00:00All right, let's hear from Kyle Pitts, man, because he can buy a few cars now, right,
00:04with this new deal he probably already has.
00:06Pitts was talking about his evolution as a tight end through this point.
00:11I would say to start, just obviously as a rookie, you start off raw.
00:15And I learned behind some core guys in Hayden Hurst and Lee Smith,
00:21and then I had guys like John Newham and Michael Pruitt.
00:24Michael, I mean, all those guys are played 10 years at minimum,
00:28and it was cool to each year go from trying to stay above water as a rookie
00:36to each year it getting better, learning to play, but faster and learning how to play faster.
00:42So, you know, from day one to now, I feel like it's night and day.
00:45He did have some veteran tight ends.
00:47I totally forgot about that, Mike.
00:49I mean, Lee Smith came in here.
00:50That was when Arthur was here.
00:51He had been with him in Tennessee, and the guy was going to retire,
00:53and he's like, oh, come play for Arthur.
00:55Right.
00:55And he was a vet.
00:57Obviously, Jonu Smith was a playmaker.
00:59He brings up a valid point there.
01:00But now this is Kyle's opportunity to separate himself.
01:04Right.
01:04And what I mean by that, guys, is we've got to stop having this conversation about Kyle.
01:09Just when is he going to take the next step?
01:11He's got to have separation this year where you feel like he's one of the top five tight ends in
01:15the league.
01:16He doesn't have to be the best.
01:17I'd love to say that, Mike.
01:18But he's got to be in that category where you go, man, you know, you start talking about tight ends,
01:24and his name comes up frequently.
01:25I know that, you know, he's a guy that, you know, in this offense should have, like, is 1,000
01:31yards.
01:32I don't even give it.
01:32Honestly, I'd sacrifice the yards for the touchdowns.
01:35Give me 10.
01:36Get to that.
01:37800 yards.
01:3810.
01:3810 touchdowns is that magic number.
01:40For everybody else who's up there in that elite ranking, no, even guys, as you brought up,
01:45I mean, look at some of the bums that were throwing the football for the Raiders last year, right?
01:49I mean, so you look at some of the great tight ends, you're like, okay.
01:52And, again, you could argue that with, you know, Michael Panix learning on the job
01:55and then Cousins taking over, Pitts was lucky to be where he was statistically, which is top three.
02:00I agree.
02:01What about the offensive identity of this team?
02:03Here's Kyle Pitts talking about that after signing his deal.
02:06Yeah, definitely.
02:07Definitely.
02:07I think we're growing one.
02:08And Coach Stefanski says that, he had a quote that kind of stuck with me, is if you don't define
02:14your identity, somebody else will.
02:15And that's something that we're trying to implement in our offense and in this team and growing one.
02:21But as an offense specifically, I think we're growing one and going into Kim.
02:25That'll be a continuation of OTAs.
02:28Yeah, look, I think part of this is, and it's been our Achilles heel, just simply scoring more points, right?
02:36Red zone, dead zone.
02:38Yes.
02:38I mean, the identity is, we run the football to set everything else up.
02:42We know that's going to be the identity, but we've got to score points.
02:46And Mike, we just, that explosiveness.
02:48We talk about the Dawgs, it's the same applies for the Falcons.
02:51Same applies.
02:51Yeah, and that's, I mean, and it goes back to, I mean, even when Matt Ryan was still, you know,
02:55in his solid years at the end of his career here in Atlanta, before that, you know, ill-fated situation
03:00with Deshaun Watson, we want to trade him to the Colts.
03:02We still were a team which he conked out in the red zone, you know, and that's, that's what I
03:07thought he would be the ultimate, you know, red zone weapon.
03:09You talked earlier about Pete Prisco, he was ranking his top 100 NFL players.
03:13The safe play in hindsight is Panay Sewell.
03:16It's not sexy.
03:17No one's going to be wearing a Panay Sewell jersey.
03:19But, I mean, he's been a solid piece of Detroit's resurgence.
03:22You know, so two things, as we said, it's not, never has to be that zero-sum game, like Jalen
03:26Carter or Bijan, right?
