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Tag: C.J. Stroud

  • Houston Texans 2024 Training Camp Report, Practice No. 10

    Houston Texans 2024 Training Camp Report, Practice No. 10

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    The Houston Texans had their final tuneup on Tuesday morning before heading to Canton, Ohio on Wednesday for Thursday night’s Hall of Fame Game, against the Chicago Bears. The weather was once again typical Houston weather in late July. After a week of a benevolent Mother Nature, she’s been bringing the heat now all week.

    Here are my observations from the last practice the Texans will hold in Houston until August 11, as they plan to practice in Ohio the week of August 5, leading up to their second preseason game, which will be in Pittsburgh, on August 9. Here we go:

    Defense wins the day, AGAIN
    For the fourth straight day, the defense had the noticeable advantage over the offense, and it all starts up front. The defensive line, against all three strings of the offensive line, is dominating this camp, of late. On the one hand, it sucks the entertainment value from practice, because most of us there, media and fans, would love to see C.J. Stroud crushing it with Stefon Diggs, Nico Collins, and Tank Dell, and while there have been some beautiful throws from Stroud, many of them come after what would have been a sack in a normal game. (In practice, quarterbacks are not allowed to be tackled, just one hand touched.) On the other hand, though, this is a fantastic sign for the design of DeMeco Ryans’ defense, which is predicated on dominant line play, and good players winning one on one battles. My bigger concern with the offense is their inability to run the football. Maybe it looks different once a healthy Joe Mixon is out there in pads, but the running game does not look great right now.

    DeMeco is not having any of your Hall of Fame Game interrogation!
    It should be fun having an actual football game to watch (and do pregame and postgame for, if you’re me) on Thursday night. The Bears’ head coach Matt Eberflus has already announced that the Bears starters will not play on Thursday night. I would expect the same for the Texans, but if that’s the case, Ryans is not revealing it. He got slightly testy (by his testiness standards) when asked about after Tuesday’s practice:

    I would expect anyone listed as first string on the depth chart, except for perhaps rookie Kamari Lassiter, to sit on Thursday night. I would expect to see a LOT of drives quarterbacked by Tim Boyle, which is code for “take the UNDER.”

    Other practice notes and observations

    * Once again, Joe Mixon, Laremy Tunsil, Christian Harris, and Andrew Beck were out of practice. Tunsil and particularly Mixon were getting in some strong workouts on a side field. Both look in great shape, and ready to go when the time comes.

    * Noah Brown had what appeared to be a veteran’s day off, and tackle Charlie Heck to the injury list with a foot injury, the severity of which is unknown.

    * Nico Collins left 11-on-11 drills twice to spend a few minutes in the massive “cool zone” trailer, as he appeared to perhaps get overheated at practice. After the second time, he came out without his cleats on and watched the rest of practice.

    * Early in practice, in one on one drills between receivers and defensive backs, John Metchie III had two of the best reps of the day, absolutely cooking Calen Bullock and Mike Ford on pass routes. I’d actually like to see Metchie play in the Hall of Fame Game, just to see him get reps and targets in a game situation.

    * It’s tough to gauge where the excitement level should be on Stroud’s camp so far, as he has made several gorgeous throws, but I’m fairly certain he’s only getting a chance to throw them, because the defense isn’t allowed to sack him. I guess I’ll go “glass half full” and revel in the elite arm talent, and pray that the Texans’ defensive line is just elite.

    * Kamari Lassiter continues to impress, highlighted by a pass break up on a throw to Tank Dell, who continues to have a very quiet camp, thus far.

    * The closest thing to a highlight sequence for the first team offense was in the final team session, where they started 1st and 10 at their own 35 yard line, down four points with 1:04 to play. Stroud completed 8 of 10 passes to work his way to 1st and goal at the 8 yard line with three seconds left. The only incompletions were a drop by Diggs on a 1st and 15, and a spike to stop the clock. On the final play, Stroud found Diggs in the back of the end zone, but Diggs couldn’t get both feet down, and the drive (and mythical game) ended there.

