1
00:00:04,360 --> 00:00:07,320
Speaker 1: Is the Drive with Dale Lolly and Matt Williamson show

2
00:00:07,560 --> 00:00:09,760
Speaker 1: on your twenty four to seven home of the Black

3
00:00:09,800 --> 00:00:12,840
Speaker 1: and Gold Steelers.

4
00:00:11,840 --> 00:00:13,000
Speaker 2: Nation Radio.

5
00:00:14,480 --> 00:00:15,400
Speaker 3: Up theme to the Drive.

6
00:00:15,480 --> 00:00:20,480
Speaker 2: I'm Dale Lulli, he is Matt Williamson and Matt It

7
00:00:20,520 --> 00:00:23,000
Speaker 2: is training camp beginning week.

8
00:00:23,560 --> 00:00:24,120
Speaker 3: How about that?

9
00:00:25,160 --> 00:00:26,079
Speaker 2: Hard to believe.

10
00:00:27,320 --> 00:00:27,760
Speaker 3: This is here?

11
00:00:28,240 --> 00:00:32,240
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's finally here. The Steelers will be the final

12
00:00:32,280 --> 00:00:35,120
Speaker 2: team in the NFL to report when they when they

13
00:00:35,120 --> 00:00:39,120
Speaker 2: show up on Wednesday. Everybody else will will show will

14
00:00:39,159 --> 00:00:43,280
Speaker 2: have reported by at least Tuesday. But Mike Tomlin taking

15
00:00:44,120 --> 00:00:46,520
Speaker 2: the opportunity here to give the guys an extra day.

16
00:00:48,000 --> 00:00:50,560
Speaker 2: And it's all on how you build your days off

17
00:00:50,600 --> 00:00:53,840
Speaker 2: and things of that nature, Like they're going to report

18
00:00:53,920 --> 00:00:57,040
Speaker 2: on Wednesday. For people wondering why it's Wednesday and not

19
00:00:57,200 --> 00:01:01,160
Speaker 2: Tuesday like everybody else, they're not taking any days off

20
00:01:01,160 --> 00:01:06,200
Speaker 2: this week, Okay, so you build that right, Yeah, So

21
00:01:06,280 --> 00:01:08,440
Speaker 2: you basically count that Tuesday as a day off and

22
00:01:08,480 --> 00:01:11,839
Speaker 2: then you just practice. And it's probably not the worst

23
00:01:11,840 --> 00:01:16,520
Speaker 2: thing because those first few days of practice are without

24
00:01:16,880 --> 00:01:19,800
Speaker 2: pads or anything like that, or the heat acclamation period,

25
00:01:20,560 --> 00:01:21,920
Speaker 2: so you might as well get that all out of

26
00:01:21,920 --> 00:01:24,759
Speaker 2: the way and then roll into your into your padded practices,

27
00:01:25,040 --> 00:01:26,640
Speaker 2: whereas I think a lot of play, a lot of

28
00:01:26,640 --> 00:01:29,840
Speaker 2: teams are getting the heat acclamation, have a day off,

29
00:01:29,840 --> 00:01:32,200
Speaker 2: and then go into the padded practices. Not that there's

30
00:01:32,200 --> 00:01:34,200
Speaker 2: one way or another that that's better or worse or

31
00:01:34,240 --> 00:01:36,600
Speaker 2: what have you. But just now, Mike Tolman's choosing to

32
00:01:36,600 --> 00:01:37,000
Speaker 2: handle this.

33
00:01:38,360 --> 00:01:40,560
Speaker 1: So I guess if I were a player, maybe you

34
00:01:40,600 --> 00:01:43,520
Speaker 1: get a little more time with your family before camp opens, right,

35
00:01:43,560 --> 00:01:45,399
Speaker 1: you know, I mean you don't have to report as

36
00:01:45,400 --> 00:01:50,240
Speaker 1: early as other teams. And frankly, do I need a

37
00:01:50,320 --> 00:01:53,120
Speaker 1: day off after the acclamation period, you know, I mean

38
00:01:53,120 --> 00:01:54,160
Speaker 1: that's it's acclimating me.

39
00:01:54,480 --> 00:01:57,600
Speaker 2: Yeah, I think they're essentially the first few practices are

40
00:01:57,720 --> 00:02:01,320
Speaker 2: essentially O TA slash mini camp practices.

41
00:02:01,920 --> 00:02:05,400
Speaker 1: So folks Dale and I, as has everyone in the

42
00:02:05,520 --> 00:02:07,560
Speaker 1: NFL media, has been pumping up this week.

43
00:02:07,640 --> 00:02:10,720
Speaker 3: It's training camp week. It's training camp week. But it's

44
00:02:10,760 --> 00:02:12,799
Speaker 3: almost like the Hall of Fame game.

45
00:02:12,919 --> 00:02:15,560
Speaker 1: It's a little anti climatic at the beginning, you know,

46
00:02:15,639 --> 00:02:18,960
Speaker 1: like you're not going to get sweeping news from across

47
00:02:19,040 --> 00:02:21,799
Speaker 1: the NFL the first three or four days of training

48
00:02:21,840 --> 00:02:23,760
Speaker 1: camp in the league. I mean, it's just a little

49
00:02:23,760 --> 00:02:26,919
Speaker 1: slower it is more of a an ota feel before

50
00:02:26,919 --> 00:02:27,600
Speaker 1: it revs up.

51
00:02:27,880 --> 00:02:30,079
Speaker 2: Yeah. The only the only news that you get out

52
00:02:30,120 --> 00:02:33,400
Speaker 2: of these these uh these first few practices is bad news.

53
00:02:34,080 --> 00:02:36,680
Speaker 2: Such and such so and so is going on the pump.

