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

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Speaker 1: on your twenty four to seven home of the Black

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Speaker 1: and Gold Steelers Nation Radio.

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Speaker 2: Welcome to the Drive. I'm Dale LOLLI he is Matt Williamson,

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Speaker 2: and it is a Wednesday. It feels like it's like

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Speaker 2: a Friday to meet you. Still still recovering a little

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Speaker 2: bit here.

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Speaker 3: I think the team doesn't feel the same way.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, well, I mean they're back at it today. In fact,

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Speaker 2: they're on the practice field now. They went with the

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Speaker 2: same practice schedule that they had last week, so that

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Speaker 2: the Steelers are on the field from three to five today.

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Speaker 2: What they did last week, Yeah, what they did worked

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Speaker 2: and why not do it again? And the week set

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Speaker 2: itself up like they were playing a Monday night game

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Speaker 2: kind of. Yeah, they got back a little bit earlier

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Speaker 2: than Tuesday morning, but not much.

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Speaker 3: Not much.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, so we'll see how this goes. Matt. I've been

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Speaker 2: digging into this Houston Texans team, and sure, I gotta

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Speaker 2: say I'm not all that impressed that.

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Speaker 3: I'm not either, you know, like if I was a

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Speaker 3: Houston fan for the first time and forever, I'd be optimistic.

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Speaker 3: You know, it looks like maybe we have our coach

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Speaker 3: looks pretty safe that our quarterbacks adjusting quite well. There's

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Speaker 3: some young weapons. You gotta you know, you gotta win.

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Speaker 3: But I still think there's a long way to go.

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Speaker 3: I mean, considering where this team came from, there's a

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Speaker 3: long way to go. There's a lot of problem areas

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Speaker 3: and just not a lot of playmakers and either side

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Speaker 3: of the ball.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, that's that's the thing that sticks out to me

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Speaker 2: is that they don't take the ball away. No, they

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Speaker 2: don't sack the quarterback. You know they I don't know

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Speaker 2: what they do well on defense. I know people one

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Speaker 2: of the main questions in the locker room today of

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Speaker 2: players is well they run the forty nine or system? Right,

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Speaker 2: you guys had you had trouble with the forty nine

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Speaker 2: er systems. A little bit of a difference here.

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Speaker 3: Run into the system is a little different.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean that's that's like saying that, you know, hey,

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Speaker 2: you and you and Matt you do radio, right, Yeah,

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Speaker 2: you guys are like Howard Stern, Yeah exactly, don't do TV.

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Speaker 3: True. So to give you an example, I mean, like

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Speaker 3: Will Anderson's drafted third overall or yeah, third overall, trade

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Speaker 3: up to get him. They're trade away stuff to get

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Speaker 3: them and they want him to be the Nick Bosa. Okay,

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Speaker 3: but he doesn't. He has a sack. I think he

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Speaker 3: has one. They have four total for the team and

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Speaker 3: nobody has more than two, so most he is one

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Speaker 3: and great, he's a leader. They love him, you know.

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Speaker 2: All that he might be a great player something he

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Speaker 2: might be, but.

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Speaker 3: He doesn't even play every snap. And they're rotating defensive

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Speaker 3: lineman like crazy. And you know Henry another Bama dude,

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Speaker 3: Toto t O, Dashery Apostrophy Toe, Henry to. Yeah, he's

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Speaker 3: trying to be the Fred Warner. You know, he's playing

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Speaker 3: every snap or close to it for those guys and

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Speaker 3: trying to be the leader. But he ain't Fred Warner.

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Speaker 2: And he's a rookie linebacker. That's the thing there there.

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Speaker 2: This is a very very young football.

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Speaker 3: Teamactly, it's step one of building a team. You know,

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Speaker 3: it's exactly what it is and promising, but a long

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Speaker 3: way away.

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Speaker 2: I mean again, I go back to watching that film

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Speaker 2: of their game against the Jaguars, and I thought it

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Speaker 2: was more the Jaguars losing that game and doing things

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Speaker 2: to lose that game than it wasn't necessarily Houston winning it.

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Speaker 2: Now that being said, I've seen other teams go out

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Speaker 2: there and do a bunch of bad stuff and try

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Speaker 2: to lose a game, not try to lose, yeah, a lot,

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Speaker 2: and the other team doesn't take advantage of it. So

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Speaker 2: there is something to that. Yeah, there's there's credit there.

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Speaker 3: They play hard, they don't make no mistakes. The quarterback

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Speaker 3: is playing quite well, you know through three weeks, you know,

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Speaker 3: and so but again they're and off, they're a year

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Speaker 3: away from being a year away.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, I agree, I agree.

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Speaker 3: One offseason is not going to make them contender.

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Speaker 2: Even so, let's, as we often do, let's look at

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Speaker 2: the roster here compared to that of the Steelers.

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Speaker 3: And there's gonna be a lot of names that people

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Speaker 3: don't know much about.

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Speaker 2: I mean, there'll be some that they recognize because their

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Speaker 2: recent draft picks. Yes, but they're starting. That's the that's

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Speaker 2: the part of the rub here. You're playing a whole

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Speaker 2: bunch of young guys.

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Speaker 3: They have four first round picks over the last two years,

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Speaker 3: you know, with the Watson trade.

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Speaker 2: So a quarterback is c. J. Stroud.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, and we can talk about to do a whole

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Speaker 3: segment on him at some point this week. But he

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Speaker 3: doesn't run a lot. He's a pocket passer. He's putting

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Speaker 3: up really good numbers. He looks composed, very accurate. I

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Speaker 3: mean he's a good passer.

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Speaker 2: Yeah. Running back is Damian Pierce and Devil's Devin Singletary.

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Speaker 3: I loved Pierce. I loved them for fantasy.

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Speaker 2: You hate Singletary.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, I see very little use for Singletary. He's a

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Speaker 3: smaller guy that doesn't have power or a lot of

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Speaker 3: explosive slippery though.

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Speaker 2: Yeah he is.

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Speaker 3: He is good vision and good feet. But they're run

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Speaker 3: games horrible, are terrible, I mean really bad.

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Speaker 2: Yes, I think they're everagent like two point eight yards

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Speaker 2: of carry. Might he be lower, might be might be

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Speaker 2: two point six, say something like that. I just looked

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Speaker 2: that up before the show a little about an hour ago.

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Speaker 2: It's it's under three.

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Speaker 3: I know that, and so I should have mentioned this before.

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Speaker 3: So therefore they throw a ton because instead of just

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Speaker 3: pounding into the back of their offensive lineman, they're throwing

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Speaker 3: the ball more and it's been more successful.

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Speaker 2: At wide receiver, it's Nico Collins, Robert Woods, Tank Dell.

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Speaker 2: They also have John Machie who they drafted last year

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Speaker 2: and didn't play, and then Xavier Hutchinson.

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Speaker 3: To me that quarterback.

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Speaker 2: That's probably the strength of the offense.

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Speaker 3: I would say that's an exciting group.

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Speaker 2: In fact, that's definitely the strength of the offense.

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Speaker 3: Especially considering to stay of the offensive line, which we'll

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Speaker 3: get to. I'm a big Nico Collins fan, Like he

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Speaker 3: kind of has the Pickens body type. I mean, over

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Speaker 3: the middle guy, prototypical x Tank Dell's very small but

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Speaker 3: unbelievably fast and shifty, and he keeps getting more and more.

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Speaker 3: And I think Robert Woods is like the leader in

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Speaker 3: the wide receiver room. He's been around the block. He's

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Speaker 3: mostly just a lot.

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Speaker 2: Right now without Deontay Johnson. Think of it this way,

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Speaker 2: Nico Collins is your is your Pickens? Yeah, Robert Woods

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Speaker 2: is Allen Robinson Yeah, and Tank Dell is Calvin Austin Yeah.

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Speaker 3: And very similar similar that way. The old guys are

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Speaker 3: going to the slot, yeah, Woods and Robinson. Yeah. Not

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Speaker 3: the little guys.

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Speaker 2: At tight end. It's Dalton's Dalton Schultz in Tagan Quitterino

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Speaker 2: or quitter Quitta are right now. I have no idea

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Speaker 2: he could walk into this room right now and I

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Speaker 2: wouldn't know. Yeah, I also Brevin Jordan.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, I kin't of like Brevin Jordan's an undersized move

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Speaker 3: tight end. I think he caught a touchdown last week.

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Speaker 3: I mean he's okay, he's been there for a little bit.

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Speaker 3: He went to the U. He was a I kind

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Speaker 3: of liked him coming out of school. Schultz is playing

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Speaker 3: a ton not getting used at all like Tank Dell's.

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Speaker 2: Probably because he has a block all the time because

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Speaker 2: the offensive line is so bad.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, I don't know how many rout he's run, but

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Speaker 3: it's not He's not a feature part of the passing

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Speaker 3: game in his new home.

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Speaker 2: Uh at full back at his end be he's score

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Speaker 2: to touch. He's the one that scored the touchdown.

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Speaker 3: Yep. Kind of an odd play.

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Speaker 2: Don't let that happen.

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Speaker 3: Don't let that happen. But they they use a full

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Speaker 3: back a lot. Yeah, yeah, you will see those guys

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Speaker 3: out there.

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Speaker 2: Then on the offensive line, ideally they would have Laramie

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Speaker 2: Tunsell at left tackle.

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Speaker 3: See this is the tragedy. Like they they kind of

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Speaker 3: build a nest for Stroud in that last year they

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Speaker 3: drafted guard in the first round, they drafted a center

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Speaker 3: in the second round this year, they traded for Shaq Mason.

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Speaker 3: They've given Tunsil huge money. The right tackle Howard.

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Speaker 2: Is making money the first round pick that.

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Speaker 3: They extended, so it looked like, hey, this isn't a

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Speaker 3: terrible spot to throw a quarterback behind. Well, those names

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Speaker 3: you might not be seeing on Sunday, and certainly some

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Speaker 3: of them you will not.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, Tunsall has been dealing with a knee injury, and

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Speaker 2: there was some hope that he would be back this

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Speaker 2: week against the Steelers. I just saw a report from

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Speaker 2: Aaron Wilson in Houston saying that's probably not going to happen.

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Speaker 2: Making matters even worse is apparently Josh Jones, who has

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Speaker 2: been playing left tackle for them, who's typically their left guard.

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Speaker 3: They traded. He was a former He was a third

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Speaker 3: or fourth round pick of the Cardinals. Donald traded him

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Speaker 3: right for the season, which I don't know why. He's okay, but.

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Speaker 2: He's dealing with a hand injury. That's probably going to

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Speaker 2: keep him out this week.

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Speaker 3: Because he filled in a left tackle, but he can

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Speaker 3: play guard. You guy should play any of the spots.

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Speaker 2: So I don't know what they do then, because that

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Speaker 2: leaves the only other tackle on the roster is George.

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Speaker 3: Fant No, I guess he's gonna play.

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Speaker 2: I mean he's the right tackle and he's not very good.

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Speaker 3: No, I mean he's been around the block, journeyman. He

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Speaker 3: was at his best as like the extra tight end

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Speaker 3: six th lineman. Yeah, five years ago.

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Speaker 2: So the problem is, like, do you do you put

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Speaker 2: Jones out there with one hand? If if.

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Speaker 3: Don't have any they'd have to have somebody. Yeah, that's awful.

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Speaker 3: I don't know, I don't know what the contingency plan is,

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Speaker 3: but that's brutal.

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Speaker 2: Yeah.

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Speaker 3: So with the Jones who they played with last year,

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Speaker 3: we could left and right or NFL players like they

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Speaker 3: may not be starters for everyone, Jones would start for

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Speaker 3: a handful of teams. That's not horrendous, you know, it's it's.

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Speaker 2: Not ideal, No, it's far from Yeah, it's not. It's

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Speaker 2: not tons On Howard.

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Speaker 3: No, of course, not like three tackles.

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Speaker 2: So with Jones kicking out to left tackle, they've been

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Speaker 2: starting Kendrick Green, that guard at left guard.

