Zak Keefer
@zkeefer
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Write about the NFL for @TheAthletic and adjunct professor @IUMediaSchool .
Joined May 2009
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@TheAthletic
The most remarkable story in this year's NFL Draft grew up abandoned and alone, both parents in prison.
A ward of the state at 8. Homeless at 12, asking himself the same question each night.
Not until now did Ray Davis find his answer:
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Physical toll on Andrew Luck through 6 NFL seasons:
» Torn cartilage in 2 ribs
» partially torn abdomen
» a lacerated kidney that left him peeing blood
» at least 1 concussion
» a torn labrum in his throwing shoulder
» and this mysterious calf/ankle issue that led to this
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Your NFL scoring leader through 5 weeks
(56 points for Hot Rod so far)
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NFL’s Defensive Rookie of the Year stopping to change the tire of a stranger 👇🏻👇🏻
@Colts
Darius Leonard continues to be an outstanding player on and off the field. So thankful to God that he stopped and helped me. Much love!
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Colts safety Rodney Thomas was a high school teammate of Damar Hamlin, and drove to Cincinnati to visit him in the hospital. “He’s doing good,” Thomas said. “He’s building up strength so he can walk out of that room.” Has no doubt he’ll pull through. “I 100% believe that.”
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If you can believe it, Andrew Luck is on the sideline at this moment, chatting with teammates like nothing is out of the ordinary. A surreal scene.
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This actually just happened.
Reporter: "Is this a must win Sunday?"
Falcons player: [blank stare]
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The Colts bypass two former NFL head coaches already on staff — Gus Bradley, John Fox — and a rising head-coaching candidate in Bubba Ventrone, to name former center Jeff Saturday the interim coach.
That is a real sentence.
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Thibodeaux celebrating like this while Foles is in serous pain is classless
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Everyone's hands are dirty in this failure — Frank Reich, Chris Ballard, Jim Irsay — but no coach, ever, should start his career with 5 different Week 1 QBs in five successive seasons. That is an organizational failure.
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Matt Ryan: “I love Sam. He’s been awesome since the day I got here. My job shifts now — now I gotta do everything I can to help him. He’s gonna do great for us.”
Total pro.
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News: The Colts are strongly considering hiring franchise great Reggie Wayne as the team’s new wide receivers coach, sources said. Nothing finalized, but would be a big addition to Frank Reich’s staff.
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This is quite a quote from new Colts QB Jacob Eason:
"As soon as this virus calms down, I'm gonna go in there and compete my nuts off."
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Heard the Colts' first practice with Jeff Saturday was a bit more "spirited" than usual. At one point, Saturday stopped practice and made the offense restart a play it had screwed up. Once they got it right, he shouted, "Now do that s— that way the first time."
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To clarify: the Colts are making the switch at QB regardless of Matt Ryan's injury. The plan, as of now, is for Sam Ehlinger to be the starting quarterback the rest of the season.
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New this morning: After a $3 million donation from Colts owner Jim Irsay, Indiana University will launch a new research institute with designs on it becoming the leading center in the nation for addressing mental health concerns and the stigmas associated with them.
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Let me see if I understand this...
Darius Leonard
» leads the entire league in tackles (by 22!)
» has more than any rookie through 13 games in NFL history
» has 7 sacks, 2nd most among rookies
» 4 forced fumbles, 7 PDs, INT
... and still doesn't get a Pro Bowl bid?
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Fun fact: the Colts haven't used the franchise tag in a decade (and won't today). The last time they did, it was on
@PatMcAfeeShow
.
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Quenton Nelson as a pro:
— all 3,263 of the Colts' offensive snaps
— kept his streak alive this season despite a back injury
— in 1,704 career passing snaps, he’s allowed 3 sacks
— that’s one sack every 568 snaps
"You can't draft a guard sixth overall..."
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We underestimated this at the time, but Colts lost a heck of an offensive mind when Nick Sirianni left to take the Eagles job in 2021. Though Reich calls the plays, Sirianni had a huge role in game planning/scheming/play scripts. Colts' offense hasn't been the same since.
