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Buffalo Bills Presser Reactions: Jim Leonhard Fixes Defense, Max Hairston Apology & Joe Brady | The Morning Charge · The Morning Charge

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  Speaker 1: Good morning, Mafia. It's Tuesday, October 6th. This is the
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  Speaker 1: Morning Charge, your daily 10-minute or less Buffalo Bills news hit.
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  Speaker 1: I'm Aaron Quinn, here with Colin Ritchie, bringing you everything
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  Speaker 1: you need to know before you start your day. Let's
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  Speaker 1: get right into it.
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  Speaker 2: Head coach Joe Brady spoke with the media today, so
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  Speaker 2: let's break down some of the biggest takeaways from his
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  Speaker 2: press conference. The most important comment from Brady was that
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  Speaker 2: he has no injury update on the numerous players dealing
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  Speaker 2: with different injuries currently. Dalton Kincaid was only targeted two
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  Speaker 2: times on Sunday, catching just one pass for seven yards.
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  Speaker 2: Brady said he needs to do a better job of
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  Speaker 2: getting the tight end involved. He said the game itself
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  Speaker 2: was a little unique, especially when DJ Moore got injured,
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  Speaker 2: and that there's a lot of moving parts. But the
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  Speaker 2: ball needs to find Kincaid a little more, and in
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  Speaker 2: order for him to do that, Kincaid has to run
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  Speaker 2: more routes. Brady said he needs to do a better
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  Speaker 2: job of getting that to him. And anytime Dalton comes
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  Speaker 2: away with two targets and one of them being in
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  Speaker 2: the last drive of the game, obviously he didn't do
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  Speaker 2: a good enough job as a coach. On Josh's game-losing interception,
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  Speaker 2: Brady said he supports Allen looking for a deep shot,
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  Speaker 2: but only if the read is there. He said, we
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  Speaker 2: had an opportunity with four minutes to go. I'm never
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  Speaker 2: going to tell Josh not to pull the trigger and
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  Speaker 2: take that. It's a big play. I want our guys
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  Speaker 2: to be out on the field in those situations. We're
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  Speaker 2: trying to win football games, not just stay in the game. Yesterday,
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  Speaker 2: I gave you some numbers on how bad Buffalo has
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  Speaker 2: been with two-point conversions, especially recently. Brady was asked about
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  Speaker 2: that exact problem. He said, obviously, it's not good enough.
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  Speaker 2: We haven't been good in the last two years for sure,
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  Speaker 2: going back to that Baltimore game last year, referencing week one.
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  Speaker 2: The percentages aren't necessarily high on two-point plays to begin with,
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  Speaker 2: he said, but we're not where we need to be.
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  Speaker 2: We've studied it. We've looked at it. And some of
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  Speaker 2: that is obviously play calls. It sounds crazy, but a
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  Speaker 2: two point play, there's a lot that goes on. It's
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  Speaker 2: something that we've got to execute at a higher level.
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  Speaker 2: The Bills lost DJ Moore for a majority of the
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  Speaker 2: game for the second time this season. While it's a
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  Speaker 2: major loss for the offense, it has opened up opportunities
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  Speaker 2: for other guys to step up. Brady said some of
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  Speaker 2: those balls that Keon caught or some of the balls
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  Speaker 2: that Josh Palmer caught in the Detroit game or in
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  Speaker 2: the New England game might have been balls, not all
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  Speaker 2: of them, but some of them that would have gone
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  Speaker 2: to DJ Moore. And instead, those guys stepped up and
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  Speaker 2: ran the route and made the play. On the defensive
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  Speaker 2: side of the ball, linebacker Terrell Bernard hasn't been playing
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  Speaker 2: up to the standard that Bills fans are used to
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  Speaker 2: seeing him play. But Brady disagrees with the seemingly consensus
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  Speaker 2: on social media that Bernard should be benched. He said,
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  Speaker 2: I think TB is playing really good football. I think
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  Speaker 2: he's adjusting to the position and I think he's flying around.