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Speaker 3: Yes, and we know how that goes, you know.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, the original plan was to start Jew Scruggs, the

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Speaker 2: second round pick, at center. He's been hurt. So they're

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Speaker 2: starting Michael Dieter at center. Okay, another guy who could

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Speaker 2: walk into this room right now.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, he's I nobody basically them no offense, Michael, I'm

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Speaker 3: sure you're fine, but he's been around for a little while.

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Speaker 3: But he's a backup. He's an interior backup.

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Speaker 2: Then you have Shaq Mason at right guard and Fant

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Speaker 2: at right tackle.

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Speaker 3: So Mason people might remember from Patriots and then the

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Speaker 3: Bucks they traded buck side salary cap issues. Mason really

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Speaker 3: didn't wasn't a bad player. They just had to move

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Speaker 3: on from some contracts. But he's of the when you

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Speaker 3: broke camp or when you built this roster. Mason's really

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Speaker 3: the one of the five that was penciled in as

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Speaker 3: a starter, and he played last week and he's the

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Speaker 3: only one they had last week.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, so that's that's not a great offense. No, that

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Speaker 2: is an offense that quite frankly t J. Watt and

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Speaker 2: Alex high Smith.

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Speaker 3: Especially if Tunsall has no chance and.

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Speaker 2: Tunsall is not playing, Yeah, they should feast.

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Speaker 3: They should feast, and you should control the interior the

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Speaker 3: offensive line too. I mean that's Pierce is an interior runner.

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Speaker 3: Anyone who plays fantasy and has him on their team

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Speaker 3: knows that he's not going to going anywhere. He's not

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Speaker 3: going anywhere all year. I mean, so there's been a

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Speaker 3: very little room in general. Destralde's credit. When he's been

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Speaker 3: under pressure, he's handled it pretty well, especially for a rookie.

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Speaker 3: That's a tough way to live, man. Yeah, it's Their

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Speaker 3: first two games were Indie and.

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Speaker 2: Balde Baltimore, neither of which rushed the passer.

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Speaker 3: Pass rushing teams, and Jackson goes bad at a lot.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, this will be the best pass rush that they've seen,

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Speaker 2: not even close. Yeah. Yeah. On defense, they play a

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Speaker 2: base four three much like San Francisco. It's Will Anderson

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Speaker 2: who was the.

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Speaker 3: First runs back, but I don't think he's Miles Garrett

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Speaker 3: coming out of school.

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Speaker 2: Then you got Malik Collins and Sheldon Rankins on the inside,

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Speaker 2: with Jonathan greenerd on the other defensive end spot.

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Speaker 3: And those you're fine. I mean, those guys would make

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Speaker 3: any roster. They're more rotational type.

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Speaker 2: That's the problem is like they're they're playing too many snaps. Yeah, exactly,

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Speaker 2: even though they're still rotating them. Those guys will be

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Speaker 2: rotational players. I'm pretty much. And you know, if they

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Speaker 2: were with the Steelers, they'd be rotational players absolutely.

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Speaker 3: I mean they'd make the team. You would like to

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Speaker 3: have them, Yeah, Greener, it's like Marcus Golden. Yeah, you know,

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Speaker 3: its quality, really quality three, but a little bit of

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Speaker 3: a stretch for two. Yeah.

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Speaker 2: They also have Jerry Hughes on the on the bench,

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Speaker 2: who's a little long in tooth.

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Speaker 3: Yeah he is. I don't know if he's just a

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Speaker 3: pass rush specialist at this point or what. But they

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Speaker 3: played four edge dudes dns and four d tackles last week.

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Speaker 3: The d tackles all paid like fifty Papa. You know,

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Speaker 3: it was just a total rotation. Keep you fresh.

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Speaker 2: None of them we're going to make any place, right right.

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Speaker 2: The linebacker group is suspect Christian Harris Henry to two.

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Speaker 3: I get that right, I never do so I don't know.

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Speaker 2: Uh, he's starting for Denzel Perryman, so the idea wasn't

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Speaker 2: to start him.

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Speaker 3: He's a fourth round pick.

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Speaker 2: He's a fourth round pick. And then Blake Cashman at

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Speaker 2: the other at a strong side spot.

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Speaker 3: Was he drafted?

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Speaker 2: Yeah, he was like a third or fourth round pick

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Speaker 2: two years A little.

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Speaker 3: Bit undersized in Minnesota.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, so, I mean, I know to two's undersized.

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Speaker 3: They all are. I mean except for Perryman, who is

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Speaker 3: a big thumper. Yeah yeah, he's shorter, but he's thick

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Speaker 3: and he doesn't run well. But they want run and

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Speaker 3: hit Niners guys.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, that's what they're looking for.

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Speaker 3: It's you know, the proto that that's the type of

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Speaker 3: linebacker they're looking for. They're just not as nearly as good.

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Speaker 2: But young linebackers like that you should be able to

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Speaker 2: manipulate with oh, I don't know, some play action or something.

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Speaker 3: I would think, and as well as in the passing

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Speaker 3: game with you know, middle of the field stuff at cornerback.

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Speaker 2: Derek Stingley's on IR. This is what shocked me about

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Speaker 2: what Jacksonville did last week.

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Speaker 3: Derek Stingley's out, very very talented player.

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Speaker 2: Just last week he went like he went on IR

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Speaker 2: last week, get hurt in practice with a hamstring injury

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Speaker 2: to Vary Thomas, their other cornerback who plays the nickel

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Speaker 2: for them, he was out. That left Steven Nelson and

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Speaker 2: Shack Griffin as their top two cornerbacks.

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Speaker 3: Who I think everyone kind of knows what they are.

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Speaker 2: Their guy. I mean, they're and again NFL players, but

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Speaker 2: not like neither one is a one five team, yeah,

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Speaker 2: let alone being a number two.

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Speaker 3: You know, in their best days are probably behind him,

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Speaker 3: you know.

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Speaker 2: And Jacksonville didn't. They didn't really attack that.

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Speaker 3: No, they didn't. Then you know, they're they're kind of

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Speaker 3: like the d tackles. They're placeholders until they can get

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Speaker 3: replaced in the draft or free agency or whatever. You know,

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Speaker 3: with better players like a Stingley who kind of like

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Speaker 3: their road line situation. You don't have the guys who

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Speaker 3: wanted to be playing the snaps.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, you know, safety is one spot where they have

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Speaker 2: a couple of guys. That's Jimmy Ward who they brought

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Speaker 2: over from San Francisco.

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Speaker 3: He's going to be like the coach on the field. Yeah,

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Speaker 3: mine or you know, correspondence.

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Speaker 2: And then Jaln Petrey who missed the last couple of games.

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Speaker 2: He's back this week. He was coming he's coming back

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Speaker 2: off of Bruce Lung.

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Speaker 3: Okay, he was paint round pick. People might remember when

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Speaker 3: we did draft coverage two years ago.

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Speaker 2: Love them.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean he's kind of a Brian Branch, you know,

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Speaker 3: like a lot flies around. You know, he's a good

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Speaker 3: player and He's been a success for them, but I

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Speaker 3: mean they don't have enough of those guys. Those guys

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Speaker 3: they never go to dime, you know, so maybe you

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Speaker 3: want to threaten them with three or four receivers at times,

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Speaker 3: test that cornerback depth because they don't like to do it. Yeah.

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Speaker 3: I mean some of those players will turn into good players,

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Speaker 3: and their high picks have some promise, but so many

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Speaker 3: of them just aren't in the mix right now.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, this is a heavy, heavy zone coverage team. Uh,

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Speaker 2: they play it eighty five point by default. Yeah, they

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Speaker 2: don't have any coverage guys, right, so they play They

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Speaker 2: play zone eighty five point five percent of the time.

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Speaker 2: That's the second highest percentage in the league. The average

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Speaker 2: is seventy point nine.

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Speaker 3: Which you get away with if you're the Niners and

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Speaker 3: Warner covers all.

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Speaker 2: Right, you got you got guys do that.

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Speaker 3: Fonga and all those guys, right, and Niners corners aren't

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Speaker 3: great either, But ideally, I mean Stingley's a man demand

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Speaker 3: corner that Lovey Smith stuck him in as a cover

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Speaker 3: two guys career, so he's kind of been a little

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Speaker 3: bit of no man's land. But he's not out there anyway.

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Speaker 2: Well, they do play a lot of cover too. They

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Speaker 2: they're forty five point five percent cover two with split safety. Okay,

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Speaker 2: so again, you should be able to run against that.

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Speaker 3: None of those guys we mentioned or even like designated

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Speaker 3: run stuffers, right, you know, like Rankins is a kind

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Speaker 3: of thicker body Goode, but he's not like Hardgrave.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, you know, so, I just it's gonna be interesting.

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Speaker 2: You know that they play their base defense twenty six

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Speaker 2: percent of the time, almost twenty seven percent of the time.

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Speaker 2: Steelers are playing base thirty six point four percent of

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Speaker 2: the time this year. I think that's a specific to

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Speaker 2: the opponents that they've played thus far.

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Speaker 3: I was just saying that I think a lot of

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Speaker 3: that has to do with the Niners rarely go to

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Speaker 3: three wide.

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Speaker 2: Right, you played Cleveland.

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Speaker 3: Cleveland and the Raiders are the two heaviest teams in

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Speaker 3: terms of bringing an extra offensive lineman. I know it's

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Speaker 3: only like six percent of snaps, but you're not gonna

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Speaker 3: play nickel to that.

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Speaker 2: Cleveland's a lot of two tight ends.

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Speaker 3: They play a lot of tight ends too.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, So yeah, I think I think as.

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Speaker 3: It although last year Steelers were very low in nickel

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Speaker 3: as well, they were a lot of base or a

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Speaker 3: lot of dimes.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, this year they're at forty point percent of nickel.

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Speaker 2: Looking at the I mean this this is a big

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Speaker 2: nickel team.

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Speaker 3: They're they're like never in, They're.

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Speaker 2: Never in die. Yeah, yeah, never in dime. Houston is in. Yeah,

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Speaker 2: Houston's in the nickel seventy two percent of the time,

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Speaker 2: which is the tenth highest rate in the league.

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Speaker 3: So they don't have the corners deep.

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Speaker 2: Really, No, that's that's what you especially, you know when

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Speaker 2: I look at that was Stingley out especial. Yeah, and

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Speaker 2: you know, we'll see if they if their nickel is

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Speaker 2: ready to come back this week attack that.

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Speaker 3: Yeah. Yeah, because their pass rush isn't scary either. I mean,

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Speaker 3: Will Anderson might turn into a star and he flashes,

383
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Speaker 3: but he's not there yet.

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Speaker 2: Yeah. Here's so just looking at this, this all this

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Speaker 2: is all from the NFL's kind of stat package here

386
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Speaker 2: right now, the Texans are dead last in average rush

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Speaker 2: e p A. Yeah, thirty second.

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Speaker 3: Offensively you're talking about.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, offensively, you got to force that. You got to

390
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Speaker 2: stop that first and put every thing on the rookie

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Speaker 2: quarterback shoulders.

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Speaker 3: I mean, I might think the other approach and have

393
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Speaker 3: light boxes and if you can beat us on the ground,

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Speaker 3: if you can block anybody, start there, you know what

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Speaker 3: I mean.

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Speaker 2: I want to put that. I want to put him

397
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Speaker 2: in as many second and long and third longs as

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Speaker 2: I can.

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Speaker 3: I mean, i'd be no matter what approach, I mean,

400
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Speaker 3: unless you do something off the wall, dime verse, heavy

401
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Speaker 3: personnel or whatever. They haven't run on anybody.

402
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Speaker 2: They haven't.

403
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Speaker 3: They have really really been bad. I mean they're last league.

404
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Speaker 2: They do play two running backs at the same time

405
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Speaker 2: twenty one point playing the full back. That's the sixth

406
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Speaker 2: highest rate in the league. So when you see that,

407
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Speaker 2: when they have the fullback on the field, you're going

408
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Speaker 2: to have probably your base package out there.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, I think you'll play see a lot of base

410
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Speaker 3: in this game. I mean, yeah, they like three wide

411
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Speaker 3: because those are three of their best players.

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Speaker 2: Yeah.

