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Speaker 1: Your tunes about drive on your twenty four to seven

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Speaker 1: home of the Black and Goal Steelers Nation Radio.

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Speaker 2: Good afternoon, Stealer Nation. It's the Drive here on the

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Speaker 2: Steelers Audio Network.

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Speaker 3: Hush Ruler.

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Speaker 2: Matt Williamson with you here on this victory Monday where

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Speaker 2: the Steelers get it done third straight week. They stack

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Speaker 2: a w this one though a little different, twenty nine

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Speaker 2: to twenty four over the Detroit Lions, and Matt, let's

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Speaker 2: jump right into it. I think you'll I think you'll

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Speaker 2: echo this sentiment. And it's something we've talked about before.

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Speaker 2: We're both very lucky to do what we do for

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Speaker 2: a living. Sure, great, it beats the hell out of

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Speaker 2: swinging a hammer or crunching numbers in an office all day,

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Speaker 2: like real work.

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Speaker 3: That some people do, like a real job.

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Speaker 2: Right, But you can also, I don't care how much

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Speaker 2: you love what you do, how cool it is, you

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Speaker 2: can also kind of get jaded at sometimes it becomes

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Speaker 2: a little routine, it becomes a little monotonous.

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Speaker 4: Oh yeah, And we put it in a lot of

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Speaker 4: hours and the season wears us out too.

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Speaker 3: And again I'm not like, oh woe is me? But

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Speaker 3: we watch a ton of football.

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Speaker 2: You know, from from August to to January February a

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Speaker 2: ton of football, and it can at times.

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Speaker 3: You know, Matt's in love with Miles Garrett, tell them

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Speaker 3: to shut up. It can it can, it can. It

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Speaker 3: can wear on you a little bit.

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Speaker 2: And you know, like I do a ton of traveling

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Speaker 2: and at this point in the year, it's like you

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Speaker 2: can see the finish line on the horizon a little

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Speaker 2: bit and you're like, you know, let's let's get this

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Speaker 2: thing moving, Let's get it done. It can become a

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Speaker 2: little routine, it can become a little monotonous. Yesterday though,

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Speaker 2: was one of those like remind yourself why you love.

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Speaker 3: Doing this type days and type games. That was unbelievable.

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Speaker 2: I mean, we're privy to watch to be at a

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Speaker 2: ton of football games. I mean just in these four

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Speaker 2: years that I've been traveling with the team, Matt, if

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Speaker 2: you include preseason now, I've been like close to eighty

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Speaker 2: Steelers games in the last few years.

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Speaker 4: Pretty crazy. Yeah, they had quick they dealing with Dale,

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Speaker 4: like when he started going through the station.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, he's been probably close to forty stadium. It's like

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Speaker 3: like every game for thirty some years or whatever.

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Speaker 2: No matter how much you love something, no matter how

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Speaker 2: much it's it's really cool to be able to do

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Speaker 2: what you do. It can become routine, it can become monotonous,

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Speaker 2: but then you get a game like yesterday that smacks

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Speaker 2: you in the face and is like, this is what

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Speaker 2: you do for a living.

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Speaker 3: These are the type of games we live for.

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Speaker 2: And that was I know a lot of people say

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Speaker 2: a lot of hyperbolic, overreactionary stuff, Matt, but I don't

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Speaker 2: think I'm doing so here About twenty four hours later,

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Speaker 2: that was an incredible, all time time capsule type win

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Speaker 2: for the Pittsburgh Steelers.

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Speaker 4: Yeah, and I think it also applies to fans. You know,

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Speaker 4: I started my football love as a fan. A lot

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Speaker 4: of people started as a player or daddy played or whatever,

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Speaker 4: you know what I mean. And there's a lot lot

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Speaker 4: of times that people will be like, I'm tired rooting

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Speaker 4: for this team or blow you know what I mean.

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Speaker 4: But then you get a game like that and it's like,

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Speaker 4: I'm not a golfer, but people will be like, man,

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Speaker 4: I hit them terrible, But then I hit that one

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Speaker 4: drive on eighteen and I'll come back, you know, like,

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Speaker 4: and I totally get that feeling and the fans see

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Speaker 4: it differently. I mean, it's leisure, it's drinks, it's food,

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Speaker 4: it's friends. Awesome, that's what it's all about, you know,

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Speaker 4: And that's why we get the part of the great

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Speaker 4: part about our jobs is we get to help interact

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Speaker 4: with that. But I do think you get one like

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Speaker 4: that and you're like, wow, this is really fun and

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Speaker 4: it makes the whole season worth it. Now I want

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Speaker 4: to take this opportunity too, that we're about to cover.

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Speaker 4: We're about to play there to cover Steelers Browns for

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Speaker 4: this week. And I spent a year in that organization,

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Speaker 4: and if we covered the Browns, I'd be fine too.

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Speaker 4: I mean, we'd still be very fortunate. But the fact

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Speaker 4: that they've just set the record for not having any

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Speaker 4: losing seasons, I know, gets swept under the right. Just

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Speaker 4: show me the Super Bowls and the playoff wins, but

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Speaker 4: the fact that all these games count this late, all

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Speaker 4: the time every year. Please just realize that that's not

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Speaker 4: the case in thirty two cities, you know what I mean.

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Speaker 3: You know, I think that's well said by you. I

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Speaker 3: do think.

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Speaker 2: That that like non losing season thing gets weaponized sometime,

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Speaker 2: like you said, of like, yeah, I'd rather do the

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Speaker 2: up and down and win more super Bowls and win

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Speaker 2: more playoffs.

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Speaker 4: Argument for that, yeah right, but that's also hard to

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Speaker 4: do most times you push your chips in. After Dolphins,

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Speaker 4: they just.

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Speaker 3: Play exactly right.

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Speaker 2: Look at a team like the Bengals, who you know,

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Speaker 2: went to a Super Bowl and then an AFC Championship

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Speaker 2: game and looked like they were going to be a

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Speaker 2: mainstay for a while, and they haven't been back to

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Speaker 2: the playoffs since now in three or four straight years.

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Speaker 4: So, I mean, even Ravens and Chiefs and teams like this,

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Speaker 4: they're gonna be starting the Lions, did our window close?

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Speaker 4: Even if we have a great quarterback and a great team,

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Speaker 4: you know, like, I'm sure they'll all be good next year,

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Speaker 4: but I'm you don't know that for sure.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, absolutely, And so it was one of those Sundays

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Speaker 2: where it felt like everything came together for exactly what

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Speaker 2: you wanted, exactly what you needed.

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Speaker 3: And the ending of that game.

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Speaker 2: I mean so much in that game would normally kind

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Speaker 2: of dominate a show, or at least our first couple

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Speaker 2: segments here.

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Speaker 4: How about that catch game Will made that's like tenth

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Speaker 4: on the.

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Speaker 2: List, exactly right, exactly right, Chris Boswell missing a big

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Speaker 2: field goal and a big point, right, the Lions having.

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Speaker 4: Help me seals the game if he makes it.

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Speaker 2: The Lions having fifty one seconds time of possession in

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Speaker 2: the third quarter.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean, all these different things that we will discuss.

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Speaker 4: But Matt be out rushed them by way over two

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Speaker 4: hundred yards, you know, like it has.

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Speaker 2: What's crazier is that you held them to what like

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Speaker 2: eighteen yards rushing or twenty some yards rushing. I think

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Speaker 2: it was fifteen yards rushing, but Jared Goff threw for

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Speaker 2: three hundred and sixty four yards, you know, like just

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Speaker 2: all over the place in that one. It looked for

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Speaker 2: a long time. I was like through the third quarter,

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Speaker 2: I was laughing. Here here go Matt and I getting

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Speaker 2: it totally wrong again talking about how a predictions you're

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Speaker 2: gonna have to score twenty eight or more points to

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Speaker 2: win this game. This is gonna be a high scoring game,

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Speaker 2: and all of a sudden, at that point it's twelve

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Speaker 2: to ten.

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Speaker 3: You know, it's like an old school, you know, knock down,

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Speaker 3: drag them out, low scoring type battle.

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Speaker 2: And then that fourth quarter just insane by both teams

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Speaker 2: and Matt I know some people are looking at it

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Speaker 2: like the defense fell apart, and how was that possible

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Speaker 2: because they were so well rested and all these different things.

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Speaker 4: Hey, that was concern. It is concerned, sure, and we can.

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Speaker 3: Talk about that.

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Speaker 2: But I'm looking at it glass half full, and I'm

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Speaker 2: saying every time the wasn't it nice to see the

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Speaker 2: offense be the one draw of the line in the

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Speaker 2: sand for a while? Wasn't it nice to see the

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Speaker 2: offense like pick up the defense and not the other

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Speaker 2: way around, the offense being the one that's like, you

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Speaker 2: need us to go out there and respond, Okay, here's

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Speaker 2: a touchdown, Okay, here's another touchdown. Yeah, you know, like

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Speaker 2: that to me was incredibly encouraging. We talked so much

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Speaker 2: about slow starts for the Steelers offense, We talked so

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Speaker 2: much about out what had been third quarter woes for

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Speaker 2: the Steelers offense. He scored seventeen points in the fourth

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Speaker 2: quarter when they needed that type of quarter more than

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Speaker 2: any other point in the year.

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Speaker 4: And they came out in the third quarter and we're

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Speaker 4: quite good. You know, had the long sustained drive that

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Speaker 4: we've been begging for, and a couple of things, you know,

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Speaker 4: I definitely think at this stage, and this league changes

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Speaker 4: very quick. I mean, we don't think that this is

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Speaker 4: all settled, and you know, you might not even might

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Speaker 4: not even make the playoffs.

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Speaker 3: That is still it doesn't look likely at this point,

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Speaker 3: but it is still a.

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Speaker 4: Possible possibility, right Who knows. But I do feel like

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Speaker 4: this version, the current version, is definitely the most well

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Speaker 4: rounded they've been. The defense could pick up the offense.

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Speaker 4: The offense could pick up the defense, The running game

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Speaker 4: can pick up the passing game. You know, the run

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Speaker 4: defense could pick up the pass defense, et cetera. And

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Speaker 4: the special teams are solid too, you know. And I

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Speaker 4: think the coaching staff has adapted and the roster has

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Speaker 4: greatly adapted. I mean, John Ledger put this out that

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Speaker 4: there were five guys in this game to play thirty

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Speaker 4: snaps saw that weren't part of the training camp and

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Speaker 4: unless you count Pete who was there for like the

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Speaker 4: last two days, you know, I mean, like they weren't

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Speaker 4: part of the original mix. That's a big thing I

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Speaker 4: was talking about in other shows. This team is and

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Speaker 4: this organization is adapting. People who think they're just set

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Speaker 4: in stone and they only do things one way are

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Speaker 4: very very wrong. I forget where at some point that

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Speaker 4: it'll come to mind. But again, I think that they

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Speaker 4: can do things a lot of different ways, and complimentary

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Speaker 4: football can be a really broad term. Oh. The one

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Speaker 4: thing I was thinking about, too is Mike Pursudo on

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Speaker 4: that show that I mentioned. He said this was like,

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Speaker 4: they're they're like six and one in save opportunities for

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Speaker 4: the defense. Yeah, And I thought that was a good

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Speaker 4: way of putting It's like, yeah, they let up a

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Speaker 4: lot of runs in the ninth he brought the closer

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Speaker 4: out and it wasn't his best outing, but you still

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Speaker 4: got to win, and you got to.

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Speaker 3: See the offense knocked a couple base hits home and.

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Speaker 4: You stopped them on the one yard line.