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  Speaker 2: He's always battling something, but that's the linebacker position. He's
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  Speaker 2: a leader of our defense, doing a great job commanding
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  Speaker 2: it and getting comfortable setting it. And he mentioned the
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  Speaker 2: rotation right now of the three linebackers with Bernard, Dorian Williams,
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  Speaker 2: and rookie Caleb Elamzor, and said the rotation is not
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  Speaker 2: an indictment of TB, more so just wanting to be
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  Speaker 2: able to have those guys fresh for as many games
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  Speaker 2: as they can have them. When asked about benching a player,
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  Speaker 2: whether that could be about Bernard or about potentially Maxwell
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  Speaker 2: Hairston and his struggles on Sunday, he explained what he'd
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  Speaker 2: look for to have to make that difficult decision. He
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  Speaker 2: said he thinks that guys sometimes speak to you without
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  Speaker 2: speaking to you, And he also mentioned that this is
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  Speaker 2: all hypothetical because he's not in that position with any
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  Speaker 2: player right now. But he said a lot of times
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  Speaker 2: they see how guys practice and see how they prepare
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  Speaker 2: and how they go through things. And there comes a
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  Speaker 2: time and a position where it's like, hey, enough is
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  Speaker 2: enough and you have to make that tough call. Let's
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  Speaker 2: dive into what defensive coordinator Jim Leonard had to say yesterday.
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  Speaker 2: Because if you're looking for answers after giving up 29
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  Speaker 2: points and multiple long drives, Leonard didn't hide behind any excuses.
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  Speaker 2: Right from the start, he talked about the inconsistency of
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  Speaker 2: the defense, noting that they were doing a lot of
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  Speaker 2: things good enough to win games and putting the offense
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  Speaker 2: in tough situations, but not capitalizing on them. Speaking further
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  Speaker 2: on some of the inconsistencies and matching rushing coverage together,
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  Speaker 2: he pointed out that when the rush gets quick wins,
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  Speaker 2: the coverage gives up the play. And when coverage holed up,
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  Speaker 2: Drake May broke out of the pocket for big scrambles
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  Speaker 2: and chunk gains. Leonard took the blame first, admitting that
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  Speaker 2: he got overly aggressive trying to force May into quick
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  Speaker 2: throws and at times that backfired. Leonard also discussed that
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  Speaker 2: while the team was fairly good on third downs, second
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  Speaker 2: down was a big issue for them on Sunday. They
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  Speaker 2: repeatedly bled yardage on those downs, putting them in tougher
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  Speaker 2: spots that allowed drives to sustain. That led right into
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  Speaker 2: Max Harrison's afternoon. Leonard acknowledged that Harrison is playing way
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  Speaker 2: too emotionally and pressing to make plays happen. When asked
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  Speaker 2: directly if Harrison's effort level was acceptable on the late
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  Speaker 2: Hunter Henry completion that sealed the game, Leonard didn't sugarcoat it.
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  Speaker 2: He said, no, that's clear, and Max would tell you
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  Speaker 2: the same thing. He defended Harrison's pride and work ethic,
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  Speaker 2: and said the staff's goal this week is to take
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  Speaker 2: pressure off Harrison so he can settle in early in
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  Speaker 2: the game. Leonard also addressed the outside criticism surrounding Terrell
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  Speaker 2: Bernard and Cole Bishop. On Bernard, Leonard defended the middle linebacker,
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  Speaker 2: calling him an elite communicator who calms the defense down
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  Speaker 2: far more than fans realize. He noted that because he
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  Speaker 2: plays middle linebacker, he's in the broadcast frame on every
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  Speaker 2: single play, which naturally magnifies his mistakes. For Cole Bishop,
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  Speaker 2: Leonard said the young safety is trying to be too
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  Speaker 2: dynamic and playing catch-up. He noted that playing closer to
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  Speaker 2: the line of scrimmage does require tighter eye discipline, but
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  Speaker 2: that Bishop needs to slow down. When asked about the
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  Speaker 2: comments about crowd noise impacting the defense's ability to get
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  Speaker 2: calls in, Leonard had the quote of the day by responding, quote, Yeah,
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  Speaker 2: it's always harder to communicate at home than it is
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  Speaker 2: on the road. If we complain about that, then we
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  Speaker 2: are assholes. Stating that the team needs to make this
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  Speaker 2: an advantage. Leonard finished up the presser by showcasing more
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  Speaker 2: positives and praise for players like Damar Hamlin coming in
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  Speaker 2: to play nickel cornerback in a pinch without any practice reps.
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  Speaker 2: He also talked about Davidson Igminosin's physicality and competitive edge,
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  Speaker 2: and that he needs to refine some techniques, but he
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  Speaker 2: loves the way that he competes.