    Listen to Sean Pendergast on SportsRadio 610 from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. weekdays. Also, follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/SeanTPendergast, on Instagram at instagram.com/sean.pendergast, and like him on Facebook at facebook.com/SeanTPendergast.

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    Sean Pendergast

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  • Houston Texans 2024 Training Camp Report, Practice No. 8

    Houston Texans 2024 Training Camp Report, Practice No. 8

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    There’s always a point in every NFL training camp where the team has practiced several times, it’s been lively, but you can sense that everyone — players, coaches, media — are getting antsy for some work against another team. More specifically, we’re all ready for the Texans to take part in an actual game, even a preseason exhibition game like the Hall of Fame game.

    Saturday’s practice at the Methodist Training Center is where I started to feel that. Don’t get me wrong, this training camp has been a blast to cover, perhaps the most fun training camp since I started covering the Texans in 2007. However, the matchups at practice, even the main event level matchups, get stale after several straight days.

    AS of right now, there are two practices remaining, Monday and Tuesday, before the Texans head up to Canton, Ohio, to take on the Chicago Bears on Thursday night. So we’re getting very close to having real, actual game-level football! In the meantime, here’s what you need to know about Saturday’s practice, the eighth one for this camp:

    Another wet and sloppy one
    The conditions were once again very sloppy on Saturday, like they were on Friday, thanks to consistent downpours through the early portion of the morning. By the time the Texans took the field, the rain had subsided, but the surface was messy. The weather did not scare the fans away at all, as the line to get into Saturday’s practice wound from the entrance, across the street and several hundred yards down Murworth. The bleachers were packed, and the “standing room only” area in back of the north end zone was packed, as well. The NFL Network was in town, with Steve Wyche and former Texans OC Pep Hamilton doing the honors. As for the practice itself, the defense won the day, and the offense’s issues were more about conventional difficulty in executing plays than the careless pre-snap mistakes that plagued them on Friday.

    C.J. Stroud (minor) scare
    In the first portion of 11-on-11 team drills, defensive tackle Foley Fatukasi broke through the interior of the offensive line and pressured C.J. Stroud. In the process, Fatukasi stepped square on Stroud’s foot, causing the second year quarterback to hop up and down in pain, and then proceed to limp around for a few minutes. Stroud stayed in the session, and proceeded to participate in the three subsequent team sessions, so all appears to be okay (DeMeco Ryans confirmed as much after practice ended.), but it was a stark reminder how one misstep can derail a season. We will see if Stroud is back out there on Monday. I’d be surprised if he is not practicing, but if he doesn’t then the conjecture over injury severity will begin.

    Other notes and observations

    * RB Joe Mixon was back out at practice, but working out on a side field. Same for left tackle Laremy Tunsil.  LB Christian Harris was also a non-participant, as, like Tunsil, he has yet to practice this camp. FB Andrew Beck also remains sidelined. Will Anderson, Jr. didn’t practice, but that is likely a planned off day for him.

    * The one-on one-drills between defensive backs and wide receivers have FULLY lived up to the hype during this camp. One on one, Stefon Diggs, Nico Collins, and Tank Dell have been virtually impossible to guard. Even John Metchie had some reps today that had a “WOW” level of cooking the opposition. Diggs, in particular, led off the drills with a phenomenal catch in the back corner of the end zone on an absolute dime from Stroud, and then Diggs later hauled in a one-handed catch right in front of the fans. He played to the crowd, appropriately and expectedly.

    * Derek Stingley, Jr. continues to shine in camp, and had a perfectly read interception of Stroud that likely would have been a pick six in an actual game.

    * Speaking of Stingley, TE Dalton Schultz confirmed in his media session after practice that there is no lingering beef between him and Stingley, after the latter delivered a cheap shot unto Schultz during the skirmish between the offense and defense at Wednesday’s practice.

    Listen to Sean Pendergast on SportsRadio 610 from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. weekdays. Also, follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/SeanTPendergast, on Instagram at instagram.com/sean.pendergast, and like him on Facebook at facebook.com/SeanTPendergast.

