris Alave.
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  Speaker 1: That's a giant part of your salary cap for a receiver.
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  Speaker 1: I want to see him be awesome. Please continue to
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  Speaker 1: have days like that, which would be phenomenal. I only
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  Speaker 1: think We will get a real answer to that when
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  Speaker 1: Jordan Tyson returns to see what that dynamic looks like.
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  Speaker 1: All the guys that I just mentioned, those great duos, right?
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  Speaker 1: And listen, one of the points I made after the
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  Speaker 1: draft was, look, if you thought Olave was a one,
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  Speaker 1: why would you go draft Jordan Tyson? And the counter-argument
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  Speaker 1: to that is, well, I mean, look at Jason Higgins.
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  Speaker 1: Look at Jefferson and Addison. Look at Lamb and Pickens.
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  Speaker 1: I mean, yes, some great offense have those receiver duos.
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  Speaker 1: And so you hope that's what you get with Olave
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  Speaker 1: and Tyson. And we'll see, ultimately, when they're on the
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  Speaker 1: field together, who takes what role and how it plays out.
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  Speaker 1: And I'm going to be as fascinated as anybody to
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  Speaker 1: see it. I'm really excited to see it because, my goodness,
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  Speaker 1: Tyler Shuck looks like a dog, and you're going to
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  Speaker 1: give him those two on the field at the same time.
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  Speaker 1: That could be special. I don't think the Saints... So
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  Speaker 1: they certainly never had that in the Breeze era, where
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  Speaker 1: they had two guys like that on the field at
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  Speaker 1: the same time as pass catchers. So I'm aching to
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  Speaker 1: see Jordan Tyson come back, get out there, and see
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  Speaker 1: what that looks like. But the other thing I'll tell you,
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  Speaker 1: I'm not just going to eliminate a stat that I
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  Speaker 1: think is important. I'm going to illustrate the point that
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  Speaker 1: I just made. The other stat where they are number
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  Speaker 1: one in the NFL as a duo right now is
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  Speaker 1: touchdowns plus first downs. And Chris Alavi's only got one touchdown.
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  Speaker 1: And they lead the NFL. When you combine first downs,
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  Speaker 1: touchdowns as a duo, they lead the NFL in that metric,
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  Speaker 1: which means they are converting first down. Like I just
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  Speaker 1: went through all the ones from Sunday. You need a play,
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  Speaker 1: a lot of it. Now, week one, it wasn't a
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  Speaker 1: lot of it. It was Jawan Johnson who was making the,
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  Speaker 1: and Vele. Vele's the one who made the, and Bryce
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  Speaker 1: Lance made the third down play on the sideline against Detroit,
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  Speaker 1: or the fourth down play on the sideline against Detroit.
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  Speaker 1: It wasn't a lot of it week one. Sunday, it
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  Speaker 1: was all a lot of it. Again, I understand who
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  Speaker 1: was scoring the touchdowns. I'm not even concerned about that.
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  Speaker 1: A lot of it is the one who kept drives
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  Speaker 1: going and was making big plays. That's what I want
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  Speaker 1: to see. But this is a matter of investment equals expectation.
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  Speaker 1: That's why I'm hard on it. Because you've invested so much.
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  Speaker 1: You moved up into round one to get him, and
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  Speaker 1: now you've paid him like a top ten, the number
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  Speaker 1: six receiver in the NFL. Think about Dak Prescott. Think
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  Speaker 1: about Dak. Dak Prescott is objectively an all-time NFL great.
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  Speaker 1: You're going to roll your eyes and laugh, right? What's
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  Speaker 1: the knock on Dak Prescott? People who knock Dak, what
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  Speaker 1: do they say about Dak when they knock him? Can't
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  Speaker 1: win the big game. Can't win the big game. He's
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  Speaker 1: two and five in the playoffs. He's two and five
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  Speaker 1: in the playoffs. Dak Prescott. There are five quarterbacks in
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  Speaker 1: the history of the NFL that have had 250 passing
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  Speaker 1: touchdowns and 30 rushing touchdowns. You know who they are?
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  Speaker 1: Aaron Rodgers, John Elway, Russell Wilson, Fran Tarkenton, Dak Prescott.
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  Speaker 1: He stinks. By the way, Dak and Patrick Mahomes' career
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  Speaker 1: passing yardage, they're separated by about 600 yards. Does Patrick
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  Speaker 1: Mahomes stink? No. Pretty good. Dak is objectively a great
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  Speaker 1: NFL quarterback. He just hasn't won the playoffs. And you're
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  Speaker 1: paying him $ 60 million a year. When you pay a guy,
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  Speaker 1: now when Dak was just a fourth-round pick, Who became
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  Speaker 1: a starter? Oh my God, Eureka, you hit on the
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  Speaker 1: draft pick. When you pay him $ 60 million a year
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  Speaker 1: and you expect to go win playoff games and championships
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  Speaker 1: and he's two and five in the playoffs, that's when
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  Speaker 1: you get insulted. That's when you get knocked or criticized.
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  Speaker 1: That's my point with Olave. He's got a long way
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  Speaker 1: to go, man. He's a young player. He's a young player.
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  Speaker 1: And he's been like Dak. A very productive player in
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  Speaker 1: his career. He elevates. That's what I want to see,
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  Speaker 1: and hopefully he does because the Saints believe he will.
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  Speaker 1: They made the investment in him believing he will, and
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  Speaker 1: I hope they're right. I'll tell you, Sunday proved him right.
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  Speaker 1: Now keep doing it over and over and over again.