54
00:02:36,880 --> 00:02:39,520
Speaker 2: This guy's you know, he he injured his foot in

55
00:02:39,520 --> 00:02:41,840
Speaker 2: the run test or things of that nature. You're not

56
00:02:41,840 --> 00:02:44,040
Speaker 2: getting any good news. I I can't tell you how

57
00:02:44,040 --> 00:02:46,520
Speaker 2: many times this offseason Matt I was asked, well, how's

58
00:02:46,560 --> 00:02:48,800
Speaker 2: Broderick Jones look? Or how's this guy look? How's that

59
00:02:48,840 --> 00:02:52,480
Speaker 2: revamped offensive line look? Sure anybody who gives you a

60
00:02:53,000 --> 00:02:58,200
Speaker 2: conclusive answer on those things is faking it right, right,

61
00:02:58,400 --> 00:03:01,639
Speaker 2: right right, because nobody's in pat they're not blocking anybody

62
00:03:02,480 --> 00:03:06,200
Speaker 2: right like. It's it's a padded practice. It's it's flag football.

63
00:03:07,000 --> 00:03:09,280
Speaker 2: I can't tell you what the offensive lineman or defensive

64
00:03:09,280 --> 00:03:11,959
Speaker 2: lineman look like exactly. Yeah.

65
00:03:11,960 --> 00:03:14,400
Speaker 1: I mean, if you want to say things like, boy,

66
00:03:14,520 --> 00:03:18,600
Speaker 1: Roderick Jones's body type or bend or way he shuffles

67
00:03:18,600 --> 00:03:24,240
Speaker 1: his feet is better than I expected, or I mean

68
00:03:24,280 --> 00:03:26,240
Speaker 1: I'm trying to think other lineman stuff, he could take

69
00:03:26,240 --> 00:03:28,639
Speaker 1: away body types. You know, the Marvin Leal looks like

70
00:03:28,680 --> 00:03:29,600
Speaker 1: he's in better shape.

71
00:03:29,600 --> 00:03:32,440
Speaker 2: Put on weight it looks or this guy looks really athletic,

72
00:03:32,600 --> 00:03:36,400
Speaker 2: you know, or something like that. Outside of that, you know,

73
00:03:36,520 --> 00:03:37,560
Speaker 2: you're guessing.

74
00:03:37,960 --> 00:03:41,000
Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, it's not Cam Hayward against you know, James

75
00:03:41,080 --> 00:03:43,120
Speaker 1: Daniel and one of them is winning and one of

76
00:03:43,120 --> 00:03:43,680
Speaker 1: them's losing.

77
00:03:43,800 --> 00:03:46,760
Speaker 3: You know, like it's that that doesn't happen. If you

78
00:03:46,760 --> 00:03:47,640
Speaker 3: want to say, boy.

79
00:03:47,520 --> 00:03:51,560
Speaker 1: Calvin Austin look like he's running unbelievably fast and you know,

80
00:03:51,720 --> 00:03:55,560
Speaker 1: screaming down the sidelines making plays okay, or Pickens made

81
00:03:55,560 --> 00:03:57,520
Speaker 1: a heck of a grab or okay. I mean some

82
00:03:57,600 --> 00:04:02,640
Speaker 1: of that stuff, coverage and passing game stuff. There's some takeaways,

83
00:04:02,800 --> 00:04:03,040
Speaker 1: you know.

84
00:04:03,120 --> 00:04:05,520
Speaker 2: But I learned a long time ago, though, Matt, that

85
00:04:05,520 --> 00:04:08,640
Speaker 2: that don't overact, you know, I don't overreact to anything

86
00:04:08,680 --> 00:04:12,480
Speaker 2: that happens in you know, April, March, May, those months

87
00:04:12,520 --> 00:04:16,240
Speaker 2: of the year because nobody's getting it's it's easy for

88
00:04:16,279 --> 00:04:19,120
Speaker 2: that stuff to look good when nobody knows, when everybody

89
00:04:19,120 --> 00:04:22,480
Speaker 2: knows they're not going to get hit exactly, it's real easy.

90
00:04:22,200 --> 00:04:23,440
Speaker 3: For that stuff to look good.

91
00:04:23,600 --> 00:04:26,480
Speaker 1: If if Kenny Pickett couldn't complete a pass for OTA's

92
00:04:26,480 --> 00:04:28,200
Speaker 1: in mini camp, I would be concerned.

93
00:04:28,720 --> 00:04:30,919
Speaker 2: That would be a little different. Yeah, right right, it

94
00:04:30,920 --> 00:04:33,000
Speaker 2: would be a little bit different, but yeah, you just

95
00:04:33,040 --> 00:04:35,960
Speaker 2: can't tell with this stuff. And again I think that's

96
00:04:36,000 --> 00:04:40,560
Speaker 2: a I don't want to say young reporter or over

97
00:04:40,640 --> 00:04:43,960
Speaker 2: earnest reporter or anything like that, but it is something

98
00:04:44,040 --> 00:04:45,760
Speaker 2: I think when you when you've been around this for

99
00:04:45,839 --> 00:04:49,040
Speaker 2: long enough time, like you know, I've been around long

100
00:04:49,120 --> 00:04:52,480
Speaker 2: enough for well, jehean Ardoll looks great in uh in March.

101
00:04:52,800 --> 00:04:55,160
Speaker 2: He's catching everything because he knows he's not going to

102
00:04:55,240 --> 00:04:56,960
Speaker 2: get hit exactly.

