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Speaker 1: Far be it for me to give full credit to

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Speaker 1: a caller of a radio talks show to frame a conversation,

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Speaker 1: especially one that's not on this station. But he has

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Speaker 1: been on this station, and I have taken his calls

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Speaker 1: way back when when I used to do the Steelers

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Speaker 1: postgame show, until I was told I was too negative,

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Speaker 1: until they wanted me to do the pregame show and

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Speaker 1: I was told I was too negative.

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Speaker 2: Let's not get into that right now.

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Speaker 1: I did hear a caller make the following point about

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Speaker 1: the Pittsburgh Steelers and their decision to hire Mike McCarthy

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Speaker 1: in not exactly flattering terms, and that is that the

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Speaker 1: Steelers don't have any trust in their fans.

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Speaker 2: And I thought about it, and that's a really good point.

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Speaker 1: Our root of the second is so petrified as to

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Speaker 1: what the reaction would be if the Steelers to quote

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Speaker 1: unquote bottom out go four and thirteen, have a bad year,

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Speaker 1: put themselves in better draft position, that I don't know

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Speaker 1: what would happen. Fans wouldn't come back the next year,

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Speaker 1: Like if the Steelers had decided to go a little

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Speaker 1: bit more risky, hire a first time coach, Get somebody

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Speaker 1: in here who doesn't have a track record that is

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Speaker 1: strikingly similar to Mike Tomlins over the past decade or so?

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Speaker 1: What would have happened if they had gone four and

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Speaker 1: thirteen with that new guy.

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Speaker 2: Would folks have bailed?

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Speaker 1: Would folks have not remembered how long it took for

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Speaker 1: Chuck Nole to get going when he was hired in

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Speaker 1: nineteen sixty nine. Would people have not showed up at

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Speaker 1: all in twenty twenty seven? Would people have turned in

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Speaker 1: their terrible towels? Well, people have turned in their season tickets.

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Speaker 1: Would they have stopped watching? Would Sundays become a ghost

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Speaker 1: town in Pittsburgh like it's the Pirates or something.

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Speaker 2: No, And it was a really.

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Speaker 1: Good point because I guess I didn't think of it

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Speaker 1: that way. That the owner, it can't just be about

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Speaker 1: his own pride, his own hubris, his own fascination with

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Speaker 1: this not having a losing season thing since two thousand

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Speaker 1: and three, which, by the way, it's becoming more and

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Speaker 1: more clear that Art running the second sees that as

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Speaker 1: either the Steelers' record or his record, more so than

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Speaker 1: Mike's Tomlins, because he's so desperate to keep it going.

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Speaker 2: But what's the worst that would have happened.

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Speaker 1: I don't think there would have been fan revolt. I

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Speaker 1: don't think people would have taken the new coach and

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Speaker 1: burned him an effigy if he was going to be

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Speaker 1: the guy that finally had that season streak come to

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Speaker 1: a close. I think people were willing to live with

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Speaker 1: the consequences of what might be one bad year to

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Speaker 1: take a couple steps forward. I think people would have

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Speaker 1: seen the big picture view of what the Steelers would

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Speaker 1: have been in that circumstance and actually liked it better

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Speaker 1: then just desperately trying to continue the norm four one two, three, three, three,

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Speaker 1: ninety nine thirty nine. That's the secret backdoor number here

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Speaker 1: at one of five nine the ex the Mark Madden Show,

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Speaker 1: Tim Benz and for Mark And yeah, I've said it

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Speaker 1: a million times over. I think the decision to hire

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Speaker 1: Mike McCarthy is the franchise's new head coach replaced Mike Tomlin,

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Speaker 1: is uninspired. It's tone deaf because Art Rory the iond

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Speaker 1: isn't hearing that. He's not hearing what the fans have

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Speaker 1: been saying about how bored they are with just trying

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Speaker 1: to chase ten wins, just trying to chase nine wins,

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Speaker 1: just trying to stay above five hundred because that yields

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Speaker 1: nothing in terms of big picture potential home run results.

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Speaker 1: Rooney and Omar Khan what they couldn't have waited until

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Speaker 1: after the NFC Championship game to interview a couple guys

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Speaker 1: like that with the Rams and Sheelhouse and Shula.

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Speaker 2: Even if they were left flat by those guys.

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Speaker 1: In their initial interviews, they couldn't have given them a

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Speaker 1: chance to knock their socks off. I mean, after all,

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Speaker 1: isn't this the same franchise that nineteen years ago put

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Speaker 1: itself in that position to go down the path of

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Speaker 1: the unknown and take a risk and hire a guy

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Speaker 1: that had even less of a track record than other

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Speaker 1: guys they were talking to within their own building. They

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Speaker 1: got outside of their comfort zone and it worked out,

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Speaker 1: and they took that lesson and they crinkled it up

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Speaker 1: like a piece of paper and they threw it in

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Speaker 1: the trash and did exactly the opposite and tried to

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Speaker 1: stay as marginal as possible. I don't see the big

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Speaker 1: home run reward year of what the Steelers are gonna

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Speaker 1: do with Mike McCarthy as their head coach. I don't

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Speaker 1: see the biggest positive return that they're gonna get even

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Speaker 1: in the year twenty twenty six, because there is the

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Speaker 1: hope that if Rogers comes back, you're gonna get a

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Speaker 1: better version of Aaron Rodgers because he's operating under Mike

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Speaker 1: McCarthy's offense and not the offense put.

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Speaker 2: Forth by Arthur Smith.

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Speaker 1: Sure, that makes sense, but what doesn't make sense is

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Speaker 1: thinking he's gonna be better than what he wants last

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Speaker 1: year when he's forty three instead of forty two by

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Speaker 1: the end of the year. What doesn't make sense is thinking,

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Speaker 1: all of a sudden, he's gonna be good enough and

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Speaker 1: the offense is gonna be good enough to overcome the

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Speaker 1: defense with it getting older, that that team is gonna

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Speaker 1: be good enough to finally beat a playoff team when

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Speaker 1: it matters, because what were they with Rogers won in

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Speaker 1: five against playoff teams this past year. So there's no

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Speaker 1: real indication that there's gonna be a huge step forward

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Speaker 1: with Mike McCarthy. It's the paranoia about not falling back.

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Speaker 1: He's and by he, I mean the owner is prioritizing

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Speaker 1: not regressing over attempting to move forward. And I think

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Speaker 1: he's ignoring what his fans are trying to tell him.

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Speaker 1: He's got to trust the fan base that look at history.

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Speaker 1: Did they abandon ship at any point between nineteen eighty

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Speaker 1: nine when they beat the Houston Oilers in that playoff

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Speaker 1: game and then when Bill Kwer was hired a couple

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Speaker 1: years later. Did they go running and just abandon the

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Speaker 1: franchise at all during the eighties when they only won

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Speaker 1: two games over a ten year stretch in the postseason, No,

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Speaker 1: they were still there.

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Speaker 2: They came running.

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Speaker 1: Right back after the two thousand and three season, especially

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Speaker 1: because they drafted a quarterback in two thousand and four,

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Speaker 1: a guy who was the third quarterback taken that year

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Speaker 1: when the other two guys were much more familiar names

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Speaker 1: than Mannigan Rivers. So I think there's a lot to

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Speaker 1: that point of the Steelers have to trust the fan base.

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Speaker 1: The Steelers have to trust that we're all psychos about

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Speaker 1: that logo, that we're all psychos about this game, and

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Speaker 1: we're not going anywhere even if the team does take

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Speaker 1: a few steps back. But now they've pledged themselves to

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Speaker 1: keep chasing the middle. They pledged themselves and locked themselves

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Speaker 1: into a quest for being in the middle. There's very

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Speaker 1: little evidence to suggest that there's going to be a

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Speaker 1: significant leap in twenty twenty six. Coming off of last year.

