Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - Indianapolis Colts: Leonard Fournette Working Out, Samuel Womack's In, Matt Gay's Injured

Starting point is 00:00:00 We are getting bold on today's show and making our official proclamations. Let's get to it. You are Locked On Colts, your daily Indianapolis Colts podcast. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. All right. Thanks for tuning in and making us your first listen of the day. This is your daily podcast covering your Indianapolis Colts, part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day.

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Starting point is 00:00:58 It's Jake Arthur and Zach kicks a horseshoe huddle.com. I am your resident credential media member for the site. And Zach is the toughest film nerd in the game. And today we got a lot to catch up on because we were slacking a little bit at the end of last week, but now there's a lot to catch up on. So just this week, you know, Leonard Fournette was working out for the Colts today. The Colts brought in a couple new cornerbacks in Samuel Womack III and David Long Jr., a couple guys who have been around for a little bit,

Starting point is 00:01:30 you know, kind of been there, done that. There's a new Matt Gay injury of note, so that's always fun, you know, even more good stuff for Zach to talk about when it comes to kickers when they're injured. And then we're going to make some of our bold predictions for the season on both sides of the ball to wrap this thing up. So let's go ahead with our housekeeping here first. This one's kind of interesting, Zach. So Leonard Fournette working out for the Colts today.

Starting point is 00:01:56 Now he was one of like nine or so other players who worked out today. David Long Jr. was part of that group and he actually signed. So obviously nothing eminent for Fournette. If the Colts were to sign him, I think it would be practice squad first, probably. You and I were kind of kicking around the idea. This is probably for further down the road this season, kind of an in case of emergency thing, they will have already had this workout under their belt and they can kind of call back if needed. But I think it's, it's still interesting nonetheless, because I feel like there was, am I misremembering, but was there something with Fournette last year with the Colts? Like, were they maybe going to bring him in for a workout or did they? Because this doesn't seem new. Yeah, they were. I remember last year, last offseason,

Starting point is 00:02:45 they were looking at veteran running backs to bring in, and they flew in Kareem Hunt for a workout, and I believe Fournette was another guy they were considering as well at the same time, and I think they went with Kenyon Drake, or Kenyon Drake was already on the roster. I can't remember the exact timeline of of it last of it last summer but yeah i know i saw a lot of people reacting to leonard fournette working out with the colts like you know like jonathan taylor fantasy people being like oh no i just drafted jonathan taylor like

Starting point is 00:03:15 this is gonna take away look leonard fournette i believe last season i i saw the stat earlier and i believe it was 14 carries for 40 yards total last year. Like this is an older running back who, if he has any kind of role with the Colts, if he were to sign with the Colts, it would be as RB three or four, just in case everyone gets hurt in front of him. You know, like I think it's mostly like you kind of see this with the roster and how fluid

Starting point is 00:03:44 rosters are early in the season, whether it's the 53 or especially the practice squad. Like the Colts are going to be cutting and bringing guys up on the practice squad like constantly over these next couple of weeks. So that's why it's it's kind of a moot point to even really discuss practice squad this early in the season because so many guys are moving on and off it those first couple of weeks. But, yeah, I got like Leonard Fournette. It's kind of just to have him on speed dial. so many guys are moving on and off it uh those first couple weeks but yeah a guy like leonard fournette um it's kind of just to have him on speed dial you know like maybe the first month of the season comes through goes by and you have a situation like the colts had with deon jackson last year where he had a really rough debut game against jaguars as the lead back and the colts released him the next day like that was was it for Deion Jackson Indy.

Starting point is 00:04:26 And then they've called up Trey Sermon from the practice squad and he became a regular roster player. That could be the situation with like a four net where it's like, if one of these guys just has a bad outing or they're not liking what they're seeing in practice, you know, you can easily move off of a sermon or a Goodson and bring a four net to the practice squad or bring a hole up from the practice squad and put fournette on or, you know, however you want to maneuver it here early in the season.

Starting point is 00:04:49 So I don't think Leonard Fournette, for all of you guys who drafted Jonathan Taylor in fantasy for anything, I don't think a signing is super imminent with Leonard Fournette in the Colts. And even if one were to be imminent, I don't think it would change too much on the outlook. Like this backfield is going to be dominated by Jonathan Taylor. Trey Sermon will get some touches. Tyler Goodson will get some passing down snaps and maybe the occasional run here and there.