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Speaker 2: Yes, outstanding. It was a winning effort I think all around.

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Speaker 4: Yeah, and I thought they were the better team.

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Speaker 3: I did too.

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Speaker 2: It would it would have been a real gut punch

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Speaker 2: to lose that game. It would have felt like the

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Speaker 2: Lions stole one where you were in the driver's seat.

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Speaker 4: I thought about that a lot late in the game, like,

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Speaker 4: if the Lions win this, am I still going to

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Speaker 4: be pretty optimistic about this team? And the answer in

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Speaker 4: my mind then was yes, but it's sure better when

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Speaker 4: you get to win.

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Speaker 3: One hundred percent.

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Speaker 2: Uh Steelers players to play thirty snaps or more in

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Speaker 2: Detroit that were not with the team when they opened

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Speaker 2: training camp or were added in season. Andres Pete who's

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Speaker 2: the one that was with the team training camp but

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Speaker 2: the final week of camp. MVS added in season, Adam

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Speaker 2: Feeling added in season, Kyle Duggar added in season. A

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Speaker 2: Sante Samuel Jr. Added just a couple of weeks ago.

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Speaker 2: I mean Feeling and MVS too. It's it's really impressive

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Speaker 2: stuff how they've been able to.

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Speaker 4: Improve and get these guys ready, and get.

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Speaker 3: These guys ready.

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Speaker 4: And move on from mistakes with people think they're always

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Speaker 4: setting their ways without the right slave's not working. You's

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Speaker 4: got to go, you know, right.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, one and a lot to digest from that one.

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Speaker 2: But Matt, I got to jump kind of right into

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Speaker 2: I need your thoughts on that final play of the game,

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Speaker 2: the chaos, everything that ensued there. Did they get it right?

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Speaker 2: Did they get it wrong? Is that something that's gonna

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Speaker 2: have to be looked at in the future. Just all

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Speaker 2: your thoughts on a very chaotic ending there at Ford Field.

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Speaker 4: I'm not against giving refs a hard time. And I

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Speaker 4: know there's a lot of optics around the league where

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Speaker 4: the refs don't look great, and that absolutely was one

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Speaker 4: of them. But I don't think that was a poorly

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Speaker 4: officiated game. I mean, I know there's a lot of

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Speaker 4: flags in the end, and I know we're talking about

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Speaker 4: only one specific play, but I didn't think they blew

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Speaker 4: a lot of calls or you know, took the game

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Speaker 4: over and you know, made it more about the refs

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Speaker 4: than what we should have had. I think it was

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Speaker 4: just a very odd play. And the fact that mention

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Speaker 4: of pursuit it. He sat there with a stopwatch and

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Speaker 4: it was two minutes and twelve seconds till they could

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Speaker 4: give us the answer.

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Speaker 3: It felt felt like that in the state, it felt.

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Speaker 4: Like three hours, and I thought they would look petrified.

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Speaker 4: They did not want to in that building. It's kind

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Speaker 4: of like the immaculate reception kind of feel, you know,

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Speaker 4: But it's the rule, and I don't think they got

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Speaker 4: it wrong. It took a while, and it wasn't the

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Speaker 4: most confident this is how it ended, you know.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, they could have it could have certainly phrased it

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Speaker 2: better for the right sixty thousand plus an attendance.

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Speaker 4: Exactly, you know, and games can end on an offensive penalty,

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Speaker 4: they can't end on a defense penalty. Or that's a

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Speaker 4: different That part's pretty cut and dry.

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Speaker 1: Man.

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Speaker 2: That two plus minutes there felt like an eternity. And

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Speaker 2: then when the refs first words are the result of

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Speaker 2: the play is a touchdown.

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Speaker 4: And I say, he phrased it.

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Speaker 2: There, and that whole place is going so nuts and

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Speaker 2: so loud and so chaos that they can't even hear

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Speaker 2: the rest of what the official is saying.

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Speaker 4: It probably a walk off, and.

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Speaker 2: They just see the Steelers celebrating, and I mean there's

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Speaker 2: bottles being thrown, and it was just absolutely It's one

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Speaker 2: of the most chaotic moments I've ever been in. And

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Speaker 2: it would have been absolutely absolutely, but the way that

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Speaker 2: that played out, I mean when the Steelers, when Jalen

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Speaker 2: Warren had that second of his two forty five yard

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Speaker 2: identical touchdown runs both the.

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Speaker 4: Left, by the way, both the left, Yes, yeah.

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Speaker 3: How about that?

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Speaker 4: Yeah.

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Speaker 2: Also, Jalen Warren on the show last week one hundred

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Speaker 2: and forty yards, one hundred forty three yards, two touchdowns.

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Speaker 2: I mean, dugger comes on the show, pick six, I

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Speaker 2: mean there, we might be onto something here. We might

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Speaker 2: be onto something here. When he scored that second one,

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Speaker 2: there was not some mass exodus from ford Field, but

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Speaker 2: maybe maybe fifteen percent of people left. Yeah, you know, yeah,

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Speaker 2: not again, not some mass exodus. The place was probably

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Speaker 2: still seventy five eighty percent full by the end. But

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Speaker 2: for the Lions to go from that standpoint to having

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Speaker 2: a chance to win it just the roller coaster everywhere,

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Speaker 2: from feeling like, okay, the offense is really about to

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Speaker 2: put this away, and then Bos misses the field goal

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Speaker 2: and now all of a sudden, the Lions a touchdown

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Speaker 2: wins it. It's not like a touchdown and a two

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Speaker 2: point conversion and then it's a tie game.

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Speaker 3: Right, they find the end zones they cross, despite you know.

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Speaker 2: Fifty one seconds of possession of time in the third quarter,

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Speaker 2: despite the Steelers uh scoring seventeen points in the fourth,

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Speaker 2: here come the Lions with a real chance to win this,

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Speaker 2: and then they get that kind of questionable pass interference

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Speaker 2: and they're starting to make some plays.

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Speaker 4: And I didn't think those were the wrong calls, you know.

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Speaker 3: I did, And I thought that I thought they were

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Speaker 3: really late with the.

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Speaker 4: Flag, right, I didn't I love the flow of the

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Speaker 4: game and the optics of that either. But when they

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Speaker 4: reviewed it or stereotor was on and looked at it, yeah,

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Speaker 4: it was the right call. Yeah.

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Speaker 2: And so it was just just absolute chaos there, a

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Speaker 2: wild finish.

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Speaker 4: Bonkers for the ages. I mean, it made made it

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Speaker 4: all worthwhile. You know, I don't know if though it

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Speaker 4: makes I don't win playoff games. I don't know if

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Speaker 4: they'll win the super Bowl, but it's going to be

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Speaker 4: a highlight of the season any year that you play

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Speaker 4: a game like that. Yes, and that was the game

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Speaker 4: I was most confident all year that they were gonna.

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Speaker 3: Lose, which is funny.

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Speaker 2: And we've had a few people that tweet us, have

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Speaker 2: tweeted us that, and I appreciate it. Like you guys

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Speaker 2: got to pick against the Steelers the rest of the way, now,

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Speaker 2: the two of you, because every time it's only happened

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Speaker 2: three times when the Steelers won all three and you've

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Speaker 2: both picked against it, I'd have to.

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Speaker 4: Go out of our way if they make the playoff

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Speaker 4: to pick against it.

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Speaker 3: It's exactly right, exactly right.

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Speaker 2: But yeah, just like I've gotten my notes here on

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Speaker 2: back to back plays on that final drive, the call

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Speaker 2: stands questionable on a catch. Then you get a late

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Speaker 2: DPI on fourth down, and then there was it was

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Speaker 2: a clear tripping penalty on Highsmith.

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Speaker 3: I'm not saying that's a bad call.

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Speaker 2: That was the right call, but they got they got

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Speaker 2: a on three straight plays, they got a questionable ten

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Speaker 2: yard completion and then thirty yards of penalties.

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Speaker 4: Yeah, and it's so tough.

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Speaker 3: Look, it was like, all of a sudden, here come

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Speaker 3: the Lions.

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Speaker 2: And not that I thought any of those things were

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Speaker 2: over the top of greach, but it was like everything's

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Speaker 2: going their right way here at the exact wrong moment.

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Speaker 2: But I think that was big for the defense to

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Speaker 2: be able to draw a line in the sand in

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Speaker 2: that moment when they hadn't had their best fourth quarter,

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Speaker 2: when it felt like, I mean, Matt, the Lyons were

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Speaker 2: the proverbial snowball rolling downhill at that point, gain and steam,

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Speaker 2: gaining momentum, knocking things out of their way. Here comes

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Speaker 2: the avalanche, and you just had to make one play

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Speaker 2: to kind of hold them off there, and they got

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Speaker 2: it done, and I think this is okay. So this

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Speaker 2: is the part where where I'll admit I'm probably being

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Speaker 2: a little hyperbolic. This is also like the third straight

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Speaker 2: week in a row that we've said that's the best

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Speaker 2: win of the season. Yeah, right, we said it in

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Speaker 2: we said it in Baltimore, we said it Monday night,

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Speaker 2: and that dominating performance against the hot.

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Speaker 4: Dolphins teamw No.

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Speaker 2: Three weeks in a row here. But I think this

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Speaker 2: definitely was the best win.

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Speaker 4: Of the year, without question. The high Smith Trip had

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Speaker 4: a good point on this one too. It's like, yes,

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Speaker 4: it was the right call. It clearly tripped.

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Speaker 3: It's the right call.

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Speaker 4: But if you he's getting held at a ridiculous rate too,

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Speaker 4: like there could have also been a flag on him

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Speaker 4: getting just dragged down and getting tackled more or less,

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Speaker 4: where else are we saying to it? Yes, I do

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Speaker 4: think it was the best win of the year. And frankly,

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Speaker 4: I had a problem with how the Steelers defense played

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Speaker 4: in the fourth quarter because there wasn't the excuse like

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Speaker 4: most of these games, well, they've been out there eighty

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Speaker 4: percent of the snaps, they're worn down. They didn't play

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Speaker 4: hardly at the third quarter. They should have been fresh.

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Speaker 4: But let's not underestimate who they were playing against. That's

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Speaker 4: like the best offense in the league. Total back against

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Speaker 4: the wall in their building, nothing to lose, have totally

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Speaker 4: abandoned the run at that point, and are dangerous as

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Speaker 4: could be. And you took that punch, you know, and

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Speaker 4: you didn't you were still standing at the end of

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Speaker 4: the fight.

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Speaker 3: Let's talk.

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Speaker 2: Let's we gotta get to a break here. But I

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Speaker 2: want to talk a little bit more about that with

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Speaker 2: you when we return, because I do agree with you.

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Speaker 2: But I've also got a little devil's advocate to play

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Speaker 2: in there as we continue to dissect twenty nine to

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Speaker 2: twenty four this Steelers get it done at Ford Field

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Speaker 2: in Detroit. I should have probably mentioned this when you

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Speaker 2: talked about the set and the record NFL record for

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Speaker 2: non losing seasons, consecutive winning seasons or non losing seasons.

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Speaker 2: One they bump the Cowboys out of that spot, which

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Speaker 2: is always nice for the Steelers to get a one

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Speaker 2: up on.

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Speaker 3: The Cowboys in the organization. Two hundred win for Mike Tomlin.

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Speaker 3: I know that's crazy.

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Speaker 4: I mean, that's the East twelfth coach ever, that's crazy,

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Speaker 4: big number.

