Brandon Beane EXCLUSIVE: Amani Hooker Trade, Bills Defense & More | Eric Wood の全文書き起こし

00:03:40.330 --> 00:03:45.330 ball Hawk. He, has position flexibility. He's played in the slot, 75 00:03:45.469 --> 00:03:48.610 in the box, the deep center field. What was the 76 00:03:48.650 --> 00:03:50.009 biggest draw to you about him? 77 00:03:50.889 --> 00:03:53.610 The biggest draw would be takeaways, turns the ball over, 78 00:03:53.789 --> 00:03:57.259 you know, just some guys are ball magnets. They find 79 00:03:57.280 --> 00:04:00.599 the ball and, or the ball finds them and in 80 00:04:00.620 --> 00:04:05.539 a variety of ways. And you're always looking to find 81 00:04:05.599 --> 00:04:08.520 ways to turn the ball over and turn those into points. 82 00:04:08.620 --> 00:04:11.699 And those are, those are bigger than stops, man. Those, 83 00:04:11.780 --> 00:04:16.199 those change games, they change field position. And, and so it's, 84 00:04:16.860 --> 00:04:18.500 you know, we want to see if we can score 85 00:04:18.560 --> 00:04:20.540 on defense, you know, this week we did a good 86 00:04:20.560 --> 00:04:24.660 job against some takeaways and told Terrell Bernard, it would 87 00:04:24.680 --> 00:04:26.120 have been interesting to see if he would have scored 88 00:04:26.139 --> 00:04:29.689 on that one. I think there was one receiver over 89 00:04:29.730 --> 00:04:31.329 on that side that he would have had to figure 90 00:04:31.389 --> 00:04:33.490 out how to get to the, to the end zone without, 91 00:04:33.509 --> 00:04:36.509 but it would have been interesting to see how that 92 00:04:36.550 --> 00:04:39.420 turned out. But that's, That's the next step. The defense 93 00:04:39.519 --> 00:04:44.519 is really coming together and doing better and getting takeaways. 94 00:04:46.199 --> 00:04:49.389 But now can we get some takeaways and maybe turn 95 00:04:49.430 --> 00:04:49.889 into points? 96 00:04:50.829 --> 00:04:56.149 Yeah, I almost think that one caught Terrell Bernard off guard. Like, 97 00:04:56.689 --> 00:04:58.870 I'm in the middle of the field. The ball shouldn't 98 00:04:58.889 --> 00:05:01.050 be coming this way. I even said on the broadcast, 99 00:05:01.089 --> 00:05:03.310 I was like, I don't think he was expecting that one. 100 00:05:03.610 --> 00:05:07.279 He definitely wasn't, but he also– He, he was running 101 00:05:07.319 --> 00:05:08.079 before he had it. 102 00:05:08.819 --> 00:05:09.250 No doubt. 103 00:05:09.500 --> 00:05:11.170 No doubt. He wanted to get, I know what he 104 00:05:11.189 --> 00:05:12.509 was thinking, man. I got to get out in front 105 00:05:12.529 --> 00:05:13.449 of this dude and get rolling. 106 00:05:14.209 --> 00:05:14.910 Oh yeah. Oh yeah. 107 00:05:15.370 --> 00:05:18.790 So what's the turnaround time was, was Imani in the 108 00:05:18.990 --> 00:05:21.329 building today? I'm trying to think back the only, so 109 00:05:22.470 --> 00:05:25.069 full disclosure throughout my career, the only time we were 110 00:05:25.129 --> 00:05:27.850 in a position to make a trade, like we were, 111 00:05:28.569 --> 00:05:30.389 was when you came in in 2017 and we brought 112 00:05:30.410 --> 00:05:35.939 in Kelvin Benjamin and, And I can't remember exactly when 113 00:05:36.000 --> 00:05:36.500 he came in. 114 00:05:36.569 --> 00:05:38.009 Was Imani in the building today? 