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Speaker 3: Do you know what percentage is that they have eleven

414
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Speaker 3: personnel on there?

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Speaker 2: They don't have the eleven personnel They have two tight ends,

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Speaker 2: two running backs, six offensive line they don't have. Yeah,

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00:18:55,000 --> 00:18:57,040
Speaker 2: how often they're an eleven Because you've mentioned you can

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Speaker 2: kind of figure that out based on I.

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Speaker 3: Think they're even using a fullback and double tight end

420
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Speaker 3: more than they want.

421
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Speaker 2: They do double tight end twenty percent of the time.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, because the tackles need to help. Yeah, I think

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Speaker 3: ideally putting your best eleven out there, Woods, Dell and

424
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Speaker 3: Nico would be out there.

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Speaker 2: They're not going to do that against the Steelers a

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Speaker 2: tough time. R Yeah, good luck to you help. You're

427
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Speaker 2: gonna You're gonna leave those tackles by themselves with t J.

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Speaker 2: Watt and Alex Heismith, forget about that.

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Speaker 3: That's Akins, the backup tight end is not a blocker.

430
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Speaker 3: I mean he's again like two hundred and thirty pounds,

431
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Speaker 3: leaner guy, you know, throw his weight around a little,

432
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Speaker 3: but he's not going to slow down those guys.

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Speaker 2: Yeah. So I would expect to see more of that

434
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Speaker 2: from the Texans because they just don't have their guys back, especially.

435
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Speaker 3: If tunsl doesn't play there. Yeah, if Jones is definitely out,

436
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Speaker 3: does that sound like Josh Jones is?

437
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Speaker 2: I mean Cordinarts is Cordon Aaron Wilson. He is unlikely

438
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Speaker 2: to play this week because it's a hand injury. So

439
00:19:48,240 --> 00:19:50,159
Speaker 2: I don't know if it's a broken hand. Again, for

440
00:19:50,320 --> 00:19:53,520
Speaker 2: for an offensive tackle, not having your hands is huge.

441
00:19:53,320 --> 00:19:55,560
Speaker 3: Huge, and if so, it's going to be a problem

442
00:19:55,720 --> 00:19:57,960
Speaker 3: no matter what. Right, Yeah, if he's out there.

443
00:19:57,840 --> 00:19:59,960
Speaker 2: You can't. How are you supposed to hold If you can't,

444
00:20:01,960 --> 00:20:03,040
Speaker 2: that's a big part of the game.

445
00:20:03,640 --> 00:20:05,840
Speaker 3: You don't ever see guys with clubs anymore.

446
00:20:05,520 --> 00:20:07,919
Speaker 2: No, because hand use is just so important.

447
00:20:07,960 --> 00:20:09,800
Speaker 3: It's important, right, you got to get your hands on. Yeah,

448
00:20:09,800 --> 00:20:11,560
Speaker 3: so I'd be shocked if he plays and if tunsils

449
00:20:11,560 --> 00:20:13,640
Speaker 3: out too, how you're really digging deep.

450
00:20:13,920 --> 00:20:18,720
Speaker 2: Yeah. They're also the Texans thirty first in the league

451
00:20:18,800 --> 00:20:22,720
Speaker 2: and using shifts or motion on offense. They they line

452
00:20:22,800 --> 00:20:24,200
Speaker 2: up and that's basically how they stay.

453
00:20:24,840 --> 00:20:28,680
Speaker 3: Yeah. I assume that's a rookie quarterback thing, just simplify

454
00:20:28,760 --> 00:20:33,160
Speaker 3: things for him. I'm just just a hunch. I don't

455
00:20:33,200 --> 00:20:35,960
Speaker 3: know what the logic is behind that. But they don't

456
00:20:35,960 --> 00:20:36,720
Speaker 3: throw a lot at you.

457
00:20:37,040 --> 00:20:40,320
Speaker 2: Yeah, so it's gonna be an interesting matchup. I think that.

458
00:20:40,400 --> 00:20:42,640
Speaker 2: You know, we didn't go through and say who has

459
00:20:42,640 --> 00:20:44,840
Speaker 2: an advantage at different things, but the Steelers have a

460
00:20:44,880 --> 00:20:47,960
Speaker 2: lot of advantages. Yeah, they pretty much cross the board.

461
00:20:48,880 --> 00:20:51,520
Speaker 3: I will say Stroud's had a better season than Picket

462
00:20:52,240 --> 00:20:54,280
Speaker 3: thus far, I mean considering what he's.

463
00:20:54,119 --> 00:20:57,360
Speaker 2: Has because they're one and two. Let's get let's dig

464
00:20:57,359 --> 00:20:59,520
Speaker 2: a little more into this on our next segment because

465
00:20:59,560 --> 00:21:01,119
Speaker 2: I want to I want to throw some of some

466
00:21:01,720 --> 00:21:03,880
Speaker 2: water on some of this stuff that's being said out there,

467
00:21:03,920 --> 00:21:05,800
Speaker 2: and we'll do that when we come back. He is

468
00:21:05,840 --> 00:21:08,560
Speaker 2: Matt Williamson. I am Dale LOLLI you're listening to the

469
00:21:08,640 --> 00:21:11,439
Speaker 2: Drive here on Steelers Nation Radio. We'll be back with

470
00:21:11,480 --> 00:21:12,199
Speaker 2: more right after this.

471
00:21:13,080 --> 00:21:18,760
Speaker 1: When you want Black and Gold football talk, you want SNR.

472
00:21:21,960 --> 00:21:25,240
Speaker 1: This is the Drive with Dale Lolly and Matt Williamson

473
00:21:25,680 --> 00:21:27,880
Speaker 1: on your twenty four to seven home of the Black

474
00:21:27,920 --> 00:21:30,800
Speaker 1: and Gold SNR Steelers Nation Radio.

475
00:21:34,880 --> 00:21:38,159
Speaker 2: Welcome back. I am Dale Lolly. He is Matt Williamson,

476
00:21:38,400 --> 00:21:41,080
Speaker 2: and this is the Drive on Steelers Nation Radio. And Matt,

477
00:21:41,440 --> 00:21:45,119
Speaker 2: before the break, you said that CJ. Stroud is having

478
00:21:45,160 --> 00:21:49,280
Speaker 2: a better season than Kenny Pickett. Now in terms of

479
00:21:49,280 --> 00:21:53,640
Speaker 2: the numbers. Okay, he's got nine hundred and six pass

480
00:21:53,840 --> 00:21:57,040
Speaker 2: I see this because you see the stuff being put

481
00:21:57,080 --> 00:21:59,200
Speaker 2: out there with c J. Strouds. He's the third quarter

482
00:21:59,280 --> 00:22:02,360
Speaker 2: rookie quarterback since Whenever to throw for nine hundred yards

483
00:22:02,400 --> 00:22:05,200
Speaker 2: in his first three starts. He has four touchdowns, he

484
00:22:05,200 --> 00:22:09,320
Speaker 2: has no interceptions. He does have eleven sacks taken, and

485
00:22:09,359 --> 00:22:13,919
Speaker 2: that includes taking none last week against Question against Jacksonville.

486
00:22:14,680 --> 00:22:18,640
Speaker 2: But the fact remains he's one and two as a starter. Oh,

487
00:22:18,720 --> 00:22:21,440
Speaker 2: I know, And the reason that they won the game

488
00:22:21,520 --> 00:22:24,120
Speaker 2: on Sunday. That game on Sunday was not as much

489
00:22:24,160 --> 00:22:27,560
Speaker 2: because of anything what he did. He played fine? Well, Yeah,

490
00:22:28,960 --> 00:22:33,600
Speaker 2: block field goal, a missfield goal that gave the Texans

491
00:22:33,600 --> 00:22:36,840
Speaker 2: the Baullt midfield a kick return for a touchdown.

492
00:22:36,400 --> 00:22:38,160
Speaker 3: Which was ugly and weird. Yeah.

493
00:22:38,200 --> 00:22:43,480
Speaker 2: I mean, isn't the bottom line winning the games?

494
00:22:44,240 --> 00:22:46,400
Speaker 3: Yeah, but you can't convince me that they'd be two

495
00:22:46,400 --> 00:22:48,159
Speaker 3: and one or three and zero with the way Kenny's

496
00:22:48,160 --> 00:22:50,919
Speaker 3: played if they switched spots in terms of who's having

497
00:22:50,960 --> 00:22:51,119
Speaker 3: the bet.

498
00:22:51,359 --> 00:22:53,960
Speaker 2: I'm just saying winning is winning, And I know this

499
00:22:54,119 --> 00:22:57,200
Speaker 2: for a fact. In the Steelers last ten games to

500
00:22:57,240 --> 00:22:58,760
Speaker 2: pick it has started, they're eight and two.

501
00:22:59,200 --> 00:23:02,640
Speaker 3: I get it any fan, But Stroud's tape this year

502
00:23:02,720 --> 00:23:03,080
Speaker 3: is better.

503
00:23:03,560 --> 00:23:05,119
Speaker 2: Would it be better if he had played, oh, I

504
00:23:05,119 --> 00:23:07,120
Speaker 2: don't know, the forty nine Ers. Would it be better

505
00:23:07,119 --> 00:23:09,480
Speaker 2: if he had played the Cleveland Browns?

506
00:23:09,720 --> 00:23:12,240
Speaker 3: But no line would help him though. I mean, he's

507
00:23:12,119 --> 00:23:13,520
Speaker 3: he's not in a good situation.

508
00:23:13,640 --> 00:23:15,960
Speaker 2: He's not in a good situation. But so much of

509
00:23:16,000 --> 00:23:18,480
Speaker 2: this and nobody when you're when when guys are putting

510
00:23:18,520 --> 00:23:21,440
Speaker 2: together these power rankings and things of that nature, right,

511
00:23:21,760 --> 00:23:24,320
Speaker 2: you don't take into account who the hell is the

512
00:23:24,359 --> 00:23:25,080
Speaker 2: team has played.

513
00:23:25,280 --> 00:23:26,720
Speaker 3: Oh, I know, especially when you know you have like

514
00:23:26,720 --> 00:23:27,960
Speaker 3: two or three games under your belt.

515
00:23:28,000 --> 00:23:30,359
Speaker 2: You know, it's it's one. It's like when you're looking

516
00:23:30,400 --> 00:23:34,880
Speaker 2: at college players. Uh, and well this quarterback really struggled. Well, yeah,

517
00:23:34,880 --> 00:23:38,359
Speaker 2: he played in the secure you know, different. Yeah, it's

518
00:23:38,400 --> 00:23:40,879
Speaker 2: a little bit different, you know. You know that was

519
00:23:40,920 --> 00:23:43,679
Speaker 2: one of the questions about Ben Roethlisberger coming out of

520
00:23:43,680 --> 00:23:46,560
Speaker 2: college was, well, he played, he played in the MAC

521
00:23:46,960 --> 00:23:50,440
Speaker 2: and then the games that he played against Iowa or

522
00:23:50,680 --> 00:23:53,000
Speaker 2: you know, you know whoever, Minnesota, whoever it was, you

523
00:23:53,040 --> 00:23:56,160
Speaker 2: know whoever, the those you know, major Division Power fives

524
00:23:56,200 --> 00:24:00,440
Speaker 2: conference schools were Oh he threw some interceptions and stuff. Sure, yeah,

525
00:24:00,480 --> 00:24:02,720
Speaker 2: because the guys around him are still.

526
00:24:02,720 --> 00:24:04,680
Speaker 3: Like I remember Jay Cutler, who didn't turn out to

527
00:24:04,680 --> 00:24:07,040
Speaker 3: be a great pro, but as a first round pick,

528
00:24:07,080 --> 00:24:08,920
Speaker 3: he lasted a long time and blah blah blah. I'm

529
00:24:08,920 --> 00:24:11,520
Speaker 3: not talking him out here to talk about Jay Cutler's

530
00:24:11,960 --> 00:24:14,800
Speaker 3: good or bad career, but he played in the SEC,

531
00:24:14,920 --> 00:24:18,320
Speaker 3: but at Vanderbilt, who has no business being in the SEC.

