1
00:00:04,040 --> 00:00:04,520
Speaker 1: At least.

2
00:00:04,640 --> 00:00:08,119
Speaker 2: He's the Drive with Dale Lolly and Matt Williamson on

3
00:00:08,160 --> 00:00:10,280
Speaker 2: your twenty four to seven Home of the Black and

4
00:00:10,360 --> 00:00:14,200
Speaker 2: Gold cast in Steelers Nation Radio.

5
00:00:15,720 --> 00:00:19,200
Speaker 3: And welcome to the Drive. I'm Dale Lolly, he is

6
00:00:19,480 --> 00:00:23,960
Speaker 3: the Matt Williamson and it is Wednesday here in Pittsburgh.

7
00:00:24,000 --> 00:00:27,240
Speaker 3: And well we're a few days out from the start

8
00:00:27,280 --> 00:00:30,600
Speaker 3: of the NFL scouting combine. We'll hear from Steelers General

9
00:00:30,640 --> 00:00:35,080
Speaker 3: Manager Omar Kahan on Tuesday. Kind of the white smoke

10
00:00:35,960 --> 00:00:38,159
Speaker 3: of yeah, yeah, yeah, the Steeler officers there. That will

11
00:00:38,200 --> 00:00:40,680
Speaker 3: be the first time anybody has spoken really from the

12
00:00:40,760 --> 00:00:44,560
Speaker 3: organization since Art Rennie the second had his press conference

13
00:00:44,600 --> 00:00:45,360
Speaker 3: a few weeks ago.

14
00:00:46,479 --> 00:00:49,040
Speaker 4: This week feels always feels like the calm before the storm,

15
00:00:49,080 --> 00:00:51,040
Speaker 4: a little bit like you want to talk about stuff,

16
00:00:51,040 --> 00:00:51,920
Speaker 4: but you're not really sure what.

17
00:00:52,440 --> 00:00:54,000
Speaker 5: There's not a lot going on yet.

18
00:00:54,160 --> 00:00:58,200
Speaker 3: The league has informed teams at the twenty twenty five

19
00:00:58,320 --> 00:01:01,440
Speaker 3: salary cap fall within the range of two hundred and

20
00:01:01,480 --> 00:01:03,680
Speaker 3: seventy seven point five million to two hudred and eighty

21
00:01:03,680 --> 00:01:06,600
Speaker 3: one point five million, so we can estimate it's kind

22
00:01:06,600 --> 00:01:08,000
Speaker 3: of coming at like two hundred and seventy.

23
00:01:07,800 --> 00:01:08,440
Speaker 5: Nine and a half.

24
00:01:08,880 --> 00:01:12,120
Speaker 4: That's halfway through in the middle. Yeah, yeah, you knew

25
00:01:12,120 --> 00:01:12,960
Speaker 4: what it was this past year.

26
00:01:12,959 --> 00:01:15,840
Speaker 3: I don't know, fifty five point four that's a massive,

27
00:01:15,880 --> 00:01:17,400
Speaker 3: so a substantial increase.

28
00:01:17,600 --> 00:01:20,120
Speaker 4: And I knew the league was healthy, but wow, yeah,

29
00:01:20,120 --> 00:01:22,920
Speaker 4: that's always a massive indicator of how healthy the league is.

30
00:01:23,000 --> 00:01:24,880
Speaker 4: Salary cap and value of teams.

31
00:01:24,959 --> 00:01:27,240
Speaker 3: And I can remember it was just a few years

32
00:01:27,280 --> 00:01:31,520
Speaker 3: ago when the league was going through COVID and all

33
00:01:31,560 --> 00:01:34,200
Speaker 3: that stuff, when we were at the combine and I

34
00:01:34,200 --> 00:01:39,240
Speaker 3: believe we had we had trying to think, no, who

35
00:01:39,240 --> 00:01:43,080
Speaker 3: we had on. We had somebody on John I don't

36
00:01:43,080 --> 00:01:46,200
Speaker 3: remember who we had on, but well, I'm gonna loss no.

37
00:01:46,959 --> 00:01:48,800
Speaker 5: But any remember the cap, Yeah.

38
00:01:48,600 --> 00:01:50,040
Speaker 3: We had we had a guest on and he was

39
00:01:50,080 --> 00:01:52,520
Speaker 3: talking about it and said, you know, look, this is

40
00:01:52,560 --> 00:01:55,680
Speaker 3: going to go up thirty million maybe next year and

41
00:01:55,800 --> 00:01:56,920
Speaker 3: another twenty after that.

42
00:01:57,000 --> 00:01:59,000
Speaker 5: And before we knew what COVID was.

43
00:01:59,200 --> 00:02:01,640
Speaker 3: Yeah, yeah, and and now that's what we're seeing here.

44
00:02:01,640 --> 00:02:03,280
Speaker 3: It's going to be you know, we're going around two

45
00:02:03,320 --> 00:02:06,600
Speaker 3: hundred and eighty million dollars for the salary cap. Now

46
00:02:06,920 --> 00:02:09,120
Speaker 3: Steeler fans might look at that so well, boy, you

47
00:02:09,120 --> 00:02:11,880
Speaker 3: know they're gonna have sixty million dollars in cap space now.

48
00:02:12,200 --> 00:02:13,440
Speaker 5: Yeah, but so thirty one other team.

49
00:02:13,520 --> 00:02:15,559
Speaker 3: Everybody else's cap went up as well.

50
00:02:15,320 --> 00:02:16,880
Speaker 5: Right, I mean, like the Saints of the world is

51
00:02:16,880 --> 00:02:17,960
Speaker 5: the one saying they're happy.

52
00:02:18,000 --> 00:02:20,040
Speaker 3: Yeah, right, that's one player they have to.

53
00:02:20,000 --> 00:02:23,119
Speaker 4: Cut, right, those guys that are real close against it,

54
00:02:23,680 --> 00:02:26,000
Speaker 4: that's the ones that are saying, Wow. Okay, I knew

55
00:02:26,000 --> 00:02:28,080
Speaker 4: where Leif was coming, but maybe I didn't expect to

56
00:02:28,080 --> 00:02:29,280
Speaker 4: be that much relief.

57
00:02:30,560 --> 00:02:33,360
Speaker 5: You know. It kind of dawned on me while we

58
00:02:33,360 --> 00:02:34,120
Speaker 5: were talking about that.

59
00:02:34,160 --> 00:02:36,760
Speaker 3: We had Clayton by the way, Oh okay, why couldn't

60
00:02:36,760 --> 00:02:40,079
Speaker 3: think of John Clayton's Yeah, for years, But.

61
00:02:40,000 --> 00:02:42,840
Speaker 4: Like how the Eagles have all that money down the line,

62
00:02:43,919 --> 00:02:46,040
Speaker 4: they must think that this stuff's going to happen regularly.

63
00:02:46,120 --> 00:02:46,280
Speaker 1: Yeah.

64
00:02:46,320 --> 00:02:47,840
Speaker 4: I don't know if they'll be right or not, but

65
00:02:48,080 --> 00:02:50,959
Speaker 4: there'll be big, big jumps over and over and over.

66
00:02:51,160 --> 00:02:51,480
Speaker 5: Yeah.

67
00:02:51,520 --> 00:02:54,600
Speaker 3: And of course the Steelers started dealing with this a

68
00:02:54,639 --> 00:02:58,120
Speaker 3: little early. We didn't talk about them releasing Preston Smith

69
00:02:58,240 --> 00:03:00,280
Speaker 3: last week, right, that was it.

70
00:03:00,520 --> 00:03:02,280
Speaker 4: We knew it was going to happen, but I'm has

71
00:03:02,360 --> 00:03:04,800
Speaker 4: talked about it, right, yeah.

72
00:03:04,160 --> 00:03:06,800
Speaker 3: Because you just weren't going to pay him thirteen million dollars.

73
00:03:06,840 --> 00:03:08,079
Speaker 5: You knew it the day they traded for him.

74
00:03:08,200 --> 00:03:10,240
Speaker 4: I mean kind of like Davante Adams is right the

75
00:03:10,320 --> 00:03:13,239
Speaker 4: day that you're traded for him, you're not gonna keep

76
00:03:13,240 --> 00:03:14,320
Speaker 4: going on that contract.

77
00:03:14,760 --> 00:03:18,480
Speaker 3: But it does give you a little more money for

78
00:03:19,320 --> 00:03:22,120
Speaker 3: extensions things of that nature. You know you're going to

79
00:03:22,160 --> 00:03:23,160
Speaker 3: fit in under your cap.

80
00:03:23,320 --> 00:03:24,480
Speaker 5: There's more flexibility.

81
00:03:24,639 --> 00:03:29,600
Speaker 3: Yeah, if you look at over the cap which is

82
00:03:29,639 --> 00:03:32,720
Speaker 3: now adjusted, they're guessing they went in the middle a

83
00:03:32,720 --> 00:03:35,240
Speaker 3: two hundred and seventy nine and a half million dollars.

84
00:03:35,400 --> 00:03:38,800
Speaker 3: They split the difference here with the release of Preston

85
00:03:38,880 --> 00:03:42,000
Speaker 3: Smith and their rollovers from last year and everything, Steelers

86
00:03:42,000 --> 00:03:46,520
Speaker 3: now in the top ten. Yeah, terms of cap space available, right.

87
00:03:46,400 --> 00:03:48,160
Speaker 4: Even I mean the cap went up for everybody, but

88
00:03:48,240 --> 00:03:51,560
Speaker 4: still it's there in pretty good shape. I still think

89
00:03:51,560 --> 00:03:53,600
Speaker 4: there's a lot of moves they can continue to make.

90
00:03:54,040 --> 00:03:56,720
Speaker 4: They could even do something like extend Watt and really

91
00:03:56,760 --> 00:03:59,400
Speaker 4: lower him this year, I mean, not to mention some cuts.

92
00:03:59,440 --> 00:04:02,320
Speaker 4: And so they have a lot of flexibility they do,

93
00:04:02,520 --> 00:04:05,360
Speaker 4: and and so we'll see where that money gets allocated to.

94
00:04:06,520 --> 00:04:09,800
Speaker 4: We've also gotten some news, for example, out of Tampa

95
00:04:09,840 --> 00:04:14,000
Speaker 4: Bay that they're working on a contract with Chris Godwin, yeah, yeah,

96
00:04:14,160 --> 00:04:15,800
Speaker 4: And I was going to bring him up too, just

97
00:04:15,840 --> 00:04:20,120
Speaker 4: because free agents like him are the real winners.

98
00:04:19,800 --> 00:04:20,960
Speaker 5: Of this cape going up.