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    Sean Pendergast

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  • Houston Texans 2024 Training Camp Report, Practice No. 7

    Houston Texans 2024 Training Camp Report, Practice No. 7

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    An entire NFL training camp consists of 21 total practices, so the Houston Texans hit the one third marker of the preseason amidst serious downpours of rain on Friday morning at the Methodist Training Center across the street from NRG Stadium. Thus, sloppiness and mistakes were, unfortunately, kind of a theme on Friday.

    Your practice report starts NOW…

    Rainy day equals Friday sloppiness
    There has been rainy weather practically every practice morning since training camp began over a week ago, but generally speaking, the rain has subsided by around 8:30 a.m., and the Texans have gotten in work with relatively dry conditions. Friday, this was not the case. Flood warning-level downpours occurred all morning long, including during practice, and it led to sloppy conditions, which lent itself to overall sloppy play. There were a slew of pre-snap penalties on Friday, and at one point, left guard Kenyon Green had to run a lap after a false start, which leads me to believe that he was a multiple time offender. The Texans will not play an outdoor game until Week 6, but it’s still productive to get bad weather work in. The most important things — (1) the soggy conditions don’t appear to have caused any injuries, and (2) the fans didn’t care about the rain, they showed up in droves again. It is a VERY lively camp with fans there.

    Tough cuts shaping up
    A third of the way into training camp, there are already some interesting roster decisions shaping up at the skill positions on the depth chart. Let’s take them one at a time:

    WIDE RECEIVER

    LOCKS: Nico Collins, Tank Dell, Stefon Diggs
    NEAR LOCKS: John Metchie
    OTHERS: Noah Brown, Robert Woods, Ben Skowronek, Xavier Hutchinson, Steven Sims

    Typically, a team carries five, maybe six receivers. If the Texans roll with six, which I think they will, I would guess that Collins, Dell, Diggs, Metchie, and Brown, if all healthy, make the team, and that multiple guys out of Woods, Skowronek (who they traded for), Hutchinson (who showed promise as a rookie in 2023), and Sims (their best return guy) will be on the street. Deep group.

    RUNNING BACK

    LOCKS: Joe Mixon, Dameon Pierce
    NEAR LOCKS: Dare Ogunbowale
    OTHERS: Cam Akers, Jahwar Jordan, JJ Taylor, British Brooks

    I have Ogunbowale making the team based on (1) special teams/emergency kicker chops and (2) he’s been getting reps with the first team in Mixon’s absence due to injury. Akers brings some veteran savvy, but is coming off a second Achilles tear. Jordan is a sixth round rookie, who’s shown some pop in camp. Brooks and Taylor have also flashed at times. They need to factor in a fullback here, as well, and if they overload at wide receiver or tight end, then there likely isn’t room for a fourth tailback.

    TIGHT END

    LOCKS: Dalton Schultz, Cade Stover
    NEAR LOCK: Brevin Jordan
    OTHER: Teagan Quitoriano

    This likely comes down to a simple choice — do they keep three tight ends or four? If they keep three, I think it’s a virtual lock that it’ll be Schultz, Stover, and Jordan. Jordan’s had a nice camp, so far, and I could see them moving him for a draft pick in a trade, if they trust Quitoriano’s health. Quatrain is a talented kid, but he’s had injury issues in both of his NFL seasons.

    Other notes and observations

    * Joe Mixon was back out at practice, but in T-shirt and shorts. He appeared to be moving okay. Metchie was back at practice after missing two days, and Laremy Tunsil was out again on Friday. Rookie Blake Fisher continued to get all the reps at first team left tackle.

    * Ka’imi Fairbairn had another stellar practice, making field goals from 53 and 60 yards. He did miss a 36 yarder.

    * If you’re going to any Texans practices over the next few days, go out of your way to watch receiver versus defensive back drills. The top three wide receivers for the Texans are cooking. Tank Dell does change-of-direction things that are not human. He puts guys into the figurative blender.

