Latest / AFR Saints / Saints-Falcons Injury Report & Travis Etienne Replacement: Mike Triplett Breaks Down New Orleans

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Saints-Falcons Injury Report & Travis Etienne Replacement: Mike Triplett Breaks Down New Orleans · AFR Saints

• 0:00
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• 0:26
  Speaker 1: New Orleans.football. Always good enough to jump aboard with us.
• 0:29
  Speaker 1: How are you, man?
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  Speaker 2: Good. How are you?
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  Speaker 1: I'd be doing a lot better if Travis H and
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  Speaker 1: hamstring wasn't jello. Okay. What can you tell us? I
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  Speaker 1: obviously he's going to IR severity. Do we have any
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  Speaker 1: idea yet?
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  Speaker 2: Yeah. I mean, they didn't clarify for sure today. Hamstrings
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  Speaker 2: are obviously like a lot of these, we know the
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  Speaker 2: usual timetable. hamstrings can vary so much that it's hard
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  Speaker 2: to say, but, but obviously it's of a significant degree.
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  Speaker 2: If they immediately put them on IR knew he was
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  Speaker 2: going to miss the next four weeks. What does that
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  Speaker 2: take us through week seven? I mean, then there's a
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  Speaker 2: game and a bi-week and I mean, I, I, we're certainly,
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  Speaker 2: it's gotta be after the buy in my mind. Uh,
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  Speaker 2: but hopefully it's after the buy. Um, you know, there's
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  Speaker 2: no surgery for, for, for something like this. And you look,
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  Speaker 2: the other guy we're fascinated to see when he comes
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  Speaker 2: back as Jordan Tyson, same, same type of injury, you know, and,
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  Speaker 2: and cautionary tale of what happens if you come back
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  Speaker 2: too soon. So it could be, it could be significant.
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  Speaker 1: So what do they do to replace HN?
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  Speaker 2: Well, obviously Alvin Kamara is a pretty good backup to have,
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  Speaker 2: and Kendra Miller, we've been waiting for him to turn
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  Speaker 2: his flashes into more consistency, and then depth guys. Now
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  Speaker 2: it's Zemir White, who they kept instead of Audrey Kestame
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  Speaker 2: and Devin Neal and C.J. Donaldson. But, you know, none
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  Speaker 2: of those guys is going to break the game open
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  Speaker 2: on their own. The other most pressing issue that this
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  Speaker 2: team faces is their run game in general has remained
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  Speaker 2: broken from last season, and they need to figure that out.
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  Speaker 2: Probably had their best run game performance in this last game,
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  Speaker 2: but it's still been way too inconsistent. So it's doing
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  Speaker 2: it with the backup players, and it's figuring out a
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  Speaker 2: better way to scheme it, too.
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  Speaker 1: The other real concern coming out of the fourth quarter
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  Speaker 1: against the Raiders obviously was what happened with us in Richards.
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  Speaker 1: So do they just stick with the mic or is there,
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  Speaker 1: is there any option to do anything differently until Kelvin
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  Speaker 1: Banks comes back?
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  Speaker 2: They tried out a bunch of guys on their tryout
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  Speaker 2: day this week and they didn't sign any of them. Um,
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  Speaker 2: they did, uh, add Mason Murphy off waivers that first
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  Speaker 2: week of the season. He's been kind of an inactive,
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  Speaker 2: just kind of learning the system. They've got a couple
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  Speaker 2: undrafted rookies in the building, but no, I mean, there's,
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  Speaker 2: There's no answer that is better, that is clearly an improvement,
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  Speaker 2: that is more experience, that is like a guy with
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  Speaker 2: a bunch of starts under his belt. So it's hopefully
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  Speaker 2: learn from what he did wrong in that game and
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  Speaker 2: keep getting better with reps. But it was proof. That
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  Speaker 2: was a big drop-off. That was one of our most
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  Speaker 2: concerning drop-offs heading into the season was if they lost
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  Speaker 2: either starting tackle, it was going to be very difficult.
