Speaker 1: Live Covery Jump Dot twenty twenty six Steelers Training Camp
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Speaker 2: Good afternoon, Steeler Nation, and welcome back to the campus
Speaker 2: of Saint Vincent College. Here for another edition of the
Speaker 2: Drive on your twenty four to seven home of the
Speaker 2: Black and Gold West Shielder. Matt Williamson, we are with
Speaker 2: you for three hours as always as we will put
Speaker 2: a bow on the day's operations were Matt. Once again,
Speaker 2: Mother nature had her way and the boys had to
Speaker 2: move inside to the new rec facility behind us.
Speaker 3: Yeah, and from what I gather, I don't think these
Speaker 3: are like trade secrets or anything. That it was more
Speaker 3: of a walk through type pace and a little titan there.
Speaker 3: It's a great new facility in all, but that's ninety
Speaker 3: three guys in a note hundred yard field. And got
Speaker 3: the impression that it was kind of a lighter, more
Speaker 3: mental than physical type of workout.
Speaker 2: Yeah, there were some media people that were allowing didn't know.
Speaker 2: Yeah we we did not, but a couple of the
Speaker 2: media people were allowed in. But I don't think they
Speaker 2: really get there that I should say. They all kind
Speaker 2: of echoed that same sentence that you just had. It's
Speaker 2: a fifty we we finally we figured out some some
Speaker 2: things that we had been wondering. It's a fifty yard
Speaker 2: field with the two end zones, so it's so seventy
Speaker 2: in total, but a fifty yard field plus the end zones,
Speaker 2: which you can have a field better than you know,
Speaker 2: better than certainly the small gymnasium across the way, but
Speaker 2: still going to a handcuff you a little bit in
Speaker 2: terms of what you can accomplish.
Speaker 3: Oh yeah, especially with that many bodies too. It'd be
Speaker 3: different even if there was fifty three guys. But I
Speaker 3: mean you almost have doubled that, so, yeah, you could
Speaker 3: break up in the groups and do some things. And
Speaker 3: I don't think it was just walk through walk through,
Speaker 3: but I think there was a lot of that pace
Speaker 3: to it from what I've asked three or four people
Speaker 3: that were there, and frankly, I mean it's not again
Speaker 3: not a huge secret, but they're like, you didn't miss
Speaker 3: a whole lot as a spectator, you know.
Speaker 2: Yeah. One thing that I did want to follow up
Speaker 2: with you, Matt, speaking of kind of procedural things, you
Speaker 2: and I yesterday had kind of hypothesized what happens when
Speaker 2: an NFL team during training camp has to pause because
Speaker 2: of weather. Yeah, yeah, and then move to a different location. Yes,
Speaker 2: And we talked about like, does the clock keep running
Speaker 2: if you have one hundred and ten minutes, can you
Speaker 2: stop that time to move your location or is it
Speaker 2: as soon as the clock is running, once the sand
Speaker 2: is through the hour glass, right, it's all gone and
Speaker 2: practice is over. I asked our buddy Jerry Dulac last
Speaker 2: night and he said, you do have the ability to pause.
Speaker 2: So when the Steelers, not that it takes them very long.
Speaker 2: They're fortunate here, but still, but that could be ten
Speaker 2: to fifteen, twenty minutes to get everybody moved, to get
Speaker 2: everybody reset and in the new place, and all the
Speaker 2: equipment and different things that you need. But it is
Speaker 2: you are able to stop that time so which help
Speaker 2: help them out here a.
Speaker 3: Little bit, which I'm sure you had mentioned this earlier,
Speaker 3: and I'm glad we brought it up because we left
Speaker 3: some people hanging on that. And when you told me
Speaker 3: that you found the answer out last night you mentioned,
Speaker 3: I'm like, we should have just assumed that, you know
Speaker 3: what I mean, like, because there have been times they
Speaker 3: paused here and went to the south side, right.
Speaker 2: That's why there, because it wouldn't make much sense if
Speaker 2: they paused here and then drove sixty minutes away, yeah,
Speaker 2: and could only get twenty more minutes of practice.
Speaker 3: I mean, if you only get you know, one hundred
Speaker 3: and ten minutes of practice like the early ones were,
Speaker 3: and you even have to just go to the facility
Speaker 3: that you can basically throw a frisbee too. From here,
Speaker 3: you're still gonna waste fifteen minutes of transporting people and
Speaker 3: then walking down and getting regrouped out of one hundred
Speaker 3: and ten minutes or whatever. Of course that has to
Speaker 3: be the rule, but I guess the next step is
Speaker 3: I assume it's just sort of an honor system, you
Speaker 3: know what.
Speaker 2: That's what Jerry made it.
Speaker 3: Yeah, okay, yeah, you know, like yeah, yes, we had
Speaker 3: to pause fifteen minutes because of rain or we had
Speaker 3: to get undercover or whatever. Then we resumed at one
Speaker 3: o three or you know, right.
Speaker 2: If you're if you're two or three or four or
Speaker 2: five minutes off, okay, so it once now if you're
Speaker 2: trying to steal half an hour here and there, and
Speaker 2: then that's when we.
Speaker 3: Kept them six pm because we had that delay like.
Speaker 2: That, ain't a twenty minute delay does not give you
Speaker 2: two extra hours of practice. So little housekeeping from us, Yeah,
Speaker 2: some conversation that we don't leave.
Speaker 3: You hang on that Matt.
Speaker 2: One thing that I noticed today that I wanted to
Speaker 2: run by you. And again it's been it's been a
Speaker 2: little tough sledding for us this week because Monday we
Speaker 2: got to see about thirty minutes of practice, maybe at
Speaker 2: forty minutes of practice, but a nice chunk of that
Speaker 2: was just stretching and warming up. Anyways, and then today
Speaker 2: not being able to see any I did we will
Speaker 2: do some bigger picture stuff today and I think this
Speaker 2: is kind of a good just little reset here in
Speaker 2: some ways. Ben's yeah, Ben sol Lack of ESPN dot com,
Speaker 2: who who you and I like? Visited Steelers camp a
Speaker 2: couple of days ago and he kind of uh talked
Speaker 2: to some people, had some conversations, did some observations, and
Speaker 2: outlined what he learned, what he took took away some
Speaker 2: other kind of key points from his time here in Latrobe.