    * Best play of practice that I saw was a stretched out Ben Skowronek coming down with a Tim Boyle pass. Later in practice, Skowronek was in the middle of a skirmish with linebacker Max Tooley, making this the second straight Texans practice with some sort of dustup or kerfuffle.

    Listen to Sean Pendergast on SportsRadio 610 from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. weekdays. Also, follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/SeanTPendergast, on Instagram at instagram.com/sean.pendergast, and like him on Facebook at facebook.com/SeanTPendergast.

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    Sean Pendergast

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  • What Should Houston Texan Fans Be Rooting for in These NFL QB Contract Standoffs?

    What Should Houston Texan Fans Be Rooting for in These NFL QB Contract Standoffs?

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    The Houston Texans have lived a pretty charmed life the last couple off-seasons. In 2023, the draft brought us C.J. Stroud and Will Anderson as the future saviors of the organization, and possibly the city itself. In 2024, the Texans went ultra aggressive in free agency and in trades, and landed Stefon Diggs, Joe Mixon, and Danielle Hunter, among others.

    Along the way, there was almost no contractual drama. The one big extension handed out, which was to wide receiver Nico Collins, came with zero dark clouds or social media salvos needed. It was just your standard, quietly negotiated $72 million contract extension. The closest thing to drama the last two years has come from cornerback Steven Nelson, ever the agitator, going after Nick Caserio and DeMeco Ryans with personal insults about their attire and appearance. Needless to say, Nelson is gone.

    Someday, the Texans will have off-season drama again. All teams, even the good ones do. I might even say ESPECIALLY the good ones do. The Cowboys, Packers, and Dolphins are all good NFL teams, and all three have high drama going on with their starting quarterbacks right now, as all three signal callers are looking for massive new contract extensions.

    As we outlined last week, the average-at-best Jaguars QB, Trevor Lawrence, just secured a contract that ties for the highest average annual value in the league, at $55 million. I would submit that the three quarterbacks we were referring to above — Dak Prescott of the Cowboys, Jordan Love of the Packers, and Tua Tagovailoa of the Dolphins — are all better, more productive players than Lawrence. Prescott and Love, for sure.

    So now all three of those teams are in staring contests with their team leaders, who all likely want more than Lawrence. Let’s look at all three of these standoffs through a Texans prism. What should we be rooting  for in each of these instances?

    DAK PRESCOTT, Dallas Cowboys
    Prescott is in the final season of a long term contract he signed a few seasons ago, and sits on the books right now as a $55 million cap hit. This is on a team that also wants to give big deals to WR Cede Lamb and LB Micah Parsons this offseason. The worst thing for the rest of the league would be for Prescott to hit free agency next spring, because the ceiling for QB salaries would skyrocket, likely past $60 million per year, if there were a bidding war. With C.J. Stroud eligible for an extension in a couple seasons, the lower the highest salary stays, the better. So root for the Cowboys and Prescott to agree to a long term deal this offseason at slightly more than Lawrence is making, maybe $56 million or $57 million per year.

    JORDAN LOVE, Green Bay Packers
    Love is also in line for a big pay day, after waiting three seasons behind Aaron Rodgers, and in his first season as a starter, nearly knocking off the 49ers in the divisional round of the playoffs. Here’s the wrinkle with Love — his agent is David Mulugheta, who famously helped Deshaun Watson exit Houston and get a record setting amount of guaranteed money from the Browns. Mulugheta is also Stroud’s agent. Thus, I am hoping that Love lands a lucrative, but team friendly that allows the Packers to sign some of his teammates to big deals. That would show me Mulugheta is okay having a client who doesn’t push for top money, but instead prioritizes winning, like we hope C.J. Stroud does in two seasons.

    TUA TAGOVAILOA, Miami Dolphins
    Go on social media and search “Tua contract” and what you’ll find out is that the Dolphins, at least as of right now, have zero desire to pay him at the Trevor Lawrence/Joe Burrow level of $55 million per year. Tagovailoa has been very vocal about how the lack of a new deal is affecting him mentally right now, so here’s what I am hoping for, from a Texans perspective — I’m hoping that Tagovailoa gets no new deal, that he becomes a basket case worrying about it, and that he throws four picks against the Texans in Week 15 at NRG Stadium.

