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Speaker 1: This is the Drive with Dale Lolly and Matt Williamson

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Speaker 1: on Home of the Black and Gold Steelers Nation Radio.

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Speaker 1: Welcome to the Drive. I'm Dale Allly. He is Matt Williamson,

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Speaker 1: and it is a Friday. It's championship game weekend Friday

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Speaker 1: here in Pittsburgh. Of course, the Steelers not taking part

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Speaker 1: in that this year, but we did hear from as

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Speaker 1: team president Aren't Rooney the Second on Thursday. I was

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Speaker 1: there and so was our guest, Bob Labriola, Editor Steelers Digest,

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Speaker 1: Steelers dot Com and team historian. Did I get all

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Speaker 1: the titles in there? Bob grand about that? Yeah? And

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Speaker 1: I'm you know, I'm chief water carrier for the drive.

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Speaker 1: There you go, There you go. Bob Arn't had a

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Speaker 1: lot to say yesterday, as he typically does uh at

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Speaker 1: his season ending press conference, but much of the focus

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Speaker 1: of the questions was regarding the team's offense and where

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Speaker 1: the direction that it's that is heading, and he sounded

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Speaker 1: pretty optimistic about it. Yeah. I mean, I've been to

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Speaker 1: a lot of these and you know what I have

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Speaker 1: come to learn is that, you know, Art Rooney the

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Speaker 1: Second is not going to really be really definitive or

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Speaker 1: aggressive or you know, any of those kinds of things

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Speaker 1: in this UM season ending press conference. I mean, he will,

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Speaker 1: you know, he'll answer some questions, UM, you know, lay

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Speaker 1: out some things. But you know, there's not a there's

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Speaker 1: not a whole lot of definitive statements made, ultimatums given

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Speaker 1: uh direction revealed in terms of specifics. So you know,

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Speaker 1: in in my opinion, it was, it was somewhat of

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Speaker 1: a typical UH season ending thing. I also think though

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Speaker 1: that in addition to expressing some optimism, you know about

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Speaker 1: how the season turned out after the way it started,

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Speaker 1: you know, there were some subtle, um I will call

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Speaker 1: them Mark rooney ish kind of demands revealed. UH. And

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Speaker 1: you know the one that you know sticks in my

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Speaker 1: mind is I think it was my pursuit who asked

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Speaker 1: the question something about you know, UH, usually you kind

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Speaker 1: of chart the course at this this session, UH, do

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Speaker 1: you have anything in mind for that uh this coming season?

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Speaker 1: And he said, score more points? And so you know

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Speaker 1: that to me the same thing as when he said

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Speaker 1: one year, we need to change the way that Ben

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Speaker 1: plays a little bit, uh to lengthen his career. Another

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Speaker 1: time he said, you know, we need to be able

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Speaker 1: to run the ball better. We need to fortify the

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Speaker 1: back end of our defense. That was the off season

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Speaker 1: before the Mink of Fitzpatrick trade. So you know, there's

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Speaker 1: there's little things like that, um, that are kind of

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Speaker 1: dropped in there. So yeah, I think that there's a

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Speaker 1: there's a there's a little bit for everyone. I mean,

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Speaker 1: if you want to come out of it thinking that, um,

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Speaker 1: you know, Art was extremely optimistic about the future based

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Speaker 1: on the second half of the season. Sure you didn't

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Speaker 1: there's enough for that, um, but you know, I'm looking

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Speaker 1: I look at it in its totality, and he dropped

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Speaker 1: a couple of things in there that in my mind,

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Speaker 1: those are things that um without saying, without making an ultimatum,

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Speaker 1: if they don't happen, um, you know, uh, it'll be

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Speaker 1: a totally different conversation one calendar year from today. Oh. Absolutely.

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Speaker 1: The one time that he did make a statement that

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Speaker 1: was pretty uh straightforward was when I asked him about

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Speaker 1: the potential for UH neutral site Chant Conference championship games

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Speaker 1: and he said, one, I hate it. Hate it. That's

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Speaker 1: pretty strong, yeah, and you know, and then he followed

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Speaker 1: it up with which you know, to me was significant too. UM,

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Speaker 1: I don't think it could pass a vote now yeah, well,

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Speaker 1: but you know there's a lot of um, there's a

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Speaker 1: lot of things. You know, Art's dad once told me,

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Speaker 1: you know, when the question has ever, why answer his money?