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  Speaker 2: He had three high-profile, really bad plays. A closer look
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  Speaker 2: at the tape, he held up pretty well for most
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  Speaker 2: of that game while they were building the lead, but
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  Speaker 2: that's a drop-off, and it's a big concern, no doubt
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  Speaker 2: about it.
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  Speaker 1: How big of a concern is it against Atlanta as
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  Speaker 1: opposed to the Raiders, who obviously invested a ton in
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  Speaker 1: their pass rush?
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean, he didn't see Max Crosby that much
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  Speaker 2: because Tali Fulaga, you know, that's the side of the
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  Speaker 2: field that Crosby's usually on, but... you weren't able to.
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  Speaker 2: You had to help on both sides because of that.
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  Speaker 2: I think now you can trust Balaga against most other
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  Speaker 2: edge rushers on that side of the field to kind
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  Speaker 2: of hold up on his own without help. You help
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  Speaker 2: Austin Richards. The Falcons obviously have the injury and the
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  Speaker 2: suspension to their top two defensive ends, so you don't
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  Speaker 2: have to worry about them as much. Um, and, and
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  Speaker 2: that Malcolm Coons, they got to him a couple of
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  Speaker 2: times for the Raiders. We didn't talk about him much
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  Speaker 2: going into the game, but he, he obviously is a
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  Speaker 2: really talented player and he got showed against the state.
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  Speaker 2: So matchup wise, it's not as bad this week, but, um,
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  Speaker 2: you know, that still doesn't mean they're not, you don't
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  Speaker 2: give the edge to Atlanta coming into the game until,
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  Speaker 2: until they show something different.
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  Speaker 1: Mike triplets with us, new Orleans dot football. He's at
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  Speaker 1: Mike triplet and new Orleans dot football. Um, One more
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  Speaker 1: on the Raiders before we sort of turn the page
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  Speaker 1: and start to preview the game against Atlanta on Monday
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  Speaker 1: Night Football. The way I phrased it, Mike, is you
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  Speaker 1: did so much heavy lifting to steal one on the
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  Speaker 1: road in Baltimore where you were a big underdog, and
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  Speaker 1: you kind of gave it back with that loss to
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  Speaker 1: the Raiders. What was lost for New Orleans, big picture,
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  Speaker 1: on Sunday.
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  Speaker 2: In the Dome? Well, I think I said to you
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  Speaker 2: a week ago that they deserve to be a one-on-one
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  Speaker 2: team because they could have won the Lions game. They
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  Speaker 2: could have lost the Ravens game. The net total of
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  Speaker 2: being one-on-one, you know, works out. But it doesn't feel
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  Speaker 2: like they should be a one-on-two team. I mean, it
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  Speaker 2: feels like they could have won all three games in one-on-two. Really,
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  Speaker 2: you feel the weight of missed opportunities when you're one-on-two.
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  Speaker 2: I think everything could be smoothed over with a win
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  Speaker 2: over Atlanta. We didn't expect them to be better than
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  Speaker 2: 2-2 after we looked at the early part of the schedule,
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  Speaker 2: but it just does put a lot of pressure on
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  Speaker 2: it now. Now you've sort of given away your cushion,
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  Speaker 2: and now you have to win the ones you're supposed
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  Speaker 2: to win, I think. So I think all is fine.
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  Speaker 2: If they look good in this game, they go to 2-2.
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  Speaker 2: But if they're 1-3, they're just going to be feeling
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  Speaker 2: that pressure and playing with that pressure. There's no doubt
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  Speaker 2: about it. It removes any margin for error in this game.
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  Speaker 2: I don't know if I want to say must win,
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  Speaker 2: but all of a sudden it feels like this one is.
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  Speaker 1: Mike, I felt a lot better about this game before
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  Speaker 1: I saw Atlanta go on Thursday night and crush Green Bay.
