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Speaker 1: It is continuing coverage of twenty twenty six NFL Combine

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Speaker 1: by from Indianapolis on the Steelers Audio Network, presented by

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Speaker 1: First National Bank. Can your bank do that? Welcome to FNB.

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Speaker 1: Let's get started. Member FDIC Iron Workers Local Union number three.

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Speaker 2: We don't go to the office, We build it.

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Speaker 1: Schneider Downs discover the value of big thinking with a

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Speaker 1: The Ford F one fifty is the official truck of

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Speaker 1: the Pittsburgh Steelers and by US steel Mine Melted made

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Speaker 1: in the USA.

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Speaker 3: Good morning, Steelers Nation, and it is day number three

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Speaker 3: here live on Radio Row our ongoing Combine coverage on

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Speaker 3: your twenty four to seven home of the Black and Gold.

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Speaker 3: Weshuler and Mike Persuda with you here on this Thursday

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Speaker 3: morning to get us started. It is another full jam

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Speaker 3: packed slate here today. We've got you for the next

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Speaker 3: eight hours with our entire cast. Is that all that's

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Speaker 3: about it? I don't know. Maybe maybe maybe we're throwing

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Speaker 3: a bonus hour just just for kicks and giggles, uh

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Speaker 3: and the entire cast of characters that you have come

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Speaker 3: to expect. The two of US, Matt Williamson, Jerry Doulac,

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Speaker 3: rob King, and plenty of great guests all throughout the day.

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Speaker 2: You and matter doing the heavy lifting. Let's let's be

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Speaker 2: clear about that.

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Speaker 3: Well, thank you, I appreciate that show.

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Speaker 2: I'm just here to help you.

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Speaker 3: Mus muscles are a little sore. But you know what,

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Speaker 3: we're almost across the finish line. Uh.

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Speaker 2: You know that is strong.

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Speaker 3: That's what it's That's what it's all about. Uh. You know,

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Speaker 3: championships are not one in September and October, right, they

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Speaker 3: are one.

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Speaker 2: They're one on the chat room, in the chat room birthday.

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Speaker 3: That's exactly right, That's exactly right. Uh, Mike, I'm excited

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Speaker 3: because today finally first day of on field workouts. It's

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Speaker 3: a it's a kind of very hurry up and wait process.

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Speaker 3: A lot of this and so much of the first

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Speaker 3: few days is what the coaches are saying and what

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Speaker 3: the gms are saying, and any potential you know, trade

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Speaker 3: rumors and things like that that always always pop up

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Speaker 3: here when everybody gets together. But we'll finally get our

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Speaker 3: first on field drills, measurements, workouts, all that stuff between

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Speaker 3: the defensive linemen and the linebackers. Today kickers too, kickers

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Speaker 3: as well. Yeah, yeah, I guess you're right. Don't put

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Speaker 3: specialists in the corner.

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Speaker 2: I hope the kickers run forties. Uh, you know, I've

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Speaker 2: I've become over the years. I've been doing this a

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Speaker 2: long time. And when I first started, the draft was

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Speaker 2: to be all end all, and then then I sort

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Speaker 2: of shied away from it. Now I'm kind of getting

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Speaker 2: back in. Every time I try to get out, they

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Speaker 2: play me. But I do really enjoy it. I tape

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Speaker 2: the workouts and watch them. There's no pads, they're not

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Speaker 2: playing football. It's referenced as the underwear Olympics. But I

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Speaker 2: think there's a lot to be gleaned. Uh, you know.

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Speaker 2: Over the years, Mike Mayock used to be the NFL

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Speaker 2: network guy who was the yes, the head scalp sort

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Speaker 2: of and the the analyst, the lead analyst, and he

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Speaker 2: would always be incredulous that people got excited about forty

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Speaker 2: yard dashtips. Mayos theory was always, well, the smaller guys

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Speaker 2: are supposed to run fast, the bigger guys are supposed

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Speaker 2: to run slow. He said, when a big guy runs fast,

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Speaker 2: then you get excited. When when Chris Johnson runs fast,

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Speaker 2: he's supposed to. He's supposed to, but I I enjoy it.

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Speaker 2: I'm not a track and field fan, per se, don't.

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Speaker 2: I don't go to track and field meets.

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Speaker 1: Uh.

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Speaker 2: When I used to have to cover track in my

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Speaker 2: tenure with the Beaver County Times, it was always considered

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Speaker 2: a negative assignment. If you will, you know, but you know,

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Speaker 2: watching guys run forties at this level of athleticism and

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Speaker 2: the big guys that can do it, that's been the

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Speaker 2: trend for a number of years now, right, just how

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Speaker 2: big guys are running fast, and that is something to

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Speaker 2: get excited about. And then the on field workouts. I

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Speaker 2: think even for the lineman. You can tell if a

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Speaker 2: guy can move laterally, you can tell if he's got

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Speaker 2: some explosion, you can tell change the direction football things. Right,

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Speaker 2: They're doing things that they're going to have to do now,

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Speaker 2: they're gonna have to do them in pads and do them.

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Speaker 3: Under duress, yes, but somebody trying to stop them while

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Speaker 3: they do it.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, Seeing who can do it is the first step, right,

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Speaker 2: And the tape doesn't always tell you that. I'm looking

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Speaker 2: forward to the next four days.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, yeah, same here. I'm with you, and especially I

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Speaker 3: think you kind of nailed it. There's certain positions that

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Speaker 3: you want to see for certain position groups, and a

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Speaker 3: lot of talk about defensive line. We know that the

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Speaker 3: Steelers just went first round with Derek Harmon last year,

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Speaker 3: but I think we all think that there's a very

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Speaker 3: good chance they could go back to that well again

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Speaker 3: early whereever it may be. You know, they have five

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Speaker 3: picks in the top one hundred.

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Speaker 2: I'm thinking big guy again. Yes, the more I'm here, Yes,

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Speaker 2: you know, asterisk come far from an official declaration on

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Speaker 2: who I think they're gonna take it.

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Speaker 3: They haven't asked our opinion yet.

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Speaker 2: Well, nor will they.

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Speaker 3: I'm still waiting for Omar and Andy Wido to come

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Speaker 3: and ask our opinions. But yeah, we won't hold our breath.

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Speaker 2: But I think if you're coming into this process thinking, oh,

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Speaker 2: I got to take a wide receiver, come on, it's obvious.

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Speaker 2: I get that. You know you could make that argument,

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Speaker 2: but it might not happen, not first, not at twenty one.

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Speaker 3: I still if this is Las Vegas and we have

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Speaker 3: to put a chip down on the table of what's

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Speaker 3: the pick at twenty one, I do think that I

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Speaker 3: would still say wide receiver is my leader in the clubhouse, but.

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Speaker 2: That's not where you make your money. West. You don't

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Speaker 2: take the favorite.

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Speaker 3: Takes some odds the field, though the number for the

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Speaker 3: field is getting more and more enticing.

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Speaker 2: Guarded five to one, detackle at three to one. These

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Speaker 2: are interesting options.

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Speaker 3: Defensive back twelve to one.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, I don't know, fifteen unless it's a safety maybe well, no,

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Speaker 2: maybe a corner, who.

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Speaker 3: Knows, depending on what happens with Pierre and free agency

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Speaker 3: here in a couple of weeks.

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Speaker 2: I think they're a weird spot. Weird's probably not the

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Speaker 2: right word. Maybe enviable is a better word, because I

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Speaker 2: think they're good team, and I think they have a

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Speaker 2: good nucleus, but I don't think they're painted into a court. Well,

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Speaker 2: you got to get this, so you got to get that.

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Speaker 2: Like even Zach Frasier's year, you know, center was a

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Speaker 2: screaming need and there was three of them that were

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Speaker 2: perceived to be plug and.

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Speaker 3: Play Barton and Jackson, Powers Johnson, and.

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Speaker 2: They let that get into the second round. It worked out,

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Speaker 2: but you knew center was gonna be really high up there. Now,

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Speaker 2: I would say wide receiver at least the second round,

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Speaker 2: probably right.

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Speaker 3: I would think so I think that if not, if

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Speaker 3: not at twenty one, at fifty three.

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Speaker 2: I think that's a better bet than first round. And

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Speaker 2: it could be a wide receiver on a first round

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Speaker 2: I would not be disappointed with that. But just looking

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Speaker 2: at it more and more, you know, you kind of

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Speaker 2: you get out here and it's like going to training camp.

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Speaker 2: It's all about the draft. You're working it all day

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Speaker 2: and then we're going out to dinner and we're talking

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Speaker 2: about it, and then we're whatever we're doing at night.

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Speaker 2: We're talking about it, and we're talking to different people

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Speaker 2: about it, and we're reading about it. There's a strong

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Speaker 2: argument that could also be made for detackle or offensive line.

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Speaker 3: Yeah. Absolutely, we've seen the investment on the offensive line.

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Speaker 3: We've started to see it on the defensive line. Not

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Speaker 3: just Derek Harmon at twenty one overall last year, but

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Speaker 3: why a Black on Day three as well? And yeah,

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Speaker 3: that to me, And hey, there's also a scenario. Say

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Speaker 3: you're sitting there at pick twenty one and every defensive

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Speaker 3: lineman's still available, and you're like, we got to take

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Speaker 3: one of these. You know, we have one of these

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Speaker 3: guys thirteenth on our big board, and he's here. It

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Speaker 3: picked twenty one. You also have three third round picks.

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Speaker 3: You don't have to stay at fifty three in the

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Speaker 3: second round. You could move up to forty seven forty

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Speaker 3: six to go get your wide receiver. Not some crazy

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Speaker 3: leaping bound, but you package one of one of those

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Speaker 3: extra comppicks that you have somewhere and maybe you move

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Speaker 3: up a few spots from fifty three to nab your

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Speaker 3: wide receiver there. If you don't want to wait and

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Speaker 3: take that chance. There's a lot of options on the table,

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Speaker 3: and again you position yourself. That's the way you want

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Speaker 3: it to be.

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Speaker 2: You can do that restaurant if you want. And hey,

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Speaker 2: maybe there's a wide receiver that they think. This is

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Speaker 2: the guy. Man. This is the fit for what Mike

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Speaker 2: McCarthy wants to do. This is the fit for how

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Speaker 2: Aaron Rodgers wants them to play. We're going to get eighteen.

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Speaker 3: He's still there. We're gonna move up a few spots

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Speaker 3: and go get him.

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Speaker 2: But it's it's been uh enlightening to me just sitting

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Speaker 2: here with you guys and talking to some of the

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Speaker 2: people that we have talked about draft nicks, geeks, thirds analysts.