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Speaker 1: And you know, I've read some things about how the

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Speaker 1: league could monetize uh these neutral site play our neutral

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Speaker 1: site championship games. You know that that they'll do what

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Speaker 1: the n c a A did with the Bowl games.

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Speaker 1: You know, it'll become the pool pool on weed eater

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Speaker 1: NFC championship game. Well, nothing stopping them from doing those

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Speaker 1: those kind of things now, well than the fact that

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Speaker 1: they don't know where the game's gonna be held at. Well,

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Speaker 1: but you know there may be some other um you

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Speaker 1: know ties uh you know, and would would a sponsor

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Speaker 1: want to pay the big money if it's in you know,

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Speaker 1: because if it's Buffalo, it's high Mark Stadium. So it

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Speaker 1: can't be the pool and weed eater a f C

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Speaker 1: championship game because you have to say it's at high

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Speaker 1: Mark Stadium and that's there. You know, that's their thing.

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Speaker 1: So um, I'm not saying that couldn't do it. I

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Speaker 1: just don't think it's a company a business would be

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Speaker 1: willing to pay as much money if they're sharing that

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Speaker 1: kind of um top billing so to speak with another

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Speaker 1: company or more so you can do that. Uh. And

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Speaker 1: the other thing I heard was they could turn it

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Speaker 1: into kind of like the tickets. They could take over

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Speaker 1: the tickets and um kind of do what they do

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Speaker 1: with the Super Bowl. You could say, go to a

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Speaker 1: company and I'm just picking somebody out of that. You know,

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Speaker 1: I'm sitting here. I'm sitting here pretending I'm deal Long

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Speaker 1: Coke here, I got my diet coke here. So you

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Speaker 1: can go to Cameron Coke, or you can go to

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Speaker 1: Coca Cola and say, Okay, we're gonna if you want

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Speaker 1: to do this deal with us marketing deal uh in

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Speaker 1: the future, we will give you as part of what

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Speaker 1: we're going to give you in in terms in return

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Speaker 1: for the money. If you're gonna give us, We're gonna

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Speaker 1: give you a block of tickets, um between the forty

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Speaker 1: yard lines. Yeah, you know that those kinds of things

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Speaker 1: definitely financial advantages. But oh yeah, but trying to trying

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Speaker 1: to get the the cities where that will never get

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Speaker 1: an opportunity to host those games you mentioned Buffalo, Pittsburgh, Cleveland,

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Speaker 1: Green Bay. They're not. They're not going to give those cities,

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Speaker 1: those cold weather cities, presumably an opportunity to host those games.

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Speaker 1: There's no reason other than pure financials to to vote

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Speaker 1: for that. And if you're Pittsburgh or Green Bay or

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Speaker 1: you know, one of the New England places that regularly

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Speaker 1: host a FC championships or NFC championships, you're not going

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Speaker 1: to give up that, right. Oh, I agree with you,

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Speaker 1: But I'm saying that there are enough others. I mean

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Speaker 1: there's thirty two, um, and I'm sure you know Atlanta

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Speaker 1: will be all four, Dallas will be all for it

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Speaker 1: because they're gonna get the opportunity to host it. Whereas

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Speaker 1: the cities that that have no chance. Uh, you're not

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Speaker 1: getting my vote on that. Why would I give up

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Speaker 1: the chance? I mean you, we've you and I have

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Speaker 1: covered enough conference championship games over the year years, Bob

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Speaker 1: to know exactly what those means to the city, to

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Speaker 1: the fans, to the franchise that why would you give

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Speaker 1: that up? I don't want to Again, I'm not predicting them, yeah,

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Speaker 1: I know, yeah, I'm just saying how they could try

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Speaker 1: to sell it to ownership, and you know, you start

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Speaker 1: dangling that money out there. Don't tell me there's not

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Speaker 1: going to be people. There will definitely be some. Yeah,