103
00:04:57,200 --> 00:05:00,400
Speaker 1: You know, a lot different atmosphere that this to the

104
00:05:00,440 --> 00:05:03,040
Speaker 1: games different. There's not a pass rush, the ball doesn't

105
00:05:03,040 --> 00:05:05,159
Speaker 1: have to come out in two point one seconds, you

106
00:05:05,160 --> 00:05:06,800
Speaker 1: don't have every one of your steps, doesn't have to

107
00:05:06,839 --> 00:05:10,160
Speaker 1: be perfect as a route runner. And you know, my media,

108
00:05:11,200 --> 00:05:13,680
Speaker 1: my ascension to media or my you know, getting to

109
00:05:13,760 --> 00:05:16,280
Speaker 1: media was a lot different than yours. And I do

110
00:05:16,360 --> 00:05:19,839
Speaker 1: remember when I started at ESPN and started doing podcasts

111
00:05:19,880 --> 00:05:21,920
Speaker 1: and being on the air, I forget who told me,

112
00:05:21,960 --> 00:05:23,800
Speaker 1: and I wish I remember, but I always took it

113
00:05:23,839 --> 00:05:27,719
Speaker 1: to heart. Was when somebody asks you a question and

114
00:05:27,800 --> 00:05:31,120
Speaker 1: you're not sure, or you flat out don't know, don't

115
00:05:31,160 --> 00:05:33,919
Speaker 1: pretend you do. And I do think a lot of

116
00:05:33,960 --> 00:05:38,080
Speaker 1: young media because the fans want to hear. They want

117
00:05:38,080 --> 00:05:40,120
Speaker 1: to make the fans happy, and there's nothing wrong with

118
00:05:40,160 --> 00:05:41,280
Speaker 1: that answering questions.

119
00:05:41,400 --> 00:05:43,919
Speaker 3: But don't say, boy, the O line looks.

120
00:05:43,760 --> 00:05:46,040
Speaker 1: A thousand times better just because you want those fans

121
00:05:46,040 --> 00:05:48,560
Speaker 1: to make you think that, you know, make it, get

122
00:05:48,600 --> 00:05:50,240
Speaker 1: them optimistic for the year or whatever.

123
00:05:51,000 --> 00:05:52,880
Speaker 3: The answer is, none of us know, you know, answer

124
00:05:52,880 --> 00:05:53,400
Speaker 3: it that way.

125
00:05:53,720 --> 00:05:57,440
Speaker 2: Yeah, until the pads come on, you don't know anything right, right,

126
00:05:57,520 --> 00:06:00,640
Speaker 2: and and in many cases, until you start playing games,

127
00:06:01,080 --> 00:06:04,039
Speaker 2: you don't know anything. Now, I will say this, Mike

128
00:06:04,120 --> 00:06:06,680
Speaker 2: Tomlin does challenge his team more so than a lot

129
00:06:06,720 --> 00:06:10,000
Speaker 2: of other teams. There is live tackling drills and things

130
00:06:10,040 --> 00:06:12,480
Speaker 2: of that nature where I mean, you will get to

131
00:06:12,520 --> 00:06:17,159
Speaker 2: see some football like stuff happen out there. But even

132
00:06:17,200 --> 00:06:19,840
Speaker 2: at that, you're not You're not gonna see a lot

133
00:06:19,839 --> 00:06:22,280
Speaker 2: of Cam Hayward on inside run drills, you know, and

134
00:06:22,720 --> 00:06:25,279
Speaker 2: things of that nature. You're not gonna You're not gonna see, Uh,

135
00:06:25,320 --> 00:06:28,640
Speaker 2: We're not gonna see Nausea Harris getting a ton of carries. Uh.

136
00:06:28,760 --> 00:06:31,159
Speaker 2: In live tackling drills at training camp, there'll be some,

137
00:06:32,160 --> 00:06:33,800
Speaker 2: but you're not You're not getting a lot of that.

138
00:06:34,279 --> 00:06:35,880
Speaker 1: No, you're not gonna get a lot of ones on

139
00:06:35,880 --> 00:06:39,640
Speaker 1: ones eleven verse eleven, my best versus your best. I

140
00:06:39,680 --> 00:06:41,760
Speaker 1: want to put my nickel package out here to defend

141
00:06:41,760 --> 00:06:43,000
Speaker 1: your eleven personnel, and.

142
00:06:43,279 --> 00:06:45,279
Speaker 2: We're gonna we're gonna tackle to the grounds. You know.

143
00:06:46,960 --> 00:06:49,800
Speaker 1: But there are a lot of intense periods. And you

144
00:06:49,920 --> 00:06:53,320
Speaker 1: mentioned it last week, you know, like boy Jalen Warren

145
00:06:53,360 --> 00:06:55,599
Speaker 1: stuck out, stuck out from the get go.

146
00:06:55,680 --> 00:06:58,280
Speaker 3: Boy, he looks different than all these undrafted dudes. You know.

147
00:06:58,600 --> 00:07:00,320
Speaker 3: George Pickens, of course, was those are.

148
00:07:00,279 --> 00:07:02,880
Speaker 2: The guys that get challenged. Yeah, yea, yeah, yeah guy,

149
00:07:02,920 --> 00:07:05,919
Speaker 2: you know, so, yeah, you're gonna see a guy, you know,

150
00:07:06,160 --> 00:07:09,440
Speaker 2: a guy like Jaylen Warren last year early on first

151
00:07:09,480 --> 00:07:11,720
Speaker 2: time they put the pads on backs on backers, he

152
00:07:11,800 --> 00:07:14,760
Speaker 2: stood out when they start the inside run drill stuff

153
00:07:14,960 --> 00:07:19,800
Speaker 2: because he's getting the football and nausea Harris isn't you know, Okay,

154
00:07:19,880 --> 00:07:22,880
Speaker 2: he's he's getting positive yardage here on these things. That's

155
00:07:23,080 --> 00:07:24,840
Speaker 2: you know, those are the guys that get a chance

156
00:07:24,880 --> 00:07:28,040
Speaker 2: to prove themselves because then once you get into the games,

157
00:07:28,440 --> 00:07:32,960
Speaker 2: because there's only three now, it's gonna be interesting to

158
00:07:33,040 --> 00:07:37,040
Speaker 2: me this year, how Mike Tom yeah, how Mike Tomlin

159
00:07:37,120 --> 00:07:40,400
Speaker 2: treats that, especially with the quarterback rotation this year.