99
00:04:21,000 --> 00:04:24,800
Speaker 4: You know, if if teams were budgeting, I don't know,

100
00:04:24,880 --> 00:04:27,440
Speaker 4: twenty eight million for t Higgins, well maybe now it's

101
00:04:27,440 --> 00:04:29,240
Speaker 4: twenty nine, you know. I mean there's a little bit

102
00:04:29,240 --> 00:04:31,920
Speaker 4: more flexibility. It's going to go to the players, of course,

103
00:04:32,160 --> 00:04:34,880
Speaker 4: and the teams that are really up against the cap,

104
00:04:34,920 --> 00:04:37,200
Speaker 4: that are having a hard time being compliant are thrilled

105
00:04:37,200 --> 00:04:38,560
Speaker 4: with it, and the players are thrilled with it.

106
00:04:38,640 --> 00:04:38,839
Speaker 5: Yeah.

107
00:04:38,880 --> 00:04:41,400
Speaker 3: The problem for Tampa Bay becomes They've got eight point

108
00:04:41,400 --> 00:04:44,240
Speaker 3: four million dollars in cap space as we sit here now.

109
00:04:45,760 --> 00:04:47,880
Speaker 5: So even with the increase, even with the.

110
00:04:47,880 --> 00:04:50,240
Speaker 3: Increase, that just gets them from that zero.

111
00:04:50,800 --> 00:04:55,520
Speaker 4: To whileah okay, And what I'll say about it, I

112
00:04:55,600 --> 00:04:58,640
Speaker 4: mean I don't know their cap well enough to say, well,

113
00:04:58,680 --> 00:05:01,200
Speaker 4: they got this restructure coming, they got this restructure, they

114
00:05:01,240 --> 00:05:02,440
Speaker 4: still got three cuts coming.

115
00:05:03,040 --> 00:05:03,720
Speaker 5: I don't know what.

116
00:05:03,640 --> 00:05:06,919
Speaker 4: Their cap flexibility is, but I would think they'd be

117
00:05:06,960 --> 00:05:09,880
Speaker 4: pretty aggressive to keep Godwin.

118
00:05:10,000 --> 00:05:11,080
Speaker 5: Yeah, McMillan came on.

119
00:05:11,200 --> 00:05:13,840
Speaker 4: Okay, but Evans is up in age and they're the

120
00:05:13,880 --> 00:05:15,120
Speaker 4: best team in their division. I they go to the

121
00:05:15,120 --> 00:05:16,359
Speaker 4: playoffs every year seems like.

122
00:05:16,400 --> 00:05:20,839
Speaker 3: Now, yeah, you know, and I think sometimes some of

123
00:05:20,880 --> 00:05:24,479
Speaker 3: this stuff gets overlooked a little bit. So, yeah, the

124
00:05:24,520 --> 00:05:27,280
Speaker 3: Steelers have more cap space, but I'm looking here at

125
00:05:27,279 --> 00:05:30,400
Speaker 3: the again, the over the cap stuff, hm in about

126
00:05:30,400 --> 00:05:32,479
Speaker 3: half the league has forty million dollars or more in

127
00:05:32,520 --> 00:05:34,520
Speaker 3: cap space. I mean, if somebody wants to get into

128
00:05:34,560 --> 00:05:36,919
Speaker 3: a bidding war for somebody that they really if a

129
00:05:36,920 --> 00:05:37,440
Speaker 3: team wants to.

130
00:05:37,440 --> 00:05:39,440
Speaker 5: Get set on a guy, yeah, you can do it.

131
00:05:39,480 --> 00:05:41,880
Speaker 3: You can do it. Nobody has the the one hundred

132
00:05:41,880 --> 00:05:44,400
Speaker 3: and twenty six million dollars that the Patriots have. Sure

133
00:05:44,680 --> 00:05:46,839
Speaker 3: it kind of gives you an idea of their roster.

134
00:05:47,160 --> 00:05:47,839
Speaker 5: Now that's a thing.

135
00:05:47,880 --> 00:05:50,159
Speaker 4: I mean, anybody to pay like they may have a

136
00:05:50,160 --> 00:05:51,200
Speaker 4: hard time getting to the floor.

137
00:05:51,200 --> 00:05:53,120
Speaker 3: Whatever the floor is they're spending right now, is at

138
00:05:53,120 --> 00:05:55,440
Speaker 3: one hundred and eighty one million dollars. They get they

139
00:05:55,520 --> 00:05:58,359
Speaker 3: got to get Tom within I think eighty percent of it's.

140
00:05:58,160 --> 00:05:59,760
Speaker 4: Not like a yeah, I would just give it all

141
00:05:59,760 --> 00:06:01,440
Speaker 4: the team J Watt type of guy. They don't have

142
00:06:01,440 --> 00:06:02,960
Speaker 4: any of those dudes, you know, right, No, they don't

143
00:06:02,960 --> 00:06:04,920
Speaker 4: have anybody like that, so they don't know where their

144
00:06:04,920 --> 00:06:07,640
Speaker 4: money goes. But you can't lead to bad contracts with

145
00:06:07,800 --> 00:06:11,320
Speaker 4: you know, getting guys out of the uh you know

146
00:06:11,360 --> 00:06:13,920
Speaker 4: from other teams, you know, like maybe they'd be interested

147
00:06:13,960 --> 00:06:16,240
Speaker 4: in the Dan Moore or James Daniels or somebody like

148
00:06:16,279 --> 00:06:18,120
Speaker 4: that and give them a bump more than they.

149
00:06:18,000 --> 00:06:19,920
Speaker 5: Should, which would be good for the Steelers comp game.

150
00:06:20,120 --> 00:06:24,880
Speaker 3: Here's the interesting thing about this whole thing. So on

151
00:06:25,000 --> 00:06:27,320
Speaker 3: over the cap they list the cap space available, the

152
00:06:27,320 --> 00:06:28,719
Speaker 3: effective cap space, which.

153
00:06:28,520 --> 00:06:29,080
Speaker 5: Aren't they're not.

154
00:06:29,120 --> 00:06:32,520
Speaker 3: They're not the same thing, right right right, the active caps, but.

155
00:06:32,600 --> 00:06:35,560
Speaker 4: The effective cap space, folks, also takes into account you

156
00:06:35,560 --> 00:06:37,719
Speaker 4: have draft picks, you have to sign things like that,

157
00:06:37,800 --> 00:06:38,480
Speaker 4: you know, which.

158
00:06:38,320 --> 00:06:40,200
Speaker 5: Is a little more realistic.

159
00:06:40,400 --> 00:06:45,920
Speaker 3: Yeah, and you're dead money dead money that's listed on there.

160
00:06:46,560 --> 00:06:50,960
Speaker 3: So here are the teams that have substantial dead money

161
00:06:50,960 --> 00:06:52,440
Speaker 3: on their its head.

162
00:06:52,520 --> 00:06:54,120
Speaker 4: I mean, you can't say there's nothing they can do

163
00:06:54,160 --> 00:06:57,240
Speaker 4: with structure that's that's eating up cap without that player

164
00:06:57,320 --> 00:06:58,039
Speaker 4: being on your team.

165
00:06:58,080 --> 00:06:59,479
Speaker 5: As a definition of cap money.

166
00:06:59,480 --> 00:07:02,160
Speaker 3: So when we talk about the Saints being in cap trouble,

167
00:07:02,680 --> 00:07:05,240
Speaker 3: they're forty seven million dollars over the cap right now.

168
00:07:05,680 --> 00:07:08,839
Speaker 3: They have forty eight point four million dollars in dead money,

169
00:07:08,880 --> 00:07:11,520
Speaker 3: in dead money on addition to that, that's not even

170
00:07:11,520 --> 00:07:16,280
Speaker 3: the highest though, because not the Cleveland Browns, who are

171
00:07:16,280 --> 00:07:19,080
Speaker 3: twenty four point three million dollars over the cap, have

172
00:07:19,160 --> 00:07:22,400
Speaker 3: fifty one point five million dollars in dead money, just

173
00:07:22,480 --> 00:07:25,400
Speaker 3: dead money, and that would increase if they trade Miles

174
00:07:25,480 --> 00:07:28,480
Speaker 3: Garrett unless they somehow adjust this contract before that happens.

175
00:07:28,960 --> 00:07:31,320
Speaker 4: And that's not even talking about Watson necessarily, I mean,

176
00:07:31,320 --> 00:07:32,400
Speaker 4: because he's on the team.

177
00:07:33,240 --> 00:07:38,400
Speaker 3: The Eagles fifty point eight million dollars in dead cap money.

178
00:07:38,360 --> 00:07:41,320
Speaker 4: Which if if people remember the conversation we had about them,

179
00:07:41,680 --> 00:07:45,200
Speaker 4: the guys that are under contract for twenty seven twenty

180
00:07:45,200 --> 00:07:47,920
Speaker 4: eight that aren't going to be Eagles, well, they're going

181
00:07:48,000 --> 00:07:48,720
Speaker 4: to be dead cap hit.

182
00:07:48,760 --> 00:07:51,760
Speaker 3: They've already done some of that already with other guys.

183
00:07:52,520 --> 00:07:54,920
Speaker 3: You get the Buccaneers with thirty two point one million

184
00:07:54,920 --> 00:07:57,960
Speaker 3: in dead cap. The Dolphins are at twenty seven point eight,

185
00:07:58,480 --> 00:08:00,840
Speaker 3: Cowboys are at twenty point seven.

186
00:08:01,480 --> 00:08:02,840
Speaker 5: Just cap space they can't use.

187
00:08:02,960 --> 00:08:07,160
Speaker 3: Yeah, the bill, no, yeah, the Bills are at no,

188
00:08:07,200 --> 00:08:09,760
Speaker 3: I'm sorry, said Giants twenty seven point three million dollars

189
00:08:09,760 --> 00:08:10,480
Speaker 3: for the Giants.

190
00:08:10,880 --> 00:08:12,560
Speaker 4: Yeah, I mean it's a little different if you've had

191
00:08:12,560 --> 00:08:15,600
Speaker 4: a lot of success. Yeah, you know, that max out

192
00:08:15,640 --> 00:08:16,480
Speaker 4: your cards a little bit.

193
00:08:16,520 --> 00:08:19,040
Speaker 3: But the forty nine Ers are at thirty four point nine.

194
00:08:19,360 --> 00:08:21,520
Speaker 5: How much that money does Steelers have? I know they're low.

195
00:08:21,840 --> 00:08:26,080
Speaker 3: They're at forty five thousand dollars in money. Wow, forty

196
00:08:26,080 --> 00:08:28,280
Speaker 3: five thighs it's the lowest in the league. There was

197
00:08:28,320 --> 00:08:31,880
Speaker 3: it last first A large large portion.