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Speaker 1: absolutely absolutely, But getting those other teams to to follow

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Speaker 1: along with because you need twenty four votes, I don't

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Speaker 1: know if that's gonna happen. In terms of uh Art,

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Speaker 1: Rooney's explanation on why when he was asked, you know

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Speaker 1: about MC Canada, why he was brought back? Uh and

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Speaker 1: he mentioned, you know, the team obviously playing better down

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Speaker 1: the stretch, and then he mentioned the continuity in the

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Speaker 1: relationship with Kenny Pickett. How important did you believe Do

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Speaker 1: you believe that part of that was, Um, it's a

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Speaker 1: I think it was a factor. I don't know how

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Speaker 1: much of a factor. Uh, But you know I and

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Speaker 1: you know, I don't want to say that it's meaningless

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Speaker 1: because I don't really know enough about you know, what

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Speaker 1: is what goes into learning an offense? Um, what the

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Speaker 1: chan changing of an offense would do, UM to not

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Speaker 1: only the quarterback, but you know, the other players. Because

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Speaker 1: I don't think you know Kenny Pickett, he doesn't come

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Speaker 1: across to me as a guy that would have trouble learning.

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Speaker 1: But there's more than him. There's a lot of other

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Speaker 1: guys too that have to you know, learn, and you know,

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Speaker 1: the offensive lineman are young. Uh. I remember talking to

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Speaker 1: Max Starks. This was last year and he was explaining

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Speaker 1: to me, you know, this was when uh, you know

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Speaker 1: the Mad Canada offense quote unquote with the motion And

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Speaker 1: one of the things that Max Starks pointed out to me,

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Speaker 1: which I had no idea, he said that every time

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Speaker 1: the motion man crosses the center, the blocking assignments change.

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Speaker 1: So if it's one of those plays where you know,

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Speaker 1: the guy comes across and turns around and goes back,

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Speaker 1: that's two different uh, you know, blocking assignments or blocking

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Speaker 1: whatever the calls have to be to the offensive linement adjustments.

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Speaker 1: And then okay, so that's just one thing that's and

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Speaker 1: that's assuming the defense doesn't move. What if they start moving?

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Speaker 1: Now you've got guys, you know who who am I

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Speaker 1: blocking now? And so you know, if if you go

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Speaker 1: to something new, how does that impact those guys? I

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Speaker 1: mean those guys now, um are starting to look like

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Speaker 1: a competent unit. I mean, I'm not saying that that

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Speaker 1: that offensive line is a finished product or any of

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Speaker 1: that stuff, but you know, I do think that it's

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Speaker 1: pretty inarguable that the unit was a lot better at

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Speaker 1: the end of the year than it was at the

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Speaker 1: beginning of the year, even at the buy. So you know,

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Speaker 1: there's something there that I think you want to continue

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Speaker 1: to nurture as well. So you know, again, I don't

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Speaker 1: know enough about what the Matt Canada offense even is

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Speaker 1: UM to know what what what what the positives positives

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Speaker 1: of it are, what the negatives of it could be

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Speaker 1: if you're changing it. UM. But again, I don't think

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Speaker 1: it matters because let's go back to the first one.

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Speaker 1: Score more points. Because if I don't score more points,

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Speaker 1: and it's not gonna matter because a year from now,

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Speaker 1: the conversation is going to be totally different. And UM,

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Speaker 1: and if anyone including that Canada believes that they could

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Speaker 1: go the Steelers are that the Steelers president is willing

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Speaker 1: to go through another season where one time out of

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Speaker 1: seventeen games, UM, the offense scores three touchdowns in a game.

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Speaker 1: He's delusional. They're delusional. It's just not I mean, it's

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Speaker 1: not It's not gonna happen. So you know this is UM.