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  Speaker 1: I mean, are you buying Atlanta off that one performance?
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  Speaker 2: Not buying Atlanta... as if that's the version of Atlanta
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  Speaker 2: you're going to get. I think they're an even less
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  Speaker 2: consistent team than New Orleans with even more holes than
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  Speaker 2: the Saints have. But it was a reminder that, you know,
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  Speaker 2: one of those matchups that if you played it four times,
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  Speaker 2: you know, at least one of the four results is
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  Speaker 2: going to be a Falcons win. So, you know, it's
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  Speaker 2: going to very easily be their fourth one-score game of
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  Speaker 2: the season, and they have to make the plays in
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  Speaker 2: the end to win it. I mean, I'd put probably
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  Speaker 2: 28 NFL teams in that category. And Atlanta is not
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  Speaker 2: one of the four teams that falls outside of that
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  Speaker 2: realm where it started to feel like they were.
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  Speaker 1: God, they look so bad the first two weeks. Um,
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  Speaker 1: it was just an about face and now they have
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  Speaker 1: sort of a, a long week. They're sort of a
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  Speaker 1: mini by you're playing Thursday to Monday. So, um, this
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  Speaker 1: matchup on Monday night football, what do you think is the,
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  Speaker 1: the key matchup that you're honing in on for the saints?
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  Speaker 2: Well, I mean, from a matchup standpoint, you put a
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  Speaker 2: big circle, underline, bold letters, everything around B. John Robinson, obviously,
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  Speaker 2: the same way you did with Jameer Gibbs in week one.
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  Speaker 2: And it's funny. I thought the Saints did an okay
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  Speaker 2: job against Jameer Gibbs in week one, and he had
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  Speaker 2: 186 yards and two touchdowns. So, you know, you just
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  Speaker 2: want to make sure you're not letting him hit home runs.
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  Speaker 2: If he's going to score, you want it to be
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  Speaker 2: a 12-15 play touchdown drive. You don't want it to
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  Speaker 2: be a two-play touchdown drive because you let him get loose.
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  Speaker 2: And now we go out to practice today, and there's
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  Speaker 2: no Pete Werner, and there's no Cade Nellis out there.
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  Speaker 2: So that makes things a lot harder if those guys,
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  Speaker 2: if either one of them misses the game, if both
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  Speaker 2: of them miss the game, or if they're limited at all,
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  Speaker 2: then that becomes a matchup that really scares you.
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  Speaker 1: Just a quick follow-up on those injuries to the linebackers. Obviously,
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  Speaker 1: Granderson wasn't there as well. Do we know severity yet?
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  Speaker 1: Do you believe those players are trending toward playing on Sunday?
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  Speaker 1: Or on Monday?
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  Speaker 2: I laid eyes on all three of them today. Werner
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  Speaker 2: was in a jersey but no pads watching from the side.
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  Speaker 2: And he had a stinger. I don't know that I
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  Speaker 2: can put a timetable on a stinger, you know, because
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  Speaker 2: the severities can differ there. But seeing him actively, like,
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  Speaker 2: watching the practice and the game plan install makes me think,
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  Speaker 2: you know, they're at least hoping that he's going to
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  Speaker 2: get back out there soon. And then Granderson we saw
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  Speaker 2: in the locker room. Hopefully it was just a day
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  Speaker 2: off for him. Okay. Now, as we saw on the
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  Speaker 2: exercise bike, you know, so I don't think any of
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  Speaker 2: them are, you know, certainly none of them are, are
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  Speaker 2: like what happened with Travis H. And where it's just like, no,
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  Speaker 2: this guy's definitely down. But, um, you know, until we,
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  Speaker 2: you know, they had the extra day off already this week.
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  Speaker 2: So this, and this, and this practice is concerning until
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  Speaker 2: we see them at least back out there in a
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  Speaker 2: limited capacity.