115 00:05:38.360 --> 00:05:42.699 Yeah, so we got the deal done. And, you know, 116 00:05:42.779 --> 00:05:44.420 I would say we got it to the finish line 117 00:05:44.439 --> 00:05:48.939 around 3, like maybe 2.30, 3, whatever that was, where 118 00:05:48.959 --> 00:05:52.759 you're actually getting all the paperwork done. And everything's final 119 00:05:52.800 --> 00:05:55.100 where we can get on the phone with him and 120 00:05:55.600 --> 00:05:59.379 have our people, our football ops staff, B-Row and Ryan Moore, 121 00:05:59.420 --> 00:06:01.480 get him on a flight. So we got him on 122 00:06:01.519 --> 00:06:03.920 a flight last night out of Nashville, got him here. 123 00:06:04.550 --> 00:06:08.769 midnight and quick sleep. Uh, those guys picked him up 124 00:06:08.810 --> 00:06:11.410 this morning, took him for his physical. That's the first 125 00:06:11.449 --> 00:06:13.870 thing he does. He did. And I think he knocked 126 00:06:13.910 --> 00:06:15.750 an MRI out. And so we got him in the 127 00:06:15.790 --> 00:06:18.910 building about nine 30 and, uh, came in and got 128 00:06:18.930 --> 00:06:21.699 him some breakfast and then jumped, you know, luckily today 129 00:06:21.860 --> 00:06:23.639 was backed up a little bit because of the Monday 130 00:06:23.680 --> 00:06:26.319 night thing. The coaches were trying to, so Joe backed 131 00:06:26.579 --> 00:06:28.480 the schedule up. It kind of worked out great work. 132 00:06:29.100 --> 00:06:31.500 Sometimes this happens and the guys are already in meetings 133 00:06:31.540 --> 00:06:33.139 by the time you can get him through his physical 134 00:06:33.160 --> 00:06:35.250 and get him in the building. But, The day had 135 00:06:35.290 --> 00:06:37.610 not started yet for the players, and so he was 136 00:06:37.649 --> 00:06:41.709 able to join right away. Team meeting, Joe went through 137 00:06:41.829 --> 00:06:43.949 his normal team meeting but welcomed them, and the guys 138 00:06:44.529 --> 00:06:47.509 gave him a nice ovation and excited to see him. 139 00:06:47.529 --> 00:06:49.730 Let's take a quick break to talk about our friends 140 00:06:49.850 --> 00:06:52.250 over at Dano's. We've got a great deal for you. 141 00:06:52.560 --> 00:06:55.300 You can now save 20% off any product when you 142 00:06:55.360 --> 00:06:58.759 use the promo code WOOD20 at checkout. If you're firing 143 00:06:58.819 --> 00:07:01.579 up the grill or smoker this fall at your tailgate 144 00:07:01.680 --> 00:07:03.439 or at your house, you've got to try the new 145 00:07:03.600 --> 00:07:07.720 Outlaws lineup. We're talking butter steak, spicy barbecue, sweet Caribbean, 146 00:07:07.759 --> 00:07:10.459 and more. They've got something

for just about everything you're 147 00:07:10.480 --> 00:07:13.779 going to throw on the grill. Head over to danoseasoning.com. 148 00:07:13.879 --> 00:07:17.019 Use promo code WOOD20 at checkout on any product and 149 00:07:17.060 --> 00:07:19.959 save 20%. If you haven't already, you need to check 150 00:07:20.000 --> 00:07:22.180 out our friends over at Azuna Fresh. This is a 151 00:07:22.279 --> 00:07:25.680 Buffalo-based company that my wife and I both love. Azuna 152 00:07:25.740 --> 00:07:29.660 keeps things fresh without that heavy, overpowering air freshener smell. 153 00:07:29.980 --> 00:07:31.959 You also need to check out their active line for 154 00:07:32.000 --> 00:07:34.970 the gym, your shoes, the car, all those places. that 155 00:07:34.990 --> 00:07:37.990 can get a little funky. This is a plant-based product 156 00:07:38.029 --> 00:07:40.990 that actually eliminates the odors instead of just covering them up. 157 00:07:41.569 --> 00:07:44.829 Use code WOOD20 for 20% off your order, and that's 158 00:07:44.870 --> 00:07:48.199 a one-time use code. How much ramp-up time would you 159 00:07:48.279 --> 00:07:51.980 assume a guy like Amani needs to play on a Sunday? 