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Speaker 1: There would have been some reason to believe that they

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Speaker 1: would have taken a step back in twenty twenty six

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Speaker 1: if they didn't go this route, And I don't think

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Speaker 1: that the fan base would have panicked and cannibalized itself.

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Speaker 1: Good forward two, three, three, three, ninety nine, thirty nine,

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Speaker 1: And part of what made me think about that this

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Speaker 1: weekend was and again, I wish I could have seen

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Speaker 1: more of the game live. I saw the clips and everything,

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Speaker 1: but I was watching some of the highlights from the

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Speaker 1: twenty sixteen reunion team, and.

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Speaker 2: It struck me that, you know, if you were to take.

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Speaker 1: That swath of time between two thousand and seven to

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Speaker 1: twenty seventeen, basically a decade of hockey that was entirely

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Speaker 1: different from the expanse of time from say, nine ninety

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Speaker 1: one when the Penguins won their first Cup, and the

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Speaker 1: end of the two thousand and one season that was

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Speaker 1: Mario's return year, they got to the Eastern Conference finals

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Speaker 1: and then Yager left town and it all went to

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Speaker 1: hell after that. So it's basically We're talking about two

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Speaker 1: very different decades of time. And for as much as

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Speaker 1: the Penguins won in the nineties, and for as much

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Speaker 1: as they built up a hockey fan base that was

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Speaker 1: forever bonded to the franchise here in the city, it

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Speaker 1: still wasn't as ingrained as the football nature of the

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Speaker 1: fan base here in Pittsburgh. And sure crowds dwindled, it

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Speaker 1: wasn't the same at the arena. There was a long lull.

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Speaker 1: No one knew what was going to happen to the franchise.

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Speaker 1: It got tense, it got scary, but Mario got back

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Speaker 1: involved and they won the lottery and everything came back.

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Speaker 1: But the point was the fan base. Once they had

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Speaker 1: another winner, they came back. And there's no reason why

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Speaker 1: it had to be the lull like you said, I

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Speaker 1: saw for that amount of time from two thousand and

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Speaker 1: one to two thousand and seven, where he had a

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Speaker 1: labor stoppage, where he had last play seasons. It didn't

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Speaker 1: have to get that bad for that long. The fans

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Speaker 1: would have come back. The fans wouldn't have revolted, the

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Speaker 1: fans wouldn't have gone anywhere.

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Speaker 2: But on a slightly different topic, and to get.

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Speaker 1: Me thinking from a hockey standpoint, like, if I had

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Speaker 1: to relive one of those two eras of Penguins hockey,

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Speaker 1: which one would I like? If I could reboot twenty

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Speaker 1: seven to twenty seventeen, would I relive that? Or would

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Speaker 1: I more relive the days of my youth of nineteen

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Speaker 1: ninety one to two thousand and one. And I have

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Speaker 1: much more misty watercolored fan memories associated with the nineties

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Speaker 1: because back then I was a fan. I was just

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Speaker 1: rooting for the team. It was my eye opening experience

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Speaker 1: to hockey the late eighties early nineties. So like those

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Speaker 1: images and those memories are much more pure to me

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Speaker 1: because I lived it as a fan. I wasn't you know,

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Speaker 1: a jaded reporter in the locker room, covering every win

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Speaker 1: and loss like it mattered, and putting every stakes in

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Speaker 1: the line and coming out with hot takes and opinions

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Speaker 1: and writing columns and things of that sort. Where it

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Speaker 1: was more of a I don't know, not antiseptic feeling,

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Speaker 1: but it was a professional feeling. And hey, I have

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Speaker 1: great memories of that O nine Cup run like everybody

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Speaker 1: else does. I was at Center Rice in Detroit when

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Speaker 1: Sidney Crosby hoisted the cup. I was down there on

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Speaker 1: the ice for the celebration. I was down there when

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Speaker 1: he got the call from the Prime Minister of Canada.

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Speaker 2: You know, like these things are ingrained in my mind.

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Speaker 1: They're very special time for me to remember to go

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Speaker 1: back and cover those teams. But I guess if I

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Speaker 1: had to have a choice, if I could just look

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Speaker 1: at it from a fan point of view, well my

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Speaker 1: heart would be with the early teams. There was more success,

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Speaker 1: and there were deeper playoff runs, and there were more

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Speaker 1: celebrations to be had.

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Speaker 2: With the era that just went through town.

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Speaker 1: You got the Cup run to the finals in two

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Speaker 1: thousand and eight, you had the three Stanley.

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Speaker 2: Cups, not just two.

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Speaker 1: You had the additional one deep run before they got

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Speaker 1: swept away by the Bruins, similar to the Penguins when

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Speaker 1: they came up short against the Panthers in the nineties.

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Speaker 1: And it kind of hurts me to say this because

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Speaker 1: my heart is so directly affiliated and tied with.

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Speaker 2: The nineties teams.

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Speaker 1: But if you could only relive one era first great

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Speaker 1: as Mario was for, as great as Yager was for

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Speaker 1: as much if we have fond memories of the old

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Speaker 1: Building and all that. There was more success and there

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Speaker 1: were more good times, and they felt like they netted

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Speaker 1: more of what they had from two thousand and seven

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Speaker 1: to seventeen, So we could talk about that when we

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Speaker 1: come back as well.

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Speaker 2: Matt Williamson's going to join us later this hour. We'll

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Speaker 2: get a little bit more into.

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Speaker 1: The Penguins and the modern day Pens and what they're

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Speaker 1: doing and what they're creating as we roll along here

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Speaker 1: in the twenty twenty five to twenty six season that's

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Speaker 1: on the way here in your home for the Penns

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Speaker 1: one o five nine The X.

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Speaker 3: It's the Hooty Show weekday mornings at six oh I

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Speaker 3: like it on one oh five nine The X.

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Speaker 4: You know what found it is?

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Speaker 2: Everybody get our twenty twenty six I heard Radio Music

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Speaker 2: Awards are coming to fuck Satan Your tea bagging, quart bagging,

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Speaker 2: great story, compelling and rich twenty X at one oh

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Speaker 2: five nine.

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Speaker 1: Tim bens it from Mark Madden. Mark is gonna come

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Speaker 1: up at four o'clock today.

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Speaker 2: We'll check in with him.

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Speaker 1: Update in case you missed it, The Steelers have signed

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Speaker 1: a couple of their assistant coaches names that you heard

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Speaker 1: were in the mix. Jason Simmons, Scott mccurly, he's the

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Speaker 1: inside linebackers coach that was here already. Simmons the former

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Speaker 1: Pittsburgh Steelers defensive back. He's going to be the defensive

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Speaker 1: pass game coordinator and be a d backs coach. And

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Speaker 1: Steve Scarnakia, who is the son of Dante's Scarnekia, the

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Speaker 1: longtime Patriots offensive line coach and assistant. He is going

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Speaker 1: to be the chief of staff. So McCarthy as a

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Speaker 1: chief of staff, at least one thing is coming to fruition.

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Speaker 1: There is going to be a bigger coaching staff, So

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Speaker 1: that much has been cashed in upon when it comes

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Speaker 1: to the hiring of Mike McCarthy, that much has been

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Speaker 1: followed through. And I asked the question before the break

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Speaker 1: about whether or not the fan base could be trusted

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Speaker 1: to go through a lull here in Pittsburgh, And is

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Speaker 1: Art Rooney the second paranoid about that? I don't think

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Speaker 1: he should be. I think he can at least trust

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Speaker 1: the fan base to go through one bad season without

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Speaker 1: bottoming out. And it seems like he is so averse

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Speaker 1: to even considering that that That's why, in large part

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Speaker 1: he made the move that he did, because it looks

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Speaker 1: like there's stability with Mike McCarthy. It looks like there's

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Speaker 1: consistency to Mike McCarthy, it looks like there could be

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Speaker 1: a continuation of what he had with Mike Tomlin. And

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Speaker 1: he sees that as a good thing. I think a

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Speaker 1: lot of people in Pittsburgh, don't. They just see that

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Speaker 1: as a very low ceiling. They see that as a

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Speaker 1: high floor, but a low ceiling, and they're sick of

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Speaker 1: crouching into the playoffs and losing all the time. Eight three, three, four,

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Speaker 1: one two ninety nine, thirty nine. Let's go to Jeff

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Speaker 1: in Bridgeville. Jeff, you're on one O five nine the X.