160
00:07:40,560 --> 00:07:42,480
Speaker 1: I would just think of the same thing, like, I

161
00:07:42,520 --> 00:07:46,440
Speaker 1: don't think nausey, Cam Watt, Minka probably play a snap

162
00:07:46,480 --> 00:07:48,960
Speaker 1: in the preseason, you know. I mean, maybe you want

163
00:07:48,960 --> 00:07:50,880
Speaker 1: the O line to gel a little bit and you

164
00:07:50,960 --> 00:07:53,800
Speaker 1: get that starting five, depending who the left tackle is

165
00:07:53,920 --> 00:07:56,800
Speaker 1: out there to some degree, maybe the young dudes like Friar,

166
00:07:56,880 --> 00:08:02,840
Speaker 1: Muth and Pickens play some. But the quarterback situation is

167
00:08:02,920 --> 00:08:06,280
Speaker 1: so much different than last year. I commended them how

168
00:08:06,360 --> 00:08:10,040
Speaker 1: they were able to get Rudolph enough work, but you're

169
00:08:10,080 --> 00:08:12,080
Speaker 1: still given the first round pick who you hope is

170
00:08:12,120 --> 00:08:15,880
Speaker 1: an eventual franchise quarterback, a lot of attention, a lot

171
00:08:15,920 --> 00:08:18,720
Speaker 1: of work while trying to get Mitchell Trubisky ready for

172
00:08:18,800 --> 00:08:21,400
Speaker 1: Week one to try to win games like that was

173
00:08:21,400 --> 00:08:23,200
Speaker 1: a lot more challenging than this upcoming year.

174
00:08:23,320 --> 00:08:25,600
Speaker 2: It was the heck of a juggling act. It really is.

175
00:08:26,400 --> 00:08:29,280
Speaker 3: But now you know who the one is, not.

176
00:08:29,400 --> 00:08:32,160
Speaker 1: Just for opening Day, but hopefully for the next twelve years.

177
00:08:32,840 --> 00:08:36,040
Speaker 1: And he's still only second You know, a guy, he's

178
00:08:36,080 --> 00:08:38,720
Speaker 1: going to see some action. Second year guy, he's going

179
00:08:38,760 --> 00:08:42,040
Speaker 1: to see some action. But I also I mean, you're

180
00:08:42,040 --> 00:08:43,880
Speaker 1: not gonna Joe burrow him and put him in bubble wrap,

181
00:08:43,920 --> 00:08:45,840
Speaker 1: but I want to make sure Kenny's.

182
00:08:45,480 --> 00:08:46,520
Speaker 3: There for Week one, you know.

183
00:08:46,920 --> 00:08:50,600
Speaker 2: Yeah, well I think to that regard. You know, with

184
00:08:50,640 --> 00:08:53,240
Speaker 2: the offensive line depth that the Steelers do have, now,

185
00:08:54,280 --> 00:08:57,280
Speaker 2: you could put a pretty representative NFL line out there,

186
00:08:58,160 --> 00:09:01,080
Speaker 2: regardless of who's a quarterback. So you're gonna you're gonna

187
00:09:01,080 --> 00:09:03,280
Speaker 2: protect those guys a little Yeah, protect those guys a

188
00:09:03,320 --> 00:09:05,760
Speaker 2: little bit better than most. But it's going to be

189
00:09:05,800 --> 00:09:08,880
Speaker 2: interesting to see how how they handle some of these reps.

190
00:09:09,600 --> 00:09:09,760
Speaker 2: You know.

191
00:09:09,800 --> 00:09:10,200
Speaker 3: What's what?

192
00:09:10,440 --> 00:09:12,400
Speaker 2: You know, we didn't see a lot of Cole Holcomb

193
00:09:13,320 --> 00:09:15,960
Speaker 2: in the off season on the field because he's coming

194
00:09:16,000 --> 00:09:18,400
Speaker 2: back from that foot issue. Well, you know, does he

195
00:09:18,480 --> 00:09:21,000
Speaker 2: start training camp on, is he on the pup list?

196
00:09:21,600 --> 00:09:22,320
Speaker 2: Was he ready to go?

197
00:09:23,080 --> 00:09:23,480
Speaker 3: Yeah?

198
00:09:23,720 --> 00:09:26,000
Speaker 1: And you're hoping he's the green dot guy out there

199
00:09:26,040 --> 00:09:29,319
Speaker 1: all the time and he's new. That's gonna be a

200
00:09:29,400 --> 00:09:31,280
Speaker 1: challenge for him, you know, like, we want you out

201
00:09:31,280 --> 00:09:33,280
Speaker 1: there all the time, we want you communicating, we want

202
00:09:33,280 --> 00:09:35,480
Speaker 1: you out in all situations. I'm assuming that's what they're

203
00:09:35,520 --> 00:09:37,920
Speaker 1: thinking about the guy. But if he is a delay,

204
00:09:38,120 --> 00:09:40,000
Speaker 1: that's difficult. I hadn't thought of that.

205
00:09:40,840 --> 00:09:44,480
Speaker 2: We saw that last year, you know, on the defensive line,

206
00:09:45,520 --> 00:09:53,079
Speaker 2: you know with why am I blanking on his name here? Now? Oh?

207
00:09:53,080 --> 00:09:56,760
Speaker 2: Good lord? Yeah, Larry with Larry and good o good Joe?