160 00:07:52.439 --> 00:07:54.860 That's a great question. I mean, you start with intelligence. 161 00:07:54.899 --> 00:07:57.290 I talked about it in the presser. The guy is 162 00:07:57.379 --> 00:08:02.490 football smart, understands the game. He's been a communicator back 163 00:08:02.529 --> 00:08:05.930 there calling things out. just like the guys that we've 164 00:08:05.949 --> 00:08:08.850 been so accustomed to and Micah and Jordan for, for 165 00:08:08.870 --> 00:08:11.290 a number of years. And we were very spoiled with 166 00:08:11.329 --> 00:08:14.589 that duo and it's always going to be hard pressed 167 00:08:14.629 --> 00:08:18.470 to find something like that. But it's so funny that 168 00:08:18.990 --> 00:08:23.009 Micah and him share the same agent play at Iowa. 169 00:08:23.250 --> 00:08:25.779 And there's just so many similarities in their game, but 170 00:08:26.480 --> 00:08:29.240 he's going to work hard to get it. And I 171 00:08:29.279 --> 00:08:31.100 know that Jim and Joe would love to get him 172 00:08:31.160 --> 00:08:33.519 out there this week. I mean, I think there will 173 00:08:33.539 --> 00:08:34.980 be a shot to get him out there this week. 174 00:08:35.019 --> 00:08:36.840 I don't want to commit to it, but if not, 175 00:08:36.879 --> 00:08:39.360 I would feel very good that he's in the next 176 00:08:39.399 --> 00:08:39.980 week for sure. 177 00:08:40.820 --> 00:08:43.899 Yeah, there's a lot of similarities, and Micah's still a 178 00:08:43.940 --> 00:08:46.460 very close friend, so I can say this. One of 179 00:08:46.500 --> 00:08:53.000 the biggest differences, Hooker ran a 4-4. Micah might have 180 00:08:53.059 --> 00:08:55.480 run the same time as me at the combine. Now, 181 00:08:56.320 --> 00:09:01.000 Micah had an unbelievable career, absolute ball hawk. Hooker is 182 00:09:01.059 --> 00:09:04.710 about three-tenths of a second faster in the 40-yard dash. 183 00:09:04.750 --> 00:09:10.570 So some differences physically, but our boy Micah, ultimate ball hawk, 184 00:09:10.669 --> 00:09:11.970 and I love that. 185 00:09:12.210 --> 00:09:15.649 I will say this about Micah, to his credit. He's 186 00:09:15.690 --> 00:09:18.080 got the best ball skills. I would tell him all 187 00:09:18.120 --> 00:09:20.580 the time, the best ball skills of a defensive player 188 00:09:20.600 --> 00:09:22.879 I've ever been on a team. 189 00:09:23.080 --> 00:09:23.460 No doubt. 190 00:09:23.679 --> 00:09:29.120 Elite, rare. And the one thing about him, despite that 191 00:09:29.179 --> 00:09:32.879 speed number, He took a step faster, so he would 192 00:09:32.919 --> 00:09:35.879 beat a lot of 4-4 guys to the spot because 193 00:09:35.940 --> 00:09:40.399 of his intelligence. But you're right, Imani athletically will test 194 00:09:40.480 --> 00:09:40.940 a little higher. 195 00:09:41.659 --> 00:09:44.340 And I'll say this, and I said it last week, 196 00:09:45.299 --> 00:09:48.230 the play that Byron Murphy Jr. made on the ball 197 00:09:48.669 --> 00:09:55.389 on Josh's post to down the field, that was a 198 00:09:55.470 --> 00:09:59.070 Micah Hyde-esque play. Okay, I have responsibility over here, but 199 00:09:59.129 --> 00:10:01.379 I'm savvy enough to know that I have him in 200 00:10:01.399 --> 00:10:03.159 coverage enough. You're not going to throw the ball here. 201 00:10:03.600 --> 00:10:07.019 Let me just peek into the backfield. Where's the ball going? Oh, 202 00:10:07.120 --> 00:10:09.679 now I'm going to pick the ball off down the field. 203 00:10:09.740 --> 00:10:11.139 That was, that was a Micah. 204 00:10:10.899 --> 00:10:14.409 Hyde esque play. It reminded me of the playoff. 