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Colts F.A. adds:
Trade for QB Matt Ryan
Trade for DE Yannick Ngakoue
Re-sign TE Mo Alie-Cox
Re-sign LB Zaire Franklin
Re-sign DE Tyquan Lewis
Re-sign OT Matt Pryor
Signed CB Brandon Facyson
Sign S Rodney McLeod
Sign S Armani Watts
Sign LB Brandon King
Sign CB Stephon Gilmore
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Khari Willis played his entire rookie season with a secret.
The Colts safety spent every night sleeping on a pullout couch at the hospital, where his twin boys — born 3 months premature, weighing less than 2 lbs each — were fighting for their lives:
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12 years ago today — One of my favorite mic’d up moments ever: “Goddammitt Donald!”
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Jonathan Taylor running off the field to “MVP” chants here in Glendale.
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Colts RB Nyheim Hines yesterday (1/2):
"Not an excuse, but every year we have a new quarterback. So each year we have growing pains while we sit here + watch Tennessee, which has had Tannehill, what, my whole career? And each year we’re restarting and we have to turn the page."
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Thought this was impressive stuff from Sam Ehlinger after he was asked by
@MikeWellsNFL
about the pressure he's facing this early in his career.
This is what perspective sounds like 👇🏼
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Colts GM Chris Ballard opens up — in an impassioned, sometimes-tearful 15-minute speech on the state of racial inequality in our country. This follows two days of meetings w/ players and staff that opened his eyes like never before.
Some of his most powerful words below:
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Colts defense will now include DeForest Buckner, Darius Leonard, Kenny Moore + Stephon Gilmore, with two talented young pass rushers — Kwity Paye and Dayo Odeyingbo — entering their second season.
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This might be the most embarrassing lost in the history of the franchise.
How do you blow a 33-point halftime lead?
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There's an aging New York mobster who's been hiding in Indianapolis for a decade, hiding from the gangsters he ratted on and the famous father he sent to jail.
"He said he'd kill me."
For the first time, John Franzese wants his story told. Here it is.
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2 brothers in prison, another killed. Sleepless nights, grief counselors, weight lost. Cast aside by his dream school, labeled one of the worst picks in the draft.
Now Darius Leonard is the best rookie in football.
The rise – and rage – of The Maniac:
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The Colts in 2019:
» Return 21/22 starters, including two All-Pros
» Add Justin Houston on defense + Devin Funchess on offense
» Get Jack Doyle back (he missed all of December/playoffs)
» Have 9 draft picks
» Will have Andrew Luck coming off his first normal offseason in 5 years
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Final: Colts 19, Chiefs 13.
A game no one picked them to win, two defensive stars hurt, some horrendously bad calls, against the best QB in the world – that, right there, is the most impressive win of the Frank Reich era.
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Jeff Saturday won the players over in today’s team meeting. Here’s a little glimpse of why👇🏻
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Just worth mentioning: All four Super Bowls the Colts franchise has played in — 1968, 1970, 2006 and 2009 — have taken place in Miami, Florida.
Next year’s Super Bowl is in Miami, Florida.
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With no Jonathan Taylor — and with Anthony Richardson on the field for only five quarters so far — Shane Steichen's Colts have won two of their first three.
It's (really) early, but no one had them here:
AFC South standings
Colts 2-1
Jaguars 1-2
Texans 1-2
Titans 1-2
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The night the Colts beat the Patriots, Frank Reich sent video of the locker room to Ryan Kelly, specifically of Jim Irsay saving a game ball for him and his wife. Kelly said "it was the darkest day" — their first day out of the hospital — and they watched the video 100s of times.
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Darius Leonard asked if he was watching the end of the Pittsburgh game (and the Colts’ slim playoff hopes): “No. No. Why should we be looking for help when we can’t help ourselves?”
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Done deal, source said: five-time Pro Bowl corner Stephen Gilmore to the Colts.
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Reggie Wayne on new QB Matt Ryan: “It makes me throw up how much he reminds me of Peyton.”
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Colts would’ve saved themselves a lottttttttt of trouble if they’d just beaten Jacksonville in Week 1.
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Matt Ryan this season: Five fourth-quarter comebacks and four game-winning drives in eight starts with the Colts.
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Fans of this team deserve better than whatever the hell this is.