Starting point is 00:05:14 But at the end of the day, this is Jonathan Taylor's running backfield. As long as he's healthy, he is the guy. And even if he goes down, it's Trey Sermon's backfield. So like, you know, I don't think there's too much to really look into it for Ned. It's a great name to talk about for sure. And some of the other names we got in here, you know, Keller Witherspoon I thought was a really cool name they brought in.

Starting point is 00:05:32 That's been your guy for a few years now on the open market. Yeah, he's just a solid player. And I liked him too much as a prospect for sure. Kelvin Joseph, you brought up the other day, you know, the super athletic kind of, athletic kind of headcase corner. Knucklehead. Yeah, knucklehead. Then Stephen Gilmore, who is related to Stephon Gilmore.

Starting point is 00:05:52 I think younger brother is what you said to me, right? Yeah. Not the Gilmore everyone was looking for, but now Stephon is a Viking. So again, moot point. Chris Ballard thought it was Stephon Gilmore. He brought him in. He was like, wait a second. This is not Stephon Gilmore. But yeah, bring. He was like, wait a second. This is not Stephon Gilmore.

Starting point is 00:06:05 But yeah, bring in a bunch of veterans. Get them on speed dial. Look what they are looking like athletically. And then if injuries happen or this experiment with the defensive backfield that they're doing right now doesn't work out, you have Witherspoon. You already had Witherspoon in here. You had Joseph in here. And then David Long Jr. obviously signed to the practice squad. They have guys kind of ready and available to to step up if need be yes you mentioned uh david long so

Starting point is 00:06:31 there's samuel womack the third uh he was a waiver pickup last week and then david long jr uh something of a journeyman now he he was had carved out a nice little uh name for himself early in his career was a super bowll winner with the Rams. It's bounced around quite a bit most recently with the giants. But this is both, I'm assuming nickel special teams guys for the Colts. They're, they're both South of six foot.

Starting point is 00:06:59 I think Womack might be five, nine, five, 10 same thing for David long, long tested really well before the draft, I believe. But, yeah, that's what you're basically getting. You finally have your Kenny Moore insurance, and these guys contribute on special teams as well.

Starting point is 00:07:15 Womack is a core four special teamer and is probably going to be your other gunner now on the opposite side of Ashton Doolin. So you got some utility in those guys. Hopefully you don't have to see them too much on the defensive side of the ball, as long as with the practice squad anyway. So you may not see him at all this season, but Womack is an active roster guy. So you wrote something on Womack recently, didn't you? Yeah, I think he's a good shot to take for the Colts. I'm not going to compare it to the Kenny Moore, the second shot, obviously, when Kenny was

Starting point is 00:07:45 an undrafted free agent that got waived and the Colts claimed him. And obviously the biggest success story of Chris Ballard's career was finding a guy like Kenny Moore. But I think Womack is a guy you take a shot on, you know, former fifth round pick, long arms, good athlete. He's had some good moments, you know, in the preseason, the offseason with the 49ers. I know his confidence got shot a little bit in 2022 when he started his first game in the slot and kind of got shell-shocked. I think

Starting point is 00:08:10 it was the Eagles were his opponent too, which is funny if they were. I believe that's who it was. So Shane Steichen's Eagles. Shane will do that too. Yeah, Shane will do that too. I think it was Devonta Smith too. So I'll have to double check on that but yeah you know he's a player got shell-shocked a little bit had some good moments on the outside more so to me I like I think his profile screams nickel but I like him on the outside I think he's got really good feet on the outside so um yeah I like the potential of Womacka he's a he's a guy that I would definitely uh take a shot on and as your gunner and as a guy who can take some snaps on the outside like he's in the same tier as like a Dallas Flowers or Daryl Baker Jr. to me so I like this shot by the Colts

Starting point is 00:08:51 I don't think it upgrades the room drastically by any means but I like taking that kind of shot on a guy like that now I definitely feel a little more comfortable now that you have you have that veteran presence behind Kenny Moore now I mean before you know right but you know what was Tony Brown last year is now a guy who's played for D'Amico Ryans and Robert Sala and has played in the Gus Bradley defense for years now so my comfort level with the backup nickel is a little more now, especially since Mike Abraham is not back and is working out for other teams. That doesn't look great. So maybe we should just go ahead and fly that kite away that maybe he's not going to be back, but right. Yeah. I mean,

