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Robert Smith looking forward to a versatile offense | Countdown to Kickoff · The Jacksonville Jaguars Official Podcast Network

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  Speaker 1: With the call of the game on Fox Sports the
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  Speaker 1: Jaguars and the Commanders coming up in his new full
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  Speaker 1: time role with the NFL on Fox, It's analyst Robert Smith.
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  Speaker 1: Congratulations to you and it's nice to speak with you.
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  Speaker 1: How are you doing great? I just I just can't
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  Speaker 1: wait for this. I mean, you know this. I've called
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  Speaker 1: a one or two NFL games over each of the
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  Speaker 1: last three or four seasons, but was primarily primarily a
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  Speaker 1: college football announcer and just found out last month that
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  Speaker 1: I'd be call an NFL game. So just I just
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  Speaker 1: can't tell you how excited I am to actually be
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  Speaker 1: calling a game on opening weekend in the NFL. It's uh,
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  Speaker 1: pretty special, alright, Robert. A lot of change around the
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  Speaker 1: Jaguars organization, yet again, it happens year to year or
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  Speaker 1: so it feels like around here. But hopefully this one sticks.
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  Speaker 1: New head coach, new coaching staff, free agency, they spend
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  Speaker 1: a boatload of money, They're two different first round picks.
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  Speaker 1: It's a lot of new around here. So with all that,
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  Speaker 1: what are your expectations for the Jaguars and two? From
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  Speaker 1: the outside looking well, you know, there's no reason to
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  Speaker 1: go back into all of the things that we're going
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  Speaker 1: on last year with Urban Meyer and around the organization
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  Speaker 1: and the turmoil let alone some of the issues just
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  Speaker 1: you know, with the way that the team was playing.
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  Speaker 1: You know, I think you learned really everything that you
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  Speaker 1: need to know about most of the guys in the
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  Speaker 1: locker room when you saw that game against Indianapolis at
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  Speaker 1: the end of the season. It was a perfect opportunity
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  Speaker 1: really for Jacksonville had just kind of fold and say, hey,
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  Speaker 1: we're just gonna play for the number one pick here
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  Speaker 1: and uh, not worried about it. Protect our guys. But
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  Speaker 1: they went out there against an Indianapolis team that was
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  Speaker 1: fighting for a playoff spot, winning their in situation, which
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  Speaker 1: is ideal. Uh, And and Jacksonville played really tough. And
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  Speaker 1: you you said it, I mean, spending all that money,
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  Speaker 1: bringing in Christian Kirk, you know, bringing in Branding Sheriff
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  Speaker 1: on that offensive line. Uh, you know too, Uh, solid
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  Speaker 1: players on defense as as rookies with Trayvon Walker and
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  Speaker 1: Devin Lloyd. I mean, the pieces are in place, I
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  Speaker 1: think for a pretty dramatic and around and you never
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  Speaker 1: know how things look on the field until you get
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  Speaker 1: on the field and start playing. But I'm really excited
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  Speaker 1: to see what this team is going to do. Robert,
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  Speaker 1: of course, you're running back in the National Football League
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  Speaker 1: for a long time, couple of Pro Bowls, so you
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  Speaker 1: probably have a good understanding of what both Travis E.
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  Speaker 1: T and Jr. And James Robinson are having to come
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  Speaker 1: back from. Travis C. T n of course miss last
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  Speaker 1: season with the list Frank injury and his foot. James
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  Speaker 1: Robinson is good to go. He's clear to play Sunday
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  Speaker 1: after an achilles injury late last season. Having both of
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  Speaker 1: those guys back on the field is fairly remarkable considering
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  Speaker 1: what ten fifteen years ago in the NFL. If you
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  Speaker 1: had one of those injuries, it was a career possibility.
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  Speaker 1: Your career could have been over the fact that they're back,
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  Speaker 1: that's a boost for this team. Yeah, it certainly is.
