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Jeff Legwold joins Kreckman and Lindahl 5-2-25 · Jeff Legwold ESPN Broncos Reports

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  Speaker 1: Jeff Lakewall time here on a Friday afternoon, like I
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  Speaker 1: want to, I want to test your aptitude here on
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  Speaker 1: this one. I think I'm counting on you to give
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  Speaker 1: me a good answer here. I was thinking about this earlier.
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  Speaker 1: What is the football equivalent of a Game seven? And
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  Speaker 1: you could just say, well, every playoff game is one
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  Speaker 1: and done. But like the difference with Game sevens as
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  Speaker 1: we will have tomorrow night and with both the Nuggets
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  Speaker 1: and the Avalanche, is the incredible amount of familiarity that
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  Speaker 1: the two opponents have with one another, which isn't always
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  Speaker 1: necessarily the case in football. The closest comp I could
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  Speaker 1: come up to it is when teams play a playoff
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  Speaker 1: game against a division opponent, like twenty thirteen the Broncos
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  Speaker 1: open to their their run to the Super Bowl against
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  Speaker 1: the Chargers, when teams have that familiarity with each other
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  Speaker 1: and it is just it's one and done and you
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  Speaker 1: have to win the game. And this could go across
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  Speaker 1: sports to you, Leggy, what are the factors that ultimately
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  Speaker 1: decide games like that?
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  Speaker 2: But I think the comp and football nete is is
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  Speaker 2: the conference championship with division opponents. Okay, I covered a
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  Speaker 2: Titans Jaguars AFC Championship game. It was the third time
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  Speaker 2: they had played that year, and it was the only
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  Speaker 2: three games Jacksonville lost, and that entire season was to
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  Speaker 2: the Titans, and the Titans went to the Super Bowl.
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  Speaker 3: That's the Kevin Dyson Super Bowl that year.
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  Speaker 2: But to me, that's sort of the Game seven situation
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  Speaker 2: of football in terms of familiarity.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, you know, then it's just a matchup game. You
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  Speaker 3: know that.
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  Speaker 2: The coaching part of it is is sort of freeing
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  Speaker 2: up your stars in a way that you know gets
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  Speaker 2: them access to being good even though the other guys
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  Speaker 2: have seen you a bunch of times.
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  Speaker 3: I think that's the challenge of coaching.
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  Speaker 2: Is to to continue to free up your best guys
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  Speaker 2: instead of the old Hey, we're gonna trick.
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  Speaker 3: Them and we'll use all these other guys, you know.
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  Speaker 2: I think the successful teams, I think find a way
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  Speaker 2: to get their best people involved the most in the
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  Speaker 2: games where it may be the most difficult to scheme
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  Speaker 2: that way.
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  Speaker 3: And your stars have to be stars. That's just the
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  Speaker 3: bottom line.
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  Speaker 2: That's those situations are made for them, and no one
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  Speaker 2: else should have the ball and the game matters. It
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  Speaker 2: shouldn't be the we drew it up for somebody else
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  Speaker 2: type stuff, and everybody in the lineup should know it.
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  Speaker 3: But it's it's their time, Jeff.
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  Speaker 4: Now that the draft is done and most of free
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  Speaker 4: agency has been handled, where are the Broncos maybe a
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  Speaker 4: little thin? Where would you if you were playing George
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  Speaker 4: Peyton or Sean Payton? Where would you at a little
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  Speaker 4: depth for them? Or where would you maybe add a
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  Speaker 4: player or two.
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  Speaker 2: You know that your issue, Andy is, even if you
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  Speaker 2: want to, are you going to get the impact you need?
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  Speaker 2: You know if you're if you're short in an area,
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  Speaker 2: are you gonna be able to fix that with who's
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  Speaker 2: available right now? I think your next best chance is
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  Speaker 2: when the rosters go to fifty three and maybe you
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  Speaker 2: get lucky at the end of camp and and someone
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  Speaker 2: gets released that that can help you. I think they're
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  Speaker 2: light at tight end. You know, Evan Ingram was a
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  Speaker 2: good signing. I think he fits their offense. I think
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  Speaker 2: the price was right. I think all of it fits.
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  Speaker 2: He will be good for bow Nicks, but he's not
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  Speaker 2: much of a run after the catch tight end at
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  Speaker 2: this stage and hasn't been for even in the year
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  Speaker 2: he caught one hundred. You know, one hundred plus balls,
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  Speaker 2: so you know that's not his m O. And I
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  Speaker 2: think they still lack a little impact at tight end.
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  Speaker 2: And and if Ingram gets hurt and he missed nine
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  Speaker 2: games last year, if he gets hurt, they're back to
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  Speaker 2: the same crew and depth chart they had last year,
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  Speaker 2: and they were not a very productive group, you know,
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  Speaker 2: compared comparatively in the league last year. I think, you know,
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  Speaker 2: go down the list of receptions and I think their
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  Speaker 2: first tight end is number two hundred and five, you know,
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  Speaker 2: and that that's a tough way to go against Nickel
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  Speaker 2: Defense's weekend week out.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah.