Starting point is 00:09:36 these aren't spectacular moves in the secondary, but these are the level of impact moves that if, if they were going to do something, I think we probably expected it to be about this much of a ripple. Yeah, like Akella Witherspoon might have been like that kind of move too if he had signed or something like that. Which still may happen. I mean, again, knock on all the wood,

Starting point is 00:09:58 but Juju Brents has not yet proved that he is a healthy player. I mean, Dallas Flowers was just banged up and had the Achilles last year. So they may still need a guy like Witherspoon who is a Gus Bradley type of corner. Right, right. So yeah, we can't say none of these signings are imminent for sure. This team is, this roster and this team in general

Starting point is 00:10:18 is gonna be very fluid for the first month of the season or so. And then of course we mentioned at the top of the show, but again, Matt Gay today, Shane Steichen announced he's got a groin injury, said we'll see when asked if he'll practice. I saw Gay the other day, whatever day we were at the facility last Friday, I think it was, he had a noticeable limp. So that wasn't great to see. So again, like Shane said, we'll see if he practices this week. It's why they brought Spencer Schrader back to the practice squad.

Starting point is 00:10:51 Obviously, this whole thing with Gay is just, let's just see. Like, let's get to the games and let's just see. Because a kicker problem is the last thing you want. But maybe that's what they've got. Maybe we're overblowing it and it's going to be fine once the season gets here, but I digress. Next, we're going to get to some optimism. We're going to look at the offensive side of the ball and we're going to give you our bold predictions for the season. All right, guys, the summer is winding down, but we are still enjoying live events out here.

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Starting point is 00:15:07 Now, we talked about at the top of the show our news and notes. Obviously, what we missed these last couple days. But now, you know, it's still kind of offseason. We're still getting ready for that Texans game. And we have to get in our bold predictions for this season. Obviously, Jake and I whiffed big time last year with our bold predictions. Because, look, we weren't going to have a prediction. prediction this is Anthony Richardson I feel like that wasn't our fault I would not like any of the responsibility for that right right it was a tough tough one for us but I think we're

Starting point is 00:15:34 going to redeem ourselves here and I'm going to kick us off with you know these two bold predictions kind of go hand in hand so I'm going to lump them in together but you guys know I've been very pro Jonathan Taylor on this show this offseason because of just how he finished last year how the Colts have invested in him and take this from me as someone who told all my family members and all my friends and anyone who asked prior to Jonathan Taylor's massive 2021 campaign I said hey if you guys have fantasy football make sure you're drafting Jonathan Taylor because the Colts are talking differently about him this offseason. I think the vibes are kind of similar to how they're talking about him in terms of like we're going to feed him like he's going to be a big part of our offense, especially as

Starting point is 00:16:18 you can tell, like early in the season when the Colts aren't leaning too hard on Richardson, they want to get that running game going and Taylor's going to be a big part of that. So my two bold predictions are, one, I think the Colts finished top three rushing team in the NFL this year. They were 10th last year, and that, again, was without the quarterback rushing element of Anthony Richardson. So I think top three is very, very feasible for this team. And then the Jonathan Taylor aspect of this,

Starting point is 00:16:42 I think he has like 1,500 total yards. He's top three in rushing yards this year among the NFL like he'll return to the top with with the Christian McCaffrey's of football and be that guy again in the NFL I know we haven't seen it in two years but just how he finished last season when he was actually healthy again uh how he carried this team on his on his back in that final game and essentially a playoff outing. I am fully in on Jonathan Taylor. I've drafted him in both of my fantasy leagues. I am all in on Jonathan Taylor right now, guys,

Starting point is 00:17:13 and I think he's going to have a massive season for the Colts. Yeah, I am right there with you, and I'll actually do you one better. I'm going to say, because you're talking total yards, which, of course, means receiving as well. I'm going to say 1,800 total yards, which, which i mean he had that just rushing in 2021 right where i'm where i'm if he is touchdowns right because he's we know he could score 20 but i think him and anthony are going to rob so many touchdowns from each other i still think he'll score 15 uh so i'm gonna say he's gonna have about 1800 total yards and 15 total touchdowns because he'll probably get one or two receiving