Speaker 2: So best thing he saw and heard is that the
Speaker 2: defensive line is a preposterously deep unit.
Speaker 3: Uh.
Speaker 2: Everyone knows about Cam Hayward, you know, as he kind
Speaker 2: of writes here, but Keanu Benton on a contract year
Speaker 2: really you know, looking to put his best foot forward.
Speaker 2: Derek Harmon had a good first season, looking to build
Speaker 2: on that. Y A Black he set is one of
Speaker 2: the largest people in the league, and.
Speaker 3: He loves the.
Speaker 2: And he loves the veteran edition of Sebastian Joseph Day.
Speaker 2: He said, this could be, uh, he could be the
Speaker 2: kind of the the nose tackle, uh that Pittsburgh needs
Speaker 2: him and him and y A Black and what that
Speaker 2: will allow the guys to do. And then he said,
Speaker 2: you know, when you kind of factor in the edge
Speaker 2: room along with that deep.
Speaker 3: I was wondering if he was to go there because
Speaker 3: I think he should. Yeah, like the whole defensive front, yes.
Speaker 2: That you know that he thinks that that is going
Speaker 2: to be just such a strength of this team. He's
Speaker 2: excited to see how new defensive coordinator Patrick Graham is
Speaker 2: going to you know, move some guys around and try
Speaker 2: some different concepts. But just a defensive line in an
Speaker 2: edge group that has really high end talent and some
Speaker 2: really quality depth.
Speaker 3: Yeah, and it's also got age and youth and everything
Speaker 3: in between, some dudes that are in their prime leadership.
Speaker 3: There's a lot of money and draft picks invested, and
Speaker 3: you better get that out of that group. But I
Speaker 3: also think it's really noteworthy that the new defensive coordinator,
Speaker 3: Patrick Graham has made no bones about saying he thinks
Speaker 3: defense starts up front. He's spending obviously a ton of
Speaker 3: time with the big people as well in the hands
Speaker 3: on fashion as well as designing blitzes and stunts and
Speaker 3: simulator pressures and all that kind of stuff too. So
Speaker 3: I think you'll see their responsibilities and duties change from
Speaker 3: last year. But I also think it's a better group
Speaker 3: than last year, just because similar. But yeah, you throw
Speaker 3: Joseph Day in the mix, I think is a really
Speaker 3: nice addition that you didn't need, but you want.
Speaker 2: I think that's a great way to state it. And
Speaker 2: you know, hey, if we all know at some point,
Speaker 2: you know, Cam Heyward is not going to be at
Speaker 2: the absolute height of his powers, that's just that's just
Speaker 2: mother nature and father times when not if all those
Speaker 2: in all those things. But I think if even if
Speaker 2: Cam is a nine eighty five percent of the player
Speaker 2: that he was last year, if all those other young
Speaker 2: guys around him take a noticeable step forward, and Benton
Speaker 2: and Harmony a black and you get solid contributions from
Speaker 2: Sebastian Joseph Day, I think that that group could very
Speaker 2: easily be clearly improved from a unit that was solid
Speaker 2: last year.
Speaker 3: Yeah, and frankly, I'll even i'mluck you hard time, but
Speaker 3: I'll be shocked if Cam is only eighty five percent
Speaker 3: of last year. Yeah, I mean, like my hunches, he'll
Speaker 3: have another good year reconsider as his career. And if
Speaker 3: I'm not gonna be great, I'm just gonna hang it up,
Speaker 3: you know, And one day I'm just not gonna be
Speaker 3: playing anymore. As opposed to he's you know, at the
Speaker 3: and not looking like the player he could be. Now,
Speaker 3: I think a lot of this really goes back to
Speaker 3: you know that this is a plan of the front office.
Speaker 3: This is Omar and the whole organization saying Cam, we
Speaker 3: love you, but you we do not. You must mean
Speaker 3: to say, can't be the defensive tackle. It plays the
Speaker 3: most snaps in the league. Again, I mean, what do
Speaker 3: we I mean, you're begging for trouble, right, I mean
Speaker 3: you're really good for it, right, I mean like, okay,
Speaker 3: maybe maybe he's not on borrowed time, but that doesn't
Speaker 3: mean you have to push your luck to that degree.
Speaker 3: You know, let's get him to be Let's just drop
Speaker 3: his snapcount by one hundred or two hundred, and then
Speaker 3: all this rolls into place. Maybe your fourth quarter defense
Speaker 3: isn't the worst in the league, you know what I mean, Like,
Speaker 3: let's stay fresh for seventeen plus games. Let's stay fresh
Speaker 3: for sixty plus minutes. Because we know where things were
Speaker 3: falling apart. It's late in games and late in the
Speaker 3: season against tom competition over the years. So how do
Speaker 3: we avoid that Sebastian Joseph Day, you know, move him
Speaker 3: all over, come in and play forty snaps, but we
Speaker 3: didn't get out of anybody last year, you know. I mean,
Speaker 3: that's that's a plan, and you deal with injuries better.
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's it's it's absolutely I think a solid plan.
Speaker 2: That's the way you outline it there. It makes a
Speaker 2: ton of sense, and you're right, it's just you can
Speaker 2: almost sometimes with these guys, I think, especially when they
Speaker 2: get to Cam. Heyward's age less can be more.
Speaker 3: It has to be.
Speaker 2: It has to be. Yeah, uh, And I think we
Speaker 2: see that with some veteran guys around the league, And Hey,
Speaker 2: it's amazing what you got out of Cam last year,
Speaker 2: the level that he played at, the amount of snaps
Speaker 2: and just consistent health that he had across the board
Speaker 2: last season.
Speaker 3: You're tempting faith, but you better know you.
Speaker 2: Better not be banking on that every single year and
Speaker 2: counting on running them back.
Speaker 3: It's amazing you've gotten this much out of them, and
Speaker 3: it's amazing you could even consider doing it again. It's
Speaker 3: really because he did it to him. It's amazing. I mean,
Speaker 3: it's simply incredible. The ironman, the toughness, and I don't
Speaker 3: think he's the problem in the fourth quarters by any means,
Speaker 3: I mean, I wish they all played like Cam Hayward
Speaker 3: in the fourth quarter of the eleven that are out there.