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  Speaker 1: And you know, quarterback's best friend really to have you
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  Speaker 1: know that that that stout running game, and then you know,
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  Speaker 1: you bring in Evan Ingram and hopefully he can get
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  Speaker 1: over some of those drop issues and got a got
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  Speaker 1: a ar get there. So quarterbacks love to have a
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  Speaker 1: solid running game and a tight end that they can
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  Speaker 1: drop the ball off too. So I think it's it's
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  Speaker 1: it's exciting, really, I'm sure, especially for Trevor Lawrence to
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  Speaker 1: have those guys back and you get something a little
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  Speaker 1: bit different out of those guys. James Robinson. James Robinson
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  Speaker 1: more of a you know, a banger type et n
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  Speaker 1: really not known for that, but certainly known for his
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  Speaker 1: past catching ability, uh and and really even to line
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  Speaker 1: up on the outside, which we saw a lot of
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  Speaker 1: out of him at Clemson. With Trevor Lawrence, so excited
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  Speaker 1: once again really for the pieces that this offense has
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  Speaker 1: to work with, and with an offensive mind like Doug
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  Speaker 1: Peterson who knows what you see. You know, I know
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  Speaker 1: in the past they've done a lot of uh two
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  Speaker 1: tight sets, uh, you know, but I think that, you know,
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  Speaker 1: with versatile chess pieces like he has in this offense,
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  Speaker 1: I think it's it's gonna be. Uh, it's gonna be
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  Speaker 1: a defensive coordinator's worst nightmare, especially going into week one,
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  Speaker 1: because you just don't know what you'll see. Robert, did
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  Speaker 1: you ever have of an injury like this? I mean,
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  Speaker 1: a lot of the coming back is a running back
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  Speaker 1: was something with your feet or lower extremities down there,
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  Speaker 1: it's above the shoulders, getting past it mentally, did you
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  Speaker 1: ever have anything like this? Yeah, so I tore my
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  Speaker 1: a c L my rookie season, and I tore my
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  Speaker 1: m c L pcl uh in my fourth season. It
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  Speaker 1: was relatively healthy for my last four years. But yeah,
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  Speaker 1: it's a you're you're definitely you know, spot on in
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  Speaker 1: your analysis there, because there is the physical part of it,
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  Speaker 1: you know, is it ready, but then convincing yourself that
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  Speaker 1: you can out there and do the same things. I'll
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  Speaker 1: never forget coming back after the a c L got
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  Speaker 1: into one of those one on one pass blocking drills
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  Speaker 1: against the linebackers, which hated anyway, but especially that here
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  Speaker 1: um and uh, you know I got uh it was
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  Speaker 1: it was a little bit wet on the grass that
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  Speaker 1: day and during the drill, you know, my right knee
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  Speaker 1: it just kind of, uh, you know, lost my right foot,
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  Speaker 1: lost footing and stretched out my right knee, and you know,
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  Speaker 1: from that point forward it was like, hey, you know,
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  Speaker 1: I guess it's okay, and uh, you know, it's a
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  Speaker 1: it's definitely a hurdle that you have to get over
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  Speaker 1: and after you've been through it once certainly don't want
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  Speaker 1: to have to go through it again. But much easier
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  Speaker 1: the second time around, Robert Smith will Us from Fox
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  Speaker 1: Sports has the call the Jaguars and the Commanders coming up.