    Listen to Sean Pendergast on SportsRadio 610 from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. weekdays. Also, follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/SeanTPendergast, on Instagram at instagram.com/sean.pendergast, and like him on Facebook at facebook.com/SeanTPendergast.

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    Sean Pendergast

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  • Receivers Extended Around The League – Eagles One Step Ahead – Philadelphia Sports Nation

    Receivers Extended Around The League – Eagles One Step Ahead – Philadelphia Sports Nation

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    When you get things done ahead of 31 other teams in the league, there’s always a reward.

    For Howie Roseman and the Eagles, it’s a sigh of relief knowing your star players under contract for the next 2-6 years. And they’ve managed to save MILLIONS while doing so.
    Back in April, the Eagles extended multiple players. Now that the ink has dried on those contracts. It was about time the rest of the league got around to paying some of the other superstars.

    Eagles Remain Ahead

    In April, the Eagles signed their star receivers to two massive extensions.

    • April 15th,  DeVonta Smith, 3-year, $75M + 5th year option
    • April 25th, A.J. Brown, 3-year, $96M

    These contracts don’t come without merit, below has been the duos stat line the last two seasons.

    • DeVonta Smith – 33GP, 2,262Rec Yards, 14TD
    • A.J. Brown – 34GP, 2,952Rec Yards, 18TD

    While these may have been the first few receivers to be paid this off-season, they certainly weren’t the biggest paydays handed out in recent signings.

     

    This Weeks Extensions

    In the last few days. Multiple receivers have gotten contract extensions with their current team, including:

    Let’s see how these recent contracts compare with base stats of the following two seasons in comparison to the Eagles duo

    • Nico Collins – 24GP, 1,778Rec Yards, 10TD
    • Jaylen Waddle – 31GP, 2,370Rec Yards, 12TD

    When comparing to the Collins deal things might look great. Keep in mind that’s only 1 season with C.J. Stroud as the Texans Quarterback. Things might change in the upcoming season as well, with the addition of Stefon Diggs as well as the hopeful return for Tank Dell’s sophomore season.

    The same goes for looking at Waddle’s deal. Similar to DeVonta Smith who’s in a WR2 role behind Brown/Tyreek Hill. DeVonta Smith has put up similar numbers (108 less yards) and will be getting paid nearly $10M less across the 3 years of his deal. With these new contracts for star studded teams, which receiver would you rather in this scenario?

     

    Past Deals

    Of course these weren’t the only Receivers to break the bank this off-season, in fact multiple have already seen their new deals come through, including:

    • March 11th, Michael Pittman Jr, 3-year, $70M
    • April 24th, Amon-Ra St. Brown, 4-year, $120.01M
    • March 13th, Calvin Ridley, 4-year, $92M

    Of course with their payday, comes the stats. How does this other batch of receivers hold up to the last 4?

    • Michael Pittman Jr. – 32GP, 2,077Rec Yards, 8TD
    • Amon-Ra St. Brown – 32GP, 2,676Rec Yards, 16TD
    • Calvin Ridley – 17GP, 1,016Rec Yards, 8TD

    Even if Calvin Ridley had played the 2022 season. His numbers would still be somewhere between Pittman and DeVonta Smith. Depending on what team he had gone to, Ridley could have surpassed the 1,200 mark with ease.

    With all these receivers being under contract for the next 3-5 Years. You’d think that means the rest of the big names due in the upcoming year have seen new deals? For some, that’s not the case.

     

    No Contract In Sight?

    Also from the 2021 Draft class with Smith and Waddle, is Cincinnati’s Ja’Marr Chase. Entering his 4th season, Chase has put up the following his last two years as a Bengal:

    • Ja’Marr Chase – 28GP, 2,262Rec Yards, 16TD

    Without a contract, the Bengals have exercised their $21.8M 5th year option for the following season. It will be hard to deny Chase of an extension. Even without Joe Burrow for lengthy periods, Chase has still been able to have success.