Speaker 3: But again, he is human, you think, But man, you
Speaker 3: do not want to just keep testing and say, oh,
Speaker 3: just keep eating eating innings and expect you to mow
Speaker 3: everyone down with fastballs. You know.
Speaker 2: He has also in here Ben Solac's breakdown of what
Speaker 2: he learned at Pittsburgh Steelers camp on ESPN dot com
Speaker 2: one fantasy football nugget. In his breakdown here too, Matt
Speaker 2: He says, I can't get a lean on Jalen Warren
Speaker 2: and Rico Dowdell, but I'm confident both will be used
Speaker 2: enough to be playable in any given week. Dado is
Speaker 2: a more than capable receiving back, and I think he'll
Speaker 2: bite into Warren's catches more than most people might realize.
Speaker 2: Warren is a spectacular tackle breaker, and I think he'll
Speaker 2: bite into Dowdel's carries more than most people realize. The
Speaker 2: Steelers will have to be a run heavy team is
Speaker 2: they will need a strong play action game to get
Speaker 2: any explosives.
Speaker 3: Totally get that, uh, And I get the hunch just
Speaker 3: chatting with people, no one's like divulged house secrets or anything.
Speaker 3: But I do think the Warren Doubtle combination will be
Speaker 3: less situational than the gain Well situation or Nause's the
Speaker 3: early down guy. Warren's third downs, I mean, I think
Speaker 3: that they're gonna be semi hot handish, you know, first
Speaker 3: and ten, just take this series and if you get.
Speaker 2: It, pick up a six yard run on first.
Speaker 3: Down, or if you're gassed, don't be afraid to come
Speaker 3: out because I'll get your right back in. You know,
Speaker 3: I got another suitable dude here. That they're gonna be
Speaker 3: somewhat interchangeable. Well, the only thing I'll differ from what
Speaker 3: I just said said though, is third and long, not
Speaker 3: necessarily every third. I can't believe it will be doubtful
Speaker 3: just because.
Speaker 2: Of how much Warren excels and pass protection.
Speaker 3: Come and catching the ball, I mean, as an more
Speaker 3: just accomplished route runner, and he's better in protection. But
Speaker 3: if everyone's healthy and it's everything's equal, although homework could
Speaker 3: do a little bit of that too, he's good in
Speaker 3: protection and he's a good third down guy. Yes, yes,
Speaker 3: I'm assuming he's a maged team, but.
Speaker 2: I think so too. But I also really want to
Speaker 2: see what his uses looks like on Thursday when we
Speaker 2: get into preseason, into that game of course against the
Speaker 2: Green Bay Packers. It's coming up a little over forty
Speaker 2: eight hours from now at Akersure Stadium. Final.
Speaker 3: Couple's happening to see this by the total coincidence, But
Speaker 3: our buddy Tyler just sent us a tweet that Ben
Speaker 3: Soley put out saying, and we could talk about it
Speaker 3: or not, but I'm want to get back to his article,
Speaker 3: like you mentioned, But you're a team with an aging
Speaker 3: starter quarterback Steelers, Rams Jets, how much would you offer
Speaker 3: for JJ McCarthy.
Speaker 2: Well, I personally wouldn't offer much because I don't I
Speaker 2: don't believe it.
Speaker 3: I didn't like him coming on a Michigan. Yeah, I'm
Speaker 3: aiming bigger. I mean right, I'd rather go after Anthony
Speaker 3: Richardson then JJ McCarthy.
Speaker 2: Oh that's a good one.
Speaker 3: We will. There's no room for any of that though here,
Speaker 3: Like what are you gonna do with another one? You're
Speaker 3: having a hard time getting four and involved.
Speaker 2: We will do some around the league stuff here in
Speaker 2: this first hour. But yes, Kyler Murray named the starter
Speaker 2: for the Kings today, which obviously they.
Speaker 3: See I mean, that was just like, we don't even
Speaker 3: have to fake it anymore.
Speaker 2: I think that was inevitable the day he signed the contract,
Speaker 2: just they just needed some time to let it seem
Speaker 2: like there was a process playing out. Other notes here
Speaker 2: from Solac that he's his takeaways from Steelers camp. The
Speaker 2: buzz in Pittsburgh is at thirty year receiver Roman Wilson
Speaker 2: has rounded a corner and developed workable chemistry with Aaron Rodgers.
Speaker 2: I'm not sure how many snaps he will get behind
Speaker 2: DK Metcalf and Michael Pittman junior, where you know, he
Speaker 2: might even be one of the guys that they don't
Speaker 2: want on the field in heavy, heavy run usage situations,
Speaker 2: so he'll be probably relegated to more clear passing sets.
Speaker 3: At this time, I assume Bernard would be the better
Speaker 3: blocker even in his rookie year. I only say that
Speaker 3: just because Bernard has not played a football game.
Speaker 2: His next bullet point actually says that that he's better
Speaker 2: on blocking assignments in some of the finer details during
Speaker 2: eleven on eleven's.
Speaker 3: Okay, Bernard, yes, I totally get that. Now you aren't
Speaker 3: on a speaking to McCarthy, you're not on a Harbaugh
Speaker 3: led Michigan team without doing something. You're not going to
Speaker 3: just walk around out there in a heavy run team
Speaker 3: when you're winning the national title. He's just not very
Speaker 3: big or powerful, But I do think he'll stick his
Speaker 3: nose in, he'll effort. And I also think what Ben
Speaker 3: doesn't mention here is they are going to play a
Speaker 3: fair amount of twelve. I'm sure and neither one of
Speaker 3: those guys will be out there in twelve, but it
Speaker 3: looks like he's coming around. I'm starting to buy in.
Speaker 2: Speaking of tight ends, Ben Solak asked Brian Angelico, who
Speaker 2: of course was a tight ends coach for a long
Speaker 2: time in the league, as if he has ever quote
Speaker 2: if he has ever coached anyone like Darnell Washington, and
Speaker 2: he said maybe just Josh Oliver would be the only
Speaker 2: one similar.
Speaker 3: Yeah, he's smaller but still power.
Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, every bit of two hundred and eighty maybe
Speaker 2: even two hundred and ninety pounds, And looking for him
Speaker 2: to open things up in the play action passing game
Speaker 2: this season. What Darnell watching and brings to the offense
Speaker 2: cannot be understated in value for a quarterback like Aaron
Speaker 2: Rodgers who needs clean pockets to operate. At this point
Speaker 2: in his career, having a tight end who is essentially
Speaker 2: a sixth offensive lineman is particularly valuable.