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  Speaker 1: Doug Peterson, of course has now a second year quarterback
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  Speaker 1: in Trevor Lawrence, trying to groom him, get him into
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  Speaker 1: this offense. Well, he's done this before with a guy
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  Speaker 1: on the other side of the field, Carson Wentz starting
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  Speaker 1: at quarterback for the Washington Commanders, of course in Philadelphia
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  Speaker 1: when he was drafted there. Does that give Doug maybe
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  Speaker 1: get an advantage to how Carson is wired and how
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  Speaker 1: maybe you can attack him in this game. Yeah, I
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  Speaker 1: think it certainly can help. And I'm sure that that's
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  Speaker 1: information that that's been relayed to the defensive staff of
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  Speaker 1: Caldwell over there, and um, you know, they'll they'll certainly
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  Speaker 1: talk about some of those tendencies. But you know, good
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  Speaker 1: players and good coaching staff. And I'm sure Ron Rivera,
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  Speaker 1: you know, number one, he told Carson when he came
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  Speaker 1: in and said, hey, you're wanted here, and after you know,
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  Speaker 1: kind of getting the boot out of Philadelphia, getting the
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  Speaker 1: boot out of Indianapolis and here here now Jacksonville face
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  Speaker 1: some Jacksonville two games in a row, obviously with a
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  Speaker 1: different with the different staff and some new faces. Uh,
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  Speaker 1: you know, it's uh, it's it's one of those situations
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  Speaker 1: where I'm sure that Ron Rivera's telling him you have
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  Speaker 1: to change some of these things up and that we
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  Speaker 1: have to be able to protect any of those particular weaknesses.
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  Speaker 1: So that's kind of the chess game that goes on,
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  Speaker 1: you know, the back and forth with coaching staffs, and
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  Speaker 1: you're trying not to get caught up into that stuff
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  Speaker 1: too much because if you spend too much time trying
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  Speaker 1: to figure out what it is that you think might happen, uh,
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  Speaker 1: you don't react on game day the way that you
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  Speaker 1: need to do two new looks or two things that
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  Speaker 1: you just hadn't seen before. Robert, this Jaguars defense has
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  Speaker 1: so much new to it as well. The coordinator scheme
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  Speaker 1: is different. We mentioned some of the free agent additions.
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  Speaker 1: A lot of those is on defense as well. Boy
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  Speaker 1: Lewis and is in there, Darius Williams at corner, and
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  Speaker 1: then on the defensive line fully Photokasi as well, and
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  Speaker 1: then two first round picks. That is a lot of new.
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  Speaker 1: So how long does it take a defense to mess
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  Speaker 1: together and figure out what they are? What is this defense. Yeah,
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  Speaker 1: I mean, and again, you know, it's one thing on
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  Speaker 1: paper to say what a defense is going to be.
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  Speaker 1: It's another thing to actually get them out there on
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  Speaker 1: game day. And I'm sure coach called, well, he's got
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  Speaker 1: an experience with, uh, dealing with the younger players and
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  Speaker 1: trying to adapt to a new system. And you kind
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  Speaker 1: of simplify calls initially and don't have too many checks,
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  Speaker 1: don't have too many things uh that you know, kind
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  Speaker 1: of slow people down defensively, because that's the worse thing
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  Speaker 1: really for defensive players, that that that paralysis by analysis
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  Speaker 1: and you're sitting there thinking what you need to do,
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  Speaker 1: and you know, get hit in the mouth, you know
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  Speaker 1: with the card getting up to the second level, or
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  Speaker 1: you know, you get uh uh you know, a block
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  Speaker 1: coming down from a wide receiver. So uh, you know,
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  Speaker 1: I think you just kind of simplify things at first,
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  Speaker 1: see how guys go out there and play, and try
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  Speaker 1: and get them to learn it as quickly as possible
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  Speaker 1: and to go out there and play fast. Trayvon Walker
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  Speaker 1: of course the number one overall pick, Robert, you were
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  Speaker 1: a first round pick. Also, how do you manage the
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  Speaker 1: expectations a lot of people want, you know, Trayvon Walker
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  Speaker 1: to go out there and get ten sacks in his
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  Speaker 1: first year. You're running back. Obviously a different positions, but
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  Speaker 1: similar expectations. People expect a lot out of the first
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  Speaker 1: round picks. Um, what would you say to Trayvon Walker
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  Speaker 1: to to kind of manage those expectations to just go play? Yeah? Well,
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  Speaker 1: I mean his his his pressure is a whole different level,
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  Speaker 1: you know, being the number one overall pick. But I
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  Speaker 1: think you know, and I'm sure he's been hearing this
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  Speaker 1: all along. Just learn, learn, learn, learn as much as
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  Speaker 1: you can, you know, not just learn uh the deef vents,
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  Speaker 1: but learn the techniques that are going to help you excel.