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Speaker 3: However you want to do term Draftnicks.

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Speaker 2: There are people here that are way deeper into this

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Speaker 2: than I am, particularly at this early stage. For me,

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Speaker 2: it's a pretty early stage of trying to get into this.

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Speaker 3: This is the real kind of kickoff. Yeah, for the

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Speaker 3: next two months here draft there.

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Speaker 2: There seems to be a consensus of opinion. Maybe you agree,

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Speaker 2: maybe you don't, that you're not gonna get Jamar Chase

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Speaker 2: this year. You're not gonna get Malik Neighbors this year.

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Speaker 2: It's it's a deep cast of characters at wide receiver,

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Speaker 2: but there aren't necessarily the two or three Holy Kyle,

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Speaker 2: look at this dude kind of play completely. Yes, Okay,

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Speaker 2: so then maybe that's you know, maybe the guy you

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Speaker 2: get in the second round is potentially just as good

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Speaker 2: as the guy that you would have gotten in the

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Speaker 2: first round, but maybe that drop off at d tackle

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Speaker 2: is more profound from round one to round two. So

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Speaker 2: maybe you better get while they getting good at position A,

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Speaker 2: knowing you can still get what you need at position B.

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Speaker 2: That's always the fascinating part is it's the gamble.

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Speaker 3: Those are the conversations in the scenarios that they play

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Speaker 3: out all these next couple months while they get ready

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Speaker 3: for April.

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Speaker 2: You know, the legend in Steelerland is, you know, dating

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Speaker 2: back to seventy four that all time draft Chuck Noll

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Speaker 2: loved John Stalwart and he also loved Lin Swan, and

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Speaker 2: it was reported back to him, well, if you want

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Speaker 2: them both, you gotta take Swan first, because at that time.

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Speaker 3: He plays at USC YAH one and at that time.

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Speaker 2: The stall Warts of the world were not as widely

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Speaker 2: known as they are now. Like now, everybody knows everybody.

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Speaker 3: There's no secrets anymore. Everybody's got seven hundred hours of

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Speaker 3: tape on these players.

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Speaker 2: But they rolled the dice. Okay, we're gonna take Swan

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Speaker 2: first because he's not gonna be there later, and then

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Speaker 2: Stalwart was there later and they got them both. So

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Speaker 2: you have to You have to take some calculated risks

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Speaker 2: as a team when you're doing this, and sometimes it works,

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Speaker 2: sometimes it doesn't. Who knows what would have happened to

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Speaker 2: Fraser hadn't have been there in the second ol Man.

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Speaker 2: How would that have changed things?

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Speaker 3: I would have, you know, had one less mountaineer in

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Speaker 3: Pittsburgh with me, which would have been a bummer.

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Speaker 2: But I mean that that guy to me, he's the

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Speaker 2: first round player and he's gonna have a first round

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Speaker 2: career and they're thrilled they have them, and they should be.

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Speaker 3: But you know, it wasn't a layup the dice. The dice,

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Speaker 3: the dice rolled your direction on that.

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Speaker 2: They ran to pick of fence and Jimmy Chip would

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Speaker 2: came around the corner and said, I'll make it. Actually

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Speaker 2: they didn't run pick fence on the Jimmy Chip would play.

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Speaker 3: They didn't.

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Speaker 2: That's right, that was Merle coming around. They just spread

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Speaker 2: the floor and let Jimmy bleed the clock down. That's right,

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Speaker 2: what he does.

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Speaker 3: What's right.

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Speaker 2: You know, analogy kind of holds up. But we're in Indiana.

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Speaker 3: You gotta make a hoosier's joke when you're in Indiana.

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Speaker 3: Certainly you and I few years ago went over to

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Speaker 3: that stadium actually on the Butler campus. That was before

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Speaker 3: a Monday night football game a few years ago. When

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Speaker 3: the Steelers are out here. We are just getting started

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Speaker 3: on Radio Row, Mike. We've got a special guest coming

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Speaker 3: up next.

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Speaker 2: The special guest of special guests, guy I've known forever

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Speaker 2: and the all time grinder and cover in the NFL,

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Speaker 2: Jeff Legwald, who has worked many places and covered many

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Speaker 2: teams ESPN Denver, Right, ESPN Denver for the last bunch

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Speaker 2: of years. Jeff is one of the guys, maybe the

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Speaker 2: guy who invented this thing in terms of media coverage.

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Speaker 2: Love it, and he's gonna tell us some stories about

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Speaker 2: how that happened.

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Speaker 3: Love it. We'll have we'll have some fun conversation when

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Speaker 3: we return. Just getting started here today on Radio Row

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Speaker 3: West Huler, Mike Pursuda, all part of our ongoing combine

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Speaker 3: coverage on Steelers Nation Radio and the Steelers Audio Network.

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Speaker 1: This is live reach up that twenty twenty six NFL

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Speaker 1: Combine on Steelers Nation Radio, a part of the Steelers

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Speaker 1: Audio Network.

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Speaker 3: Back on Radio Row here as we roll along in

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Speaker 3: the first hour of our day three coverage of the

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Speaker 3: NFL Combine and joining us now is one of the

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Speaker 3: original media members here covering the NFL Combine, the original,

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Speaker 3: the original, every single NFL combine. He's been here, Jeff Legwalled.

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Speaker 3: That's the tweet, that's the list, that's it.

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Speaker 2: Number of guys who've been to all these things, right,

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Speaker 2: Maybe I don't know. I don't know.

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Speaker 4: There weren't many here in the first one, and I

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Speaker 4: don't see anybody else around.

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Speaker 3: We'll go with it, then, won't. We won't let my

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Speaker 3: potential fact get in a way of a good story.

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Speaker 3: Jeff Legall ESPN Denver Dan covers the Broncos in the NFL.

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Speaker 2: I first got to know Jeff when he was working

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Speaker 2: for the Tribune Review covering the.

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Speaker 4: Tarentum Oh, the Tarentum North Hills News Record, and the tent.

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Speaker 2: I particularly remember a lead to one of your columns

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Speaker 2: back in the day. And this will give people an

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Speaker 2: idea how far back we go. Bubby or Neil, Neil

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Speaker 2: or Bobby yep, you remember that one or Neil.

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Speaker 4: I can outrun him. I can out throw them. Remember

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Speaker 4: as the end of the season they lost lost the

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Speaker 4: Bills in the playoffs, Bobby stood in the locker room.

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Speaker 4: So I can outrun them and I can out throw them.

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Speaker 2: And if we get the ball inside the forty one

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Speaker 2: yard lots seven times, I'm damn sure we're gonna get

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Speaker 2: more than three points. You know, Jeff used to cover

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Speaker 2: the Steelers, used to cover the Tennessee.

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Speaker 4: Did the Titans ten years, did the Bills for a

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Speaker 4: couple and now on the Broncos. This will be my

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Speaker 4: twenty fourth on the Broncos.

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Speaker 2: So let's pick up where we left off there at

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Speaker 2: the end of the break because you were here early

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Speaker 2: as you will, watching the magic and you got a

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Speaker 2: little addendum to the lynd Swan John Stalwarts No.

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Speaker 4: I just since we're at the combine. It's a good

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Speaker 4: scouting story, you know. Back in those days, the pro

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Speaker 4: days were a Leppiger deal. Teams often drafted players they

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Speaker 4: didn't even know how tall they were officially until they

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Speaker 4: saw him. So there were some surprizes sometimes, but so

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Speaker 4: pro day is a lot less formal back then. But

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Speaker 4: Bill Nunn was one of the scouts that went down

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Speaker 4: to workout Stalwart at a pseudo Pro day. It rained

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Speaker 4: field was terrible and there's probably none in and a

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Speaker 4: few other scouts there for this, and Stalwart runs awful,

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Speaker 4: just terrible in the mud, and everybody's like that guy,

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Speaker 4: you know, because you know, there isn't the game. We

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Speaker 4: don't have YouTube back then.

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Speaker 2: You wasn't a lot of Alabama A and M tape.

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Speaker 4: You're really seeing how fast is this player when you

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Speaker 4: work him out at that point, and he ran poorly,

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Speaker 4: and none decided to stay overnight. Nobody else did. None

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Speaker 4: stayed overnight ran him again, in the morning, and he

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Speaker 4: was a Pittsburgh Steeler.

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Speaker 2: He actually he faked in illness, yes, to get the

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Speaker 2: other scouts to leave. He said, I got to catch

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Speaker 2: up with you guys next next stop.

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Speaker 4: Feeling good, I don't want to travel and all that.

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Speaker 2: He stayed.

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Speaker 4: He stayed overnight and stalwarts ran lights out the next morning,

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Speaker 4: and and the it was better weather and just better.

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Speaker 4: He fell. He wasn't as nervous and none was the

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Speaker 4: only guy who stayed. And there you go.

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Speaker 3: It's fantastic.

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Speaker 2: Let's go back to the start of this thing. Two

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Speaker 2: thousand and three was first one eighty seven, eighty seven

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Speaker 2: here two thousand and three, when they've started keeping the records.

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Speaker 4: Yes, the records exist. I have some of the records.

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Speaker 4: They just weren't as easy to find.

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Speaker 2: So so you start doing this and you just basically

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Speaker 2: decided to show up and find people in hallway.

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Speaker 4: Were there were no interviews set up, there were no credentials,

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Speaker 4: there were no anything.

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Speaker 2: So you're just hanging around, you're talking to who you

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Speaker 2: could talk to the wild West, and you're just you know,

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Speaker 2: just getting thrown at out you know wherever.

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Speaker 4: Back then you know there's no walkways, but Now everything's

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Speaker 4: indoor walkways here, but uh, I used to track who

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Speaker 4: was in the workout groups by waiting outside because they

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Speaker 4: had to bring the players outside to bring him into

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Speaker 4: the Hoosier Dome. So they would have a they would

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Speaker 4: walk them like ducks in a row. They had a

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Speaker 4: scout in front and a scout in back to keep everybody,

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Speaker 4: not just the rane. Yeah, no, after keep everybody organized.

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Speaker 4: They had a scout in front and a scouting back.

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Speaker 4: But that's how I used to see who was in

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Speaker 4: what workout group, what what positions they were working out

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Speaker 4: that day, all that stuff.

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Speaker 2: So it's you and a handful of other media guys.

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Speaker 4: I think there were five or six media people. And

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Speaker 4: where were you working at the time. I was working

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Speaker 4: at a small paper in Illinois here, you know, close

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Speaker 4: by across the border. So and then I was at

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Speaker 4: Saratoga Springs, New York. But I would make My parents

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Speaker 4: were still alive and they lived in Illinois, so I

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Speaker 4: would visit them, and on my way back, I do

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Speaker 4: the combine.