208
00:09:57,120 --> 00:10:00,440
Speaker 2: I apologize and he wasn't. He wasn't did to go

209
00:10:00,520 --> 00:10:03,120
Speaker 2: for the first week of camp. They eased they eased

210
00:10:03,160 --> 00:10:04,680
Speaker 2: him into it. Can you afford to do that with

211
00:10:04,720 --> 00:10:05,439
Speaker 2: a Cole holc.

212
00:10:07,120 --> 00:10:10,480
Speaker 3: For with such a communicative position and every down.

213
00:10:10,800 --> 00:10:13,920
Speaker 2: Especially said, with everybody being new with that position essentially,

214
00:10:14,840 --> 00:10:20,439
Speaker 2: you know how you know, Mike Tomlin has has traditionally

215
00:10:20,480 --> 00:10:22,640
Speaker 2: taken it easy on some of his veteran players at

216
00:10:22,679 --> 00:10:25,280
Speaker 2: training camp. Can he can he afford to do that

217
00:10:25,320 --> 00:10:28,480
Speaker 2: with a Patrick Peterson and give Peterson, you know, a

218
00:10:28,559 --> 00:10:31,240
Speaker 2: veteran's day off every three days or something like that.

219
00:10:32,200 --> 00:10:33,640
Speaker 3: I'm betting yes with him.

220
00:10:33,760 --> 00:10:36,839
Speaker 2: I'm gonna say I was gonna say as I said that, yes,

221
00:10:36,880 --> 00:10:39,520
Speaker 2: because when you don't have Peterson out there and he's

222
00:10:39,520 --> 00:10:41,280
Speaker 2: played enough football, it doesn't really matter.

223
00:10:41,679 --> 00:10:43,839
Speaker 3: His track record is different than Cole hol but.

224
00:10:43,800 --> 00:10:45,720
Speaker 2: That but that means you, that means you could put

225
00:10:45,800 --> 00:10:48,719
Speaker 2: Levi Wallace out there with Joey Porter Junior and let

226
00:10:48,760 --> 00:10:52,400
Speaker 2: those guys exactly reps right where you can make it,

227
00:10:52,480 --> 00:10:54,439
Speaker 2: where you could you could tell Levi Wallace, Hey, Levi,

228
00:10:54,640 --> 00:10:56,040
Speaker 2: we don't need to see you as much in his

229
00:10:56,120 --> 00:10:59,120
Speaker 2: camp either. We're gonna put We're gonna put Corey Trice

230
00:10:59,160 --> 00:11:00,240
Speaker 2: and Joey Porter out there.

231
00:11:00,679 --> 00:11:02,880
Speaker 1: Yeah, exactly. I think Trice it should get a lot

232
00:11:02,880 --> 00:11:06,679
Speaker 1: of snacks in pract I mean this is people take

233
00:11:06,720 --> 00:11:08,920
Speaker 1: this as a negative. I think it's a positive. I

234
00:11:08,920 --> 00:11:11,400
Speaker 1: think Levi they know exactly who he is. They're very

235
00:11:11,400 --> 00:11:13,960
Speaker 1: happy with him. He's not going to be derrel reeves.

236
00:11:14,000 --> 00:11:14,880
Speaker 1: He's not going to hurt you.

237
00:11:15,160 --> 00:11:16,240
Speaker 3: Perfect. We don't need to.

238
00:11:16,480 --> 00:11:19,720
Speaker 1: We don't need much more information on you. We'd love

239
00:11:19,760 --> 00:11:21,880
Speaker 1: to get a lot of information on Porter and Trice.

240
00:11:22,280 --> 00:11:24,800
Speaker 2: Yeah, because I think both of those guys make the team. Well,

241
00:11:25,040 --> 00:11:26,600
Speaker 2: that's gonna be the you know, one of the things

242
00:11:26,600 --> 00:11:29,320
Speaker 2: that doesn't hasn't been talked about a whole lot, that

243
00:11:29,480 --> 00:11:34,640
Speaker 2: cornerback position. It's going to be interesting. Who's the nickel was?

244
00:11:35,240 --> 00:11:36,840
Speaker 2: What does James Pierre fit into it?

245
00:11:37,280 --> 00:11:37,480
Speaker 3: Yeah?

246
00:11:38,040 --> 00:11:39,920
Speaker 2: How does James Pierre fit into this equation?

247
00:11:40,880 --> 00:11:43,440
Speaker 1: You know all those names we mentioned, Pierre is the

248
00:11:43,440 --> 00:11:45,439
Speaker 1: one that played the most special team snap last.

249
00:11:45,280 --> 00:11:48,600
Speaker 2: Year, right, I mean he doesn't make the team, I

250
00:11:48,640 --> 00:11:50,520
Speaker 2: would be too. I mean, he took a pay cut

251
00:11:50,559 --> 00:11:52,880
Speaker 2: to come back. He could have, you know, basically because

252
00:11:52,920 --> 00:11:55,360
Speaker 2: they didn't offer him, they didn't tender him, and he

253
00:11:55,400 --> 00:11:57,160
Speaker 2: took a cut to come back. And he's been a

254
00:11:57,240 --> 00:11:59,760
Speaker 2: valuable member of this team. What do you what do

255
00:11:59,800 --> 00:12:01,920
Speaker 2: you do with that? You know, who's your Nickels? Is

256
00:12:01,960 --> 00:12:05,960
Speaker 2: it Chandon Sullivan, is it Elijah Riley? You know, if

257
00:12:06,000 --> 00:12:08,440
Speaker 2: it's Elijah Riley, you kind of kill two birds with

258
00:12:08,480 --> 00:12:12,680
Speaker 2: one stone because he can also play safety. Yeah, but

259
00:12:12,960 --> 00:12:15,640
Speaker 2: you know, so that that secondary, that how that puzzle

260
00:12:15,679 --> 00:12:17,360
Speaker 2: comes together, I think is gonna be one of the

261
00:12:17,360 --> 00:12:20,320
Speaker 2: more interesting things about this training camp.