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Speaker 2: That's a big number. And you heard Aaron Rodgers yelling

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Speaker 2: about it walking off the field. If people saw that

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Speaker 2: Aaron Rodgers was kind of in the cameras pointing to

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Speaker 2: Mike Tomlin, like two hundred wins, two hundred for this guy,

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Speaker 2: and that is certainly a very memorable way for it

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Speaker 2: all to go down. Matt, I'm not in the in

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Speaker 2: the locker rooms post game. I'm in their pregame to

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Speaker 2: like get all our equipment and all of our stuff postgame.

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Speaker 2: As I've laid out before, it's just a mad rush

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Speaker 2: to the buses and getting everything and all that. But

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Speaker 2: I was told by a couple of our reporter friends

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Speaker 2: that it was like the craziest locker room atmosphere that

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Speaker 2: they that they could remember in years.

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Speaker 4: You know, I bet there was a lot of enthusiasm

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Speaker 4: and a lot to be excited about.

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Speaker 2: It felt like one of those you kind of walked

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Speaker 2: into a hornet's nest, you know, you against tens of

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Speaker 2: thousands and you and you found a way to get

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Speaker 2: it done in a crazy spot. But let's talk a

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Speaker 2: little bit more about that fourth quarter and specifically the

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Speaker 2: Steelers defense when we return on the other side. Just

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Speaker 2: getting started here on a victory Monday West Huuler, Matt Williamson,

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Speaker 2: It's the Drive on Steelers Nation Radio on the Steelers

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Speaker 2: Audio Network.

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Speaker 1: Your tune's about drive on your twenty four to seven

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Speaker 1: home of the Black and Goal Steelers Nation Radio.

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Speaker 2: All right, so let's talk a little bit more about

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Speaker 2: this defense and the fourth quarter. Matt Williamson, you are

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Speaker 2: correct in the backdrop of these guys were barely on

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Speaker 2: the field in the third. You don't want to see

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Speaker 2: them kind of gasping and grasping like they were at

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Speaker 2: moments in the fourth.

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Speaker 4: They were, hang on for your life there they were.

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Speaker 3: The one thing, though, is I.

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Speaker 2: Maybe to use your the boxing analogy and kind of

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Speaker 2: just to angle it differently a little bit, your analogy

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Speaker 2: of like you have the chance to land some haymakers

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Speaker 2: in the first few rounds and you don't, and then

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Speaker 2: in the twelfth round here comes the guy and catches

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Speaker 2: you on the chin one time, and all of a sudden,

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Speaker 2: it's like, oh, this could go either way. I think

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Speaker 2: that was bound to happen with the Lions at some

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Speaker 2: point in the game.

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Speaker 4: I agree with you. Yeah, like they're good.

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Speaker 2: And I know you say this all the time, but

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Speaker 2: I think it bears repeating.

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00:19:41,400 --> 00:19:42,280
Speaker 3: On a day like today.

443
00:19:44,320 --> 00:19:47,840
Speaker 2: Good defense in twenty twenty five in the NFL, you

444
00:19:47,920 --> 00:19:51,560
Speaker 2: have to adjust your expectations. It's not going to be

445
00:19:51,760 --> 00:19:54,080
Speaker 2: thirteen to nine games where you hold your opponent to

446
00:19:54,080 --> 00:19:56,400
Speaker 2: one hundred and eighty yards and you choke them out

447
00:19:56,440 --> 00:19:59,280
Speaker 2: for sixty minutes, especially against an opponent like that.

448
00:19:59,320 --> 00:19:59,840
Speaker 3: On the road.

449
00:20:00,680 --> 00:20:04,920
Speaker 2: I think that it was at some point the Lions

450
00:20:04,920 --> 00:20:06,800
Speaker 2: were gonna punch back, at some point the lines were

451
00:20:06,840 --> 00:20:08,920
Speaker 2: going to find some momentum catch you on the chin

452
00:20:09,440 --> 00:20:12,240
Speaker 2: with all those playmakers they have, and they did it

453
00:20:12,320 --> 00:20:16,440
Speaker 2: the probably worst possible time. But even in those moments,

454
00:20:16,520 --> 00:20:18,639
Speaker 2: I felt like the Steelers they forced a lot of

455
00:20:18,680 --> 00:20:21,440
Speaker 2: third and lungs. They forced them forth downs that Detroit

456
00:20:21,520 --> 00:20:22,240
Speaker 2: had to convert.

457
00:20:22,760 --> 00:20:23,879
Speaker 4: There wasn't coverage.

458
00:20:24,640 --> 00:20:28,520
Speaker 2: Thereation thirty yards of penalties on back to back plays.

459
00:20:28,600 --> 00:20:31,760
Speaker 2: Like I yes, I would have loved the Steelers to

460
00:20:31,800 --> 00:20:33,280
Speaker 2: have drawn a line in the stand in the fourth

461
00:20:33,359 --> 00:20:35,679
Speaker 2: quarter and said over our dead bodies and you end

462
00:20:35,760 --> 00:20:39,359
Speaker 2: up getting out of there comfortably. But I think with

463
00:20:39,640 --> 00:20:42,159
Speaker 2: losing some guys too, right, you lose Echols. You and

464
00:20:42,200 --> 00:20:45,719
Speaker 2: I talked about this was the bat the nightmare scenario

465
00:20:45,800 --> 00:20:48,160
Speaker 2: of at five point twenty on Sunday, you lose someone

466
00:20:48,200 --> 00:20:50,399
Speaker 2: in that secondary, you had to move Ramsey down. You

467
00:20:50,400 --> 00:20:53,960
Speaker 2: had to bring Chuck Clark in considering the offense that

468
00:20:53,960 --> 00:20:57,679
Speaker 2: they were playing, the you know, losing another piece in

469
00:20:57,720 --> 00:21:00,440
Speaker 2: that secondary and having to move stuff around, being down

470
00:21:00,520 --> 00:21:04,000
Speaker 2: herbig and TJ Watt. I still think that was a

471
00:21:04,000 --> 00:21:05,840
Speaker 2: hell of a winning performance by the defense.

472
00:21:05,920 --> 00:21:07,959
Speaker 4: Yeah, I think that's all extremely well said, and I

473
00:21:07,960 --> 00:21:10,520
Speaker 4: agree with you. Now, I don't think I think their

474
00:21:10,560 --> 00:21:13,439
Speaker 4: performance in the fourth quarter was below the line. And

475
00:21:13,480 --> 00:21:15,440
Speaker 4: I think Cam Haywards had something like, we played three

476
00:21:15,480 --> 00:21:16,000
Speaker 4: really good.

477
00:21:15,880 --> 00:21:16,800
Speaker 3: Cords he did.

478
00:21:16,840 --> 00:21:19,720
Speaker 2: He said that to Missy postgame on the broadcast. She

479
00:21:19,840 --> 00:21:21,520
Speaker 2: was like, you guys had a great effort. He was like, well,

480
00:21:21,560 --> 00:21:22,440
Speaker 2: we did for three quarters.

481
00:21:22,720 --> 00:21:24,520
Speaker 4: And I think there's a lot to be said for that.

482
00:21:25,040 --> 00:21:29,240
Speaker 4: But I also have this theory that fourth quarter defense

483
00:21:29,280 --> 00:21:32,480
Speaker 4: in the NFL can be somewhat of a myth because

484
00:21:32,520 --> 00:21:35,760
Speaker 4: these these had these coaches figure out all your checks

485
00:21:35,920 --> 00:21:39,159
Speaker 4: and too. It's not always necessarily a time of possession,

486
00:21:39,640 --> 00:21:42,399
Speaker 4: played too many snaps things. It's they don't let us

487
00:21:42,440 --> 00:21:45,359
Speaker 4: hit pause and go practice on the back. You know,

488
00:21:45,400 --> 00:21:47,879
Speaker 4: they're they're ripping apart our cover two stuff. Well we

489
00:21:47,920 --> 00:21:49,520
Speaker 4: got to stay with it because that's all we practiced

490
00:21:49,520 --> 00:21:51,719
Speaker 4: all weeks. You know what, I mean, these smart minds

491
00:21:51,720 --> 00:21:54,520
Speaker 4: and these smart quarterbacks have been around the block start

492
00:21:54,600 --> 00:21:57,400
Speaker 4: to figure you out, just schematically. And yes, every pass

493
00:21:57,480 --> 00:22:02,879
Speaker 4: rush tires and the defense was not its usual depth situation.

494
00:22:03,119 --> 00:22:05,320
Speaker 4: You know, you couldn't just bring in her big off

495
00:22:05,320 --> 00:22:06,760
Speaker 4: the bench and be your clothes.

496
00:22:06,840 --> 00:22:08,720
Speaker 3: Sawyer is your fourth option and.

497
00:22:08,640 --> 00:22:10,600
Speaker 4: He's played a lot of snaps at this point, and

498
00:22:10,680 --> 00:22:13,879
Speaker 4: it's dragging. I'm sure. Now I'm not thrilled to the

499
00:22:13,880 --> 00:22:17,040
Speaker 4: fourth quarter defense, but there's a lot to excuse it.

500
00:22:17,080 --> 00:22:19,480
Speaker 4: And the biggest thing is that's like the best offense

501
00:22:19,520 --> 00:22:23,520
Speaker 4: in the league that have ridiculous playmakers, no weather working

502
00:22:23,560 --> 00:22:26,560
Speaker 4: against them, figure right, right, right, yep.

503
00:22:27,119 --> 00:22:30,000
Speaker 2: That's the thing for me is if this would have

504
00:22:30,040 --> 00:22:35,280
Speaker 2: happened against the Dolphins offense, I think I'd be much

505
00:22:35,280 --> 00:22:38,560
Speaker 2: more critical. And the Dolphins scored two touchdowns such time

506
00:22:38,600 --> 00:22:39,080
Speaker 2: at the end of.

507
00:22:39,000 --> 00:22:41,560
Speaker 4: The game, but got their a game in the fourth quarter.

508
00:22:42,320 --> 00:22:44,480
Speaker 2: Again, I think it was only a matter of time

509
00:22:44,600 --> 00:22:48,520
Speaker 2: until the Lions got some momentum going with that offense

510
00:22:48,560 --> 00:22:51,800
Speaker 2: with everything that you just mentioned, a desperate team at home,

511
00:22:52,640 --> 00:22:58,000
Speaker 2: you're thin and worn down already on defense, and it

512
00:22:58,119 --> 00:23:01,000
Speaker 2: wasn't the you know you, I think they at least

513
00:23:01,040 --> 00:23:04,600
Speaker 2: they made him earn it moving down the field. They

514
00:23:04,640 --> 00:23:07,480
Speaker 2: made him earn it with it out props to Jared Goff.

515
00:23:07,480 --> 00:23:10,560
Speaker 2: He put that touchdown pass to t. Slaw right where

516
00:23:11,359 --> 00:23:12,879
Speaker 2: By the way, I learned that's how you pronounce his

517
00:23:12,960 --> 00:23:15,480
Speaker 2: name from Rob King. Yes, it's not Tesla like everybody

518
00:23:15,520 --> 00:23:16,600
Speaker 2: says it's it's t.

519
00:23:16,800 --> 00:23:17,159
Speaker 3: Slaw.

520
00:23:17,359 --> 00:23:19,160
Speaker 2: Is actually how he pronounces his last line.

521
00:23:21,440 --> 00:23:22,800
Speaker 3: It's like Slaw, like Coleslaw.

522
00:23:22,840 --> 00:23:24,679
Speaker 4: At the end, I don't think it's tea though. I

523
00:23:24,680 --> 00:23:28,359
Speaker 4: still think that Teslaw.

524
00:23:28,480 --> 00:23:29,960
Speaker 3: Teslaw.

