Speaker 1: Kind of work have you done with Carson Bleds behind
Speaker 1: the scene. You know, Carson spent a lot of time
Speaker 1: in the film room, extra time in the film room
Speaker 1: and then even out on the practice field. You know,
Speaker 1: just asking a lot of questions, always staying tuned into
Speaker 1: the script, always watching Sam and Chase and McLeod, getting
Speaker 1: the reps and then talking things through, you know, talking
Speaker 1: things throughout the field that you can get something done. Great.
Speaker 1: Backham now for a couple of days. What has he
Speaker 1: shown you so far? And what's the plan for him
Speaker 1: on Saturday night? You know it looks good. Um, you know,
Speaker 1: just continue to build, build, continue to build. Got him
Speaker 1: in for a few plays last week. Um, you know,
Speaker 1: he's just he's an impressive physical specimen. Obviously. It's funny
Speaker 1: you stand out there as a coach when they're running
Speaker 1: routes on air, and sometimes as a coach you stand
Speaker 1: across from the receivers out of running at you, and
Speaker 1: when he runs at you his sides and speed, it
Speaker 1: just kind of grabs you. So really excited about having
Speaker 1: him here. And uh, just like anybody else, it's a process.
Speaker 1: You know, it's a process, and we'll keep getting him
Speaker 1: a little chunks at a time to allow him to
Speaker 1: play fast and just and use his ability for you
Speaker 1: week one to week two, just total back to the offense.
Speaker 1: I thought the past protection was really good in week two, UM,
Speaker 1: I thought the offensive line did a really good job.
Speaker 1: That backs did a good job. UM. You know, we
Speaker 1: just have to eliminate the penalties. I know it's been
Speaker 1: talked about a lot. They just killed drives. You're getting
Speaker 1: second along third and long. Um. We can overcome some
Speaker 1: of those. We have to overcome some of those. But um,
Speaker 1: as an offense, you just you can't put yourself in
Speaker 1: those positions. So we've got to minimize those things. There's
Speaker 1: no excuses for it. Um, And we just have to
Speaker 1: execute evaluation. What kind of evaluation that he did a week?
Speaker 1: Want small with him? If I didn't missed so much.
Speaker 1: You have to be able really to see it. It's
Speaker 1: a little bit harder, you know, with all the time
Speaker 1: that he's missed too, you know, to evaluate with the
Speaker 1: back you know and a runner. You just want to
Speaker 1: see him get to get the ball in his hands
Speaker 1: and see what he can do, you know, in traffic
Speaker 1: inside see us patients's vision. Um. So you know, but
Speaker 1: there's nothing you can do about it. As a coach,
Speaker 1: you know, you don't get too frustrated by you know,
Speaker 1: injuries are part of the game. Those guys take a
Speaker 1: lot of hits, so on and so forth. So we
Speaker 1: still have to be smart with him, you know, and
Speaker 1: just continue that evaluation process and let him grow. You
Speaker 1: need to see some things from certain guys who have
Speaker 1: kind of been like smart time starters. Josh HAPs being won.
Speaker 1: How I portant? Is this game going to be for
Speaker 1: him and for maybe some other receivers. Yeah, third preseason game.
Speaker 1: Obviously the starter is getting a lot of you know,
Speaker 1: a lot of reps. So, um, it's important to show
Speaker 1: progress at all our positions, not just a wide receiver position.
Speaker 1: And I feel like the receivers have been showing that
Speaker 1: as a group, you know, and individually. So um, you know,
Speaker 1: even this week, game plan even a little bit more.
Speaker 1: I mean it's still you know, this is kind of
Speaker 1: like an in season week for US. Coach set it
Speaker 1: up so that we kind of prepare a little bit
Speaker 1: more like it's in season. Um, So a little bit
Speaker 1: more game planning, not full board, but um so get
Speaker 1: a chance to get some guys in position to make
Speaker 1: plays and then we have to execute and uh, and
Speaker 1: then they got to make the plays when they come
Speaker 1: to them. Offensive unit didn't try to run the ball
Speaker 1: very much Thursday, but but it did. It wasn't real effective.