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Here's Colts Pro Bowl center Ryan Kelly on his unspeakable loss, his "rockstar" wife and those who have helped pull them through the pain:
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Updated Pro Bowl voting from the NFL this morning: Colts' rookie Rodrigo Blankenship leads all AFC kickers with more than 80,000 votes.
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I think it's safe to say, six games into his career: Alec Pierce is that dude.
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Among the 129 nominees for the
@ProFootballHOF
Class of 2023:
Dwight Freeney
Reggie Wayne
Dallas Clark
Jeff Saturday
Robert Mathis
Bob Sanders
… and Pat McAfee
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One scene that sticks in my mind: Andrew Luck, exiting the locker room after the playoff loss in KC, with a huge smile on his face as he caught up with his fiancee. Asked him about it this spring, and his response is very telling tonight:
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Dan I can assure you there's not a person on this planet whose opinion I care less about.
I'll let my work speak for itself, and I'll let you continue to embarrass whatever place is dumb enough to still employ you.
An epiphany by the locals…amazing how they check the temperature and write accordingly…
What happened to “NFL’s BEST ROSTER”
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Those inside the building and around the team are just as stunned by this move as the rest of us.
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After JT’s fumble on his team’s first offensive snap, Carson Wentz pulled Jonathan Taylor aside and told him, “We’re still coming to you. You’re the best player on this field.”
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Andrew Luck and his wife plan on staying in Indianapolis. "This is home," he said.
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Sam Ehlinger on Jeff Saturday's decision to roll with Matt Ryan at QB: "I was happy for Matt. He’s had a heck of a career — and I get to continue to learn from him? That’s gonna be invaluable for the rest of my career."
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New Colts WR Josh Downs: "I was talking to Reggie Wayne a few weeks ago. He told me he needed me."
After his workout at the combine, Wayne told Downs he was the best receiver in this class — and it wasn't close.
Safe to say Coach Wayne is a happy man tonight.
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Since 2003 — a span of 361 regular season games — the Colts have only been shutout three times.
All three have come against the Jaguars.
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Matt Gay = what a game.
He becomes the first kicker in NFL history to make four from 50 yards or more in the same game.
And without Anthony Richardson or Ryan Kelly, the Colts get an overtime win over Lamar and the Ravens in Baltimore.
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Colts 2022 Pro Bowlers—
RB Jonathan Taylor
OL Quenton Nelson
DT DeForest Buckner
LB Darius Leonard
CB Kenny Moore
C Ryan Kelly
LS Luke Rhodes
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🚨 Pumped to announce the project I've been working on the past 5 months 🚨
A 6-episode narrative podcast series for
@TheAthletic
on one of the most fascinating careers in recent NFL history.
It's the Andrew Luck story — as you've never heard it.
Comes out Monday. A preview:
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Wherever Andrew Luck watched this game — maybe some remote village in Europe? — I can promise you no one is happier right now for Jacoby Brissett than him. 12 was his biggest fan.
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RB Marlon Mack is indeed back with the Colts, per source.
He stayed in Indy to rehab and mentor Jonathan Taylor, Nyheim Hines and Jordan Wilkins. Terrific teammate.
Colts backfield gonna be a handful.
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Reporting from
@pauldehnerjr
: "According to sources who have viewed the tape, it shows about eight minutes of footage focusing on recording the Bengals’ sideline. It’s a direct view of the sideline as coaches make signals for plays."
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"Every time I see Chris Ballard, I thank him for trading for DeForest Buckner."
— Darius Leonard
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News: QB Carson Wentz will return to practice tomorrow for the Colts, and will be participating.
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"You know, I built this place..."
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Probably not the time to tweet this, but the Colts are tied for first in the division.
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Sam Ehlinger went 17-for-23 for 201 yds, no TD and no INT in his NFL debut. Some really nice throws in there, too.
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Colts need to call Philip Rivers. Have heard it's being discussed.
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While his entire team stands arm-in-arm during the playing of the national anthem in Jacksonville, Colts coach Frank Reich takes a knee.
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Jonathan Taylor finished 3rd in the NFL in rushing yards this season. His 1,169 were the most by a Colts' rusher since Edgerrin James' last season here in 2005.
Insanely good draft pick by Chris Ballard in the spring.