Speaker 3: Couldn't agree more. We've sung his praises forever. He's one
Speaker 3: of my favorite Steelers. I think he's one of the
Speaker 3: most unique players in the league. I think, you know,
Speaker 3: I often use these examples of and I'm not picking
Speaker 3: on Connor Hayward, but when they would trust Connor Hayward
Speaker 3: out there, I think the defense said thanks. I think
Speaker 3: when you put Adam Thielen out there, Valdez Scantling, a
Speaker 3: lot of these guys that the offense says, thank you.
Speaker 3: That guy's not that hard to play against. Darnolt Washington
Speaker 3: is not the best tight end in the league, but
Speaker 3: he's one of the hardest to play against. Yeah, it
Speaker 3: sure matters.
Speaker 2: Two more here from Ben Solack of ESPN dot Com.
Speaker 2: His takeaways from the Steelers so far is that FALTONU McCormick,
Speaker 2: and Zach Fraser form about as good of a young
Speaker 2: offensive line bedrock as you could find in this league.
Speaker 2: And if Maxie Honatchorre can stay healthy and win the
Speaker 2: right tackle job, Pittsburgh as something here.
Speaker 3: I'm glad he recognized that, you know, like, it's easy
Speaker 3: for us to say we're excited about the young No
Speaker 3: line and we've seen all the resources go in, but
Speaker 3: I've gone out and said things to the extreme of
Speaker 3: I would not trade this line for any other in
Speaker 3: terms of investments going forward. Youth Now, you can maybe
Speaker 3: convince me on one or two we could. You know,
Speaker 3: Alton Slater are pretty nice pair of tackles and you know,
Speaker 3: things like that. But for him to compare that, like
Speaker 3: on a national level, to say that this could be
Speaker 3: an enviable group compared to thirty one other teams, not
Speaker 3: just oh, it's so much better than it used to
Speaker 3: be when Moore was out there at left tackle and
Speaker 3: guys like that. I think it's you know, spot on.
Speaker 3: And Ben does get work.
Speaker 2: He does. And then the last thing here from Ben
Speaker 2: Solak is that basically, when you consider the size and
Speaker 2: the physicality of the wide receivers, when you consider Darnel Washington,
Speaker 2: Pat Fryarmouth and rookie fifth round of Riley Noah Kowski,
Speaker 2: the Steelers are really going to challenge teams that want
Speaker 2: to play with light boxes and a nickel personnel.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I don't know that enough people have caught up
Speaker 3: to this, but it seems to me, and it's just
Speaker 3: an observation, but we've talked about a little bit. Almost
Speaker 3: everyone that this team has added since Mike McCarthy took
Speaker 3: the job has been a plus sized player. For the
Speaker 3: two things that have really stood out to me is
Speaker 3: size for the each respective position, Like I think that's
Speaker 3: why they went doubt on not game well. And versatility.
Speaker 3: You know, guys that can align. Pittman can align in
Speaker 3: several locations. You know, Hoffman can play in a lot
Speaker 3: of different spots. But almost everybody they've added is a
Speaker 3: big person for their position, And boy is it going
Speaker 3: to be obvious to anyone looking on when they tried
Speaker 3: out Dowder or Warren, Friarmouth, Washington, Pittman and Metcalf who
Speaker 3: that's one hundred pounds heavier than anyone else's. Yeah. Yeah.
Speaker 2: And then as the as the offenses get smaller around
Speaker 2: the league, defenses get smaller. Yeah, the defenses get smaller,
Speaker 2: the offenses start to get bigger again, and.
Speaker 3: Teams play nickel against that. I mean, I'd be real
Speaker 3: careful with.
Speaker 2: That if you're looking for a matchup card that you
Speaker 2: can easily pinpoint at this point in the process with
Speaker 2: the Steelers, I think that would be high on the list,
Speaker 2: very high on the list for this offense.
Speaker 3: Yeah.
Speaker 2: Yeah, So there's a little bit of a breakdown from
Speaker 2: Ben Solak, a national voice and name that Matt and
Speaker 2: I think does really good work, and his observations from
Speaker 2: being out here at Steelers camp a few days ago.
Speaker 2: We're gonna get to our first break. Let's get to
Speaker 2: some of that news around the league. What's going on
Speaker 2: in Minnesota, A couple other injuries and extensions across the
Speaker 2: league that we need to check in on as well
Speaker 2: as we roll along here just getting started. Matt and
Speaker 2: I are with you up until six o'clock for about
Speaker 2: the next three hours as we put a bow on
Speaker 2: today's proceedings and get you ready for the first preseason
Speaker 2: game on Thursday. Ului and Williamson, It's the Drive, all
Speaker 2: part of our ongoing training camp coverage Steelers Nation Radio
Speaker 2: on the Steelers Audio Network.
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Speaker 2: Back on the campus here of Saint Vincent College, as
Speaker 2: we've got some news of the day to get to here,
Speaker 2: as we get going with the drive on this Tuesday,
Speaker 2: I guess still technically afternoon map. We're rolling towards the
Speaker 2: evening and of course rolling towards that first preseason game
Speaker 2: against the Packers on Thursday. Bigger Yeah, I mean, I
Speaker 2: think this is a relatively big piece of news across
Speaker 2: the NFL today. But you just heard Matt and I
Speaker 2: mention it briefly there in the first segment. But according
Speaker 2: to Adam Schefter and really just about every single NFL
Speaker 2: national insider, the Vikings have named Kyler Murray there starting quarterback.
Speaker 3: Matt.
Speaker 2: That was pretty quick and probably the plan all along.
Speaker 3: I'm sure now people might not know this entire background.
Speaker 3: So they are paying Kyler Murray much like the Steelers
Speaker 3: did Russell Wilson, like basically nothing league minimum million bucks
Speaker 3: and Arizona's picking up the rest of the tab. But
Speaker 3: he is a free agent after this year. They're renting
Speaker 3: him at an unbelievable cost, controlled situation for one season.
Speaker 3: Now they can extend them, they can franchise, and they
Speaker 3: can you know they can, just like any other free
Speaker 3: agent taking deal with them. McCarthy, who they drafted a
Speaker 3: couple of years ago, is basically been an utter failure.
