Latest / AFR Saints / Saints’ Slow Starts Under Kellen Moore: Why New Orleans Keeps Falling Behind Early

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Saints’ Slow Starts Under Kellen Moore: Why New Orleans Keeps Falling Behind Early · AFR Saints

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  Speaker 1: Saints started slowly again. And By nature, I'm someone who is,
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  Speaker 1: I guess, inquisitive and maybe journalistically trained to ask questions.
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  Speaker 1: One of the things, and I don't mean for this
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  Speaker 1: to be like, I went to J school. I did,
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  Speaker 1: but that's not the whole point of this. The point is,
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  Speaker 1: one of the things you're trained to do is to
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  Speaker 1: ask questions, just keep asking questions and questions typically be
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  Speaker 1: get further questions. And it's just, it's to challenge things
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  Speaker 1: and not just accept things. And sometimes the norm or
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  Speaker 1: the answer is the answer, which doesn't mean you shouldn't
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  Speaker 1: ask the question. And so one of the things that we've,
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  Speaker 1: all of us with respect to the saints have become
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  Speaker 1: like hyper-focused on are the slow starts. And these numbers
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  Speaker 1: are kind of irrefutable that I'm going to go through
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  Speaker 1: here in a second. And it happened again to New
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  Speaker 1: Orleans last night with the slow start. They found themselves
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  Speaker 1: down 14-0 very quickly. They did respond on Kamara's touchdown
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  Speaker 1: to make it 14-7, but it just never got closer.
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  Speaker 1: It was 24-7 at half. The Saints again got shut
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  Speaker 1: out in the first quarter, just the one touchdown in
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  Speaker 1: the first half, and it was en route to a blowout,
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  Speaker 1: of course. After the game, Kellen Moore, again, was asked
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  Speaker 1: about the slow starts. Is there a fix or a change?
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  Speaker 1: Have you guys tried to shake it up? Yeah, we've
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  Speaker 1: tried a number of different things, and obviously we haven't
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  Speaker 1: solved this, but we've got to find a way. I
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  Speaker 1: would love it if he would just one time give
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  Speaker 1: some type of detailed answer to a question. I don't
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  Speaker 1: even need to be like hypercritical of Kellen Moore and
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  Speaker 1: like yell in this moment. It's just the kind of
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  Speaker 1: thing where I get it. You don't have to ever
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  Speaker 1: answer a question, but you have, you are contractually obligated
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  Speaker 1: to stand at that podium. Let reporters ask you questions
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  Speaker 1: and you actually have words, leave your mouth. Like you
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  Speaker 1: are contractually obligated. Even if it's Marshawn Lynch, I'm just here.
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  Speaker 1: So don't get fined. Like you got to do it.
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  Speaker 1: But I wish he would at least have enough respect
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  Speaker 1: for you and me and the people asking the questions
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  Speaker 1: to recognize this is something that deserves an answer. Here's
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  Speaker 1: the numbers, okay? And this was... It's almost like it's
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  Speaker 1: irrefutable at this point. So Kellen Morris coached 21 games
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  Speaker 1: in New Orleans. They've trailed after the first quarter 17
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  Speaker 1: of 21 games. They've been tied after the first quarter
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  Speaker 1: just twice in 21 games. They've led after the first
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  Speaker 1: quarter one time. That was last week against the Raiders.
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  Speaker 1: It's the only time, the only time, under Kellen Moore,
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  Speaker 1: the Saints have led after the first quarter. They've scored 32.
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  Speaker 1: 35 points in the first quarter in 21 games. Let
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  Speaker 1: me say that again slowly. 21 games. They've scored 35
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  Speaker 1: points in the first quarter. They've been shut out 10
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  Speaker 1: times in the first quarter in 21 of those games,
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  Speaker 1: and they've trailed at halftime in 17 of the 21 games.
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  Speaker 1: My inquisitive nature is to say, We say, oh, they're
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  Speaker 1: slow starts, slow starts. Well, are they really slow starts?