205 00:10:14.009 --> 00:10:16.850 Game against the new Buffalo against new England. 206 00:10:17.330 --> 00:10:18.870 Hey, I'm just going to go take it from them. 207 00:10:19.610 --> 00:10:23.470 That was the greatest interception I could remember of where 208 00:10:23.509 --> 00:10:26.990 Micah started when that ball left. And then that was 209 00:10:27.049 --> 00:10:30.220 a surefire six for them, and instead we're getting the 210 00:10:30.240 --> 00:10:31.860 ball on the 20-yard line going the other way. And 211 00:10:31.879 --> 00:10:35.500 the game never was a question after that play because 212 00:10:35.519 --> 00:10:37.139 we went right back down and scored again. 213 00:10:37.299 --> 00:10:39.799 Yeah, it was the perfect game. The perfect game for Josh, 214 00:10:39.860 --> 00:10:41.740 and that was a fun one. All right, let's take 215 00:10:41.779 --> 00:10:45.000 a quick look back at last week. What's it say 216 00:10:45.039 --> 00:10:47.059 about the depth of the O-line? I know it wasn't 217 00:10:47.120 --> 00:10:50.500 perfect last week, but you have the entire left side 218 00:10:50.779

--> 00:10:55.940 of your line out, and they still hold up and 219 00:10:55.980 --> 00:10:59.080 then grind it out late against that Minnesota defense. 220 00:10:59.440 --> 00:11:01.860 Yeah, I mean, a lot of credit to– I'm going 221 00:11:01.879 --> 00:11:04.019 to start with Pat Meyer getting these guys ready to 222 00:11:04.090 --> 00:11:07.690 go and having them ready, not just repping these guys. 223 00:11:07.710 --> 00:11:11.960 Him and Austin Gunn just getting them– those guys were– 224 00:11:12.419 --> 00:11:15.379 you know, this was probably as least of an ideal 225 00:11:15.460 --> 00:11:18.580 time to put in two backups who have not been playing. Now, luckily, 226 00:11:18.639 --> 00:11:22.070 Graves played a lot in that Rams game and then 227 00:11:22.110 --> 00:11:25.250 played last week. But huge credit to him. People don't 228 00:11:25.289 --> 00:11:27.350 understand how hard that is to go from. To be 229 00:11:27.370 --> 00:11:30.980 the swing tackle is not easy from stance and who 230 00:11:31.000 --> 00:11:33.299 you're going against. You know, he's been playing all right 231 00:11:33.340 --> 00:11:35.600 tackle this year. Now he's got to go over and 232 00:11:35.639 --> 00:11:39.870 play left. And, you know, everyone knows– Brian Flores' scheme 233 00:11:40.330 --> 00:11:43.389 and all the variety of looks and who's coming, who's not. And, 234 00:11:43.929 --> 00:11:47.889 you know, Austin Corbett's been a longtime vet in this league. 235 00:11:48.490 --> 00:11:51.350 And so a lot of credit. As you said, not perfect. 236 00:11:51.389 --> 00:11:53.610 There were things both of them would like to clean up. 237 00:11:53.649 --> 00:11:56.889 But I thought they got better as the game went on. 238 00:11:57.340 --> 00:12:01.539 And you saw the wear and tear as Jimbo started, 239 00:12:01.759 --> 00:12:04.539 you know, finding more creases, you know, as the game 240 00:12:04.600 --> 00:12:05.720 wound down in the fourth quarter. 241 00:12:06.259 --> 00:12:08.360 All right, speaking of James Cook, when you draft him 242 00:12:08.399 --> 00:12:10.889 in the second round out of Georgia, did you envision 243 00:12:11.049 --> 00:12:14.850 that he could be a guy that in a game 244 00:12:14.909 --> 00:12:18.129 against the number one defense and you're struggling to find 245 00:12:18.169 --> 00:12:20.710 time to pass, he can carry the ball 31 times 246 00:12:20.889 --> 00:12:23.799 and grind out a game? Did you envision that at 247 00:12:23.820 --> 00:12:24.159 the time? 248 00:12:24.500 --> 00:12:27.299 I did not. I would not. And I'll tell you 249 00:12:27.340 --> 00:12:30.379 another back that has done it as well is McCaffrey. 