Speaker 3: But even though we both said the same thing, I
Speaker 3: didn't love him coming out of Michigan. You didn't love
Speaker 3: them coming out of Michigan. He's been also dealta somewhat
Speaker 3: unfair hand.
Speaker 2: He's had injury issues. A lot going.
Speaker 3: On, a lot of injury issues, and you get behind
Speaker 3: the eight ball and the tomlinism of trying to hop
Speaker 3: on a moving train, it gets really difficult. And by
Speaker 3: no means could Minnesota just say, oh, we'll trust him
Speaker 3: to be fine this year, because he's when he's been
Speaker 3: on the field, he's been bad and he's unproven he's
Speaker 3: young and blah blah blah blah blah. Now I do
Speaker 3: think their head coach is masterful with quarterbacks. We saw
Speaker 3: him get a ton out of Darnold, a ton out
Speaker 3: of Cousins. I think he could might get a kind
Speaker 3: out of Kyler. But one thing he did didn't do
Speaker 3: any any favors for McCarthy was his degree of difficulties
Speaker 3: of throws were really high. You know, now he's showing
Speaker 3: to Justin Jefferson and that makes it better, but he's
Speaker 3: driving the ball in the tight windows down the field.
Speaker 3: There weren't a lot of layup throws for McCarthy. So
Speaker 3: not only was he kind of swim I mean mentally
Speaker 3: experienced injury wise, but he was asked to do tough
Speaker 3: things too. And they had some O line injuries and
Speaker 3: didn't run the ball great. So I don't I'm not
Speaker 3: even if I didn't love him coming out of school
Speaker 3: McCarthy Richardson. Some of these dudes, by no means said
Speaker 3: the league write them off. And it's only twenty three
Speaker 3: years old still, which is wild, right, I mean, he
Speaker 3: could turn into a Baker like level guy. I mean,
Speaker 3: I don't much sayings to be Burrow or Lamar or anything.
Speaker 3: But maybe he lands somewhere, probably not Pittsburgh. I don't
Speaker 3: want Pittsburgh necessarily and revitalizes his career. But if you're
Speaker 3: the Vikings, I'm sure you basically knew this, and Kyler
Speaker 3: probably knew this when you signed the deal. You know
Speaker 3: like that this is just not much competition. Say what
Speaker 3: you want about Kyler Murray. He's definitely a top twenty quarterback.
Speaker 3: Maybe he's not quite worth the first overall pick, and
Speaker 3: he is short, but he's had a lot of good
Speaker 3: moments too. I mean, he's a good player.
Speaker 2: He's a viable NFL ST Yeah, quarter I'm in at
Speaker 2: worst where JJ McCarthy's still trying to carve that rollout.
Speaker 2: He missed his entire rookie season with injury and then
Speaker 2: started just ten games last year.
Speaker 3: So again, and I think they had the worst quarterback
Speaker 3: play in the league last year. You've stayed had Jets
Speaker 3: and Browns are in the conversation, but like from week
Speaker 3: one to the day you're eliminated. No team was worse
Speaker 3: at quarter named Max Brosmer in there for two games,
Speaker 3: and you know, like if.
Speaker 2: They just had maybe the eighteenth best quarterback play, they
Speaker 2: would have probably made the playoffs.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I think they ended up nine to eight. I
Speaker 3: mean they end a third place in that division. And
Speaker 3: again I keep saying, if you can go from thirtieth
Speaker 3: to twentieth that position, you're gonna be in the hunt, right.
Speaker 2: For a couple more wins. It should be enough for
Speaker 2: a couple more wins. So Kyler Murray will now be
Speaker 2: the Vikings fourth different Week one starter over the last
Speaker 2: four years.
Speaker 3: Of course, Siler fans know that's not a fun place today.
Speaker 3: It is. No, it is not.
Speaker 2: We're finally running one back here again this year, baby,
Speaker 2: But it was JJ McCarthy last year, Sam Darnold in
Speaker 2: twenty twenty four, and then Kirk Cousins in twenty twenty three.
Speaker 2: So Minnesota trying to solve that quarterback issue that Matt,
Speaker 2: as Matt just stated was an albatross an anchor around
Speaker 2: their neck last year, and pretty early in this process,
Speaker 2: Kyler Murray named starting quarterback in Minnesota.
Speaker 3: Now, I'm sure McCarthy would love the opportunity to go
Speaker 3: elsewhere now, but I don't know that he's got the
Speaker 3: gravitas to be like I'm demanding a trade, like.
Speaker 2: I would be shocked. He's played ten games in his
Speaker 2: NFL career.
Speaker 3: We have six round pick for him or something, you know,
Speaker 3: I mean at that point, and if you're the Vikes,
Speaker 3: even if he's a long term backup, he might be
Speaker 3: worth keeping around. I mean, if you would move him,
Speaker 3: you got nothing on roster next year.
Speaker 2: No doubt. And listen, Kyler Murray is a guy who
Speaker 2: in his own right is a little undersized. And oh yeah,
Speaker 2: you know, him playing seventeen games and staying healthy is
Speaker 2: not guaranteed.
Speaker 3: We might see McCarthy in week four, who knows, and.
Speaker 2: I'm sure that's probably Minnesota and Kevin O'Connell's message.
Speaker 3: To him right now, be patient.
Speaker 2: Hey, I'm sure, I'm sure you're disappointed, and we know
Speaker 2: that you know the NFL career has not started for
Speaker 2: you the way that you had hoped. But just be patient,
Speaker 2: keep working because.
Speaker 3: We'll work you like crazy in the preseasons.
Speaker 2: Stories far from written, and you're you're gonna have another
Speaker 2: opportunity at some point. Just get yourself ready.
Speaker 3: For That's the thing. He's gonna have another opportunity at
Speaker 3: some point.
Speaker 2: Twenty three years old.
Speaker 1: Right.
Speaker 2: As much as I am not a fan, in his
Speaker 2: game at all, and I wouldn't.
Speaker 3: He'll probably be a ten year player. Those first round
Speaker 3: picks get opportunity after opportunity.
Speaker 2: Lookt Kenny Pickett, He's continuing to get opportunities and opportunities.