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Eli on Peyton in Indy: "He had that stadium trained. The fans would get fined if they talked when the Colts were on offense. If a guy was trying to order a beer, everyone would tell him to quiet down until the defense was on the field." 🤣🤣
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For those wondering: Been told Andrew Luck is doing really well. Happy. Healthy. No second-guessing his decision. Still lives in Indianapolis, and stays in touch with his former teammates.
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Said it then, and I’ll say it now: the Colts absolutely dodged a bullet when Josh McDaniels backed out of their coaching job in 2018.
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This is nuts.
Darius Leonard and Quenton Nelson named 1st team All-Pro, the first time for rookie teammates in the NFL since Chicago’s Dick Butkus and Gale Sayers (two Hall of Famers) way back in 1965.
The future in Indy is bright.
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Colts record with Andrew Luck healthy:
2012: 11-5, playoffs
2013: 11-5, playoffs
2014: 11-5, playoffs
2018: 10-6, playoffs
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FINAL: Colts 22, Cardinals 16.
Down nine starters by halftime, including three Pro Bowlers, facing one of the most dynamic QBs in the game, Indianapolis (9-6) makes another statement.
They’ve now won 8 of 10.
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Colts coach Frank Reich: "I don’t care what seed we are — let's become the first seven seed to ever win a Super Bowl."
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One of the game balls the Colts gave out tonight: GM Chris Ballard. “When you win a game like this, you thank the man that put the roster together,” said Frank Reich.
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NFL passing leaders through 7 games:
Patrick Mahomes, 15 TDs
Russell Wilson, 15 TDs
Matt Ryan, 15 TDs
Jacoby Brissett, 14 TDs
Aaron Rodgers, 13 TDs
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Andrew Luck, at age 29, is standing on a podium right now in front of me announcing his retirement, and I’m still not sure if this is real. But it is. His eyes are watery, his words heavy. The most surreal scene I’ve ever witnessed in sports.
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This stat is insane.
Most runs for a first down, 2021 season:
1. Jonathan Taylor, 97
2. Antonio Gibson, 59
3. Joe Mixon, 56
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New Colts CB Stephon Gilmore, asked what sealed it for him: "The visit last week... I think the future here is bright."
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Can assure you the Colts have no regrets, either
Josh McDaniels has "no regrets" over not taking Colts job.
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Carson Wentz this season:
22 TDs, 5 INT
7 games with a passer rating above 100, tied for second in the NFL
Given the choice, Colts would make the trade again 10/10 times — and I think there's a chance he'll be much better in Year 2 with a full camp and preseason.
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"We embarrassed ourselves. Embarrassed our owner. Embarrassed our city." — Colts GM Chris Ballard
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Jim Irsay says second-year Pro Bowl guard Quenton Nelson has been asking for the cell phones of each of the players the Colts have drafted, so he can call, welcome them and tell them about "what it means to wear the horseshoe."
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Matt Ryan's scramble happened with 59 seconds left, setting up a 3rd-and-3. Colts chose not to call a timeout after the play, but lost about 25 seconds of game time. Then they hurried a run for Taylor that went absolutely nowhere.
Bad, bad football in crunch time.
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If you would have told me the Colts would start the season 4-2 AFTER the franchise quarterback stunned the organization by retiring 15 days before the opener, I wouldn't have believed you. But that's how good a job Chris Ballard and Frank Reich have done.
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He’s back: Colts activate QB Carson Wentz, as well as right tackle Braden Smith, for tomorrows game vs the Raiders. Indy nearly at full strength.
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Jim Irsay said he texted Peyton Manning, Marvin Harrison and Edgerrin James during the game, telling them to turn on the TV to watch what Jonathan Taylor was doing.
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This is a good look at Matt Ryan’s camp so far — he’s **always** coaching up the young WRs/TEs.
(Also you gotta respect a guy who can hit a 2 iron)
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Last year in Atlanta, Matt Ryan had a 29th-ranked defense and a 31st-ranked run game. Calvin Ridley was hurt half the year.
Colts were 9th in defense and 2nd in the run. He'll join a team with a better o-line and some emerging weapons in Jonathan Taylor and Michael Pittman, Jr.
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