198
00:08:32,080 --> 00:08:34,760
Speaker 4: Yeah, yeah, I mean I do know. They structure their

199
00:08:34,800 --> 00:08:38,600
Speaker 4: contracts a little differently than most teams. Where I forget

200
00:08:38,600 --> 00:08:40,559
Speaker 4: who I was listening to, that was a pretty good

201
00:08:40,600 --> 00:08:43,280
Speaker 4: cap person was saying the Steelers, and probably more than

202
00:08:43,280 --> 00:08:46,959
Speaker 4: any team in the league, could either cut the same

203
00:08:47,000 --> 00:08:50,440
Speaker 4: player or extend the same player and it doesn't hurt

204
00:08:50,480 --> 00:08:52,640
Speaker 4: their cap as much. You know, it gives them a

205
00:08:52,640 --> 00:08:55,199
Speaker 4: lot of cap flexibility the way that they do contracts.

206
00:08:55,400 --> 00:08:57,400
Speaker 4: And that's something I wish I knew more about, was

207
00:08:58,760 --> 00:09:00,480
Speaker 4: how each teams to.

208
00:09:00,440 --> 00:09:01,719
Speaker 5: Structure their contracts.

209
00:09:01,760 --> 00:09:04,160
Speaker 4: I mean, that to me is a little nerdier in

210
00:09:04,320 --> 00:09:07,000
Speaker 4: Mathey than I know, you know, but I do know

211
00:09:07,040 --> 00:09:09,160
Speaker 4: that every team has different approaches to these things.

212
00:09:09,280 --> 00:09:13,200
Speaker 3: Yeah, forty five thousand dollars in dead money is nothing. Nothing,

213
00:09:13,400 --> 00:09:14,800
Speaker 3: that's that's not even a player.

214
00:09:14,880 --> 00:09:17,280
Speaker 5: A couple of nickels in the between yeah, that's nothing.

215
00:09:18,960 --> 00:09:21,400
Speaker 3: Now, that could change if you start releasing some guys

216
00:09:21,440 --> 00:09:24,719
Speaker 3: like the Cole Hulcoms and players of that. But if

217
00:09:24,760 --> 00:09:26,440
Speaker 3: that's where you're at right now in dead money, you

218
00:09:26,440 --> 00:09:27,120
Speaker 3: can afford to.

219
00:09:27,080 --> 00:09:28,080
Speaker 5: Do that at all.

220
00:09:28,240 --> 00:09:30,400
Speaker 3: Yeah, still nothing, you're not building on something. Oh we

221
00:09:30,400 --> 00:09:32,480
Speaker 3: already have twenty nine million in dead money and we

222
00:09:32,559 --> 00:09:33,319
Speaker 3: got to add to that.

223
00:09:33,559 --> 00:09:35,720
Speaker 4: I mean a couple of million is very manageable. Yeah,

224
00:09:35,800 --> 00:09:38,360
Speaker 4: and let alone being under fifty rand.

225
00:09:38,600 --> 00:09:38,840
Speaker 5: Yeah.

226
00:09:39,520 --> 00:09:43,480
Speaker 3: And some of that is also because the Steelers don't

227
00:09:43,559 --> 00:09:46,160
Speaker 3: make a move until they have to make a move.

228
00:09:46,240 --> 00:09:48,680
Speaker 5: Yeah, yeah, yeah, you see something. This isn't a cheap thing.

229
00:09:48,800 --> 00:09:51,960
Speaker 5: This is just a way that they like.

230
00:09:51,720 --> 00:09:53,880
Speaker 3: Why why release Cole Hulkom now?

231
00:09:54,440 --> 00:09:55,679
Speaker 5: Right, Well, you don't gain anything.

232
00:09:56,120 --> 00:09:59,520
Speaker 3: What if God forbids something. Okay, let's let's say something

233
00:09:59,559 --> 00:10:02,080
Speaker 3: were to have up into Peyton Wilson tomorrow.

234
00:10:02,160 --> 00:10:04,840
Speaker 5: Yeah, yeah, Patrick Queen falls on the steps or something.

235
00:10:04,920 --> 00:10:08,480
Speaker 3: Right, These things happen for you know, they just do.

236
00:10:09,360 --> 00:10:11,960
Speaker 3: Guys have accidents in the off season, or they you know,

237
00:10:12,080 --> 00:10:14,200
Speaker 3: get in trouble lifting weights, or they get in trouble

238
00:10:14,240 --> 00:10:16,280
Speaker 3: or whatever it may be. And if you've already cut

239
00:10:16,320 --> 00:10:16,960
Speaker 3: that guy.

240
00:10:17,200 --> 00:10:18,800
Speaker 5: Well I and you like them.

241
00:10:18,920 --> 00:10:20,480
Speaker 4: Yeah, I mean the reason to get rid of them

242
00:10:20,520 --> 00:10:22,560
Speaker 4: is because you can use the cap space and all

243
00:10:22,559 --> 00:10:26,040
Speaker 4: of a sudden he's your fourth linebacker, maybe as opposed

244
00:10:26,080 --> 00:10:27,360
Speaker 4: to your second or whatever.

245
00:10:27,440 --> 00:10:29,520
Speaker 3: But I see that a lot. Why aren't they cutting

246
00:10:29,520 --> 00:10:32,160
Speaker 3: this guy? Cut that guy? Just cut make those moves now? Well,

247
00:10:32,200 --> 00:10:33,480
Speaker 3: you don't need the space right now.

248
00:10:33,400 --> 00:10:35,880
Speaker 5: The only space here. You've got got sixty.

249
00:10:35,520 --> 00:10:38,040
Speaker 3: Million dollars in camp space, So why make a move.

250
00:10:38,760 --> 00:10:40,800
Speaker 4: And maybe by week fifteen you were real happy you

251
00:10:40,800 --> 00:10:42,480
Speaker 4: have for wholk them. You know, if you didn't have

252
00:10:42,480 --> 00:10:45,120
Speaker 4: anything else to do with the money, the only thing

253
00:10:45,480 --> 00:10:48,800
Speaker 4: you can hulk them. Would prefer to get released now

254
00:10:48,920 --> 00:10:50,679
Speaker 4: than a month orm now if he's going to be

255
00:10:50,840 --> 00:10:52,640
Speaker 4: If he's going to be released, yeah, I mean that's

256
00:10:52,720 --> 00:10:54,960
Speaker 4: because of more time, more bargaining power, you know, that

257
00:10:55,080 --> 00:10:55,600
Speaker 4: type of thing.

258
00:10:55,679 --> 00:10:58,559
Speaker 5: But okay, so what you know, Yeah, I.

259
00:10:58,480 --> 00:11:01,000
Speaker 3: Mean, so you don't do don't make a move like

260
00:11:01,040 --> 00:11:04,360
Speaker 3: that until you absolutely have to make a move. You know,

261
00:11:04,400 --> 00:11:07,720
Speaker 3: when they restructure, When they do a restructure, it's usually

262
00:11:07,720 --> 00:11:10,080
Speaker 3: because they have something in mind that they're looking to do.

263
00:11:11,360 --> 00:11:13,280
Speaker 5: Or they got to sign their draft picks or whatever.

264
00:11:13,320 --> 00:11:15,400
Speaker 3: You know, you're getting okay, we got to start prepping

265
00:11:15,480 --> 00:11:17,640
Speaker 3: to go into the season. We want to have six

266
00:11:17,679 --> 00:11:18,559
Speaker 3: million dollars of a.

267
00:11:18,679 --> 00:11:20,200
Speaker 5: Laying around for petty cash.

268
00:11:20,240 --> 00:11:22,240
Speaker 4: You pick up stuff, you know, right, yeah, to get

269
00:11:22,240 --> 00:11:25,079
Speaker 4: the next president spith uh it.

270
00:11:25,480 --> 00:11:30,320
Speaker 3: It also shows why when people when people ask, you know,

271
00:11:30,360 --> 00:11:33,439
Speaker 3: why would you why would you rather trade a pick

272
00:11:33,520 --> 00:11:37,160
Speaker 3: for a player? The beauty of trading a pick for

273
00:11:37,200 --> 00:11:41,680
Speaker 3: a player is you don't owe any of his signing.

274
00:11:41,360 --> 00:11:44,000
Speaker 5: Design money, Like the make of stuff was unbelievable, and that.

275
00:11:44,120 --> 00:11:46,600
Speaker 3: You just pick up the guy's base salary. Now, if

276
00:11:46,600 --> 00:11:51,160
Speaker 3: there's some if there's some future stuff in there in

277
00:11:51,240 --> 00:11:55,240
Speaker 3: terms of you knows all right, that's at least you

278
00:11:55,280 --> 00:11:58,200
Speaker 3: know what contract, right, you know exactly what you're getting,

279
00:11:58,360 --> 00:12:00,800
Speaker 3: and this is it. And if you decide to move

280
00:12:00,800 --> 00:12:04,319
Speaker 3: on from the player, it costs you nothing, gost you nothing,

281
00:12:04,360 --> 00:12:05,640
Speaker 3: It doesn't hurt your cap at all.

282
00:12:05,800 --> 00:12:08,600
Speaker 4: That's a thing just to kind of spell it out, like, Okay,

283
00:12:09,320 --> 00:12:12,280
Speaker 4: someone signed gets a thirty million dollar bonus on a

284
00:12:12,280 --> 00:12:15,240
Speaker 4: three year deal. Well that's ten ten ten, right, And

285
00:12:15,600 --> 00:12:18,840
Speaker 4: okay I trade for the guy. Well, I don't have

286
00:12:18,880 --> 00:12:20,920
Speaker 4: to pay that. He already has it in his cat.

287
00:12:21,080 --> 00:12:22,720
Speaker 4: He already has it in his pocket. It goes on

288
00:12:22,760 --> 00:12:24,079
Speaker 4: the other teams, right.

289
00:12:24,040 --> 00:12:26,640
Speaker 5: Right, exactly. I mean it's it's a wonderful thing.

290
00:12:26,880 --> 00:12:28,959
Speaker 3: Yeah, so you're getting you're getting the player at a

291
00:12:29,800 --> 00:12:31,160
Speaker 3: nice salary and they.

292
00:12:31,080 --> 00:12:32,320
Speaker 5: Did the negotiating for you.

293
00:12:32,440 --> 00:12:35,319
Speaker 4: Yeah, you can't even even if you think I think

294
00:12:35,360 --> 00:12:36,800
Speaker 4: you're overpaid, I think you're underpaid.

295
00:12:37,240 --> 00:12:39,360
Speaker 5: Doesn't matter what I think. I just inherited your.

296
00:12:39,320 --> 00:12:41,800
Speaker 3: Contract right, right, And you can renegotiate those things and

297
00:12:43,080 --> 00:12:45,040
Speaker 3: we'll tear it up or at all. Right, you're making

298
00:12:45,200 --> 00:12:47,040
Speaker 3: you're making a Let's say they wanted to do that

299
00:12:47,080 --> 00:12:50,960
Speaker 3: with Preston Smith. They could have saved Preston. We like you,

300
00:12:52,080 --> 00:12:53,800
Speaker 3: we want to keep you around for a couple more years.