03:27Both guys can be successful.
03:29But now is the year that hopefully Pitts does validate, you know, the love.
03:34And we know what he's capable of, and now I think with, still not sold on the quarterback option, but
03:39I do believe in Stabanski, the touchdowns come up.
03:41I hope so.
03:42It's Dukes and Bell, Sports Radio 92.9 The Game.
03:44Some guy talks on the way.
03:45We will talk more NFL and plenty more on NBA free agency, guys, as it officially starts tonight at 6
03:52o'clock.
03:52And we'll keep you updated.
03:54Lots of stories, including Kawhi Leonard going back, being traded to Toronto and LeBron being a free agent.
04:00Here's Kyle Pitts on what this contract means for him.
04:02You just talked about the new regime believing in him.
04:04Right.
04:04Here's what he said about it.
04:05Great, but the first thing for me is just my expression of gratitude for this organization with Matt, with Ian,
04:13and with, of course, the fans skin.
04:14And the whole front office to be able to do that.
04:17And it's just, it's always good to know when people like you.
04:22And for them to invest and trust that I have a lot more to go, it's pretty cool to see
04:29and feel.
04:32Nice guy.
04:33But the question is always, is he productive?
04:36Right?
04:37Can he really help us with where we want to go?
04:40There are a lot of nice guys in the league, Mike.
04:42But are they productive?
04:43And if you're not, then you don't last.
04:45And you certainly don't get a contract extension and you don't get the big bag.
04:49Right.
04:49So Kyle, I think everybody likes him.
04:51People have been here before.
04:53They like Kyle.
04:54But I feel like the vision for him, whatever this is for Kevin Stefanski, is probably bigger than it's been
05:00for any other coach.
05:01I think Arthur Smith was very careful in bringing him along with that rookie season.
05:05And luckily he had a veteran in Matt.
05:08And then you look at the next few years with the injuries and how things played out.
05:12Now this is the separation I'm talking about.
05:14And so I'm excited for Kyle.
05:16I'm glad he got his bag.
05:17I'm glad this is behind us, to be honest with you.
05:19Next thing is let's take care of Bijan.
05:20We know that's coming.
05:21No rush.
05:22That'll happen.
05:23But I'm happy for him.
05:24And let's hope this is his most productive season.
05:26Right.
05:27I mean, happy that he got the deal.
05:29Surprise.
05:29Because I did think that they would simply allow it to play out.
05:33And you still had options.
05:35But if nothing else, if we talk about Pitts, you heard the soundbite.
05:39He's got to feel good about this.
05:40That this organization is on the right track.
05:42Like, it's not Kyle Pitts' fault he was selected fourth.
05:45You know?
05:45And then, unfortunately, the injury, if we're honest, and it's not Kyle Pitts' fault, they sandbagged how serious the knee
05:51injury was.
05:51Which basically affected him for almost two seasons.
05:53Yeah, it did.
05:53Hey, man, stay tuned to the morning shift all week long for your chance to win a four-pack of
05:59tickets to the Quaker State 400.
06:01Available at Walmart, by the way.
06:03Which is coming up July 12th at Echo Park Speedway.
06:06So, yes, we're getting the jump on this.
06:08Don't miss your chance to check out one of the most exciting races of the year in the NASCAR Cup
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06:15And it's all courtesy of Echo Park Speedway with the morning shift on Sports Radio 92.9 The Game.
06:20So, make sure you tune in all week for your chance to win tickets.
06:23Mike, what do we have coming up in Guy Talk?
06:24Hey, man.
06:25Boy, the Mexican fans are playing dirty with Ecuador.
06:29Down in Cuyahoga de Mexico.
06:31Mexico!
06:32We'll explain.
06:32We've got some audio for you.
06:34Jameis Winston is just really fun and lovable to watch in any environment.
06:39But, Jameis, with the World Cup, we've got some more audio, Oren.
06:41Is it worth playing?
06:44Well, hey, you came in here like a tornado.
06:46You sent me this audio.
06:47We're going to play it, pal.
06:48And also, what world are we living in when Germans become the biggest wussies in sports?
07:00Stay tuned.
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