Starting point is 00:17:52 i could totally see it man he's he's gonna have a big year like just stay healthy this year jonathan and it's gonna be this offense is set up for him with the quarterback rushing element the offensive line being really good sh Shane Steichen doing his thing. Shane Steichen leaning on the run game in the second half of games. It's all there for Jonathan Taylor this year, man. I'm expecting a huge season from him. Yeah, without saying too much, just the things I know that the Colts are bullish on and want to do,

Starting point is 00:18:23 it involves Jonathan Taylor quite a bit. They're going to be pretty reliant on him, which is going to lead me into my next one because a big part of that and what's going to help that productivity is I say Anthony Richardson is going to account for 35 total touchdowns. Now, I don't think that seems crazy because let's extrapolate his rushing touchdowns over a whole year. Let's say he has 12. Like for a guy who is going to be, you know, we saw what that looked like last year. Like it seemed very doable. And then 23 passing touchdowns.

Starting point is 00:18:55 And again, remember it's 17 game season. So like, I think that it maybe seems like a lot. And for a second year player, who's essentially playing his first year, maybe that's a little rich. But I say he's going to account for 35. And, man, I don't know. I think it's very doable.

Starting point is 00:19:13 It's a pretty complete offense. You've got a top-three running back with a top-three offensive line. And you've got a pass-catching group, including the tight ends, that is probably better than what people give it credit for. It's not. It's solid. It's solid. Yeah, it's not top three like your rushing attack is, but like it can accomplish anything you want it to.

Starting point is 00:19:36 You've got some vertical threats in A.D. Mitchell and Alec Pierce. You've got guys like Kylan and Kylan Granson and drew Ogletree that can get tough yards over the middle. Like they can stretch the seam and then Michael Pittman jr. Can do a little bit of everything like your passing game, whatever the Colts want to do, they should be able to do it basically. Yeah. I'll say this real quick.

Starting point is 00:19:57 So we've got to get to our final segment on the defense, but I think the biggest part of the equation for him to get to the 35, because I kind of set the standard for what I think Richardson's going to do this year with Josh Allen's second year, which he had 29 total touchdowns, which a great second year by Josh Allen. Not a phenomenal one, but like a really good one from Josh Allen. But I think it's really going to come down to that red zone attack that the Colts have and just how dominant Richardson is in the red zone

Starting point is 00:20:27 running game like he was last year. In the couple games he started for the Colts last year, he was a really effective weapon in the red zone. I mean, the Rams game, he had two touchdowns, one passing and one rushing within five yards. He had that rushing touchdown in week one against the Jaguars. And then you even saw the two explosive runs against the Houston Texans as well. So it really comes down to what that rushing element looks like. Because we've seen quarterbacks like Josh Allen and Jalen Hurts hit near 20 rushing touchdowns in a season in recent years. I mean, I think Allen was at 15 last year. I want to say Hurts was at like 18 last year.

Starting point is 00:21:01 Hurts was at a ton of rushing touchdowns because of the push-push. Yeah, the standard for rushing touchdown numbers for quarterbacks has risen with guys like Allen and Hurts was at like 18 last year. Hurts was at a ton of rushing touchdowns because of Tosh Bush. Yeah, the standard for rushing touchdown numbers for quarterbacks has risen with guys like Allen and Hurts. It used to be like eight was a really good number, but you've got to double it now. Right, so you could see a realistic path for Richardson being like 22 passing touchdowns and 13 rushing touchdowns, or like you said, like 23 and 12 or something like that.

Starting point is 00:21:30 And I think that's fairly feasible without projecting him to be this like MVP candidate quarterback you know like 35 rushing the 35 total touchdowns from what Cam Newton during his MVP season is different than what if Richardson were to do it this year so yeah I think 35 is is certainly on the higher end but it's not completely unattainable for a full healthy season from Anthony Richardson by any means. Absolutely. So we're bullish on the Colts rushing attack is what we're trying to say. So coming up, what about the defense?