532
00:24:18,840 --> 00:24:20,600
Speaker 3: And he threw a lot of picks in the pros too,

533
00:24:20,640 --> 00:24:24,160
Speaker 3: But like, how do you hold interceptions against him when

534
00:24:24,160 --> 00:24:27,040
Speaker 3: you're losing thirty to seven and you're trying to put

535
00:24:27,080 --> 00:24:28,840
Speaker 3: the ball in the tightest window possible, you know what

536
00:24:28,920 --> 00:24:29,200
Speaker 3: I mean.

537
00:24:29,440 --> 00:24:31,080
Speaker 2: I mean that's been one of the knocks against the

538
00:24:31,160 --> 00:24:35,199
Speaker 2: Ohio State quarterbacks over the years, including Stroud. Well, the

539
00:24:35,200 --> 00:24:37,760
Speaker 2: guys he was playing with in college, for the most part,

540
00:24:37,800 --> 00:24:40,600
Speaker 2: were way better than anybody he was playing against.

541
00:24:40,640 --> 00:24:42,720
Speaker 3: Those are my questions with him coming out too. I mean,

542
00:24:42,760 --> 00:24:44,439
Speaker 3: like had a lot of time to sit there and

543
00:24:44,440 --> 00:24:46,320
Speaker 3: pack the ball and throw the ball to Marvin Harrison

544
00:24:46,359 --> 00:24:48,239
Speaker 3: junior or and Smith the Jigba and those guys, right,

545
00:24:48,280 --> 00:24:51,000
Speaker 3: I mean, he had an easier life than most college quarterbacks.

546
00:24:51,119 --> 00:24:53,400
Speaker 2: So I think that to me, Like, I look at

547
00:24:53,400 --> 00:24:55,239
Speaker 2: this week's game and I think Stroud has played well,

548
00:24:55,240 --> 00:24:59,920
Speaker 2: and I love Stroud coming out, Yeah, but I want

549
00:24:59,920 --> 00:25:01,600
Speaker 2: to see what it looks like when he faces a

550
00:25:01,640 --> 00:25:02,520
Speaker 2: real pass rush.

551
00:25:02,560 --> 00:25:04,720
Speaker 3: I would expect this to be his worst game, yeah,

552
00:25:04,720 --> 00:25:05,920
Speaker 3: I mean, like.

553
00:25:05,880 --> 00:25:08,360
Speaker 2: If he gets through this game against the Steelers without

554
00:25:08,400 --> 00:25:10,800
Speaker 2: throwing an interception because we know the Steelers defense is

555
00:25:10,800 --> 00:25:13,480
Speaker 2: opportunistic when it comes when the ball's in the air,

556
00:25:15,240 --> 00:25:17,920
Speaker 2: you know, and they somehow find a way to win this. Okay, yeah, great,

557
00:25:17,920 --> 00:25:20,040
Speaker 2: he's he's having a great start. If he throws for

558
00:25:20,040 --> 00:25:22,280
Speaker 2: two hundred yards in this game and throws three picks,

559
00:25:23,040 --> 00:25:25,359
Speaker 2: it's the same. It's the same thing that you know,

560
00:25:25,400 --> 00:25:28,200
Speaker 2: people were ready to crown Sam Howe going into last

561
00:25:28,200 --> 00:25:31,160
Speaker 2: week's game. Sure, well, look, he's the first quarterback, first

562
00:25:31,240 --> 00:25:33,119
Speaker 2: quarterback to throw for more than two hundred yards and

563
00:25:33,160 --> 00:25:35,440
Speaker 2: two touchdown passes in his first three games. He's he's

564
00:25:35,440 --> 00:25:39,080
Speaker 2: playing great football, like, and then he plays the Bills

565
00:25:39,080 --> 00:25:42,000
Speaker 2: and he throws four interceptions destroyed, and now he's now

566
00:25:42,000 --> 00:25:44,520
Speaker 2: he's a bum. Like, there's no everything's got to be

567
00:25:44,560 --> 00:25:47,399
Speaker 2: the extreme in the NFL. It's like the Brock Party stuff.

568
00:25:47,520 --> 00:25:51,119
Speaker 2: I don't hate Rock Party. The comparisons of Rock Party

569
00:25:51,160 --> 00:25:54,720
Speaker 2: to Tom Brady or what I hate. Yeah, Like, let's

570
00:25:54,760 --> 00:25:56,520
Speaker 2: let's tap the breaks just a little bit.

571
00:25:56,520 --> 00:25:59,920
Speaker 3: Here, top Yeah, come on, no, I totally hear you.

572
00:26:01,080 --> 00:26:03,480
Speaker 3: I really liked Child's tate. I mean, he throws the

573
00:26:03,480 --> 00:26:07,560
Speaker 3: ball really well, he's very accurate. He hasn't had a

574
00:26:07,600 --> 00:26:10,800
Speaker 3: brutal slate opponent the question about that, But he also

575
00:26:10,840 --> 00:26:13,560
Speaker 3: doesn't get much help either. No, and I understand that

576
00:26:13,600 --> 00:26:15,280
Speaker 3: he's not a Hirish state anymore, that's for sure.

577
00:26:15,359 --> 00:26:15,560
Speaker 2: Yeah.

578
00:26:15,600 --> 00:26:18,840
Speaker 3: I mean, I just I'm not willing to say, oh,

579
00:26:18,880 --> 00:26:21,000
Speaker 3: he's going to be a success, you know, like the

580
00:26:21,000 --> 00:26:22,679
Speaker 3: rest of his year might fall in his face. I mean,

581
00:26:22,680 --> 00:26:23,520
Speaker 3: that's what rookies do.

582
00:26:23,720 --> 00:26:25,880
Speaker 2: Yeah. I just think so much of it is who

583
00:26:25,920 --> 00:26:29,440
Speaker 2: you play against, particularly in the NFL. I mean, look

584
00:26:29,440 --> 00:26:31,479
Speaker 2: at Kenny Pickett's Look at the starts that he's had

585
00:26:31,520 --> 00:26:34,080
Speaker 2: in his career. Yeah, he looked good. He looked bad

586
00:26:34,080 --> 00:26:37,240
Speaker 2: against Buffalo, no kidding, Who doesn't you know that this

587
00:26:37,320 --> 00:26:41,120
Speaker 2: is his first career start. The next week against Tampa Bay,

588
00:26:41,480 --> 00:26:44,520
Speaker 2: he looked pretty good, you know. Then he plays Miami

589
00:26:44,600 --> 00:26:46,800
Speaker 2: down there, it was okay.

590
00:26:46,520 --> 00:26:47,720
Speaker 3: But he threw a couple of everything.

591
00:26:47,760 --> 00:26:50,000
Speaker 2: Yeah, threw a couple of eight picks. Oh. He looked

592
00:26:50,000 --> 00:26:53,320
Speaker 2: bad against the Eagles, no kidding. In Philadelphia.

593
00:26:53,320 --> 00:26:55,480
Speaker 3: That's a shock, especially the second half of those type

594
00:26:55,480 --> 00:26:57,240
Speaker 3: of games when it's you know, it's like the diner game.

595
00:26:57,359 --> 00:27:01,480
Speaker 2: Yeah. I mean, so that place a factor in everything

596
00:27:01,480 --> 00:27:03,600
Speaker 2: to me, like, you know, more.

597
00:27:03,440 --> 00:27:06,520
Speaker 3: So than other sports you know, but no question. Yeah,

598
00:27:06,640 --> 00:27:08,560
Speaker 3: I mean I definitely won't fight you on that.

599
00:27:08,640 --> 00:27:12,000
Speaker 2: I just think I and Hey, we love fantasy football

600
00:27:12,000 --> 00:27:13,840
Speaker 2: as much as anybody. That's why we have a segment,

601
00:27:14,119 --> 00:27:16,600
Speaker 2: you know, talking about fantasy football every week. But I

602
00:27:16,600 --> 00:27:19,800
Speaker 2: think people get so caught up in the fantasy football numbers.

603
00:27:19,920 --> 00:27:21,480
Speaker 3: Oh yeah, aspect without question.

604
00:27:21,560 --> 00:27:24,720
Speaker 2: For example, I saw the graphic flash up on TV

605
00:27:26,240 --> 00:27:29,280
Speaker 2: during the game yesterday. Well, other Steelers have only had

606
00:27:29,280 --> 00:27:32,720
Speaker 2: two thirty point games with Matt Canada running the offense,

607
00:27:32,760 --> 00:27:35,159
Speaker 2: and they haven't had any four hundred yard games, you know,

608
00:27:35,160 --> 00:27:36,560
Speaker 2: with Mac Canada running the office.

609
00:27:36,600 --> 00:27:39,359
Speaker 3: To get that every week, and right, what's their record?

610
00:27:39,520 --> 00:27:41,400
Speaker 3: What's the record? Yeah, with.

611
00:27:43,080 --> 00:27:45,440
Speaker 2: You can you can kill Mat Canada all you want.

612
00:27:46,080 --> 00:27:47,960
Speaker 2: At the same time, they've had a winning record in

613
00:27:48,000 --> 00:27:50,040
Speaker 2: each one of those three years. And if things fell

614
00:27:50,200 --> 00:27:52,960
Speaker 2: just a little bit differently, you make the playoffs. The

615
00:27:53,000 --> 00:27:54,520
Speaker 2: idea is to win the games.

616
00:27:54,960 --> 00:27:56,960
Speaker 3: Oh, I know. I mean, it's not about the stats.

617
00:27:57,040 --> 00:28:02,479
Speaker 3: And to be honest, on the Stroud conversation, his stats

618
00:28:02,520 --> 00:28:04,840
Speaker 3: are what I care kind of least about. I mean, yeah,

619
00:28:04,880 --> 00:28:06,919
Speaker 3: the fact that he's comfortable. It's always the first thing

620
00:28:06,960 --> 00:28:09,000
Speaker 3: I say about super young quarterbacks he looked like he

621
00:28:09,080 --> 00:28:12,120
Speaker 3: belongs right, and I think that's a big check mark. Yes,

622
00:28:12,400 --> 00:28:15,840
Speaker 3: And even some of the numbers, like what he was

623
00:28:15,880 --> 00:28:18,359
Speaker 3: pressured at a ridiculous rate the first two weeks and

624
00:28:18,520 --> 00:28:20,800
Speaker 3: end up with getting sacked eleven times. Some on him.

625
00:28:20,840 --> 00:28:23,639
Speaker 3: Not every quarterback would have taken eleven, but he's a rookie.

626
00:28:23,640 --> 00:28:28,000
Speaker 3: And but he even when pressured through the ball, well,

627
00:28:28,359 --> 00:28:29,840
Speaker 3: he's one of the best quarterbacks in the league on

628
00:28:29,920 --> 00:28:32,200
Speaker 3: third downs. And it's always like third in a million

629
00:28:32,240 --> 00:28:33,800
Speaker 3: for them too, because they don't run the ball. So

630
00:28:33,840 --> 00:28:35,600
Speaker 3: some of the tougher stuff he is doing.

631
00:28:35,640 --> 00:28:38,040
Speaker 2: But I agree, he looks the part. Yeah, but they

632
00:28:38,120 --> 00:28:40,560
Speaker 2: haven't exactly played a murderers or a defense all.

633
00:28:41,160 --> 00:28:42,880
Speaker 3: This will be their toughest test without que Yeah, so

634
00:28:42,880 --> 00:28:44,320
Speaker 3: I want to expect it to be the worst game.

635
00:28:44,360 --> 00:28:47,280
Speaker 2: I want to see what this looks like. Uh. And

636
00:28:47,360 --> 00:28:50,600
Speaker 2: I just I think people get too caught up in

637
00:28:50,600 --> 00:28:54,320
Speaker 2: the statistics. You know, the idea is did you win

638
00:28:54,360 --> 00:28:57,320
Speaker 2: the football game. You're not gonna be able to convince

639
00:28:57,400 --> 00:29:00,040
Speaker 2: me that if the Steelers had kept the pedal on

640
00:28:59,920 --> 00:29:03,320
Speaker 2: the on the floor against the Raiders, that they don't

641
00:29:03,320 --> 00:29:04,200
Speaker 2: score thirty.