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Speaker 3: Yeah.

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Speaker 4: Hey, Kim.

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Speaker 5: First of all, I don't find you negative on the

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Speaker 5: pregame shows. You're informative and unbiased, So I appreciate that.

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Speaker 2: Thank you.

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Speaker 5: The other thing is my question about Art Rennie. You

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Speaker 5: bring up a good topic here. You know, the hiring

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Speaker 5: of Mike McCarthy, to me, it just screams it's safe.

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Speaker 5: You know, he seems like a guy who can get

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Speaker 5: you above five hundred.

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Speaker 4: And my overall question to you is how much of

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Speaker 4: a factor do.

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Speaker 5: You think the Steelers. You know, you see the Bills

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Speaker 5: get a new stadium. The Browns are getting a new stadium.

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Speaker 5: I don't know what they're doing in Baltimore. But how

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Speaker 5: much of that do you think played a factor into

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Speaker 5: Mike I mean, Art Rooney wanting to make a safe

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Speaker 5: hire to kind of bridge the next five or so

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Speaker 5: years so that he can ask for that new stadium

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Speaker 5: or renovations.

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Speaker 1: Well, I don't think that the coach who was following

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Speaker 1: Tomlin was going to be a thumbs up or thumbs

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Speaker 1: down for whatever requests he was going to ask of

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Speaker 1: the city or the county to keep the stadium here

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Speaker 1: if they were to get renovations or a brand new building.

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Speaker 1: I mean, I think the macroeconomics of that are well

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Speaker 1: beyond whether Mike McCarthy keeps them at ten and seven

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Speaker 1: every year or not.

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Speaker 2: You know what I mean? I mean, I guess.

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Speaker 1: I guess there is the hey, you know, look what

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Speaker 1: we did the local raw Rath thing, And we can

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Speaker 1: get into that a little bit later on.

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Speaker 2: But even that, by the time they get that is

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Speaker 2: so far down the pike. I don't even know.

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Speaker 1: If it's sixty two, McCarthy's still going to be the coach.

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Speaker 1: If the hope is that they don't bought him out

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Speaker 1: for a long time and McCarthy's going to keep him

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Speaker 1: in that realm at least in the short term, that

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Speaker 1: it can open up the start of the conversations, the

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Speaker 1: real start of the conversations for a new stadium. Yeah,

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Speaker 1: but I think we're pushing the envelope of how much

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Speaker 1: that really really means. I don't think one plus one

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Speaker 1: equals to there necessarily No, that's fair, And I.

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Speaker 5: Guess to follow up, I would just say that the

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Speaker 5: bottoming out, you know, the possibility of taking a risk

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Speaker 5: on a young guy maybe thirty five or forty years old,

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Speaker 5: and then that bottom's out, you know. I feel like

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Speaker 5: Art Rooney was afraid of that more than yeah forward

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Speaker 5: in hiring someone young exactly.

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Speaker 1: Thank you for the call it, But I don't think

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Speaker 1: it was necessarily dovetail with the building.

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Speaker 2: I don't think that.

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Speaker 1: But I do think he is scared to death of

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Speaker 1: what will happen if they have a year or two

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Speaker 1: under five hundred. And I don't know why, because he's

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Speaker 1: old enough to have seen it and see the franchise survive.

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Speaker 1: He saw it survive for three years without the playoffs,

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Speaker 1: two of them under five hundred with Cowor. He saw

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Speaker 1: four year stretch with no playoffs in the early part

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Speaker 1: of the eighties with Noel, and then a repeat not

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Speaker 1: too long after when they won one game in eighty

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Speaker 1: nine and then really bottomed out with some bad years

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Speaker 1: after that before they went to Bill Cower. So you know,

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Speaker 1: he knows what it looks like and it's not a desert.

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Speaker 1: And if you you can rebound quickly in the National

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Speaker 1: Football League, and there is a cap to help you

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Speaker 1: do that. Eight three, three, four, one two ninety nine,

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Speaker 1: thirty nine. Nick calling from his truck. Nick, you're on

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Speaker 1: one O five nine the X.

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Speaker 4: Hey, Kim, isn't it possible that the hire for McCarthy

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Speaker 4: was simply unknown? Hey, let's get a great support staff

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Speaker 4: that Tomlin never did. Let's build from there. Yeah, it'd

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Speaker 4: be great to go ten and seven, But I think,

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Speaker 4: you know, thinking long term, I don't I don't necessarily

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Speaker 4: want to take that away from the roon. He's like

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Speaker 4: it could be just a higher because of the stability

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Speaker 4: and experience, and hey, he knows how to put a

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Speaker 4: great support staff together for us. If the Patriots, even

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Speaker 4: though that ar hire wasn't an experienced one, their fan

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Speaker 4: base did it, and now within three years they're back

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Speaker 4: in the super Bowl.

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Speaker 3: I think we can give the.

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Speaker 4: Benefit of the doubt for the Steeler fan base.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, I would have given them the benefit of the

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Speaker 2: doubt that they could handle that.

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Speaker 1: And also that's I wrote this before McCarthy got hired.

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Speaker 1: I think I wrote this the day after we found

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Speaker 1: out that he had been interviewed, that I would be

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Speaker 1: more on board the McCarthy hire if Aaron Rodgers didn't

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Speaker 1: come back with him, because that just feels like a

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Speaker 1: desperate clinging to what you just got, which wasn't very

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Speaker 1: much in the end, and it had just been what

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Speaker 1: you had for the previous six seasons prior.

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Speaker 2: So if he ends up being.

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Speaker 1: The coach and there's a new quarterback that we haven't

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Speaker 1: even started talking about yet, or a draft d or

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Speaker 1: even if it's Will Howard and they try to develop him,

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Speaker 1: I will actually be more on board with McCarthy being

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Speaker 1: the coach under those circumstances than Rogers, because I just

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Speaker 1: feel like you're trying to get more blood out of

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Speaker 1: the same old stone with Rogers if you bring him

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Speaker 1: back at forty three.

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Speaker 4: I'll be honest with you, I think the Rogers thing

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Speaker 4: is irrelevant. Not trying to downplay what you're saying, but

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Speaker 4: I think next year it's irrelevant simply because Rogers, Howard

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Speaker 4: there go. They have to go receiver first round. They

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Speaker 4: have to get someone that's a top receiver.

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Speaker 1: I think, you know, if they have a great chance

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Speaker 1: to get a quarterback that we're not kicking around, as

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Speaker 1: you know, wherever they draft that they were to move

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Speaker 1: up a little bit getting a striking distance of one

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Speaker 1: and thank you for the call, then you should do that.

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Speaker 1: You should take the opportunity to get a quarterback. If

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Speaker 1: you're not really reaching for one, you very rarely are reaching.

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Speaker 1: If you're going for a good second round wide receiver,

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Speaker 1: there should be at least enough of those in the

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Speaker 1: draft that you can get quality in the second round

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Speaker 1: if you have to go quarterback first. But if it's

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Speaker 1: not quarterback, then yeah, I'm with you. They need a receiver,

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Speaker 1: and they don't just need a number two. I think

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Speaker 1: they need a number one. And that's what Jackson Smith

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Speaker 1: and jig But would have been regardless of whether or

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Speaker 1: not DK Metcalf, if he was there or not in Seattle,

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Speaker 1: and Seattle knew that, which is part of the reason

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Speaker 1: why they were willing to let him go.

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Speaker 2: Rick calling from Brighton Heights. You're on one five nine the.