525
00:23:30,400 --> 00:23:33,320
Speaker 2: Regardless, that was a perfect throw right in between coverage.

526
00:23:33,359 --> 00:23:35,719
Speaker 2: She holds on to it like the Lions are gonna make.

527
00:23:36,280 --> 00:23:41,359
Speaker 2: The Lions are gonna make those plays, and especially with

528
00:23:41,400 --> 00:23:43,040
Speaker 2: their season on the line, you still made them drive

529
00:23:43,080 --> 00:23:45,120
Speaker 2: the whole whole length of the field. You still made

530
00:23:45,160 --> 00:23:51,400
Speaker 2: him earn it without key contributors. You know in Dublin,

531
00:23:52,600 --> 00:23:55,199
Speaker 2: Jordan Adison, you know, eighty yards down the sideline on

532
00:23:55,240 --> 00:23:57,520
Speaker 2: a busted coverage and Peyton Wilson has to has to

533
00:23:57,600 --> 00:24:00,400
Speaker 2: run him down. So yeah, again, I would have loved

534
00:24:00,400 --> 00:24:02,080
Speaker 2: that if the defense drew a line in the sand

535
00:24:02,200 --> 00:24:04,639
Speaker 2: and said, you know, over our dead bodies, this is

536
00:24:04,640 --> 00:24:07,600
Speaker 2: our game sixty minutes. I just think in the NFL

537
00:24:07,640 --> 00:24:09,439
Speaker 2: in twenty twenty five, that is so hard to do

538
00:24:09,520 --> 00:24:12,960
Speaker 2: against anybody, particularly in offense as good as this one.

539
00:24:13,040 --> 00:24:15,760
Speaker 4: Yeah, that's desperate in their building, you know, with a

540
00:24:15,760 --> 00:24:17,399
Speaker 4: lot of things going for them that are starting to

541
00:24:17,400 --> 00:24:20,840
Speaker 4: figure you out against a thin defense. Now again I'm

542
00:24:20,840 --> 00:24:24,520
Speaker 4: not excusing it. It was the worst part of the game. Yeah, yeah,

543
00:24:24,560 --> 00:24:27,320
Speaker 4: without question obviously, But I don't know that it's like

544
00:24:27,640 --> 00:24:33,199
Speaker 4: h steelersteak, you know, right, Yeah, like throw away the

545
00:24:33,200 --> 00:24:35,120
Speaker 4: baby with the bathwater type of situation here.

546
00:24:35,359 --> 00:24:39,240
Speaker 2: Yes, correct, And it felt like, you know, it felt

547
00:24:39,240 --> 00:24:41,040
Speaker 2: like for a long time there you had Jared Goff

548
00:24:41,040 --> 00:24:44,760
Speaker 2: seeing ghosts and then that touchdown pass to t Slaw

549
00:24:45,840 --> 00:24:48,560
Speaker 2: got them some momentum. Jalen Warren busts off a forty

550
00:24:48,560 --> 00:24:50,480
Speaker 2: five yard run puts you up twenty two to ten.

551
00:24:51,560 --> 00:24:54,320
Speaker 2: Then it took a drive the length of the field

552
00:24:54,520 --> 00:24:56,920
Speaker 2: for Detroit. You had them in fourth down and they

553
00:24:56,960 --> 00:24:59,680
Speaker 2: converted like a thirty yard twenty some yard thirty yard

554
00:24:59,680 --> 00:25:03,159
Speaker 2: Touchdow pass. That to me is the frustrating part. But

555
00:25:03,200 --> 00:25:05,280
Speaker 2: you had done well up until that point to force

556
00:25:05,320 --> 00:25:08,360
Speaker 2: a fourth down like kind of kind of similar on

557
00:25:09,040 --> 00:25:10,960
Speaker 2: some of those drives, like you forced them into third

558
00:25:11,000 --> 00:25:13,160
Speaker 2: and lungs, you forced them into fourth down conversions. Okay,

559
00:25:13,160 --> 00:25:15,800
Speaker 2: they converted them. Yeah, the other the other team too,

560
00:25:15,840 --> 00:25:18,120
Speaker 2: and the other team the other teams allowed to make

561
00:25:18,160 --> 00:25:21,240
Speaker 2: plays too. But what they were able to do at

562
00:25:21,240 --> 00:25:24,720
Speaker 2: the end, and what felt like, I mean, the Lions

563
00:25:24,720 --> 00:25:26,359
Speaker 2: are set up in that first and goal situation, and

564
00:25:26,440 --> 00:25:27,960
Speaker 2: I'm sure all of us are thinking the same thing,

565
00:25:28,000 --> 00:25:30,159
Speaker 2: like this is over. You know, like they're going to

566
00:25:30,200 --> 00:25:32,520
Speaker 2: score here, there's gonna be twenty one seconds left on

567
00:25:32,560 --> 00:25:34,680
Speaker 2: the clock and you're gonna have no time and you're

568
00:25:34,680 --> 00:25:37,040
Speaker 2: gonna take the the ultimate gut punch.

569
00:25:38,440 --> 00:25:40,200
Speaker 4: Mike had a good point about that first and goal

570
00:25:40,240 --> 00:25:42,119
Speaker 4: though too. It was on the one, right, it was

571
00:25:42,160 --> 00:25:45,280
Speaker 4: on the two, or it was real tight. He's like,

572
00:25:45,480 --> 00:25:48,600
Speaker 4: if you noticed they didn't run the ball and the

573
00:25:48,680 --> 00:25:51,240
Speaker 4: Lions nine out of ten times would have ran right

574
00:25:51,280 --> 00:25:55,040
Speaker 4: behind Penn a soul on first and goal with a timeout.

575
00:25:55,600 --> 00:25:56,760
Speaker 3: They had a time out at that point.

576
00:25:57,040 --> 00:25:59,000
Speaker 4: There you have all the time out, and at that

577
00:25:59,040 --> 00:26:01,960
Speaker 4: point they knew they were not running football against this defense.

578
00:26:02,000 --> 00:26:03,400
Speaker 4: And you don't see that very often in the league,

579
00:26:03,400 --> 00:26:04,760
Speaker 4: and you haven't seen it from the special from that

580
00:26:04,800 --> 00:26:07,720
Speaker 4: team right from that team in particular. Now, I do

581
00:26:07,800 --> 00:26:11,040
Speaker 4: think and everyone's sealing with something, we do have to

582
00:26:11,080 --> 00:26:14,320
Speaker 4: address that they had a revolving door at the center.

583
00:26:14,080 --> 00:26:17,080
Speaker 3: Position, which they were on their third center right.

584
00:26:17,040 --> 00:26:19,080
Speaker 4: Third center right. I mean then some of these guys

585
00:26:19,080 --> 00:26:22,320
Speaker 4: had never really played. Both guards are young too, so

586
00:26:22,760 --> 00:26:26,399
Speaker 4: their usual strength of being the O line is is

587
00:26:26,480 --> 00:26:30,119
Speaker 4: the strength now. I also think the Steelers coaching staff

588
00:26:30,119 --> 00:26:32,280
Speaker 4: deserves a lot of credit. They took advantage of those things,

589
00:26:32,320 --> 00:26:34,800
Speaker 4: you know, like they you know, Mike was saying a

590
00:26:34,800 --> 00:26:38,359
Speaker 4: big theme around the facility all week was we're going

591
00:26:38,440 --> 00:26:41,800
Speaker 4: to attack the guards, you know, assuming they probably thought

592
00:26:41,840 --> 00:26:44,159
Speaker 4: Glass now was playing the starting set. The guards were

593
00:26:44,160 --> 00:26:47,240
Speaker 4: both young players, may snaps. Well, they attacked up the

594
00:26:47,240 --> 00:26:50,600
Speaker 4: middle with blitzes and as great as usual, and Harmon

595
00:26:50,760 --> 00:26:53,439
Speaker 4: and Benton did some good things too, And you know

596
00:26:53,920 --> 00:26:57,160
Speaker 4: I was worried about the edge pressure. Well how could

597
00:26:57,200 --> 00:26:57,960
Speaker 4: you not be, I.

598
00:26:57,840 --> 00:26:59,600
Speaker 3: Mean, Sawyer and high Smith both had a couple of.

599
00:26:59,560 --> 00:27:03,320
Speaker 4: Big t yeah, but they they generated stuff up the middle. Yeah,

600
00:27:03,400 --> 00:27:06,680
Speaker 4: Romo and the call kept saying, boit, Steelers are doing

601
00:27:06,720 --> 00:27:09,720
Speaker 4: a lot of interior blitz stuff that is affecting golf.

602
00:27:09,800 --> 00:27:11,480
Speaker 4: To your point, you know, that he was not playing

603
00:27:11,480 --> 00:27:12,480
Speaker 4: his best at that point.

604
00:27:12,920 --> 00:27:15,600
Speaker 2: The the Tuslaw touchdown was actually the earlier one in

605
00:27:15,640 --> 00:27:17,479
Speaker 2: the second quarter. I got I got mixed up there

606
00:27:17,520 --> 00:27:19,000
Speaker 2: now that this is all coming back to me on

607
00:27:19,240 --> 00:27:21,359
Speaker 2: just a couple hours a couple hours of sleep.

608
00:27:23,080 --> 00:27:26,200
Speaker 3: Yeah, there's just so so many moments in that game.

609
00:27:26,640 --> 00:27:31,600
Speaker 2: I mean, you have the gain Well incredible catch that

610
00:27:31,640 --> 00:27:33,199
Speaker 2: we'll talk about a little bit more here in the

611
00:27:33,320 --> 00:27:36,760
Speaker 2: in the in the next discussed he absolutely does. He's

612
00:27:36,800 --> 00:27:41,080
Speaker 2: been unbelievable. Yeah, you know. And then at one point

613
00:27:41,080 --> 00:27:42,600
Speaker 2: you come out of the halftime there in the third

614
00:27:42,680 --> 00:27:44,480
Speaker 2: quarter and you're driving. It looks like you're about to

615
00:27:44,480 --> 00:27:47,760
Speaker 2: take the lead, and Mount Washington has that fumble near

616
00:27:47,800 --> 00:27:50,520
Speaker 2: the goal line, oddly enough, in like the same spot

617
00:27:50,520 --> 00:27:54,240
Speaker 2: that Kenneth gain Will caught that pass was. Darnell thought

618
00:27:54,240 --> 00:27:56,560
Speaker 2: it was like almost the same exact spot, and it's like,

619
00:27:56,560 --> 00:27:58,359
Speaker 2: oh man, that's a big missed opportunity. But then you

620
00:27:58,440 --> 00:28:00,919
Speaker 2: get the safety and you take the weird toll to

621
00:28:01,000 --> 00:28:04,639
Speaker 2: ten lead. You get aggressive on fourth down, you convert

622
00:28:04,680 --> 00:28:07,840
Speaker 2: to Scotty Miller of all people, and then you go

623
00:28:07,880 --> 00:28:10,480
Speaker 2: forward on fourth down again, you do the trick Pittsburgh

624
00:28:10,480 --> 00:28:15,159
Speaker 2: plunge with gain Well around the edge the Darnell Opi

625
00:28:15,240 --> 00:28:18,080
Speaker 2: and the end zone there that negated the DK touchdown.

626
00:28:18,440 --> 00:28:19,480
Speaker 3: You settle for a field goal.

627
00:28:19,480 --> 00:28:22,000
Speaker 2: It's fifteen to ten at that point. The lines have

628
00:28:22,000 --> 00:28:23,639
Speaker 2: held the ball for just fifty one seconds in the

629
00:28:23,640 --> 00:28:25,600
Speaker 2: third quarter. But you're like, man, we should have more

630
00:28:25,640 --> 00:28:26,879
Speaker 2: than a five point lead here.