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  Speaker 1: He also highlighted TJ Parker's role expanding, pointing to the
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  Speaker 1: strip sack and good run defense. When asked about Jalen
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  Speaker 1: Kilgore's development and ability to play nickel if he needs to,
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  Speaker 1: Leonard mentioned that he missed so much time this summer
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  Speaker 1: and it really pushed him back, but that he's getting
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  Speaker 1: closer to ready, and he's the exact kind of player
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  Speaker 1: that this defense needs at this time.
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  Speaker 2: Offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael also spoke to the media. He
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  Speaker 2: was asked about two-point conversions as well, and what goes
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  Speaker 2: through the thought process of calling a play like that.
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  Speaker 2: He said you study what you expect to get from
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  Speaker 2: the defense, and what in previous two-point conversions they've presented defensively,
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  Speaker 2: and you hope to put together a play that you
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  Speaker 2: feel is going to be successful against that. There's also
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  Speaker 2: times when, as a coaching staff, you're studying two-point plays
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  Speaker 2: that are being run around the league and seeing if
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  Speaker 2: they fit your personnel, but obviously the team has to
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  Speaker 2: do a better job. The offensive coordinator echoed Brady's sentiment
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  Speaker 2: about the DJ Moore injury being a big loss, but
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  Speaker 2: again gave credit to those who stepped up in his absence.
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  Speaker 2: He said, when a key player goes out, it's tough,
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  Speaker 2: but it's not an excuse. We've got to, as a
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  Speaker 2: coaching staff, find answers and be better there. but obviously
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  Speaker 2: he's a big part of what we're doing in reference
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  Speaker 2: to Moore. He also said, I think guys that stepped
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  Speaker 2: up into that role, like Keon, have done some good
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  Speaker 2: things for us. Aside from Allen's interception to seal the loss,
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  Speaker 2: his backwards pass out of the end zone to avoid
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  Speaker 2: a safety was another reckless decision from the quarterback on Sunday.
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  Speaker 2: Carmichael said that Allen will be the first to tell
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  Speaker 2: you that it's something that can't happen.
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  Speaker 1: Maxwell Harrison had a surprise press conference yesterday. mostly to
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  Speaker 1: apologize to the media for the way he stormed off
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  Speaker 1: after the game without comment, saying, I want to start
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  Speaker 1: this off by apologizing for walking out yesterday. I was
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  Speaker 1: feeling very emotional, and I let my emotions get the
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  Speaker 1: best of me, and I didn't want to say something
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  Speaker 1: I might have regretted. So you live and you learn.
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  Speaker 1: Reporters brought up that they asked Jim Leonard about his
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  Speaker 1: effort on the final play, and Harrison said, As my DC,
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  Speaker 1: we have a standard that we set. It's on me
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  Speaker 1: to hold myself accountable, but it's on him to let
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  Speaker 1: me know when I'm not playing to that standard. It's
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  Speaker 1: my job to correct so that it never shows up
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  Speaker 1: on tape again. Looking ahead at next week's matchup against
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  Speaker 1: the Rams, Harrison was asked how he feels knowing Los
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  Speaker 1: Angeles almost will certainly target him based on Sunday's film.
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  Speaker 1: Harrison's face lit up and he responded, I love it.
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  Speaker 1: As a corner at my position, you have the confidence
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  Speaker 1: that you want the ball to come at you. I
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  Speaker 1: know it's coming. He finished by saying, I'm still going
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  Speaker 1: to be the same Max, good or bad, and I
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  Speaker 1: know what I have to work on to do better.
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  Speaker 1: and I'm going to attack it this week, and I'll
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  Speaker 1: allow it to show in my game.
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  Speaker 2: Stat of the day. Heading into Monday Night Football, among
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  Speaker 2: players with at least 16 targets this season, Keon Coleman
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  Speaker 2: currently leads all wide receivers in EPA per target with
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  Speaker 2: a plus 1.18. For total EPA among wide receivers heading
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  Speaker 2: into Monday Night Football, Coleman ranks 9th, and that's ahead
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  Speaker 2: of guys like Jamar Chase, Justin Jefferson, and Garrett Wilson.
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  Speaker 1: That's going to do it for us today on The
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  Speaker 1: Morning Charge. Do us a quick favor and hit that
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  Speaker 1: Colin Ritchie, I'm Aaron Quinn. Go Bills!