Speaker 2: And so yeah, JJ McCarthy's story far from written. Even
Speaker 2: if Okay, let's let me ask you this then, Matt
Speaker 2: hypothetical for you before we move on here. Say that
Speaker 2: the Steelers did not have Will Howard or Drew Aller.
Speaker 3: Okay, that I'd be really interested in those guys.
Speaker 2: Say it was Aaron Rodgers, Mason Rudolph and a camp
Speaker 2: insert camp Arm, Chris ol a Doken type name, and
Speaker 2: you'd be interested in JJ McCarthy first.
Speaker 3: Six round pick on the dollars right right, I'd prefer Richardson.
Speaker 3: I mean, there's probably another name or two out there.
Speaker 3: I don't think Pennix would be on the move yet,
Speaker 3: but highly drafted first round dude from the last three years.
Speaker 3: I'm a believer and I want to take a bite
Speaker 3: that apple all the time. And like if the Rams
Speaker 3: hadn't drafted Simpson, I'd go after one of those guys
Speaker 3: on the cheap. You know, just there's been a lot
Speaker 3: of recent success or a lot of recent showings of
Speaker 3: highly drafted dudes like Darnold, even before he went to
Speaker 3: the Vikings basically sat a year with Shanahan and the Niners.
Speaker 3: I mean that's where you go in.
Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, I.
Speaker 3: Mean, like Jameis Winston never came all around, but he
Speaker 3: went and just sat with Sean Payton in the Saints,
Speaker 3: you know, behind breeze for a year or whatever it was.
Speaker 3: You know, like you go to the shop and you
Speaker 3: get all your you get the loop job and the
Speaker 3: oil job and new tires and get all the pressure
Speaker 3: off your back and you just clearly the two even
Speaker 3: if Josh Allen's in front of you, go there, you know,
Speaker 3: and just sit for a year and learn exactly.
Speaker 2: It got him another opportunity.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean, Mitch Bisky has had a very good career,
Speaker 3: but he was second picking the draft and he's going
Speaker 3: to retire with twelve years of service under his belt
Speaker 3: in some starts, you know.
Speaker 2: In a nice sized bank account. Yes, Matt. Some other
Speaker 2: notables today, weird kind of injury day, lot of injuries
Speaker 2: popping up here across practices in the league today. Let's
Speaker 2: start in our own division Raven's corner Nate Wiggins carted
Speaker 2: off the field, I know, after what looked to be
Speaker 2: a left leg or knee injury. Couldn't put any weight
Speaker 2: on his left leg and had to kind of, you know,
Speaker 2: do the drape his arms over the trainers to get
Speaker 2: off the field and back into their facility. He's one
Speaker 2: of those guys that would be on the short list
Speaker 2: of players that Baltimore canifford to lose.
Speaker 3: Yeah, this could be very bad news for them, so
Speaker 3: they're this is a guy I liked a lot coming
Speaker 3: out watching his rookie year. I don't think he played
Speaker 3: all seventeen games. I want to say there's some injuries
Speaker 3: involved there too. He's skinnier, but a really, really good athlete.
Speaker 3: Long I thought this guy could be a number one
Speaker 3: quarterback someday, you know, like he I think this guy's
Speaker 3: got immense potential and hasn't quite come around. And I
Speaker 3: always hesitate, you know, camp reports, but the camp reports
Speaker 3: were he's one of the best player of the camp.
Speaker 3: And he's like the guy that would follow a metcalf,
Speaker 3: you know, if they were to follow somebody, he'd be
Speaker 3: their top corner for sure. He's way past Humphrey at
Speaker 3: this point, and frankly, I think their secondary had a
Speaker 3: chance after this offseason and be one of the best
Speaker 3: in the league. Hamilton would be a bigger loss, but
Speaker 3: that's about the going one in the secondary team close
Speaker 3: like this would be huge.
Speaker 2: It's it's unfortunate for Baltimore. Yeah, and hey listen, far
Speaker 2: from far from being a devastating blow just yet. They'll
Speaker 2: have all the you know, all the checking into him
Speaker 2: and his status and everything, but not what you want
Speaker 2: to hear.
Speaker 3: And you know, cart it off doesn't mean the same.
Speaker 2: I'm glad that you always mentioned. Yes, absolutely. Saints defensive
Speaker 2: end Cam Jordan could potentially miss the start of the
Speaker 2: season with a hamstring injury. According to head coach Kellen Moore,
Speaker 2: So a little bit of a bummer for him, with
Speaker 2: his age and everything. I'm sure there'd be astra cautious,
Speaker 2: but you as you and I kind of me. He's
Speaker 2: another He's another nine sacks season away from really having
Speaker 2: a strong Canton case, and so a big year for
Speaker 2: Cam Jordan. Hopefully he's able to stay stay healthy and
Speaker 2: get out there and going at full speed. In September,
Speaker 2: just about a month from now, the games get going. Also,
Speaker 2: Matt Rams wide receiver Pooka Nakua left practice with the
Speaker 2: training staff about just twenty three minutes ago. Here Sean
Speaker 2: McVay says, no update on his status for what happened,
Speaker 2: So that's obviously still stay tuned on that very early,
Speaker 2: but we do know that he left practice with the
Speaker 2: training staff. Obviously, with all this stuff going on with
Speaker 2: his contract negotiations and potential discipline from the off feels
Speaker 2: right he had not the news that Pooka wanted.
Speaker 3: I'm sure no. I mean it goes out saying too.
Speaker 3: I mean, DeVante Adams a really good player, but like
Speaker 3: we did a six pack on the Rams yesterday where
Speaker 3: basically I just create like six concerns or topics and
Speaker 3: offensive tackle and wide receiver are really thin. You know,
Speaker 3: like the Rams look like a super team all that,
Speaker 3: but Adams is declining, and you know, Nikua is the
Speaker 3: every down work horse type and he would be they
Speaker 3: may rather lose Miles Garrett, I mean just in terms
Speaker 3: of how you can get by through the season. So
Speaker 3: we really stay tuned on this. Like in the fantasy world,
Speaker 3: he's either the second or third receiver off the board.
Speaker 3: I mean, we know that he's ridiculously productive, and Jamar
Speaker 3: Chase is the only one going ahead of him consistently,
Speaker 3: so he's right there with JSN and he's on a
Speaker 3: contract year, so hopefully for them and him, it's just
Speaker 3: you know, a scare. But you said, this just happened
Speaker 3: like twenty.