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  Speaker 1: Do other teams compare? Is that abnormal to have that many? Like,
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  Speaker 1: that's where my brain goes. It's hard to argue against
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  Speaker 1: that in any way. And it is just very clear
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  Speaker 1: that this team does not come out ready to play. Now,
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  Speaker 1: I could also argue that... Of those 21 games, eight
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  Speaker 1: of them last year were started by Spencer Rattler. And
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  Speaker 1: he's not a starting quarterback in the NFL. So in
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  Speaker 1: eight of those games, you really had no shot. Very
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  Speaker 1: little shot to get off to a good start or
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  Speaker 1: to really score. You started Tyler Shuck the last nine
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  Speaker 1: games of the season. But even still, last year, see
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  Speaker 1: what I mean? Like, I could build a case. Even
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  Speaker 1: still in those nine games... You had a rookie left tackle,
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  Speaker 1: a second-year right tackle. You had lost your starting center
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  Speaker 1: for the season in Eric McCoy. You had an injury
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  Speaker 1: at left guard as well. You really had no semblance
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  Speaker 1: of a running game a season ago. You had a lave,
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  Speaker 1: but after that, there was really nothing else in the
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  Speaker 1: receiving core. His valet got hurt late in the season.
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  Speaker 1: Jalen Polk basically had a red shirt last year. Do
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  Speaker 1: you see what I mean? Like, I could explain last
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  Speaker 1: year why the eight games with Rattler or the nine
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  Speaker 1: games with Shuck, considering rookie quarterback and no supporting cast,
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  Speaker 1: why you weren't very good offensively. This season, through the
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  Speaker 1: first four games, it's much harder to explain. It's when
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  Speaker 1: you start to say, okay, well, maybe it wasn't just
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  Speaker 1: Spencer Rattler's not a starter in the NFL, or you
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  Speaker 1: had injuries on the offensive line, or you didn't have
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  Speaker 1: a deep receiving core, or any of those things. Now, maybe,
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  Speaker 1: and I'll take this under advisement, at some point, you'll
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  Speaker 1: get Kelvin Banks back, and you'll get Jordan Tyson healthy,
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  Speaker 1: and Noah Fant will be there in addition to Juwan Johnson,
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  Speaker 1: and you'll have your full starting offensive, and you'll have
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  Speaker 1: Aitken back. And so, you'll have Banks and Aitken and Tyson,
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  Speaker 1: and you'll have the full offense as we thought it
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  Speaker 1: would be. And maybe with that full offense, boom, they'll
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  Speaker 1: catch fire. Maybe. I don't know if I believe that's
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  Speaker 1: going to happen. But that's the one thing I would
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  Speaker 1: look to and say, okay, I'm pretty much convinced this
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  Speaker 1: is a... programmatic thing. This is an organizational thing. It's
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  Speaker 1: how they practice, how they prepare, how he calls games
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  Speaker 1: out the chute, whatever. Pre-game warm-ups, I don't know. There's
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  Speaker 1: enough of a sample size to say it's them. It's
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  Speaker 1: what they are doing that is leading to these very
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  Speaker 1: poor starts. Typically, you would see teams, I think, that
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  Speaker 1: practice well, they're prepared, they're scripted, But eventually, talent wins
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  Speaker 1: out throughout the course of a ballgame. With the Saints,
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  Speaker 1: it's the opposite of that. They're starting slowly, and then
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  Speaker 1: they come on late. Now, they didn't do anything on
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  Speaker 1: Monday Night Football. But the one further piece of evidence
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  Speaker 1: I'll say, let me wait and see, is when all
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  Speaker 1: these guys are back. Banks, Aitken, Tyson, everybody. When the
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  Speaker 1: full offense is there, let's look and see how that goes.
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  Speaker 1: But with the growing sample size, it's hard to argue
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  Speaker 1: to the contrary. And I would love to say, I
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  Speaker 1: believe Kellen Moore has the fix, But it's clear he doesn't.
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  Speaker 1: Because you have a growing sample that shows they don't
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  Speaker 1: start strong. He's not willing to answer the question. He
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  Speaker 1: says they have tried some things and it's still not working.
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  Speaker 1: Literally the only thing left to do is have your
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  Speaker 1: full complement of players and then you have no excuse
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  Speaker 1: after that. So maybe the magic unlock will come when
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  Speaker 1: they have Banks and Tyson and Aitken all back together
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  Speaker 1: and everything. But they already played three games this season.
