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Star Ledger: Co-Owner John Mara quotes after game

micky : 12/29/2013 6:18 pm
By Steve Politi

Quote:
“We’re still 7-9,” co-owner John Mara told The Star-Ledger when asked if a strong finish changed his opinion on the season. “As an old coach once said, you are what your record says you are, and we’re still 7-9. But yeah, it’s always better to end up winning, and we did end up winning seven of our last 10 games.

“But we’re still 7-9.”




Link - ( New Window )
I like John Mara,  
Exit 172 : 12/29/2013 6:19 pm : link
but I'm more interested in the actions he takes this offseason than his words.
talk, talk, talk  
islander1 : 12/29/2013 6:19 pm : link
what are you going to DO about it, Mr. Mara?

That's the real question.
In the reading too much into things dept.  
BlackLight : 12/29/2013 6:20 pm : link
It sounds like Coughlin is going to be politely pressured to make some changes.
Mara's not going to publicly do anything  
BlackLight : 12/29/2013 6:21 pm : link
Because to do anything would mean that Coughlin and/or Reese would be let go. Neither of which is going to happen.

It's no slight on Mara, but anyone who expects him to drop the hammer is going to be disappointed.
You guys beat me to it  
bceagle05 : 12/29/2013 6:22 pm : link
Do something about it, Mr. Mara.
honestly, I agree  
Essex : 12/29/2013 6:23 pm : link
who cares what he says, let's see what he does and we will judge him upon that.
I would actually  
MookGiants : 12/29/2013 6:24 pm : link
disagree about the Giants record saying what they actually were.

They were only 7-9 because they faced a shit load of backup QB's
last time he allegedly imposed his will  
Essex : 12/29/2013 6:24 pm : link
we fired Perry and have had two seasons where the defense looked like 2009, which was 2011 and 2012, and two years where the defense looked pretty good. 2010 and this season. so, who knows.
talk is cheap  
twostepgiants : 12/29/2013 6:25 pm : link
Own the team
What this means as a CEO is that he will have Reese/Coughlin  
PatersonPlank : 12/29/2013 6:26 pm : link
present their improvement plan for next year. After an iteration or two that's what they will go with. If its Coughlins plan, I doubt there will be any change with Gilbride. However there likely will be a token change or two just to make it look progressive.
Whoa!  
TC : 12/29/2013 6:35 pm : link
Just scanned the article. Sounds like BIG changes are coming!
RE: I would actually  
Optimus-NY : 12/29/2013 6:35 pm : link
In comment 11420331 MookGiants said:
Quote:
disagree about the Giants record saying what they actually were.

They were only 7-9 because they faced a shit load of backup QB's


Great point Mook. That 4 game winning streak was fool's gold.
Mook  
BigBlueShock : 12/29/2013 6:36 pm : link
add to that the Lions and Skins laid down like dogs. And it drives me crazy too. It seems like every time the Giants need to win their last two games to make the playoffs, they play desperate teams fighting them to the death. When it would kind of behoove them to lose, for drat position purposes, they get teams that don't even show up. The Giants did everything in their power to lose these last two games, but the losers on the other side would not have any of it
honestly  
Matt in SGS : 12/29/2013 6:38 pm : link
I don't put too much stock in this either way. The one positive, as a fan, is that ownership is looking at the whole of the situation and not going all rah-rah by the finish. Yes, they did finish strong, but they were 7-9. Not good enough.

By contrast, if this was our co-tenants, Woody Johnson would probably want to put a banner up for a 7-3 finish to the season.

Ultimately, the Giants have been already planning their 2014 and beyond for a while now. Reese in particular has had plenty of time to begin crafting a plan for Mara and Tisch to review. Coughlin, not so much, he's been focused on coaching.

At the end of the day, I don't see the Giants making any changes to the coaching staff. I think that the fall will happen within scouting and player development. The biggest name to take the fall will probably be Marc Ross. They will spend time re-evaluating how they made their draft selections, find the gaps, look at the scouting reports and weigh against actual performance. From there, they will make those moves. After that, they will probably push on some of the older/injured guys, which is what they generally do as soon as the end of season physicals are done and once the Super Bowl is over, they pull the trigger on cutting guys ahead of free agency.