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Speaker 2: And now here we are, we're in a convention. Everybody's

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Speaker 2: got a credential. Everything's probabi podium lights and it's on

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Speaker 2: TV four. Days in a row.

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Speaker 4: There's still some good hallways, but not as many.

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Speaker 3: Do you have a moment of like one of these

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Speaker 3: years when you arrived here and we're, hey, this is

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Speaker 3: a little bit different now. It's it's not just a

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Speaker 3: dozen of us that are here. It's not Do you

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Speaker 3: remember like an exact moment where you were like, this

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Speaker 3: Combine thing is getting pretty big.

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Speaker 4: I can tell you when it blew up nine to

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Speaker 4: eleven year, Remember they postponed a couple of games because

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Speaker 4: nine to eleven UH free agency opened at the combine

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Speaker 4: That following year, and because everybody who covered a team

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Speaker 4: had to get your GM or coach. When free agency opened,

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Speaker 4: everybody suddenly discovered why why is everybody going to Indy?

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Speaker 4: And that year it blew up. After that everybody came

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Speaker 4: and they saw, Wow, everybody's in one place. This is

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Speaker 4: the only thing on the NFL calendar where everybody is

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Speaker 4: in the same place at the same time.

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Speaker 2: And also, I think every team has to either make

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Speaker 2: their coach or GM available at the podium.

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Speaker 3: Yes, it's not a requirement.

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Speaker 4: Some teams, haven't you know. I don't think the Saints

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Speaker 4: did you know that. I don't think the Rams staff

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Speaker 4: comes anymore. But it's sort of protocol they recommended and

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Speaker 4: you know all of that, and I think most teams

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Speaker 4: figure it's the best way to keep everybody out of

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Speaker 4: their hairs, just put them out there.

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Speaker 2: So your thoughts on this thing now, has it gotten

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Speaker 2: too big or is it's still what it is intended

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Speaker 2: to be? And is the information everybody gleans here what

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Speaker 2: they have to have.

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Speaker 4: Well, the reason exists still is the medical It's the

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Speaker 4: only way you can get this much medical information on

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Speaker 4: a draft prospect. And as a player, you're basically surrendering

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Speaker 4: your medical information or potential contracts. So it's kind of

390
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Speaker 4: a deal. You know, you may not like the most

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Speaker 4: extensive medical exam you've ever had in your life, because

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Speaker 4: it is they've they've discovered things here players didn't know

393
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Speaker 4: they had, you know, heart injury, herms. I mean they've

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Speaker 4: had everything. Hey, you don't have an acl uh. You know,

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Speaker 4: it's been a couple of players they discovered we're missing

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Speaker 4: you know, ligaments. Uh. So that the medical is extensive

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Speaker 4: and you know, they'll never have another one like it,

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Speaker 4: And like if you even like if you were they

399
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Speaker 4: were giving you the medical exam and they said they said, hey,

400
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Speaker 4: what's open your shoulder? And you said, well, in junior high,

401
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Speaker 4: I was riding a you know, I fell off, you

402
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Speaker 4: know whatever, and I hit my shoulder. They'd send you

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Speaker 4: for an MRI. Put you in the van, they send

404
00:19:52,880 --> 00:19:56,000
Speaker 4: you for an MRI. It doesn't matter. It's it's it's

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Speaker 4: the most amazing, and it's why it's still here because

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Speaker 4: the hospital a close. You know, they've Dallas is pitched

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00:20:05,480 --> 00:20:11,160
Speaker 4: having the combine, La Orlando, Vegas, Phoenix, They've all pitched

408
00:20:11,800 --> 00:20:18,040
Speaker 4: getting the combine, but nobody can pull off the convention center, hotel,

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Speaker 4: hospital trifecta that India has.

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Speaker 3: All within like two three miles of each other.

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Speaker 4: Yeah, I mean the teams don't like it only takes

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Speaker 4: five minutes for them to get the players from here

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Speaker 4: to the hospital. Like if you were in La, those

414
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Speaker 4: guys would be sitting in traffic. Well okay, now they

415
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Speaker 4: missed four team interviews. Now they're late to the workout.

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Speaker 2: You know that.

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Speaker 4: That's why it's still here. Everybody wonders why it's here.

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Speaker 4: That's why it's here.

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Speaker 3: I remember. So twenty eighteen was my first combine, So

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Speaker 3: I had two or three before the COVID year when

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Speaker 3: when it was you know, closed, closed for media purposes.

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Speaker 3: And I remember that's really when the talk started of

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Speaker 3: could they turn this into the NFL Draft where it's

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Speaker 3: somewhere different, you know, it's in Los Angeles was the

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Speaker 3: big one at the time because the NFL was building

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Speaker 3: the headquarters there right by Sofi Stadium. Now since then, though,

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00:21:12,000 --> 00:21:14,399
Speaker 3: it feels like it's been on two year contracts and

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Speaker 3: they just signed another one. So we know that the

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Speaker 3: combine will stay here in Indianapolis at least in twenty

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Speaker 3: twenty seven and twenty twenty eight. Do you I mean,

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Speaker 3: do you expect it to always be here just because

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Speaker 3: of that, or you think it will get to a

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Speaker 3: point where they take it on the road.

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Speaker 4: Well, I mean other cities have tried really hard, and

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Speaker 4: no one can equal this, you know, And I think

436
00:21:36,359 --> 00:21:39,399
Speaker 4: that's the biggest issue because if the medical is suddenly

437
00:21:39,480 --> 00:21:42,879
Speaker 4: a problem and everything's a problem, then can't have that.

438
00:21:42,960 --> 00:21:46,320
Speaker 4: You know, if it didn't go well, then they would

439
00:21:46,359 --> 00:21:49,400
Speaker 4: never go back to another place. But no one's been

440
00:21:49,440 --> 00:21:53,240
Speaker 4: able to pull off the like LA. I think teams

441
00:21:53,280 --> 00:21:57,560
Speaker 4: would be fearful, you know. Okay, where's where are the

442
00:21:57,560 --> 00:22:00,920
Speaker 4: ten prospects we sent for MRIs. Well, they're still stuck

443
00:22:00,960 --> 00:22:04,119
Speaker 4: in traffic, you know, and and they just don't want that.

444
00:22:04,119 --> 00:22:05,919
Speaker 4: They want it to be easy. You want to be fast,

445
00:22:06,000 --> 00:22:09,040
Speaker 4: want it to be you know, get all the information

446
00:22:09,280 --> 00:22:13,600
Speaker 4: and it's it still works best here. But the medical

447
00:22:14,480 --> 00:22:17,159
Speaker 4: is one of the biggest reasons it will be. I

448
00:22:17,200 --> 00:22:20,000
Speaker 4: think it will. The event will exist in some way

449
00:22:20,160 --> 00:22:22,720
Speaker 4: unless they have a better way of getting that information.

450
00:22:23,280 --> 00:22:26,760
Speaker 4: And a lot of teams some some people pooh pooh

451
00:22:26,840 --> 00:22:29,359
Speaker 4: the interviews, don't get enough. But a lot of teams

452
00:22:29,400 --> 00:22:33,800
Speaker 4: still like sitting down face to face. They consider that

453
00:22:33,880 --> 00:22:36,360
Speaker 4: a big part of the process because.

454
00:22:36,119 --> 00:22:38,760
Speaker 2: That you know, sometimes even take these guys out to dinner.

455
00:22:38,920 --> 00:22:45,439
Speaker 4: Yeah, everybody films the interviews. They have whatever experts they

456
00:22:45,520 --> 00:22:49,600
Speaker 4: have on staff, who you know, you know what, what's

457
00:22:49,640 --> 00:22:52,520
Speaker 4: his demeanor like, I mean they have all kinds of

458
00:22:52,560 --> 00:22:55,119
Speaker 4: people now who are breaking all that stuff down, even

459
00:22:55,640 --> 00:22:59,399
Speaker 4: little things like that. But uh, I mean we all know,

460
00:22:59,440 --> 00:23:01,960
Speaker 4: Look what's the available out there now. Teams don't make

461
00:23:02,040 --> 00:23:06,520
Speaker 4: football mistakes. They make coworker mistakes. Who doesn't show up

462
00:23:06,560 --> 00:23:09,399
Speaker 4: on time, who doesn't work very hard, who doesn't make

463
00:23:09,440 --> 00:23:11,920
Speaker 4: the most of his abilities. I mean, that's the information

464
00:23:12,000 --> 00:23:17,240
Speaker 4: they're looking for yeah, you only looked at people don't

465
00:23:17,240 --> 00:23:20,600
Speaker 4: make football really, I mean, when you really look at it,

466
00:23:20,640 --> 00:23:24,919
Speaker 4: they're not surprised by the football player they get. They

467
00:23:25,119 --> 00:23:28,919
Speaker 4: they know what that they watched every game the guys played,

468
00:23:29,280 --> 00:23:34,040
Speaker 4: you know, ever, and so the teams don't really make

469
00:23:34,080 --> 00:23:37,040
Speaker 4: you know, you could say, oh, there's a bust here bus.

470
00:23:37,200 --> 00:23:39,560
Speaker 4: But a lot of that is that. The other part

471
00:23:39,640 --> 00:23:42,040
Speaker 4: the co worker mistakes. You know, how are you in

472
00:23:42,080 --> 00:23:44,959
Speaker 4: the locker room, you know, if you add them to

473
00:23:45,000 --> 00:23:48,320
Speaker 4: the team, because I think a lot of us undervalue

474
00:23:48,520 --> 00:23:55,080
Speaker 4: the uh the pushback a team, a GM, a head coach,

475
00:23:55,200 --> 00:23:57,399
Speaker 4: the pushback they get from the locker room when they

476
00:23:57,400 --> 00:24:01,280
Speaker 4: bring the wrong guy in. Players don't like it, you know,

477
00:24:01,840 --> 00:24:03,760
Speaker 4: And I don't care what team you're talking about. You

478
00:24:03,800 --> 00:24:07,240
Speaker 4: bring the wrong guy in the locker room, they're not

479
00:24:07,280 --> 00:24:09,880
Speaker 4: gonna like that, and that's not what you want. As

480
00:24:09,880 --> 00:24:11,520
Speaker 4: a head coach, I have to deal with all that.

481
00:24:11,960 --> 00:24:14,840
Speaker 4: So you're here, do you do pro days or just

482
00:24:15,080 --> 00:24:16,639
Speaker 4: sort of yeah, I mean I'll go if they send me.