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  Speaker 1: And then just go out and play. And you know,
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  Speaker 1: like a like a quarterback, like a cornerback. Uh, you know,
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  Speaker 1: like any any player. Really you kind of have to
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  Speaker 1: have a short memory. Uh you know, you you don't
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  Speaker 1: want to let perfect get in the way of good.
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  Speaker 1: Just go out there and play, uh and and and
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  Speaker 1: understand that you will make mistakes. But it's not whether
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  Speaker 1: you will make mistakes, because you will, Uh, it's how
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  Speaker 1: you react to them and how you respond to them
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  Speaker 1: and how you learn from them. So just kind of
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  Speaker 1: go out there and play your game and don't worry
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  Speaker 1: about what anybody else expects from you. And I can
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  Speaker 1: I can tell you you know, anybody, especially when you're
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  Speaker 1: drafted in the first round. Uh, you know, it's because
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  Speaker 1: you know how to play the game and you know
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  Speaker 1: the work that you have to put in. And nobody's
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  Speaker 1: gonna put more pressure on him than he's gonna put
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  Speaker 1: on himself. And our final thought and another number one
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  Speaker 1: overall picks. They've had him back to back years. Of course,
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  Speaker 1: Trevor Lawrence going into season number two and it's in theory.
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  Speaker 1: It's his third offense in three years him from Clemson
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  Speaker 1: and then last year and now his second year in Jacksonville.
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  Speaker 1: It feels like this one fits though, the way Doug Peterson,
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  Speaker 1: Press Taylor, Mike McCoy work around him. That's priority number
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  Speaker 1: one is to get Trevor Lawrence comfortable and flowing in
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  Speaker 1: this offense. It has to me this year, right, yeah,
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  Speaker 1: no question about it. And you know, some issues with
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  Speaker 1: some drops a year ago certainly didn't help. And getting
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  Speaker 1: things short up on that offensive line, and you know,
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  Speaker 1: talk about that acquisition of Brandon Sheriff. I think that's
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  Speaker 1: gonna be tremendous. Five time pro bowler, been in the
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  Speaker 1: league for eight years, a lot of experience, and I
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  Speaker 1: think that he's going to bring that experience. And I've
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  Speaker 1: heard Trevor mentioned this that you know, that attitude the
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  Speaker 1: offensive line, Uh, you know, they want to go after it,
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  Speaker 1: they want to go get it. And while he talks
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  Speaker 1: about them being physical and they want to impose their
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  Speaker 1: will and be able to run the ball, I'm sure
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  Speaker 1: all of that is going to help along with having
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  Speaker 1: the new weapons, you know, like a Christian Church kirk,
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  Speaker 1: like Zay Jones on the outside. I mean, uh, those
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  Speaker 1: those kind of additions are are just gonna make him
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  Speaker 1: that much more comfortable that he's going to have the
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  Speaker 1: pieces in place around him and to feel a little
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  Speaker 1: bit more comfortable. And quite frankly, it couldn't get much
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  Speaker 1: worse than they got last year. So uh, he's he's
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  Speaker 1: kind of been thrown into the fire and been in
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  Speaker 1: about as bad as position as a quarterback can be
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  Speaker 1: in a number one overall pick. Could be it can
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  Speaker 1: only go better from there, Yeah, you can. A lot
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  Speaker 1: of times can say it can always get worse. Yeah,
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  Speaker 1: I don't know that was that was a rough go.
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  Speaker 1: It was Robert Drake to talk with you. Congratulations again,
• 11:38
  Speaker 1: have a great call, appreciate it all right. Thanks