262
00:12:21,000 --> 00:12:24,480
Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean, not that Pierre is the same as Wallace,

263
00:12:24,600 --> 00:12:27,160
Speaker 1: but he is unknown. He's been in the organization for

264
00:12:27,200 --> 00:12:29,960
Speaker 1: a while. You know, he's great on special teams. He

265
00:12:30,040 --> 00:12:31,600
Speaker 1: maybe doesn't even have to take all the first team

266
00:12:31,679 --> 00:12:34,000
Speaker 1: special teams reps either, because you can see if someone

267
00:12:34,000 --> 00:12:36,440
Speaker 1: else can do it, can Trice do it?

268
00:12:36,679 --> 00:12:36,920
Speaker 2: You know?

269
00:12:37,360 --> 00:12:42,640
Speaker 1: And ideally, if Pierre's your fourth outside corner, which is

270
00:12:42,640 --> 00:12:45,600
Speaker 1: where he projects at the moment, you're in pretty good shape.

271
00:12:45,640 --> 00:12:47,120
Speaker 1: I mean, you can trot him out there and he

272
00:12:47,120 --> 00:12:50,040
Speaker 1: doesn't embarrass himself. I mean, that's a good situation. And

273
00:12:50,080 --> 00:12:51,920
Speaker 1: he kind of beat me to the punch of Sullivan.

274
00:12:52,040 --> 00:12:55,120
Speaker 1: Like I'm thinking of the new veterans. I bet he

275
00:12:55,160 --> 00:12:56,920
Speaker 1: plays a lot. I mean, I bet he's on the

276
00:12:56,920 --> 00:13:00,920
Speaker 1: field quite a bit and proving are you an NFL slot?

277
00:13:00,960 --> 00:13:03,680
Speaker 1: Are you our NFL slot or or is it still

278
00:13:03,840 --> 00:13:05,360
Speaker 1: a position to worry about.

279
00:13:05,559 --> 00:13:07,240
Speaker 2: I mean, he's he's been a guy and I think

280
00:13:07,240 --> 00:13:10,040
Speaker 2: people were overlooking him a little bit, who's played a lot,

281
00:13:10,040 --> 00:13:11,760
Speaker 2: who's played a lot of snap celes three or four

282
00:13:11,840 --> 00:13:16,160
Speaker 2: years in the NFL. Yeah, he's an NFL slot cornerback. Now.

283
00:13:16,280 --> 00:13:20,080
Speaker 2: Is he the best NFL slot cornerback. Probably not, yeah,

284
00:13:20,120 --> 00:13:23,880
Speaker 2: but he's done it for NFL slot cornerback yeah yeah.

285
00:13:24,000 --> 00:13:28,400
Speaker 2: And much like regular you know, the outside cornerbacks, those

286
00:13:28,400 --> 00:13:31,000
Speaker 2: things tend to fluctuate from year to year as well.

287
00:13:32,040 --> 00:13:33,880
Speaker 2: You know, you hear you know, it wasn't all that

288
00:13:34,040 --> 00:13:37,520
Speaker 2: long ago that you know, the guy who was considered

289
00:13:37,559 --> 00:13:40,400
Speaker 2: one of the topest slot cornerbacks in the league and

290
00:13:40,440 --> 00:13:42,920
Speaker 2: two years later is like, well, he's just a guy now.

291
00:13:43,240 --> 00:13:46,080
Speaker 2: Because it's just that's cornerback position in general.

292
00:13:46,800 --> 00:13:50,440
Speaker 1: And slots in particular don't have a lot of longevity.

293
00:13:50,480 --> 00:13:53,280
Speaker 1: They're usually smaller dudes that get beat up bad. You know,

294
00:13:53,320 --> 00:13:55,800
Speaker 1: they started there. A lot of them are late round

295
00:13:55,800 --> 00:13:58,000
Speaker 1: picks that started their career in special teams getting beat

296
00:13:58,080 --> 00:13:59,800
Speaker 1: up and then they're new the line of scrimmage. Like

297
00:14:00,120 --> 00:14:03,800
Speaker 1: that's kind of a not for long position too. The

298
00:14:03,880 --> 00:14:06,439
Speaker 1: other guys that are kind of interesting too are there's

299
00:14:06,520 --> 00:14:08,480
Speaker 1: dudes that are kind of like out of sight, out

300
00:14:08,480 --> 00:14:10,880
Speaker 1: of mind that I'm sure a lot of our listeners,

301
00:14:11,200 --> 00:14:14,360
Speaker 1: maybe rightfully so, have written off as you know, having

302
00:14:14,400 --> 00:14:17,560
Speaker 1: successful careers like Kendrick Green comes to the mind as

303
00:14:17,600 --> 00:14:21,119
Speaker 1: the poster boy for that. Oh yeah, well he's probably

304
00:14:21,160 --> 00:14:23,960
Speaker 1: the number two center, don't you think in terms of

305
00:14:24,000 --> 00:14:27,120
Speaker 1: when camp breaks. I know others can do it, but

306
00:14:27,160 --> 00:14:29,480
Speaker 1: if you're a number two at a position where there's

307
00:14:29,480 --> 00:14:32,880
Speaker 1: already established vet, he can get a lot of opportunities

308
00:14:32,920 --> 00:14:34,280
Speaker 1: to show if.

309
00:14:34,200 --> 00:14:36,440
Speaker 3: He belongs or not. Probably for the last time, but

310
00:14:36,520 --> 00:14:38,680
Speaker 3: I mean, it's it's a huge camp for him.