483
00:24:16,760 --> 00:24:18,320
Speaker 4: They signed me. I used to go to a bunch,

484
00:24:18,520 --> 00:24:21,560
Speaker 4: you know at the time, but the job's a little

485
00:24:21,560 --> 00:24:23,240
Speaker 4: different at ESPN.

486
00:24:23,359 --> 00:24:26,560
Speaker 2: But so eventually we'll get to the draft is approaching.

487
00:24:27,040 --> 00:24:28,600
Speaker 2: What are you going to come up with and how

488
00:24:28,600 --> 00:24:29,600
Speaker 2: do people access it?

489
00:24:29,800 --> 00:24:34,240
Speaker 4: Well, they've I've always done before everybody was doing lists.

490
00:24:34,480 --> 00:24:37,639
Speaker 4: Now it seems like there's a list everywhere. But I

491
00:24:37,640 --> 00:24:38,720
Speaker 4: did a top one hundred.

492
00:24:38,840 --> 00:24:39,120
Speaker 2: I think.

493
00:24:39,520 --> 00:24:43,360
Speaker 4: I think me and someone you know very well, Rick Goslin,

494
00:24:43,400 --> 00:24:45,520
Speaker 4: were among the few who did like a top one

495
00:24:45,600 --> 00:24:49,520
Speaker 4: hundred or a real ranking. So I still do that

496
00:24:49,560 --> 00:24:51,960
Speaker 4: and ESPN runs it before the about two weeks out

497
00:24:51,960 --> 00:24:56,600
Speaker 4: from the draft, and it's, uh, it's pretty good. Usually

498
00:24:56,840 --> 00:24:59,879
Speaker 4: I do okay, I do okay. I you know, I

499
00:25:00,000 --> 00:25:00,640
Speaker 4: take a lot of heat.

500
00:25:00,640 --> 00:25:05,679
Speaker 2: He's just being modest. He's he is as good as

501
00:25:05,680 --> 00:25:08,640
Speaker 2: it gets in this business. And he's been that for decades.

502
00:25:10,119 --> 00:25:13,119
Speaker 4: You're awful nice. You know we've been we covered a

503
00:25:13,160 --> 00:25:18,000
Speaker 4: lot of ground through the years. Uh, you know, I

504
00:25:18,040 --> 00:25:20,000
Speaker 4: take a lot of heat because I put the quarterbacks

505
00:25:20,000 --> 00:25:22,800
Speaker 4: where they belong. It's not a mock draft, that's not

506
00:25:23,000 --> 00:25:26,679
Speaker 4: This is graded players. I put the players where they're graded,

507
00:25:27,560 --> 00:25:31,040
Speaker 4: and often the quarterback stack is what it should have

508
00:25:31,080 --> 00:25:34,400
Speaker 4: been when you when you look back on it.

509
00:25:34,760 --> 00:25:38,240
Speaker 2: So let's let's transition to where we are NFL wise.

510
00:25:38,280 --> 00:25:41,440
Speaker 2: Now you cover the Broncos. But uh, you're a league guy.

511
00:25:41,960 --> 00:25:44,480
Speaker 2: Uh give me ah off the top of your head

512
00:25:44,520 --> 00:25:47,240
Speaker 2: assessment of the Steelers, where they are and what they need.

513
00:25:47,640 --> 00:25:47,800
Speaker 2: You know.

514
00:25:47,960 --> 00:25:49,840
Speaker 4: It's funny, Mike you say that I was just talking

515
00:25:49,880 --> 00:25:53,240
Speaker 4: to I think everybody's kind of looking at the Steelers now.

516
00:25:54,480 --> 00:26:00,159
Speaker 4: They've been such the model of the Steeler process, know

517
00:26:00,240 --> 00:26:02,040
Speaker 4: they I tell I used to tell people all the

518
00:26:02,040 --> 00:26:04,800
Speaker 4: time they were looking for the same player and the

519
00:26:04,880 --> 00:26:08,320
Speaker 4: draft profile now or in recent years that they were

520
00:26:08,359 --> 00:26:11,879
Speaker 4: looking at When I covered the ninety three is my

521
00:26:12,000 --> 00:26:14,880
Speaker 4: last year I was with around the Steelers, they were

522
00:26:14,920 --> 00:26:19,720
Speaker 4: basically looking for the same profile, draft profile, you know,

523
00:26:19,800 --> 00:26:22,560
Speaker 4: high weight, speed, traits, all of that. You know, how

524
00:26:22,560 --> 00:26:25,840
Speaker 4: they how they did their business yea. And I think

525
00:26:25,880 --> 00:26:28,200
Speaker 4: a lot of people see, are are they gonna is

526
00:26:28,240 --> 00:26:31,200
Speaker 4: there are change? Is change coming? You know? Are they

527
00:26:31,200 --> 00:26:35,160
Speaker 4: going to have to do it differently? You know, they

528
00:26:35,160 --> 00:26:38,800
Speaker 4: had three coaches in a billion years, you know, and

529
00:26:38,880 --> 00:26:43,359
Speaker 4: suddenly you know, and McCarthy is, uh, you know, I

530
00:26:43,760 --> 00:26:45,919
Speaker 4: see the great connection with that. But I think a

531
00:26:45,920 --> 00:26:50,240
Speaker 4: lot of people wonder, what's what's the planet quarterback? What's

532
00:26:50,280 --> 00:26:55,760
Speaker 4: the planet at uh? You know, on the roster, because

533
00:26:57,240 --> 00:26:59,080
Speaker 4: you know when I look at the roster just from

534
00:26:59,400 --> 00:27:01,400
Speaker 4: like the tenth in foot view. When I look at

535
00:27:01,760 --> 00:27:04,119
Speaker 4: try and gauge what people are gonna be looking for

536
00:27:04,160 --> 00:27:07,200
Speaker 4: in the draft. You know, you guys know the team

537
00:27:07,280 --> 00:27:10,040
Speaker 4: much better. I mean, what, who are the core guys

538
00:27:10,280 --> 00:27:13,680
Speaker 4: twenty five and under? But that's really where I start.

539
00:27:13,880 --> 00:27:17,159
Speaker 4: What's your roster health? That's where I start. And we

540
00:27:17,240 --> 00:27:21,040
Speaker 4: all everybody knows the thirty year old stars on every team.

541
00:27:21,240 --> 00:27:23,480
Speaker 4: But if you're gonna survive in the salary cap era

542
00:27:24,720 --> 00:27:30,240
Speaker 4: and survive free agent departures and age and injury and

543
00:27:30,720 --> 00:27:33,000
Speaker 4: all the things that are given in the NFL, you

544
00:27:33,080 --> 00:27:34,920
Speaker 4: gotta have a twenty five and under.

545
00:27:36,440 --> 00:27:36,800
Speaker 2: Cores.

546
00:27:37,080 --> 00:27:39,520
Speaker 4: There's got to be a little huddle of guy Like,

547
00:27:39,560 --> 00:27:42,840
Speaker 4: if you huddle them up, what's that look like? Those

548
00:27:42,880 --> 00:27:46,320
Speaker 4: are the teams that are playing deep in the end

549
00:27:46,320 --> 00:27:49,480
Speaker 4: of the postseason. It's not that we all love free

550
00:27:49,480 --> 00:27:52,680
Speaker 4: agency because everybody's a known commodity. We know what those

551
00:27:52,720 --> 00:27:57,200
Speaker 4: players can do. But Floyd Reese, the old GM of

552
00:27:57,280 --> 00:28:01,320
Speaker 4: the Titans back in the day, late now Floyd Gries.

553
00:28:01,359 --> 00:28:04,240
Speaker 4: But Floyd used to say all the time he loved

554
00:28:04,240 --> 00:28:07,520
Speaker 4: free agency because he knew what he was getting. But

555
00:28:07,760 --> 00:28:11,640
Speaker 4: he also said, if you really looked at it, how

556
00:28:11,680 --> 00:28:17,119
Speaker 4: many guys played better, not the same, but better after

557
00:28:18,560 --> 00:28:21,280
Speaker 4: free agency? And the list is pretty small. I mean,

558
00:28:21,680 --> 00:28:24,400
Speaker 4: staying at the same levels great, and you get production,

559
00:28:24,880 --> 00:28:28,840
Speaker 4: But how many guys go like a young player goes

560
00:28:29,160 --> 00:28:34,120
Speaker 4: stare steps. Nick Benito with the Broncos, great example, it's

561
00:28:34,119 --> 00:28:37,560
Speaker 4: made two Pro Bowls now and All Pro. His rookie

562
00:28:37,600 --> 00:28:41,520
Speaker 4: year he had a sack and a half. And but

563
00:28:41,600 --> 00:28:43,560
Speaker 4: that's those are the guys you're looking for when you're

564
00:28:43,560 --> 00:28:45,720
Speaker 4: looking at roster health. And I would I would ask you, guys,

565
00:28:45,760 --> 00:28:50,040
Speaker 4: what what's the who are the Steelers core core guys

566
00:28:49,080 --> 00:28:54,000
Speaker 4: twenty five? Yeah, that's I think that's what I think.

567
00:28:54,000 --> 00:28:54,840
Speaker 4: That's what I mean.

568
00:28:55,040 --> 00:28:57,640
Speaker 3: You've got a couple on the offensive line hopefully.

569
00:28:57,320 --> 00:28:59,800
Speaker 2: Oh yeah, there's not bereft of under Towe.

570
00:29:00,160 --> 00:29:03,080
Speaker 4: I'm just saying, who's who are that? That's kind of what.

571
00:29:04,960 --> 00:29:07,200
Speaker 2: Be the center of the right garden, the right tackle.

572
00:29:07,280 --> 00:29:09,840
Speaker 4: That's that's what I would have gone. And that's a quarterback.

