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NFL REPORT: Playoff contenders that need to regain momentum · NFL Game Previews

0:00
Speaker 1: What's say for Everybudy.
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Speaker 2: This is Evan Ingram tight end for the Jacksonville Jaguars,
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Speaker 2: and this is the NFL Report.
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Speaker 3: Welcome into the NFL Report.
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Speaker 4: James Palmer with you alongside Steve White, was in the
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Speaker 4: wonderful Midwestern portion of the country. We'll get to that
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Speaker 4: in just a second. Because we have monster guests on
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Speaker 4: this show. Steve, we're kind of sticking with that secondary.
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Speaker 4: We're gonna talk a lot about the slot corner position
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Speaker 4: in this game, and that's where we have Tarn Johnson
0:27
Speaker 4: from the Bills, a massive game coming up against the Cowboys.
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Speaker 4: We also have Antoine Winfield Junior from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
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Speaker 4: They're Walter Payton Mann of the Year nominee. And we
0:38
Speaker 4: have Baldy breaking down the slock corner spot. And oh yeah,
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Speaker 4: one of my favorite players I've ever covered, Andre Johnson.
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Speaker 4: Pro Football Hall of Fame semi finalists at the wide
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Speaker 4: receiver position. One of the greatest players to ever put
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Speaker 4: on a Texans uniform. Steve, this is a monster show.
0:53
Speaker 1: How you doing.
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Speaker 5: This show is absolutely stacked.
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Speaker 2: And as you said, I am in the Natty in
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Speaker 2: Cincinnat because Week fifteen it kicks off Thursday night and
1:03
Speaker 2: then Saturday with a big time slate here on NFL
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Speaker 2: Network with the Vikings at the Bengals where I will
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Speaker 2: be on the sideline.
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Speaker 6: Coming up later in the day, the Steelers at the
1:15
Speaker 6: Indianapolis Colts, and the night kicks off with a big
1:18
Speaker 6: one the Denver Broncos at the Detroit Lions. That is
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Speaker 6: Saturday only on NFL Network and JP. You see, there's
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Speaker 6: a lot of teams a lot to gain, a lot
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Speaker 6: of teams that are barely hanging on, and some teams
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Speaker 6: that absolutely have something to lose. So on that note,
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Speaker 6: which team or teams needs to regain momentum going down
1:42
Speaker 6: this final stretch of the season.
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Speaker 4: I was gonna go with the Kansas City Chiefs lost
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Speaker 4: four of their last six.
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Speaker 3: Steve I was at that game in Arrowhead. We know
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Speaker 3: that the.
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Speaker 4: Penalties are still an issue, receiver spot with drops still
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Speaker 4: an issue, the offense not really finding its footing. But
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Speaker 4: I trust Andy Reid, I trust Patrick Mahomes. They've been
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Speaker 4: here before. You know who hasn't been down the stretch
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Speaker 4: before playing extremely well, that's the Miami Dolphins, Mike McDaniel
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Speaker 4: and Tuato Bylo. I believe in December they have to
2:12
Speaker 4: start getting their momentum back. We know what happened in
2:14
Speaker 4: December a season ago. And then on Monday Night we
2:17
Speaker 4: all see them cough up that game that the Tennessee
2:20
Speaker 4: Titans were almost gift wrapping to them, And man, does
2:24
Speaker 4: that make me get a bit of the scaries. When
2:26
Speaker 4: I saw this offense operate without Tyreek Hill on the field,
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Speaker 4: when he had that ankle injury that kept him off
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Speaker 4: and on throughout their second half of this game, it
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Speaker 4: looked like a different offense without him out there. And
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Speaker 4: we're seeing Tua get sacked repeatedly. He was pressured on
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Speaker 4: forty percent of his dropback, sacked five times. A big
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Speaker 4: part of that steve when you lose your starting center
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Speaker 4: in Connor Williams to an ACL And that's the other
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Speaker 4: part that gets me nervous. They need to build up
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Speaker 4: some momentum as they're dealing with injuries on the offensive line,
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Speaker 4: injuries on the defensive side of the ball. Can they
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Speaker 4: find a way to get yet? Their swaggerback is one
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Speaker 4: of the most explosive teams to watch in all of
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Speaker 4: football because this is what they finish with Jets, Cowboys
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Speaker 4: at Ravens and then they host the Bills, where Ton
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Speaker 4: Johnson will be joining the show their quarterback. I'm just
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Speaker 4: a little nervous that they need to join get their
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Speaker 4: momentum going.
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Speaker 5: Now.
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Speaker 4: Listen, if they went out, they get the number one seed,
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Speaker 4: so it's right there for them. Can they regain that momentum?
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Speaker 6: So it sounds like what you're saying is they finally
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Speaker 6: gonna have some opportunities to beat some teams with some
3:29
Speaker 6: winning records, and they better look I am going though, James,
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Speaker 6: to those Detroit Lions. This is a team that just
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Speaker 6: has not looked right. We saw this great start that
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Speaker 6: they had to the season. Now they've dropped two of
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Speaker 6: their last three. They're nine and four, so they still
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Speaker 6: have a two game lead over the Vikings, but they
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Speaker 6: play a very difficult Broncos team on Saturday.
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Speaker 5: Their defense has.
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Speaker 6: Allowed thirty points a game over their past five games.
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Speaker 5: And again I mentioned that.
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Speaker 6: Two game lead that's over the Minnesota Vikings. Guess who
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Speaker 6: they play twice in the final three weeks of the season.
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Speaker 6: That this Minnesota Vikings. So yeah, it looks like they're
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Speaker 6: gonna make the playoffs. But they're a type of team
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Speaker 6: that if they get rolling, if they regain that momentum. Yeah,
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Speaker 6: right now, we're saying they can't hang with San Francisco
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Speaker 6: or Filior Dallas, but if they get going and playing
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Speaker 6: like they did early in the season, they absolutely can
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Speaker 6: hang with those teams. But they've got to get right,
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Speaker 6: and this is a week against a tough opponent where
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Speaker 6: they've got to figure it out.
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Speaker 7: Lion's showing glitz.
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Speaker 6: Parents have their Lionts, have their safeties back team and
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Speaker 6: winning to snap.
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Speaker 7: Justin pals mops off the left side. Three play for
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Speaker 7: Justin works at down the left side.
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Speaker 4: He's got dj do at the five, helping into the
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Speaker 4: NFNE for the touchdown.
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Speaker 5: Touchdown.
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Speaker 6: Parents in their packet front Gone takes the snap.
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Speaker 7: Four man rush.
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Speaker 8: She's closing out of pickings up knows somebody that intercepreate
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Speaker 8: intercept it, tremaine Edmands and godness.
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Speaker 7: Swipe three takeaways.
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Speaker 6: But they're gonna do it today and with a splendid
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Speaker 6: defensive effort and timely clutch offensive production.
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Speaker 4: So Steve, what we're saying and starting off this show
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Speaker 4: is who needs momentum down the stretch as a team.
5:24
Speaker 4: How about who needs momentum down the stretch as a
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Speaker 4: starting quarterback and how that could potentially impact how they
5:31
Speaker 4: are involved or not involved in the future of their
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Speaker 4: franchise and the plans that their franchise has moving forward.
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Speaker 4: Who could play their way into a future with their
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Speaker 4: franchise or maybe possibly steve play their way out of
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Speaker 4: being in the plans for their franchise.
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Speaker 5: Yeah, you know, look, we just.
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Speaker 6: Saw one of those players in that video between the
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Speaker 6: Lions and Bears, and that's Lions quarterback Jared Goff And
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Speaker 6: right now, way he's played, he is making it even
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Speaker 6: more let's say, controversial for the Lions to sign him
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Speaker 6: to a long term DKA.
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Speaker 5: A couple weeks ago, I said, he's going to be
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Speaker 5: a sleeper MVP guy.
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Speaker 6: Right, he has a contract that they can get out
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Speaker 6: of at the end of the season and save seven
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Speaker 6: million dollars in cap space and more than twenty five
6:19
Speaker 6: million dollars in actual cash. Now, there was a lot
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Speaker 6: of talk earlier by head coach Dan Campbell how they
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Speaker 6: want to sign him, they want to keep him.
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Speaker 5: For the long term.