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Speaker 6: X, Hey, Jim, I just wanted to say that I

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Speaker 6: I think really's tactic pr tactic and hiring McCarthy is

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Speaker 6: taking shape because the more that writers can write about

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Speaker 6: Mike McCarthy's house in Greenfield, or segments devoted on radio

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Speaker 6: talking about an entire segment about how he says Will Howard,

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Speaker 6: is less time talking about how bad personnel wise this

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Speaker 6: team actually is. And that's no offense to anybody that

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Speaker 6: writes about Will Howard or I mean talks about McCarthy's

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Speaker 6: house or talks about how he says Will Howard.

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Speaker 2: I just think it's less.

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Speaker 4: Time getting to the point of how bad this personnel

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Speaker 4: team is.

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Speaker 5: Well, I think getting your.

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Speaker 3: Fact on that.

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Speaker 1: No, I hear what you're saying, and we got to

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Speaker 1: run because Matt Williams is going to join us next.

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Speaker 1: But my short answer to that is, I don't disagree

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Speaker 1: with what you're saying, but I think we have the

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Speaker 1: card before the horse on it. I think that was

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Speaker 1: a pleasant sort of trickle from where the river started

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Speaker 1: to flow with the idea of getting McCarthy. I think

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Speaker 1: the idea to get McCarthy was to maintain ten and

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Speaker 1: seven at worst, to continue to be in the mix

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Speaker 1: quote unquote, to get to the playoffs and perhaps stumble

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Speaker 1: into a win. I think the main goal was to

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Speaker 1: not risk regression. I think that was what was primarily

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Speaker 1: in his mind. And oh, yeah, the PR stuff that

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Speaker 1: you just mentioned, it's something else. It's a shiny bobble

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Speaker 1: for other people to knock around for a while. Kind

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Speaker 1: of to your point, that's a nice little effect. That's

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Speaker 1: another secondary level to it. But I still think beyond

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Speaker 1: the PR stuff that you're talking about, the biggest goal

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Speaker 1: was let's at least not stink. Let's get this guy

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Speaker 1: to not stink, and then we'll worry about being good

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Speaker 1: later eight three, three, four, one, two, ninety nine, thirty nine.

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Speaker 1: Matt Williamson next on one o five nine The X.

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Speaker 2: Hey find yourself needing a little post holiday cash in.

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Speaker 1: The X At one oh five nine, It's the Mark

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Speaker 1: Madden Show. Tim Benson from Mark Today. Mark will join

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Speaker 1: us at the top of the hour as we get

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Speaker 1: ready for the Penguins tonight. On one to five nine,

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Speaker 1: the X against the Senators. Matt Williamson joins us right

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Speaker 1: now from across the hall at Steelers Nation Radio. Listen

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Speaker 1: to him on the drive each and every day with

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Speaker 1: Wes Yueler. Are you in every day mode or when?

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Speaker 1: Are you?

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Speaker 4: Oh?

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Speaker 3: We're every day mode until further notice. I think it's

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Speaker 3: we go three days a week. Several months from now

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Speaker 3: after the combine, I think yeah, and.

440
00:22:28,240 --> 00:22:30,159
Speaker 1: You are going back out to the combine, going back

441
00:22:30,160 --> 00:22:32,359
Speaker 1: to the combines. Are you getting in draft mode already?

442
00:22:32,840 --> 00:22:35,240
Speaker 3: Really started? Like this last week or so? Could a

443
00:22:35,280 --> 00:22:37,399
Speaker 3: Seena bol I started watching all the Seena Bowl practice,

444
00:22:37,440 --> 00:22:40,399
Speaker 3: watching them players starting to get more familiar, Like I

445
00:22:40,480 --> 00:22:42,680
Speaker 3: can't tell you about like the fifth round safeties and

446
00:22:42,760 --> 00:22:44,400
Speaker 3: guards yet, but getting there?

447
00:22:45,160 --> 00:22:46,240
Speaker 2: What about quarterbacks?

448
00:22:46,280 --> 00:22:48,359
Speaker 1: Will there be quarterbacks that will tempt them in the

449
00:22:48,400 --> 00:22:51,760
Speaker 1: first round, particularly where they're picking now, provided they don't

450
00:22:51,760 --> 00:22:53,200
Speaker 1: move up a ton to try to get one.

451
00:22:53,400 --> 00:22:55,320
Speaker 3: No, I don't think this is a year for that.

452
00:22:55,600 --> 00:22:57,520
Speaker 3: Mendoz is of course going to go number one to

453
00:22:57,600 --> 00:23:01,320
Speaker 3: the Raiders. That's basically in stone. I'd be shocked if

454
00:23:01,320 --> 00:23:04,439
Speaker 3: any of these guys prove enough that you'd even consider

455
00:23:04,520 --> 00:23:07,920
Speaker 3: him at twenty one. Maybe a Day two player, you know,

456
00:23:08,160 --> 00:23:10,440
Speaker 3: and I'd rather go big.

457
00:23:10,720 --> 00:23:13,560
Speaker 2: And that's like, is there a shuck in this year's draft?

458
00:23:13,880 --> 00:23:20,399
Speaker 3: Nuss Meyer from LSU. Maybe Simpson from Alabama could be

459
00:23:20,520 --> 00:23:23,680
Speaker 3: your shock of them this year. That's or dark late first,

460
00:23:23,840 --> 00:23:25,200
Speaker 3: early second to play.

461
00:23:25,080 --> 00:23:27,440
Speaker 1: So they can maybe get Simpson, who a lot of

462
00:23:27,480 --> 00:23:29,879
Speaker 1: people are linking them to. Anyway, First of all, do

463
00:23:29,920 --> 00:23:31,520
Speaker 1: you think there's any fire to that smoke that they're

464
00:23:31,520 --> 00:23:32,159
Speaker 1: interested in him?

465
00:23:32,320 --> 00:23:33,800
Speaker 3: I don't know. I mean, they're gonna do all their

466
00:23:33,880 --> 00:23:36,480
Speaker 3: due diligence on all these guys. Simpson did not finish

467
00:23:36,560 --> 00:23:40,720
Speaker 3: the season very strong. He's not super huge. He does

468
00:23:40,800 --> 00:23:42,640
Speaker 3: have a quick release, throws the ball well.

469
00:23:42,880 --> 00:23:45,359
Speaker 2: But McCarthy probably thinks he can fix them though, right

470
00:23:45,560 --> 00:23:46,760
Speaker 2: I would probably.

471
00:23:46,960 --> 00:23:49,679
Speaker 3: But the way I look at it, though, is are

472
00:23:49,760 --> 00:23:53,040
Speaker 3: any of these guys ever gonna be the superstar? You know,

473
00:23:53,240 --> 00:23:55,760
Speaker 3: like when I go when I do quarterback stuff. And

474
00:23:56,160 --> 00:23:58,920
Speaker 3: this is some hindsight here, this is what I criticize

475
00:23:58,960 --> 00:24:01,639
Speaker 3: him with a picket pick or was the upside's just

476
00:24:01,720 --> 00:24:04,800
Speaker 3: not enough? I mean, if he hits, he's Kirk Cousins,

477
00:24:05,000 --> 00:24:07,600
Speaker 3: like I want someone. If he hits, he's Josh Allen.

478
00:24:08,119 --> 00:24:10,000
Speaker 2: You know what I mean, and there's no Josh Allen,

479
00:24:10,119 --> 00:24:11,760
Speaker 2: I don't think. So do you like Mendoza?

480
00:24:12,680 --> 00:24:16,600
Speaker 3: Not to that level? Them one first pick overall every year?

481
00:24:18,359 --> 00:24:21,280
Speaker 3: I think he's a high quality player, Like I would

482
00:24:21,280 --> 00:24:24,480
Speaker 3: take Ward over him from last year's first overall pick.

483
00:24:25,119 --> 00:24:27,040
Speaker 3: But I mean he's a real good process.