573
00:29:10,120 --> 00:29:12,680
Speaker 4: That's a good spot those that's a good place to

574
00:29:12,720 --> 00:29:17,680
Speaker 4: be young and bet and harmon on the you know

575
00:29:16,480 --> 00:29:19,720
Speaker 4: what I'm And I think a lot of people, a

576
00:29:19,760 --> 00:29:21,760
Speaker 4: lot of people in the league are looking at Okay,

577
00:29:21,800 --> 00:29:25,960
Speaker 4: where do the Steelers go? And and look, every team's

578
00:29:26,000 --> 00:29:28,360
Speaker 4: got to answer the biggest question, what's the long term

579
00:29:28,400 --> 00:29:31,320
Speaker 4: solution at quarterback? Yeah, you know, and I think that's

580
00:29:31,600 --> 00:29:35,680
Speaker 4: that's probably their next big hurdle. You know, however, that's

581
00:29:35,680 --> 00:29:39,360
Speaker 4: gonna Look, what's your impressions of McCarthy. I you know,

582
00:29:39,680 --> 00:29:43,000
Speaker 4: it's proven they know what they're getting, you know that

583
00:29:43,080 --> 00:29:46,720
Speaker 4: they know what he's done. I think he's I think

584
00:29:46,720 --> 00:29:49,720
Speaker 4: he's been undervalued. I think he won an awful lot

585
00:29:49,720 --> 00:29:52,680
Speaker 4: more than people give him credit for. You know, maybe

586
00:29:52,680 --> 00:29:55,200
Speaker 4: they don't like how he I don't know. I think

587
00:29:55,200 --> 00:29:57,719
Speaker 4: in this day and age, we get so wrapped up

588
00:29:57,720 --> 00:30:01,840
Speaker 4: and how somebody look or whatever. It's just the guy

589
00:30:01,840 --> 00:30:04,640
Speaker 4: who won a lot of games, and we've always been

590
00:30:04,640 --> 00:30:05,440
Speaker 4: able to overcome that.

591
00:30:05,880 --> 00:30:06,440
Speaker 3: I haven't.

592
00:30:06,640 --> 00:30:09,360
Speaker 4: Maybe some would say I have not overcome it, but yeah,

593
00:30:09,400 --> 00:30:12,600
Speaker 4: I've learned to deal with Let's just say.

594
00:30:12,400 --> 00:30:18,160
Speaker 3: That obviously, that that franchise quarterback thing is is something

595
00:30:18,200 --> 00:30:21,360
Speaker 3: we've all been discussing since, you know, since Ben Roethlisberger

596
00:30:21,400 --> 00:30:25,600
Speaker 3: retired in Pittsburgh circles. I got to imagine I'll be

597
00:30:25,600 --> 00:30:27,440
Speaker 3: interested to see when your when your list comes out.

598
00:30:27,480 --> 00:30:30,800
Speaker 3: But you mentioned how your quarterback rankings typically aren't particularly

599
00:30:30,840 --> 00:30:34,600
Speaker 3: popular in terms of where they fall, and you know,

600
00:30:34,640 --> 00:30:36,880
Speaker 3: it's just the player grade, it's it's not the positional

601
00:30:36,960 --> 00:30:40,240
Speaker 3: value or anything like that. How do you feel about

602
00:30:40,240 --> 00:30:43,160
Speaker 3: the uh the quarterbacks in this year's draft class other

603
00:30:43,240 --> 00:30:45,560
Speaker 3: than Fernando Mendoza, because we all know unless you have

604
00:30:45,600 --> 00:30:48,200
Speaker 3: the first overall pick, you're not getting him, and seems

605
00:30:48,200 --> 00:30:50,720
Speaker 3: to be obviously plenty of questions about the rest of

606
00:30:50,760 --> 00:30:51,080
Speaker 3: the group.

607
00:30:51,240 --> 00:30:54,000
Speaker 4: Then there should be there should be. There isn't really

608
00:30:54,000 --> 00:30:59,200
Speaker 4: a clear QB two, QB three, QB four at this time.

609
00:30:59,240 --> 00:31:03,600
Speaker 4: You know, is at the scene your ball the group

610
00:31:03,640 --> 00:31:06,680
Speaker 4: had an okay week, but nobody I don't. I don't

611
00:31:06,680 --> 00:31:11,040
Speaker 4: think anybody there separated themselves in that regard. So I

612
00:31:11,040 --> 00:31:13,960
Speaker 4: think it's I think that's why Malik Willis is gonna

613
00:31:13,960 --> 00:31:16,800
Speaker 4: get so much money, is that the there aren't a

614
00:31:16,840 --> 00:31:19,800
Speaker 4: lot of draft you know, there's not a lot of

615
00:31:19,800 --> 00:31:22,800
Speaker 4: help coming there after Mendoza. Now there's some guys who,

616
00:31:23,800 --> 00:31:26,120
Speaker 4: if in the right system and they're surrounded in the

617
00:31:26,200 --> 00:31:30,200
Speaker 4: right infrastructure, could probably you know, do okay in the

618
00:31:30,280 --> 00:31:34,440
Speaker 4: years ahead. But Mendoza is really the only clear guy

619
00:31:34,520 --> 00:31:38,640
Speaker 4: who I think right now people would say, oh yeah,

620
00:31:38,680 --> 00:31:40,840
Speaker 4: he could play as a rookie and and lead a

621
00:31:40,880 --> 00:31:42,160
Speaker 4: team in all those things.

622
00:31:42,360 --> 00:31:46,120
Speaker 2: Is there another uh Darnold or Baker Mayfield out there,

623
00:31:46,200 --> 00:31:50,240
Speaker 2: a guy that kind of flamed out and he just

624
00:31:50,360 --> 00:31:54,240
Speaker 2: needs a chance to resurrect his career or rewrite his Yeah,

625
00:31:54,240 --> 00:31:57,280
Speaker 2: I mean, wistive Willis isn't really that because he hasn't

626
00:31:57,280 --> 00:32:01,320
Speaker 2: really played. Yeah, an he wasn't a first round guy.

627
00:32:01,400 --> 00:32:04,080
Speaker 4: Yeah no, no, but uh yeah, I don't know if

628
00:32:04,080 --> 00:32:06,800
Speaker 4: we everyone's gonna be looking for that now because you know,

629
00:32:06,880 --> 00:32:10,680
Speaker 4: that's how it goes. It's you know, but I think

630
00:32:10,760 --> 00:32:13,680
Speaker 4: Darnold it's easy to forget because he got sent to

631
00:32:13,720 --> 00:32:19,320
Speaker 4: the Jets, which is like football gulag. Uh. You just

632
00:32:20,560 --> 00:32:23,520
Speaker 4: he was he was the top quarterback on the board

633
00:32:23,600 --> 00:32:25,680
Speaker 4: for some people that year. You know, he wasn't just

634
00:32:25,720 --> 00:32:29,360
Speaker 4: the guy that was a lot of talent there that year.

635
00:32:29,400 --> 00:32:32,240
Speaker 4: That was that was a pretty loaded quarterback draft, and

636
00:32:32,320 --> 00:32:37,320
Speaker 4: he was considered either the top two uh that year

637
00:32:37,360 --> 00:32:39,000
Speaker 4: by an awful lot of scouts.

638
00:32:40,560 --> 00:32:43,960
Speaker 3: It's a uh never never a uh an easy thing

639
00:32:44,000 --> 00:32:46,360
Speaker 3: when you when you need the franchise guy and uh

640
00:32:46,400 --> 00:32:49,320
Speaker 3: and the the draft is not providing one of those

641
00:32:49,400 --> 00:32:51,600
Speaker 3: years where there's five or six quarterbacks taken in the

642
00:32:51,600 --> 00:32:52,400
Speaker 3: first round.

643
00:32:52,480 --> 00:32:55,320
Speaker 4: Like the Steelers. Like, if if Rogers doesn't come back,

644
00:32:55,400 --> 00:32:56,560
Speaker 4: what's what's the plan?

645
00:32:56,880 --> 00:33:00,640
Speaker 2: You know? Yeah? Uh, pivot to something else. I think

646
00:33:00,640 --> 00:33:05,960
Speaker 2: he's coming back. Yeah, but that's a suspicion, not a certainty.

647
00:33:06,520 --> 00:33:08,560
Speaker 2: Last thing I got for you, leg You know, I'm

648
00:33:08,560 --> 00:33:12,120
Speaker 2: gonna throw you a big fat softball here. You know,

649
00:33:12,120 --> 00:33:15,120
Speaker 2: we talk about franchise quarterbacks and the need to have

650
00:33:15,200 --> 00:33:18,160
Speaker 2: one and all that, but I noticed Seattle had a

651
00:33:18,160 --> 00:33:22,080
Speaker 2: pretty good defense, and random ball pretty well, especially in

652
00:33:22,080 --> 00:33:24,120
Speaker 2: the Super Bowl, seems to be a good formula. I know,

653
00:33:24,200 --> 00:33:27,040
Speaker 2: Philly last year, random ball pretty well had a pretty

654
00:33:27,040 --> 00:33:27,760
Speaker 2: good defense.

655
00:33:29,920 --> 00:33:31,880
Speaker 3: You tell me the last two Super Bowl winning quarterbacks

656
00:33:31,880 --> 00:33:34,080
Speaker 3: haven't been bonifide first ballot Hall of famers.

657
00:33:34,200 --> 00:33:35,920
Speaker 2: Yeah, there's a reason you could add that.

658
00:33:36,600 --> 00:33:40,520
Speaker 4: But just knowing the way you think the caveman that

659
00:33:40,600 --> 00:33:42,960
Speaker 4: I am saying defense.

660
00:33:42,520 --> 00:33:44,240
Speaker 2: And running the ball and never going out of style,

661
00:33:44,280 --> 00:33:44,880
Speaker 2: are they No?

662
00:33:44,960 --> 00:33:48,320
Speaker 4: And I will tell you this, I was just a

663
00:33:48,480 --> 00:33:51,640
Speaker 4: GM I was talking to you the other day. I

664
00:33:51,760 --> 00:33:53,800
Speaker 4: threw this theory at him and he said I might

665
00:33:53,840 --> 00:33:56,080
Speaker 4: be right, which was very painful for him, I might

666
00:33:56,320 --> 00:33:58,440
Speaker 4: add to tell me I might be right.

667
00:33:58,560 --> 00:34:00,560
Speaker 2: So the guy knows you well, yeah, obviously.

668
00:34:01,120 --> 00:34:06,120
Speaker 4: But it's funny. We just the way people talk about

669
00:34:06,120 --> 00:34:09,319
Speaker 4: football and wrap their arms around it and consume it

670
00:34:09,400 --> 00:34:12,200
Speaker 4: and everything. We always assume the defensive coaches aren't as

671
00:34:12,239 --> 00:34:14,480
Speaker 4: smart as the offensive coaches. I got news for you.

672
00:34:15,400 --> 00:34:19,200
Speaker 4: They're really smart. And defense is ahead right now in

673
00:34:19,280 --> 00:34:23,880
Speaker 4: the league. And the reason they're ahead. A lot of

674
00:34:23,920 --> 00:34:28,000
Speaker 4: these defensive guys I know will tell you is they

675
00:34:28,080 --> 00:34:33,160
Speaker 4: are banking, absolutely banking, shoving the chips and in the

676
00:34:33,160 --> 00:34:36,920
Speaker 4: middle of the table. You won't run the ball that

677
00:34:37,040 --> 00:34:40,319
Speaker 4: you you won't be considered a genius, you won't get

678
00:34:40,400 --> 00:34:43,800
Speaker 4: hired for the cool jobs. People won't say you're smart

679
00:34:44,280 --> 00:34:48,919
Speaker 4: if you run the ball, so they they're using that

680
00:34:49,719 --> 00:34:50,799
Speaker 4: against offenses.

