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What if I told you that the most important throws
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of the NFL preseason, the ones that literally decide who
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makes a multimillion dollar roster, aren't even happening on your
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television screen.
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Oh yeah, I mean it completely upends how we usually
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consume the sport, right, right, because as fans, we're just
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so conditioned to look at the scoreboard, you know, to
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look at the primetime lights, and we just assume that's
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where the final decisions are being made.
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Exactly. Usually, when you watch a professional football game, there
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is this expectation of well, absolute clarity. It's binary. You
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see a touchdown, you cheer, Yeah.
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You've seen an interception, you've grown right.
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But when you step backstage into an NFL training camp
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in August, that pre teen picture gets incredibly murky. And
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that is exactly what we're exploring today. Absolutely, welcome to
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this deep dive. We've got a stack of August twenty
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twenty six reports straight from the Los Angeles RAMS organization,
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and our mission today is to unpack the high space
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chess match of building an NFL roster.
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It's a complicated puzzle.
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For sure, it really is. We're looking past the box scores.
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We're diving into how coaches evaluate talent when the cameras
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are off, you know, how they manage the physical attrition
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of training camp, and how they're prepping for a truly
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unprecedented international season opener.
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And I mean the context right now is just fascinating.
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The Rams are back in Inglewood, California. They just beat
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the Kansas City Chiefs twenty to twelve in preseason Week one,
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right and now they are gearing up to host the
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New Orleans Saints this Saturday. But beneath that surface level schedule,
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there are just layers of evaluation happening that most people
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never see.
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Okay, let's unpack this. Let's start with the most visible
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drama from that Chiefs game, because I think it perfectly
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highlights this whole.
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Illusion, the backup quarterback battle.
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The backup quarterback battle. You have Stetson Ben at the
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fourth versus Ty Simpson. And you know, if you're just
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a casual fan looking at the post game summary, you
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think this competition is already over.
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Oh completely, But I.
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Know the numbers don't tell the whole story here. Yeah,
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what exactly did the stat sheet look like?
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Well, the box score paint's a very lopsided picture sets,
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and Bennett started the game, played the first two drives,
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and he completed four of six passes for just thirty
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eight yards. Okay, then Ty Simpson takes over and he
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plays the vast majority of the game, completing twenty one
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of twenty five passes for one hundred and ninety yards
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and two touchdowns.
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Wow. I mean looking at those stats is like judging
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a movie purely by its opening weekend box office without
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looking at the marketing budget.
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You know, that's a great way to put it.
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You might just crown since in the runaway winner based
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on twenty one completions. But is that how a head
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coach sees it.
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What's fascinating here is how Sean McVay actually responded in
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the postgame press conference. He explicitly urged everyone to consider
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the circumstances, right, the circumstances, Yeah, the parameters that Bennett
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was placed in early in the game. He was very
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deliberate and saying he was pleased with what both players
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did with their specific opportunities.
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But wait, if the Saturday games are just an illusion,
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why do we even care about sim going twenty one
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for twenty five. Well, it's not that we don't care right,
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Surely the pressure of a stadium full of fans, and
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you know, live tackling has to count for something in mcvay's.
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Eyes, right, And it definitely counts for something. But you
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really have to look at the mechanism of an NFL
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preseason game. How So, in the first quarter, when Bennett
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is in, he is likely facing the opponent's starting defense,
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or you know, at least complex defensive schemes with veteran players.
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Oh that makes sense.
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Yeah, it's loud, it's fast, and those passing windows are
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incredibly tight. But by the time the third quarter rolls
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around for Simpson.
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The defense has completely changed exactly.
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They've subbed in guys who frankly might not even be
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in the league in three weeks. And more importantly, defensive
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coordinators stop calling complex blitzes.
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They just play vanilla coverages, right.
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Basic predictable zone coverages, because they don't want to put
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their real defensive secrets on tape before the regular season
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even starts.
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So, yes, Simpson executed well, but he was executing against
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a fundamentally different, much easier puzzle.
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Precisely, carving up a basic cover two defense played by
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third stringers doesn't prove you can step in for Matthew
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Stafford against the forty nine ers in Week one.
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Which explains why McVeigh said the final decision on this
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quarterback battle isn't even going to be based on the
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game tape from Saturday exactly.
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McVeigh explicitly stated that the decision heavily depends on the
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closed door joint practices happening this Tuesday and Thursday against
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the New Orleans.