Speaker 2: Just happened like twenty some minutes ago. So if there's
Speaker 2: any other news, we'll obviously keep everybody posted. But that's
Speaker 2: kind of us some of the moving and shaking, and
Speaker 2: again some big names there with some some injury designations
Speaker 2: or at least some concerns in practice on this Tuesday
Speaker 2: across the league.
Speaker 3: Matt Wiggins ones really to keep an.
Speaker 2: Eye on, I mean, especially for the Steelers.
Speaker 3: That's what I mean, right, it's the it's the uh
Speaker 3: you know, it's.
Speaker 2: That adage that we all know of, like we're never
Speaker 2: going to sit here and root for our opponents to
Speaker 2: get injured or anything like that. It's just bush league.
Speaker 2: But we also aren't going to hide the fact that
Speaker 2: that would have big ramifications for the Ravens, for the Steelers,
Speaker 2: for all the AFC North and in Baltimore, potentially having
Speaker 2: an injury to one of their key contributors on defense.
Speaker 3: Real quick with them. I'm almost certain Matta Bouquet is
Speaker 3: dressing for every practice, doing things, but at a very
Speaker 3: very slow pace. Like I don't think he's doing teamwork.
Speaker 3: I don't think he's banging with centers and guards yet.
Speaker 3: But there is a lot of cautious optimism around him.
Speaker 3: But other than Hamilton Wiggins and Mattabuquet are as important
Speaker 3: as any defensive player on that team.
Speaker 2: To not what you want to hear in early August
Speaker 2: when there's still a lot of a lot of time
Speaker 2: left in this season and in this process, and you
Speaker 2: don't want to start losing guys this early along. That
Speaker 2: is for sure for certain. West Ruler Matt Williamson. More
Speaker 2: conversation when we return. As we roll along, it is
Speaker 2: the Drive of Course High, a topfield on the campus
Speaker 2: of Saint Vincent College. All part of our ongoing training
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Speaker 2: Interesting breakdown from Bill Barnwell, who Matt and I are
Speaker 2: both fans of of ESPN dot com. You know we
Speaker 2: mentioned the La rams there and Pukunakua leaving practice and
Speaker 2: what is everyone just knows the proverbial the odds on
Speaker 2: favorite to win the Super Bowl right now in LA
Speaker 2: after as good as they were last year. Then they
Speaker 2: add Trent McDuffie, Then they add Miles Garrett, They should
Speaker 2: or could looking likely to potentially add Aaron Donald into
Speaker 2: the fold as well. Understandably the favorite at this point.
Speaker 2: And what Bill Barnwell did, Matt was he kind of
Speaker 2: took the fifteen most significant favorites heading into a season
Speaker 2: in the NFL in the Super Bowl era. Ye, so
Speaker 2: there's a couple one or two from the eighties, couple
Speaker 2: from the nineties, and then the majority of them from
Speaker 2: the twenty first century, also when this information was readily available.
Speaker 3: Yeah, and say, I know how long they've been charting
Speaker 3: these things, But that's his problem, not mine.
Speaker 2: But of the fifteenth fifteen teams that were the most
Speaker 2: significant favorites to win a Super Bowl during the season,
Speaker 2: how did that end up playing out for them?
Speaker 3: Yeah? Which is interesting because I'm sure it's like this
Speaker 3: time of year you look at like all the rams
Speaker 3: are really tough, but boy, it's a long year. It's
Speaker 3: a tough division for them. In particular, the NFC has
Speaker 3: a lot of options in pitfalls. And as we always say,
Speaker 3: and we saw it in the last segment talking about
Speaker 3: Pooka Nakua as monks and some other things around the league,
Speaker 3: most of the stuff that happens to teams going forward
Speaker 3: is bad. It just is.
Speaker 2: It's the nature of the beast, right.
Speaker 3: And you mentioned this, you know, stealing your thunder a
Speaker 3: little bit. We were walking in and you mentioned this,
Speaker 3: you know, this segment to some degree. So if you're
Speaker 3: like a fifteen to twenty percent chance of winning the
Speaker 3: Super Bowl, that's so high.
Speaker 2: Like this year's Rams lead the league by a substantial margin.
Speaker 2: Math they have a twelve and a half percent and
Speaker 2: they're twelve and.
Speaker 3: A half Okay, wow, I mean twenty's probably getting.
Speaker 2: Say, twenty's about the highest that you you know, a
Speaker 2: couple of those Chiefs teams the past few years, coming
Speaker 2: to the Tom Bradytriots teams, and then I think maybe.
Speaker 3: I wonder, like the seventy eight if you go back
Speaker 3: to that.
Speaker 2: Wasn't back that far. But there are some of the
Speaker 2: you've highlighted in the past. How for so long the
Speaker 2: NFC championship.
Speaker 3: Game, or if they Dallas Dallas.
Speaker 2: Niners and sometimes they met in the divisional round you
Speaker 2: know earlier, that plays out on this list too. But
Speaker 2: even those teams, Yeah, eighteen nineteen, twenty percent is very
Speaker 2: very high end.
Speaker 3: Like obviously, I don't think you need a mathematician to
Speaker 3: say you always take the field over the champ. I
Speaker 3: wonder if other sports are like that, Like do you
Speaker 3: think the Jordan Bulls were like forty percent or the
Speaker 3: Gretzky Oilers.
Speaker 2: Yeah, you know what I mean, some of those Yankees teams.
Speaker 3: Right like still there's a lot of bad things, but
Speaker 3: not like the NFL.
Speaker 2: No, no, not at all.
Speaker 3: I mean, if Jordan stays healthy, they're gonna be in it.
Speaker 2: Because they can play two bad games against the Jazz
Speaker 2: and still win the series.
Speaker 3: And six right right right, Yes.
Speaker 2: So of the fifteen most significant favorites, Matt two won
Speaker 2: the Super.
Speaker 3: Bowl of fifteen yes, now okay.
Speaker 2: Now sick four others part of me lost the Super Bowl.
Speaker 2: So six six of those fifteen little under half at
Speaker 2: least went to the Super Bowls.
Speaker 3: Guess, which is more than I would have guessed. Yeah. Yeah.