301
00:12:53,840 --> 00:12:55,560
Speaker 3: We don't want to pay you thirteen million dollars in

302
00:12:55,600 --> 00:12:57,320
Speaker 3: salary this year. We don't want that that kind of

303
00:12:57,320 --> 00:13:01,400
Speaker 3: cap hit. But what if we gave you ten million

304
00:13:01,640 --> 00:13:05,319
Speaker 3: signing bonus, right and added two more years onto your contract,

305
00:13:05,559 --> 00:13:07,920
Speaker 3: and you're gonna get You're gonna make you know, three

306
00:13:07,920 --> 00:13:09,560
Speaker 3: million this year. So you're going to get your thirteen

307
00:13:09,559 --> 00:13:10,120
Speaker 3: million dollars.

308
00:13:10,200 --> 00:13:11,360
Speaker 5: Yeah, and you get a big chunk of it in

309
00:13:11,400 --> 00:13:12,840
Speaker 5: a one big jack.

310
00:13:12,720 --> 00:13:14,720
Speaker 3: Right, and it's going to lower your cap hit. Now,

311
00:13:14,760 --> 00:13:15,439
Speaker 3: and then.

312
00:13:15,440 --> 00:13:17,319
Speaker 5: We get to keep you Yeah, yeah, yeah, no, that's

313
00:13:17,320 --> 00:13:19,240
Speaker 5: all that stuff works a lot, you know.

314
00:13:19,320 --> 00:13:21,720
Speaker 4: And even if they cut them, they could still bring

315
00:13:21,760 --> 00:13:22,880
Speaker 4: them back in a week if they.

316
00:13:22,760 --> 00:13:24,280
Speaker 5: Wanted, if they wanted, yeah, yeah, yeah.

317
00:13:24,440 --> 00:13:28,080
Speaker 3: So it's yeah, it's all just a jockeying that goes

318
00:13:28,120 --> 00:13:29,320
Speaker 3: on this time of year.

319
00:13:30,400 --> 00:13:33,240
Speaker 4: But I wish I understood cap gymnastics a little bit better,

320
00:13:33,320 --> 00:13:33,880
Speaker 4: you know what I mean.

321
00:13:34,120 --> 00:13:35,760
Speaker 5: It's there are.

322
00:13:35,640 --> 00:13:38,080
Speaker 4: Some tricks to the trade, and you know, voidable years

323
00:13:38,120 --> 00:13:40,760
Speaker 4: have become a new thing, and I do understand that

324
00:13:40,800 --> 00:13:43,160
Speaker 4: portion of it, But I mean, when do you put

325
00:13:43,160 --> 00:13:43,880
Speaker 4: bonuses in?

326
00:13:44,080 --> 00:13:44,520
Speaker 5: And what?

327
00:13:44,679 --> 00:13:48,040
Speaker 4: You know, who can you? You know, one rule of

328
00:13:48,080 --> 00:13:51,640
Speaker 4: thumb people should know is if you if you renegotiate

329
00:13:51,679 --> 00:13:54,880
Speaker 4: with a player, basically the free up cap space. They

330
00:13:54,880 --> 00:13:56,600
Speaker 4: do those type of things like let me give you

331
00:13:56,600 --> 00:13:58,880
Speaker 4: ten million now and a million a week as opposed

332
00:13:58,920 --> 00:14:02,520
Speaker 4: to three million a week or whatever. It usually means

333
00:14:02,520 --> 00:14:04,480
Speaker 4: you plan on keeping him around, right, you know, they

334
00:14:04,480 --> 00:14:05,920
Speaker 4: do it. They go to the Bank of Homes, the

335
00:14:05,960 --> 00:14:08,439
Speaker 4: Bank of Josh Allen Burrows. We've talked about a bond, youah,

336
00:14:08,480 --> 00:14:09,199
Speaker 4: those type of guys.

337
00:14:09,200 --> 00:14:11,200
Speaker 3: And here's the thing, well, here's the thing with the

338
00:14:11,240 --> 00:14:16,200
Speaker 3: salary cap for the Steelers right now in twenty twenty six,

339
00:14:16,240 --> 00:14:19,200
Speaker 3: and they're and over the cap is estimating the cap

340
00:14:19,200 --> 00:14:20,640
Speaker 3: will go up to two hundred and ninety five and

341
00:14:20,640 --> 00:14:23,080
Speaker 3: a half million dollars, so another twenty million dollars. Yeah,

342
00:14:23,080 --> 00:14:26,360
Speaker 3: which is a guest but yeah, Steelers have one hundred

343
00:14:26,360 --> 00:14:29,800
Speaker 3: and sixty four million dollars in cap space for twenty

344
00:14:29,840 --> 00:14:30,480
Speaker 3: twenty six.

345
00:14:30,640 --> 00:14:32,280
Speaker 5: Wow, that's got to be near the top.

346
00:14:32,840 --> 00:14:35,320
Speaker 3: Yeah, that's a fifth on the.

347
00:14:35,600 --> 00:14:37,240
Speaker 5: Does that one say how many guys they have under

348
00:14:37,280 --> 00:14:38,000
Speaker 5: contract for that?

349
00:14:39,040 --> 00:14:41,880
Speaker 3: That would be with twenty three players under contract, so

350
00:14:41,920 --> 00:14:43,880
Speaker 3: they have some work to do, but it's still it's

351
00:14:44,160 --> 00:14:48,240
Speaker 3: it's not all that different from some of these other teams.

352
00:14:48,600 --> 00:14:51,360
Speaker 4: But you know, the guys are going to be up

353
00:14:51,520 --> 00:14:53,800
Speaker 4: not this upcoming week or two, when the guys will

354
00:14:53,840 --> 00:14:56,400
Speaker 4: be a year from now, maybe they'll start adding a

355
00:14:56,440 --> 00:14:58,760
Speaker 4: year to them here and there, you know, because they

356
00:14:58,760 --> 00:14:59,560
Speaker 4: got the future cap.

357
00:15:00,960 --> 00:15:04,920
Speaker 3: Yeah, you know, even twenty twenty seven, they two hundred

358
00:15:04,920 --> 00:15:07,760
Speaker 3: and sixty three million dollars with a cap estimate of

359
00:15:07,760 --> 00:15:10,240
Speaker 3: three hundred and eleven million dollars.

360
00:15:11,000 --> 00:15:14,120
Speaker 4: And what's nice too, is like, let's say, similar to

361
00:15:14,160 --> 00:15:16,320
Speaker 4: like Joe Hayden getting let go. You didn't expect that,

362
00:15:16,440 --> 00:15:19,520
Speaker 4: Like some teams can't handle that late in the process.

363
00:15:19,560 --> 00:15:22,240
Speaker 4: I mean everyone could deal with it now or something

364
00:15:22,280 --> 00:15:26,000
Speaker 4: weird happens where I know, this didn't really happen, But

365
00:15:26,720 --> 00:15:29,160
Speaker 4: if the Jags decided to try Trevor Lawrence or something

366
00:15:29,200 --> 00:15:31,400
Speaker 4: goofy like that, well we can absorb it. You know,

367
00:15:31,400 --> 00:15:32,920
Speaker 4: we could be one of the teams that can handle

368
00:15:32,920 --> 00:15:33,560
Speaker 4: that type of thing.

369
00:15:33,600 --> 00:15:35,920
Speaker 3: You know, while you do want to have available cap

370
00:15:35,960 --> 00:15:39,600
Speaker 3: space that you can do make moves like that if you, yeah,

371
00:15:39,640 --> 00:15:40,200
Speaker 3: really have in.

372
00:15:40,160 --> 00:15:42,240
Speaker 4: The flexibility the dealers have too. Yeah, you know, they

373
00:15:42,240 --> 00:15:44,560
Speaker 4: can make a lot more or extend guys or whatever.

374
00:15:44,800 --> 00:15:45,000
Speaker 5: Yeah.

375
00:15:45,000 --> 00:15:46,560
Speaker 3: So, I mean they're in good shape right now. They

376
00:15:46,560 --> 00:15:51,480
Speaker 3: are in terms of the cap, can pretty much sign

377
00:15:51,960 --> 00:15:54,720
Speaker 3: really whoever they want if they really want to get

378
00:15:54,760 --> 00:15:55,040
Speaker 3: into it.

379
00:15:55,120 --> 00:15:55,800
Speaker 5: It's the right move.

380
00:15:55,880 --> 00:15:58,720
Speaker 3: Yeah, yeah, so it's it's it's a nice, nice spot

381
00:15:58,760 --> 00:16:01,600
Speaker 3: to be in. Yes, they right now as we sit here,

382
00:16:01,640 --> 00:16:04,280
Speaker 3: don't know who their quarterback is going to be, But

383
00:16:04,400 --> 00:16:06,560
Speaker 3: that stuff's all going to choose. One of the things

384
00:16:06,560 --> 00:16:08,800
Speaker 3: that drives me nuts about the offseason, like as soon

385
00:16:08,840 --> 00:16:11,960
Speaker 3: as the Super Bowl was over, Yeah, here are next

386
00:16:12,040 --> 00:16:13,360
Speaker 3: year's odds for the Super Bowl.

387
00:16:13,440 --> 00:16:14,960
Speaker 5: No, I know, you don't even know.

388
00:16:14,960 --> 00:16:16,560
Speaker 4: What these teams are going to look like. Yeah, yeah,

389
00:16:16,640 --> 00:16:17,960
Speaker 4: I have of them didn't there's a bunch of them

390
00:16:18,000 --> 00:16:20,040
Speaker 4: didn't have coaches. Right, you let it on quarterback and

391
00:16:20,040 --> 00:16:22,280
Speaker 4: steelsn't even a quarterback. How do you make their odds?

392
00:16:22,400 --> 00:16:23,440
Speaker 4: You don't know who the guys.

393
00:16:23,520 --> 00:16:25,920
Speaker 3: We just don't know. And you know you want to

394
00:16:25,960 --> 00:16:29,280
Speaker 3: tell me after the draft and after free agency who

395
00:16:29,320 --> 00:16:30,080
Speaker 3: the favorites are.

396
00:16:30,400 --> 00:16:30,960
Speaker 5: I'll listen.

397
00:16:31,040 --> 00:16:34,640
Speaker 3: Yeah, yeah, yeah, but you're going to see every team

398
00:16:34,680 --> 00:16:37,720
Speaker 3: in the league is going to see probably twenty to

399
00:16:37,760 --> 00:16:41,640
Speaker 3: twenty five players and sometimes more. Turnof total change.

400
00:16:41,720 --> 00:16:46,160
Speaker 4: Yeah team, yeah right, I say there's a guaranteed it's

401
00:16:46,160 --> 00:16:47,840
Speaker 4: going to be a thirtier team.

402
00:16:47,880 --> 00:16:48,200
Speaker 1: Flip.