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Speaker 6: But over the past few weeks, the past three games,
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Speaker 6: eight turnovers, seven touchdowns, and just has not looked like
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Speaker 6: the same player. They also drafted Henson Hooker, remember quarterback
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Speaker 6: out of Tennessee who was the Heisman leader before he
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Speaker 6: injured his knee which has sidelined him.
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Speaker 5: But this is going to be an interesting decision if Jared.
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Speaker 6: Goff does not get it together. That said, JP, if
6:50
Speaker 6: he does get it together, that's a player I could
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Speaker 6: see them making a long term commitment to.
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Speaker 3: It's interesting you bring up Hendon Hooker.
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Speaker 4: There were plenty of teams I talk to that if
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Speaker 4: he wasn't hurt, had him above Will Levis in their
7:03
Speaker 4: quarterback rankings and evaluating the quarterbacks that were coming out
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Speaker 4: in this draft. How about the quarterback that was also
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Speaker 4: in that highlight who threw an absolute dime in Justin Fields.
7:12
Speaker 4: I think Steve Justin Fields could play his way out
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Speaker 4: of Chicago with a tremendous finish or a poor finish.
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Speaker 3: Follow me here.
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Speaker 4: Oh what if they have the number one pick and
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Speaker 4: the Bears fall in love with a quarterback in this draft,
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Speaker 4: and I mean absolutely fall head over heels in love
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Speaker 4: with a quarterback in this draft and they want to
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Speaker 4: move on from Justin Fields. If Fields plays extremely well
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Speaker 4: down the stretch, his trade value goes up. He becomes
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Speaker 4: more marketable for them to build more around a rookie
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Speaker 4: quarterback if he plays poor down the stretch. The same
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Speaker 4: thing could be said in almost a different vein that
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Speaker 4: they feel like they have to move on to another
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Speaker 4: quarterback in this draft, and if they have the number
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Speaker 4: one overall pick, they obviously can do that. And then
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Speaker 4: there is the third option, honestly, that he plays extremely
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Speaker 4: well and he stays in Chicago and then they use
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Speaker 4: that number one pick to possibly build some ammunition by
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Speaker 4: trading back and putting more players around him. I believe
8:08
Speaker 4: all of Chicago is picking up the phone right now saying,
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Speaker 4: please get us Marvin Harrison Junior if we're keeping justin Fields.
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Speaker 4: And so I'm just fascinated by what could happen with
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Speaker 4: Fields down the stretch, because, however he plays, something wild
8:20
Speaker 4: could happen with his future in Chicago.
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Speaker 5: Oh no, no doubt.
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Speaker 6: This is gonna be one of the biggest stories to
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Speaker 6: watch as the season finishes and in the early part
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Speaker 6: of the offseason, Jaypee.
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Speaker 5: First off, we've got to get to the.
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Speaker 6: Playoffs in this playoff run, and our next guest could
8:36
Speaker 6: be heavily involved. Karen Johnson, the defensive slot in the
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Speaker 6: corner where the Buffalo Bills is going to be walking
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Speaker 6: right off the practice fields and onto our TV screens
8:48
Speaker 6: in podcast ears.
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Speaker 5: Well, that's coming up on the NFL report.
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Speaker 9: Hey listen, listen up as a hell the win man, resilient, resilient,
9:11
Speaker 9: damn football team right here. Man, So proud you guys man,
9:20
Speaker 9: and all the distractions this week, you guys did not flinch.
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Speaker 10: Coaches, players, staff, So proud you guys.
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Speaker 4: Man.
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Speaker 10: Hey, we got this man's back, tough.
9:35
Speaker 3: Oh that was in the Bills locker room after a
9:38
Speaker 3: monster win at Arrowhead.
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Speaker 4: And now we are joined by Bill's cornerback Tarren Johnson,
9:43
Speaker 4: fresh off the practice field. He's got grass, stands on
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Speaker 4: the jersey. He's ready just to jump in front and
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Speaker 4: talk some ball. And you were kind of smiling. We
9:52
Speaker 4: saw while you were listening to your coach, get that spin,
9:55
Speaker 4: you know, get that game ball from Brandon Bean After
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Speaker 4: the game.
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Speaker 3: What went on on that we didn't get a chance
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Speaker 3: to see Tarn in the locker room.
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Speaker 4: That really kind of just maybe epitomizes where you guys
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Speaker 4: are at as a team after everything you've kind of
10:10
Speaker 4: been through heading into that game and now moving forward, I.
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Speaker 11: Would just say the love that we have for one another.
10:17
Speaker 11: I mean, I think it's special, you know what I'm saying.
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Speaker 11: I haven't been anywhere else. I've been with the Bills
10:21
Speaker 11: my whole career, but it feels it feels different here,
10:26
Speaker 11: just based off of how I feel like the coaches
10:29
Speaker 11: treat the players, how the players treat the coaches, and
10:31
Speaker 11: just how close we are together, you know what I'm saying.
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Speaker 10: So it just feel it felt like love. So I
10:37
Speaker 10: was excited that we got to Dug.
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Speaker 5: That's awesome.
10:40
Speaker 6: And Taran, you know, we were just on the show
10:42
Speaker 6: a couple of weeks ago, our heck last week saying
10:44
Speaker 6: the Bills are a team that, if they find their footing,
10:47
Speaker 6: are going to be super dangerous down the stretch. Do
10:49
Speaker 6: you think that victory over Kansas City has put you
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Speaker 6: on that trajectory?
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Speaker 11: Definitely, it's just I mean, but at the same time,
10:57
Speaker 11: we've got to make sure we're taking it one week
10:59
Speaker 11: at a time, you know what I'm saying, and just
11:01
Speaker 11: making sure we're taking the steps to get the result.
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Speaker 4: That we want on Sunday, Okay, one week at a time.
11:07
Speaker 4: This is my last question before we move forward about
11:10
Speaker 4: that game. I was standing on the sideline at Arrowhead
11:13
Speaker 4: on the twenty five yard line when Travis Kelce laterals
11:16
Speaker 4: the football to Kadarius Tony. I just want to know
11:19
Speaker 4: what's said in the defensive huddle after that play is
11:22
Speaker 4: called back and you're getting ready for the next play.
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Speaker 4: Does anybody say anything like, oh my god, what just happened?
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Speaker 4: And God we're back on the field and this game
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Speaker 4: is still going.
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Speaker 11: To be honest, nobody said anything, you know what I'm saying.
11:37
Speaker 11: I saw the fla Like I saw the flag like
11:40
Speaker 11: early in the play, you know what I'm saying. So
11:42
Speaker 11: I don't know what it was for, but I saw it.
11:44
Speaker 11: But when I saw it after they sport a touchdown,
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Speaker 11: I'm like, Okay, this it doesn't even really matter, you
11:49
Speaker 11: know what I'm saying. But it was just like, no
11:51
Speaker 11: one said anything, you know what I'm saying. We just
11:53
Speaker 11: trying to still win the game even after that play
11:56
Speaker 11: was over, you know what I'm saying. We was just
11:57
Speaker 11: trying to figure it out.
11:58
Speaker 1: And when the game.
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Speaker 6: Yeah, you know, for those who are looking at that
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Speaker 6: clip right there, I know you can't see it here.
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Speaker 6: And you were the one lined up in the bunch,
12:06
Speaker 6: were you actually connected with Klarius Tony as he as
12:09
Speaker 6: he came off of the line of scrimmage and you
12:11
Speaker 6: went to the flat. But let's move this forward, because
12:14
Speaker 6: you guys have a big game this week, agains to
12:16
Speaker 6: Dallas Cowboys, and you know the hype train that's coming
12:18
Speaker 6: along with Dallas. You know how well that they're playing.
12:21
Speaker 6: What type of challenge do they give to you guys,
12:26
Speaker 6: knowing how hot they are, especially how Dak is in
12:29
Speaker 6: that passing game and especially as a defensive back, some
12:32
Speaker 6: of the things that they're trying to do.
12:34
Speaker 1: In that passing game.
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Speaker 11: The I think the fact is you got to get
12:39
Speaker 11: Dak off rhythm. He looks very comfortable, looks like he
12:42
Speaker 11: has time in the pocket, and he stepping up making
12:45
Speaker 11: some good throws. And I feel like the biggest thing
12:49
Speaker 11: is hopefully our d line just just get after him,
12:52
Speaker 11: make them uncomfortable, and I think that that'll make a
12:54
Speaker 11: big difference.