642
00:29:03,960 --> 00:29:05,920
Speaker 3: Points or maybe got to four hundred yards and.

643
00:29:05,880 --> 00:29:06,800
Speaker 2: Get the four hundred yards.

644
00:29:06,840 --> 00:29:07,840
Speaker 3: I mean that's the goal.

645
00:29:08,160 --> 00:29:10,440
Speaker 2: Yeah, if that's what your goal is, you can do that.

646
00:29:11,280 --> 00:29:13,160
Speaker 3: Maybe you've thrown a pick in the meantime in the

647
00:29:13,160 --> 00:29:13,880
Speaker 3: correct game.

648
00:29:13,760 --> 00:29:17,040
Speaker 2: And you lose the game so many times. The leading

649
00:29:17,120 --> 00:29:20,720
Speaker 2: passer right now in the NFL is Kirk Cousins. He's

650
00:29:20,760 --> 00:29:22,440
Speaker 2: averaging three hundred and fifty eight yards a game. Does

651
00:29:22,480 --> 00:29:24,680
Speaker 2: that mean that the Vikings that mean Cousins is having

652
00:29:24,720 --> 00:29:25,480
Speaker 2: a great year.

653
00:29:25,720 --> 00:29:28,920
Speaker 3: And three they're owing three and he's forced to do that? Yeah,

654
00:29:28,960 --> 00:29:31,000
Speaker 3: you know, and Stroud is to some degree as well.

655
00:29:31,120 --> 00:29:33,880
Speaker 3: I mean in terms of what they're being asked to do.

656
00:29:34,080 --> 00:29:37,280
Speaker 3: Stroud's getting being asked to do more Cousins stuff than

657
00:29:37,360 --> 00:29:39,760
Speaker 3: he should. Then he should be the worst running game

658
00:29:39,760 --> 00:29:41,520
Speaker 3: of the league. Those are two worst running Yeah.

659
00:29:41,560 --> 00:29:43,800
Speaker 2: Now t is second on that list. There are obviously

660
00:29:43,840 --> 00:29:46,760
Speaker 2: three and zero. But the quarterback who's third in passing

661
00:29:47,800 --> 00:29:51,400
Speaker 2: yardage is Justin Herbert. He's He's thrown for nine hundred

662
00:29:51,400 --> 00:29:53,400
Speaker 2: and thirty nine yards and six touchdown passes.

663
00:29:53,520 --> 00:29:54,120
Speaker 3: He's been great.

664
00:29:54,360 --> 00:29:55,080
Speaker 2: They're one and two.

665
00:29:55,160 --> 00:29:55,320
Speaker 3: Yeah.

666
00:29:55,720 --> 00:29:58,040
Speaker 2: Like the idea is to win the game, not to

667
00:29:58,120 --> 00:30:00,560
Speaker 2: put up a bunch of fantasy football stats.

668
00:30:01,200 --> 00:30:06,640
Speaker 3: No question. But Stroud, Herbert Cousins can't run the ball

669
00:30:06,680 --> 00:30:08,520
Speaker 3: for you, you can't play defense for you. They can

670
00:30:08,560 --> 00:30:11,800
Speaker 3: only do their part. And Cousins is doing his part.

671
00:30:11,920 --> 00:30:15,200
Speaker 3: Herbert's doing his part. But are the other twenty one

672
00:30:15,560 --> 00:30:17,400
Speaker 3: or more so the other eleven on the other side

673
00:30:17,400 --> 00:30:17,840
Speaker 3: of the ball.

674
00:30:18,040 --> 00:30:20,760
Speaker 2: I'll say this as well, Matt. You know what the

675
00:30:20,880 --> 00:30:23,800
Speaker 2: quarterback leads the AFC North in passing yards?

676
00:30:25,160 --> 00:30:26,240
Speaker 3: No clue, not Burrough.

677
00:30:26,360 --> 00:30:27,600
Speaker 2: It's Kenny Pickett, is it.

678
00:30:28,800 --> 00:30:30,720
Speaker 3: I can imagine they're all down.

679
00:30:30,680 --> 00:30:33,000
Speaker 2: But I don't know that that's what the Steelers want

680
00:30:34,160 --> 00:30:35,800
Speaker 2: for Kenny. Like at the end of the year, if

681
00:30:35,840 --> 00:30:40,000
Speaker 2: Kenny Pickett leads the AFC North in passing yards, the

682
00:30:40,000 --> 00:30:44,360
Speaker 2: Steelers probably don't win the AFC like they're not for.

683
00:30:44,320 --> 00:30:46,680
Speaker 3: Where they're built now, probably not. I mean a year

684
00:30:46,720 --> 00:30:47,880
Speaker 3: from now, I would.

685
00:30:47,640 --> 00:30:48,560
Speaker 2: Say that'll be different.

686
00:30:48,640 --> 00:30:51,240
Speaker 3: Yeah, yeah, that would be different his maturation.

687
00:30:51,520 --> 00:30:53,680
Speaker 2: But I think you know he's averaging right now two

688
00:30:53,720 --> 00:30:55,960
Speaker 2: hundred and twenty nine point seven yards passing per game.

689
00:30:56,440 --> 00:30:59,160
Speaker 2: I think that's a decent fine, that's a decent number

690
00:30:59,160 --> 00:31:02,200
Speaker 2: for him. That's what you Many of Ben Roethlisberger's years

691
00:31:02,320 --> 00:31:05,640
Speaker 2: weren't much better than that. Sure, some years he averaged

692
00:31:05,640 --> 00:31:07,760
Speaker 2: two fifty or whatever. When year was three hundred, he

693
00:31:07,840 --> 00:31:10,440
Speaker 2: led the league in passing. Ben led to the league

694
00:31:10,440 --> 00:31:12,400
Speaker 2: in passing. Steelers didn't go to the super Bowl that year.

695
00:31:14,120 --> 00:31:17,560
Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean, and I don't even know what year

696
00:31:17,680 --> 00:31:18,160
Speaker 3: that was.

697
00:31:18,160 --> 00:31:21,040
Speaker 2: But I think it was twenty seventeen or twenty eighteen, Yeah,

698
00:31:21,120 --> 00:31:23,720
Speaker 2: twenty fifteen, maybe somewhere in that range. I forget, but

699
00:31:23,760 --> 00:31:25,200
Speaker 2: I know he led the league, but I think it

700
00:31:25,200 --> 00:31:25,920
Speaker 2: was twenty fifteen.

701
00:31:26,200 --> 00:31:29,560
Speaker 3: And Kenny's nowhere near being able to be the locomotive

702
00:31:29,600 --> 00:31:31,960
Speaker 3: of his offense like Ben was in that ear.

703
00:31:32,880 --> 00:31:36,040
Speaker 2: So I just think we get because I see that again,

704
00:31:36,080 --> 00:31:38,400
Speaker 2: I see that Staton. I'm not defending Matt Canada here,

705
00:31:39,200 --> 00:31:41,680
Speaker 2: but a lot of times you're not going to convince

706
00:31:41,720 --> 00:31:44,600
Speaker 2: me that if the Steelers had wanted to against that

707
00:31:44,760 --> 00:31:48,600
Speaker 2: Raiders defense on Sunday go put up four hundred yards

708
00:31:48,600 --> 00:31:51,400
Speaker 2: of offense and get another touchdown to go to thirty,

709
00:31:51,400 --> 00:31:54,800
Speaker 2: that they wouldn't have. You had a two he had

710
00:31:54,840 --> 00:31:57,280
Speaker 2: a three score lead going into the fourth quarter. Right,

711
00:31:57,440 --> 00:32:02,000
Speaker 2: You're going to play things pretty conservatively in the fourth order, because, yeah,

712
00:32:02,080 --> 00:32:05,120
Speaker 2: because winning is the bottom line, you know, Mike Bill

713
00:32:05,200 --> 00:32:09,240
Speaker 2: Cower had that ridiculous record with Bill Cower's teams and

714
00:32:09,320 --> 00:32:12,360
Speaker 2: lead by two scores in the in the fourth quarter. Uh,

715
00:32:12,480 --> 00:32:15,840
Speaker 2: they rarely lose. I think they lost like twice. Yeah,

716
00:32:15,840 --> 00:32:18,239
Speaker 2: because they came out and just ran the football and

717
00:32:18,360 --> 00:32:20,720
Speaker 2: just eight o'clock. Yeah, you know, and then you punted

718
00:32:20,760 --> 00:32:22,040
Speaker 2: and you left it up to your defense.

719
00:32:22,560 --> 00:32:25,240
Speaker 3: Oh, I hear you. I'd like to see more of

720
00:32:25,280 --> 00:32:28,120
Speaker 3: that from the Steelers. The Steelers have not done that. Well,

721
00:32:28,240 --> 00:32:31,080
Speaker 3: the Texans haven't done it at all. Yeah, closing teams

722
00:32:31,120 --> 00:32:31,840
Speaker 3: out on the ground.

723
00:32:31,960 --> 00:32:34,360
Speaker 2: In fact, I can I can remember because it was

724
00:32:34,400 --> 00:32:37,400
Speaker 2: so noteworthy that they kept the foot on the pedal

725
00:32:37,520 --> 00:32:39,600
Speaker 2: in the game against the Colts when Andrew Luck was

726
00:32:39,640 --> 00:32:40,600
Speaker 2: I think in year two.

727
00:32:40,480 --> 00:32:43,160
Speaker 3: Or whatever it was, and there was like a million yards.

728
00:32:43,600 --> 00:32:46,959
Speaker 2: They scored like fifty some points and the Colts had thirty,

729
00:32:48,000 --> 00:32:50,560
Speaker 2: and and you know, Mike Tomin was asked why you know, hey,

730
00:32:50,600 --> 00:32:52,400
Speaker 2: why'd you keep throwing the football late in the game.

731
00:32:52,440 --> 00:32:54,400
Speaker 2: He said, well, I looked across the sideline, I saw

732
00:32:54,440 --> 00:32:56,160
Speaker 2: Andrew Luck standing over there, and I said, okay, let's

733
00:32:56,200 --> 00:32:57,280
Speaker 2: keep the foot on the gash.

734
00:32:57,600 --> 00:32:59,960
Speaker 3: You're playing against them homes or an Allen.

735
00:32:59,840 --> 00:33:03,520
Speaker 2: Or Loah like that. But you're playing Jimmy Garoppolo. You know,

736
00:33:03,600 --> 00:33:05,680
Speaker 2: we'll let him try to take my chance. Yeah, We'll

737
00:33:05,720 --> 00:33:07,680
Speaker 2: let him try to matriculate the ball down the field

738
00:33:07,680 --> 00:33:09,200
Speaker 2: a few times here and see if he can do.

739
00:33:09,160 --> 00:33:12,000
Speaker 3: It and back to Stroud. I'm sure they'll take the

740
00:33:12,000 --> 00:33:14,200
Speaker 3: same approach this week if they have a late lead too.

741
00:33:14,200 --> 00:33:16,200
Speaker 3: They're not going to be throwing bombs away and go

742
00:33:16,240 --> 00:33:17,880
Speaker 3: balls to pick it lefting right.

743
00:33:17,760 --> 00:33:20,560
Speaker 2: Because you again, when you throw the football that much

744
00:33:20,640 --> 00:33:23,320
Speaker 2: there there are too many bad things that can happen.

745
00:33:23,360 --> 00:33:24,440
Speaker 3: Any of the game and control.

746
00:33:24,520 --> 00:33:26,320
Speaker 2: Yeah, if you're in control of the game, you don't

747
00:33:26,400 --> 00:33:27,040
Speaker 2: need to do that.

748
00:33:27,360 --> 00:33:29,560
Speaker 3: And that's why the running game needs to It took

749
00:33:29,600 --> 00:33:32,120
Speaker 3: a step forward. But if you can trust the running

750
00:33:32,120 --> 00:33:33,800
Speaker 3: game like you did at the end of last year,

751
00:33:34,440 --> 00:33:35,480
Speaker 3: being such a better spot.