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Speaker 1: I don't know. I don't know how to again, I

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Speaker 1: don't I'm trying not to um. You know, but this

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Speaker 1: isn't it's not like a lifetime mandate business. I mean

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Speaker 1: it is right. He's not a federal judge, which means,

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Speaker 1: you know, he has a job as long as he

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Speaker 1: wants it or until he dies. So UM, you know,

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Speaker 1: this is a as Jerry Glanville says, you know, NFL

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Speaker 1: stands for not for long um. And so everybody's got

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Speaker 1: to produce now moving forward, and if they don't, um,

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Speaker 1: there will be consequences. LABS even this year, could you

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Speaker 1: see a senior offensive assistant or passing game coordinator or

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Speaker 1: whatever the heck you want to call it from outside

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Speaker 1: the organization being added to the staff. I think it's

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Speaker 1: a possibility. I think there are gonna be some things

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Speaker 1: that have to fall in the right way because right now,

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Speaker 1: well yeah, and you know, let's let's remember that, uh,

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Speaker 1: there was no plan to bring in Brian Flores. I

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Speaker 1: mean that happened, that was half right, and so I

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Speaker 1: think it's gonna have to be something similar, and whoever

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Speaker 1: it is is going to have to be, you know,

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Speaker 1: a Brian Flores type. And I don't mean, you know,

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Speaker 1: a guy completely overqualified for the job that you're offering him,

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Speaker 1: but also someone a who is willing to accept it,

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Speaker 1: wants to fit in, and that they believe will be

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Speaker 1: a good fit and can help. And if those things,

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Speaker 1: you know, fall into place, I think it's a possibility.

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Speaker 1: Because this is my own opinion, I don't think Brian

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Speaker 1: he's gonna get a head coaching job. I really do. Um. So, uh,

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Speaker 1: there's you know again, it worked out pretty good last year.

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Speaker 1: I think they're willing to do it again again if

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Speaker 1: it's you know, you don't want to hire or you

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Speaker 1: don't want to hire the Legarrett blunt um kind of coach,

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Speaker 1: you know what I mean. You don't want somebody coming

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Speaker 1: in and just using it as a one year or

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Speaker 1: trying to use it the better, you know, brand No,

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Speaker 1: I hear you on that one for sure. In terms

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Speaker 1: of what do you think will qualify as tangible you know, uh,

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Speaker 1: production increases. Is it based strictly on the points or

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Speaker 1: is it about wins as well? We're both development, yeah,

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Speaker 1: or quarterback development, things of that nature, all things that

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Speaker 1: I think all that's tied in. I mean, I don't

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Speaker 1: think that you can have a season that ends with

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Speaker 1: what would be perceived as uh good to significant development

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Speaker 1: of the quarterback and score like you were scoring this year.

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Speaker 1: I mean, you can run the ball for three thousand

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Speaker 1: yards zone next year and and you know the quarterback

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Speaker 1: doesn't really progress. I mean that's see, that's that's uh,

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Speaker 1: that's not real. It's not they're not gonna run for

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Speaker 1: three things. They're not gonna that's not gonna happen. Well,

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Speaker 1: I mean the average at six over nine games this year.

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Speaker 1: I'm no mathematician, but if they do that over the

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Speaker 1: course of seventeen games, you're looking at yards. But that's

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Speaker 1: again that's that's you know, score more points if if

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Speaker 1: they if they're red. He also mentioned the red zone

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Speaker 1: on he did, yes, okay, so they run for um

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Speaker 1: yards or whatever you were saying. Uh, and there twenty

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Speaker 1: nine in the league in red zone offense. There's still

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Speaker 1: not scoring touchdowns. And again I don't think that that's

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Speaker 1: gonna be good enough. Um, I just don't. Um. But

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Speaker 1: you know, by the same token, if they go, if

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Speaker 1: they win eleven or twelve games playing that way, they

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Speaker 1: take their red paint and they paint the barn red.

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Speaker 1: I don't think you can you know, the Steelers aren't

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Speaker 1: that kind of a team. You know, I just don't

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Speaker 1: see um with with the defense that they have. Now,

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Speaker 1: let's you know, look, let's look at that unit too.