12:57
Speaker 4: Your glie was able to do that to Patrick Mahomes
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Speaker 4: and those final cup of plays, you guys didn't even
13:01
Speaker 4: have to bring extra pressure and you were able to
13:03
Speaker 4: get after Mahomes those last three plays. After that play,
13:05
Speaker 4: we've been breaking down there and let's talk about that
13:08
Speaker 4: passing game you saw in those games against Philly. Obviously
13:10
Speaker 4: you've studied all the film ced Lamb his favorite target.
13:13
Speaker 4: Sure does like to make some damage out.
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Speaker 3: Of the slot.
13:16
Speaker 4: That is a spot that you line up for. What
13:18
Speaker 4: makes CD so dynamic when he lines up inside like that?
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Speaker 10: I mean he's a smooth, very smooth outrunner crafty. You
13:27
Speaker 10: know what I'm saying.
13:28
Speaker 11: He's gonna be able to He's good at getting space
13:30
Speaker 11: off between him and in his defender, and not to mention,
13:33
Speaker 11: he's great at making the fantastic pitch.
13:35
Speaker 10: So I mean, all those things alone make him a
13:37
Speaker 10: really good receiver.
13:40
Speaker 5: Let me ask this as a defender, you guys, I'm
13:42
Speaker 5: sure we will tell me this.
13:44
Speaker 6: How are you guys practicing that Cowboys cadence that here
13:48
Speaker 6: we go cadence And it seems like because it's kind
13:51
Speaker 6: of a sing song type of cadence. Really it allows
13:55
Speaker 6: you to know when the ball is going to be
13:56
Speaker 6: snapped and where you exactly have to be at that point.
14:02
Speaker 11: I mean, we just watched take uh just just kind
14:04
Speaker 11: of hear it, see what it's like, and and not
14:07
Speaker 11: go too hard on the cadence just basically because they
14:10
Speaker 11: do a lot of different things, not just that that
14:12
Speaker 11: same cadence.
14:13
Speaker 10: So it's just like just making sure that.
14:15
Speaker 11: We're reading our keys, and I know the D line
14:18
Speaker 11: is going to be paying attention more to that than
14:21
Speaker 11: I'd say the back seven.
14:25
Speaker 4: You guys have had a couple of key injuries to
14:28
Speaker 4: your unit right turned like to multiple guys that play
14:31
Speaker 4: big roles as a part of your defense. But it
14:34
Speaker 4: almost seems like you guys have found a way just
14:36
Speaker 4: not to miss a beat. I know the front's played
14:37
Speaker 4: really well and get after quarterback helps that out. Does
14:40
Speaker 4: that kind of signify your resiliency as a unit when
14:44
Speaker 4: when guys like Matt Molonald go down and Todaio's white
14:46
Speaker 4: go down and and you have that ability to kind
14:49
Speaker 4: of regroup, What does that say about your unit and
14:51
Speaker 4: your defense?
14:53
Speaker 10: And I think it says a lot. It also says
14:55
Speaker 10: a lot about the coaches here.
14:57
Speaker 3: Uh.
14:58
Speaker 11: The play the GMS bring in here is just the
15:02
Speaker 11: fact that we're not really missing a beat because everyone's
15:06
Speaker 11: locked into the game plan, everyone is doing extra work
15:08
Speaker 11: after practice, everyone.
15:10
Speaker 10: Is just trying to get better. So when your numbers
15:12
Speaker 10: call it, you ready.
15:15
Speaker 6: Daron, I'm in Cincinnati for a game here Saturday when
15:18
Speaker 6: I spoke to their their slot dB Mike Hilton, and
15:21
Speaker 6: he said his two favorite players to watch are any
15:25
Speaker 6: slot corner, Kenny Moore slot corner slash safety and you
15:30
Speaker 6: and said the way you play the position and that
15:33
Speaker 6: versatility is how the game should be played.
15:36
Speaker 5: And we've talked some on the show about the slot
15:39
Speaker 5: corner and it's important. What is why?
15:42
Speaker 6: Why do you think it's become such a premier position
15:45
Speaker 6: in the NFL.
15:48
Speaker 10: I mean just the fact that if you I feel like,
15:50
Speaker 10: if you have a guy that can cover.
15:53
Speaker 11: A number one receiver and you have a guy that
15:55
Speaker 11: can tackle your best running back in the box, then
15:59
Speaker 11: I feel like that's very what I think is valuable, you.
16:02
Speaker 10: Know what I'm saying.
16:03
Speaker 11: So just having a guy who can cover and tackle
16:05
Speaker 11: and pretty much do everything that you ask me to do,
16:08
Speaker 11: just being a well rounded football player.
16:10
Speaker 10: That's why I.
16:11
Speaker 11: Think it's such a specific position because you got to
16:13
Speaker 11: do a lot of good You got to do a
16:15
Speaker 11: lot of things, and you got to do them well.
16:19
Speaker 4: And with that, Taren like when you have quarterbacks that
16:23
Speaker 4: can extend plays, Dak is playing outside of the pocket
16:25
Speaker 4: more than we've seen over the last couple of years
16:28
Speaker 4: and you have these quarterbacks that make plays last longer.
16:33
Speaker 4: You have one in your building in Josh Allen. What
16:36
Speaker 4: is it like when you have to man the middle
16:38
Speaker 4: of the field when plays are as long as they are.
16:42
Speaker 11: I mean, it's tough, you know what I'm saying. It's
16:44
Speaker 11: like it's like a play and then a second play.
16:47
Speaker 11: It's like two plays in one.
16:48
Speaker 10: You know what I'm saying. You got to stop the
16:49
Speaker 10: first one.
16:50
Speaker 11: And then you got to stop after the fact, so
16:52
Speaker 11: that after the fact is mainly about willpower and just
16:57
Speaker 11: being in the right position, not letting people get.
17:00
Speaker 10: Behind you, and just plastering your man to hold down.
17:05
Speaker 3: Let's get the Steve. Let's get him best exactly.
17:09
Speaker 5: Man. I love the Adaran.
17:11
Speaker 6: When Mike Gilton said that you were one of his
17:12
Speaker 6: favorite players, I was like, right on, because you are
17:15
Speaker 6: really showing how good of a player you are on.
17:17
Speaker 5: The biggest age. We know you're gonna be on a
17:19
Speaker 5: big one this weekend. We can't thank you enough for
17:21
Speaker 5: joining us here on the NFL Report.
17:24
Speaker 10: Hey, I appreciate that very much. Thank you guys.
17:27
Speaker 4: Coming up next on the NFL Report, Antoine Winfield Junior,
17:31
Speaker 4: The Walter Peyton Man of the Year nominee for the
17:33
Speaker 4: Tampa Bay Buccaneers. We're sticking with these dynamic players in
17:37
Speaker 4: the secondary because they need some attention.
17:39
Speaker 3: That's coming up next on the NFL Report.
17:54
Speaker 5: We're back at the NFL Report. It's considered the league's
17:57
Speaker 5: most prestigious.
17:58
Speaker 6: Honor, the Walter Peyton NFL Man of the Year Award,
18:01
Speaker 6: presented by Nationwide. It recognizes NFL players who've exhibited excellence
18:07
Speaker 6: on the field and whose passion to impact lives extends
18:11
Speaker 6: beyond the game. The Walter Payton Man of the Year
18:14
Speaker 6: Award will be announced at NFL Honors Thursday, February.
18:18
Speaker 5: Eighth on CBS.
18:19
Speaker 6: To learn about all of this year's nominees, visit NFL
18:23
Speaker 6: dot com slash Man of the Year. But you won't
18:26
Speaker 6: have to go there when we're talking about the Buccaneers
18:28
Speaker 6: nominee because we have got Antoine Winfield Junior with us
18:32
Speaker 6: right now. Antoine, thanks for joining us and congratulations on
18:36
Speaker 6: this nomination.
18:39
Speaker 1: Thank you, I appreciate it.