403
00:16:48,280 --> 00:16:50,560
Speaker 4: Yeah, you still know all those draft picks coming in

404
00:16:50,640 --> 00:16:53,040
Speaker 4: and dudes are retire guys that aren't good enough anymore,

405
00:16:53,080 --> 00:16:57,400
Speaker 4: et cetera. Yeah, yeah, no, it's good stuff and gives

406
00:16:57,440 --> 00:16:58,680
Speaker 4: us always something to talk about too.

407
00:16:58,880 --> 00:17:01,080
Speaker 3: Absolutely a lot of a lot of let's get to

408
00:17:01,160 --> 00:17:04,040
Speaker 3: a break. He is the Matt Williamson. I am Dale Lolly.

409
00:17:04,119 --> 00:17:07,360
Speaker 3: You're listening to the drive here on the Steelers Audio Network.

410
00:17:08,080 --> 00:17:13,560
Speaker 3: When we return the Dean of Doom the Lord of

411
00:17:13,640 --> 00:17:16,600
Speaker 3: living in his fears. Bob Labriola will join us here

412
00:17:16,680 --> 00:17:24,159
Speaker 3: on the Justin Miller Hotline right after this.

413
00:17:24,320 --> 00:17:27,880
Speaker 2: He's the Drive with Dale Lolly and Matt Williamson on

414
00:17:27,920 --> 00:17:30,119
Speaker 2: your twenty four to seven home of the Black and

415
00:17:30,160 --> 00:17:33,959
Speaker 2: Gold Steelers Nation Radio.

416
00:17:36,200 --> 00:17:39,040
Speaker 3: And welcome back to the Drive. I am Dale Lolly,

417
00:17:39,160 --> 00:17:42,560
Speaker 3: he is the Matt Williamson, and we welcome on the

418
00:17:42,680 --> 00:17:47,280
Speaker 3: Justin Miller Hotline. The Dean of Doom, the Lord of

419
00:17:47,359 --> 00:17:49,720
Speaker 3: living in his fears, Bob Labriola. How you doing, Bob?

420
00:17:50,920 --> 00:17:52,919
Speaker 1: Well? I may have to cut this short because I'm

421
00:17:52,920 --> 00:17:54,680
Speaker 1: picking up Trevor Lawrence at the airport.

422
00:17:54,760 --> 00:17:57,639
Speaker 3: Oh okay, okay, I was gonna ask you which which quarterback?

423
00:17:57,720 --> 00:18:00,280
Speaker 3: I mean, when's Daniel Jones coming in? Is he coming

424
00:18:00,320 --> 00:18:00,760
Speaker 3: in as well?

425
00:18:01,640 --> 00:18:04,720
Speaker 1: I don't know. I just got the call for Trevor.

426
00:18:04,760 --> 00:18:06,320
Speaker 1: I don't I don't love.

427
00:18:06,600 --> 00:18:07,840
Speaker 5: Why stop there? Yeah?

428
00:18:08,000 --> 00:18:10,000
Speaker 3: It's got their crowded room this year. I mean, when's

429
00:18:10,160 --> 00:18:13,639
Speaker 3: Aaron Rodgers, Trevor Lawrence, Stafford? How are they going to

430
00:18:13,720 --> 00:18:15,600
Speaker 3: find playing time for all these guys?

431
00:18:16,840 --> 00:18:19,359
Speaker 1: I don't know. But all I know is I just

432
00:18:19,400 --> 00:18:24,560
Speaker 1: pick up at the airport. Who they tell me? Bob?

433
00:18:24,600 --> 00:18:26,879
Speaker 1: This is it was on a podcast, so.

434
00:18:27,160 --> 00:18:30,240
Speaker 3: It must be true, be true. Yeah, rumors, hot rumors,

435
00:18:30,960 --> 00:18:32,960
Speaker 3: lots of hot on the internet must be true. It's

436
00:18:33,000 --> 00:18:35,840
Speaker 3: hot rumor season. And you know, as someone who has

437
00:18:35,880 --> 00:18:40,040
Speaker 3: done this for it well longer than myself or Matt,

438
00:18:41,040 --> 00:18:43,840
Speaker 3: how is this how has this changed over the years

439
00:18:44,359 --> 00:18:47,320
Speaker 3: in your opinion? The rumor stuff, because this is the

440
00:18:47,440 --> 00:18:51,359
Speaker 3: rumor time of year, not only just for teams, but

441
00:18:51,400 --> 00:18:53,760
Speaker 3: we also see this now, you know, once the combine

442
00:18:53,800 --> 00:18:56,400
Speaker 3: is over, you start to hear rumors about different players.

443
00:18:56,400 --> 00:18:58,919
Speaker 3: This guy's this, that guy's that. I mean, is this

444
00:18:59,040 --> 00:19:00,920
Speaker 3: just blown up completely with the internet?

445
00:19:02,359 --> 00:19:04,720
Speaker 1: Well, yeah, I mean it used to be. Uh. You know,

446
00:19:04,800 --> 00:19:07,919
Speaker 1: I am old enough to remember when you know it

447
00:19:07,960 --> 00:19:10,439
Speaker 1: had to be done with a phone call. And a

448
00:19:10,440 --> 00:19:15,480
Speaker 1: phone call meant you know, a landline wired into a

449
00:19:15,880 --> 00:19:18,359
Speaker 1: into the wall and you're calling another person on the

450
00:19:18,480 --> 00:19:22,120
Speaker 1: land line, uh with the uh wired into a wall

451
00:19:22,200 --> 00:19:24,280
Speaker 1: and they have to be there to answer the phone.

452
00:19:24,320 --> 00:19:26,320
Speaker 1: There's no you know, voicemail.

453
00:19:26,359 --> 00:19:29,280
Speaker 3: I mean there is no unless you're walking on the beach.

454
00:19:30,880 --> 00:19:38,000
Speaker 1: So a lot a lot of people have microphones now,

455
00:19:38,359 --> 00:19:43,000
Speaker 1: you know, figuratively and literally in some cases. So yeah,

456
00:19:43,040 --> 00:19:48,440
Speaker 1: you know it's uh, social media, and you know, as

457
00:19:48,480 --> 00:19:50,560
Speaker 1: I said, a lot of people have a microphone. So

458
00:19:51,359 --> 00:19:56,159
Speaker 1: it's and it's an industry. Now I believe, you know,

459
00:19:56,240 --> 00:19:59,560
Speaker 1: the cliff bait industry, for lack of a better word.

460
00:20:00,119 --> 00:20:08,800
Speaker 1: So yeah, it's it's yeah, it's you know, the Pandora's

461
00:20:08,840 --> 00:20:13,639
Speaker 1: box is open in a sense. And hey all you know,

462
00:20:14,920 --> 00:20:17,800
Speaker 1: I think to a large degree of the NFL loves

463
00:20:17,840 --> 00:20:22,680
Speaker 1: it because it keeps things percolating. All this all the time.

464
00:20:22,800 --> 00:20:26,320
Speaker 1: There's really never there's really never. There's really no off season.

465
00:20:29,119 --> 00:20:33,359
Speaker 1: So uh yeah, you know, it's like you said, all

466
00:20:33,440 --> 00:20:35,760
Speaker 1: the things you said are true. You have all of

467
00:20:35,800 --> 00:20:41,199
Speaker 1: these reports and speculation, and people are making trades or

468
00:20:41,720 --> 00:20:46,800
Speaker 1: you know, re re uh redesigning rosters based on potential

469
00:20:46,960 --> 00:20:51,560
Speaker 1: salary cap moves or whatever. You have other people predicting

470
00:20:52,800 --> 00:20:57,000
Speaker 1: what unrestricted free agents are going to sign for a

471
00:20:57,080 --> 00:21:00,440
Speaker 1: month from now, you know, before the salary cap set

472
00:21:00,560 --> 00:21:04,560
Speaker 1: or you know, before franchise tags or or you know

473
00:21:04,600 --> 00:21:12,520
Speaker 1: the tags are determined. Yeah, it's speculation guessing. It's people

474
00:21:12,760 --> 00:21:14,879
Speaker 1: if they want to enjoy it, enjoy it. But I

475
00:21:15,080 --> 00:21:17,639
Speaker 1: just caution you whether you want to believe it.

476
00:21:17,760 --> 00:21:20,359
Speaker 3: That's one thing I would always caution people about Bob.

477
00:21:20,400 --> 00:21:25,720
Speaker 3: There's a difference between speculation and a rumor. Yeah, yeah,

478
00:21:26,160 --> 00:21:30,240
Speaker 3: and it's it's a very distinct difference between the two.

479
00:21:30,680 --> 00:21:33,080
Speaker 3: But I often hear this way, did you hear this rumor?

480
00:21:33,720 --> 00:21:35,600
Speaker 3: And I'm like, no, that's.

481
00:21:37,119 --> 00:21:40,720
Speaker 1: Both both speculating in rumors or one hundred miles away

482
00:21:40,760 --> 00:21:45,800
Speaker 1: from you know, actual fact. So you know, like I said,

483
00:21:46,119 --> 00:21:48,679
Speaker 1: consume and enjoy it. I mean, to me, it beats

484
00:21:48,680 --> 00:21:54,000
Speaker 1: the heck out of talking about the NBA or you know,

485
00:21:54,080 --> 00:21:57,000
Speaker 1: anything else that might be going on right now. So

486
00:21:58,119 --> 00:22:01,879
Speaker 1: you have at it, but just don't believe it.

487
00:22:02,480 --> 00:22:04,879
Speaker 4: So labs of the salar we were talking about salary

488
00:22:04,880 --> 00:22:06,520
Speaker 4: cap a little bit in the first segment and it

489
00:22:06,560 --> 00:22:09,840
Speaker 4: went up substantially, which to me means the league is very,

490
00:22:09,920 --> 00:22:12,720
Speaker 4: very healthy. But just talking about like this rumor stuff.

491
00:22:12,760 --> 00:22:15,280
Speaker 4: Obviously there was a day when Twitter didn't exist, or

492
00:22:15,280 --> 00:22:17,439
Speaker 4: we didn't all walk around with computers in our pocket,

493
00:22:17,480 --> 00:22:19,480
Speaker 4: with these cell phones and et cetera, et cetera. But

494
00:22:20,520 --> 00:22:22,480
Speaker 4: as long as I can remember, the league has been

495
00:22:22,560 --> 00:22:26,879
Speaker 4: always very good at keeping interest throughout the course of

496
00:22:26,920 --> 00:22:29,560
Speaker 4: the season, you know, like schedule release day when during

497
00:22:29,560 --> 00:22:33,200
Speaker 4: a boring time, like they're pretty good at selling their product.

498
00:22:34,920 --> 00:22:41,120
Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean, and the league has gone to massaging

499
00:22:41,160 --> 00:22:46,359
Speaker 1: the offseason schedule so highlight a lot of these things.

500
00:22:46,480 --> 00:22:50,040
Speaker 1: And they've turned you know nothing events into ten poll

501
00:22:50,600 --> 00:22:54,800
Speaker 1: extravaganzas that are nationally televised. In the NFL case of

502
00:22:54,840 --> 00:22:58,199
Speaker 1: the NFL Draft, it's not traveling road show, you know,

503
00:22:58,240 --> 00:23:00,800
Speaker 1: a highly successful one and sophistic Caden won.