484
00:24:27,040 --> 00:24:29,320
Speaker 1: So you like have to think about Mendoza even if

485
00:24:29,320 --> 00:24:31,160
Speaker 1: you're the Steelers and he's available at twenty one.

486
00:24:31,600 --> 00:24:34,640
Speaker 3: Oh no, no, at that point, you'd be thrilled.

487
00:24:34,720 --> 00:24:38,320
Speaker 1: Okay, yeah, yeah, yeah, because like Piket, it seems like

488
00:24:38,320 --> 00:24:39,960
Speaker 1: if the Steelers had passed on him, who knows where

489
00:24:39,960 --> 00:24:40,480
Speaker 1: he would have gone?

490
00:24:40,480 --> 00:24:42,600
Speaker 3: Who knows where he would he have gone, right because.

491
00:24:42,320 --> 00:24:44,280
Speaker 1: We waited until the third round for anybody else. And

492
00:24:44,320 --> 00:24:46,119
Speaker 1: that brings us back to Malik Willis. Is he some

493
00:24:46,160 --> 00:24:47,800
Speaker 1: way that they would consider in free agency?

494
00:24:47,960 --> 00:24:48,400
Speaker 3: I hope?

495
00:24:48,440 --> 00:24:49,440
Speaker 2: So you hope?

496
00:24:49,520 --> 00:24:49,560
Speaker 1: So?

497
00:24:50,080 --> 00:24:50,320
Speaker 4: Yes?

498
00:24:50,560 --> 00:24:52,480
Speaker 2: Are you fall in love with this idea I brought?

499
00:24:52,560 --> 00:24:54,160
Speaker 3: I think I'm no one that brought it up originally.

500
00:24:54,359 --> 00:24:56,480
Speaker 3: I've been talking about this for months because I think

501
00:24:56,560 --> 00:24:59,920
Speaker 3: he could be the answer without costing you the draft

502
00:25:00,080 --> 00:25:02,480
Speaker 3: capital could be I mean, to me, that's worth the

503
00:25:02,520 --> 00:25:03,200
Speaker 3: bite in the apple.

504
00:25:03,560 --> 00:25:04,760
Speaker 2: What are you seeing from him?

505
00:25:04,840 --> 00:25:08,160
Speaker 1: That you didn't see from him when he was coming

506
00:25:08,200 --> 00:25:10,119
Speaker 1: out of college, because I don't remember you being this

507
00:25:10,320 --> 00:25:10,840
Speaker 1: high on him.

508
00:25:11,000 --> 00:25:14,800
Speaker 3: No, I wasn't because that that offense was so simplistic.

509
00:25:14,960 --> 00:25:17,440
Speaker 3: It was your first read's not there, run, You're the

510
00:25:17,480 --> 00:25:21,800
Speaker 3: best athlete on the field. Really small program. So he's

511
00:25:21,880 --> 00:25:27,400
Speaker 3: come a long way, and Green Bay Lafloor, except you know, especially,

512
00:25:27,960 --> 00:25:30,600
Speaker 3: has really nurtured him. Now there's not a ton to

513
00:25:30,680 --> 00:25:33,280
Speaker 3: go off of, but there's a lot of ability there.

514
00:25:33,600 --> 00:25:37,120
Speaker 3: And if I can possibly get my answer without using

515
00:25:37,160 --> 00:25:39,560
Speaker 3: a draft pick on him, I'm real interested.

516
00:25:39,680 --> 00:25:41,760
Speaker 1: This is the second time I'll say this today filling

517
00:25:41,800 --> 00:25:44,640
Speaker 1: in for Mark. It's about the five hundred that I've time.

518
00:25:44,680 --> 00:25:46,720
Speaker 1: I've said it since the season ended. I think I

519
00:25:46,800 --> 00:25:49,920
Speaker 1: was even saying this before McCarthy got hired. But as

520
00:25:49,960 --> 00:25:52,560
Speaker 1: it relates to those who say bring back Rogers because

521
00:25:52,600 --> 00:25:55,240
Speaker 1: what else are you going to do? I think it's

522
00:25:55,680 --> 00:25:58,840
Speaker 1: soolhardy to fall in love with that notion right now,

523
00:25:58,960 --> 00:26:02,280
Speaker 1: because I think this is a rare time in sports

524
00:26:02,320 --> 00:26:04,399
Speaker 1: talk radio or for me column writing where I can

525
00:26:04,440 --> 00:26:06,879
Speaker 1: say wait and see, like I hate that answer from

526
00:26:06,920 --> 00:26:09,200
Speaker 1: a columnist or a talk show host, Let's see or

527
00:26:09,240 --> 00:26:11,160
Speaker 1: wait and see it just sounds like a cop out.

528
00:26:11,400 --> 00:26:13,080
Speaker 3: And I always hate next year's class is going to

529
00:26:13,119 --> 00:26:13,560
Speaker 3: be better.

530
00:26:15,800 --> 00:26:19,080
Speaker 1: Every year, even though some of the guys who are

531
00:26:19,119 --> 00:26:21,280
Speaker 1: in next year's class weren't good enough to come out

532
00:26:21,280 --> 00:26:23,320
Speaker 1: of this year's class, which everybody said was going to.

533
00:26:23,320 --> 00:26:23,800
Speaker 2: Be so great.

534
00:26:23,880 --> 00:26:25,919
Speaker 3: And you know who gets hurt. And I mean all

535
00:26:25,960 --> 00:26:28,000
Speaker 3: these let's see on that too. I mean people like

536
00:26:28,040 --> 00:26:30,120
Speaker 3: club Nick and all Are and nuss Meyer. They're talking

537
00:26:30,119 --> 00:26:31,480
Speaker 3: about how good this class was going to be and

538
00:26:31,520 --> 00:26:32,560
Speaker 3: they all had disasters.

539
00:26:32,600 --> 00:26:35,959
Speaker 1: But my point is, on groundhog Day, and it does

540
00:26:36,040 --> 00:26:40,600
Speaker 1: feel like groundhog Day. On Groundhog Day of last year,

541
00:26:41,480 --> 00:26:44,119
Speaker 1: we were not talking about Aaron Rodgers being the starting

542
00:26:44,200 --> 00:26:47,480
Speaker 1: quarterback of the Steelers. It was right, you know which

543
00:26:47,560 --> 00:26:49,600
Speaker 1: one of Fields and Russ is it going to be?

544
00:26:50,119 --> 00:26:52,119
Speaker 1: Are they going to draft a guy like he was

545
00:26:52,200 --> 00:26:55,000
Speaker 1: on the fringe of the conversation at most. We did

546
00:26:55,119 --> 00:26:58,840
Speaker 1: not really start talking about Aaron Rodgers being the Steelers

547
00:26:58,960 --> 00:27:00,800
Speaker 1: quarterback until.

548
00:27:02,560 --> 00:27:05,320
Speaker 2: The second week in March. If everybody else is gone

549
00:27:05,800 --> 00:27:06,359
Speaker 2: and everybody and.

550
00:27:06,359 --> 00:27:10,080
Speaker 1: Then all the musical chairs stopped, Fields had gone, they

551
00:27:10,119 --> 00:27:12,800
Speaker 1: didn't get darnold like every other move that we had

552
00:27:13,040 --> 00:27:16,040
Speaker 1: talked about. It came down to the Steelers looking at Rogers,

553
00:27:16,080 --> 00:27:17,880
Speaker 1: and Rogers looking at the Steelers.

554
00:27:17,600 --> 00:27:19,800
Speaker 3: And it was the musical chairs and there was one

555
00:27:19,880 --> 00:27:21,159
Speaker 3: chair left, basically, that's.

556
00:27:21,119 --> 00:27:22,200
Speaker 2: Right, and they paired each other.

557
00:27:22,359 --> 00:27:25,240
Speaker 1: And the year before that, on Groundhog Day, we were

558
00:27:25,400 --> 00:27:30,160
Speaker 1: not talking about Russ and Fields both on the Steelers'

559
00:27:30,200 --> 00:27:31,920
Speaker 1: roster to open training camp.