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  Speaker 1: I think if you combined every one of their tight
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  Speaker 1: ends last year, they would have been seventeenth in the
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  Speaker 1: NFL and receptions as one entity in the league, which
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  Speaker 1: is not good. By the way, it is a Nuggets
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  Speaker 1: playoff ticket Friday. You can win a pair of tickets
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  Speaker 1: to tomorrow night's Game seven against the Clippers. Text Dozer,
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  Speaker 1: as in PJ. Doser along with your first and last
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  Speaker 1: name to three oh three, five oh four, nine to
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  Speaker 1: two five, and you are entered Ley. We had Justin
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  Speaker 1: Stepp on the show yesterday. Wide receivers co at Illinois
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  Speaker 1: who both coached Pat Bryant at Illinois and coached Cortland
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  Speaker 1: Sutton at SMU. It was a very fun conversation We
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  Speaker 1: asked him about, you know, Sean Payton making the Michael
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  Speaker 1: Thomas comp with Pat Bryant, which you know, Sean Payton
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  Speaker 1: is never nervous about putting any pressure on any of
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  Speaker 1: his guys post draft. Once you get a chance to
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  Speaker 1: sort of delve in and think about fit for a
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  Speaker 1: player versus just the broad kind of scouting report that
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  Speaker 1: you generally do. What do you think of where Pat
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  Speaker 1: Bryant fits in the pecking order of these Broncos receivers.
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  Speaker 3: You know, I think in.
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  Speaker 2: Certain situations, Nate, he could be like the three, you know,
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  Speaker 2: and in some of the situations, anything where you can
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  Speaker 2: get him the ball on the flash, the sort of
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  Speaker 2: the flash routes. Because he wins the release against everybody.
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  Speaker 3: I've said.
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  Speaker 2: I was at the Senior Ball for most of the week,
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  Speaker 2: and he won the release against every corner he faced
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  Speaker 2: and drills eleven on eleven and those were some of
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  Speaker 2: the best corners in the draft, and he won the release.
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  Speaker 2: It's just that when the play continues, those elite guys
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  Speaker 2: were running him down, yeah, and closing the window. Now,
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  Speaker 2: he still wins a lot of those catches because he's physical.
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  Speaker 2: But in the NFL that I think they're gonna have
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  Speaker 2: to find a way to get him the ball right
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  Speaker 2: when he wins the release and then and then let
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  Speaker 2: him let him work with it. And then if you
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  Speaker 2: get him down the field, I think it'll be a
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  Speaker 2: lot of you know, sort of flopovers or crossovers where
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  Speaker 2: he he and another you know, where they try and
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  Speaker 2: take some some man coverage and some zone coverage and
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  Speaker 2: create some some bus uh. But I think if they
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  Speaker 2: can get him the ball a lot, you know, and
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  Speaker 2: they run a lot of digs and a lot of
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  Speaker 2: over routes and a lot of crossers, uh, they get
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  Speaker 2: him the ball on that kind of stuff, I think
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  Speaker 2: he can be a productive part of the offense. And
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  Speaker 2: I could see a you know, Sutton mimes and then
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  Speaker 2: Bryan or Veley, you know, sort of combos working because
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  Speaker 2: he and Veley are sort of the same type of
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  Speaker 2: player running the same types of those routes. And he'll
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  Speaker 2: win the ball downfield because he's physical, but it will
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  Speaker 2: be more difficult to do it as often as he
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  Speaker 2: did in college.
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  Speaker 4: Jeff interesting headline here, and I am stealing it from
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  Speaker 4: Pro Football Talk. With twelve first rounders of twenty twenty
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  Speaker 4: two getting their for their fifth year option declined. You
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  Speaker 4: have already said that this draft class wasn't necessarily real
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  Speaker 4: real deep? Could we see that number repeated? What goes
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  Speaker 4: into saying eh, I mean, other than being a flat
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  Speaker 4: out bus because I do think there's some interesting names
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  Speaker 4: on there. What goes into telling a guy I don't
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  Speaker 4: really want to get that fifth year option to you.
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  Speaker 2: Sometimes it's just like the Broncos did with Garrett Bowles.
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  Speaker 2: It's like one more year, wait and see. Now Garrett
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  Speaker 2: got paid. You know, Garrett eventually got paid like you
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  Speaker 2: would have if they had engaged the fifth year option.