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Speaker 1: I mean, you think that that unit is gonna be

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Speaker 1: holding teams where you can, you can be twenty eight

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Speaker 1: or twenty nine in the league in scoring and win

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Speaker 1: twelve or thirteen games. I don't. I mean, the successful

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Speaker 1: teams are the ones to score points. Yeah, and a

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Speaker 1: lot of it. You know. I think that, um, you know,

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Speaker 1: a lot of what you're gonna need for your defense

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Speaker 1: next year is an offense that doesn't make it that

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Speaker 1: that gives the defense a little bit of more of

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Speaker 1: a margin for air. I mean, you can't be playing

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Speaker 1: games where you know, a field goal and you lose,

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Speaker 1: you know, giving up seven or ten points in the

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Speaker 1: second half and you're done. Uh. So, you know, I

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Speaker 1: just I think that UM creating these scenarios. Um, you're

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Speaker 1: just creating scenarios. I just don't think it's real. Uh.

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Speaker 1: And So at the end of it, at the end

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Speaker 1: of this, I think that the offense is going to

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Speaker 1: have to improve, The quarterback is gonna have to develop more,

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Speaker 1: and it's gonna have to score more points for the

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Speaker 1: team to be successful enough to get into the playoffs.

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Speaker 1: So just looking at the offensive players, it's rare in

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Speaker 1: an offseason for any team to have basically bring back

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Speaker 1: the entire group. I mean there's nobody hitting free agency

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Speaker 1: of major consequence. All these guys are young. That's, of

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Speaker 1: course is by design. What more do you need to

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Speaker 1: add to that if it's up to you, Well, I

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Speaker 1: think you know there are places you just need to

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Speaker 1: get better. Um. You know, I'm to me, Uh, we can.

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Speaker 1: We can talk about the development of the offensive line

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Speaker 1: and how it's involved in everything, but it's not a

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Speaker 1: finished product. I mean not zero snaps to injury too.

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Speaker 1: They didn't that, Yeah, and how is how real is

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Speaker 1: that for two years in a row? Uh? So you

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Speaker 1: know that group has to get better. UM. I don't

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Speaker 1: know that the receivers are good enough just to say

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Speaker 1: we're gonna stand fat with what we have. UM. I

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Speaker 1: think the running backs are a nice You have your

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Speaker 1: one two punch and that's a nice little situation you

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Speaker 1: have there. But if you know, does Zach Gentry leaves,

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Speaker 1: that's your end of the line blocker right there. I

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Speaker 1: don't know that you know, Connor Heyward's a nice player

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Speaker 1: and everything, but I don't think a guy of his

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Speaker 1: size you can put him on the end like that

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Speaker 1: and say block Calais Campbell. Maybe it happens every now

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Speaker 1: and then, um, but I don't think you can get

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Speaker 1: away with that on a on a regular you know,

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Speaker 1: as a part of a regular diet. So whether or not,

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Speaker 1: right now, there are obvious changes in personnel, uh, either

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Speaker 1: m visible or clear or not. Um. Again, there's nothing

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Speaker 1: about the Steelers roster where I'm looking at that saying Okay,

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Speaker 1: you don't have to worry about this position. They're good

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Speaker 1: to go here now. I hear you on that, Bob.

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Speaker 1: I'm just throwing stuff out there to find out your

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Speaker 1: opinion on these things. So I understand. Yeah, I mean

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Speaker 1: this is and this is the time to do this.

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Speaker 1: But you know, I just and what fans sometimes and

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Speaker 1: some people in the media, um, you know, they get

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Speaker 1: too enamored with the looking at this maybe as a

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Speaker 1: video game, because you know, like Matt said about the

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Speaker 1: the the availability of all the offensive lineman through seventeen

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Speaker 1: games at right, it's just not real. Um, you got

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Speaker 1: they were extremely lucky that had happened this time, all

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Speaker 1: the lineman played at least of the snaps that's almost

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Speaker 1: unheard of. Three of them didn't. And I don't. And

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Speaker 1: while you know, you can look at the two tackles

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Speaker 1: and say, um, okay, you know there there are some

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Speaker 1: good things about both Dan Moore Jr. And chokes Core

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Speaker 1: for but I mean, seriously, um, they're just guys right now.

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Speaker 1: I think I don't think there's an offensive lineman on

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Speaker 1: that first five who would be described by scouts as

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Speaker 1: something more than just a guy. I mean, none of

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Speaker 1: them are, in my opinion, threats to make the Pro Bowl,

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Speaker 1: let alone all Pro. I mean that to me is

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Speaker 1: just would be a ridiculous bar to expect them to clear. Uh.