Speaker 1: Were you concerned about that at all? And what did
Speaker 1: you make of that? You know, Pittsburgh traditionally is one
Speaker 1: of the best run defenses in the NFL. I mean
Speaker 1: that have been for years. Um, we still felt pretty
Speaker 1: good about our run game plan going in. Sometimes the
Speaker 1: flow of the game, you know, it's kind of an
Speaker 1: one game. Our defense did a good job, got the interception,
Speaker 1: you know, return for a touchdown, so they have the
Speaker 1: ball the whole first quarter. You know, we were executing
Speaker 1: a little bit in the pass game. Felt like we
Speaker 1: had an efficient pass game. Sam did a good job,
Speaker 1: you know, executing there. We spread the ball around, you know,
Speaker 1: had some of the penalties that stopped a few drives.
Speaker 1: But um, you know, I feel very strong about the
Speaker 1: outlook of our run game. UM, and so I don't
Speaker 1: want to get too caught up with just one performance
Speaker 1: where we didn't quite get enough touches in the run
Speaker 1: game as we could. I think he's done pretty well. Um.
Speaker 1: I think he's done pretty well. You know, obviously you
Speaker 1: get that big body coming at you. That's that's a
Speaker 1: different thing for a linebacker seeing that guy coming coming
Speaker 1: at him. And I think he's shown, uh he shows
Speaker 1: the athleticism, you know, that's that's a positive thing. And
Speaker 1: and really the vision that it takes to kind of
Speaker 1: fit up in the hole it gets your linebacker. I
Speaker 1: think I think he's been very solid go by from
Speaker 1: last year. Has Kenyan border exceeded your expectations? Yeah, I
Speaker 1: think Kenyon has had a really good uh OTAs in
Speaker 1: the offseason and a good training camp um and obviously
Speaker 1: he's shined in special teams as well. So Kenyon as
Speaker 1: I think he's a good runner. I think he has
Speaker 1: an elusiveness to him. You know that obviously shows as
Speaker 1: a punt returner, and so when you get him in
Speaker 1: the backfield out in space, you know, whether it's catching
Speaker 1: a pass out of the backfield or get him on
Speaker 1: the edge running the football. But he's made a couple
Speaker 1: nice inside runs as well, and and so that's important.
Speaker 1: And and then the other element that he's continued to
Speaker 1: impress is the protection element. You know, he knows what
Speaker 1: he's doing in protection. I can't emphasize that enough. I've
Speaker 1: said it before over the last couple of weeks, but
Speaker 1: it's just so important in any offense that the backs
Speaker 1: fully understand all the protection calls what's going on, because
Speaker 1: it all starts in the passing game with protecting the passer,
Speaker 1: and the backs are a big part of that. Sam
Speaker 1: established some pretty good chemistry last season, particularly down the stretch.
Speaker 1: How much of that has been affected by him missing
Speaker 1: so much time this summer, you know, I mean, I
Speaker 1: think obviously with all of our players who miss time,
Speaker 1: you don't like it because every rep is so important.
Speaker 1: You can only get so many reps out there. So
Speaker 1: but these guys have been around the block a little bit.
Speaker 1: They've continued to talk, and you know, in Jordan's that
Speaker 1: kind of guy that you know you never like not
Speaker 1: being out there. But he's so into it. You know,
Speaker 1: he's so into practice. You know, even when he's not
Speaker 1: out you know, when he's not getting the reps, he's
Speaker 1: so into it in the meetings, you know, engaged, asking questions,
Speaker 1: talking to Sam all the time. So, um, you make
Speaker 1: the best of of a tough situation if you look
Speaker 1: at what has he done to earn the first team
Speaker 1: snaps or you know, I think, uh, you know, one
Speaker 1: of the things just that he's an explosive athlete, you
Speaker 1: know for his position. Um. And you know, I think
Speaker 1: one of those positive steps Isaac made was from week
Speaker 1: one to week two. You know, he showed that athletic ability,
Speaker 1: you know, and while you're drafting where we did. Um,
Speaker 1: but I thought he was more consistent in week two. Um.
Speaker 1: You know, in the first game there were two or
Speaker 1: three kind of bad mistakes. You know, this game there
Speaker 1: was fewer. I think that there's probably one bad mistake. UM.
Speaker 1: So showing that improved consistency was a good step, and
Speaker 1: that's been showing up in practice running. It was among
Speaker 1: your leaders and receptions looking at the personelities we have beer,
Speaker 1: do you see the guys as you can use in
Speaker 1: the Danny Woodhead type of world? Yeah, I mean, well
Speaker 1: Sprowles is the original, right, I mean, he's the original guy.