504
00:23:02,480 --> 00:23:03,840
Speaker 5: I mean, even like the Ireland.

505
00:23:04,040 --> 00:23:06,040
Speaker 4: You know, the Steelers are playing in Ireland, but they

506
00:23:06,040 --> 00:23:07,600
Speaker 4: won't they don't tell us who the opponent is.

507
00:23:07,680 --> 00:23:09,560
Speaker 5: Yet you're leaving you hanging. You're always coming back.

508
00:23:09,480 --> 00:23:12,720
Speaker 1: From more right, uh, and then even announce all of

509
00:23:12,760 --> 00:23:14,240
Speaker 1: those games at the same time.

510
00:23:16,040 --> 00:23:21,160
Speaker 3: Chargers are going to say, Apollo, let's get information trickle out.

511
00:23:21,320 --> 00:23:21,960
Speaker 5: It's so smart.

512
00:23:22,080 --> 00:23:30,119
Speaker 1: Absolutely, yeah, it's let's not forget the the greatest commissioner

513
00:23:30,119 --> 00:23:32,920
Speaker 1: in NFL history, the guy who really, in my opinion,

514
00:23:33,000 --> 00:23:35,840
Speaker 1: shaped what the game is today, was a PR guy,

515
00:23:36,560 --> 00:23:42,840
Speaker 1: Pete Roselle. I mean, so PR has always been I think,

516
00:23:44,040 --> 00:23:47,360
Speaker 1: you know, and once the teams and the owners and

517
00:23:47,400 --> 00:23:50,280
Speaker 1: the people saw what Pete Roselle was doing and could do,

518
00:23:50,760 --> 00:23:54,639
Speaker 1: and the fruits of his genius, I think that PR

519
00:23:54,800 --> 00:23:59,440
Speaker 1: continues to be you know, a primary concern of the

520
00:23:59,480 --> 00:24:01,720
Speaker 1: league in terms of its business model, and I think

521
00:24:01,760 --> 00:24:04,040
Speaker 1: they do a pretty good job of it. There's some

522
00:24:04,119 --> 00:24:07,520
Speaker 1: things I don't agree with, but I mean they percolated,

523
00:24:07,640 --> 00:24:13,120
Speaker 1: they stir the part. I mean, hard knocks, all that stuff.

524
00:24:13,320 --> 00:24:15,600
Speaker 3: I mean, we're gonna be at the Combine next next week.

525
00:24:16,000 --> 00:24:17,800
Speaker 5: There you go.

526
00:24:17,880 --> 00:24:20,639
Speaker 3: I've been going to the Combine now for about I

527
00:24:20,680 --> 00:24:24,320
Speaker 3: want to say it's it's twelve or thirteen years. I

528
00:24:24,320 --> 00:24:26,520
Speaker 3: can't remember the exact first year I went there, but

529
00:24:26,560 --> 00:24:29,200
Speaker 3: I can remember Jerry Dulek and I doing radio there

530
00:24:29,240 --> 00:24:33,240
Speaker 3: the first time I went, and there were about eight

531
00:24:33,840 --> 00:24:37,679
Speaker 3: other tables set up for the radio. Not like that

532
00:24:37,760 --> 00:24:42,040
Speaker 3: now now there's now there's like a hundred the owners meeting.

533
00:24:42,040 --> 00:24:47,080
Speaker 1: The entire the entire media area was the lobby outside

534
00:24:47,119 --> 00:24:50,199
Speaker 1: of the club level at the Marcia right now, just

535
00:24:50,280 --> 00:24:50,879
Speaker 1: one side.

536
00:24:50,960 --> 00:24:53,119
Speaker 3: The players used to walk past us on the like

537
00:24:53,200 --> 00:24:55,200
Speaker 3: we'd be sitting there doing radio and the players would

538
00:24:55,240 --> 00:24:56,920
Speaker 3: just walk by you on their way to do the

539
00:24:57,359 --> 00:24:58,960
Speaker 3: you know, to go talk to the teams and stuff,

540
00:24:58,960 --> 00:25:01,240
Speaker 3: and it's like, okay, there's that, Oh that guy's big,

541
00:25:01,480 --> 00:25:03,320
Speaker 3: you know, stuff like that. And now it's like this

542
00:25:03,520 --> 00:25:05,800
Speaker 3: big now it's like the Super interviews.

543
00:25:05,840 --> 00:25:09,000
Speaker 1: The interviews were done there too. The interviews were done

544
00:25:09,040 --> 00:25:10,640
Speaker 1: there too, or at.

545
00:25:10,200 --> 00:25:12,359
Speaker 3: The hotels all that stuff. It was just it was

546
00:25:12,480 --> 00:25:13,960
Speaker 3: kind of a free for all at that point. And

547
00:25:13,960 --> 00:25:18,920
Speaker 3: they've they've marketed this thing now to where every website,

548
00:25:19,000 --> 00:25:21,200
Speaker 3: every newspaper, everybody sends people there.

549
00:25:22,080 --> 00:25:26,480
Speaker 1: It's big television too. The Senior Bowl. Yeah, they have

550
00:25:26,560 --> 00:25:32,840
Speaker 1: Senior Bowl practices on television. Seriously, you know when you know,

551
00:25:32,920 --> 00:25:37,880
Speaker 1: I've been doing this long enough where I believe when

552
00:25:37,960 --> 00:25:40,760
Speaker 1: I started, there were people working at the NFL who

553
00:25:40,800 --> 00:25:44,560
Speaker 1: maybe couldn't find Mobile Alabama on the map. Now it's

554
00:25:44,600 --> 00:25:49,480
Speaker 1: on television. So you know, there's the Senior Bowl practices,

555
00:25:49,520 --> 00:25:52,760
Speaker 1: the Combine. Then the next is the Draft. No, then

556
00:25:52,800 --> 00:25:53,120
Speaker 1: they have.

557
00:25:53,160 --> 00:25:57,240
Speaker 5: Pro Days Network or whatever.

558
00:25:57,320 --> 00:26:01,959
Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean, it's it's it's it's it's non stop,

559
00:26:02,440 --> 00:26:07,520
Speaker 1: and what happens is now too. As I mentioned, you

560
00:26:07,560 --> 00:26:11,119
Speaker 1: know everybody has a microphone because you know, we just

561
00:26:11,160 --> 00:26:17,919
Speaker 1: do it on the internet, TikTok whatever. You they're the

562
00:26:18,040 --> 00:26:22,399
Speaker 1: availability of you all twenty two is available, or you

563
00:26:22,440 --> 00:26:28,240
Speaker 1: could dvr uh Senior Bowl practices. You can dvr the

564
00:26:28,320 --> 00:26:31,320
Speaker 1: Combine that they haven't on TV. Then you have people

565
00:26:31,359 --> 00:26:36,080
Speaker 1: with these microphones who you know, self appointed experts or

566
00:26:36,359 --> 00:26:41,480
Speaker 1: media stars or whatever, watch that and tell you definitively

567
00:26:42,040 --> 00:26:43,040
Speaker 1: who's good and who's not.

568
00:26:44,040 --> 00:26:46,240
Speaker 4: Yeah, not to mention, as you might have noticed, I

569
00:26:46,480 --> 00:26:49,000
Speaker 4: put a stat pack together and you can find all

570
00:26:49,040 --> 00:26:51,600
Speaker 4: sorts of stats out there too. You know, you mentioned

571
00:26:52,480 --> 00:26:54,560
Speaker 4: like everything's at your fingertips. It's insane.

572
00:26:54,760 --> 00:26:59,840
Speaker 1: Yes, So and again it's it's good for the league.

573
00:27:01,240 --> 00:27:05,000
Speaker 1: Fans are interested in that and want to, you know,

574
00:27:05,160 --> 00:27:10,159
Speaker 1: take the time to follow it. Hey have at it.

575
00:27:10,920 --> 00:27:17,320
Speaker 1: But you know, to everybody else, you know, what what

576
00:27:17,480 --> 00:27:20,080
Speaker 1: is it? You know, let the buyer beware.

577
00:27:21,800 --> 00:27:24,879
Speaker 4: Yeah, lives real quick. You mentioned Pete Roselle. Is he

578
00:27:26,320 --> 00:27:30,879
Speaker 4: majorly responsible from making the NFL the clear number one league?

579
00:27:31,560 --> 00:27:32,400
Speaker 4: Is that when they started to.

580
00:27:33,960 --> 00:27:39,800
Speaker 1: If you're asking me a mile rushmore of the NFL,

581
00:27:40,760 --> 00:27:44,560
Speaker 1: Pete Roselle is on it. I'm talking about one hundred

582
00:27:44,640 --> 00:27:47,280
Speaker 1: years worth of NFL. Pete Roselle is one of the

583
00:27:47,320 --> 00:27:51,119
Speaker 1: fore most significant people in the history of UH the

584
00:27:51,160 --> 00:27:56,159
Speaker 1: sport played at the professional level in my opinion. So

585
00:27:58,119 --> 00:28:00,920
Speaker 1: and again, as I said, that's every buddy ever.

586
00:28:01,040 --> 00:28:05,160
Speaker 5: And resulting in a lot of revenue. We're saying now, yes, Yeah, I.

587
00:28:05,080 --> 00:28:13,919
Speaker 1: Mean the whole, you know, the whole concept of you know,

588
00:28:14,640 --> 00:28:19,360
Speaker 1: the the sharing of the revenue which allows Green Bay

589
00:28:19,359 --> 00:28:20,200
Speaker 1: to have a team.

590
00:28:20,080 --> 00:28:21,640
Speaker 5: By the way, sure.

591
00:28:22,920 --> 00:28:26,520
Speaker 1: Was was he wasn't founded by Pete Roselle, but it

592
00:28:26,560 --> 00:28:33,720
Speaker 1: was seriously nurtured by him. The decisions that he made,

593
00:28:33,960 --> 00:28:37,520
Speaker 1: you know, just the whole the direction that the league went,

594
00:28:38,120 --> 00:28:41,760
Speaker 1: and you know, all of the there were a lot

595
00:28:41,800 --> 00:28:45,560
Speaker 1: of there was a lot of financial windfall during the

596
00:28:45,560 --> 00:28:50,560
Speaker 1: Pete rosel era and that was always shared equally. Uh,

597
00:28:50,600 --> 00:28:53,400
Speaker 1: there there was never any attempt to skirt any of

598
00:28:53,440 --> 00:29:00,280
Speaker 1: that or and because that was enforced or followed both

599
00:29:00,320 --> 00:29:05,000
Speaker 1: to the letter and the spirit of those rules. And

600
00:29:05,040 --> 00:29:09,959
Speaker 1: so yeah, as I said, Pete Roselle, Uh in my

601
00:29:10,040 --> 00:29:14,760
Speaker 1: on my Mount Rushmore for four heads in stone.