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Saints, because in a joint practice, McVeigh and Saints head
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coach Kellen Moore can completely orchestrate the stress.
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Test right, oh, one hundred percent. A live game is chaotic.
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If you want to see how Ty Simpson handles a
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third and long against a heavy blitz, well, you might
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not get that exact scenario in a preseason game. The
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other team might just run the ball right, you can't
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control it. But in a joint practice, McVeigh can just say, Okay,
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put the ball in the thirty yard lines third, nay,
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dial up your best zero blitz. They get great situational
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work without the randomness.
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So to understand how the Rams are evaluating their guys
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this week, we have to look at the team they
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are using as their measuring stick the Saints. Right the
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Saints are coming to town after a twenty four to
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twenty loss to the Jaguars, and they are bringing a
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very specific set of challenges.
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They absolutely are. When you look at the Saints' roster
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right now, I mean they have players who are highly
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motivated to put good play on tape, like who well
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take their quarterback situation. Zach Wilson was eleven of sixteen
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for one hundred and forty five yards and a touchdown
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to tight end Oscar Delp against the Jags.
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See, that is exactly what I mean. Zach Wilson is
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a guy with actual NFL starting experience who is fighting
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for his professional life right now. Oh yeah, that makes
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him incredibly dangerous in August. He is willing to take
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risks and test tight windows. Definitely, if you are a
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young Rams cornerback trying to make the team covering a
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receiver while a desperate former first round pick is slinging
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the ball, that is a fantastic stress test. It's real
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NFL speed.
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And you have other guys applying pressure too. You've got
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running back Audric Estimate, who led their backfield with twenty
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eight yards and a score on five carries, and wide
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receiver bub means who put up seventy seven receiving yards
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on just four catches.
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Wow, that's a solid average.
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Yeah. Plus, defensively, the Rams bubble receivers have to deal
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with Saints cornerback Daily's Beamam. He just racked up a
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team high eleven tackles.
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And we really can't ignore special teams because that is
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the literal lifeblood of the preseason.
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Oh, for sure, jobs are one and lost on punk coverage.
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We focus so much on the star receivers, but the
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special teams battles are fierce. And speaking of which, I
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saw the punter Ryan Wright average forty two point six yards.
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Right, and the Saints are actually in the middle of
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a massive kicking competition too. Oh really Yeah, Tanner Brown
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went two for two on field goals while Charlie Smith
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missed a fifty two yarder oof, And.
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That one missed fifty two yarder in August can just
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haunt a guy. The margins are just that thin, they
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really are. But you know, while those fringe roster battles
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are happening, the Rams starting defensive line is going to
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have their hands full. With a massive addition, the Saints
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made in the offseason.
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Right running back Travis Etien Junior exactly. That was a
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huge move. They signed him to a four year deal.
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I mean, he rushed for over one thousand yards in
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three of his first four seasons down in Jacksonville.
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He is a premier, established weapon, and figuring out how
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to contain his speed on the edge is going to
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be priority number one for the Rams defensive front during
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these joint practices. Absolutely. But here's where it gets really interesting.
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The Rams lose a crucial measuring stick because of an
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injury on the Saints roster. This is the part that
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really surprised me.
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Yeah, this is a tough one.
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We talked about etten, But the Saints' other huge addition
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was wide receiver Jordan Tyson, drafted eighth overall, right.
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And the reports out of New Orleans were that Tyson
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was having a phenomenal camp, but he.
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Just sustained a hamstring injury and now he is sidelined
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for two months.
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Yeah, it's brutal.
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Wow, I just never thought about it like that. You
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really only care when your own guys get hurt. But
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for Sean McVay and as defensive coordinators, they were probably
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sitting there entirely frustrated that Saints rookie got hurt. Oh,
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without a doubt, because now they have no one with
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that elite top ten draft pick speed to test their
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own cornerbacks against.
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If we connect this to the bigger picture, it perfectly
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illustrates how interconnected the NFL ecosystem is. In August, the
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Rams defense loses a critical data point. You know, you
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prepare your secondary for this ultimate speed test in Thursday's practice,
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and suddenly the test gets canceled. Right your evaluation shifts.
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You don't get to see if your rookie corner can
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actually hang with a guy like Tyson in press coverage.
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So the Rams lose out on that evaluation, But they
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can't dwell on it for long because their own medical
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tent is completely overflowing right now.