18:42
Speaker 4: And we saw you in the promo there pushing the
18:43
Speaker 4: shopping cart, and we know you do stuff throughout the community,
18:46
Speaker 4: taking a lot of kids in the foster care system,
18:49
Speaker 4: whether you're going and getting manny petties, you're taking them
18:52
Speaker 4: to top Golf, you're taking them shoppings, freeze, We're doing
18:54
Speaker 4: all these different things. But specifically, what stands out to
18:58
Speaker 4: me is, you know, with the lot of these youths,
19:01
Speaker 4: they're not starting at the same spot as a lot
19:04
Speaker 4: of other kids are starting, and you want to make
19:06
Speaker 4: sure you get them to start this path of life
19:09
Speaker 4: at the exact same spot so many other kids get
19:11
Speaker 4: a chance to write.
19:13
Speaker 10: Yes one hundred percent.
19:14
Speaker 12: You know, a lot of these kids in the foster
19:16
Speaker 12: care system, you know they don't have all that support
19:19
Speaker 12: that you know one might have. And so my goal
19:22
Speaker 12: was just you know, hang around the kids, build a
19:24
Speaker 12: relationship with the kids, and let them know that they're not.
19:27
Speaker 10: By themselves out here.
19:28
Speaker 5: They got support in my food and we how'd you
19:31
Speaker 5: get involved with foster kids?
19:33
Speaker 12: Yeah, so I ended up doing Uh went to a
19:36
Speaker 12: gala or a fundraising event, and I introduced to these
19:41
Speaker 12: people that work at a heart gallery and they help
19:43
Speaker 12: foster kids get adopted. And then I remember talking to them,
19:46
Speaker 12: I'm like, I should do something with you guys. So
19:49
Speaker 12: I told them just to bring a group of fossil
19:52
Speaker 12: kids out. I took them the top off. This is
19:54
Speaker 12: really where I was like, Okay, this I want to do.
19:57
Speaker 12: I want to, you know, hang out with these kids
19:59
Speaker 12: and and you know, show them, you know that there's
20:01
Speaker 12: more to life than you know their current situation.
20:06
Speaker 3: I love it. You got the Iron Man mask on
20:08
Speaker 3: right there, and I love that.
20:10
Speaker 4: What's the what's the best thing you've taken kids to?
20:14
Speaker 4: And what's maybe something you haven't done yet that maybe
20:17
Speaker 4: is kind of kicking around in that brain that you'd
20:19
Speaker 4: like to go and have some experiences.
20:21
Speaker 3: With some of these kids with.
20:23
Speaker 12: The best thing, I would say, I set the kids
20:27
Speaker 12: to a trampoline park, and I thought that was pretty fun.
20:30
Speaker 12: I'm just having a kid.
20:32
Speaker 1: But something that I plan to do, I don't know.
20:35
Speaker 12: I'm still working on some some other things to do
20:37
Speaker 12: with the kids, but I'm not even sure yet.
20:41
Speaker 5: Okay, so you took them to the trampoline park.
20:43
Speaker 6: We know you guys have clauses in your contracts where
20:45
Speaker 6: you can't skydive and do things like that.
20:48
Speaker 5: Did you put yourself at any type of risk when
20:50
Speaker 5: you're on there with all these kids.
20:52
Speaker 10: I most definitely did.
20:54
Speaker 12: I most definitely did, but I made sure I will say,
20:56
Speaker 12: I mean, I.
21:00
Speaker 4: Also look at that you're on the Bucks, So you're
21:04
Speaker 4: on the Bucks Social Justice Board, and that's another aspect
21:07
Speaker 4: of of what you do. I'm curious with what what
21:11
Speaker 4: what is it exactly that all of you guys are
21:13
Speaker 4: working on trying to accomplish with that board because I
21:16
Speaker 4: find it fascinating.
21:18
Speaker 10: Yeah.
21:18
Speaker 12: Yeah, so it's pretty much we have like a mentorship
21:20
Speaker 12: program where we meet up with, you know, different groups
21:24
Speaker 12: of kids and they come to the facility and we
21:27
Speaker 12: just do different events around Like one thing, we uh
21:31
Speaker 12: went with like different like police around the city and
21:34
Speaker 12: they kind of explained like their jobs and how they
21:37
Speaker 12: work in things. So it's really just bridging the gap
21:39
Speaker 12: between you know, just the community.
21:42
Speaker 5: That's why let's talk.
21:43
Speaker 6: A little bit of football right now because the Buccaneers
21:47
Speaker 6: are right there a top a very tight NFC South.
21:51
Speaker 6: What do you guys need to do to continue winning
21:53
Speaker 6: ball games like you did last week against Atlanta to
21:56
Speaker 6: clinch that playoff berth.
21:59
Speaker 12: Yeah, we just got to continue winning. And you know,
22:02
Speaker 12: I feel like a big fan coming up with these
22:04
Speaker 12: last few weeks is takeaways, I know, specifically takeaways on
22:08
Speaker 12: our part defensively and just ultimately scoring the ball and
22:11
Speaker 12: just feeding off of each other. So I fly, we's
22:13
Speaker 12: got to play complimentary football these last few weeks, and
22:16
Speaker 12: that's just been the goal.
22:19
Speaker 4: Okay, let's talk takeaways and you specifically, because I love
22:23
Speaker 4: that you're on here, Walter Payton Mann of the Year nominee,
22:25
Speaker 4: but we also got to get those Pro Bowl votes up.
22:27
Speaker 3: Anthel, You're one of the best safeties in football. Look
22:29
Speaker 3: at this ninety.
22:30
Speaker 4: Seven tackles Steve, four sacks, four force fumbles, three fumble recoveries,
22:34
Speaker 4: two interceptions, eleven cvus. We're doing it everything on that
22:38
Speaker 4: side of the ball. What I'm curious about is you're
22:41
Speaker 4: a really good blitzer from the secondary. What does it
22:45
Speaker 4: take to be dynamic getting after the quarterback from the secondary?
22:50
Speaker 3: You have to have the poker face.
22:51
Speaker 1: What do you have to do?
22:52
Speaker 12: Anton It's tough because I get id' it a lot,
22:56
Speaker 12: so they know I'm coming with when I'm blitzing. So
22:59
Speaker 12: it's of whoever's trying to block me, because they're gonna
23:03
Speaker 12: send somebody to me. They're not gonna let me just
23:05
Speaker 12: run free anymore. And so it's really just about setting
23:07
Speaker 12: them up. You know, I might give him a fake inside,
23:09
Speaker 12: jump outside, and just playing with it throughout the game,
23:12
Speaker 12: giving them different looks.
23:15
Speaker 6: So Antwoyio James and I were talking before the show,
23:18
Speaker 6: like it's how crazy, Like he just mentioned how your
23:20
Speaker 6: name isn't on the tip of everybody's tongue when it
23:23
Speaker 6: comes to great players in this league. But also your
23:25
Speaker 6: wide receiver, Mike Evans, when we hear about the great
23:28
Speaker 6: wide receivers. For whatever reasons, he seems to get kind
23:32
Speaker 6: of played to the left a little bit. We know
23:34
Speaker 6: he's a future probably first ballot Hall of Famer. What
23:37
Speaker 6: can you tell us about him is greatness and why
23:40
Speaker 6: he is so successful week after week doing what he does.
23:45
Speaker 12: Man, his consistency, I mean, you can see it with
23:48
Speaker 12: the numbers, but that you're gonna say that, I mean,
23:52
Speaker 12: what was it ten years and thousand yards like that's insane.
23:55
Speaker 1: So but it's just he's a great player and we'll
23:59
Speaker 1: be in the Hall of Fame day.
24:01
Speaker 4: Yeah, he is tremendous in the red zone. But you
24:05
Speaker 4: guys as a defense have been really good in the
24:08
Speaker 4: red zone of late. We know you have to do
24:10
Speaker 4: that down the stretch here. What makes a really good
24:14
Speaker 4: red zone defense in your mind?
24:18
Speaker 12: I would say, just understanding the concepts that you know
24:22
Speaker 12: you're going to be attacked with, and then also just practicing.
24:25
Speaker 12: You know, we you know, we practiced will and especially
24:29
Speaker 12: when he comes to the red zone, we know that
24:30
Speaker 12: we got to take care of business and keep the
24:32
Speaker 12: offense out of the end.
24:34
Speaker 6: You talk about practicing well, understanding the concepts well, you know, defensively,
24:37
Speaker 6: that comes to your head, Coach Todd Bowles, what kind
24:40
Speaker 6: of coaches he because we know you talk about consistency.