631
00:28:26,960 --> 00:28:28,719
Speaker 4: Yeah, you should be like pulling away a little more

632
00:28:28,760 --> 00:28:29,800
Speaker 4: and be a little more comfortable.

633
00:28:30,080 --> 00:28:30,439
Speaker 2: Yeah.

634
00:28:30,600 --> 00:28:33,840
Speaker 3: There's just so much minutia to dig into from that game.

635
00:28:34,119 --> 00:28:37,600
Speaker 4: And Boswell makes that kick ninety nine point nine percent

636
00:28:37,600 --> 00:28:39,840
Speaker 4: of the time, and we probably aren't talking about what

637
00:28:39,880 --> 00:28:42,600
Speaker 4: a crazy game it is. It's just over he.

638
00:28:42,800 --> 00:28:46,440
Speaker 2: Smacks, He drills a fifty nine yarder, but then misses

639
00:28:46,480 --> 00:28:49,240
Speaker 2: what for him is like a layup for you know,

640
00:28:49,280 --> 00:28:50,840
Speaker 2: for Michael Jordan.

641
00:28:50,920 --> 00:28:54,520
Speaker 4: Yeah, and that's what happens. It sure does, went upstream

642
00:28:54,520 --> 00:28:55,680
Speaker 4: there for a little, Yeah.

643
00:28:55,640 --> 00:28:56,320
Speaker 3: It sure does.

644
00:28:56,440 --> 00:28:59,640
Speaker 2: But four hundred and eighty one total yards for the

645
00:28:59,680 --> 00:29:04,280
Speaker 2: Steel offense, Matt, they lost the turnover battle in won

646
00:29:04,280 --> 00:29:05,960
Speaker 2: a game, which is something.

647
00:29:05,680 --> 00:29:07,560
Speaker 3: That and hey, it was only one.

648
00:29:07,600 --> 00:29:09,400
Speaker 2: The lines didn't turn the ball it over, you just

649
00:29:09,440 --> 00:29:13,160
Speaker 2: had the Darnell Washington, So it's a one advantage. It's

650
00:29:13,200 --> 00:29:15,680
Speaker 2: not not two or three, which ends up being bigger.

651
00:29:15,720 --> 00:29:18,680
Speaker 4: But to me, there were two fourth downs that the

652
00:29:18,720 --> 00:29:19,480
Speaker 4: Lions didn't.

653
00:29:19,240 --> 00:29:23,320
Speaker 2: Get exactly right, exactly right, you know, and the Steelers

654
00:29:23,320 --> 00:29:27,400
Speaker 2: were two for two on fourth downs, massive in eight instances.

655
00:29:27,400 --> 00:29:29,240
Speaker 4: I'm not sure they would have went for in September

656
00:29:29,560 --> 00:29:30,360
Speaker 4: one hundred percent.

657
00:29:30,440 --> 00:29:32,720
Speaker 2: That's something I had in my notes, like the Steelers

658
00:29:32,760 --> 00:29:35,400
Speaker 2: are being adapting in the in the second and third quarter,

659
00:29:35,440 --> 00:29:38,320
Speaker 2: they were operating as ten points ain't gonna be enough

660
00:29:38,320 --> 00:29:38,960
Speaker 2: to win this game.

661
00:29:39,120 --> 00:29:41,360
Speaker 3: Twelve points isn't going to be enough to win this game.

662
00:29:43,880 --> 00:29:44,400
Speaker 4: In the weather.

663
00:29:44,520 --> 00:29:47,080
Speaker 2: We might have these guys frustrated and limited right now,

664
00:29:47,120 --> 00:29:49,040
Speaker 2: but that's not gonna last forever. Ten point you know,

665
00:29:49,040 --> 00:29:50,600
Speaker 2: we're not going to hold them to ten points here

666
00:29:50,640 --> 00:29:51,680
Speaker 2: the entire second half.

667
00:29:51,840 --> 00:29:54,440
Speaker 4: Gibbs and Williams in Saint Brown, I mean, they're too good.

668
00:29:54,800 --> 00:29:59,120
Speaker 2: Eight for sixteen fifty on third down conversions. That's elite,

669
00:29:59,280 --> 00:30:01,160
Speaker 2: and a lot of them were long two for two

670
00:30:01,240 --> 00:30:04,760
Speaker 2: on fourth downs. You're absolutely right. And then Matt what

671
00:30:05,440 --> 00:30:07,760
Speaker 2: one of the things that I think loomed crazy large

672
00:30:07,760 --> 00:30:09,720
Speaker 2: and they one time of possession and all these things

673
00:30:09,760 --> 00:30:12,280
Speaker 2: again decisively that we had been talking about. But what

674
00:30:12,320 --> 00:30:16,280
Speaker 2: really loomed large to me was this Steelers team has relied,

675
00:30:16,280 --> 00:30:19,600
Speaker 2: it felt like, offensively so much on red zone success.

676
00:30:20,800 --> 00:30:22,480
Speaker 2: They were zero and three in the red zone in

677
00:30:22,480 --> 00:30:26,440
Speaker 2: this game. They got the touchdowns from from explosives.

678
00:30:26,520 --> 00:30:28,840
Speaker 4: They've got very few explosive runs this year.

679
00:30:29,160 --> 00:30:31,320
Speaker 2: Very few, and they had they had a handful in

680
00:30:31,360 --> 00:30:34,080
Speaker 2: that game. But the other side of that is they

681
00:30:34,080 --> 00:30:36,320
Speaker 2: held the Lions took just one of four in the

682
00:30:36,360 --> 00:30:40,360
Speaker 2: red zone. And and that's a Lions team that has

683
00:30:40,400 --> 00:30:42,080
Speaker 2: a lot of ways to beat you and hurts you

684
00:30:42,120 --> 00:30:43,960
Speaker 2: down there near the goal line, that likes to get

685
00:30:43,960 --> 00:30:47,240
Speaker 2: aggressive themselves down there near the goal line. That's kind

686
00:30:47,240 --> 00:30:49,000
Speaker 2: of one of Dan Campbell's things, you know, like they

687
00:30:49,120 --> 00:30:52,440
Speaker 2: rarely kick field goals from from their own red zone.

688
00:30:54,160 --> 00:30:57,640
Speaker 2: A lot of those weighty moments, weighty downs as Mike

689
00:30:57,680 --> 00:31:00,120
Speaker 2: Tomlin would call them. I thought the Steelers one a

690
00:31:00,160 --> 00:31:03,920
Speaker 2: lot more than they lost, and that really ended up

691
00:31:03,960 --> 00:31:06,640
Speaker 2: making a huge difference. And when the sixty minutes was there's.

692
00:31:06,440 --> 00:31:09,040
Speaker 4: A metal toughness to that. There's an experience factor to that.

693
00:31:09,880 --> 00:31:11,880
Speaker 4: Another thing we talked about a lot more and more

694
00:31:12,480 --> 00:31:14,840
Speaker 4: is the Steeler defense has been really good at taking

695
00:31:14,880 --> 00:31:18,080
Speaker 4: away the best things, you know, a Chan Taylor Jacobs,

696
00:31:18,120 --> 00:31:21,040
Speaker 4: those guys didn't destroy it Chase the second time around,

697
00:31:21,120 --> 00:31:24,800
Speaker 4: you know. And yes, you look at the box score,

698
00:31:24,880 --> 00:31:27,960
Speaker 4: Saint Brown, Williams and Gibbs have some numbers.

699
00:31:28,040 --> 00:31:28,440
Speaker 3: Yeah.

700
00:31:28,520 --> 00:31:31,360
Speaker 4: Yeah, But to the Lions credit, it was Raymond. It

701
00:31:31,440 --> 00:31:34,080
Speaker 4: was these tight ends that it weren't even getting targeted before.

702
00:31:34,200 --> 00:31:37,360
Speaker 4: It was Tesla. It was some of those kind of guys.

703
00:31:37,560 --> 00:31:39,720
Speaker 2: There was with Raymond one time, there was a hilarious

704
00:31:39,720 --> 00:31:42,600
Speaker 2: moment on the broadcast where he had like back to

705
00:31:42,640 --> 00:31:45,160
Speaker 2: back catches. I think he only had one catch coming

706
00:31:45,160 --> 00:31:46,840
Speaker 2: into the year, is that right, and then he had

707
00:31:46,880 --> 00:31:49,320
Speaker 2: back to back I'm not sure, but one of the

708
00:31:49,360 --> 00:31:51,800
Speaker 2: one of the Lions tight ends, maybe it wasn't Raymond,

709
00:31:51,840 --> 00:31:54,080
Speaker 2: but the other guy only had one catch coming into

710
00:31:54,080 --> 00:31:56,200
Speaker 2: the season and then he had two back to back.

711
00:31:57,120 --> 00:31:58,520
Speaker 3: Yeah, on the same possession.

712
00:31:58,680 --> 00:32:03,240
Speaker 2: Yeah, Max Max goes, that wasn't in the scouting report,

713
00:32:03,680 --> 00:32:05,960
Speaker 2: and Rob King goes, what scouting report?

714
00:32:06,000 --> 00:32:07,200
Speaker 3: He had one catch all year?

715
00:32:08,520 --> 00:32:10,080
Speaker 4: I mean, supporter has been out. They don't throw the

716
00:32:10,080 --> 00:32:12,080
Speaker 4: tight ends at all at all, and they were getting

717
00:32:12,080 --> 00:32:14,320
Speaker 4: those guys involved, you know, they were taking away their

718
00:32:14,360 --> 00:32:15,720
Speaker 4: big hitter. They made hm play left handed.

719
00:32:16,000 --> 00:32:16,680
Speaker 3: Yes, you made it.

720
00:32:16,760 --> 00:32:19,080
Speaker 2: You made him play left handed. And eventually they started

721
00:32:19,080 --> 00:32:21,440
Speaker 2: to make some plays left handed, but it was but

722
00:32:21,480 --> 00:32:23,280
Speaker 2: it was too late and they were playing catch up

723
00:32:23,360 --> 00:32:28,320
Speaker 2: that whole time. And like I said, was just was

724
00:32:28,320 --> 00:32:31,720
Speaker 2: was dynamite and in the in the grand scheme of things,

725
00:32:31,920 --> 00:32:34,720
Speaker 2: the most encouraging part to me was, we've seen so

726
00:32:34,800 --> 00:32:38,720
Speaker 2: many times in the past where oh the offense, the

727
00:32:38,760 --> 00:32:41,080
Speaker 2: offense is faltering, just went three and out or maybe

728
00:32:41,080 --> 00:32:42,840
Speaker 2: picked up one first down and then had to punt

729
00:32:42,880 --> 00:32:44,560
Speaker 2: and put the defense right back on the field, and

730
00:32:44,560 --> 00:32:47,040
Speaker 2: here comes the defense. We're expecting these guys to answer

731
00:32:47,080 --> 00:32:50,600
Speaker 2: again and again and again. That shoe was on the

732
00:32:50,600 --> 00:32:53,479
Speaker 2: other foot. Yeah, it was like it was like, okay, offense,

733
00:32:53,520 --> 00:32:55,880
Speaker 2: time to answer, Okay, time to answer again. Okay, time

734
00:32:55,880 --> 00:32:58,600
Speaker 2: to answer again. And they did it every time. And

735
00:32:58,680 --> 00:33:00,640
Speaker 2: for me, you and I touch on this a little

736
00:33:00,640 --> 00:33:02,120
Speaker 2: bit last week, and maybe we can talk about this

737
00:33:02,120 --> 00:33:05,040
Speaker 2: more after the break here, but what was the ceiling

738
00:33:05,080 --> 00:33:09,800
Speaker 2: on this Steelers team, in particularly the offense that game yesterday,

739
00:33:09,800 --> 00:33:12,120
Speaker 2: those three and a half hours yesterday, I think changed

740
00:33:12,120 --> 00:33:14,840
Speaker 2: my opinion a little bit because it's the first time

741
00:33:14,880 --> 00:33:16,880
Speaker 2: we've seen the offense lead from the front like they

742
00:33:16,880 --> 00:33:19,400
Speaker 2: did against Miami. Lead from the front, build up such

743
00:33:19,400 --> 00:33:22,040
Speaker 2: a big lead that you're in great shape. But it's

744
00:33:22,200 --> 00:33:25,560
Speaker 2: very rare this year and really in the post Ben

745
00:33:25,600 --> 00:33:28,480
Speaker 2: era to see the offense go. Defense just came up

746
00:33:28,520 --> 00:33:30,320
Speaker 2: a touchdown, No problem, we got this. Here comes another.