Coughlin will only be out if he doesn't want to come back. And the only change I could see is if Sullivan shakes loose in Tampa, the Giants will bring him back to the staff to work with Eli and probably you'll see Ryan gone as QB coach. That would then re-set the succession plan from Coughlin to Sullivan. Like it or not, since 1983, the Giants have only hired 1 head coach who was not in the Giants family before, that was Dan Reeves in 1993 (and only after Coughlin turned them down to stay at BC). And Reeves had a big resume from both Dallas and Denver.
"And the status of head coach Tom Coughlin?"  
TC : 12/29/2013 6:38 pm : link
“We’ll talk about that during the week.”

Wow!

Will Mara do anything? It really depends on one thing, IMO  
Marty in Albany : 12/29/2013 6:39 pm : link
Does a playoff team make more money than a loser?
If it does, then I'm confident John Mara will take steps.

If a losing team makes as much net income as a winning team, Mara might not get too involved personally.
Essex -  
Exit 172 : 12/29/2013 6:41 pm : link
Fired Perry?
Play the games on your schedule  
nygiants1114 : 12/29/2013 6:43 pm : link
Giants actually had the toughest schedule in the NFL. Played the most above 500 teams-went 1-9. Foolish to say that giants faced a bunch of backup QB. Next year they will face poor/backup QB as well. Lot of those backup QB had great games-Terrele Pryor beat SD with great game, Cassell/Viking QB situation won a few big games at the end. Cousins had big games as well.Flynn/GB situation won games and so did Vick before. If Fewell lost those games and gave up big games to those qbs -who had big games elsewhere vs other nfl teams (with no help from offense), you would be killing. Wins those games-still killing him. NO WIN.
He seems quite content...  
BurberryManning : 12/29/2013 6:43 pm : link
this is another reason myself and many other fans were passively hoping to lose the meaningless games. 7-9 presents the false allure that we became a good football season towards the end which is an extremely dangerous thought
Matt is SGS...Thanks as always  
drkenneth : 12/29/2013 6:44 pm : link
As I posted on another thread: I really don't get the whole Sullivan as successor plan. It makes zero sense.

John Mara needs to put his stamp on the franchise at some point.
Haha  
UConn4523 : 12/29/2013 6:45 pm : link
what do you guys expect him to say/do right after this game. The offseason starts now, plenty will be done over the next 9 months. The guy has to answer the questions in the mean time.
Foolish  
MookGiants : 12/29/2013 6:45 pm : link
to say they faced a bunch of backup QB's?

Barkley (3rd string), Tolzine, Cousins, Freeman.

Add in Terrell Pryor being awful and on one leg when they played and 5 of their 7 wins came either against terrible QB's or backup QB's.

So, no, it isn't foolish to say they faced a bunch of backup QB's, its a simple fact.

When they faced a legitimate starting caliber QB this year, they went 2-9
This will be a fascinating offseason. I just don't see Mara  
yatqb : 12/29/2013 6:46 pm : link
firing TC, but I could see him demanding changes to the coaching staff and front office. I sure hope that he does so, because imo we're being outcoached and outdrafted.
that is a suprising quote  
Essex : 12/29/2013 6:47 pm : link
that he will talk about the status of TC during the week. that might mean, of course, how long the extension will be, as opposed to making a change.
yap,yap,yap, blah,blah,blah  
GmenDynasty : 12/29/2013 6:50 pm : link
what happened to quotes about how 'status quo is not acceptable?' from last year? Now we have a horrifically underwhelming season and are we going to see status quo on the coaching staff again?

Alot of hot air!
Reminds me of something George Young used to say  
bigblueheadache : 12/29/2013 6:50 pm : link
"Everybody gets evaluated at the end of the season."
Coughlin will stay  
BlackLight : 12/29/2013 6:51 pm : link
I wouldn't expect Mara to announce his intentions wrt the coaching situation in the postgame lockerroom, no matter what those intentions were.
Shit is getting real now  
MarshallOnMontana : 12/29/2013 6:53 pm : link
with Bears/Pack and SD/KC

And the main event tonight. What a Sunday
Every team plays poor QBs every year.  
nygiants1114 : 12/29/2013 6:54 pm : link
You play your schedule. Giants happened to have toughest schedule this year...
drkenneth  
Matt in SGS : 12/29/2013 6:54 pm : link
I think Sullivan has everything to do with 2 factors:

1- familiarity within the Giants organization (as I mentioned above)
2- familiarity with Eli

Let's face it, Eli is the franchise and the Giants are going to be married to him for the next 5 years or so through the remainder of his prime/contract. The Giants priority is to keep him in a situation where he will be comfortable and productive with the system and the staff. To that end, his best years were developed under Sullivan has his QB coach. Sullivan went to Tampa to round out his resume more with more responsibility as an offensive coordinator. It's very much similar to what Jim Fassel did back in the 1990s. You add in with Eli's regression the past couple of years, rounding out to this season, someone will take the fall for that. It won't be Eli, it won't be Coughlin, and it probably won't even be Gilbride. That leaves Ryan to take that hit, and they would look to slot Sullivan back in.

Unless Mara is willing to put his own stamp on it, as you note, of all the coaches from within the Coughlin tenure since 2004, Sullivan is the only one who really fits the description of the Giants hiring practices since Parcells.
wrong thread  
MarshallOnMontana : 12/29/2013 6:54 pm : link
.
I CALLED IT!!!!  
Jint Fan in Buc Land : 12/29/2013 6:54 pm : link
Everything is just fine according to the front office. Fuck me . How long will this one eye shut approach prevail?
find one other team  
MookGiants : 12/29/2013 6:55 pm : link
in the NFL who played 5 backup QB's this year, and 2 basically 3rd stringers
Mr Mara has been very good at not overreacting...  
Blue Meanie : 12/29/2013 6:56 pm : link
We'll se how he is at not under-reacting...My money is on him...but the jury is out...
Marty in Albany  
nomad1986 : 12/29/2013 6:59 pm : link
With a free ride from the state of NJ, PSL's in place, TV money pooled equally to all teams and merchandise pooled equally to all teams the Giants will never have anything to worry about financially. Ever. Never. Ever.
TC ... RE: Whoa!  
baadbill : 12/29/2013 7:02 pm : link
In comment 11420368 TC said:
Quote:
Just scanned the article. Sounds like BIG changes are coming!


WTF, your comment made me actually read the article and there wasn't a single other quote from Mara about the 2013 season other than the one posted. Nada. Zip. Nothing.
the eagles  
Essex : 12/29/2013 7:05 pm : link
played 4 tolzien, cassel (no ap), orton, glennon (replaced freeman in second game--that is a backup), and RGIII twice. Cutler on the way back. Stafford in the snow. Other teams get lucky, too.
RE: TC ... RE: Whoa!  
Essex : 12/29/2013 7:06 pm : link
In comment 11420481 baadbill said:
Quote:
In comment 11420368 TC said:


Quote:


Just scanned the article. Sounds like BIG changes are coming!



WTF, your comment made me actually read the article and there wasn't a single other quote from Mara about the 2013 season other than the one posted. Nada. Zip. Nothing.


i read it, and it backed up what he said about Coughlin. I just do not think he is reading the context right.
directly from the article  
Essex : 12/29/2013 7:08 pm : link
Quote:
And the status of head coach Tom Coughlin?

“We’ll talk about that during the week.”
As unlikely as it may be  
UConn4523 : 12/29/2013 7:14 pm : link
we dont automatically lose anyone of those games should the starters have been there. It goes both ways here.
Really, what do you expect of John Mara. He is not Jerry Jones.  
Reese's Pieces : 12/29/2013 7:14 pm : link
Right after the end of the last game he was not going to make a dramatic statement about firing the GM and Coach.

What Mara didn't say I think has to be worrisome to the coaches. Given a chance to say something positive about the 7-3 finish, he didn't take it. When the Giants record hit 4-6 he complimented the coaches. Not this time.

He also expressed quiet anger about the 7-9 finish. Unlike his father, John Mara does not want to be the President and CEO of an NFL cellar dweller. It directly affects his prestige as an owner of an original, historic franchise.