24:43
Speaker 6: Your defense for the most part, has been very consistent
24:46
Speaker 6: since he's been there as.
24:47
Speaker 5: The DC and the HC.
24:51
Speaker 12: Yeah, you know, Coach Bowles, he's one, definitely probably the
24:54
Speaker 12: smartest coach that I know, especially on the defensive side
24:57
Speaker 12: of the field. You know, I go up there and
25:00
Speaker 12: with him and he you know, breaks down the you
25:02
Speaker 12: know film with me, and you know, I really just
25:04
Speaker 12: been leaning on him because you know, he's the best
25:06
Speaker 12: to really do it, and so just really leaning on
25:09
Speaker 12: him and just understanding the different concepts is what helped me,
25:13
Speaker 12: you know, make the plays that I'm making, especially with
25:15
Speaker 12: the defense that we have.
25:17
Speaker 4: You've been making these plays since since your rookie year,
25:20
Speaker 4: and I remember being down there I was for some reason,
25:22
Speaker 4: the NFL ships me down there and follows you guys
25:25
Speaker 4: throughout all of training camp and Brady's down there and
25:27
Speaker 4: you guys go all the way and win a.
25:29
Speaker 3: Super Bowl title.
25:30
Speaker 4: What do you gather from that locker room from that
25:34
Speaker 4: team your rookie season about what you need to have
25:39
Speaker 4: maybe certain aspects as a room to be successful in
25:43
Speaker 4: the postseason and make a Super Bowl run?
25:44
Speaker 3: What did you learn?
25:46
Speaker 12: Yeah, I had so many great players around me, and
25:50
Speaker 12: just seeing them work every single day, like their mentality
25:53
Speaker 12: towards like coming in and taking care of business was
25:56
Speaker 12: the biggest thing for me coming in, especially early on,
25:59
Speaker 12: And it's kind of something I catered to my game.
26:01
Speaker 12: So it's like, when you're in here, you're working. When
26:03
Speaker 12: you're practicing, you're working. It's not you can't just go
26:06
Speaker 12: through a practice and be calm and you know, not
26:09
Speaker 12: make plays. You got to go in there and work
26:11
Speaker 12: like it's a game. And so that's pretty much the
26:12
Speaker 12: biggest thing that I picked up from those older guys
26:15
Speaker 12: when I first got to the league.
26:18
Speaker 6: Antoine, Hey continued success to you and to the Buccaneers, Man,
26:23
Speaker 6: what you are doing off the field to help enhance
26:25
Speaker 6: lives means everything, and we appreciate you taking the time
26:28
Speaker 6: and joining us here on the NFL Report.
26:31
Speaker 12: Yes, of course I appreciate it you.
26:34
Speaker 6: Okay, while we're talking about the Buccaneers and things happening
26:36
Speaker 6: off the field, the NFL continued its Accelerator program at
26:41
Speaker 6: this week's league meetings, and the Accelerator program was established
26:45
Speaker 6: in this case to help continue bringing recognition to diverse
26:51
Speaker 6: candidates so they can get hired into league's front offices.
26:54
Speaker 6: And here is Buccaneers front office exect Jackie Davidson with
26:58
Speaker 6: our own Judy Batista.
27:00
Speaker 8: Right, we're here with Jackie david'sen, vice president of football
27:03
Speaker 8: Research for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Jackie, this is your
27:07
Speaker 8: fourth Accelerator program. What are you hoping to get out
27:10
Speaker 8: of this one?
27:13
Speaker 13: I think for this one it's been a lot about
27:16
Speaker 13: individual development and not particularly pertaining. It's a football so
27:21
Speaker 13: all of us are leaders in our respective organizations, and
27:23
Speaker 13: I think it's been great to kind of grow a
27:26
Speaker 13: skill set that could really be useful in business as
27:29
Speaker 13: a whole, but is also applicable to a football team.
27:32
Speaker 8: Maybe, how has how is this version of the Accelerator
27:36
Speaker 8: different and then sort of does it give you maybe
27:39
Speaker 8: a different avenue for development than you've had in the past.
27:42
Speaker 13: Sure, I think, you know, piggybacking off my previous answer,
27:48
Speaker 13: it has been less football intensitive, but it's some of
27:52
Speaker 13: the things that we don't necessarily get on a day
27:54
Speaker 13: to day when we're so you know, scouting centric or
27:58
Speaker 13: you know, salary cap centric.
27:59
Speaker 10: It's it's more about, you know, how you work.
28:02
Speaker 13: Within or most effectively within the team, how you sort
28:06
Speaker 13: of cross generations with all of the people in the building.
28:10
Speaker 13: One of the sessions we just had really kind of
28:12
Speaker 13: hit on something we talk about all the time. That
28:13
Speaker 13: we get older, the players stay the same age. So
28:15
Speaker 13: it's how trying to try to bridge that gap between
28:18
Speaker 13: those generational divides.
28:20
Speaker 8: As you said, stuff that can apply broadly in the
28:23
Speaker 8: business world. Look, we have seen women make some inroads
28:27
Speaker 8: in front office capacities. You've been at it a long time,
28:30
Speaker 8: so you've seen it develop along the way. What do
28:33
Speaker 8: you think women have to do to get even more
28:35
Speaker 8: numbers in these positions and get ready for general manager roles.
28:39
Speaker 13: I think the primary thing is exposure. It's still still
28:44
Speaker 13: kind of astounded by how many people don't realize the
28:47
Speaker 13: number of jobs that are available within a football team.
28:49
Speaker 13: We always think about the front facing ones, but there
28:52
Speaker 13: are a lot of things that go on behind the
28:53
Speaker 13: scenes and areas that women can go into that aren't playing,
28:57
Speaker 13: that aren't coaching, that aren't even scouting. There's all these
29:01
Speaker 13: other in roads that I think we just have to
29:03
Speaker 13: become more visible and let people know they're out there,
29:05
Speaker 13: and then once they're in, you know, do what you
29:08
Speaker 13: can't do to get up the.
29:09
Speaker 8: Ladder your own path. That's a really good example of that, right,
29:13
Speaker 8: no doubt, no doubt, Jackie, Thanks so much.
29:16
Speaker 1: Good to see you.
29:18
Speaker 4: The Bucks have been always good in the front office
29:19
Speaker 4: and aspects of finding different ways to be successful.
29:22
Speaker 3: Jackie a big part of that.
29:24
Speaker 4: Coming up next, Andre Johnson, a Pro Football Hall of
29:27
Speaker 4: Fame semi finalist once again. He actually torched Antoine Winfield
29:30
Speaker 4: Senior a few times in his career. He's up next
29:33
Speaker 4: on the NFL Report. Welcome back into the NFL Report,
29:48
Speaker 4: James Palmer, Steve Wiysch with you, Steve.
29:50
Speaker 3: I'm stoked about this one.
29:51
Speaker 4: This is Andre Johnson, the Texan's great once again, a
29:56
Speaker 4: Hall of Fame semi finalist.
29:59
Speaker 3: One of my favorite people to cover.
30:00
Speaker 4: Even though Dre, you used to make us wait forever
30:03
Speaker 4: before you would talk to the media when you were
30:05
Speaker 4: getting out of the shower after a game and you
30:06
Speaker 4: would take you were notorious for taking an eternity. Half
30:10
Speaker 4: the people would leave and you probably liked it that way.
30:14
Speaker 1: No, not really.
30:15
Speaker 14: I just had to always sat in the cold to
30:19
Speaker 14: for at least thirty minutes after the game.
30:21
Speaker 1: So, uh, that's what really took the longest. Got it?
30:26
Speaker 5: See there it is, Drey. You know, a man's got
30:28
Speaker 5: to do what a man's got to do.
30:29
Speaker 6: But are we know that you're still so involved with
30:31
Speaker 6: this organization and you're doing a lot with the Houston Texans.
30:35
Speaker 6: Just what about some of the things that they have
30:38
Speaker 6: been able to do this year because nobody coming into
30:40
Speaker 6: the season expected them to be in a playoff hunt
30:44
Speaker 6: at this point of the season.
30:47
Speaker 14: Well, I think the biggest thing was just getting the
30:49
Speaker 14: right coach in here, and Demko has done a great job.