602
00:29:14,880 --> 00:29:19,080
Speaker 3: His is one of them labs changing gears here to

603
00:29:19,320 --> 00:29:21,840
Speaker 3: the Steelers. We'll hear from Omar Khan for the first

604
00:29:21,920 --> 00:29:26,480
Speaker 3: time next week at the combine. What do you think

605
00:29:26,800 --> 00:29:29,080
Speaker 3: outside of the quarterback situation? What do you think is

606
00:29:29,080 --> 00:29:34,320
Speaker 3: going to be the hot topic for Omar at that point?

607
00:29:34,480 --> 00:29:35,600
Speaker 1: What are people going to ask?

608
00:29:35,800 --> 00:29:37,440
Speaker 3: What are what do you think will be that what

609
00:29:37,280 --> 00:29:38,320
Speaker 3: what would you ask?

610
00:29:38,480 --> 00:29:39,920
Speaker 5: And I guess would be.

611
00:29:42,840 --> 00:29:47,400
Speaker 1: You know. Let me say this again. You whatever you

612
00:29:47,440 --> 00:29:53,000
Speaker 1: want to ask, ask, but Omar is not going to

613
00:29:53,040 --> 00:29:57,240
Speaker 1: be under subpoena. No general managers are not under subpoena.

614
00:29:58,320 --> 00:30:02,240
Speaker 1: So let me say this. I think if Omar or

615
00:30:02,280 --> 00:30:09,360
Speaker 1: any general manager is overly candid, he's a fool. Oh yeah,

616
00:30:09,480 --> 00:30:14,840
Speaker 1: why would you Why would you say? You know, as

617
00:30:15,120 --> 00:30:22,240
Speaker 1: as Vito corleontal Sonny, don't ever talk about the family

618
00:30:22,320 --> 00:30:25,480
Speaker 1: outside of the family. You never want to let people

619
00:30:25,640 --> 00:30:26,719
Speaker 1: know what you're thinking.

620
00:30:26,960 --> 00:30:32,520
Speaker 3: That's why I always laugh. Mike Tomlins lied to media

621
00:30:32,560 --> 00:30:35,520
Speaker 3: about this. They he said this, and the three weeks

622
00:30:35,560 --> 00:30:36,360
Speaker 3: later they did that.

623
00:30:38,000 --> 00:30:40,000
Speaker 5: You expect them to tell what they're going to do.

624
00:30:41,120 --> 00:30:43,440
Speaker 1: Well, yeah, I mean, and I think you know, in

625
00:30:43,480 --> 00:30:47,200
Speaker 1: the history of the sport, you can just substitute name

626
00:30:47,320 --> 00:30:49,840
Speaker 1: for name for name, coaches name for coach's name for

627
00:30:49,960 --> 00:30:53,720
Speaker 1: coach's name. You know, who knows, maybe general managers. I

628
00:30:53,720 --> 00:30:55,959
Speaker 1: don't know if George Young did a lot of uh

629
00:30:56,080 --> 00:31:00,400
Speaker 1: press conferences. But if you know you're thinking that these

630
00:31:00,400 --> 00:31:03,560
Speaker 1: guys are gonna tell you who they're picking, I mean Lombardi,

631
00:31:03,680 --> 00:31:06,640
Speaker 1: I mean, you Kidney allis I mean, and it goes

632
00:31:06,680 --> 00:31:09,840
Speaker 1: back that far and it's through on. I mean, Belichick, Parcels,

633
00:31:10,200 --> 00:31:12,400
Speaker 1: I mean, did any of these guys tell you the

634
00:31:12,440 --> 00:31:18,200
Speaker 1: truth in real time? Come on, Like I said, that's

635
00:31:18,240 --> 00:31:22,800
Speaker 1: you know, the whole. It's all part of the you know,

636
00:31:22,840 --> 00:31:26,680
Speaker 1: the machine. You know if it's a circus. You know,

637
00:31:26,720 --> 00:31:29,560
Speaker 1: you have like the actual and then you have the

638
00:31:29,680 --> 00:31:34,400
Speaker 1: outside tents, you know, the performers and stuff, the sidelight,

639
00:31:35,040 --> 00:31:37,360
Speaker 1: uh to the to the main show. The main show

640
00:31:37,440 --> 00:31:39,760
Speaker 1: is the sport and how it's played, what happens you

641
00:31:39,760 --> 00:31:42,920
Speaker 1: know in games. Now the rest of it is, you know,

642
00:31:43,080 --> 00:31:49,480
Speaker 1: getting stuff to percolate, pr marketing, just the whole, feeding

643
00:31:49,520 --> 00:31:53,400
Speaker 1: the beast, so to speak. That's that's the league. That's

644
00:31:53,440 --> 00:31:55,800
Speaker 1: professional sports, and in the NFL is better at it,

645
00:31:55,840 --> 00:31:59,320
Speaker 1: I think than any other professional sport, certainly in this country.

646
00:31:59,680 --> 00:32:02,560
Speaker 1: Because I don't know what and I'm not going to

647
00:32:02,640 --> 00:32:05,760
Speaker 1: talk about Premier League soccer. I don't know anything about it. No,

648
00:32:05,760 --> 00:32:07,240
Speaker 1: I don't know. I don't know anything about that, So

649
00:32:07,280 --> 00:32:09,080
Speaker 1: I'm not gonna pretend like I do.

650
00:32:09,400 --> 00:32:11,479
Speaker 4: And I can't help myself laughs because you brought it up.

651
00:32:11,520 --> 00:32:14,840
Speaker 4: I mean, Vido slaps Sonny and says, don't tell anyone

652
00:32:14,840 --> 00:32:17,080
Speaker 4: outside the family what you're ever thinking again, and then

653
00:32:17,720 --> 00:32:20,040
Speaker 4: a couple of scenes later, the poor guy's getting oranges

654
00:32:20,080 --> 00:32:21,080
Speaker 4: and the dawn gets shot.

655
00:32:21,120 --> 00:32:23,080
Speaker 5: You know, I mean, what good's going to come of it?

656
00:32:23,200 --> 00:32:29,000
Speaker 1: You know, right? So you know, you know, I just

657
00:32:29,000 --> 00:32:33,880
Speaker 1: don't think you want to tip your hand ever, because

658
00:32:34,400 --> 00:32:37,000
Speaker 1: you know, if Kevin Colbert says, yeah, we're going to

659
00:32:37,120 --> 00:32:40,320
Speaker 1: trade up in to get Troy Pola Mall, that's where

660
00:32:40,320 --> 00:32:44,000
Speaker 1: we're looking for a guy like that, the Steelers would

661
00:32:44,000 --> 00:32:47,080
Speaker 1: have ended up with. Who Bill Cower wanted in the

662
00:32:47,080 --> 00:32:49,480
Speaker 1: first round of that draft was Larry Johnson, the Penn

663
00:32:49,480 --> 00:32:56,160
Speaker 1: State running back. So I don't know, you you know,

664
00:32:56,280 --> 00:33:00,840
Speaker 1: talking is it's not a talking kind of bit if

665
00:33:00,840 --> 00:33:01,880
Speaker 1: you want to be good at it.

666
00:33:03,160 --> 00:33:10,440
Speaker 3: Yeah, for sure in terms of the overall structure of

667
00:33:10,480 --> 00:33:14,520
Speaker 3: this team and everything, and we've seen different people taking

668
00:33:14,680 --> 00:33:17,760
Speaker 3: their shots and whoever, you know whatever and guessing what

669
00:33:17,840 --> 00:33:19,800
Speaker 3: the Steelers are going to look like or saying that,

670
00:33:19,880 --> 00:33:22,560
Speaker 3: you know, they don't They're still stuck in their ways.

671
00:33:22,600 --> 00:33:26,400
Speaker 3: They don't do anything different. And I've said numerous times, Bob,

672
00:33:27,240 --> 00:33:29,959
Speaker 3: they've traded a first round draft pick for a player

673
00:33:30,320 --> 00:33:33,280
Speaker 3: make a Fitzpatrick. They've moved up in the draft twice

674
00:33:33,320 --> 00:33:36,000
Speaker 3: in the last what five six years now? You can

675
00:33:36,520 --> 00:33:38,480
Speaker 3: argue about did they move up for the right player,

676
00:33:38,760 --> 00:33:41,120
Speaker 3: but they've certainly been more aggressive doing things like that.

677
00:33:41,120 --> 00:33:44,200
Speaker 3: They've been certainly been active in free agency, more so

678
00:33:44,280 --> 00:33:47,400
Speaker 3: than ever before in team history. People saying the new

679
00:33:47,480 --> 00:33:51,040
Speaker 3: GM yeah, people saying that they don't do things differently.

680
00:33:51,840 --> 00:33:54,120
Speaker 3: I don't think are really paying attention to how they've

681
00:33:54,160 --> 00:33:58,360
Speaker 3: been operating over the last you know, five six seven years.

682
00:33:59,160 --> 00:34:01,680
Speaker 1: Well, I mean, you know, the Steelers, I don't I

683
00:34:01,720 --> 00:34:06,800
Speaker 1: don't think are ever going to be rash, you know.

684
00:34:06,960 --> 00:34:13,400
Speaker 1: I mean they're deliberate, I think, and thoughtful about things,

685
00:34:17,400 --> 00:34:19,319
Speaker 1: and I don't know, I don't know that that's not

686
00:34:19,719 --> 00:34:26,279
Speaker 1: the way. I don't think that that's necessarily stale, you know,

687
00:34:26,400 --> 00:34:31,000
Speaker 1: because it's only the outcomes of your decisions, if they're

688
00:34:31,040 --> 00:34:33,360
Speaker 1: always the same and have been for forty years, that

689
00:34:33,400 --> 00:34:36,520
Speaker 1: you're stale, you know, thinking about what you're going to

690
00:34:36,600 --> 00:34:39,680
Speaker 1: do before you do it. It just makes sense to me,

691
00:34:42,000 --> 00:34:46,239
Speaker 1: you know, the whole attitude that seems to be out

692
00:34:46,280 --> 00:34:48,799
Speaker 1: there in some areas of you know, wouldn't it be

693
00:34:48,920 --> 00:34:52,799
Speaker 1: cool if you know, I don't know that that's the

694
00:34:52,880 --> 00:34:57,719
Speaker 1: way to run a business, A realistic way to run

695
00:34:57,800 --> 00:35:02,840
Speaker 1: a business, know, and and again being thoughtful, uh, and

696
00:35:02,880 --> 00:35:05,359
Speaker 1: then making decisions that you think are the best for

697
00:35:05,800 --> 00:35:09,800
Speaker 1: the reality of the moment. I think just makes sense.