Not predicting major changes based on what Mara didn't say today, but like I said if I were coach I wouldn't be happy.
The Giants had a lot of incredibly soft wins this year against putrid  
NyquistX3 : 12/29/2013 7:14 pm : link
teams. They barely beat Matt Barkley. They barely beat a rotten Oakland team at home playing their backup QB. They played in one of the worst played MNF games in recent memory against the Vikings, and the Vikings started a QB that had been there for two weeks. Four of those wins were against QBs who wouldn't have been playing had the Giants drew them earlier in the season. Without that good fortune with backup QBs, this is a 4-12/5-11 season.
baadbill,  
TC : 12/29/2013 7:23 pm : link
Read it again, after you've sobered up! ;-)
TC RE: baadbill,  
baadbill : 12/29/2013 7:34 pm : link
In comment 11420540 TC said:
Quote:
Read it again, after you've sobered up! ;-)


Maybe I'm blind. Can you paste the additional quote from Mara about the 2013 season other than the quote by the OP?
everyday, I'm gonna wake up like a little boy on Christmas  
SHO'NUFF : 12/29/2013 7:37 pm : link
excited as hell as I launch BBI, just so that I can read the words of the most beautiful thread ever: "Gilbride Fired".
The  
Sammo284 : 12/29/2013 7:45 pm : link
area of scouting/player development needs to take a big look at itself. I hope that is an area that gets turned over a bit with some new people.

I think 2014 will be it for Coughlin. Doesn't sound like there is going to be an extension (even a 1 yr one) in the works.

RE: directly from the article  
Essex : 12/29/2013 7:45 pm : link
In comment 11420495 Essex said:
Quote:


Quote:


And the status of head coach Tom Coughlin?

“We’ll talk about that during the week.”



baadbill this is the quote.
i just think he was referring to the length of the extension, though. nobody i read has picked it up as TC is in jeopardy of not coming back.
first priority will be to fix Eli  
HomerJones45 : 12/29/2013 7:47 pm : link
get some space under his contract and fix him. Some of you can come with every excuse in the book, but he was awful this year.

So Sullivan makes a lot of sense. Ross getting the ax makes sense.

And unless he wants to repeat the halcyon days of the mid' 60's to the early 80's, Mara will butt out and keep that doofus Tisch as far away from football decisions as possible.
Thanks Essex.  
baadbill : 12/29/2013 7:47 pm : link
I didn't see any other quote from Mara that made it clear there were going to be big changes. There were other Mara quotes but they were from a prior season.
Mara quotes the Tuna  
Paulie Walnuts : 12/29/2013 7:48 pm : link
you know he still has a warm spot for Parcells
as do I
If you read between  
Simms11 : 12/29/2013 7:51 pm : link
the lines, you'll see he isn't happy about being 7-9 and that t they'll evaluate everything, to include front office and staff. Some holes are obvious ( ie. Oline, TE, etc), but others are a little more convoluted and will be more of a challenge to fill too. I'm sure Mara will put everyone on notice this year.

Big off-season for Reese.
RE: In the reading too much into things dept.  
montanagiant : 12/29/2013 7:52 pm : link
In comment 11420313 BlackLight said:
Quote:
It sounds like Coughlin is going to be politely pressured to make some changes.


Exactly how i see it also...Just like when he pushed him to change with his player interactions.
RE: If you read between  
baadbill : 12/29/2013 7:56 pm : link
In comment 11420671 Simms11 said:
Quote:
the lines, you'll see he isn't happy about being 7-9 and that t they'll evaluate everything, to include front office and staff. Some holes are obvious ( ie. Oline, TE, etc), but others are a little more convoluted and will be more of a challenge to fill too. I'm sure Mara will put everyone on notice this year.

Big off-season for Reese.


I think that's to be expected. But I don't get that from the article. The only quote from Mara is, despite the good finish, at the end of the day the record is still 7-9. Changes are obvious. What changes, not so much.
the overall mid round draft failures , you can argue that since 2007  
Paulie Walnuts : 12/29/2013 8:00 pm : link
the picks after 1 have been bad, and thats where you stock you roster with quality , and cheap depth

if you miss, you have no depth and you end up overpaying to keep guys or sign guys to fill in and you keep doing this, and dig yourselves deeper into the hole

this is fixable to get back to playoffs in 2014, IF, ownership has the stones to do it

These last two years are more on Reese than TC, 60/40 on Reese ....