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  Speaker 2: But a lot of teams are taking that tack now
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  Speaker 2: of you know, unless you really are consistent, top level starter,
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  Speaker 2: maybe a Pro Bowl one or two on your resume. Uh,
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  Speaker 2: then they'll take their chances that the market won't be
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  Speaker 2: so out of whack that they won't be able to
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  Speaker 2: keep the player if they want to. A big part
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  Speaker 2: of it is doing it in such a way where
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  Speaker 2: the player isn't offended by all this. But I think
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  Speaker 2: it's more common now, and I think players are sort
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  Speaker 2: of understanding that that just because you didn't they didn't
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  Speaker 2: engage your fifth year option doesn't mean you won't sign
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  Speaker 2: long term.
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  Speaker 3: It just means you're going to have to wait a
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  Speaker 3: little longer.
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  Speaker 2: And I think GM, I think the actually I think
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  Speaker 2: this where the analytics kicks in Andy that you know,
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  Speaker 2: people are crunching the numbers and value and salary cap two, three,
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  Speaker 2: four years from now, all of those things are a
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  Speaker 2: lot bigger factors in planning than they were when the
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  Speaker 2: fifth year option became a became a thing.
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  Speaker 1: Leggy last thing bo Nicks was was out at Ballerina
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  Speaker 1: last night for Game six between the Avalanche and the
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  Speaker 1: Dallas Stars. We know he was supposed to have some
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  Speaker 1: sort of clean up procedure on his back. But just
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  Speaker 1: as you have had your ear to the ground doing
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  Speaker 1: the reporting that you do, how is bo Nix's off
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  Speaker 1: season going, How is his health? And what is what
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  Speaker 1: is he working on right now? Has he organized the
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  Speaker 1: throwing camp and everything? What's going on with bow Knicks
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  Speaker 1: these days?
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  Speaker 2: Well, you know, you guys know me, I'm gonna have
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  Speaker 2: to see him on the field myself with my own
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  Speaker 2: eyes but everyone tells me, you know, sunshine and rainbows,
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  Speaker 2: everything spectacular, and you know, puppies are great, and and
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  Speaker 2: you know we all love candy. So I mean, it's just,
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  Speaker 2: you know, it's nothing but good news when I ask
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  Speaker 2: people about him. But you know, I've been doing this
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  Speaker 2: long enough to know I just I gotta see it
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  Speaker 2: with my own eyes.
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  Speaker 3: And I don't expect anything to be wrong.
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  Speaker 2: I don't think there is anything wrong, but it's it's
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  Speaker 2: just how I operate.
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  Speaker 4: All right, Before we let you go, I do want
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  Speaker 4: to know Nate and I talked about and I and
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  Speaker 4: I love I love the game, I love the win.
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  Speaker 4: That was a weird hockey game last night. Weird hockey
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  Speaker 4: game last night, two goals at like I mean, look,
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  Speaker 4: as fans, the reality is they can't complain anymore after
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  Speaker 4: the two weird ones to start, because they got two
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  Speaker 4: weird ones last night too. What's the weirdest game that
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  Speaker 4: you've seen hockey wise?
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  Speaker 3: Is that up there?
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  Speaker 4: Because Jeff, I've never seen a guy's shoulder of the
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  Speaker 4: buck into his own net where it's got to like
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  Speaker 4: curve over the glove of his goalie.
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  Speaker 1: And it's a game winning playoff goal.
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  Speaker 4: It just cost you Game six.
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  Speaker 2: I think the weirdest one and just weird because of
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  Speaker 2: this immediate swirl. It went from sort of a regular
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  Speaker 2: pipe press sure game. But I covered the Stanley Cup
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  Speaker 2: finals of the year. Brett Hall had the skate and the crease,
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  Speaker 2: so that was the big argument, and that was sort
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  Speaker 2: of the funky goal, uh, you know, late in in
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  Speaker 2: an important game. The other the other weird one, just
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  Speaker 2: because nobody could score. I covered the the Sabers Penguins
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  Speaker 2: playoff game that never ended in Buffalo. It just kept
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  Speaker 2: going and going. It it was I think it's like
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  Speaker 2: the I think it's still like the fourth longest game ever.
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  Speaker 2: I just remember driving home at like four in the morning,
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  Speaker 2: but no one could score. I think Hassek had like
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  Speaker 2: four hundred and twenty seven say it.
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  Speaker 4: Flopping the time.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, some of them were like this's got bread holele.
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  Speaker 2: Shots were off the you know, knees, thighs. I mean,
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  Speaker 2: people were just trying to like throw it into the
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  Speaker 2: net by the end of the night because they were
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  Speaker 2: all just so gassed.
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  Speaker 3: But that that's probably one of the weirder ones.
• 12:01
  Speaker 1: I've better around Jeff Legwald everybody. He'll be covering rookie
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  Speaker 1: Mini Camp next weekend, everybody. Uh, But for this weekend,
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  Speaker 1: hey Leg is just taking in a couple of Game
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  Speaker 1: sevens like the rest of us. Jeff, good work as always, Man.
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  Speaker 1: We appreciate it.
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  Speaker 3: Thanks Bos, We'll see it.