560
00:27:32,200 --> 00:27:33,359
Speaker 2: That was not a conversation.

561
00:27:33,560 --> 00:27:36,000
Speaker 1: So like, we don't have to wet ourselves to yep,

562
00:27:36,080 --> 00:27:37,920
Speaker 1: Aaron's coming back now, because what else are.

563
00:27:37,840 --> 00:27:39,879
Speaker 3: You gonna do? I don't know, I don't know what

564
00:27:39,960 --> 00:27:40,320
Speaker 3: we're gonna do.

565
00:27:41,640 --> 00:27:44,760
Speaker 1: Stuff happens with the quarterback cycle the same way that

566
00:27:44,840 --> 00:27:48,160
Speaker 1: it happens with the coaching cycle, Like you know, Harbaugh,

567
00:27:48,680 --> 00:27:53,080
Speaker 1: Tomlin and McDermott all shook loose in the second wave,

568
00:27:53,680 --> 00:27:57,560
Speaker 1: you know, because we knew like six of the coaches

569
00:27:57,600 --> 00:27:59,920
Speaker 1: that were gonna be fired or already were fired, but

570
00:28:00,119 --> 00:28:03,480
Speaker 1: four week eighteen and then those guys got canned afterwards.

571
00:28:04,359 --> 00:28:07,600
Speaker 3: No, it's an I'm just saying, you don't have to lock.

572
00:28:07,480 --> 00:28:09,960
Speaker 1: In on Rogers being the guy now because you're not

573
00:28:10,040 --> 00:28:11,560
Speaker 1: a Howard Fanny to say, well, what else are they

574
00:28:11,560 --> 00:28:11,879
Speaker 1: gonna do?

575
00:28:12,080 --> 00:28:12,240
Speaker 4: Yeah?

576
00:28:12,320 --> 00:28:14,480
Speaker 3: Yeah, and I hate what else are they gonna do

577
00:28:14,560 --> 00:28:18,040
Speaker 3: as an answer to the problem. Either the Howard stuff's

578
00:28:18,160 --> 00:28:20,320
Speaker 3: crazy to me, but I would one.

579
00:28:20,200 --> 00:28:22,159
Speaker 2: Thing that is really crazy Howard.

580
00:28:22,440 --> 00:28:25,480
Speaker 3: Well, it's crazy yet to the point where it's gotten

581
00:28:26,000 --> 00:28:28,960
Speaker 3: I definitely want to see more. I get asked every day,

582
00:28:29,119 --> 00:28:30,920
Speaker 3: is he the answer? I don't know how you could

583
00:28:30,920 --> 00:28:35,119
Speaker 3: possibly think he's the answer. I mean, I'm intrigued. Like

584
00:28:35,200 --> 00:28:37,679
Speaker 3: the next guy. I would have loved to seeing preseason

585
00:28:37,720 --> 00:28:39,840
Speaker 3: stuff of him. I mean, I feel like I know

586
00:28:39,920 --> 00:28:42,240
Speaker 3: as much about him now as the day they drafted

587
00:28:42,320 --> 00:28:44,480
Speaker 3: him and he was a six round prospect.

588
00:28:44,720 --> 00:28:48,000
Speaker 1: I heard a caller to a show earlier today going

589
00:28:48,080 --> 00:28:51,840
Speaker 1: to Litany a tirade of all the first round draft

590
00:28:51,960 --> 00:28:55,040
Speaker 1: choice quarterbacks that washed out and how you can't bank

591
00:28:55,480 --> 00:28:58,440
Speaker 1: on a first round draft choice quarterback, and then started

592
00:28:58,440 --> 00:28:59,720
Speaker 1: to build the argument for Howard.

593
00:29:00,120 --> 00:29:02,280
Speaker 2: It's like, you're telling me he's a sixth round pick

594
00:29:02,360 --> 00:29:03,200
Speaker 2: that everybody else.

595
00:29:03,200 --> 00:29:05,520
Speaker 1: So what because Brady and ab hitting the sixth round

596
00:29:05,560 --> 00:29:08,360
Speaker 1: and Terrell Davis, that's more evidence to you than all

597
00:29:08,440 --> 00:29:11,160
Speaker 1: the first round quarterbacks that are now starting QB's in

598
00:29:11,200 --> 00:29:11,920
Speaker 1: the NFL today.

599
00:29:11,960 --> 00:29:13,680
Speaker 3: Come on, or Hall of famers or you know, or

600
00:29:13,720 --> 00:29:17,840
Speaker 3: big time guys. Right, Hey, I'm intrigued as much as

601
00:29:17,840 --> 00:29:21,200
Speaker 3: the next guy. I'm where ilse going with Rogers? Though,

602
00:29:21,320 --> 00:29:23,400
Speaker 3: is I think I do want? I know, I want

603
00:29:23,520 --> 00:29:29,320
Speaker 3: him around to mentor Howard or the second round pick

604
00:29:29,440 --> 00:29:33,040
Speaker 3: this year. Unfortunately, I doubt he'll be here for you know,

605
00:29:33,160 --> 00:29:34,720
Speaker 3: two years. But I mean one of the one of

606
00:29:34,760 --> 00:29:37,520
Speaker 3: the benefits to me of Rogers is I want him

607
00:29:37,520 --> 00:29:40,280
Speaker 3: to rub off on the young guy in some way,

608
00:29:40,320 --> 00:29:40,840
Speaker 3: shape or form.

609
00:29:40,960 --> 00:29:41,800
Speaker 2: Is he gonna embrace that?

610
00:29:42,600 --> 00:29:44,239
Speaker 3: I mean, I don't think how you can't. I mean

611
00:29:44,320 --> 00:29:47,480
Speaker 3: just being around him is influence. Yeah, I mean, I

612
00:29:47,640 --> 00:29:49,800
Speaker 3: just think I'm sure Howard learned a ton from him

613
00:29:50,240 --> 00:29:51,640
Speaker 3: just sitting in the quarterback.

614
00:29:51,320 --> 00:29:53,440
Speaker 1: Round you and I for as much work as we

615
00:29:53,520 --> 00:29:56,640
Speaker 1: do together during the fall. I haven't seen you since

616
00:29:56,720 --> 00:29:59,520
Speaker 1: McCarthy got hired. I haven't talked to you Arthy got hired.

617
00:30:00,240 --> 00:30:02,320
Speaker 2: So what do you think? Is that what you would

618
00:30:02,360 --> 00:30:03,400
Speaker 2: have done if you were the Steelers?

619
00:30:05,400 --> 00:30:08,840
Speaker 3: Yes, And there's a little hindsight involved. Like when it

620
00:30:08,880 --> 00:30:11,480
Speaker 3: came across my phone, I went, ah, I wanted to

621
00:30:11,560 --> 00:30:14,000
Speaker 3: hear from the Rams guys at that point. Why wouldn't

622
00:30:14,000 --> 00:30:14,880
Speaker 3: you at least bring them in?

623
00:30:15,520 --> 00:30:16,200
Speaker 2: That's what I said.

624
00:30:16,400 --> 00:30:18,720
Speaker 1: Yeah, I was like a lot of the team that

625
00:30:18,800 --> 00:30:20,920
Speaker 1: allowed Socks to get blown off by a guy that

626
00:30:21,080 --> 00:30:24,320
Speaker 1: was on the outside of the coaching higher not give

627
00:30:24,360 --> 00:30:27,200
Speaker 1: themselves that same opportunity to meet with those two guys

628
00:30:27,200 --> 00:30:27,600
Speaker 1: in person.