RE: Mook  
arcarsenal : 12/29/2013 8:02 pm : link
In comment 11420372 BigBlueShock said:
Quote:
add to that the Lions and Skins laid down like dogs. And it drives me crazy too. It seems like every time the Giants need to win their last two games to make the playoffs, they play desperate teams fighting them to the death. When it would kind of behoove them to lose, for drat position purposes, they get teams that don't even show up. The Giants did everything in their power to lose these last two games, but the losers on the other side would not have any of it


The Lions had everything to play for last week.. they didn't lay down like dogs, they just played a crappy game and got beat.
They're lucky the QB isn't facing surgery  
Giants2012 : 12/29/2013 8:48 pm : link
The whole organization has their heads up their blanks
it is Snee Baas and Diehl  
oipolloi : 12/29/2013 8:52 pm : link
Whoever is responsible for those three takes the blame. If it was a group decision, then the group takes the blame.

25 million in cap space wasted

three roster spots that could have gone to OL who could actually contribute positively

1. McCants
2. OL they would have signed with the 5 million in extra cap space
3. The G/C they would have drafted instead of Nassib. Because one reason they took Nassib was they already had Baas/Cordle at center and Snee/Boothe/Brewer/Mosely at G. There was roster space for a draft pick at C/G.
no roster space  
oipolloi : 12/29/2013 8:54 pm : link
.
Hopefully Mr. Mara  
bignygfan : 12/29/2013 8:59 pm : link
Reads this site and realizes what's at stake.

Not mention, lots of great advice here on how to run an NFL offense as well as prepare the team in training camp and scouting info for the draft.

I hope he gets that.

There's gonna be plenty of roster space very soon!  
TC : 12/29/2013 9:00 pm : link
.
All you have to do is...  
damdevs : 12/29/2013 9:27 pm : link
Ask John Mara one question.

Are you happy with missing the playoffs the last 5 out of 6 years?

His answer should be able to tell you his mindset and actions to this off-season.

IMHO, I'm not so sure that's what happens this off-season.

If nothing is done then the answer is "yes, I'm ok with it."

If no, then we'll see a shake up of some sort.
you've got to wonder  
area junc : 12/29/2013 9:32 pm : link
if they're bringing Spagnuolo back....perry did not sound very confident he'd be back
Didn't sound too happy . . . .  
TC : 12/29/2013 9:38 pm : link
Quote:
"But yeah, it’s always better to end up winning, and we did end up winning seven of our last 10 games."

"But we’re still 7-9.”

Good luck pressuring  
Bill in UT : 12/29/2013 9:39 pm : link
a 68 year old coach to make changes
This is exactly why we needed to lose today..  
EricJ (formerly Tyleraimee) : 12/29/2013 9:47 pm : link
because Mara is going to use 7-3 as an excuse to do nothing. John is NOT his father. I don't trust him at all.

Want to impress me John? Fire Gilbride, Quinn and the QB coach. Then, bring in Acorsi as a consultant which is essentially putting training wheels on Reese and putting him on notice.
RE: Good luck pressuring  
damdevs : 12/29/2013 9:54 pm : link
In comment 11421119 Bill in UT said:
Quote:
a 68 year old coach to make changes


Bill I completely agree. I think this staff is very stubborn. If Mara leaves it to Coughlin then don't look for much change.

That being said, I think this Org is really stuck between a rock and a hard place when it comes to changes to the coaching staff. What Coordinators can you get as a one year stop gap?

Same with the Front Office...you bring in a new GM and you tell him you can't fire Coughlin...it's a lame duck situation all the way around.
What would be the point of bringing Accorsi back?  
Ten Ton Hammer : 12/29/2013 9:57 pm : link
You're gonna bring back Reese's old boss and make him a consultant to rub his nose in it? Might as well fire him instead of making a bush league Jerry Jones move like that.

I think everyone over there is aware of the scope of the failure of this year. Parading the Rug around like he's some conquering hero is just odd.
RE: What would be the point of bringing Accorsi back?  
EricJ (formerly Tyleraimee) : 12/29/2013 9:59 pm : link
In comment 11421189 Ten Ton Hammer said:
Quote:
You're gonna bring back Reese's old boss and make him a consultant to rub his nose in it? Might as well fire him instead of making a bush league Jerry Jones move like that.

I think everyone over there is aware of the scope of the failure of this year. Parading the Rug around like he's some conquering hero is just odd.


ok then we fire him too. I dont trust Reese anymore.
When you have personnel problems like they did this year  
Ten Ton Hammer : 12/29/2013 10:02 pm : link
it's fine to not trust everything. That's out the window.