Starting point is 00:21:56 There's plenty to like. I mean, there's plenty we're scared of, but there's plenty to like as well. We are back with prize picks, baby. And let me tell you something cool that they're doing one caleb williams passing yard gets you a win on prize picks every week in september that's right just one yard gets you an automatic win every football weekend in september 4th or in september and that's four weeks of free w's so don't miss the deal on price picks because it's gone when September ends. It's good news for me.

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Starting point is 00:23:31 Cause honestly, you go into these things a lot of time, way too confident, and then you get burned. But I think prize picks does a good job of keeping us tethered to reality. So download the price picks app today and use code locked on NFL and get $50 instantly when you play $5. That's code locked on NFL on price picks to get $50 instantly when you play $5. You don't even need to win to receive the $50 bonus. It's guaranteed price picks run your game. All right, Zach defense wins championship. So that may be a tough thing for the colts this year but again we're talking optimistic that's what we're doing today zach stop it all right so we'll go we'll go ahead i'll start us out here because this is a guy i've been super bullish on all

Starting point is 00:24:22 all summer he honestly is a star every summer during training camp, and something always happens normally in terms of injuries, but we're assuming health this year, and we are praying for a full, healthy season from Julian Blackman. I say he's going to create eight takeaways. Now, I don't mean it in the way that everyone manufactured, created takeaways for Shaq Leonard when he was here, counting forced fumbles and fumble recovered both for him and interceptions.

Starting point is 00:24:51 This is either going to be an interception or he created one fumble turnover, essentially. I'm going to give him eight because last year he obviously had the four interceptions. But I can also recall like two or three other plays that got called back by a penalty or were just overturned by the replay crew. I thought he got kind of jobbed out of a couple more takeaways last year, and he missed the last two weeks, two and a half weeks with the shoulder injury. Yeah. Yeah.

Starting point is 00:25:28 So if we give him a full season, he looks like a freaking star, you know, based on what he did this summer. If he could stay healthy, the guy has all the ingredients to be a, just a playmaking machine. So I'm going to give him a minimum of eight created takeaways. Biggest thing is staying healthy for him. Cause when he's out there, he's so good. playmaking machine so i'm going to give him a minimum of eight created takeaways biggest thing is staying healthy for him because when he's out there he's so good and i think if he gets more free safety snaps this year or the colts rotate the safeties a little bit more like they seemingly

Starting point is 00:25:53 are talking about in camp um and with this pass rush being really good this year i do think um eight takeaways is very feasible for him like we could see like a six interception type season which is kind of what he's betting on when he took a one-year deal with the Colts. So hopefully that comes like the one-year deal bites the Colts in the butt a little bit because he has a great season and hits free agency with like a bigger contract demand. But I'll take it for a great season out of Julian Blackman for sure. This one that I'm going to start us off with on my end here is one that I've said quite a bit in recent podcasts. I think I've said this one like three or four to start us off with on my end here is one that I've said quite a bit

Starting point is 00:26:25 in recent podcasts. I think I've said this one like three or four times already this offseason, but I just want to make it official here. I have Quidipe leading the Colts in sacks this year. I don't have him leading the Colts in pressures or hurries. Like I'm not buying like Quidipe is the best pass rusher on the Colts by any means. i think he's going to be a good player for them but i do think when you have a guy who's so consistent at hitting his landmarks on one side and and getting those powerful bull rushes getting to his spot and he has really good awareness to disengage when a quarterback is nearby and then on the other side you have buckner and law too who are going to be just game wreckers i I mean, I know it was a preseason game against backups. We saw what they look like in those couple snaps against the Bengals.

Starting point is 00:27:09 I don't think it's going to be that easy every time, but those guys are such game wreckers that quarterbacks, especially in a right-handed quarterback league, are going to feel the pressure to move away from their blind side, roll into their dominant side, and then Quidipe is going to be waiting right there. So I think you'll have a couple like clean sacks where he does beat guys but i think he's gonna get 10 plus this year purely from the threat of guys on the other side just running quarterbacks into him and i'll take it