250 00:12:30.399 --> 00:12:34.059 That was my last draft in Carolina. We talked to Christian, 251 00:12:34.080 --> 00:12:38.029 I think, seventh overall. And the one question I had, 252 00:12:38.070 --> 00:12:40.149 like this guy could, I was like, this guy could 253 00:12:40.169 --> 00:12:43.879 play slot receiver. This guy can be our dual returner. 254 00:12:44.820 --> 00:12:46.200 He's going to, you know, he's going to be a 255 00:12:46.200 --> 00:12:49.779 lot of outside stretch toss, you know, he can run inside, 256 00:12:49.820 --> 00:12:51.639 but I just didn't know that he would be as 257 00:12:51.720 --> 00:12:53.799 good as he was. And I'll say the same for, 258 00:12:54.000 --> 00:12:57.559 for Jimbo. I thought Jimbo had a variety that could 259 00:12:57.679 --> 00:13:00.419 work in the past game. That could be a kick 260 00:13:00.460 --> 00:13:03.200 returner that you're trying to get the ball in space 261 00:13:03.279 --> 00:13:05.500 and use his speed. We know how explosive it is, but, 262 00:13:06.289 --> 00:13:12.039 Huge credit to him for just his run vision, instincts, 263 00:13:12.340 --> 00:13:15.460 and his toughness. I know he had help with moving 264 00:13:15.480 --> 00:13:19.620 the pile, just the contact balance that he has for 265 00:13:20.059 --> 00:13:23.879 a wiry frame, not a short, stocky build like most 266 00:13:24.100 --> 00:13:25.799 of these guys would have to be able to do that. 267 00:13:26.379 --> 00:13:28.580 Yeah, and we can edit this out if this is 268 00:13:28.600 --> 00:13:31.940 too much information, but I was eating pregame meal with 269 00:13:31.960 --> 00:13:34.299 the strength staff, and they were talking about James Cook 270 00:13:34.340 --> 00:13:36.769 early in his career, how you guys were trying to 271 00:13:36.799 --> 00:13:37.590 put weight on him. 272 00:13:37.870 --> 00:13:38.090 Yeah. 273 00:13:38.389 --> 00:13:41.059 And finally it's like, okay, he's good at one 90. 274 00:13:41.049 --> 00:13:44.049 Like if that's what he is, that's what he is. 275 00:13:44.309 --> 00:13:46.730 And he's tough at that weight. And then you see 276 00:13:46.769 --> 00:13:49.990 him moving the pile. It's like, okay, well maybe he's 277 00:13:50.110 --> 00:13:52.429 best at that weight and he's tough enough. 278 00:13:52.669 --> 00:13:53.370 He's strong enough. 279 00:13:54.029 --> 00:13:57.379 And from a former alignment, his vision and pace, it's 280 00:13:57.429 --> 00:14:01.000 the vision and pace. And he's got the breakaway speed 281 00:14:01.039 --> 00:14:02.960 to take off. If he gets in the open field, 282 00:14:03.559 --> 00:14:07.690 But those guys generally don't have the pace to be 283 00:14:07.730 --> 00:14:10.110 able to hit the plays that he does. And he 284 00:14:10.169 --> 00:14:14.350 comes in and is like, okay, he can run zone. Well, 285 00:14:14.389 --> 00:14:17.970 now our best schemes are gap schemes. It's unbelievable to 286 00:14:18.009 --> 00:14:21.659 me the way he's been able to develop throughout his career. 287 00:14:21.679 --> 00:14:24.279 All right, last one for me. Everyone wants to put 288 00:14:24.299 --> 00:14:24.879 an asterisk on. 289 00:14:24.860 --> 00:14:28.379 These last two weeks defensively and say, you know, we 290 00:14:28.399 --> 00:14:33.480 played these quarterbacks and