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Speaker 1: And I don't know that you can have a group

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Speaker 1: if you're if you want to contend for a championship.

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Speaker 1: I don't know that you can have a starting offensive

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Speaker 1: line where none of them are threats to make the

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Speaker 1: Pro Bowl or All Pro unless you have a defense

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Speaker 1: like the two thousand and eight stealers and set an

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Speaker 1: NFL or tie an NFL record by holding the first

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Speaker 1: thirteen or fourteen teams on your schedule to fewer than

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Speaker 1: three total yards of offense, and again, I don't think

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Speaker 1: that this group has that in it. Uh. And the

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Speaker 1: way the game is officiated and legislated, now, um, I

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Speaker 1: don't think you can expect the defense to be that

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Speaker 1: kind of dominant. But then you get the quarterback saying,

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Speaker 1: who's laughing? Now? Offensive line? That's right exactly and that's

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Speaker 1: you know, um, but I mean anybody who thinks you know,

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Speaker 1: and that's that's the thing about that Super Bowl too,

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Speaker 1: was everybody remembers that last drive. You know, my recollection

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Speaker 1: is the Steelers were one for four in the red zone,

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Speaker 1: I think one for three in gold to go situations. Yeah,

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Speaker 1: that was that was not one of um, you know

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Speaker 1: Bruce Arian's greatest moments that I mean, he gets a

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Speaker 1: lot of credit for that turned out right, James Harrison

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Speaker 1: scored seven of those points exactly. Uh. You could uh

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Speaker 1: subscribe to the Mike Tomlin game Day podcast in the season,

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Speaker 1: and you want to do that because you get to

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Speaker 1: hear the guy we're talking to. Bob Labriola talked to

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Speaker 1: head coach Mike Tomlin about each upcoming game. Of course

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Speaker 1: that we won't have one of those for a while,

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Speaker 1: but new episodes do drop on every game day, Bob.

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Speaker 1: I know you have a lot of fun doing those

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Speaker 1: every They're very well listened to, and they're all available

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Speaker 1: on the Steelers Mobile app, the I Heart Radio app,

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Speaker 1: and wherever you can get your podcasts. And uh, Bob

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Speaker 1: does a great job of quizzing Mike Tomlin not just

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Speaker 1: about the upcoming opponent, but about things that are going

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Speaker 1: on around the league as well. And I think Mike's

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Speaker 1: very candid with you in a lot of those situations. Yeah,

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Speaker 1: and that's that's one of the things I wanted to

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Speaker 1: point up. Thank you for the very kind words, But

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Speaker 1: I mean it's called the Mike Tomlins Show for a reason.

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Speaker 1: I mean seriously, Uh, he is extremely open, candid, uh

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Speaker 1: and willing to expound on a lot of things that

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Speaker 1: you know, otherwise he might not be interested in addressing

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Speaker 1: in in a in a large press conference kind of situation.

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Speaker 1: And uh, yeah, I learned a lot to h to

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Speaker 1: be quite honest, there there are things that I asked

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Speaker 1: him rules, um, you know, those kind of things, some history, uh,

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Speaker 1: that he is able to you know, put into perspective

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Speaker 1: or explain that. You know. It just helps me when

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Speaker 1: I'm watching the games or to understand the sport. Well,

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Speaker 1: that's why that's a must listen on every game day,

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Speaker 1: so I check that out when we get around the

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Speaker 1: next season. We're gonna let Bob go here. Matt and

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Speaker 1: I are going to take a break as well. I'm

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Speaker 1: Dale Ali. He is Matt Williamson. You're listening to the Drive.

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Speaker 1: Our guests has been Bob Larbigola, editor of Steelers Digests,

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Speaker 1: Stealers dot com and the team historian, and Graham puba

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Speaker 1: of all things Steelers. We do appreciate your time, Bob.

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Speaker 1: I'll talk to you soon. Sure. Thanks thanks for having me.

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Speaker 1: We'll be back with more on the Drive right after

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Speaker 1: this