Speaker 1: He's the prototype. And so we have you know, coach Peterson,
Speaker 1: you know, right from the start, you know, I remember
Speaker 1: coming in the first one he hired. You know that
Speaker 1: some of the immediate talk was the excitement about how
Speaker 1: we get to use a guy like Darren Sprowles and
Speaker 1: but all the backs have shown a good a good
Speaker 1: aptitude to pick things up in the pass game and
Speaker 1: and be good route runners. So we think we can
Speaker 1: mix it up. But certainly Darren is that's where that's
Speaker 1: he's the starting point. And uh and there's a lot
Speaker 1: of ways to utilize that. And you know, Kansas in
Speaker 1: Doug's offense, you know they've done that in the past,
Speaker 1: will continue to mix in some other things that you
Speaker 1: know that we've all done that our staff has done
Speaker 1: to kind of isolate backs and get good matchups. Um,
Speaker 1: but you get a guy like forty three out there,
Speaker 1: I mean really, I mean it's like every weekend game planning,
Speaker 1: it's like, how can we get this guy to football?
Speaker 1: He's just he's that kind of a player. What does
Speaker 1: Sam need to show you before week going? You know Sam?
Speaker 1: I just think Sam just he's showing us everything I
Speaker 1: expected him to show us. He's being who he is.
Speaker 1: UM credibly accurate pass or he has comple you know,
Speaker 1: I really feel like he has command of the offense. Um.
Speaker 1: You know, he's come in and this new offense, he's
Speaker 1: doing a great job. He's he's totally under control employees.
Speaker 1: I just loved his demeanor on the sideline for the
Speaker 1: first you know, getting to see him on the sideline.
Speaker 1: You know, it's one thing out of practice, but just
Speaker 1: getting a feel from him on the sideline during the game,
Speaker 1: you know, the right temperament, the right react. You know,
Speaker 1: it just feels feels right. And so um, you know,
Speaker 1: this week it's week he gets to play longer. So
Speaker 1: we've got a number of snaps with him last week.
Speaker 1: But uh, and you want to continue to show which
Speaker 1: I think Sam has you know, overcome in the bad
Speaker 1: series because it happens. This is the NFL, so there's
Speaker 1: gonna be a series. He's great at protecting the football,
Speaker 1: but I'm sure somewhere along the year he's gonna throw
Speaker 1: an interception. You know, how do we bounce back? Stay
Speaker 1: positive and let's go. And he's showing that out in practice,
Speaker 1: So I continue, I think we'll continue to see that.
Speaker 1: You mentioned the importance of running backs to being able
Speaker 1: to pass protect. Is that one of the main things
Speaker 1: that we're looking for from Smallwood when he finally does
Speaker 1: get in the game. Absolutely, I mean, you know, because
Speaker 1: you know, all backs, you don't want to be a
Speaker 1: you know, just a first second down back if you
Speaker 1: want to be on the field, and you know, and
Speaker 1: I think we saw that on tape from him. You know,
Speaker 1: even though he had a you know, it was a
Speaker 1: great runner in college, you could see you could see
Speaker 1: glimpses of it in the past game. You could see
Speaker 1: it in protection that he was a willing blocker and
Speaker 1: that he had the aptitude. When you talk to him
Speaker 1: kind of in the interviews and watch film with him,
Speaker 1: you can see that he sees it, you know, and
Speaker 1: he processes it, and that's a very important part of it.
Speaker 1: So you know, his continued progress, you know, to get
Speaker 1: on the field is you know, it's going to have
Speaker 1: to come in the passing game as well. Frank James
Speaker 1: just talked about how Steven Tulk has been in the
Speaker 1: league ten years, and you know what respect he has
Speaker 1: for a guy that's done ten years. You have one
Speaker 1: on offense and Brent Sellick, Can you talk a little
Speaker 1: bit about from someone that's played it for as long
Speaker 1: as you did and now coached it, what it's like
Speaker 1: to get ten years in this league? Yeah, I think
Speaker 1: like a guy like Brent Sellick is just he's truly
Speaker 1: one of the Hallmark, one of the foundational leaders on
Speaker 1: this team. He just brings a steady presence, you know,
Speaker 1: on and off the field. But the thing that I've
Speaker 1: been most pressed about with Brent is he's still playing
Speaker 1: at a high level. I mean, for a guy who's
Speaker 1: had to play that position as as tough as that
Speaker 1: position is. All the running, all the blocking against big
Speaker 1: defensive you know, he's he's outmatched on most of the
Speaker 1: on fifty percent of the block, he's blocking linebacker some
Speaker 1: of the time, but half the time he's blocking defensive ends.