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Oh it's packed.
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Managing preseason injuries is this terrifying balancing act. You desperately
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need to get players vital game reps so they are
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ready for Week one, but you also cannot afford to
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lose them for the season.
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The attrition factor in August is just brutal. The Rams
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have a very crowded injury report right now. For example,
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you have tight end David Sallin dealing with a quad issue.
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Although the updates there seems somewhat positive, right.
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Yeah, they do. He's progressing, doing some running and is
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expected back at practice quote within the next week.
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And the silver lining is that the younger tight ends
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are getting all of his reps in the meantime, which
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you know accelerates their development exactly. But then you have
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injuries that just make you shake your head, like offensive
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lineman Justin de Ditch.
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Yes, he was placed on the Non Football Injury or
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NFI list on July twenty fifth with a hand injury.
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Let's look at the actual details of that, because it
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is wild. He injured his hand in an accident around
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the fourth of July, and Sean McVeigh actually had to
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go out of his way at a press conference to
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clarify to reporters
that it was not fireworks related, which
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is just.
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A crazy thing to have to clarify.
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Imagine being an NFL head coach. You are trying to
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install a complex offense, you are prep being for joint practices,
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and you have to spend time at the podium clarifying
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the exact nature of a rookie's holiday weekend slip up.
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It really brings a human element into the rigid structure
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of roster building, doesn't it.
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It does.
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One off field mistake changes the entire depth chart. But
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the medical management of Di Ditch's situation right now is
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what's really intriguing.
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Awesome.
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Well, McVeigh noted that Di Ditch is at a point
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where he can actually put a cast on his hand
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to participate.
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Hold on, let's look at the actual physics of that.
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Being able to wear a cast and being cleared to
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play NFL football are two totally different.
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Universes, completely different.
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If you are an offensive lineman, your entire job relies
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on inside hand placement. You have to grab the defender's breastplate.
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If you have a club on your hand, you can't
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grab anything exactly.
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You are reduced to just punching. Which is why his
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actual return to team practice depends entirely on the micro
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evaluations from the sports medicine and strength staffs.
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Right.
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McVeigh specifically named Reggie Scott, the you're vice president of
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sports Medicine, and Justin Lovett, the senior director of Strength
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and Conditioning.
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So they have to clear him.
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Yeah, they have to watch to Ditch hit a sled.
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They have to see if he can still anchor against
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a defensive tackle using only one functional hand. It is
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a microscopic level of detail.
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And it's not just Dititch or Davis Allen either. You
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have Pukinakua dealing with soreness in his soas which, if
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you aren't familiar, is that deep core muscle connecting the
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lower spine to the hips.
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Oh, that's a tough one.
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It is an absolute nightmare. If you are a receiver
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trying to drop your weight and cut on a route,
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he's day to day.
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Right.
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You have star defensive end Miles Garrett dealing with a
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knee issue, also day to day, and then offensive lineman
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key In Trost and wide receiver Mario Williams are both
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out a few weeks with hamstring injuries.
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Hamstring injuries are the absolute plague of an NFL training camp.
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They really are.
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They require absolute patients. You just cannot rush a hamstring
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or it will tear completely.
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But patients is a luxury. The Los Angeles Rams do
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not possess.
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Right now, No, they don't.
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Why is McVeigh talking about week one like it's a
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ticking time bomb? When he was discussing Davis Allen's quad injury,
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he explicitly said that, barring a setback, there's no threat
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to Allan missing the San Francisco.
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Game because that game against the forty nine Ers is
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not just a standard Sunday afternoon divisional matchup.
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It most certainly is not. The twenty twenty six season
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opener against the San Francisco forty nine Ers is the
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first ever NFL regular season game in Australia.
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Yeah, that is massive.
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It is taking place on Friday, September eleventh at the
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massive Melbourne.
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Cricket Ground, and that completely alters the physics of this
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entire training camp. This unprecedented logistical hurdle is really forcing
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mcvay's hand on every single roster and medical decision we've
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discussed today.
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So what does this all mean. Let's really paint the
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picture of the pressure cooker this organization is sitting in. Okay.
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They aren't just figuring out if TYS. Simpson's processing speed
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is fast
enough. They aren't just trying to figure out
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if just the ditch can punch a defensive tackle with
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the cats on his hand. They have to do all
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of that while actively planning to fly one hundred plus personnel,
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tons of medical equipment, and an entire professional football team
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across the globe to Melbourne.