30:54
Speaker 1: He's done an amazing job.
30:56
Speaker 14: The guys has brought into what he's brought to the organization,
31:00
Speaker 14: and I also think that.
31:03
Speaker 1: The future looks very bright.
31:04
Speaker 14: You know, he has a great reputation around the NFL,
31:07
Speaker 14: and I think it has also you know, made this
31:11
Speaker 14: place at landing spot for free agents. So guys love
31:16
Speaker 14: him around the league. Guys speak highly of him around
31:19
Speaker 14: the league, and he's doing a great job.
31:23
Speaker 3: And Drew, you played with Themiko.
31:25
Speaker 4: You know him as as a as a player, you
31:27
Speaker 4: know him as a person, you know him as a man.
31:30
Speaker 4: When he was kind of being sought after by every
31:33
Speaker 4: team pretty much that had a head coaching vacancy and
31:36
Speaker 4: wanted Demiko to come into their building, did you get
31:38
Speaker 4: on the phone and be like, I know, Houston's interviewing you.
31:41
Speaker 4: I know you want to come here, but I got
31:43
Speaker 4: to try to push us over the edge in some
31:44
Speaker 4: capacity because you knew kind of the type of player
31:47
Speaker 4: and type of coach he was.
31:50
Speaker 10: No, I.
31:52
Speaker 14: Just you know, he texts me, you know, about him
31:55
Speaker 14: wanting to come to Houston, and I think for me,
32:00
Speaker 14: it was just more of just like, you know, I
32:04
Speaker 14: reached out to Cal and I just told him, like,
32:08
Speaker 14: you know, we need to make sure we make the
32:10
Speaker 14: right decision, you know, on this next hire.
32:14
Speaker 1: And you know, he was in total agreement with me.
32:17
Speaker 1: But I never gave him a name. And when I
32:20
Speaker 1: found out Demiko was going to get the job. Man,
32:22
Speaker 1: it was period.
32:27
Speaker 6: I'm going to go back to what you said earlier
32:30
Speaker 6: about Demiko's reputation around the league.
32:33
Speaker 3: I mean, you were a player.
32:34
Speaker 6: Players talk to assistant coaches to each other, But how
32:38
Speaker 6: important is it for you to say, Hey, man, you
32:41
Speaker 6: want to come here, you want to play for this guy.
32:43
Speaker 6: He's going to get the best out of you. He's
32:45
Speaker 6: going to treat you a certain way. Talk to us
32:47
Speaker 6: about that grapevine and how much you think that's going
32:50
Speaker 6: to help the Texas as long as Demiko Ryans is
32:52
Speaker 6: their head coach.
32:54
Speaker 14: I mean, I think if you look at when he
32:56
Speaker 14: was in San Francisco and he was a defensive coordinator,
33:00
Speaker 14: the way the guys responded to him, and even then,
33:05
Speaker 14: you know, everybody spoke so highly of them, even him
33:09
Speaker 14: at being here as a teammate. You know, he always
33:13
Speaker 14: had that leadership quality about him. There's no surprise to
33:18
Speaker 14: me or any of his teammates. If you would have
33:20
Speaker 14: saw his press conference, there was so many of his
33:22
Speaker 14: former teammates here just so excited for him to be
33:27
Speaker 14: the head coaches. So I've seen every press conference here
33:32
Speaker 14: except for dumb capers and when during Dimico's press conference.
33:37
Speaker 14: It was the most energy I had ever seen in
33:39
Speaker 14: this building for a head coach that was coming in here.
33:42
Speaker 14: So he had I mean, from local rappers, uh, to
33:48
Speaker 14: his former teammates, anybody that was involved in this community
33:53
Speaker 14: was so excited to have him back here because we
33:55
Speaker 14: knew what we were getting as a head coach.
33:57
Speaker 4: Boy, oh boy, I'm assuming I'm assuming Bum was fired up. No,
34:03
Speaker 4: I bet your bunn was there. Bum was fired up.
34:05
Speaker 4: I guarantee YEA definitely, Yeah, definitely he was.
34:16
Speaker 1: Go ahead, I know he was.
34:18
Speaker 10: I know.
34:19
Speaker 4: I want to touch on that because you mentioned everything
34:21
Speaker 4: that you've seen in that building. You have said, you know,
34:24
Speaker 4: I think it was recently that you're going to be
34:25
Speaker 4: around this organization until they put you in the ground.
34:28
Speaker 3: You just love the Houston Texans organization.
34:30
Speaker 4: You spend time on the on the business side, you
34:32
Speaker 4: spend time around the football side.
34:34
Speaker 3: So with that said, and I've been to a couple.
34:36
Speaker 4: Of games this year and seeing what that building looks like,
34:40
Speaker 4: what is the biggest difference right now from what the
34:43
Speaker 4: last couple of years were and now what it is
34:46
Speaker 4: in your mind?
34:49
Speaker 1: To me, it's just.
34:52
Speaker 14: It has more of like so when I first got here,
34:56
Speaker 14: everything about this organization was kind of family oriented. You
35:01
Speaker 14: got to know people on the business side, you know,
35:06
Speaker 14: you got to meet their families, you got to you know,
35:09
Speaker 14: spend time with their kids, and it just kind of
35:13
Speaker 14: it made everybody just kind of want to win and
35:18
Speaker 14: do the right things for the organization. And I think,
35:21
Speaker 14: you know, in the previous years, everything was so separated,
35:25
Speaker 14: and I think now we're getting back to where you know,
35:29
Speaker 14: guys are hanging out, spending time with each other, like
35:32
Speaker 14: CJ does things for the guys as guys over to
35:36
Speaker 14: his house, just to camaraderie.
35:39
Speaker 1: It's so different.
35:40
Speaker 14: Like when I was playing, we would sit out in
35:42
Speaker 14: the parking lot after the games, win or lose, and
35:45
Speaker 14: you know, our kid guys, kids and families would you know,
35:49
Speaker 14: just sitting around. We'll talk about the game and you know,
35:52
Speaker 14: talk about things we could have done different and fixed.
35:55
Speaker 14: And I think that's what it's getting back to. It's
35:58
Speaker 14: just you know, bringing back the old things that we
36:02
Speaker 14: used to do in the camaraderie is back where it
36:05
Speaker 14: needs to be.
36:07
Speaker 6: Well, Andre You've got that that aspect of it, which
36:10
Speaker 6: is hugely important, but you also got a quarterback and
36:12
Speaker 6: CJ Stroud. I mean, what has he done to accelerate
36:17
Speaker 6: the success of this team.
36:20
Speaker 14: CJ is just an amazing leader. He's a he's a
36:25
Speaker 14: leader man, even though he's young. You know, he came
36:28
Speaker 14: in right away and grabbed the attention of the team.
36:31
Speaker 14: And like I said, he right now to this day,
36:34
Speaker 14: he has guys over to his house and you know,
36:37
Speaker 14: the guys get to hang out and you know, just
36:39
Speaker 14: kind of build as a team. And you know, all
36:42
Speaker 14: the guys have brought into his leadership. And one thing
36:47
Speaker 14: about CJ that I noticed about him, He's not gonna
36:50
Speaker 14: go out there and make the same mistake twice. He's
36:52
Speaker 14: a very fast learner. I know people gave him some
36:57
Speaker 14: bad press about his learning abilities and things like that
37:00
Speaker 14: coming out with the draft, but I mean, he's proved
37:03
Speaker 14: everybody wrong. So I'm very excited about him being our
37:08
Speaker 14: quarterback and the future of his career all Dre.
37:12
Speaker 4: Before we let you go, as I said at the top,
37:14
Speaker 4: once again a Pro Football Hall of Fame semi finalist.
37:18
Speaker 4: So I'm curious Steve and I were talking about this.
37:22
Speaker 4: Your combination of size and speed was remarkable, and Steve
37:26
Speaker 4: keeps bringing up DK Metcalf as like size and speed.
37:30
Speaker 4: I'm curious who you like to watch right now, with
37:33
Speaker 4: the way you played the game and maybe the way
37:36
Speaker 4: maybe a receiver sticks out in today's game that you
37:39
Speaker 4: like watching.
37:41
Speaker 1: I like to watch all of them.