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  Speaker 1: With Banks and HN in there in the first quarter,
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  Speaker 1: and it didn't work. You mean to tell me the
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  Speaker 1: only difference, like the thing that's going to just light
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  Speaker 1: the fuse, that's going to turn the ignition, is Jordan Tyson?
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  Speaker 1: I just don't know that I believe that. And I'm
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  Speaker 1: not saying he isn't a dynamic player. I mean, that's
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  Speaker 1: why they took him with a top 10 pick. But
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  Speaker 1: you don't go from this level of anemia offensively early
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  Speaker 1: in games to just, boom, you're great offensively. Because of
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  Speaker 1: one player. And he apparently isn't even close to returning.
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  Speaker 1: So you better figure it out before then. Because you
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  Speaker 1: look at what's ahead for New Orleans, and the way
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  Speaker 1: that we talked about this schedule before the season has
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  Speaker 1: really flipped. I mean, we looked at road games against
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  Speaker 1: Detroit and Baltimore as losses, but the home stretch with
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  Speaker 1: the Raiders, Falcons, Vikings... And, of course, the Vikings with
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  Speaker 1: Kyler Murray there, new quarterback, the transition, a home game
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  Speaker 1: as three winnable games. And then at the Giants felt winnable,
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  Speaker 1: and you go to Paris to play the Steelers, and
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  Speaker 1: we didn't really know what to expect with Rodgers and
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  Speaker 1: the Steelers at this point. The Saints were really good.
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  Speaker 1: And then you come home to play the Browns and
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  Speaker 1: the Panthers. It felt like you had to get off
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  Speaker 1: to a great start because at Bears, at Bengals, Packers,
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  Speaker 1: at Panthers, at Bucs, that stretch felt like the really
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  Speaker 1: daunting part of the schedule. Well, now you go, man,
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  Speaker 1: Minnesota's coming in there 4-0. You can't stop anybody. You've
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  Speaker 1: got to go deal with Jefferson and with that defense.
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  Speaker 1: And then you've got to go play New York, who,
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  Speaker 1: in spite of losing Dart, improbably is sitting there at 3-1,
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  Speaker 1: and they're playing very sound football under John Harbaugh, who's
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  Speaker 1: a great coach who knows how to win and has
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  Speaker 1: won for a lot of years in the NFL and
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  Speaker 1: then you got to go play Pittsburgh overseas and I
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  Speaker 1: really don't know what to expect in that game and
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  Speaker 1: they got to come home to play Cleveland who oh
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  Speaker 1: by the way look up in their three and one
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  Speaker 1: and Todd Munkin has them playing real well and Deshaun
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  Speaker 1: Watson looks like a competent quarterback again And then you've
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  Speaker 1: got to play the Panthers, whose offense is exploding. And
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  Speaker 1: then you've got to go at Chicago to play the Bears, who,
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  Speaker 1: when Caleb Williams was there, that offense looked incredible, and
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  Speaker 1: you can't stop anybody. And you've got to go to
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  Speaker 1: Cincinnati to play Burrow and Chase and Higgins and all
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  Speaker 1: those guys, and you can't stop anybody. You see, like,
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  Speaker 1: you start to look and go, this thing can unravel quickly,
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  Speaker 1: really quickly, if you don't figure out how to stockpile
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  Speaker 1: a few wins. After that embarrassment on Monday Night Football...
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  Speaker 1: I mean, I don't ever do the thing where it's
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  Speaker 1: must win until it's a literal must win. But what
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  Speaker 1: you can start to do is look at probabilities. And
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  Speaker 1: if you lose at home to the Vikings and you've
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  Speaker 1: lost three straight home games and you're one in four
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  Speaker 1: after five, you start to look at statistical probabilities of
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  Speaker 1: being able to get yourself to a point where where
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  Speaker 1: you can be a playoff team, which is what many
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  Speaker 1: of us hope they could be if they win a
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  Speaker 1: bad division this year. That statistical probability becomes microscopic if
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  Speaker 1: you lose at home Sunday against Minnesota. You better figure
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  Speaker 1: out how to get off to a good start because
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  Speaker 1: you're not digging yourself out of a hole again at seven.