681
00:34:50,880 --> 00:34:52,799
Speaker 2: Well, you say you won't run the ball, not we're

682
00:34:52,800 --> 00:34:54,040
Speaker 2: too good to run against.

683
00:34:54,280 --> 00:34:55,880
Speaker 4: You don't want to do it, You won't do it.

684
00:34:55,960 --> 00:34:57,799
Speaker 2: Yeah, you're gonna choose in.

685
00:34:58,000 --> 00:35:01,000
Speaker 4: Third and two. You're gonna line up in three wide

686
00:35:02,640 --> 00:35:05,920
Speaker 4: with no tight end on the line, and I'm going

687
00:35:06,000 --> 00:35:09,600
Speaker 4: to play a light box so you can't throw, and

688
00:35:09,680 --> 00:35:14,920
Speaker 4: we got you. And offenses are still attacking space and

689
00:35:14,960 --> 00:35:17,879
Speaker 4: the defenses have won that battle. They're taking the space away.

690
00:35:17,920 --> 00:35:22,480
Speaker 4: You got attack matchups now, and the offenses haven't made

691
00:35:22,520 --> 00:35:25,560
Speaker 4: the decision yet for the most part. Look at the

692
00:35:25,560 --> 00:35:29,400
Speaker 4: best offenses run the ball and they're under center. The

693
00:35:29,520 --> 00:35:32,160
Speaker 4: Rams were under center more than anyone in the league

694
00:35:32,320 --> 00:35:37,239
Speaker 4: last year. Seattle was like fourth on that list. The

695
00:35:37,800 --> 00:35:43,080
Speaker 4: teams that are succeeding are taking that bet away from

696
00:35:43,120 --> 00:35:46,200
Speaker 4: the defenses. The teams that are not are the ones

697
00:35:46,280 --> 00:35:49,960
Speaker 4: we go crazy. Is there a better quarterback on the

698
00:35:50,000 --> 00:35:54,520
Speaker 4: planet Earth than Joe Burrow? But he's doesn't get to

699
00:35:54,520 --> 00:35:59,319
Speaker 4: play for trophies because they won't. Do you know, they

700
00:35:59,360 --> 00:36:04,080
Speaker 4: paid two wide receivers a billion dollars. You've gotta you

701
00:36:04,200 --> 00:36:06,800
Speaker 4: gotta adjust what they've done. And defenses are winning the

702
00:36:06,840 --> 00:36:11,160
Speaker 4: battle because they they're playing with mind games right now.

703
00:36:11,120 --> 00:36:13,400
Speaker 2: You got anything else fascinating? I have to ask you

704
00:36:13,400 --> 00:36:14,839
Speaker 2: about all I got? I don't know.

705
00:36:14,920 --> 00:36:16,279
Speaker 4: And maybe that's a bit like that.

706
00:36:16,320 --> 00:36:17,680
Speaker 3: Maybe that's a bunch of crap.

707
00:36:18,440 --> 00:36:22,920
Speaker 2: That's the word, that's gospel. The roof is open, the

708
00:36:22,960 --> 00:36:24,640
Speaker 2: sun is shining, it's all I got.

709
00:36:24,719 --> 00:36:28,160
Speaker 4: That's all a humming. I was just walking around the

710
00:36:28,200 --> 00:36:29,680
Speaker 4: convention center. That's all I got.

711
00:36:29,719 --> 00:36:32,440
Speaker 2: For you. It's just fat. It's great catching up with you.

712
00:36:32,440 --> 00:36:32,960
Speaker 2: You're the best.

713
00:36:33,200 --> 00:36:36,800
Speaker 3: That make a really good tattoo. Don't attack space, attack matchups.

714
00:36:37,200 --> 00:36:39,239
Speaker 3: There's some like nineteen year old hipster out there. He's

715
00:36:39,239 --> 00:36:40,279
Speaker 3: gonna get the tattooed on his.

716
00:36:41,000 --> 00:36:43,080
Speaker 4: That's my new theory is that I like that that

717
00:36:43,360 --> 00:36:46,440
Speaker 4: sim pressures and playing nickel. Seventy percent of the snaps,

718
00:36:46,640 --> 00:36:49,960
Speaker 4: they've taken the space away from you. Yeah, and they

719
00:36:50,000 --> 00:36:53,240
Speaker 4: know how to seattle win. They play a light box.

720
00:36:55,000 --> 00:37:00,360
Speaker 4: They rush four, big Fangio rushes four. Denver bronc have

721
00:37:00,440 --> 00:37:02,799
Speaker 4: led the league in sacks back to back years. They

722
00:37:02,840 --> 00:37:04,200
Speaker 4: most often rush four.

723
00:37:07,520 --> 00:37:11,080
Speaker 3: It's a lot of fun, great conversation. Jeff Legwald covers

724
00:37:11,080 --> 00:37:13,799
Speaker 3: the Broncos and the NFL for ESPN has been to

725
00:37:13,880 --> 00:37:17,120
Speaker 3: every single one of these NFL combines. Jeff, thanks for

726
00:37:17,120 --> 00:37:19,680
Speaker 3: taking the time. We really appreciate it. Enjoy the rest

727
00:37:19,680 --> 00:37:20,080
Speaker 3: of your week.

728
00:37:20,120 --> 00:37:21,200
Speaker 4: You can get a real guest now.

729
00:37:21,440 --> 00:37:24,279
Speaker 3: Oh stop it, no, that was a blast. Thank you

730
00:37:24,320 --> 00:37:27,000
Speaker 3: so much. Mike and I. We'll be back to wrap

731
00:37:27,080 --> 00:37:29,560
Speaker 3: up the morning hour here when we return live from

732
00:37:29,640 --> 00:37:33,000
Speaker 3: Radio Row on Steelers Nation Radio on the Steelers Audio Network.

733
00:37:38,920 --> 00:37:41,799
Speaker 1: This is live coverre reach of that twenty twenty six

734
00:37:41,960 --> 00:37:45,640
Speaker 1: NFL combine on Steelers Nation Radio, a part of the

735
00:37:45,719 --> 00:37:47,920
Speaker 1: Steelers Audio Network.

736
00:37:49,200 --> 00:37:52,120
Speaker 3: Final hour of the Morning Show here live on Radio

737
00:37:52,200 --> 00:37:54,760
Speaker 3: row Wesh you learn Mike Pursuda. In about ten minutes

738
00:37:54,800 --> 00:37:57,319
Speaker 3: from now, I will slide out Rob King and Matt

739
00:37:57,320 --> 00:37:59,399
Speaker 3: Williamson will slide in. I mean, you talk about your

740
00:37:59,400 --> 00:38:03,000
Speaker 3: all time up Grad's there? Good Lord. That's like going

741
00:38:03,040 --> 00:38:05,520
Speaker 3: from whoever the heck was the Pirates, Ace Piccher to

742
00:38:05,600 --> 00:38:06,440
Speaker 3: Paul Skeens.

743
00:38:06,600 --> 00:38:10,359
Speaker 2: I mean, no, it's not. It's like going from Tom

744
00:38:10,440 --> 00:38:13,160
Speaker 2: sever to Nolan Ryan back in the day for the mens.

745
00:38:13,160 --> 00:38:14,960
Speaker 3: As long as it's the Nolan Ryan with the blood

746
00:38:14,960 --> 00:38:16,040
Speaker 3: all over his jersey.

747
00:38:16,239 --> 00:38:18,240
Speaker 2: Oh no, it was a young flame throwing Nolan Ryan's

748
00:38:18,320 --> 00:38:22,440
Speaker 2: just just entering the major leagues in the late sixties.

749
00:38:22,840 --> 00:38:25,920
Speaker 3: You've been diligently since since you and I got down here.

750
00:38:26,080 --> 00:38:28,279
Speaker 3: I mean I got down here at about eighth, yeah,

751
00:38:28,320 --> 00:38:30,680
Speaker 3: eight thirty this morning. You were already here. You've been

752
00:38:30,719 --> 00:38:33,480
Speaker 3: like taking notes and writing away work.

753
00:38:33,800 --> 00:38:35,560
Speaker 2: When you get up, I've been up. When you go

754
00:38:35,640 --> 00:38:38,279
Speaker 2: to bed, I stay up, Jill Bobby for anything now.

755
00:38:38,360 --> 00:38:40,640
Speaker 2: Jeff Legwell, he's been a friend of mine for a

756
00:38:40,680 --> 00:38:44,799
Speaker 2: long time. I trust me. People, it's not hyperbole. There's

757
00:38:44,800 --> 00:38:48,799
Speaker 2: nobody that does this better, uh, in terms of covering football.

758
00:38:49,640 --> 00:38:51,480
Speaker 2: And you should check out his stuff. You should definitely

759
00:38:51,560 --> 00:38:53,399
Speaker 2: check out his draft list. He only puts it out

760
00:38:53,440 --> 00:38:55,760
Speaker 2: once and he doesn't give you nine mocks.

761
00:38:55,920 --> 00:38:57,480
Speaker 3: It's right on ESPN dot com.

762
00:38:57,560 --> 00:38:59,919
Speaker 2: Yeah. Yeah. But the thing he said about the core

763
00:39:00,120 --> 00:39:03,759
Speaker 2: players twenty five or under. Now, the one thing I'm

764
00:39:03,800 --> 00:39:06,680
Speaker 2: wondering a little bit about that is, as guys stay

765
00:39:06,719 --> 00:39:10,680
Speaker 2: in school six and seven years, maybe the age is

766
00:39:11,040 --> 00:39:11,959
Speaker 2: going a little bit.

767
00:39:12,000 --> 00:39:14,279
Speaker 3: North for the for the core of twenty six or

768
00:39:14,320 --> 00:39:16,520
Speaker 3: twenty seven. Sure, fallen up with Jeff about that's a

769
00:39:16,560 --> 00:39:16,959
Speaker 3: good point.

770
00:39:17,040 --> 00:39:19,759
Speaker 2: Let's just go down the Steelers. For some reason, I'm

771
00:39:19,760 --> 00:39:22,600
Speaker 2: carrying around the flip card from the Seattle game in September.

772
00:39:22,960 --> 00:39:24,640
Speaker 2: So these are these guys.

773
00:39:24,520 --> 00:39:25,799
Speaker 3: You had to keep that one of all.