629
00:30:27,840 --> 00:30:32,480
Speaker 3: Yeah, that shocked me. However, I've warmed up to it

630
00:30:32,560 --> 00:30:35,000
Speaker 3: a lot, and frankly, when it happened, you know how

631
00:30:35,080 --> 00:30:37,360
Speaker 3: the sky was falling around here. I mean, I didn't

632
00:30:37,360 --> 00:30:39,840
Speaker 3: think it was a sky's falling move at all, or

633
00:30:40,240 --> 00:30:44,200
Speaker 3: shortsighted or they're just bringing them back to get Rogers,

634
00:30:44,320 --> 00:30:46,280
Speaker 3: or they're just bringing them back because he's from Pittsburgh.

635
00:30:46,320 --> 00:30:48,120
Speaker 3: I'm like, that's not why they hired him. You know,

636
00:30:49,720 --> 00:30:53,720
Speaker 3: it doesn't hurt, It doesn't hurt. But I do think

637
00:30:53,760 --> 00:30:59,920
Speaker 3: he was definitely the best combination of keep you competitive now,

638
00:31:00,440 --> 00:31:03,360
Speaker 3: which we know is super important to that organization. And

639
00:31:03,440 --> 00:31:05,320
Speaker 3: that's something West and I've talked about on the drive, like,

640
00:31:06,200 --> 00:31:08,120
Speaker 3: if you hate that about the Steelers, you should root

641
00:31:08,160 --> 00:31:09,760
Speaker 3: for a different team. You know they're not going to

642
00:31:09,800 --> 00:31:11,840
Speaker 3: be fine with a three win season or a fo.

643
00:31:11,840 --> 00:31:13,120
Speaker 2: Which you don't have to be fine with it.

644
00:31:13,240 --> 00:31:16,560
Speaker 1: But I don't equate a three or four win season

645
00:31:16,680 --> 00:31:19,600
Speaker 1: to the sky is falling. I equate three or four

646
00:31:19,720 --> 00:31:20,920
Speaker 1: consecutive three or four.

647
00:31:20,840 --> 00:31:23,040
Speaker 2: Win seasons to the sky is falling.

648
00:31:23,160 --> 00:31:25,600
Speaker 3: But you know they're always going to take the approach

649
00:31:25,680 --> 00:31:29,440
Speaker 3: every season to compete now, Yeah, as best as.

650
00:31:29,320 --> 00:31:31,120
Speaker 2: A possible competing for what is a difference.

651
00:31:31,400 --> 00:31:33,640
Speaker 3: That's the different story. But I think he was the

652
00:31:33,720 --> 00:31:36,040
Speaker 3: best combination of everyone out there and not a great

653
00:31:36,080 --> 00:31:40,880
Speaker 3: coaching cycle of competing now and finding and developing the

654
00:31:40,960 --> 00:31:45,600
Speaker 3: next quarterback, whether that's Willis Nussmeyer, next year's guy, whoever,

655
00:31:46,480 --> 00:31:47,880
Speaker 3: and those have to be the two most I mean,

656
00:31:48,240 --> 00:31:49,600
Speaker 3: part two is the most important thing.

657
00:31:50,240 --> 00:31:55,400
Speaker 1: So I would suggest that the greater risk occurs when

658
00:31:55,440 --> 00:31:58,760
Speaker 1: you change to the new starting quarterback than when you

659
00:31:58,960 --> 00:32:02,960
Speaker 1: change the head code. Okay, right, because I mean, like

660
00:32:03,720 --> 00:32:06,560
Speaker 1: you go from Noel to Cowhor, they actually got better,

661
00:32:07,600 --> 00:32:09,640
Speaker 1: but they had a lot in place. You go from

662
00:32:10,320 --> 00:32:12,560
Speaker 1: Coward to Tomlin, it got better, but there was a

663
00:32:12,600 --> 00:32:13,280
Speaker 1: lot in place.

664
00:32:13,480 --> 00:32:13,680
Speaker 4: Yeah.

665
00:32:13,760 --> 00:32:17,560
Speaker 1: Yeah, if you don't want to rip the band aid

666
00:32:17,640 --> 00:32:21,520
Speaker 1: off now and allow yourself to have new coach, new qbs,

667
00:32:21,600 --> 00:32:23,880
Speaker 1: new coordinators and just put in a whole new system,

668
00:32:24,840 --> 00:32:27,120
Speaker 1: and you want to try to carry over as close

669
00:32:27,200 --> 00:32:29,880
Speaker 1: to a replication as you can of what the winning

670
00:32:30,120 --> 00:32:32,840
Speaker 1: was last year at ten and seven. Yeah, you could

671
00:32:32,880 --> 00:32:35,760
Speaker 1: go with McCarthy, But if Rogers comes back as part

672
00:32:35,840 --> 00:32:38,320
Speaker 1: of this is a compliment to this that the band

673
00:32:38,360 --> 00:32:39,960
Speaker 1: aid has to come off next year unless you're bringing

674
00:32:40,000 --> 00:32:40,840
Speaker 1: them back at forty four.

675
00:32:41,680 --> 00:32:44,680
Speaker 3: Where I'd fight you on it Rogers aside, because Rogers

676
00:32:44,720 --> 00:32:46,520
Speaker 3: are going to run his offense. I mean that he's

677
00:32:46,520 --> 00:32:49,080
Speaker 3: an old dog that's not learning loot new tricks. But

678
00:32:49,160 --> 00:32:52,680
Speaker 3: where I'd fight you is just because McCarthy's older doesn't

679
00:32:52,800 --> 00:32:55,040
Speaker 3: mean that there aren't wholesale changes. I mean.

680
00:32:56,720 --> 00:32:57,840
Speaker 2: The offense will be different.

681
00:32:57,920 --> 00:32:59,800
Speaker 3: Yeah, defense will be massively see three.

682
00:32:59,680 --> 00:33:01,800
Speaker 2: Waters receivers all the time. He won't see anymore three

683
00:33:01,840 --> 00:33:02,320
Speaker 2: tight ends.

684
00:33:02,400 --> 00:33:04,280
Speaker 3: I mean just the way he stresses things. It'll be

685
00:33:04,320 --> 00:33:06,960
Speaker 3: a much more professional unit. I think the defense will

686
00:33:07,000 --> 00:33:11,800
Speaker 3: be vastly better in terms of scheming week to week.

687
00:33:12,240 --> 00:33:14,120
Speaker 2: So one thing, what did you see about Graham that

688
00:33:14,160 --> 00:33:15,440
Speaker 2: makes you feel that way a lot?

689
00:33:17,120 --> 00:33:19,760
Speaker 3: First off, he is like the worst ingredients in the league.

690
00:33:19,840 --> 00:33:23,080
Speaker 2: I mean Max Crosby and not much else and.

691
00:33:23,120 --> 00:33:25,920
Speaker 3: Nothing else, I mean nothing else, maybe the worst defensive

692
00:33:25,960 --> 00:33:29,840
Speaker 3: personnel in the league and kept them competitive for much

693
00:33:29,880 --> 00:33:33,320
Speaker 3: of the year. I mean, you give him garbage ingredients

694
00:33:33,360 --> 00:33:36,760
Speaker 3: and he'll make you a dinner that's edible. Now if

695
00:33:36,800 --> 00:33:40,040
Speaker 3: you give him good ingredients, I'm interested with that. Super

696
00:33:40,120 --> 00:33:44,120
Speaker 3: smart played at Yale, has been part of some terrible

697
00:33:44,720 --> 00:33:49,160
Speaker 3: head coaching situations, organizations talent, and always got more out

698
00:33:49,200 --> 00:33:51,480
Speaker 3: of his talent. That was my biggest beef with the

699
00:33:51,560 --> 00:33:55,920
Speaker 3: Steelers defensive staff, including Tomlin, was I don't think that

700
00:33:56,000 --> 00:34:00,479
Speaker 3: they got enough schematic advantages a week to week basis,

701
00:34:00,600 --> 00:34:03,560
Speaker 3: and I don't think they maximize their talent on defense.

702
00:34:04,200 --> 00:34:06,640
Speaker 2: Something this guy does something else I might talk about

703
00:34:06,640 --> 00:34:08,160
Speaker 2: a little bit later on. I wrote about it too.