311
00:14:39,040 --> 00:14:40,520
Speaker 2: It is a huge camp for him. And I actually

312
00:14:40,520 --> 00:14:42,360
Speaker 2: talked to him at the end of Mini camp on

313
00:14:42,400 --> 00:14:43,880
Speaker 2: the last day of Mini camp, and I talked to

314
00:14:43,920 --> 00:14:47,680
Speaker 2: him about that how he is kind of when I

315
00:14:47,720 --> 00:14:49,920
Speaker 2: was talking with Pat Meyer, the offensive line coach, that

316
00:14:50,000 --> 00:14:52,080
Speaker 2: was one thing that he brought up that Kendrick Green

317
00:14:52,160 --> 00:14:56,680
Speaker 2: has embraced playing center. If you remember a year ago

318
00:14:56,720 --> 00:14:59,440
Speaker 2: at this time, that wasn't the case where he was like, yeah,

319
00:14:59,560 --> 00:15:01,480
Speaker 2: I didn't really he loved playing center. Last year I

320
00:15:01,560 --> 00:15:03,800
Speaker 2: kind of got forced into it. Well, I think now

321
00:15:03,840 --> 00:15:06,280
Speaker 2: he realizes, hey, this is my path to making it

322
00:15:06,320 --> 00:15:09,240
Speaker 2: in the NFL. You know, he's got a he's got

323
00:15:09,240 --> 00:15:11,560
Speaker 2: a guy in front of him who's a may not

324
00:15:11,640 --> 00:15:14,960
Speaker 2: be the most talented player in the NFL in his position,

325
00:15:15,400 --> 00:15:18,280
Speaker 2: but he's but he's a smart player at that pig.

326
00:15:19,040 --> 00:15:21,320
Speaker 2: And so that he's learning. You know, you take that

327
00:15:21,400 --> 00:15:24,320
Speaker 2: and you learn from it, and you know, maybe Kendrick

328
00:15:24,360 --> 00:15:26,000
Speaker 2: Green is still your center of the future.

329
00:15:26,760 --> 00:15:29,080
Speaker 3: I think that's not insane to say. I mean, like,

330
00:15:29,120 --> 00:15:30,720
Speaker 3: I'm up betting on it. I love them.

331
00:15:30,720 --> 00:15:33,520
Speaker 1: Coming out of school, he had not played well at all.

332
00:15:33,640 --> 00:15:35,800
Speaker 1: I'm sure no one will tell you he did. But

333
00:15:35,840 --> 00:15:38,200
Speaker 1: I'm just I think there's another chapter there, whether it's

334
00:15:38,200 --> 00:15:40,680
Speaker 1: an ugly chapter or a good chapter, and we're going

335
00:15:40,760 --> 00:15:43,800
Speaker 1: to see it this week, I mean next week mostly.

336
00:15:43,840 --> 00:15:45,120
Speaker 3: But he's he I would think.

337
00:15:45,040 --> 00:15:49,560
Speaker 1: He's out there a lot and back to embracing center. Good,

338
00:15:49,920 --> 00:15:52,400
Speaker 1: that's exactly what you want to hear. But considering the

339
00:15:52,440 --> 00:15:56,120
Speaker 1: guards on this team, yeah, a whole lot of choice.

340
00:15:56,360 --> 00:15:58,960
Speaker 2: Well, and that's that, And I think that's what you realize.

341
00:15:59,480 --> 00:16:01,960
Speaker 2: You know, the you come into the league and you're

342
00:16:02,000 --> 00:16:05,440
Speaker 2: basically thrust into a starting spot and it wasn't what

343
00:16:05,480 --> 00:16:07,680
Speaker 2: you wanted. Then you then you get an opportunity. Last year,

344
00:16:07,680 --> 00:16:09,120
Speaker 2: if you remember last year, at this time, he was

345
00:16:09,160 --> 00:16:13,400
Speaker 2: competing at guard with Kevin, with Kevin Dotson, didn't really

346
00:16:13,400 --> 00:16:15,480
Speaker 2: you have to play center at all. Well, now you

347
00:16:15,520 --> 00:16:17,080
Speaker 2: see what they did. They bring in all these guards.

348
00:16:17,120 --> 00:16:18,440
Speaker 2: You're like, Okay, if I want to make this team,

349
00:16:18,480 --> 00:16:21,160
Speaker 2: if I want to stick in the NFL, it's got

350
00:16:21,200 --> 00:16:23,440
Speaker 2: to be at center. I gotta, I gotta, I gotta

351
00:16:23,440 --> 00:16:24,040
Speaker 2: buy into this.

352
00:16:25,280 --> 00:16:29,640
Speaker 1: And Cole is established smart, quality player. But if I'm green,

353
00:16:29,680 --> 00:16:31,240
Speaker 1: I can also look at it like, if I can

354
00:16:31,280 --> 00:16:34,440
Speaker 1: stick as the two right now, this guy is not

355
00:16:34,520 --> 00:16:36,640
Speaker 1: the hardest guy for me to get past to become

356
00:16:36,800 --> 00:16:37,840
Speaker 1: a SAT you know, the starter.

357
00:16:38,160 --> 00:16:39,480
Speaker 2: Well, that's the thing I mean. If you look at

358
00:16:39,480 --> 00:16:42,880
Speaker 2: Mason Cole's career path, he's played he's played guard, he's

359
00:16:42,920 --> 00:16:45,280
Speaker 2: played center. When the Steelers signed him, he said, I

360
00:16:45,320 --> 00:16:47,560
Speaker 2: see myself as a center. That's that's the position I

361
00:16:47,560 --> 00:16:50,160
Speaker 2: want to play. Yeah, you know, so I think he

362
00:16:50,240 --> 00:16:52,560
Speaker 2: embraced that. You know, he could say, no, I think

363
00:16:52,600 --> 00:16:55,880
Speaker 2: I'm a guard. I want to play guard, you know, so.