747
00:33:30,640 --> 00:33:32,840
Speaker 2: Defense just gave up a touchdown. No problem, we got this.

748
00:33:32,880 --> 00:33:33,560
Speaker 2: Here comes another.

749
00:33:33,600 --> 00:33:35,760
Speaker 4: We like you're dictating the terms a little bit more

750
00:33:35,800 --> 00:33:37,280
Speaker 4: as opposed to Oh no, you.

751
00:33:37,160 --> 00:33:38,920
Speaker 3: Know, and that's what you got to do to win

752
00:33:38,960 --> 00:33:40,280
Speaker 3: in January, my friend, it is.

753
00:33:40,120 --> 00:33:40,400
Speaker 4: It is.

754
00:33:41,280 --> 00:33:43,360
Speaker 3: So let's talk about that a little bit more. Cross

755
00:33:43,400 --> 00:33:45,800
Speaker 3: some tees, dot some eyes. I'm still waiting to hear

756
00:33:45,840 --> 00:33:47,479
Speaker 3: back from Rob King if we're going to have him

757
00:33:47,480 --> 00:33:49,160
Speaker 3: today or not. But Matt and I have twenty.

758
00:33:49,600 --> 00:33:52,280
Speaker 2: It is a wacky week because I think I saw

759
00:33:52,520 --> 00:33:56,000
Speaker 2: Jolly Saint Nick out there, you know, Plo plotting out

760
00:33:56,000 --> 00:33:59,200
Speaker 2: his route for Wednesday night. We've got plenty more to

761
00:33:59,200 --> 00:34:01,600
Speaker 2: get to as we were all along. Gueler Williamson. It's

762
00:34:01,600 --> 00:34:05,240
Speaker 2: the Drive on Steelers Nation Radio on the Steelers Audio Network,

763
00:34:06,000 --> 00:34:06,960
Speaker 2: your tunes.

764
00:34:06,640 --> 00:34:09,080
Speaker 1: About Drive on your twenty four to seven home of

765
00:34:09,120 --> 00:34:23,120
Speaker 1: the Black and Goal. Steelers Nation Radio.

766
00:34:19,480 --> 00:34:21,359
Speaker 3: Still plenty to download from this game.

767
00:34:21,600 --> 00:34:25,000
Speaker 4: Oh tons you uh lucking it on the league and

768
00:34:25,320 --> 00:34:28,239
Speaker 4: games tonight and there's there's I mean, we're here to

769
00:34:28,239 --> 00:34:30,399
Speaker 4: talk Steelers, but wow, there's just a lot going on,

770
00:34:30,600 --> 00:34:32,680
Speaker 4: so much and we got cramming into a couple of days.

771
00:34:32,760 --> 00:34:36,520
Speaker 2: Yeah right, Yeah, we uh will have Wednesday Thursday off

772
00:34:36,800 --> 00:34:38,520
Speaker 2: to kind of give everybody the picture of the week.

773
00:34:38,560 --> 00:34:40,880
Speaker 2: We'll have Wednesday Thursday off. We'll be with you tomorrow.

774
00:34:40,920 --> 00:34:43,160
Speaker 2: We'll be with you Friday to get ready for the

775
00:34:43,200 --> 00:34:46,520
Speaker 2: Browns on Sunday, of course, but two days off this week,

776
00:34:46,640 --> 00:34:48,920
Speaker 2: three shows and yeah, so a lot of a lot

777
00:34:48,920 --> 00:34:53,279
Speaker 2: of cramming and moving and shaking, certainly as we hit

778
00:34:53,320 --> 00:34:57,520
Speaker 2: this holiday stretch home stretch of the season. Matt, did

779
00:34:57,520 --> 00:35:00,000
Speaker 2: you you know what yesterday's game kind of reminds me

780
00:35:00,080 --> 00:35:04,640
Speaker 2: me of did you ever uh, were you ever like

781
00:35:04,760 --> 00:35:08,280
Speaker 2: caught up in an incident in school where you didn't

782
00:35:08,320 --> 00:35:10,600
Speaker 2: really do anything wrong, but maybe like your boys or

783
00:35:10,640 --> 00:35:12,800
Speaker 2: your friends did something wrong and you were kind.

784
00:35:12,600 --> 00:35:13,160
Speaker 3: Of roped in.

785
00:35:13,840 --> 00:35:15,120
Speaker 4: No, I was the one that did everything You.

786
00:35:15,120 --> 00:35:16,160
Speaker 3: Were the one that did everything wrong.

787
00:35:16,200 --> 00:35:19,000
Speaker 2: I mean I just I typically was too, but there

788
00:35:19,080 --> 00:35:23,440
Speaker 2: was a couple of times where guilty by association growing up,

789
00:35:23,920 --> 00:35:25,840
Speaker 2: and you're like trying to explain it to your parents

790
00:35:25,880 --> 00:35:28,399
Speaker 2: and you're trying to remember the details. No, well I did,

791
00:35:28,440 --> 00:35:31,040
Speaker 2: and but Timmy did this, and then Johnny did that,

792
00:35:31,280 --> 00:35:33,520
Speaker 2: and then Ryan punched Frank and then there was a

793
00:35:33,520 --> 00:35:36,000
Speaker 2: little scrum, and you're trying to like remember, wait, what

794
00:35:36,080 --> 00:35:39,040
Speaker 2: happened first? Well, did Johnny say this or did Ryan

795
00:35:39,120 --> 00:35:41,520
Speaker 2: do that? That's kind of what last night is like

796
00:35:41,600 --> 00:35:45,200
Speaker 2: for me, Like I'm trying to remember every detail.

797
00:35:44,800 --> 00:35:48,720
Speaker 4: But there was another Matt Williamson in my grade school

798
00:35:48,719 --> 00:35:51,360
Speaker 4: that was like a year or two younger than me. Okay,

799
00:35:51,560 --> 00:35:54,880
Speaker 4: that was a good kid's student. I mean, good student,

800
00:35:54,880 --> 00:35:57,280
Speaker 4: et cetera. I didn't really know him. Well, that's hilarious,

801
00:35:57,320 --> 00:35:59,719
Speaker 4: but he had to change his name to JP because

802
00:36:00,040 --> 00:36:01,919
Speaker 4: he used to get in trouble for things I did.

803
00:36:04,840 --> 00:36:06,200
Speaker 4: At least that's the way he was told to be.

804
00:36:06,719 --> 00:36:10,000
Speaker 4: Maybe or whatever whatever changed name.

805
00:36:10,280 --> 00:36:12,280
Speaker 3: Hilarious or whatever. That's a great story.

806
00:36:12,400 --> 00:36:17,200
Speaker 4: Yeah, maybe I'm embellishing, but that was nineteen eighty. He

807
00:36:17,280 --> 00:36:18,920
Speaker 4: did switch his name and he got in trouble for

808
00:36:18,960 --> 00:36:20,200
Speaker 4: things I did on several os.

809
00:36:21,120 --> 00:36:23,279
Speaker 2: Just trying to like explain everything to your parents and

810
00:36:23,320 --> 00:36:24,879
Speaker 2: remember every detail and.

811
00:36:25,280 --> 00:36:27,480
Speaker 3: Me, this is how that went down, and that went

812
00:36:27,520 --> 00:36:28,160
Speaker 3: down that's kind.

813
00:36:28,040 --> 00:36:28,319
Speaker 2: Of a lie.

814
00:36:28,480 --> 00:36:32,200
Speaker 4: But I'm with you. In terms of this game, the

815
00:36:32,280 --> 00:36:34,880
Speaker 4: timeline on it's pretty foggy for me on Monday.

816
00:36:35,080 --> 00:36:38,200
Speaker 2: I typically am excited to go back and rewatch the

817
00:36:38,239 --> 00:36:41,200
Speaker 2: games on Monday, as you know, like I'm working during

818
00:36:41,239 --> 00:36:42,840
Speaker 2: the games. I'm doing. Yeah, I'm watching, I'm in the

819
00:36:42,840 --> 00:36:44,600
Speaker 2: press box. I got a great vantage point, but I'm

820
00:36:44,600 --> 00:36:45,120
Speaker 2: still working.

821
00:36:45,280 --> 00:36:46,920
Speaker 4: Consume it differently, yeah, Like I'm not.

822
00:36:47,120 --> 00:36:50,680
Speaker 2: I'm not just feed up watching notes all that stuff,

823
00:36:50,719 --> 00:36:52,600
Speaker 2: Like I'm I have a job to do, you know,

824
00:36:52,960 --> 00:36:55,480
Speaker 2: And sometimes Missy's like I'm getting some feedback here and

825
00:36:55,480 --> 00:36:57,760
Speaker 2: I gotta go back and mess with the wireless signals

826
00:36:57,800 --> 00:37:01,399
Speaker 2: and stuff like that. I'm typically excited to go back

827
00:37:01,440 --> 00:37:07,520
Speaker 2: and watch games. I'm very excited to go and watch

828
00:37:07,600 --> 00:37:10,239
Speaker 2: this one just because of again, all the details, all

829
00:37:10,280 --> 00:37:13,600
Speaker 2: the minutia, all the stuff that happened. And again, I mean,

830
00:37:13,640 --> 00:37:15,480
Speaker 2: we're we're almost an hour into this thing and we've

831
00:37:15,520 --> 00:37:20,480
Speaker 2: barely mentioned Kenneth Gainwell, Matt one of the most one

832
00:37:20,480 --> 00:37:24,040
Speaker 2: of the most improbable catches I think that you'll ever see.

833
00:37:24,080 --> 00:37:25,399
Speaker 3: And then the wherewith all.

834
00:37:25,400 --> 00:37:28,200
Speaker 2: This the mind to go, I can get up and

835
00:37:28,239 --> 00:37:29,960
Speaker 2: walk this thing in the end zone haven't been touched,

836
00:37:30,000 --> 00:37:33,560
Speaker 2: like just just incredible. And that's maybe like the fifth

837
00:37:33,600 --> 00:37:35,120
Speaker 2: or sixth or seventh craziest thing.

838
00:37:35,040 --> 00:37:36,640
Speaker 4: That happened, and usually that's number one.

839
00:37:36,840 --> 00:37:37,919
Speaker 3: And usually that's number one.