704
00:34:08,960 --> 00:34:10,840
Speaker 2: I hated the.

705
00:34:12,400 --> 00:34:15,920
Speaker 1: McCarthy's soliloquy about Dom Caper's in the nineteen ninety two

706
00:34:16,000 --> 00:34:16,880
Speaker 1: three four defense.

707
00:34:17,120 --> 00:34:18,719
Speaker 3: I hate it too. There was a lot of things

708
00:34:18,760 --> 00:34:21,400
Speaker 3: that he talked in history in that press conference that

709
00:34:21,440 --> 00:34:21,759
Speaker 3: I like.

710
00:34:21,880 --> 00:34:24,360
Speaker 1: I just don't see how that defense is applicable in

711
00:34:24,400 --> 00:34:27,719
Speaker 1: the year twenty twenty six, with mobile quarterbacks and the

712
00:34:27,880 --> 00:34:28,520
Speaker 1: quick release.

713
00:34:28,760 --> 00:34:30,880
Speaker 3: You can't count on something like that. They run a

714
00:34:30,920 --> 00:34:32,759
Speaker 3: three four here, this is a three four team like

715
00:34:32,840 --> 00:34:33,480
Speaker 3: that does It's.

716
00:34:33,360 --> 00:34:35,200
Speaker 2: Barely a three to four team anymore as it is.

717
00:34:35,480 --> 00:34:37,400
Speaker 3: The lines are so blurred now anyway.

718
00:34:37,200 --> 00:34:38,480
Speaker 2: You know you're in cub all the time.

719
00:34:38,560 --> 00:34:40,399
Speaker 1: And actually that's one thing that I saw a quote

720
00:34:40,400 --> 00:34:42,480
Speaker 1: attributed to Patrick Graham who said it silly to even

721
00:34:42,520 --> 00:34:45,000
Speaker 1: talk about because your bas is yourself basically is what

722
00:34:45,080 --> 00:34:45,399
Speaker 1: he said.

723
00:34:45,520 --> 00:34:47,640
Speaker 2: Yes, yes, your your basis.

724
00:34:47,840 --> 00:34:48,799
Speaker 3: Is going to be Nickel, right.

725
00:34:50,120 --> 00:34:52,840
Speaker 1: But you know, just to harken back to the days

726
00:34:52,920 --> 00:34:55,640
Speaker 1: of yr like you know, you just need quiver and

727
00:34:55,800 --> 00:34:58,200
Speaker 1: quake and the blast furnace Blitzburg, I was like, what

728
00:34:58,280 --> 00:34:59,279
Speaker 1: are we talking about here?

729
00:34:59,480 --> 00:35:02,000
Speaker 3: Yeah, I would rip that defensive partner. I mean, if

730
00:35:02,000 --> 00:35:03,320
Speaker 3: they've been figured out.

731
00:35:03,960 --> 00:35:06,640
Speaker 2: That's going to find Jewel Steed again. Is that nice?

732
00:35:06,800 --> 00:35:06,920
Speaker 4: Right?

733
00:35:07,120 --> 00:35:10,520
Speaker 3: Right? So I understand you don't want to wholesale change

734
00:35:10,560 --> 00:35:15,320
Speaker 3: in terms of defensive personnel. We're going to install something

735
00:35:15,360 --> 00:35:18,120
Speaker 3: that Watt doesn't fit or Cam doesn't fit. There are

736
00:35:18,160 --> 00:35:21,040
Speaker 3: you know, everybody. But the way it came out of

737
00:35:21,120 --> 00:35:23,360
Speaker 3: his mouth, I didn't like it sounded like it we

738
00:35:23,400 --> 00:35:26,080
Speaker 3: were talking about thirty years ago. And I'm like, we're

739
00:35:26,120 --> 00:35:28,120
Speaker 3: talking too much of in the past and the future

740
00:35:28,160 --> 00:35:32,200
Speaker 3: in that press conference for my liking overall. But I mean,

741
00:35:32,239 --> 00:35:34,520
Speaker 3: that's one of my concerns is does he see the

742
00:35:34,600 --> 00:35:37,799
Speaker 3: league like it's ten years ago as opposed to two

743
00:35:37,920 --> 00:35:40,520
Speaker 3: years from now you know what I mean. But people

744
00:35:40,560 --> 00:35:43,160
Speaker 3: looked into the whole three fourth thing too much because

745
00:35:43,360 --> 00:35:44,839
Speaker 3: they're not going to be in their base three four

746
00:35:44,880 --> 00:35:47,640
Speaker 3: all the time. Yeah, ever last thing.

747
00:35:48,280 --> 00:35:50,000
Speaker 1: Are they going to be able And he's going to

748
00:35:50,080 --> 00:35:53,120
Speaker 1: want to run the ball regardless for the quarterback is

749
00:35:53,920 --> 00:35:54,279
Speaker 1: I don't know.

750
00:35:56,120 --> 00:35:58,800
Speaker 3: His history in the run game isn't nearly as strong

751
00:35:58,920 --> 00:36:02,400
Speaker 3: as the passing game, but he does want to balanced offense.

752
00:36:03,280 --> 00:36:06,760
Speaker 3: They won't be under center much and under center runs

753
00:36:07,120 --> 00:36:11,200
Speaker 3: have certainly been more fruitful around the league lately. He

754
00:36:11,360 --> 00:36:13,640
Speaker 3: is going to be in a lighter personnel, as you mentioned,

755
00:36:14,080 --> 00:36:15,920
Speaker 3: but that doesn't matter. You can still run out of

756
00:36:15,920 --> 00:36:18,680
Speaker 3: three wide. You know you're just gonna run against lighter defenses.

757
00:36:19,800 --> 00:36:23,160
Speaker 3: But balance overall has been pretty good. But I would

758
00:36:23,200 --> 00:36:29,760
Speaker 3: never say they were run heavy or an exceptional run scheme.

759
00:36:30,560 --> 00:36:32,719
Speaker 3: But he gets a lot out of his quarterbacks, not

760
00:36:32,880 --> 00:36:36,759
Speaker 3: just a great ones, and his passing game is really

761
00:36:36,800 --> 00:36:39,200
Speaker 3: hard to defend. The offense will be better.

762
00:36:39,400 --> 00:36:40,719
Speaker 2: Appreciate it, Matt, Thanks so much.

763
00:36:40,840 --> 00:36:43,160
Speaker 1: All right, Matt Williamson from the Drive and you listen

764
00:36:43,200 --> 00:36:46,520
Speaker 1: to him and me and Tom every Wednesday on Fox

765
00:36:46,560 --> 00:36:49,439
Speaker 1: Sports Pittsburgh nine seventy during the regular season at Park

766
00:36:49,520 --> 00:36:52,439
Speaker 1: Social for countdown to kickoff. When we come back back

767
00:36:52,520 --> 00:36:56,920
Speaker 1: to hockey, Colby Armstrong plants his flag as still the

768
00:36:57,080 --> 00:37:00,799
Speaker 1: greatest fast goalscorer ever outside and we come back.

769
00:37:00,840 --> 00:37:06,560
Speaker 2: What five nine The X Tonight's the Pens face the Senators.

770
00:37:07,160 --> 00:37:10,879
Speaker 1: Game time is seven, Our coverage starts at six here

771
00:37:10,960 --> 00:37:13,399
Speaker 1: every game and the best coverage right here on your

772
00:37:13,480 --> 00:37:14,280
Speaker 1: home of the Penns.

773
00:37:14,400 --> 00:37:15,399
Speaker 6: What oh five nine?

774
00:37:15,600 --> 00:37:16,040
Speaker 1: The X

775
00:37:18,719 --> 00:37:23,040
Speaker 2: Friday kick off the Winter Olympics in style with the

776
00:37:23,200 --> 00:37:26,200
Speaker 2: opening ceremony from Italy featuring US