But you're nuts if you think the Giants would suddenly become so impatient after the first losing season in 10 years to fire the GM. When's the last time they made a sweeping move like that? They don't even like firing coaches. John doesn't and I could be wrong, but I don't think Duke did either.
damdevs  
Bill in UT : 12/29/2013 10:04 pm : link
In a perfect world, everything would go just as I want it, lol. We've been a 1 win over .500 (9-7) team for ten years, but winning 2 SBs after mediocre seasons has obscured that fact. I'd be cleaning house now, but I don't see that happening here. I think we spend another year with the current regime being given a chance to fix everything. If they don't, then maybe Mr. Mara will finally get it. Or maybe not.
the giants also were close to beating teams with good quarterbacks  
Neverend : 12/29/2013 10:05 pm : link
if they don't turn the ball over like crazy against Chicago and dallas, they probably win both games.

you can't face top 15 quarterbacks on the schedule every week.

shoot, chalk up another win at home against dallas if cruz doesn't fumble that ball. they 'should' have gotten 3 wins against teams with an opposing 'legitimate franchise' QB
mara is all talk  
SBlue46 : 12/29/2013 10:06 pm : link
Haven't seen him fire
Tc yet...who let's eli get
Killed w oline..
Hires crappie coaches
...tc is going
To run same system
He needs to go...

tc is a coach  
SBlue46 : 12/29/2013 10:15 pm : link
Who didn't get star players
To play well...make a mvp
Eli into average player..
Bad game planning and choice
Of coaches..and I wonder if all
The players saying they love
Tc will backfire...are they happy
With his coaching and losing or
Afraid of being cut...
RE: Every team plays poor QBs every year.  
MikeV : 12/29/2013 11:01 pm : link
In comment 11420440 nygiants1114 said:
Quote:
You play your schedule. Giants happened to have toughest schedule this year...


Giants had one of the weakest schedules this year…24/32 teams
(See Redzone.org (strength of schedule)
Mara  
giantsfan227B : 12/29/2013 11:39 pm : link
isn't the type to explode (although I wouldn't mind it). Coughlin no doubt will return. I am not saying TC will quit if he can't keep the staff around him. But there is no way in hell he should get an extension. His contract ends after next season. If he wants to stay longer than 1 year, he needs to get with the program. He has had to deal with changes in staff. DC have left for promotions or were fired. They have lost QB coaches. But for some reason Gilbride is like a teflon don.

Gilbride needs to go. Period.

On top of that, Reese needs to be put on warning this is it. They shouldn't let him go but his history of taking chances in the draft with picks like Robinson, Nassib, Cooper Taylor, just to name a few in addition to dropping TE's every year because he thinks the system is a plug and play has been a total failure. The reason it works in NE is because their offense is fairly simple. Gilbride's is very difficult. No wonder WR's take years to develop or RB's don't understand blocking schemes.

The Giants need to overhaul the OL, pick up a RB, get a DE/DT and hopefully draft LB's. That's a lot.
I like using the sagarin  
pjcas18 : 12/29/2013 11:42 pm : link
rankings for strength of schedule - according to Jeff the Giants had the 12th hardest schedule.


Sagarin ratings - ( New Window )
Ahem ...  
Fpbflppt : 12/30/2013 10:10 am : link
Last year's Super Bowl champion didn't make the playoffs this year.

Perhaps our offensive co-ordinator and our defensive co-ordinator will each adapt their complex systems to match the abilities of the players who have to execute that system.

I mentioned no names. Both of this season's offensive and defensive co-ordinators were extremely offensive.
Mara needs to finally correctly identify the biggest issue  
GmenDynasty : 12/30/2013 10:24 am : link
and that's the over-complication of the systems.

If TC is married to this system (many think he is the mastermind behind it, Gilbride had some say but it is mainly TC's system with Gilbride making the calls out of it) than he needs to go.
I really am getting frustrated  
Mike in Long Beach : 12/30/2013 10:46 am : link
with this notion that the Giants didn't adjust on offense.

They did. They started running many more short routes, particularly slants, and when we were using Hillis, we pounded the inside and agreed to settle for 2-3 years per rush as opposed to the virtually guaranteed two yard loss before.
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