840
00:37:37,920 --> 00:37:40,120
Speaker 2: And man, I don't know what next year is going

841
00:37:40,160 --> 00:37:42,200
Speaker 2: to hold for Kenneth Gainwell Matt, but I know it's

842
00:37:42,239 --> 00:37:44,239
Speaker 2: going to include a payday for that guy. He has

843
00:37:44,320 --> 00:37:47,960
Speaker 2: been outstanding right when this team needed him to be.

844
00:37:48,360 --> 00:37:50,520
Speaker 4: So a big theme that I've been talking about on

845
00:37:50,600 --> 00:37:53,319
Speaker 4: the previous show that I mentioned my first show to

846
00:37:53,360 --> 00:37:58,400
Speaker 4: that is reacting to the game, is this organization changes

847
00:37:58,440 --> 00:38:00,759
Speaker 4: more than a lot of our listeners think. And I

848
00:38:00,760 --> 00:38:02,760
Speaker 4: think the running back position is a pretty good example.

849
00:38:02,840 --> 00:38:06,439
Speaker 4: You know, like Roman Wilson, Caleb Johnson. You guys can't

850
00:38:06,440 --> 00:38:09,120
Speaker 4: even get hats anymore because it's not that your career

851
00:38:09,200 --> 00:38:11,400
Speaker 4: is buried in the grave and have no chance of

852
00:38:11,440 --> 00:38:14,320
Speaker 4: helping or ever being good or their busts or anything

853
00:38:14,360 --> 00:38:16,600
Speaker 4: like that. But we're done kind of waiting.

854
00:38:16,719 --> 00:38:19,480
Speaker 3: You know that they're not late six or seventh round picks.

855
00:38:19,520 --> 00:38:23,759
Speaker 4: No, these are pretty serious picks, talented young men, you know,

856
00:38:23,880 --> 00:38:26,239
Speaker 4: but we're not waiting around for you develop because we've

857
00:38:26,239 --> 00:38:28,399
Speaker 4: got bigger things to do right now, you know, it's

858
00:38:28,400 --> 00:38:31,239
Speaker 4: not developmental time. And where I'm going with this is,

859
00:38:32,640 --> 00:38:36,360
Speaker 4: I'm certain the plan was Caleb Johnson's going to be

860
00:38:36,400 --> 00:38:38,919
Speaker 4: early down back, Warren's going to get an expanded role

861
00:38:38,960 --> 00:38:41,560
Speaker 4: from Nausey and Game Well is a nice guy that

862
00:38:41,600 --> 00:38:44,560
Speaker 4: a tudget piece. Yeah, he's gonna return kicks for you.

863
00:38:45,080 --> 00:38:48,480
Speaker 4: He'll come out there on some third and longs. He'll

864
00:38:48,520 --> 00:38:51,160
Speaker 4: be out there as a spot player, as they call it,

865
00:38:51,320 --> 00:38:52,080
Speaker 4: satellite back.

866
00:38:52,280 --> 00:38:54,879
Speaker 2: You rarely make it through an entire season, seventeen games

867
00:38:54,880 --> 00:38:58,560
Speaker 2: of both of your running backs being healthy, like helping them.

868
00:38:57,840 --> 00:39:00,560
Speaker 4: At some points, right, Warren will go down back up

869
00:39:00,640 --> 00:39:04,719
Speaker 4: Johnson or vice versa. And but to their credit, every

870
00:39:04,760 --> 00:39:08,280
Speaker 4: time they've adapted to you know, like, this guy's better

871
00:39:08,320 --> 00:39:11,800
Speaker 4: than we thought. He's demanding touches. I mean, it's almost

872
00:39:11,880 --> 00:39:14,560
Speaker 4: become now. He used to really bother me. I mean,

873
00:39:14,600 --> 00:39:18,560
Speaker 4: the running back room has been an interesting story. It has,

874
00:39:18,960 --> 00:39:21,160
Speaker 4: you know, like I'm like, why does game Will have

875
00:39:21,200 --> 00:39:23,360
Speaker 4: to play on every third down? There was a stretch

876
00:39:23,400 --> 00:39:25,000
Speaker 4: a month or so ago. I'm like, I don't mind

877
00:39:25,080 --> 00:39:27,160
Speaker 4: him being out there, but if it's third and one

878
00:39:27,239 --> 00:39:28,880
Speaker 4: or third and twenty. Why is he have to be

879
00:39:28,880 --> 00:39:31,040
Speaker 4: out there and third down? You know, like, let's just

880
00:39:31,120 --> 00:39:33,719
Speaker 4: do here's a series for you, he's a series for you.

881
00:39:34,000 --> 00:39:37,120
Speaker 4: Or make it a little less predictable in terms of usage.

882
00:39:37,640 --> 00:39:41,160
Speaker 4: And now they're basically just interchangeable pieces. These last couple

883
00:39:41,200 --> 00:39:43,640
Speaker 4: of weeks, and this is second week in a row,

884
00:39:43,680 --> 00:39:46,680
Speaker 4: he's gone over one hundred yards from scrimmage. It's the

885
00:39:46,719 --> 00:39:49,320
Speaker 4: fourth out of six games he's gone over one hundred

886
00:39:49,400 --> 00:39:50,400
Speaker 4: yards from scrimmage.

887
00:39:50,440 --> 00:39:51,080
Speaker 3: That's impressive.

888
00:39:51,480 --> 00:39:54,319
Speaker 4: All they could talk about on the on the broadcast

889
00:39:54,400 --> 00:39:56,719
Speaker 4: was Steelers think this guy is the best hands on

890
00:39:56,760 --> 00:39:59,279
Speaker 4: the team. Rogers thinks he has the best hands.

891
00:39:59,000 --> 00:40:01,800
Speaker 3: On the Rogers lo that dude, man, Yeah he does.

892
00:40:02,120 --> 00:40:04,480
Speaker 4: And I remember being in camp with you and one

893
00:40:04,480 --> 00:40:08,640
Speaker 4: of my first analysis of him live was he runs.

894
00:40:08,719 --> 00:40:10,120
Speaker 4: He runs wide receiver routes.

895
00:40:10,200 --> 00:40:12,600
Speaker 3: You know that he crisp ris runner.

896
00:40:12,360 --> 00:40:15,879
Speaker 4: Yes, not just drift. There were running back trying to.

897
00:40:15,800 --> 00:40:20,319
Speaker 2: Do Risp out of his routes twitch that twitchings which

898
00:40:20,920 --> 00:40:21,359
Speaker 2: looks like.

899
00:40:21,280 --> 00:40:23,960
Speaker 4: A wide out, you know, and like, okay, that's better

900
00:40:23,960 --> 00:40:24,479
Speaker 4: than I thought.

901
00:40:24,719 --> 00:40:27,600
Speaker 2: Hey, five point six yards per carry on the ground,

902
00:40:28,320 --> 00:40:31,880
Speaker 2: fifteen point six through the air, as you mentioned, well

903
00:40:31,920 --> 00:40:35,000
Speaker 2: over one hundred yards all but what one hundred and

904
00:40:35,120 --> 00:40:37,160
Speaker 2: thirty eight o one hundred and twenty eight part of

905
00:40:37,160 --> 00:40:38,040
Speaker 2: me in a touchdown?

906
00:40:38,200 --> 00:40:40,240
Speaker 4: And this isn't a one off like I thought. Maybe

907
00:40:40,239 --> 00:40:42,920
Speaker 4: the Dublin game was like, Okay, you got thrust in there.

908
00:40:42,960 --> 00:40:45,240
Speaker 2: You did needed him to get you out of the stadium,

909
00:40:45,239 --> 00:40:45,759
Speaker 2: and he did it.

910
00:40:45,800 --> 00:40:46,400
Speaker 4: This is who he is.

911
00:40:46,960 --> 00:40:49,200
Speaker 2: And a lot of explosives for the offense. Matt, I

912
00:40:49,200 --> 00:40:52,080
Speaker 2: mean Warren the two long forty five yard touchdown runs.

913
00:40:52,120 --> 00:40:54,160
Speaker 2: Gainwell had an eighteen yard run. John new Smith had

914
00:40:54,200 --> 00:40:56,359
Speaker 2: a twenty yard run. I mean, that's kind of what

915
00:40:56,400 --> 00:40:59,600
Speaker 2: we've been begging for. A couple of Pursuit had a

916
00:40:59,640 --> 00:40:59,960
Speaker 2: good joke.

917
00:41:00,160 --> 00:41:02,040
Speaker 4: I promised I would steal and put on there to

918
00:41:02,160 --> 00:41:05,040
Speaker 4: you tell me. Well the three forty five yard.

919
00:41:04,960 --> 00:41:09,200
Speaker 2: Touchdowns yes, which is hilarious, and all three to running backs.

920
00:41:09,239 --> 00:41:11,680
Speaker 2: I mean, I know game was a past but all

921
00:41:11,680 --> 00:41:12,560
Speaker 2: three to running backs.

922
00:41:12,600 --> 00:41:15,960
Speaker 4: But PURSUITA had something along the lines of best forty

923
00:41:16,000 --> 00:41:19,920
Speaker 4: fives that have come out of Detroit since Motown. Pretty good.

924
00:41:21,520 --> 00:41:23,560
Speaker 3: You got to know some music references to.

925
00:41:23,600 --> 00:41:25,640
Speaker 4: Get that one, and some people out there.

926
00:41:26,120 --> 00:41:29,360
Speaker 2: That's what's a vinyl that's a vinyl record reference for

927
00:41:29,440 --> 00:41:31,240
Speaker 2: all you millennials in your out.

928
00:41:31,080 --> 00:41:33,040
Speaker 4: There, you did the same things, like a record is

929
00:41:33,080 --> 00:41:35,200
Speaker 4: this thing that looks like a disc that you put a.

930
00:41:35,160 --> 00:41:38,640
Speaker 3: Needle and you couldn't skip songs. You just had to

931
00:41:38,719 --> 00:41:40,319
Speaker 3: let you just had to let it play through.

932
00:41:40,920 --> 00:41:41,680
Speaker 4: But pretty well done.

933
00:41:41,800 --> 00:41:43,399
Speaker 3: That that was a very that's a very good one.

934
00:41:43,440 --> 00:41:46,400
Speaker 2: By pursuit of there, Matt, you and I I wanted

935
00:41:46,400 --> 00:41:47,680
Speaker 2: to make sure to get to this and kind of

936
00:41:47,680 --> 00:41:49,839
Speaker 2: our downloading of our thoughts here in the first hour.

937
00:41:50,120 --> 00:41:52,320
Speaker 2: We had talked a lot about how detroit that Lion's

938
00:41:52,400 --> 00:41:55,400
Speaker 2: defense loves to stay in their base formation more so

939
00:41:55,480 --> 00:41:58,040
Speaker 2: than anybody else. Just for defensive backs on the field,

940
00:41:58,320 --> 00:42:00,000
Speaker 2: how would you go about attacking that? How would you

941
00:42:00,040 --> 00:42:01,359
Speaker 2: go about trying to spread them out?

942
00:42:01,480 --> 00:42:03,239
Speaker 4: Yeah, you're gonna do more eleven, what are you gonna do?

943
00:42:03,320 --> 00:42:03,480
Speaker 3: Yeah?

944
00:42:03,560 --> 00:42:03,759
Speaker 4: Right.

945
00:42:03,760 --> 00:42:07,759
Speaker 2: The Steelers played a season high twenty three snaps out

946
00:42:07,800 --> 00:42:12,120
Speaker 2: of empty personnel yesterday. Seven of those twenty three went

947
00:42:12,120 --> 00:42:12,960
Speaker 2: for first downs.