774
00:39:25,920 --> 00:39:27,960
Speaker 2: I don't know. I don't know why it's in my bag.

775
00:39:28,000 --> 00:39:29,320
Speaker 2: I got a lot of stuff in my bag.

776
00:39:29,440 --> 00:39:31,439
Speaker 3: In week two, you said, hey, that's Seattle team's gonna

777
00:39:31,440 --> 00:39:32,040
Speaker 3: win the super Bowl.

778
00:39:32,560 --> 00:39:34,600
Speaker 2: On this Seattle didn't win the super Bowl. So maybe

779
00:39:34,600 --> 00:39:37,080
Speaker 2: this is maybe that's why I have it. Uh, there's

780
00:39:37,120 --> 00:39:38,200
Speaker 2: got to be a reason right.

781
00:39:38,120 --> 00:39:40,600
Speaker 3: That cosmic universe just brought it together.

782
00:39:40,960 --> 00:39:45,080
Speaker 2: How about Roman Wilson twenty four. Is he a core guy? Now?

783
00:39:45,080 --> 00:39:48,400
Speaker 2: We heard Omar con on Tuesday say, you guys have

784
00:39:48,440 --> 00:39:51,840
Speaker 2: heard me talk a lot about my belief in him. Omar,

785
00:39:52,040 --> 00:39:55,799
Speaker 2: at least publicly, is still all in on Roma Wilson. Uh.

786
00:39:56,000 --> 00:39:59,560
Speaker 2: Caleb Johnson twenty two, same thing, terrible rookie year. But

787
00:39:59,600 --> 00:40:01,560
Speaker 2: Omar as he thinks he's going to turn the corner.

788
00:40:01,600 --> 00:40:03,960
Speaker 2: So Jerry still out on both of those guys, absolutely

789
00:40:04,040 --> 00:40:05,839
Speaker 2: at least right, Yeah, we can say that.

790
00:40:06,480 --> 00:40:08,640
Speaker 3: Definitely Caleb Johnson, Joey Porter.

791
00:40:08,560 --> 00:40:11,160
Speaker 2: Junior twenty five, at least as of September of the

792
00:40:11,200 --> 00:40:15,440
Speaker 2: Seattle game. I'm not going too deep in second the birthday.

793
00:40:15,200 --> 00:40:17,120
Speaker 3: But if he turned twenty six, it was just recently

794
00:40:17,160 --> 00:40:18,120
Speaker 3: here in the last few.

795
00:40:18,280 --> 00:40:21,719
Speaker 2: Jack Sawyer twenty three. I think core guy. Peyton will

796
00:40:21,719 --> 00:40:24,600
Speaker 2: stop me if you disagree. Peyton Wilson at twenty five,

797
00:40:24,680 --> 00:40:28,680
Speaker 2: I think core guy. Nick Herbing twenty three, absolutely, Ki

798
00:40:29,480 --> 00:40:34,920
Speaker 2: Zach Frasier twenty four, Mason Mason McCormick twenty five, Spencer

799
00:40:35,000 --> 00:40:38,080
Speaker 2: Anderson twenty five. Guy Omar talked about him the other

800
00:40:38,160 --> 00:40:40,160
Speaker 2: day and said he's getting better and better every year.

801
00:40:40,239 --> 00:40:42,160
Speaker 2: I thought he played a really key role in the

802
00:40:42,239 --> 00:40:49,120
Speaker 2: Running Game with that, you know, being eligible seventy four

803
00:40:49,239 --> 00:40:52,960
Speaker 2: is eligible in the Running Game. Troy Ton to twenty four.

804
00:40:53,120 --> 00:40:56,319
Speaker 2: Broderick Jones twenty four. This is the huge question mark.

805
00:40:57,320 --> 00:41:00,320
Speaker 2: We didn't know coming here if he is going to

806
00:41:00,400 --> 00:41:02,960
Speaker 2: be the starter or not. Now we don't know if

807
00:41:02,960 --> 00:41:03,840
Speaker 2: he's going to be able.

808
00:41:03,640 --> 00:41:05,880
Speaker 3: To compete, he's gonna be healthy for the job or not.

809
00:41:07,800 --> 00:41:11,319
Speaker 2: Logan Lee twenty five. I would I wouldn't say he's

810
00:41:11,320 --> 00:41:12,040
Speaker 2: a core player.

811
00:41:12,920 --> 00:41:13,040
Speaker 3: Uh.

812
00:41:13,600 --> 00:41:17,640
Speaker 2: Why Black twenty three, Yes, Keanu bent In twenty four, Yes,

813
00:41:17,760 --> 00:41:20,600
Speaker 2: Derek Harmon twenty two. Yes. Now let's look at the

814
00:41:20,600 --> 00:41:24,680
Speaker 2: twenty six years old, twenty six year old Patrick Queen

815
00:41:24,880 --> 00:41:26,360
Speaker 2: twenty six core guy.

816
00:41:26,719 --> 00:41:29,480
Speaker 3: Yeah, I think. I mean until they release him, he's

817
00:41:29,520 --> 00:41:32,640
Speaker 3: your he's your communicator, he's your middle linebacker. He's the

818
00:41:32,719 --> 00:41:33,640
Speaker 3: voice of that defense.

819
00:41:33,800 --> 00:41:36,960
Speaker 2: Kenneth Gainwell, they wont him back, he's their team MVP.

820
00:41:37,640 --> 00:41:40,399
Speaker 2: He's twenty six. Uh.

821
00:41:40,480 --> 00:41:42,960
Speaker 3: Jaylen Warren running back might be one of those positions

822
00:41:42,960 --> 00:41:45,319
Speaker 3: that that that core age is if everyone else is

823
00:41:45,360 --> 00:41:48,319
Speaker 3: trending older, that might be trending younger, but but still

824
00:41:48,400 --> 00:41:48,680
Speaker 3: I like.

825
00:41:48,719 --> 00:41:51,360
Speaker 2: This most recent body of work, Jayleen Moore, and I

826
00:41:51,440 --> 00:41:54,760
Speaker 2: like this most recent body of work at twenty six.

827
00:41:55,480 --> 00:41:58,000
Speaker 2: Uh seeper's any other twenty six year olds to Connor Heyward,

828
00:41:58,000 --> 00:42:02,279
Speaker 2: don't know if he's coming back. Pat There was a

829
00:42:02,320 --> 00:42:04,640
Speaker 2: lot of questioning of Omar no matter where he went

830
00:42:04,680 --> 00:42:07,600
Speaker 2: about can you get this guy more involved? And Omar

831
00:42:07,719 --> 00:42:10,600
Speaker 2: was effusive in his praise of Friar Moth, not just

832
00:42:10,680 --> 00:42:14,840
Speaker 2: what they think he can do, but how he handles himself,

833
00:42:15,440 --> 00:42:19,880
Speaker 2: the kind of teammate he is. Omar called him a steeler.

834
00:42:20,680 --> 00:42:22,560
Speaker 2: You know, that's the highest praise they can give a

835
00:42:22,560 --> 00:42:24,200
Speaker 2: player from the organization.

836
00:42:24,360 --> 00:42:26,439
Speaker 3: I think he might be in for a big year.

837
00:42:27,400 --> 00:42:29,440
Speaker 3: He's hitting that. Like if Matt were sitting here with

838
00:42:29,520 --> 00:42:31,560
Speaker 3: us right now, with his scouting background, he would tell

839
00:42:31,600 --> 00:42:34,160
Speaker 3: you tight ends. It takes them till they're about twenty

840
00:42:34,160 --> 00:42:36,920
Speaker 3: seven years old to really have the NFL body, have

841
00:42:37,000 --> 00:42:40,640
Speaker 3: the experience, know exactly what they're doing from an assignment standpoint,

842
00:42:40,680 --> 00:42:43,799
Speaker 3: the blocking aspect of all of that. So I am

843
00:42:43,840 --> 00:42:46,560
Speaker 3: hoping that's it's the right time that it's all going

844
00:42:46,600 --> 00:42:47,719
Speaker 3: to come together for eighty eight.

845
00:42:47,800 --> 00:42:52,319
Speaker 2: Yeah, one other guy who's twenty six, Syse to Maywoe,

846
00:42:53,520 --> 00:42:56,879
Speaker 2: compromentary defensive lineman. I wouldn't say he's a core guy.

847
00:42:56,920 --> 00:42:59,360
Speaker 2: But we talked about a lot of dudes there just now.

848
00:43:00,080 --> 00:43:03,560
Speaker 3: Some of them slam dunks. Some maybe let's wait and see.

849
00:43:03,719 --> 00:43:06,880
Speaker 3: You know that that's that's it. That actually I thought

850
00:43:06,920 --> 00:43:10,360
Speaker 3: was because originally when he said that, I thought the

851
00:43:10,400 --> 00:43:12,920
Speaker 3: offensive a couple of pieces on the offensive line and

852
00:43:13,120 --> 00:43:16,160
Speaker 3: Joey Porter Jr. And Nick Herbig. But I think I think,

853
00:43:16,280 --> 00:43:17,359
Speaker 3: I think there's some more in there.

854
00:43:17,400 --> 00:43:19,920
Speaker 2: And I use the term dudes because that's what scouts use.

855
00:43:20,000 --> 00:43:22,319
Speaker 2: I don't say dude personally West you know it'll be

856
00:43:22,320 --> 00:43:25,959
Speaker 2: better than that. But there's there's guys dudes. There's guys

857
00:43:25,960 --> 00:43:30,040
Speaker 2: who were dudes in scouting, and there's guys who were jags.

858
00:43:30,160 --> 00:43:34,440
Speaker 2: Just a guy that's good. That means you're average age.

859
00:43:34,480 --> 00:43:39,840
Speaker 2: It's just nothing to excite anybody. Yeah, but you know

860
00:43:40,080 --> 00:43:42,560
Speaker 2: any factor in what they have. You know, the older

861
00:43:42,600 --> 00:43:46,080
Speaker 2: guys who are the more known and established commodities. You're

862
00:43:46,080 --> 00:43:48,600
Speaker 2: talking about Cam Hayward, you're talking about Aaron Rodgers, you're

863
00:43:48,640 --> 00:43:51,840
Speaker 2: talking about t J. Watt, you're talking about Alex high Smith,

864
00:43:52,440 --> 00:43:55,720
Speaker 2: DK metcalf. Team's not in a horrible position.

865
00:43:56,160 --> 00:44:00,160
Speaker 3: No, it's certainly not, and I I don't I I

866
00:44:00,239 --> 00:44:02,839
Speaker 3: think that's pretty if you take the if you take

867
00:44:02,880 --> 00:44:05,520
Speaker 3: the quarterback element out of it, I think, in fact,

868
00:44:05,560 --> 00:44:07,480
Speaker 3: you could argue the Steelers are in a very good position.