Starting point is 00:27:35 i'll take any kind of sack i don't care what kind if it's a coverage sack if it's that kind of sack where he's getting where you know he's the play is being run into him. That's fine. But I do think Quidipe leads his team in sacks primarily because he boosts his stats a little bit with Latu and Buckner just being such massive threats on the other side of the offensive line. Yeah, huge beneficiary of getting a lot of probably weak side looks this time around with tight ends having to help against the other two. Because what I've seen from Buckner and Latu rushing rushing together is good god that's that's going to be tough and that's not even just being a homer that's like literally what we've seen with our eyes so far so that's going to be really tough I like what you mentioned there like he's already a good player but just

Starting point is 00:28:20 being so opportunistic with the one-on-one opportunities he's going to get or just the quarterback flushing up into his area, I think that that's got a pretty strong likelihood. Another one you gave us here that I think is good, Zaire Franklin is finally going to get a Pro Bowl nod with a healthy season and a little bit of interception luck, which he hasn't had. I think he only has like one in his career. Yeah. But the dude's been on a torrid pace for tackles.

Starting point is 00:28:47 I mean, last year he, I think it was a knee injury and he got a little banged up. It slowed him a little bit, but 200 tackles has been within the realm of possibility from him each of the last couple of years. And he probably would have got it last year if that knee injury didn't slow him down. He's got EJ speed with him starting from week one this year, so there's going to be consistency next to him this whole time. I'm with you. Yeah, like, especially if he gets to, like, 200 tackles,

Starting point is 00:29:14 he's going to have to have those extra stats you mentioned. Like, he's going to have to have an interception or two, going to have to have a sack or two. Like, he needs a signature play or two again. But yeah, I think eventually if you're that productive for that long, like it's got to crack your way eventually. Yeah, I think this is the year for Zyra Franklin. I mean, two years ago, he got his first year as a starter

Starting point is 00:29:39 and a really strong season for the Colts. Last year off to like a torrid pace, like you mentioned, and got that Pro Bowl alternate, had some recognition the offseason too where he was ranked what number 99 or number 100 on that NFL 100 list I know it's not the only the only goal yeah I know it's not the greatest metric obviously for for greatness but it shows that people take recognition of him you know like he was like the seventh highest rated linebacker on there which is really great for him um and and i think this will be the year like all it takes is like two deflected balls bounced up in the air that he comes down with to get those interception numbers uh he's had a good camp in terms of past coverage too from everything you said like we've seen a little bit more past breakups we've seen him a little bit tighter on running backs

Starting point is 00:30:23 and stuff uh showed a little bit in the preseason too. And then also just having Grover Stewart in front of him for an entire season. That helps. You know, it helps in terms of getting tackle for a loss. Because I think last year, the big thing with him is he got, you know, he got on the precipice of 200 tackles like he always does. But the tackles for a loss numbers plummeted a little bit last year compared to two years ago um i think when you have grover back in there it gives you the confidence to attack downhill a little bit more and be more comfortable you know with your run fits and with your run

Starting point is 00:30:54 blitzes and you can get more run stops and and tackles for a loss as well so i think once he gets a little bit more of those those other counting stats in terms of again tackle for a loss interceptions, a couple more past breakups, he's going to have the tackles. He has the name recognition. Now I think this is finally the year for him to get that pro bowl nod. He's been right there a couple of times.

Starting point is 00:31:15 And it kind of reminds me with Kenny where Kenny for a couple of years was just flirting with that pro bowl. And then he finally got it. I think in what 2021, I believe is what it was. I think Franklin is right there right on the cusp of getting that Pro Bowl nod and I think he ends up getting it this season yeah I think if him and EJ Speed back up a little bit of their chatter with CJ Stroud

Starting point is 00:31:38 from the offseason if they have big moments in those if they like do some signature things in those big moments against CJ Stroud, maybe like against the jets on prime time, like if they, especially Zaire, if he does things in those moments, I think that'll definitely help. Yeah.

Starting point is 00:31:55 Yeah, for sure. For sure, guys, that's all we have for today, but don't worry. We have the fun. Keep coming this,

Starting point is 00:32:00 this week. We're going to talk more bold predictions, more expectations for the season. Obviously we're going to be more bold predictions, more expectations for the season. Obviously, we're going to be previewing this week's game against the Houston Texans, one of the biggest games of the entire season for the Indianapolis Colts. So make sure you guys are tuning in to Locked on Colts all week. But before we get out of here, again, the new Locked on NFL is here. Locked on NFL is now two shows every single day.

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