Speaker 2: Now, the other side of it, too is there's been
Speaker 2: a few that just flat out missed the playoffs. Not many,
Speaker 2: not many, but a couple. The two thousand and two
Speaker 2: La Rams were one of those teams that had you know,
Speaker 2: and that was kind of the greatest show on the turf,
Speaker 2: greatest show on turf era there and that team, sorry
Speaker 2: the two thousand because yeah, in two thousand and one
Speaker 2: they had lost the Super Bowl to the Patriots. That
Speaker 2: was the first of the of the Tom Brady, Bill
Speaker 2: Belichick era Patriots. A lot of these are those Patriot teams.
Speaker 3: The I would think the Patriots would be well represented.
Speaker 2: You know, the ninety eight Green Bay Packers who lost
Speaker 2: to the Niners in the wild card round or on
Speaker 2: this list. But pretty much all these teams Matt at
Speaker 2: least made the playoffs. I think there were only like
Speaker 2: I said, I think the two thousand and eight New
Speaker 2: England Patriots missed the playoffs. That was the year that
Speaker 2: Matt Castle had to fill in for Tom Brady, so obviously,
Speaker 2: but they.
Speaker 3: Still were like fourteen and two they I know, they
Speaker 3: just happened to lose tie.
Speaker 2: Breakers, which is a nuts. They were eleven and five
Speaker 2: that I just didn't have the tie breakers to make it.
Speaker 2: They were one of the ones that missed the playoffs,
Speaker 2: and then one of those Rams teams, but that was
Speaker 2: the two thousand and two Rams after losing to the
Speaker 2: Super Bowl the previous year. So two of the fifteen
Speaker 2: favorites won the super Bowl. Two of the fifteen favorites
Speaker 2: didn't even make the playoffs at all.
Speaker 3: I can't remember happened to the Rams scene that did
Speaker 3: make the playoffs. But one of them lost the best
Speaker 3: quarterback of all time. Yes, you know, but that's what
Speaker 3: kept them out and barely kept them out. They were,
Speaker 3: you know, a tiebreaker away from going to the playoffs. Yes,
Speaker 3: so this team. These teams basically almost always go to
Speaker 3: the play.
Speaker 2: These teams basically almost always go to the playoffs and
Speaker 2: at least at least advanced to the divisional or championship weekend, and.
Speaker 3: Half of them have at least gotten to the Super Bowl,
Speaker 3: which again is way more than I expected, way more
Speaker 3: than way as walk in here, I said, ah, maybe
Speaker 3: one out of four makes the final game.
Speaker 2: So yeah, about twelve and a half percent that for
Speaker 2: them this year, Matt. By the way, where was the
Speaker 2: number here? I just had? It is seven and a
Speaker 2: half percent higher than anyone else in the league.
Speaker 3: Which is a ton. It doesn't sound like much, but
Speaker 3: when you, I mean, even the Raiders probably have a
Speaker 3: one percent, sure.
Speaker 2: You pretty much everybody does.
Speaker 3: So that gets to a hundred pretty quick. When there's
Speaker 3: thirty two teams, if one of them is almost if
Speaker 3: number one on the list is almost double the Seahawks
Speaker 3: or whoever's number two, and so, by the way, they're
Speaker 3: not even the defending champs, it'd be kind of different
Speaker 3: if it was. Like Boy, the Steelers have won three
Speaker 3: of the last five Super Bowls. The only time it
Speaker 3: didn't go was when they were so crushed by injuries.
Speaker 3: I like their chances of going in you know, the
Speaker 3: seventy nine seasons. Yes, they're pretty good. We've seen a
Speaker 3: lot or even like the Chiefs with Mahomes, Like worst
Speaker 3: season is hosting the l Championship.
Speaker 2: And losing an overtime to Tom Brady.
Speaker 3: Like their chances. You know, that's not that shocking. But
Speaker 3: the Rams didn't even go Super Bowl last year, right right,
Speaker 3: you know.
Speaker 2: And that's one of the things that he puts a
Speaker 2: potential you know, pitfalls. It's the schedules tough. The division
Speaker 2: is maybe the best in the league. You've got Super
Speaker 2: Bowl champion Seattle. Still, you know, the Rams in twenty
Speaker 2: twenty five finished second in DVOA. The only problem is
Speaker 2: that another team in their division finished first in DVOA.
Speaker 2: So that's obviously a big thing to keep an eye on.
Speaker 2: And you speak, he was.
Speaker 3: MVP, but he was also an older quarterback too. They
Speaker 3: had this time last year. All we were talking about
Speaker 3: is Mike staff or Matthew Stafford's neck is a huge problem.
Speaker 3: Is even going to make it the week one? Yep?
Speaker 3: Well he didn't. He won the MVP, but wow.
Speaker 2: That's the third So the first thing you mentioned is
Speaker 2: the schedule difficulty. The third thing he mentions is the
Speaker 2: quarterback is at that age where he could always get
Speaker 2: hurt take even just an unexpected half step backward backwards.
Speaker 2: And then final angle is what if another super team emerges?
Speaker 2: You know, what if Caleb Williams goes full super nova
Speaker 2: in year two under Ben Johnson. What if Jordan Love
Speaker 2: plays at an MVP level. What if Jalen Hurts and
Speaker 2: Saquon Barkley run it back? You know, because the NFC
Speaker 2: does have some other contenders with some really talented rosters there.
Speaker 2: So it was just kind of an interesting piggyback what
Speaker 2: we were just talking about.
Speaker 3: I know we're up again. So last thing too, they
Speaker 3: were horrible on special teams last year and McVeigh doesn't
Speaker 3: put much stress in that.
Speaker 2: If that gets to seventeen in the league, get a.
Speaker 3: Kick blocked in the aftach area, goes the other way around,
Speaker 3: right right right.
Speaker 2: Hour in the books, two more hours to go. We
Speaker 2: have got plenty of ground to cover here. As we
Speaker 2: roll along, we'll start getting you ready for that preseason
Speaker 2: game on Thursday night. As all eyes now turned to
Speaker 2: the Steelers first in stadium action, Rolling along here on
Speaker 2: the Drive West Shouler Matt Williamson. We are at Saint
Speaker 2: Vincent College and it's all part of our ongoing training
Speaker 2: camp coverage Steelers Nation Radio on a Steelers Audio network