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This raises an important question about how teams adapt to
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massive international travel. I mean, think about the physiological toll
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of an NFL game on a human body anyway.
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It's basically a car crash every Sunday exactly.
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Now compound that with a fifteen hour flight across the
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Pacific Ocean. You are crossing the international dateline. Oh wow,
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you are completely disrupting the hyper calibrated sleep cycles, nutrition plans,
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and hydration levels of massive athletes.
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So you cannot be making desperate last minute roster tweaks
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while flying thirty thousand feet over the equator.
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You absolutely cannot. You want your roster totally locked down,
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your playbook fully installed, and your players as healthy as
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humanly possible before you board that plane.
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That makes perfect sense.
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You can't have lingering doubts about your backup quarterback. You
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can't be wondering if your tight ends quad is going
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to seize up after sitting in a pressurized cabin for
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fifteen hours, Which.
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Means these August joint practices we talked about earlier are exponentially.
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More important, Oh, incredibly important.
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The Rams have a finite number of days before travel
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logistics completely hijack their schedule. Every single rep against the
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Saints on Tuesday and Thursday carries the invisible weight of
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international preparation.
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It creates a massive sense of urgency behind closed doors.
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When Sean McVay says a player is day to day,
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he is looking at a calendar where September eleventh is
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circled in bright red marker. Oh yeah, every rep missed
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right now is a
rep they literally cannot afford to
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make up later.
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And to add another layer of complexity, it's not just
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a football game, right, It's a massive cultural and marketing
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event for the franchise, Oh for sure. The reports note
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the Rams are planning extensive fan experiences in community initiatives
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in Melbourne. They want to bring the roar of American
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football to the city.
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Yeah, the marketing side is huge.
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They're even bringing a piece of Los Angeles with them,
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naming Lavelle Yang Grant from the WATS Empowerment Center as
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their first playmaker of twenty twenty six.
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It is just a staggering operational challenge. The organization's focus
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is fundamentally split yeah. Half the building is focused on
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securing local community connections and executing this global marketing strategy,
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and the football operation side is just trying to make
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sure they can physically field a healthy team to beat
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a fierce division rival eight thousand miles from home.
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It really reframes everything we think we know about August football.
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We've taken quite a journey today on this deep dive,
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we really have. We started with the deceptive nature of
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the backup quarterback statistics and how the first quarter differs
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from the third. Right, we looked at the external stress
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test the RAMS defense needs from guys like Zach Wilson
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and Travis Httien Junior, and how the Saints losing Jordan
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Tyson actually hurts the RAMS evaluation process.
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Such a weird domino effect it is.
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We unpacked the bizarre reality of fourth of July hand
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injuries with to ditch the meticulous micro management of hamstring reabs,
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and we tied it all back to this impending historic
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fifteen hour flight to Australia.
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It is an incredibly tangled web of variables, and you know,
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it really does leave you with something profound tom all over,
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What's that we spend so much time as fans arguing
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over the box scores of televised preseason games, we argue
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over who threw for more yards against a third string
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defense in a game that literally does not count in
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the standings.
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Right, We argue about the movie while it's playing on the.
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Screen exactly, But when you look at the totality of
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what we just uncovered, when you realize how much of
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a team's destiny actually hinges on closed door joint practices,
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how a coach's evaluation completely shifts when an opposing team's
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rookie tweaks a hamstring, how medical staffs have to factor
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in recovery from off field holiday accidents, and how a
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fifteen hour flight it dictates your entire medical timeline. You
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really have to wonder, is.
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The real NFL preseason the one that actually builds the
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roster and determines who eventually holds up the Lombardi Trophy
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happening completely out of sight of the cameras.
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Are we just staring at the finished product on television,
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completely oblivious to the frantic, high stakes script rewrites happening
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in the dark backstage.
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It's a fascinating way to look at the sport. We
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want to thank you for joining us on this deep
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dive into the Los Angeles Rams twenty twenty six training camp.
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It's been fun.
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We invite you to keep questioning the narrative behind the box. Course.
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The next time you are sitting on your couch and
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you see a backup quarterback through a beautiful touchdown pass
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in the fourth quarter of the August game, remember the
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throw that actually earned him his job might have happened
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on a quiet practice field three days prior