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  Speaker 1: He's my triplet new Orleans dot football at Mike triplet
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  Speaker 1: is where you can get them. Um, so you talked
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  Speaker 1: about obviously being able to stop a John Robinson, uh,
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  Speaker 1: for the saints defense, the injuries are a concern. What
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  Speaker 1: about on the offensive side? This is one where you
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  Speaker 1: got to be able to score to keep up with
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  Speaker 1: that Atlanta offense. Uh, how do you feel the saints
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  Speaker 1: match up against the Falcons defense?
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  Speaker 2: I think that that's the, that's the one that should
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  Speaker 2: make you feel good about this matchup. Um, the saints
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  Speaker 2: should be able to score points. I mean, I think
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  Speaker 2: Atlanta is missing their top corner and their top two
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  Speaker 2: edge rushers. Those are pretty important positions. The defensive tackle,
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  Speaker 2: Gervon Dexter, that they traded for early in the season
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  Speaker 2: with the Bears, and we knew the Saints had made
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  Speaker 2: some inquiries there. That would take a really good move
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  Speaker 2: for them. He's been good. Going back to your earlier
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  Speaker 2: question about what was lost when the Saints lost that
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  Speaker 2: Raiders game, I have not lost my... like belief that
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  Speaker 2: this team can score points and that the offense is real.
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  Speaker 2: I mean, even when they were turning the ball over
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  Speaker 2: and sort of imploding against the Raiders, they were still
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  Speaker 2: moving the ball out of those possessions. You know, a
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  Speaker 2: couple of those turnovers took place after they had almost
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  Speaker 2: gotten into the red zone or gotten into the red zone.
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  Speaker 2: And then they, you know, lick their wounds and they
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  Speaker 2: go back and they march right down again. So this
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  Speaker 2: team has never really stopped moving the ball. I still
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  Speaker 2: believe in their ability to score points, whether they need
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  Speaker 2: 21 in the fourth quarter or they don't. So that's
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  Speaker 2: the matchup I feel best about is that the Saints
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  Speaker 2: will be able to move the ball against this Falcons team,
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  Speaker 2: especially through the air.
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  Speaker 1: Last thing, Mike, let me ask you about an intangible.
• 11:01
  Speaker 1: It'll obviously be the 20-year anniversary of the Dome, recognize
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  Speaker 1: the 20-year anniversary of the Dome coming. For all of
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  Speaker 1: us who were there that night, we'll never forget it.
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  Speaker 1: I don't know how the 20-year anniversary becomes close to
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  Speaker 1: replicating that night, but it's not nothing. What do you think?
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  Speaker 2: I don't think the players will feel the emotion themselves,
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  Speaker 2: that it's special for that reason. But I think the
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  Speaker 2: Dome will feel special, and you can't help but recognize that.
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  Speaker 2: I think there'll be a ton of emotion and energy
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  Speaker 2: and volume in the Dome. I don't think there'll be
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  Speaker 2: a lot of Falcons fans. I think it'll be a
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  Speaker 2: Saints-heavy crowd. and a loud one and right from the
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  Speaker 2: jump and throughout the first quarter and any big momentum plays,
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  Speaker 2: I think for a lot of these current Saints players,
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  Speaker 2: it'll probably be the best atmosphere they've played in at home,
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  Speaker 2: whether it's been one or two or three or four
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  Speaker 2: years or probably since pre-COVID, to be honest. And so
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  Speaker 2: I think that can only help with the home field
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  Speaker 2: advantage and the emotion of it from that standpoint.
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  Speaker 1: Well said. He is Mike Triplett. NewOrleans.football, NewOrleans.football. Get subscribed
• 12:12
  Speaker 1: over there, NewOrleans.football, and follow Mike at Mike Triplett. We
• 12:15
  Speaker 1: always appreciate it, man. Thank you.
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  Speaker 2: Thanks for having me.