    But in the NFC, there’s two more names struggling for a payday.

    • CeeDee Lamb – 34GP, 3,108Rec Yards, 21TD
    • Justin Jefferson – 27GP, 2,883Rec Yards, 13TD

    Seeing every other team continue to lock up receivers might be good for the players, but certainly not the teams. A.J and Amon-Ra’s deals are going to be the closest comparison for this duo to get paid. And if they’re trying to takeover the #1 and #2 spot for highest paid receivers, teams will be looking to pay north of $30M to keep these players under contract.

     

    After all the deals and carousel doors of acquiring younger receivers, what contracts would you offer these players who might be left still bargaining for a deal come next off-season?

     

     

    Photo Credit: Rich Schultz / AP Photo

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    Tyler L’Heureux

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  • Four Wishes for the Houston Texans 2024 Schedule

    Four Wishes for the Houston Texans 2024 Schedule

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    For 99 percent of their content, nobody promotes better than the NFL, but for some reason, the league is very guarded about the schedule release date. Rumor has it that it’s coming down soon. This is an event that fans of all 32 NFL teams can look forward to, even fans of the worst team. You know how I know this? Because in 2021 and 2022, there was no worse team than the Houston Texans, and I STILL counted down the days, hours, and minutes to the schedule release.

    This time around, it’s completely different than the last two years, though. After a 2023 season in which the Texans played 16 games at precisely noon on Sunday, until a prime time finale in Indianapolis, the 2024 schedule will look a whole lot more like the schedule did at the peak of the Kubiak and O’Brien Eras. Expect lots of prime time games, lots of late afternoon Sunday games, and maybe even some international intrigue.

    In short, this should be the most exciting schedule release in Texans history! If there is a genie out there who will listen, I have four wishes for the Houston Texans’ 2024 schedule. Here they are:

    No opener in Kansas City, please!
    Every season opens with the defending Super Bowl champion hosting the season’s first game. The rumors are already flying that the Texans will be opening the season in Kansas City to face the Chiefs. Personally, I’d rather let someone else handle this bit of business. Perhaps I still have PTSD from the Texans traveling to Kansas City in 2020 in this same scenario, a blowout loss, but I’d rather start the season with an easier opener than this one.

    Cowboys on Thanksgiving, YES PLEASE!
    Now, as far as nationally televised games that I am here for, give me the Cowboys in Dallas on Thanksgiving. Of course, the Cowboys, along with the Lions, are traditional Thanksgiving hosts every season. It’s very rare that we get the Texans and the Cowboys playing each other in the regular season, let alone in Dallas. Add to this the budding C.J. Stroud-Micah Parsons comedy duo that’s emerged this offseason, plus the two Diggs brothers, Stefon and Travon, going against each other, and this has real big viewership potential.

    Give us a London game!
    The league named the hosts of the international games several weeks ago, and two of them are Minnesota and Jacksonville, both of whom are hosting games in London. Both happen to be slated as road opponents for the Texans. This is one that I would bet on, the Texans playing in London. They ;last traveled overseas in 2019, where they beat the Jags by a score of 26-3.

    No Christmas Day game, please!
    After the success of last season’s Christmas Day broadcasts, the NFL announced a couple months ago that they would be televising two games on Christmas. The big difference, though, is that Christmas falls on a Wednesday this season, which means that the four teams that play on Christmas Day will be playing on Saturday the previous weekend, which also means that they will have two short weeks in a row, six days between a Sunday and Saturday game, and for days between Saturday and Christmas. Keep in mind that this is in the last month of the season, where a playoff push is going on. NO THANK YOU!

    Listen to Sean Pendergast on SportsRadio 610 from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. weekdays. Also, follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/SeanTPendergast, on Instagram at instagram.com/sean.pendergast, and like him on Facebook at facebook.com/SeanTPendergast.

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