869
00:44:07,600 --> 00:44:08,279
Speaker 2: I think you could.

870
00:44:08,560 --> 00:44:12,680
Speaker 3: But that is obviously you can't. You know, the quarterback

871
00:44:12,719 --> 00:44:15,120
Speaker 3: element of it is massive. Is the elephant in the room?

872
00:44:15,120 --> 00:44:17,239
Speaker 2: Well, I mean, I'll go on record again. I've been

873
00:44:17,239 --> 00:44:21,680
Speaker 2: saying this since early I walked down onto the field

874
00:44:21,680 --> 00:44:24,200
Speaker 2: for the first day of mandatory Veteran Mini camp last year.

875
00:44:24,600 --> 00:44:29,560
Speaker 2: I started covering this team in the last three games

876
00:44:29,640 --> 00:44:32,359
Speaker 2: of the nineteen eighty six season for the Beaver County Times. Okay,

877
00:44:32,719 --> 00:44:36,120
Speaker 2: I have covered the Steelers for somebody ever since my

878
00:44:36,239 --> 00:44:39,200
Speaker 2: jobs have changed, that responsibility has.

879
00:44:39,040 --> 00:44:40,920
Speaker 3: Not forty you're hitting forty years here.

880
00:44:40,960 --> 00:44:43,080
Speaker 2: So I've been doing this a long long time. And

881
00:44:43,120 --> 00:44:45,560
Speaker 2: I walked out onto that field for just another first

882
00:44:45,640 --> 00:44:48,759
Speaker 2: day of mandatory veteran Mini camp, and I watched number eight.

883
00:44:48,800 --> 00:44:51,560
Speaker 2: He wasn't even playing eleven on eleven, but I watched

884
00:44:51,600 --> 00:44:54,840
Speaker 2: them fake a snap and just roll out.

885
00:44:54,640 --> 00:44:56,720
Speaker 3: And throw, and I was like, Oh, it's it's different.

886
00:44:56,800 --> 00:45:00,040
Speaker 2: Oh yeah, that's Aaron Rodgers. Huh, okay, it's did.

887
00:45:00,200 --> 00:45:03,279
Speaker 3: But you know what, now, he still need more there

888
00:45:03,320 --> 00:45:04,680
Speaker 3: if you want to if you want to get, if

889
00:45:04,680 --> 00:45:06,799
Speaker 3: you want to climb that stairway to seven. I think

890
00:45:06,840 --> 00:45:08,920
Speaker 3: we all agree that Aaron Rodgers is the best option

891
00:45:09,000 --> 00:45:11,239
Speaker 3: for the Steelers and will be the choice this year.

892
00:45:11,719 --> 00:45:14,200
Speaker 3: But I don't think it can be better than last year.

893
00:45:14,200 --> 00:45:17,680
Speaker 3: Maybe you win a playoff game, but uh, for a

894
00:45:17,719 --> 00:45:19,640
Speaker 3: guy that is one of the greatest, and you could

895
00:45:19,680 --> 00:45:22,200
Speaker 3: make a good faith argument is the greatest quarterback to

896
00:45:22,280 --> 00:45:24,440
Speaker 3: you know, he is certainly on that shortlist of the argument.

897
00:45:24,480 --> 00:45:26,800
Speaker 3: Everyone's gonna go Brady for the most part, but he's

898
00:45:27,040 --> 00:45:31,879
Speaker 3: He's in the conversation for everything that he can do.

899
00:45:32,680 --> 00:45:36,600
Speaker 3: I think his age, there's just natural limitations there. Despite

900
00:45:36,640 --> 00:45:38,880
Speaker 3: how impressive, the ball still looks off his arm. And

901
00:45:38,960 --> 00:45:40,719
Speaker 3: I don't know, maybe I'm wrong, and I would love

902
00:45:40,760 --> 00:45:42,719
Speaker 3: to be in a new Mike McCarthy offense with better

903
00:45:42,760 --> 00:45:45,400
Speaker 3: wide receivers. It looks way different for Aaron Rodgers, but

904
00:45:45,480 --> 00:45:48,480
Speaker 3: kind of what Jeff was saying, the whole staying the

905
00:45:48,520 --> 00:45:50,960
Speaker 3: same verse getting better, I just don't. I don't see

906
00:45:51,000 --> 00:45:53,160
Speaker 3: it falling off a cliff either, But I you know,

907
00:45:53,239 --> 00:45:55,160
Speaker 3: maybe you win a playoff game, but I think that's

908
00:45:55,200 --> 00:45:58,239
Speaker 3: about where you are with a good roster and a

909
00:45:58,280 --> 00:46:01,799
Speaker 3: good quarterback. But man, and you see, the defense needs

910
00:46:01,800 --> 00:46:03,760
Speaker 3: to take a step forward, and it can under Patrick

911
00:46:03,760 --> 00:46:07,319
Speaker 3: Graham certainly to get to that Seattle Houston truly elite level.

912
00:46:07,760 --> 00:46:11,160
Speaker 3: And yeah, the offense, obviously, we know there's there's got

913
00:46:11,280 --> 00:46:11,680
Speaker 3: to be more.

914
00:46:11,960 --> 00:46:13,759
Speaker 2: I'll say this was I don't think Aaron Rodgers is

915
00:46:13,760 --> 00:46:15,680
Speaker 2: gonna put the team on his shoulders and take them

916
00:46:15,719 --> 00:46:18,680
Speaker 2: to a super Bowl. But I certainly think he can

917
00:46:18,719 --> 00:46:23,240
Speaker 2: do what Sam Donald did on first Sunday of February.

918
00:46:23,360 --> 00:46:25,680
Speaker 3: I mean Sam Donald also, but four hundred yards and

919
00:46:25,719 --> 00:46:27,919
Speaker 3: four touchdowns against the Rams in one of those games.

920
00:46:28,000 --> 00:46:30,040
Speaker 3: Can Can Aaron Rodgers still do that? Now? Maybe if

921
00:46:30,040 --> 00:46:33,719
Speaker 3: he has three viable NFL wide receivers he can, and

922
00:46:33,760 --> 00:46:35,200
Speaker 3: a really good offensive line get.

923
00:46:35,120 --> 00:46:39,920
Speaker 2: Up some targets, you know, fast forward. The offense under McCarthy,

924
00:46:40,480 --> 00:46:43,000
Speaker 2: the defense I think really underachieved. I know they still

925
00:46:43,040 --> 00:46:45,879
Speaker 2: need to add some pieces, but that's where I think

926
00:46:45,920 --> 00:46:49,880
Speaker 2: the team can improve. The well, on both sides of

927
00:46:49,920 --> 00:46:53,640
Speaker 2: the ball. There's potential for fast improvement. I think without

928
00:46:54,480 --> 00:46:56,600
Speaker 2: an avalanche of new personnel agreed.

929
00:46:58,000 --> 00:46:58,879
Speaker 3: I'm on the same page.

930
00:46:59,320 --> 00:47:01,279
Speaker 2: Lugg hole here, plug a hole there, but just do

931
00:47:01,400 --> 00:47:04,160
Speaker 2: it better. And I think that's entirely possible. And I

932
00:47:04,200 --> 00:47:06,239
Speaker 2: look at the playoff thing. I know it's it's the

933
00:47:06,239 --> 00:47:08,640
Speaker 2: hot button topic. And they haven't won a playoff game

934
00:47:08,640 --> 00:47:12,239
Speaker 2: in nine years. I don't care about winning a playoff game.

935
00:47:12,520 --> 00:47:15,120
Speaker 2: There's not going to be a parade if they win

936
00:47:15,160 --> 00:47:18,040
Speaker 2: a playoff game. If they'd have beaten Houston and then

937
00:47:18,160 --> 00:47:21,760
Speaker 2: gone and gotten smacked by New England, who cares exactly?

938
00:47:21,880 --> 00:47:24,319
Speaker 2: Cleveland has won a playoff game in that nine year spent.

939
00:47:24,400 --> 00:47:26,800
Speaker 2: How good are they doing? The New York Football Giants

940
00:47:26,840 --> 00:47:29,080
Speaker 2: have won a playoff game in that span. How good

941
00:47:29,120 --> 00:47:29,680
Speaker 2: are they doing?

942
00:47:30,200 --> 00:47:30,960
Speaker 3: It's Bengals.

943
00:47:31,080 --> 00:47:33,120
Speaker 2: It's an easy Well, Bengals got all the way to a.

944
00:47:33,040 --> 00:47:35,319
Speaker 3: Super Bowl and a championship game.

945
00:47:35,400 --> 00:47:39,480
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's an easy thing to kind of circle. But

946
00:47:39,840 --> 00:47:42,400
Speaker 2: that's not the objective either. People say I don't care

947
00:47:42,440 --> 00:47:45,959
Speaker 2: about the regular season. A, you do, and B. That's

948
00:47:46,000 --> 00:47:49,600
Speaker 2: not the objective either. But it's not a criticism of

949
00:47:50,280 --> 00:47:53,160
Speaker 2: It doesn't devalue having a good regular season if you

950
00:47:53,200 --> 00:47:55,799
Speaker 2: don't have a good postseason. But the goal is to.

951
00:47:55,760 --> 00:47:59,600
Speaker 3: Have both exactly right, well said by Mike Pursuda. He'll

952
00:47:59,640 --> 00:48:01,360
Speaker 3: be here for the next two hours.

953
00:48:01,360 --> 00:48:03,280
Speaker 2: How about them carrying this around? It has to because

954
00:48:03,320 --> 00:48:04,439
Speaker 2: Seattle won the Super Bowl.

955
00:48:04,600 --> 00:48:05,239
Speaker 3: It was meant to be.

956
00:48:05,320 --> 00:48:08,759
Speaker 2: It's the flip card from all the September fourteenth, all

957
00:48:08,800 --> 00:48:10,080
Speaker 2: the way back in September.

958
00:48:12,040 --> 00:48:15,719
Speaker 3: Trimp fun hour. He'll stay, Matt Williamson and Rob King

959
00:48:15,800 --> 00:48:18,080
Speaker 3: will jump in. I'll be back in the afternoon. One

960
00:48:18,120 --> 00:48:21,080
Speaker 3: hour down, seven hours to go here on Radio Row.

961
00:48:21,280 --> 00:48:24,000
Speaker 3: It's all part of our ongoing combine covered Steelers Nation

962
00:48:24,120 --> 00:48:26,080
Speaker 3: Radio on the Steelers Audio Network.