364
00:16:55,840 --> 00:16:57,880
Speaker 3: I And it's different.

365
00:16:57,920 --> 00:17:00,800
Speaker 1: When you're drafted, you're gonna go where they put you,

366
00:17:01,040 --> 00:17:02,720
Speaker 1: and no matter what, they're gonna go where you put you.

367
00:17:02,760 --> 00:17:05,200
Speaker 3: But when you're drafted, you don't pick your team. Now.

368
00:17:05,240 --> 00:17:07,080
Speaker 1: I don't know how many people were banging on Mason

369
00:17:07,080 --> 00:17:09,800
Speaker 1: Cole's door, but there was more than one, I'm sure,

370
00:17:10,200 --> 00:17:11,800
Speaker 1: and I'm sure he picked the one where he had

371
00:17:11,800 --> 00:17:14,080
Speaker 1: the best chance to be a center, you know, Like,

372
00:17:14,240 --> 00:17:16,600
Speaker 1: I know, I'm better at center, I'm more comfortable at center.

373
00:17:16,880 --> 00:17:18,840
Speaker 1: I want to go to a team not as a

374
00:17:18,840 --> 00:17:19,960
Speaker 1: swing guy. I want to go and.

375
00:17:19,880 --> 00:17:22,399
Speaker 3: Compete for a starting center job, you know. Yeah.

376
00:17:22,440 --> 00:17:24,159
Speaker 2: So, I mean there's there's a lot of stuff that

377
00:17:24,240 --> 00:17:26,879
Speaker 2: has to be settled here with this team. So it's

378
00:17:26,880 --> 00:17:28,600
Speaker 2: gonna be it's gonna be an interesting camp. It's gonna

379
00:17:28,640 --> 00:17:31,080
Speaker 2: be a fun camp. And I think, to me, the

380
00:17:31,119 --> 00:17:36,560
Speaker 2: most important thing, you know, the first forty five roster

381
00:17:36,680 --> 00:17:38,520
Speaker 2: spots are pretty set.

382
00:17:39,200 --> 00:17:41,760
Speaker 1: Yeah, one of them will get hurt or something like that.

383
00:17:42,280 --> 00:17:46,159
Speaker 2: But those last eight spots, the competition there this year. Mhm,

384
00:17:46,680 --> 00:17:49,720
Speaker 2: the Steelers are going to be cutting NFL dudes. Yeah,

385
00:17:51,040 --> 00:17:52,600
Speaker 2: They're going to be a team that teams are going

386
00:17:52,680 --> 00:17:55,680
Speaker 2: to be calling when it comes time for those final cuts.

387
00:17:55,720 --> 00:18:00,439
Speaker 2: Hey we need we need a guard and you have

388
00:18:00,520 --> 00:18:04,320
Speaker 2: five of them that are the NFL starting experience, or

389
00:18:04,440 --> 00:18:07,399
Speaker 2: you know, we'd like to get a receiver here, and

390
00:18:07,720 --> 00:18:09,359
Speaker 2: you know, you've got some guys there that we might

391
00:18:09,400 --> 00:18:11,240
Speaker 2: be able to use, or you've got you know, maybe

392
00:18:11,240 --> 00:18:13,639
Speaker 2: it's a tight end or whatever whatever it may be

393
00:18:13,760 --> 00:18:16,640
Speaker 2: the Steelers have. Maybe it's a cornerback, maybe a guy

394
00:18:16,680 --> 00:18:18,840
Speaker 2: like James Rudall. I mean, who know, You're right, Yeah,

395
00:18:18,840 --> 00:18:21,119
Speaker 2: they've got they've got an excess at a lot of

396
00:18:21,160 --> 00:18:24,440
Speaker 2: different spots. And that that that fifty three man roster

397
00:18:24,520 --> 00:18:27,080
Speaker 2: cut is going to be a difficult one if everybody

398
00:18:27,080 --> 00:18:27,720
Speaker 2: stays healthy.

399
00:18:28,280 --> 00:18:30,800
Speaker 1: Yeah, And I lump these three players together a lot too.

400
00:18:30,960 --> 00:18:35,199
Speaker 1: And in the Kendrick Green, mold Louder Milk Norwood and

401
00:18:35,280 --> 00:18:40,119
Speaker 1: Kendrick Green. Now they're all career crossroads after being drafted

402
00:18:40,119 --> 00:18:43,320
Speaker 1: at the same time. I bet two of the three.

403
00:18:43,440 --> 00:18:46,360
Speaker 1: Don't go away gently through the night and just roll over,

404
00:18:46,480 --> 00:18:47,760
Speaker 1: you know what I mean. They're going to do everything

405
00:18:47,800 --> 00:18:51,000
Speaker 1: possible to keep a roster spot and that the line

406
00:18:51,080 --> 00:18:53,520
Speaker 1: room's really deep. You know, we talked about the corner

407
00:18:53,560 --> 00:18:56,560
Speaker 1: secondary group. Pretty deep, you know, really deep o line.

408
00:18:56,680 --> 00:18:59,159
Speaker 1: So how do you keep those guys if they do

409
00:18:59,720 --> 00:19:00,440
Speaker 1: turn the corn?

410
00:19:00,920 --> 00:19:02,600
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's gonna be They's gonna be a lot of fun.

411
00:19:03,280 --> 00:19:06,119
Speaker 2: He is Matt Williamson. I am Dale, Lolly. We're getting

412
00:19:06,160 --> 00:19:08,840
Speaker 2: you ready here for Steelers' training camp twenty twenty three.

413
00:19:09,320 --> 00:19:11,159
Speaker 2: We'll be back with more right after this