this and that. You obviously have 291 00:14:33.519 --> 00:14:36.299 to feel like the defense is trending in the right direction, correct? 292 00:14:36.580 --> 00:14:44.190 Yes. I think, Eric, it's one of those things where 293 00:14:44.330 --> 00:14:46.529 there's always going to be questions if you're not playing 294 00:14:47.070 --> 00:14:49.299 one of the top five quarterbacks or the top five 295 00:14:49.379 --> 00:14:52.860 offenses in the league. That's natural. It happens all the time. 296 00:14:53.940 --> 00:14:56.500 You play who's on your schedule, and it is what 297 00:14:56.519 --> 00:14:59.980 it is. What I would say is, even as the 298 00:15:00.080 --> 00:15:02.580 routes are developing, you know, some of our issues were 299 00:15:02.620 --> 00:15:06.899 just on the back end, some communication things and some youth. 300 00:15:06.960 --> 00:15:10.519 And a lot of it is just this secondary. First off, 301 00:15:10.539 --> 00:15:13.000 it's a new defense. Secondly, there's a lot of new 302 00:15:13.059 --> 00:15:17.750 parts to the secondary. And so just getting time on 303 00:15:17.809 --> 00:15:20.950 task continuity, there's so many things. You know, we got 304 00:15:21.009 --> 00:15:22.990 spoiled here for so long with the guys we were 305 00:15:23.009 --> 00:15:27.600 talking about, Micah, Jordan, Taryn Johnson, Trey White. And Benford, 306 00:15:27.820 --> 00:15:32.259 you know, Benford's still here. But that takes time to 307 00:15:32.340 --> 00:15:34.159 build that, like an O-line. You know, you don't just 308 00:15:34.179 --> 00:15:37.279 throw five guys at an O-line and they can be talented. 309 00:15:37.700 --> 00:15:41.379 But you guys have to be a unit to execute 310 00:15:41.539 --> 00:15:44.289 and communicate the way you have to in blitzes and protections. 311 00:15:44.330 --> 00:15:47.610 So I think it's just been time on task, improving 312 00:15:47.629 --> 00:15:51.970 that communication. And you can see that. Of course, it 313 00:15:52.049 --> 00:15:55.860 matters to some degree, you know, how potent that offense 314 00:15:56.179 --> 00:15:59.700 and what they're strong at, but our front's been doing well. 315 00:15:59.799 --> 00:16:02.100 You know, it's, it's been exciting to see, you know, 316 00:16:02.259 --> 00:16:04.919 the adjustments and listen, it has been since the bye, 317 00:16:04.970 --> 00:16:08.230 but I thought there was a lot of good signs 318 00:16:08.509 --> 00:16:10.889 in that Raider game, even though there was a couple 319 00:16:11.269 --> 00:16:14.970 of explosive plays we gave up, we were, we contested 320 00:16:14.990 --> 00:16:17.230 a lot more balls in the secondary that game. I 321 00:16:17.269 --> 00:16:19.190 think we had like 11 PBUs and some of those 322 00:16:19.210 --> 00:16:21.919 could have been deflections, but That was the biggest thing 323 00:16:21.980 --> 00:16:24.360 I saw from the previous weeks. We were starting to 324 00:16:24.419 --> 00:16:29.000 contest more throws and be in the area, whereas before 325 00:16:29.460 --> 00:16:32.779 there were some wide-open plays that we gave up in 326 00:16:32.830 --> 00:16:34.470 those first five, six games. 327 00:16:35.429 --> 00:16:36.590 All right, I lied. One more. 328 00:16:37.190 --> 00:16:40.809 You mentioned the front. You take Deion Walker out of Kentucky. 329 00:16:41.909 --> 00:16:44.350 I saw this as a junior with him. His senior year, 330 00:16:44.370 --> 00:16:46.870 he's got the back and all that. Did you envision 331 00:16:47.110 --> 00:16:51.149 Deion being this– I say dominant, and I say dominant 332 00:16:51.169 --> 00:16:53.690 from a former center's perspective. I don't want to go 333 00:16:53.750 --> 00:16:56.990 against a dude with his length, his athletic ability, his size, 334 00:16:57.029 --> 00:16:59.860 his power, and all that. Did you envision he could 335 00:16:59.899 --> 00:17:01.740 become this when you took him in the fourth round? 