752
00:33:35,560 --> 00:33:38,959
Speaker 2: Yeah, some of the running numbers on Sunday were they

753
00:33:39,000 --> 00:33:41,280
Speaker 2: got skewed in that fourth quarter because they didn't run

754
00:33:41,320 --> 00:33:43,960
Speaker 2: because the Raiders knew that the Steelers were trying to

755
00:33:44,200 --> 00:33:47,560
Speaker 2: run the clock out and they stacked the box. And

756
00:33:47,680 --> 00:33:50,400
Speaker 2: you know, I asked Najia Harris about that today. You know,

757
00:33:51,400 --> 00:33:55,080
Speaker 2: uh is he's seeing more teams just load the front

758
00:33:55,120 --> 00:33:57,600
Speaker 2: he said absolutely. You know, and you got linebackers shooting

759
00:33:57,640 --> 00:34:01,040
Speaker 2: gaps constantly because they know we want to run the football.

760
00:34:01,240 --> 00:34:06,920
Speaker 3: Yeah, there's more unblocked defenders than I can remember any year.

761
00:34:07,160 --> 00:34:10,359
Speaker 2: Everybody's attacking the line of scrimmage. So this is when

762
00:34:10,360 --> 00:34:12,399
Speaker 2: you need Kenny Picktt with some of the play extra

763
00:34:12,440 --> 00:34:15,040
Speaker 2: stuff work the middle of the field, throwing to those

764
00:34:15,040 --> 00:34:16,840
Speaker 2: spots that those linebackers vacated.

765
00:34:16,960 --> 00:34:19,400
Speaker 3: Yeah, and we saw glimpses of it. Yeah, right, I.

766
00:34:19,400 --> 00:34:22,480
Speaker 2: Mean in the last two games. Uh, he is eight

767
00:34:22,520 --> 00:34:24,920
Speaker 2: for ten for two hundred and twenty five yards and

768
00:34:24,960 --> 00:34:27,200
Speaker 2: two touchdowns. Throwing to the middle of the field.

769
00:34:27,080 --> 00:34:28,960
Speaker 3: Doesn't surprise me. I mean one of them is the

770
00:34:29,000 --> 00:34:30,320
Speaker 3: long pick and score, of course.

771
00:34:30,480 --> 00:34:31,960
Speaker 2: Yeah, you know, well both of that, there's two of

772
00:34:31,960 --> 00:34:34,720
Speaker 2: the long yeahah, two of the long scores are in there.

773
00:34:35,560 --> 00:34:37,680
Speaker 2: But if they're going to keep running rushing downhill at

774
00:34:37,680 --> 00:34:40,680
Speaker 2: the snap, and I'm the Steelers, you have to you

775
00:34:40,760 --> 00:34:41,920
Speaker 2: have to hit those spots.

776
00:34:42,000 --> 00:34:44,600
Speaker 3: Yeah, running into that makes me crazy. Yeah, and they've

777
00:34:44,600 --> 00:34:46,560
Speaker 3: been doing a lot of that, just running into these

778
00:34:46,600 --> 00:34:49,920
Speaker 3: loaded boxes. And I don't think Friar moves blocked particularly

779
00:34:49,920 --> 00:34:51,720
Speaker 3: well in the in the run game, but he's also

780
00:34:51,800 --> 00:34:55,680
Speaker 3: blocking d ns and power linebackers, and you need him

781
00:34:55,719 --> 00:34:56,440
Speaker 3: on a safety you know.

782
00:34:56,520 --> 00:34:59,200
Speaker 2: Yeah, if they're going to continue to continually bring more

783
00:34:59,239 --> 00:35:01,560
Speaker 2: guys than you can block, we're.

784
00:35:01,280 --> 00:35:03,600
Speaker 3: Almost always even if it's even yeah.

785
00:35:03,480 --> 00:35:05,279
Speaker 2: It all it takes is one guy to lose his

786
00:35:05,320 --> 00:35:07,640
Speaker 2: block and the play's blown up.

787
00:35:07,800 --> 00:35:10,640
Speaker 3: Yeah, right, I mean they've been so. I mean, I'm

788
00:35:10,640 --> 00:35:13,760
Speaker 3: sure most people understand this. The ball carrier is not blocking,

789
00:35:13,840 --> 00:35:16,880
Speaker 3: the quarterback's not blocking, right, so more often than not,

790
00:35:17,200 --> 00:35:20,719
Speaker 3: there's an extra defender, you know, and the coaches will

791
00:35:20,719 --> 00:35:21,760
Speaker 3: say that's the running backs.

792
00:35:21,680 --> 00:35:23,600
Speaker 2: That's the running backs job to make that guy miss.

793
00:35:23,719 --> 00:35:25,959
Speaker 3: But this year it seems like there's two or three,

794
00:35:26,560 --> 00:35:28,520
Speaker 3: you know, and that's too much to ask.

795
00:35:29,239 --> 00:35:33,040
Speaker 2: Yeah, it really pass. Yeah, So you know, the Steelers

796
00:35:33,239 --> 00:35:36,440
Speaker 2: again need to get that play action game even more involved.

797
00:35:36,440 --> 00:35:38,680
Speaker 2: And Pick has been great on play action this year, right,

798
00:35:40,719 --> 00:35:43,399
Speaker 2: that too, He just needed to do more of it.

799
00:35:43,440 --> 00:35:46,080
Speaker 2: And you know, I think the numbers will improve. And

800
00:35:46,320 --> 00:35:49,080
Speaker 2: again I'm not looking for four hundred yard games. I'm

801
00:35:49,120 --> 00:35:50,000
Speaker 2: not looking for thirty.

802
00:35:50,000 --> 00:35:51,840
Speaker 3: I think that's the barometer no offense.

803
00:35:52,239 --> 00:35:54,799
Speaker 2: You know, the when Todd Haley was here, he came

804
00:35:54,880 --> 00:35:56,480
Speaker 2: up with a statement, you know, we want to average

805
00:35:56,480 --> 00:35:59,360
Speaker 2: thirty points per game, and everybody's latched onto that since

806
00:35:59,400 --> 00:36:01,640
Speaker 2: then ever says so, well, the Steelers offense they need

807
00:36:01,640 --> 00:36:03,760
Speaker 2: to go average thirty points a game. No, you don't.

808
00:36:04,080 --> 00:36:05,000
Speaker 3: Everybody wants to.

809
00:36:05,280 --> 00:36:07,000
Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean if it's if you, if you do

810
00:36:07,080 --> 00:36:09,920
Speaker 2: it naturally, and that's just the way to great. But

811
00:36:10,000 --> 00:36:12,640
Speaker 2: you don't have to score thirty points each every game

812
00:36:12,800 --> 00:36:13,760
Speaker 2: to win in the NFL.

813
00:36:13,840 --> 00:36:16,440
Speaker 3: No, you definitely don't. And you've referenced as many times

814
00:36:16,480 --> 00:36:19,319
Speaker 3: no one, but no one averaged thirty game last year. Yeah,

815
00:36:19,320 --> 00:36:20,319
Speaker 3: I mean scoring was down.

816
00:36:20,400 --> 00:36:22,239
Speaker 2: I mean the Dolphins are averaging thirty points a game

817
00:36:22,320 --> 00:36:24,719
Speaker 2: right now because they scored and scored seventy you know,

818
00:36:24,800 --> 00:36:28,160
Speaker 2: last week. But you know, he just don't need to

819
00:36:28,200 --> 00:36:31,800
Speaker 2: do that. Like, no, there's there's no style points in

820
00:36:31,840 --> 00:36:32,760
Speaker 2: the NFL.

821
00:36:32,640 --> 00:36:35,839
Speaker 3: Right, And of course, I mean any coordinators should say

822
00:36:35,880 --> 00:36:38,120
Speaker 3: I want to I want to average thirty points a game.

823
00:36:38,200 --> 00:36:40,080
Speaker 3: You're gonna win a lot of games averaging thirty points

824
00:36:40,080 --> 00:36:42,480
Speaker 3: a game. But that's unrealistic. I mean, no one is

825
00:36:42,560 --> 00:36:45,040
Speaker 3: right now, yeah, consistently so.

826
00:36:45,360 --> 00:36:48,960
Speaker 2: I just when you said that Stroud is having a

827
00:36:49,000 --> 00:36:51,640
Speaker 2: better season than pick It, yeah, to this point, he

828
00:36:51,800 --> 00:36:55,839
Speaker 2: is Yeah, he's he's looked good. But a they haven't

829
00:36:55,880 --> 00:36:59,719
Speaker 2: played anybody in b are you winning the games? And

830
00:36:59,760 --> 00:37:02,839
Speaker 2: that's the oh, no doubt about it, A big, big

831
00:37:02,880 --> 00:37:05,040
Speaker 2: part of it. So hey, we're gonna get to another break.

832
00:37:05,040 --> 00:37:07,800
Speaker 2: He is Matt Williamson. I am Dale Lollie. You're listening

833
00:37:07,880 --> 00:37:10,040
Speaker 2: to the Drive here on Steelers Nation Radio. We're gonna

834
00:37:10,040 --> 00:37:12,560
Speaker 2: take a break. We'll be back with more right after this.

835
00:37:13,680 --> 00:37:16,440
Speaker 1: You're listening to the official voice a Black and Gold

836
00:37:16,520 --> 00:37:28,319
Speaker 1: Nation for loved Black and Gold SNR. This is the

837
00:37:28,440 --> 00:37:31,640
Speaker 1: Drive with Dale Lolly and Matt Williams Sisham on your

838
00:37:31,680 --> 00:37:33,960
Speaker 1: twenty four to seven home of the Black and Gold

839
00:37:34,239 --> 00:37:36,360
Speaker 1: SNR Steelers Nation Radio.

840
00:37:39,280 --> 00:37:42,040
Speaker 2: Gear up with the latest sideline apparel, hats or jerseys

841
00:37:42,040 --> 00:37:45,879
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842
00:37:45,920 --> 00:37:48,000
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843
00:37:48,000 --> 00:37:51,480
Speaker 2: of the official Steelers Pro shops located at Akroscher Stadium,

844
00:37:51,520 --> 00:37:54,799
Speaker 2: Grove City Premium Outlets, or Tangle Outlets, or visit them

845
00:37:54,840 --> 00:37:58,799
Speaker 2: online at shop dot Steelers dot com. And Matt, we

846
00:37:58,840 --> 00:38:02,839
Speaker 2: also have a new yins Chat question for the day

847
00:38:02,840 --> 00:38:06,080
Speaker 2: here in yans Chats, regular season challenges back each week,

848
00:38:06,120 --> 00:38:09,840
Speaker 2: answer questions, answer Steelers trivia, and make game day picks

849
00:38:09,960 --> 00:38:12,880
Speaker 2: for a chance to win sign helmets, jerseys, footballs, or

850
00:38:12,920 --> 00:38:15,280
Speaker 2: even a trip to the twenty twenty four NFL Draft.

851
00:38:15,760 --> 00:38:18,080
Speaker 2: Log into the Steelers mobile app now and play for

852
00:38:18,120 --> 00:38:21,760
Speaker 2: a chance at this week's prize, which is a mini

853
00:38:21,840 --> 00:38:25,279
Speaker 2: helmet signed by Pat Fryarmouth. Oh very cool, how about that. Yeah,

854
00:38:25,360 --> 00:38:27,680
Speaker 2: you probably get a lot of participants for that. I'm

855
00:38:27,719 --> 00:38:30,040
Speaker 2: a little early on the question. But Thursday's question will

856
00:38:30,080 --> 00:38:32,120
Speaker 2: be I don't know why we just do these. They

857
00:38:32,120 --> 00:38:35,160
Speaker 2: should do these Wednesday too, But so this week's questions

858
00:38:35,480 --> 00:38:36,880
Speaker 2: Tommy Madnox or Ben.

859
00:38:36,800 --> 00:38:39,040
Speaker 3: Roethlisberger sounds like a trick question to me.

860
00:38:39,239 --> 00:38:41,719
Speaker 2: Who has the most passing yards in a Steelers game

861
00:38:41,880 --> 00:38:43,000
Speaker 2: against the Texans?