948
00:42:13,200 --> 00:42:15,759
Speaker 4: Wow, Okay, Now that doesn't mean they'd five wide on

949
00:42:15,800 --> 00:42:17,759
Speaker 4: the field and it was sure, yeah, but they were

950
00:42:17,960 --> 00:42:21,240
Speaker 4: empty spreading people out, making you defend.

951
00:42:21,440 --> 00:42:24,800
Speaker 2: That's basically you know, basically one out of three snaps

952
00:42:24,840 --> 00:42:27,200
Speaker 2: in that empty personnel you were moving the chains for

953
00:42:27,200 --> 00:42:29,680
Speaker 2: a first down pretty close to one out of three.

954
00:42:29,840 --> 00:42:33,360
Speaker 2: I mean that's the type of Okay, here's how we attack.

955
00:42:33,520 --> 00:42:35,359
Speaker 2: We're not gonna try and do what we just do

956
00:42:35,480 --> 00:42:38,160
Speaker 2: on offense. Here's how we're gonna tailor it to specifically

957
00:42:38,200 --> 00:42:40,200
Speaker 2: attack that defense, which I think.

958
00:42:40,120 --> 00:42:43,000
Speaker 4: Is another thing that's really changed with this organization from

959
00:42:43,040 --> 00:42:45,320
Speaker 4: top down totally. We're gonna adapt.

960
00:42:45,360 --> 00:42:50,719
Speaker 2: It feels like, especially like post I don't know, late October,

961
00:42:50,760 --> 00:42:53,239
Speaker 2: early November time, Frank, like really in the last six

962
00:42:53,280 --> 00:42:53,719
Speaker 2: weeks or.

963
00:42:53,680 --> 00:42:56,200
Speaker 4: So, now I know, I definitely know the organization after

964
00:42:56,239 --> 00:42:58,680
Speaker 4: the Bills game all really looked themselves.

965
00:42:58,680 --> 00:42:59,239
Speaker 3: Had to be here.

966
00:42:59,360 --> 00:43:01,200
Speaker 4: Yeah, so search a lot of people could have been

967
00:43:01,200 --> 00:43:02,560
Speaker 4: like that was just a one off. We're gonna stick

968
00:43:02,600 --> 00:43:04,360
Speaker 4: with what we're doing. No, No, we're gonna change. We

969
00:43:04,480 --> 00:43:06,200
Speaker 4: start going forward and fourth down, we're start throwing the

970
00:43:06,239 --> 00:43:08,719
Speaker 4: middle of field. We're gonna start using different people. We're

971
00:43:08,719 --> 00:43:12,799
Speaker 4: gonna play, We're not gonna run outside zone is high percentage.

972
00:43:12,840 --> 00:43:14,800
Speaker 4: You know, we're gonna adapt to the team as opposed

973
00:43:14,840 --> 00:43:17,040
Speaker 4: to having them adapt to us. All these things. I

974
00:43:17,040 --> 00:43:19,880
Speaker 4: mean it's they've and who's on the field.

975
00:43:20,320 --> 00:43:22,720
Speaker 2: I don't want to be a product of my environment, right,

976
00:43:22,800 --> 00:43:25,520
Speaker 2: I want my environment to be a product to me exactly.

977
00:43:25,719 --> 00:43:29,160
Speaker 2: And I think at times in the past, this season

978
00:43:29,800 --> 00:43:32,440
Speaker 2: and maybe over the last couple of years, certainly too,

979
00:43:32,600 --> 00:43:34,520
Speaker 2: when the Steelers I think were more limited with what

980
00:43:34,560 --> 00:43:36,680
Speaker 2: they were working with at the quarterback position.

981
00:43:36,560 --> 00:43:37,400
Speaker 4: That has a lot to do with it.

982
00:43:37,480 --> 00:43:40,440
Speaker 3: You better cards in your hand, you you could.

983
00:43:41,320 --> 00:43:45,680
Speaker 4: Especially in terms of adaptability, and some.

984
00:43:44,960 --> 00:43:47,040
Speaker 2: Of it was like, if you got red paint, you

985
00:43:47,040 --> 00:43:48,919
Speaker 2: have to paint the barn red. I don't have any

986
00:43:48,920 --> 00:43:50,440
Speaker 2: green paint. How do you want me to paint the

987
00:43:50,480 --> 00:43:52,440
Speaker 2: door green when I don't have any? But I think

988
00:43:52,480 --> 00:43:56,319
Speaker 2: there was also some fair criticism of you know, you

989
00:43:56,400 --> 00:43:59,839
Speaker 2: were you were losing your way as opposing to try

990
00:43:59,840 --> 00:44:00,919
Speaker 2: to win a different way.

991
00:44:01,320 --> 00:44:03,120
Speaker 4: I do think there's been timeline there.

992
00:44:03,160 --> 00:44:04,759
Speaker 3: I do there's a very fine line there.

993
00:44:04,960 --> 00:44:06,120
Speaker 4: They definitely more paint now.

994
00:44:06,440 --> 00:44:08,879
Speaker 2: They have more paint now, which helps, and I think

995
00:44:08,880 --> 00:44:14,480
Speaker 2: they've got a little bit more willing to say, hey, yeah,

996
00:44:14,640 --> 00:44:17,200
Speaker 2: last week we were heavy on the red paint. We

997
00:44:17,239 --> 00:44:19,120
Speaker 2: had success doing it, but this week we're gonna have

998
00:44:19,160 --> 00:44:21,680
Speaker 2: to go with the purple paint and we can we

999
00:44:21,719 --> 00:44:23,840
Speaker 2: can have whereas in the past with that purple paint

1000
00:44:24,000 --> 00:44:25,680
Speaker 2: you probably couldn't have had as much success.

1001
00:44:26,040 --> 00:44:28,239
Speaker 4: Where now something you run into some teams that are

1002
00:44:28,280 --> 00:44:31,719
Speaker 4: red paint killers. We love red paint.

1003
00:44:32,440 --> 00:44:36,120
Speaker 2: Buffalo Bills loved well, here comes some here and and

1004
00:44:36,360 --> 00:44:39,520
Speaker 2: the Lions love red paint. You gave them blue paint instead,

1005
00:44:39,640 --> 00:44:43,200
Speaker 2: you know, for for three and a half hours, and.

1006
00:44:42,680 --> 00:44:44,880
Speaker 4: It's pretty public knowledge. I guess the receivers went to

1007
00:44:44,960 --> 00:44:47,160
Speaker 4: Arthur Smith and the coaching staff, Hey, we like this

1008
00:44:47,200 --> 00:44:49,520
Speaker 4: stuff better. And there's been more back and forth. And

1009
00:44:50,000 --> 00:44:52,000
Speaker 4: it's not just where the coaches do what you say,

1010
00:44:52,040 --> 00:44:54,279
Speaker 4: you know, right, right, And this is the quarterback has

1011
00:44:54,280 --> 00:44:54,880
Speaker 4: a lot to do with that.

1012
00:44:55,120 --> 00:44:57,759
Speaker 3: This is the time of year to one that you

1013
00:44:57,840 --> 00:44:59,320
Speaker 3: want to see that kind of stuff happening.

1014
00:44:59,320 --> 00:45:02,439
Speaker 4: I want to put from Rogers, I could possibly.

1015
00:45:02,120 --> 00:45:07,040
Speaker 2: Get you and I we we stated this back in September, like.

1016
00:45:07,000 --> 00:45:09,400
Speaker 3: Winning games early in the year is great.

1017
00:45:09,760 --> 00:45:10,040
Speaker 4: It is.

1018
00:45:10,680 --> 00:45:16,040
Speaker 2: But what I think I like said this back in September,

1019
00:45:17,040 --> 00:45:19,960
Speaker 2: what really matters is hitting your stride when Saint Nick

1020
00:45:20,040 --> 00:45:24,000
Speaker 2: is about to slide down that chimney. Being relatively healthy. Okay,

1021
00:45:24,000 --> 00:45:27,000
Speaker 2: maybe that's up in question. Yeah, but every team look

1022
00:45:27,040 --> 00:45:31,080
Speaker 2: at the issues that we know the Ravens have many

1023
00:45:31,080 --> 00:45:33,920
Speaker 2: issues in the injury department. No one's you know, playing

1024
00:45:33,920 --> 00:45:36,520
Speaker 2: the fiddle for you, playing a sad song for you,

1025
00:45:36,560 --> 00:45:40,359
Speaker 2: and weeping for you. But it really is feeling like

1026
00:45:40,480 --> 00:45:43,920
Speaker 2: it is coming together at the at the exact, perfect

1027
00:45:43,960 --> 00:45:45,080
Speaker 2: possible time.

1028
00:45:45,560 --> 00:45:47,879
Speaker 4: And all the air balloon you can lose your next

1029
00:45:47,880 --> 00:45:49,359
Speaker 4: to totally. I mean, that's just how the league.

1030
00:45:49,560 --> 00:45:51,799
Speaker 2: That is how the league works, and it's right now

1031
00:45:53,160 --> 00:45:56,120
Speaker 2: feels like even more so this year than others. But

1032
00:45:56,200 --> 00:45:58,359
Speaker 2: I think in that if you're hitting your stride at

1033
00:45:58,360 --> 00:46:00,759
Speaker 2: the right time, that gives you more reason for excitement

1034
00:46:00,800 --> 00:46:02,479
Speaker 2: because it feels like a lot of these other teams

1035
00:46:02,520 --> 00:46:04,759
Speaker 2: in the league, and particularly in the AFC, are still

1036
00:46:04,760 --> 00:46:08,440
Speaker 2: trying to figure out their formula. The Steelers, oh absolutely,

1037
00:46:08,920 --> 00:46:11,160
Speaker 2: but who's really hitting their stride right now?

1038
00:46:11,840 --> 00:46:12,360
Speaker 3: You could make it.

1039
00:46:13,360 --> 00:46:16,239
Speaker 2: Patriots haven't looked their best the last two weeks. The

1040
00:46:16,280 --> 00:46:18,479
Speaker 2: Broncos didn't look great this past week.

1041
00:46:18,680 --> 00:46:20,560
Speaker 4: You know, Houston didn't blow anybody up.

1042
00:46:20,680 --> 00:46:23,759
Speaker 3: Houston struggled again. We think is the worst team in

1043
00:46:23,800 --> 00:46:24,200
Speaker 3: the league.

1044
00:46:24,320 --> 00:46:26,920
Speaker 4: I mean, the team that at the most momentum at

1045
00:46:26,960 --> 00:46:30,520
Speaker 4: the minute is Jacksonville. Yes, I mean which is which

1046
00:46:30,560 --> 00:46:31,239
Speaker 4: is radio?

1047
00:46:33,600 --> 00:46:33,680
Speaker 2: Right?

1048
00:46:33,760 --> 00:46:36,000
Speaker 4: Yea yeah, and that could the ping could pop in

1049
00:46:36,040 --> 00:46:36,640
Speaker 4: a minute on it.

1050
00:46:36,719 --> 00:46:39,359
Speaker 2: Totally totally hour in the books, Another hour to go

1051
00:46:39,840 --> 00:46:42,440
Speaker 2: some more on the Steelers offense, and plenty around the

1052
00:46:42,520 --> 00:46:45,560
Speaker 2: NFL to recap a wild Week sixteen and what it

1053
00:46:45,600 --> 00:46:48,560
Speaker 2: all means for your Pittsburgh Steelers. Will do that and

1054
00:46:48,640 --> 00:46:51,200
Speaker 2: more in hour number two here on the Drive Wes Sheeler,

1055
00:46:51,239 --> 00:46:54,200
Speaker 2: Matt Williamson at Steelers Nation Radio on the Steelers Audio