37:44
Speaker 14: AJ Brown is probably AJ Brown and Deebo samw Right
37:48
Speaker 14: now probably my two favorite, because I mean Debo was
37:55
Speaker 14: just I mean they played the game physical like I
37:58
Speaker 14: like to play the game. So DK's a guy I
38:01
Speaker 14: like to watch also, But my two favorite right now,
38:05
Speaker 14: we have to say, is AJ Brown and Deebo Sammy.
38:10
Speaker 5: Donjie.
38:11
Speaker 6: We're out of time, so I'm gonna tell him because
38:12
Speaker 6: you know, we keep on talking about DK Metcalf and
38:14
Speaker 6: him hitting twenty miles an hour. You were the Big
38:17
Speaker 6: East sixty meter indoor champion back in the day and
38:20
Speaker 6: the Big East one hundred meter track and field.
38:23
Speaker 5: Champion, so you got some skates. I'd like to see
38:26
Speaker 5: you and DK go at it in your prime.
38:28
Speaker 6: But Andre, thank you so much for joining James and
38:31
Speaker 6: out here on the NFL Report.
38:33
Speaker 1: Man.
38:33
Speaker 5: That insight was absolutely fantastic.
38:37
Speaker 1: All right, thank you guys for having all right.
38:39
Speaker 5: Coming up next, we got Brian Balding, a JP. He
38:43
Speaker 5: is gonna tell us about some of his dbs that
38:46
Speaker 5: we need to give some shine to. So he's gonna
38:48
Speaker 5: do it next on the NFL Report.
39:03
Speaker 4: Welcome back to the NFL Report, James Palmer, Steve White
39:06
Speaker 4: with you. It's Baldy's favorite films, Baldi's Breakdowns. We just
39:09
Speaker 4: kind of stole it for our show because we love
39:11
Speaker 4: having Brian Baldinger on every single Thursday. And this is
39:15
Speaker 4: why Baldy's the best, Steve, because what do we add
39:17
Speaker 4: we're talking secondary, We're talking to multiple slot corners, We're
39:21
Speaker 4: talking to Taron Johnson on the show. Baldy and you
39:24
Speaker 4: wanted to break down really guys in that specific position
39:28
Speaker 4: before we get to the players. Could you maybe just
39:31
Speaker 4: tell everybody who's listening or watching how this position, in
39:35
Speaker 4: your eyes, has gotten so important to defenses.
39:40
Speaker 15: Well, a couple of things. One, the best slot corner
39:44
Speaker 15: that I've ever seen is Charles Woodson. He's in the
39:47
Speaker 15: Hall of Fame, but he made every single tackle of
39:50
Speaker 15: Green Bay like when he was there, like he would
39:52
Speaker 15: match up outside off you and two receivers, but if
39:54
Speaker 15: you were three receivers, he went side because he was
39:57
Speaker 15: such a great tackler. So I mentioned ta first because yes,
40:01
Speaker 15: most teams march out three wide receivers or they could
40:05
Speaker 15: have a flex tight end as one of the receivers.
40:07
Speaker 15: But you're matching up like that, and so you might
40:09
Speaker 15: go against a flex tight end in the slot. You
40:12
Speaker 15: might go against the best receiver on the field in
40:15
Speaker 15: the slot. You might be able to go you know,
40:17
Speaker 15: if you're playing Dallas Seedee Lamb's going to be in
40:19
Speaker 15: the slot, that could be your assignment. If you're a
40:22
Speaker 15: man coverage, and then you're expected in the run game
40:26
Speaker 15: to be able to beat those receivers trying to block
40:29
Speaker 15: you and to get an extra body to the run
40:31
Speaker 15: game and shut the run dame down. So it's a
40:34
Speaker 15: physical position where you've got to stick your nose in
40:37
Speaker 15: there and you've got to be aggressive like Taron Johnson
40:39
Speaker 15: is in Buffalo is a He's a force. And then
40:42
Speaker 15: at the same time, you got to handle these option
40:46
Speaker 15: routes that all these guys run in the in the
40:49
Speaker 15: slot where they kind of clear out and you've got
40:52
Speaker 15: all this space that you got to defend. You don't
40:54
Speaker 15: get the sidelines, you know, as your friend as you're defending,
40:57
Speaker 15: you get a defending in space and so if your
41:00
Speaker 15: man and man skills, if you don't have them, they
41:03
Speaker 15: will be exposed.
41:05
Speaker 6: And that's such a great breakdown because you know, Rende Barber,
41:08
Speaker 6: the Hall of Famer, he was the first guy who
41:10
Speaker 6: really brought significant attention to that nickel position.
41:13
Speaker 5: He said he'd have to go.
41:13
Speaker 6: To linebacker meetings, DN meetings, corner meetings, safety meetings to
41:17
Speaker 6: talk about the complexity of the position. All the one
41:20
Speaker 6: guy who might be playing it at one of the
41:23
Speaker 6: best levels right now in the moment, Michael Carter, the
41:26
Speaker 6: second with the Jets, what can you tell us about
41:30
Speaker 6: how well he is playing?
41:33
Speaker 3: Well?
41:33
Speaker 15: You know, they just finished shutting the Houston Texans down
41:37
Speaker 15: last week in New York and in that game they
41:40
Speaker 15: defended ten passes of Michael Carter had a couple of those.
41:43
Speaker 3: But he's a guy right now.
41:46
Speaker 15: With this defense, they play a lot of man coverage
41:49
Speaker 15: and they put a lot on especially if they're going
41:51
Speaker 15: to try and get an extra body to blitz right there.
41:54
Speaker 7: And he's been a one guy, just a real constant.
41:57
Speaker 15: And yes, Sauce Gardner and Reid or excellent outside, but
42:02
Speaker 15: sometimes they're only as good as that slot defender because
42:05
Speaker 15: he's taken in all those positions and covering all those
42:09
Speaker 15: count to receivers that Houston have, that Buffalo has, and
42:13
Speaker 15: all those that Miami has. In all those division games,
42:16
Speaker 15: he's stood out. In fact, I did a breakdown on
42:20
Speaker 15: Sauce Gardner or DJ Reid this week. They got a
42:22
Speaker 15: lot of attention, but a lot of the attention was Baldy.
42:25
Speaker 15: Don't leave out Michael Carter the second like he's a
42:28
Speaker 15: big part of their you know, receiving they're defending, uh,
42:31
Speaker 15: anybody who's receiving core right now.
42:35
Speaker 4: And we're talking so much about this position, Baldy and
42:38
Speaker 4: the versatility you need. I go to Detroit and look
42:41
Speaker 4: at Brian Branch, the youngster who's playing safety for them
42:44
Speaker 4: and playing nickel for them now. This past week, it
42:47
Speaker 4: was kind of interesting. They cut down his snaps big time.
42:49
Speaker 4: They just kind of wanted him to focus on the
42:52
Speaker 4: nickel spot and focus on that spot specifically. But what
42:55
Speaker 4: have you seen from him as a whole in terms
42:57
Speaker 4: of how he plays that spot?
43:00
Speaker 15: Well, he is, he's got the verse. But when Steve mentioned,
43:04
Speaker 15: you know, the versatility that's required at that position, you know,
43:10
Speaker 15: whether it's playing linebacker, corner, safety, I think he embodies
43:14
Speaker 15: all those things.
43:15
Speaker 7: He's very, very comfortable in that.
43:17
Speaker 15: Space that's between the outside receiver and wherever your tight
43:22
Speaker 15: end or offensive tackle is. There's a lot of space
43:24
Speaker 15: to defend there. I mean, he's excellent in the island
43:26
Speaker 15: making tackles. He's excellent getting off blocks in the run game.
43:30
Speaker 15: And then the short area routes that I mean here
43:34
Speaker 15: he is, you know, taking the defense the deflection against
43:36
Speaker 15: Kansas City right there for pick six.
43:38
Speaker 7: But you know he's got this division to really defend
43:43
Speaker 7: a lot of space.
43:45
Speaker 15: And uh and I think Brian Branch is a future
43:48
Speaker 15: great player in his business at that position.
43:52
Speaker 5: Well, the diamondoor Leonore for the forty nine ers. You
43:56
Speaker 5: brought him up before.
43:57
Speaker 6: He has been I think he's been interned into a
44:01
Speaker 6: starting slot position. Their defense has really taken off a
44:04
Speaker 6: little bit more on him, please.