862
00:38:43,400 --> 00:38:45,640
Speaker 3: Wow, they've only played him seven times? I think, yeah,

863
00:38:45,640 --> 00:38:46,759
Speaker 3: seven or nine something like that.

864
00:38:46,880 --> 00:38:48,520
Speaker 2: I can't tell you they have. One of the most

865
00:38:48,560 --> 00:38:53,600
Speaker 2: bizarre games in Steeler's history occurred against the Texans, the.

866
00:38:55,080 --> 00:38:55,760
Speaker 3: Huge comeback.

867
00:38:57,000 --> 00:38:59,319
Speaker 2: No, it was a game against the let me get

868
00:38:59,320 --> 00:39:03,000
Speaker 2: the stats on Tommy Maddox in this game against the

869
00:39:03,080 --> 00:39:05,440
Speaker 2: Houston Texans. It was just I think it was in

870
00:39:05,520 --> 00:39:06,840
Speaker 2: two thousand and two.

871
00:39:07,120 --> 00:39:12,040
Speaker 3: Maybe I'm trying to I get up. I picked. In

872
00:39:12,080 --> 00:39:16,160
Speaker 3: twenty fourteen, there was a goofy game where the Steelers

873
00:39:16,200 --> 00:39:20,600
Speaker 3: scored twenty one second quarter points in one hundred and

874
00:39:20,640 --> 00:39:21,320
Speaker 3: twenty seconds.

875
00:39:21,360 --> 00:39:25,879
Speaker 2: Okay, here it is, so week thirteen of the two

876
00:39:25,960 --> 00:39:29,920
Speaker 2: thousand and two season, Tommy Maddox goes thirty to fifty

877
00:39:30,000 --> 00:39:34,360
Speaker 2: seven thirty fifty for three hundred and twenty five yards.

878
00:39:34,400 --> 00:39:37,719
Speaker 3: You might be spilling the ins chat maybe.

879
00:39:37,360 --> 00:39:42,279
Speaker 2: Maybe maybe not. No touchdowns, two interceptions, both of which

880
00:39:42,680 --> 00:39:45,560
Speaker 2: returned for touchdowns. The Steelers lost the game twenty four

881
00:39:45,560 --> 00:39:45,959
Speaker 2: to six.

882
00:39:46,680 --> 00:39:48,399
Speaker 3: There's your example of blowing too much.

883
00:39:48,520 --> 00:39:50,480
Speaker 2: That's the example of throwing too much.

884
00:39:50,840 --> 00:39:53,239
Speaker 3: Right there, you go. That should have been your your

885
00:39:53,280 --> 00:39:54,480
Speaker 3: final conclusion.

886
00:39:54,200 --> 00:39:55,839
Speaker 2: Point in case in point right there.

887
00:39:56,160 --> 00:39:59,200
Speaker 3: Yeah, interesting that.

888
00:39:58,880 --> 00:40:02,600
Speaker 2: That was one of the things like when Bill Kauer

889
00:40:02,760 --> 00:40:05,200
Speaker 2: made the switch from Cordell Stewart to Tommy Maddox. He

890
00:40:05,239 --> 00:40:07,240
Speaker 2: did that because, well, we would have a more potent

891
00:40:07,320 --> 00:40:09,680
Speaker 2: passing game, and then he kind of fell in love

892
00:40:09,680 --> 00:40:11,160
Speaker 2: with the passing game and leve well, look we could

893
00:40:11,160 --> 00:40:12,800
Speaker 2: throw it off. We got all these weapons and stuff.

894
00:40:13,120 --> 00:40:14,040
Speaker 2: That's not who you are.

895
00:40:14,400 --> 00:40:17,680
Speaker 3: I can't even remember the neo'donnell four wide stuff too

896
00:40:17,800 --> 00:40:20,880
Speaker 3: like they four good receivers, but then you throw some

897
00:40:20,920 --> 00:40:22,560
Speaker 3: picks you don't need to and things like that too.

898
00:40:22,920 --> 00:40:23,840
Speaker 3: Balance is important.

899
00:40:24,000 --> 00:40:26,600
Speaker 2: Balance is very important. And you know if you look

900
00:40:26,640 --> 00:40:29,080
Speaker 2: at they want a lot more more of the games.

901
00:40:29,760 --> 00:40:32,680
Speaker 2: For example, they played Indianapolis that year in one twenty

902
00:40:32,719 --> 00:40:34,879
Speaker 2: eight to ten. Maddix throw for one hundred and eighty

903
00:40:34,880 --> 00:40:35,440
Speaker 2: eight yards.

904
00:40:36,000 --> 00:40:38,120
Speaker 3: Okay, and that's the form I mean, that's the formula

905
00:40:38,200 --> 00:40:38,480
Speaker 3: for me.

906
00:40:38,520 --> 00:40:40,880
Speaker 2: You have a formula, it's a tried and true formula

907
00:40:40,920 --> 00:40:44,480
Speaker 2: for the Pittsburgh Steelers that they've had in place for forever.

908
00:40:45,200 --> 00:40:46,440
Speaker 2: You don't need to go out and throw for three

909
00:40:46,520 --> 00:40:48,520
Speaker 2: hundred plus yards and throw it all over it a

910
00:40:48,560 --> 00:40:51,000
Speaker 2: lot and be that team because a you're playing in

911
00:40:51,000 --> 00:40:52,840
Speaker 2: the Northeast is a lot to do.

912
00:40:52,920 --> 00:40:55,040
Speaker 3: Yeah, and the teams you play and you know the

913
00:40:55,080 --> 00:40:57,680
Speaker 3: style of football that's played in the North, and you've.

914
00:40:57,520 --> 00:41:00,400
Speaker 2: Always got a good defense that you can rely on.

915
00:41:00,480 --> 00:41:02,800
Speaker 2: When they didn't have a great defense, that would have

916
00:41:02,800 --> 00:41:05,919
Speaker 2: been in that twenty you know, twenty fifteen range. That's

917
00:41:05,920 --> 00:41:07,920
Speaker 2: when Ben Roethlisberger had to go out and throw for

918
00:41:08,080 --> 00:41:10,320
Speaker 2: three hundred yards a game because that's what they needed

919
00:41:10,320 --> 00:41:10,600
Speaker 2: to win.

920
00:41:10,800 --> 00:41:13,759
Speaker 3: I mean, unlike Maddox and even O'Donnell and Picket at

921
00:41:13,800 --> 00:41:16,680
Speaker 3: this stage. Ben always had it though. I mean he

922
00:41:16,840 --> 00:41:18,520
Speaker 3: had that bullet in his gun.

923
00:41:18,719 --> 00:41:20,960
Speaker 2: Well, he was always shomping at the bit. I want

924
00:41:21,000 --> 00:41:24,239
Speaker 2: to throw the football, but they didn't need to because

925
00:41:24,239 --> 00:41:26,360
Speaker 2: the defense was so good, you know.

926
00:41:26,520 --> 00:41:28,440
Speaker 3: I mean, there's no reason to in a lot of

927
00:41:28,480 --> 00:41:29,480
Speaker 3: those instances.

928
00:41:29,160 --> 00:41:32,839
Speaker 2: You know. And I think this defense is good enough that. Yeah,

929
00:41:32,840 --> 00:41:36,920
Speaker 2: they've given up some yardage thus far this season, but

930
00:41:37,200 --> 00:41:40,600
Speaker 2: they take the football way and they sack your quarterback. Yeah,

931
00:41:40,680 --> 00:41:42,719
Speaker 2: your quarterbacks, if you drop back to pass a bunch

932
00:41:42,760 --> 00:41:45,440
Speaker 2: against this team, your quarterback's gonna get hit. Then he's

933
00:41:45,440 --> 00:41:46,640
Speaker 2: probably gonna turn the football over.

934
00:41:47,320 --> 00:41:50,279
Speaker 3: Yeah, for this matchup, you know that. Frankly, I don't

935
00:41:50,280 --> 00:41:53,200
Speaker 3: think Pickett, I said in the last segment. I think

936
00:41:53,320 --> 00:41:56,160
Speaker 3: Strouds had a better season to date than Pickett. But

937
00:41:56,239 --> 00:41:58,320
Speaker 3: Pickett doesn't have to have a better game.

938
00:41:58,480 --> 00:41:59,960
Speaker 2: He doesn't have to be super miss game.

939
00:42:00,160 --> 00:42:03,239
Speaker 3: Yeah, you know, maybe against the Niners he had to

940
00:42:03,239 --> 00:42:07,040
Speaker 3: outplay party because you're swimming upstream against those guys. You know,

941
00:42:07,080 --> 00:42:10,799
Speaker 3: I need my quarterback to do some incredible things in

942
00:42:10,880 --> 00:42:14,360
Speaker 3: this game. I think it would shock me if I

943
00:42:14,360 --> 00:42:16,520
Speaker 3: don't know if they'll get to five and a half

944
00:42:16,600 --> 00:42:20,120
Speaker 3: sacks that they were averaging the first two weeks the Texans.

945
00:42:20,280 --> 00:42:23,160
Speaker 3: But he's going to get hit and be pressured a

946
00:42:23,160 --> 00:42:24,600
Speaker 3: lot or more than he has been.

947
00:42:24,719 --> 00:42:26,879
Speaker 2: I feel pretty like that might be my over under

948
00:42:26,920 --> 00:42:29,200
Speaker 2: for sacks for the Steelers will be five five and

949
00:42:29,200 --> 00:42:31,439
Speaker 2: a half. Yeah, because if they're gonna throw, they're gonna

950
00:42:31,440 --> 00:42:33,800
Speaker 2: have this kid drop back to throw the football forty

951
00:42:33,840 --> 00:42:34,760
Speaker 2: times against the Steelers.

952
00:42:34,920 --> 00:42:36,960
Speaker 3: That's what they've proven is we're just going to give

953
00:42:37,080 --> 00:42:37,520
Speaker 3: up on the rock.

954
00:42:37,640 --> 00:42:39,440
Speaker 2: Yeah, we can't do it, So we're not going to

955
00:42:39,480 --> 00:42:41,040
Speaker 2: do it. Uh and they.

956
00:42:40,960 --> 00:42:42,719
Speaker 3: Put it mines better worse than it's beat.

957
00:42:42,840 --> 00:42:44,320
Speaker 2: Yeah, you put it all on his shoulders.

958
00:42:44,320 --> 00:42:47,080
Speaker 3: That's just that's a that's a rough recipe.

959
00:42:47,080 --> 00:42:50,760
Speaker 2: It's it's kind of what happened to David Carr in Houston.

960
00:42:50,760 --> 00:42:54,120
Speaker 3: Houston. Yeah, except to this team's credit, at least they

961
00:42:54,120 --> 00:42:55,960
Speaker 3: did go get those linemen. They're just not out there.

962
00:42:56,000 --> 00:42:58,560
Speaker 2: They're just not there there, and so you take advantage

963
00:42:58,560 --> 00:43:00,920
Speaker 2: of that. Yeah, you take advantage that when you play them.

964
00:43:00,960 --> 00:43:06,239
Speaker 2: I mean, that's Jacksonville, Jackson that was coaching malpractice last week.

965
00:43:07,360 --> 00:43:09,800
Speaker 2: I mean, I just think that the Jaguars felt, we

966
00:43:09,840 --> 00:43:12,359
Speaker 2: can go out there and win this game. Yeah, we've

967
00:43:12,360 --> 00:43:14,200
Speaker 2: got Trevor Lawrence. We can go win this game.

968
00:43:14,600 --> 00:43:16,399
Speaker 3: And then they screwed up a lot and they didn't

969
00:43:16,400 --> 00:43:17,800
Speaker 3: make things hard enough on Stroud.

970
00:43:18,360 --> 00:43:20,040
Speaker 2: I think that's what you got to do. And that's

971
00:43:20,040 --> 00:43:22,719
Speaker 2: what the Steelers try to do every game, regardless of

972
00:43:22,719 --> 00:43:25,200
Speaker 2: who they're playing. You know, they're gonna they're gonna get

973
00:43:25,239 --> 00:43:26,120
Speaker 2: after the quarterback.