336 00:17:02.159 --> 00:17:06.079 Yeah, we knew he had a high ceiling. It's easy 337 00:17:06.119 --> 00:17:07.859 to say that, but you can look at our college 338 00:17:07.900 --> 00:17:10.990 grades from the previous year. It was his sophomore year. 339 00:17:12.569 --> 00:17:15.269 He went off. I think he had seven seven and 340 00:17:15.289 --> 00:17:18.259 a half sacks maybe at that size in the SEC 341 00:17:18.490 --> 00:17:23.059 you know right you know the probably the closest you 342 00:17:23.079 --> 00:17:27.619 know level of comp of pro ball and obviously his 343 00:17:27.779 --> 00:17:29.960 his last year his junior year did not go as 344 00:17:30.019 --> 00:17:32.529 well had the back deal but you saw it all 345 00:17:33.140 --> 00:17:36.089 I think there were questions coming out of you know 346 00:17:36.450 --> 00:17:39.089 his competitiveness and things like that not necessarily with us 347 00:17:39.130 --> 00:17:41.730 but those were things that you get your rumors you 348 00:17:41.769 --> 00:17:43.750 hear things about guys and you got to dig into 349 00:17:43.769 --> 00:17:46.069 them and I think a lot of that is why 350 00:17:46.130 --> 00:17:49.730 he fell, but we knew if, if this guy can mature, 351 00:17:50.279 --> 00:17:54.640 understand the game, put it all together. You saw more 352 00:17:54.660 --> 00:17:57.440 than just flashes of it, you know, his, his sophomore 353 00:17:57.480 --> 00:17:59.619 year and a credit to him. Like he is really, 354 00:18:00.160 --> 00:18:02.299 he's worked hard. He's a, he's a big man. I 355 00:18:02.559 --> 00:18:05.460 know the first training camp he was here a year ago. 356 00:18:07.240 --> 00:18:09.839 What really gave me good, you know, good hope for 357 00:18:09.900 --> 00:18:12.380 where he, and he was still learning and wasn't ready 358 00:18:12.400 --> 00:18:16.690 to necessarily start, but, Connor McGovern and Dave Edwards came 359 00:18:16.750 --> 00:18:19.849 up to me and were like, man, this 96 dude, like, 360 00:18:20.470 --> 00:18:22.440 I don't, I don't know a lot about him, but 361 00:18:23.000 --> 00:18:26.259 when he figures it out, he's going to be a problem. And, 362 00:18:26.279 --> 00:18:29.660 you know, that was, that was cool, you know, to hear, 363 00:18:29.900 --> 00:18:33.490 you know, that he was already showing signs at that point, 364 00:18:33.549 --> 00:18:35.250 even though he hadn't quite figured it all out yet. 365 00:18:35.809 --> 00:18:36.029 Yeah. 366 00:18:36.069 --> 00:18:38.890 And it was cool for me to hear from David 367 00:18:38.950 --> 00:18:44.670 Edwards and Connor McGovern that, Dion was asking them questions like, Hey, 368 00:18:45.009 --> 00:18:47.930 when you got me there, like what caused that? And 369 00:18:48.029 --> 00:18:50.869 I'm like for a dude to have that kind of size, 370 00:18:50.970 --> 00:18:53.150 but then have the wherewithal to say, okay, I need 371 00:18:53.170 --> 00:18:55.720 to get better. And maybe I should ask the alignment 372 00:18:55.740 --> 00:18:58.599 about that. Like, I thought that was really cool. 373 00:18:59.160 --> 00:19:01.220 Yeah. Peter, I can't thank you enough for the time, brother. 374 00:19:01.259 --> 00:19:03.119 I know this is a busy time, busy week. 375 00:19:03.579 --> 00:19:04.980 You're the man. I appreciate you, brother. 376 00:19:05.240 --> 00:19:07.180 Always good to see you, dude. I'll, uh, I'll see 377 00:19:07.200 --> 00:19:07.609 you Sunday. 378 00:19:08.150 --> 00:19:08.450 Yes, sir.