Speaker 1: And he's doing it. He's still doing a good job.
Speaker 1: And so for ten years in the league and he's
Speaker 1: and I see no signs of his game diminishing at all.
Speaker 1: And then I've said this from the start, and I
Speaker 1: continue to see it. In the passing game, he's he's
Speaker 1: more than adequate. You know, he still runs pretty good
Speaker 1: for a guy who's been in the league ten years.
Speaker 1: And then he's just got he's a pro, and he's
Speaker 1: got that football toughness attitude. So I just love the
Speaker 1: presence in the leadership he brings to the offense. I
Speaker 1: was Alan handled to move out to right tackle. I
Speaker 1: think he's handled it well. I mean he's in a
Speaker 1: position where he gets to use his his pass blocking strength.
Speaker 1: You know, he he's got good feet. Uh, he has
Speaker 1: a good, really good technique. So if you have good
Speaker 1: feet and you have good technique and then you have
Speaker 1: some toughness about you, you're going to be a good
Speaker 1: pass blocker. And you can see that. You mean, he's
Speaker 1: been well trained and well coached, but he has natural
Speaker 1: he has natural timing and instincts as a pass blocker.
Speaker 1: It's a little bit different out at the tackle position,
Speaker 1: as you guys know, you talk about a little bit
Speaker 1: more space between you and the defender. But he's a
Speaker 1: natural out there pass blocking, you know, but it just
Speaker 1: is a little bit different from the tackle on some
Speaker 1: of the combination blocks in the run game. You just
Speaker 1: gotta you know, get used to that. Again, he's done
Speaker 1: it some, but I've been mostly in a guard So
Speaker 1: you can see that coming back more and more from
Speaker 1: your tin. Ryan Radney's with the charters to now progress
Speaker 1: what's the best way to use I think Ryan, you know,
Speaker 1: I've always thought that Ryan has that unique blend of
Speaker 1: speed and size and then a physicality about him. So, um,
Speaker 1: that's how we that's his strength, you know, that's how
Speaker 1: we have to use him. And um, you know, and
Speaker 1: I think as he has grown in this league and
Speaker 1: further than his career, he's gotten better in the passing
Speaker 1: game as well. You know, I think early on in
Speaker 1: his career he was you know where, Now you're not.
Speaker 1: We're not afraid to have him on it, you know,
Speaker 1: out there on a pass down. So in the run game,
Speaker 1: we know what we're gonna get. He's got speed, he's
Speaker 1: got explosiveness, and he's got a physicality. And I think
Speaker 1: the offensive line really liked that. You know, when you
Speaker 1: get it back, who's not a who runs hard? Is
Speaker 1: a physical runner. I think that kind of energizes your
Speaker 1: whole offense, the offense, and we're gonna see the offense
Speaker 1: a more this game than any preseason game. What for
Speaker 1: fans did We're gonna get to see them for the
Speaker 1: first time in an extended period. What do you want
Speaker 1: to see? What should they expect to see from this who?
Speaker 1: I'm sorry to hear your first team offense? Yeah, Um, consistency,
Speaker 1: you know two things. Consistency and you know we gotta score,
Speaker 1: you know, you know, well, it's great if the special
Speaker 1: teams and defense keep scoring for us. Well, we'll take
Speaker 1: that all year long, and uh and won't apologize for that.
Speaker 1: We'll ride that. We'll ride that horse all the way
Speaker 1: if we have to. And that's been a good start
Speaker 1: for us as a team. Um and our offense at
Speaker 1: times has taken advantage of some of the turnovers. But
Speaker 1: you know, you need to you need to be consistent,
Speaker 1: you need to be able to sustain drives, you need
Speaker 1: to be great at situational football. Last week we had
Speaker 1: a good, good outing on third down, converted over fifty
Speaker 1: percent on third down. That's winning football against a you know,
Speaker 1: against a good defensive scheme. I know they didn't play
Speaker 1: their starters all the time, but we got to be
Speaker 1: good on third down, we got to be good in
Speaker 1: the red zone, and then we got to make something
Speaker 1: happen in two minutes. We were able to do that
Speaker 1: last week a little bit. So those are the those
Speaker 1: are the signs I think we're looking for, you know,
Speaker 1: this week against the Colts, and because I think that's
Speaker 1: what it ultimately takes to win consistently weekend and week out.
Speaker 1: Thank you