974
00:43:26,280 --> 00:43:28,680
Speaker 3: Yeah, we're not having to blitz a lot to do it,

975
00:43:28,760 --> 00:43:30,000
Speaker 3: and they're gonna win a lot of one on one

976
00:43:30,040 --> 00:43:31,000
Speaker 3: matchups in this game.

977
00:43:31,120 --> 00:43:33,680
Speaker 2: Yeah. So you know, if you can do that, if

978
00:43:33,680 --> 00:43:35,440
Speaker 2: you can make life difficult on this kid, if you

979
00:43:35,440 --> 00:43:38,239
Speaker 2: can change things up, and I think this is a

980
00:43:38,239 --> 00:43:41,919
Speaker 2: big make of Fitzpatrick game. I'd put him. I play

981
00:43:41,960 --> 00:43:43,960
Speaker 2: a lot of go back to the Cover one Robbers

982
00:43:43,960 --> 00:43:46,120
Speaker 2: stuff with him. Let him roam the middle of the

983
00:43:46,120 --> 00:43:49,360
Speaker 2: field and just read the quarterback and go get the football.

984
00:43:49,800 --> 00:43:50,360
Speaker 3: Yeah.

985
00:43:50,600 --> 00:43:54,000
Speaker 2: I have problem with that whatsoever, because you're you're you're

986
00:43:54,000 --> 00:43:57,040
Speaker 2: a veteran guy at this point, he's a rookie quarterback.

987
00:43:57,400 --> 00:44:00,919
Speaker 2: Go take advantage of that, use them getting his head,

988
00:44:01,200 --> 00:44:04,759
Speaker 2: getting his head, yeah exactly. Yeah, Yeah, that's what I

989
00:44:04,800 --> 00:44:05,160
Speaker 2: would do.

990
00:44:05,440 --> 00:44:08,560
Speaker 3: I mean, the receivers are good, and Dell's a big

991
00:44:08,640 --> 00:44:09,480
Speaker 3: threat guy.

992
00:44:10,120 --> 00:44:11,759
Speaker 2: But it's gonna have time to get the ball down

993
00:44:11,800 --> 00:44:12,440
Speaker 2: the field.

994
00:44:12,239 --> 00:44:14,400
Speaker 3: Right right. I mean, I just don't think that that's

995
00:44:14,600 --> 00:44:17,919
Speaker 3: he's not you know, he's just not proven enough that. Yeah,

996
00:44:17,920 --> 00:44:20,720
Speaker 3: he's an impressive young player, but it's also very small.

997
00:44:20,920 --> 00:44:23,279
Speaker 2: He's very, very small, and you know, it's one of

998
00:44:23,320 --> 00:44:24,759
Speaker 2: the one of the issues that you have with with

999
00:44:24,840 --> 00:44:28,919
Speaker 2: guy a guy like Calvin Austin and larger cornerbacks. Yeah,

1000
00:44:28,960 --> 00:44:31,880
Speaker 2: he's he's gonna run by them, but the window to

1001
00:44:31,920 --> 00:44:34,600
Speaker 2: throw the ball into is not super big.

1002
00:44:34,960 --> 00:44:36,839
Speaker 3: Back shoulder fades and things don't work with him.

1003
00:44:37,040 --> 00:44:38,719
Speaker 2: Yeah, you know, I just can't do it right or

1004
00:44:38,800 --> 00:44:39,239
Speaker 2: you know, just a.

1005
00:44:39,280 --> 00:44:41,239
Speaker 3: Small you have to be more accurate. I mean, his

1006
00:44:41,360 --> 00:44:45,200
Speaker 3: catching radius is smaller, you know, obviously, but there's advantages

1007
00:44:45,239 --> 00:44:49,080
Speaker 3: of speed too. I mean, so I like their complement

1008
00:44:49,160 --> 00:44:51,040
Speaker 3: of receivers. I don't think any of them are a

1009
00:44:51,120 --> 00:44:53,440
Speaker 3: number one yet. Yeah, you know, and that's their best group,

1010
00:44:53,440 --> 00:44:54,960
Speaker 3: as we talked about in the first second.

1011
00:44:54,719 --> 00:44:58,960
Speaker 2: Like it's it's it's a pretty even ish matchup right

1012
00:44:59,000 --> 00:45:01,799
Speaker 2: now with the Steelers not having Deontay Johnson. Yeah, yeah,

1013
00:45:01,880 --> 00:45:04,919
Speaker 2: the Steelers do have it an advantage with Friarmouth. Yes,

1014
00:45:04,920 --> 00:45:06,839
Speaker 2: it kind of levels it levels the whole thing off

1015
00:45:06,880 --> 00:45:11,240
Speaker 2: a little bit too. Yeah, but I mean.

1016
00:45:12,360 --> 00:45:16,160
Speaker 3: That's not the part. The receivers aren't the reason Houston

1017
00:45:16,239 --> 00:45:16,959
Speaker 3: is not a great team.

1018
00:45:17,160 --> 00:45:20,359
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's the defense in the offensive line.

1019
00:45:20,440 --> 00:45:22,160
Speaker 3: Yeah. The lack of running game is brutal.

1020
00:45:22,440 --> 00:45:26,120
Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean it, and I don't get it. I mean,

1021
00:45:26,520 --> 00:45:28,759
Speaker 2: you know, they should be able to at least one

1022
00:45:28,800 --> 00:45:32,120
Speaker 2: of the things that he does, his break tackles and

1023
00:45:32,160 --> 00:45:33,560
Speaker 2: things of that like, and they still can't run.

1024
00:45:33,480 --> 00:45:35,400
Speaker 3: The fine Now. It reminds me a little bit of

1025
00:45:35,480 --> 00:45:37,919
Speaker 3: nausey just getting hit behind the line of scrimmage time

1026
00:45:37,960 --> 00:45:40,640
Speaker 3: and time again. And I wonder, I don't know about

1027
00:45:40,640 --> 00:45:44,359
Speaker 3: Steelers necessarily, but I wonder, now that Stroud is putting

1028
00:45:44,440 --> 00:45:48,480
Speaker 3: up numbers moving the ball on his own acumen, might

1029
00:45:48,520 --> 00:45:50,160
Speaker 3: it open up a little bit for their run game?

1030
00:45:50,440 --> 00:45:52,920
Speaker 3: You know? Not with these blockers.

1031
00:45:53,080 --> 00:45:55,879
Speaker 2: I have a tough time believing that Pittsburgh Steelers team

1032
00:45:55,880 --> 00:45:57,440
Speaker 2: will just say, oh, we're gonna let you try to

1033
00:45:57,480 --> 00:45:58,080
Speaker 2: run the football.

1034
00:45:58,120 --> 00:45:59,359
Speaker 3: And I don't think it happens this week.

1035
00:45:59,440 --> 00:46:01,640
Speaker 2: I mean that I'm going to go back through history.

1036
00:46:01,640 --> 00:46:04,200
Speaker 2: They've always been. The defense has always been predicated on

1037
00:46:04,239 --> 00:46:08,239
Speaker 2: stopping the run first, and so you're gonna make, you know,

1038
00:46:08,280 --> 00:46:11,920
Speaker 2: Pierce run into some seven and eight man boxes and

1039
00:46:11,960 --> 00:46:13,680
Speaker 2: then if if they start beating you over the top

1040
00:46:13,719 --> 00:46:16,480
Speaker 2: with that, now we're okay. Now you're gonna adjust, but

1041
00:46:16,520 --> 00:46:18,320
Speaker 2: you're not going to let them just run the football

1042
00:46:18,480 --> 00:46:19,319
Speaker 2: willy nilly and.

1043
00:46:19,440 --> 00:46:22,239
Speaker 3: Even make a deep middle back of your makeup point.

1044
00:46:22,719 --> 00:46:23,640
Speaker 3: He's great to take away.

1045
00:46:23,680 --> 00:46:25,879
Speaker 2: The big placed Pierce is Damien.

1046
00:46:25,960 --> 00:46:33,719
Speaker 3: Why yeah, backup running back for the Ravens. Yeah, yeah, but.

1047
00:46:33,800 --> 00:46:37,120
Speaker 2: Pierce right now, I mean Damian Pierce forty carries for

1048
00:46:37,120 --> 00:46:38,040
Speaker 2: one hundred yards.

1049
00:46:38,280 --> 00:46:38,800
Speaker 3: That's awful.

1050
00:46:38,880 --> 00:46:41,279
Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean it's two point five yards of carry

1051
00:46:41,320 --> 00:46:42,080
Speaker 2: for your lead back.

1052
00:46:42,560 --> 00:46:44,160
Speaker 3: It's kind of like Josh Jacobs last week.

1053
00:46:44,560 --> 00:46:46,680
Speaker 2: It really is. It's it's kind of like how how

1054
00:46:46,920 --> 00:46:51,279
Speaker 2: Najie Harris started last year, you know, So you know

1055
00:46:51,320 --> 00:46:54,080
Speaker 2: when people talk about him struggling right now, he's off

1056
00:46:54,080 --> 00:46:56,160
Speaker 2: to a better start this year than he was last year.

1057
00:46:56,560 --> 00:46:58,879
Speaker 2: Oh yeah, and he gets better as the season goes

1058
00:46:58,920 --> 00:47:02,000
Speaker 2: on a because I think he's a cold weather back, agreed,

1059
00:47:02,200 --> 00:47:07,040
Speaker 2: bit of a mutter in yeah, and I think you know,

1060
00:47:07,120 --> 00:47:09,000
Speaker 2: opponents as the season goes on, start to get a

1061
00:47:09,040 --> 00:47:09,959
Speaker 2: little more worn down.

1062
00:47:10,000 --> 00:47:11,960
Speaker 3: You know, you were, you were, You're back up the

1063
00:47:12,080 --> 00:47:14,759
Speaker 3: lineman now, and you know even just you know, hey,

1064
00:47:14,760 --> 00:47:16,800
Speaker 3: I've I've been you know, I've had to tackle guys

1065
00:47:17,840 --> 00:47:19,279
Speaker 3: a hundred times now to this point.

1066
00:47:19,360 --> 00:47:20,920
Speaker 2: My body's a little more beaten up. And now I'm

1067
00:47:20,920 --> 00:47:23,279
Speaker 2: gonna fall off that tackle. You know, that tackle I

1068
00:47:23,320 --> 00:47:26,279
Speaker 2: make on on Najee Harris in week one, I might

1069
00:47:26,360 --> 00:47:29,360
Speaker 2: not make him week five because I've had to do

1070
00:47:29,440 --> 00:47:30,200
Speaker 2: this a bunch of times.

1071
00:47:30,280 --> 00:47:32,560
Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean everybody, that's a war of attrition. That's

1072
00:47:32,600 --> 00:47:35,000
Speaker 3: one of his best attributes, whether it's late in game,

1073
00:47:35,080 --> 00:47:38,080
Speaker 3: late in the season, that type of back Jerome was

1074
00:47:38,120 --> 00:47:41,040
Speaker 3: that way of course, is doesn't wear down as quick

1075
00:47:41,080 --> 00:47:41,640
Speaker 3: as the opponent.

1076
00:47:41,760 --> 00:47:44,640
Speaker 2: Yeah, just one big ball of muscle. Is.

1077
00:47:45,440 --> 00:47:47,960
Speaker 3: People haven't seen him in person. He is really impressive

1078
00:47:47,960 --> 00:47:48,360
Speaker 3: to see.

1079
00:47:48,880 --> 00:47:50,880
Speaker 2: Eddie George was like that too, just he was like

1080
00:47:50,880 --> 00:47:56,799
Speaker 2: a Greek god. Yeah, like sculpted. Yeah. Anyways, we're gonta

1081
00:47:56,800 --> 00:47:59,120
Speaker 2: get to another break here he is Matt Williamson, I

1082
00:47:59,160 --> 00:48:01,239
Speaker 2: am Dale, Lolly. You're listening to the drive here on

1083
00:48:01,280 --> 00:48:04,239
Speaker 2: Steelers Nation Radio. We'll be back with our number two

1084
00:48:04,520 --> 00:48:09,080
Speaker 2: right after this we seven. You're listening to SNR Steelers

1085
00:48:09,239 --> 00:48:10,120
Speaker 2: Nation Radio