44:07
Speaker 7: Well, yeah, they were having problems.
44:09
Speaker 15: You know, they had lost three in a row, Steven.
44:11
Speaker 15: One of those losses was to Minnesota, and really Kirk
44:14
Speaker 15: Cousins had their way and they were attacking in the
44:18
Speaker 15: really short intermediate routes and you know, Kurt had his way,
44:22
Speaker 15: Joe Burrow had his way, and they had to fix
44:24
Speaker 15: that position.
44:24
Speaker 3: And when they put.
44:25
Speaker 15: Lenore went from him from outside to inside, that really
44:29
Speaker 15: fixed it. The various was excellent out outside, but this
44:33
Speaker 15: and every time was was very good. They needed to
44:36
Speaker 15: fix the inside position, and they've reclaimed the position as
44:39
Speaker 15: the best defensive football. I think a large part because
44:43
Speaker 15: Lenore has really stepped up in the slot and he's
44:46
Speaker 15: been a force and.
44:47
Speaker 7: You know, a great player on the underneath coverage right
44:50
Speaker 7: now from the forty nine ers body.
44:54
Speaker 4: I look at Mike Hilton and everything that it's gone
44:57
Speaker 4: on in Cincinnati. Lose both those safeties, they get younger
45:00
Speaker 4: at the cornerback spots, and he's kind of the veteran
45:02
Speaker 4: that's been there.
45:03
Speaker 3: That's where Steve's at right now.
45:04
Speaker 4: He's gonna be at the game calling the game on
45:07
Speaker 4: Saturday with Cincinnati. He hasn't allowed a touchdown in coverage
45:12
Speaker 4: this season. He's quietly having just a monster season inmos defense.
45:18
Speaker 15: Well, you can look at the turnaround of the Cincinnati Bengals.
45:21
Speaker 15: You could say, well, it was the day Joe Burrow
45:23
Speaker 15: got there. You know, Jamar Chase drafted all that. All
45:26
Speaker 15: that is true, but really you know they got Trey
45:28
Speaker 15: Hendrickson and Mike Hilton, in the same free agent class
45:31
Speaker 15: and a Woodsia.
45:32
Speaker 7: They got all those guys in.
45:34
Speaker 15: One big bundle and they have they literally cemented the
45:39
Speaker 15: nickelback positions. I think they weakened Pittsburgh a great deal
45:42
Speaker 15: because they have yet to replace Mike Hilton in that position.
45:45
Speaker 15: And then the moment they put Mike in there in
45:47
Speaker 15: that defense, uh, right now that lou Anarumo runs, I mean,
45:51
Speaker 15: whether he's a blitzer where he's excellent. You know, whether
45:55
Speaker 15: he's a run force, he's excellent, whether he's in that
45:58
Speaker 15: slot or double Keith receivers in a variety of roles.
46:03
Speaker 15: Mike Kilton has fixed that position in Cincinnati. And yes,
46:07
Speaker 15: well they're still you know, trying to replace Von Bell
46:09
Speaker 15: and Jesse Bates and look, Dax still and the young
46:11
Speaker 15: guys are back there. But it certainly helps that Mike
46:15
Speaker 15: Kilton is there, and he's a communicator and he's.
46:18
Speaker 7: A great team guy. You watch any Cincinnati Bengal game,
46:21
Speaker 7: you'll see this weekend Steve like he is the cheerleader
46:24
Speaker 7: on the sideline.
46:25
Speaker 3: He never sits down.
46:26
Speaker 15: He's cheering the offense on like he is one of
46:29
Speaker 15: those guys that team camaraderie. Like he's at the forefront
46:34
Speaker 15: of all that in Cincinnati.
46:36
Speaker 5: Communicates with the green dot.
46:38
Speaker 6: Logan Wilson well also the middle linebacker or the Bengals
46:41
Speaker 6: they baldly we're a little short here, but Jordan Lewis
46:44
Speaker 6: guy used to play outside for Dallas. Now they've moved
46:47
Speaker 6: him inside with some of the injuries that they've had.
46:49
Speaker 6: That has really helped magnify some of the things they
46:52
Speaker 6: like to do defensively as well.
46:55
Speaker 1: I agree, I totally agree.
46:56
Speaker 15: You know you got Dron Blam's getting all the attention
46:59
Speaker 15: this year on Gilmour has been better than anybody could
47:02
Speaker 15: have imagined. Yeah, the third component, especially last week playing
47:05
Speaker 15: the Eagles with as much three receiver sets as they
47:08
Speaker 15: put out there. Jordan Lewis healthy in the slot is
47:12
Speaker 15: it's probably his best position.
47:15
Speaker 7: He played outside.
47:16
Speaker 15: Early in his career coming out of Michigan, but I
47:18
Speaker 15: feel like this is his position and he's upgraded the
47:21
Speaker 15: overall secondary of the Cowboys. It doesn't get the attention
47:24
Speaker 15: because of Dron blans picked sixes and what Michael Parsons
47:28
Speaker 15: does every week, but the back end of this defense,
47:30
Speaker 15: Donovan Wilson, Jordan Lewis, Malie Cooker like they are very
47:35
Speaker 15: sound in what they're doing.
47:38
Speaker 1: Unreal.
47:38
Speaker 4: I love when we can focus on something like this,
47:40
Speaker 4: Steve and Baldi, that we can have This is just
47:43
Speaker 4: a deep dive on who's playing a position that maybe
47:46
Speaker 4: I think Baldy's getting overlooked quite a bit.
47:49
Speaker 3: Toron Johnson said it to us.
47:50
Speaker 4: He said, listen, it's one of the hardest spots on
47:52
Speaker 4: the field, and specifically in today's game, with everything you
47:55
Speaker 4: got to be focused on.
47:56
Speaker 3: So I this is one of my favorite ones we've had,
47:59
Speaker 3: I think ever on the show.
48:02
Speaker 15: Well, Arren Johnson is I mean, first of all, for
48:04
Speaker 15: his size to be as physical as he is, they
48:07
Speaker 15: would not be the Buffalo defense that Sean McDermott has
48:10
Speaker 15: been putting out there. Without his ability to play in
48:13
Speaker 15: the slot. He makes Michael Hyde and Jordan Poyer even better.
48:17
Speaker 15: And he is and he's very, very versatile, and he
48:21
Speaker 15: number seven. He just watch him this weekend against Dallas.
48:24
Speaker 15: Everybody Number seven shows up tough, he makes, he leaves
48:28
Speaker 15: his mark, He running there a little bit. That's gonna
48:34
Speaker 15: be dynamic.
48:36
Speaker 3: That's right.
48:36
Speaker 5: Hey, appreciate you, Baldy. We'll see you next Thursday.
48:38
Speaker 7: Yep, you next Thursday.
48:41
Speaker 6: Make sure to watch us next Thursday and next Monday
48:44
Speaker 6: here on the NFL Report seven fifteen pm Eastern times.
48:48
Speaker 5: Guys are watching us on the NFL app.
48:50
Speaker 6: You can watch us on all the free streaming apps
48:53
Speaker 6: like Roku, Pea, copy Pluto. But also remember JP. We
48:58
Speaker 6: are a podcast and the show as great as it
49:00
Speaker 6: is on TV's on the go even fantastic. Okay, so
49:04
Speaker 6: big game this weekend. I want to go back to
49:06
Speaker 6: the Denver Broncos real quick. Get about fifteen seconds. Tough
49:09
Speaker 6: match up against the Lions. Do the Broncos keep it rolling?
49:14
Speaker 3: They keep it rolling? You know what I'm gonna say,
49:16
Speaker 3: real quick. They have found a slot corner and Jaquan McMillan.
49:20
Speaker 3: They love the kid. They think he has been phenomenal
49:23
Speaker 3: in the slot spot.
49:24
Speaker 4: I love that you asked that, because let's just make
49:26
Speaker 4: this entire show about one position, and we're trying to
49:28
Speaker 4: get it paid.
49:28
Speaker 1: Guys.
49:29
Speaker 3: It is going to be a phenomenal weekend of football.
49:32
Speaker 4: Specifically, watch those guys lining up in that nickel spot.
49:35
Speaker 4: And we're versatile, guys. Listen to us on the podcast.
49:38
Speaker 3: Just like slock Corners, We're everywhere you one day b