698
00:35:10,840 --> 00:35:14,440
Speaker 1: And as you mentioned, deal, there have been more, you know,

699
00:35:14,600 --> 00:35:16,880
Speaker 1: free agent signings. I mean, look at just look at

700
00:35:16,960 --> 00:35:21,120
Speaker 1: quarterback over the last twelve months. I mean, you know,

701
00:35:21,120 --> 00:35:26,359
Speaker 1: when the season ended, there was a real let's see

702
00:35:26,360 --> 00:35:31,840
Speaker 1: if we can get Mason Rudolph resigned attitude. But then

703
00:35:33,200 --> 00:35:36,600
Speaker 1: you know, the Broncos and Russell Wilson get their divorce

704
00:35:37,280 --> 00:35:42,359
Speaker 1: and you know, Sean Payton gets stuck paying all the alimony.

705
00:35:43,120 --> 00:35:45,960
Speaker 1: So okay, you got a shot at a guy who

706
00:35:45,960 --> 00:35:48,680
Speaker 1: won a Super Bowl and you're paying a minimum wage

707
00:35:48,880 --> 00:35:52,759
Speaker 1: which is you know, a million whatever it was. And

708
00:35:52,800 --> 00:35:58,200
Speaker 1: then okay, so you got that, and then Justin Fields

709
00:35:58,280 --> 00:36:01,840
Speaker 1: drops in your in your lap for a sixth round pick,

710
00:36:05,640 --> 00:36:09,799
Speaker 1: and you've you've really remade. Uh, you know, the key

711
00:36:09,880 --> 00:36:12,800
Speaker 1: put the key position on the depth chart of your team,

712
00:36:13,120 --> 00:36:17,000
Speaker 1: and you really hadn't You didn't see that coming. So

713
00:36:17,560 --> 00:36:21,120
Speaker 1: I mean, how is that stale? You know, I don't know,

714
00:36:23,400 --> 00:36:26,280
Speaker 1: but and I don't know what what stale necessarily means.

715
00:36:26,719 --> 00:36:30,080
Speaker 1: You know, I think that a lot of times there's

716
00:36:30,200 --> 00:36:36,520
Speaker 1: disappointment in some things, and outside people looking at it

717
00:36:36,920 --> 00:36:42,040
Speaker 1: are interested in assigning blame to some things. And you know,

718
00:36:42,080 --> 00:36:44,759
Speaker 1: whether that's accurate or not, I don't know, but it

719
00:36:44,840 --> 00:36:47,239
Speaker 1: seems to me that a lot of the decisions made

720
00:36:47,280 --> 00:36:52,160
Speaker 1: in real time makes sense. Maybe they didn't work out,

721
00:36:52,800 --> 00:36:54,000
Speaker 1: but they make sense. Right.

722
00:36:54,080 --> 00:36:56,759
Speaker 3: You can argue that, you can argue the results, but

723
00:36:56,840 --> 00:37:02,399
Speaker 3: the process seems like it was pretty you know, straightforward

724
00:37:02,400 --> 00:37:03,759
Speaker 3: and well thought out.

725
00:37:04,040 --> 00:37:06,880
Speaker 1: I mean, yeah, and let me just make this point

726
00:37:06,920 --> 00:37:11,080
Speaker 1: real quick. You know, a lot of a submission in

727
00:37:11,120 --> 00:37:13,799
Speaker 1: the next ask and answered is going to be dealing with,

728
00:37:15,360 --> 00:37:20,719
Speaker 1: you know, the Kenny Pickett situation. And you know the

729
00:37:20,760 --> 00:37:23,319
Speaker 1: way that unfolded it, you know, in real time was

730
00:37:23,680 --> 00:37:26,480
Speaker 1: the Steelers as an organization decided that they were gonna

731
00:37:27,400 --> 00:37:32,560
Speaker 1: stick with Ben after his rehab from right elbow surgery

732
00:37:32,560 --> 00:37:38,600
Speaker 1: in twenty nineteen seemed to be coming along so well,

733
00:37:38,640 --> 00:37:40,279
Speaker 1: you know, you have the videos, have been throwing the

734
00:37:40,280 --> 00:37:43,680
Speaker 1: ball and all that stuff. Okay, so they make an

735
00:37:43,760 --> 00:37:48,600
Speaker 1: organizational decision, and make no mistake, there is no single

736
00:37:48,719 --> 00:37:56,400
Speaker 1: person who's cutting a player like Ben Roethlisberger in the

737
00:37:57,560 --> 00:38:02,879
Speaker 1: unilateral decision. That's not something that if you look at

738
00:38:02,920 --> 00:38:06,759
Speaker 1: the top three of the Steelers Art Runey, the second

739
00:38:07,320 --> 00:38:09,480
Speaker 1: Omark Kahn at this point or at that point, was

740
00:38:09,560 --> 00:38:13,439
Speaker 1: Kevin Colbert and Mike Tomlin. There is one of those

741
00:38:13,520 --> 00:38:17,080
Speaker 1: three who would unilaterally say, without telling the other two,

742
00:38:18,200 --> 00:38:22,520
Speaker 1: I'm keeping Ben or I'm cutting Ben, and have that

743
00:38:22,600 --> 00:38:29,160
Speaker 1: be you know the law. That's it. So you know,

744
00:38:29,200 --> 00:38:32,400
Speaker 1: you decide to stick with the guy, and he certainly

745
00:38:32,400 --> 00:38:36,120
Speaker 1: had a career that you know was worth sticking with.

746
00:38:36,280 --> 00:38:40,840
Speaker 1: Let's see how it plays out. Okay, he retires, So

747
00:38:41,000 --> 00:38:45,760
Speaker 1: Kevin has announced his retirement for that June June twenty

748
00:38:45,800 --> 00:38:48,440
Speaker 1: twenty two, so he doesn't want to leave the Steelers

749
00:38:48,480 --> 00:38:53,440
Speaker 1: in a bad spot at quarterback. So you assignments Trubisky

750
00:38:53,560 --> 00:38:58,040
Speaker 1: right away out of free agency, good contract, former second

751
00:38:58,040 --> 00:39:01,600
Speaker 1: overall pick. The guy was like twenty nine and twenty

752
00:39:01,640 --> 00:39:05,040
Speaker 1: as a starter with the Bears. You got him for

753
00:39:05,040 --> 00:39:09,040
Speaker 1: a bargain price two year deal. Why not? Okay, let's

754
00:39:09,080 --> 00:39:14,160
Speaker 1: do that. Then. Okay, the draft comes around. You've decided

755
00:39:14,200 --> 00:39:17,960
Speaker 1: that in your scouting that picks the best quarterback in

756
00:39:18,000 --> 00:39:21,560
Speaker 1: the draft. Now the works out, brock Party was the

757
00:39:21,560 --> 00:39:24,680
Speaker 1: best quarterback in the draft. But anybody who says they

758
00:39:24,719 --> 00:39:28,799
Speaker 1: knew that when Roger Goodell said let's start the first

759
00:39:28,920 --> 00:39:31,680
Speaker 1: round in twenty twenty two. Anybody who thinks they knew

760
00:39:31,719 --> 00:39:33,160
Speaker 1: that then is a liar.

761
00:39:33,320 --> 00:39:35,200
Speaker 5: We'll just wait the seventh round to grab him, though,

762
00:39:35,280 --> 00:39:36,000
Speaker 5: even though he knows.

763
00:39:36,040 --> 00:39:41,200
Speaker 1: Right like Brady, like Brady. How smart the Patriots were.

764
00:39:41,760 --> 00:39:48,520
Speaker 1: I mean, if drafting Brady coming out of that draft,

765
00:39:48,880 --> 00:39:52,160
Speaker 1: getting Brady was the goal, you fired the general manager

766
00:39:52,280 --> 00:39:54,040
Speaker 1: or the coach or whoever was in charge of that

767
00:39:54,160 --> 00:39:57,640
Speaker 1: draft because they waited to the sixth round until they

768
00:39:58,080 --> 00:40:00,520
Speaker 1: decided to spend a pick on a guy who's won

769
00:40:00,719 --> 00:40:04,040
Speaker 1: nine Super Bowls or eleven Super Bowls or whatever particular number.

770
00:40:04,040 --> 00:40:07,880
Speaker 1: It is. Okay, so you got Trubisky, you pick Picket,

771
00:40:09,880 --> 00:40:14,160
Speaker 1: and you know, now you have what you think is

772
00:40:14,200 --> 00:40:18,000
Speaker 1: a couple of bridge guys, you know, I mean, starter

773
00:40:18,160 --> 00:40:21,560
Speaker 1: capable people. You can win with them. I don't think

774
00:40:22,080 --> 00:40:24,919
Speaker 1: there was a sense of either one of them being

775
00:40:24,960 --> 00:40:26,680
Speaker 1: the kind of guy that's going to carry a team

776
00:40:26,719 --> 00:40:31,359
Speaker 1: to a super Bowl. But again, Ben retired. You really

777
00:40:31,400 --> 00:40:34,640
Speaker 1: didn't have anything else, and so you try and you know,

778
00:40:34,800 --> 00:40:39,680
Speaker 1: set up you know, the next administration with a fighting

779
00:40:39,800 --> 00:40:44,040
Speaker 1: chance at what is the most important position on a roster.

780
00:40:45,000 --> 00:40:46,919
Speaker 1: You know, Trubisky turns out to be a guy who's

781
00:40:47,000 --> 00:40:51,840
Speaker 1: much more comfortable being a backup. And Pickett thought he

782
00:40:52,000 --> 00:40:56,000
Speaker 1: was in the ACC or whatever, and the stuff that

783
00:40:56,040 --> 00:40:59,520
Speaker 1: he was doing at the ACC level wasn't working at

784
00:40:59,520 --> 00:41:03,880
Speaker 1: the NFL level. And then when he was posed with

785
00:41:03,960 --> 00:41:08,839
Speaker 1: a situation where he could learn from a veteran quarterback

786
00:41:08,920 --> 00:41:14,000
Speaker 1: who had won a Super Bowl and or compete with

787
00:41:14,120 --> 00:41:16,799
Speaker 1: a guy who was the eleventh overall pick of the

788
00:41:16,880 --> 00:41:19,200
Speaker 1: draft but had a ten to twenty nine record as

789
00:41:19,200 --> 00:41:25,680
Speaker 1: a starter, he decided he wanted to start fresh. And again,

790
00:41:26,320 --> 00:41:32,239
Speaker 1: who saw that come? So? I don't know, As I said,

791
00:41:32,280 --> 00:41:35,440
Speaker 1: I think in real time there have been moves that

792
00:41:35,520 --> 00:41:39,320
Speaker 1: didn't work, But I don't know that you could really

793
00:41:39,880 --> 00:41:43,960
Speaker 1: look at those as they were happening and say, no,

794
00:41:44,320 --> 00:41:48,160
Speaker 1: this is this isn't the thing to do because of

795
00:41:48,480 --> 00:41:51,279
Speaker 1: you know, I know what's going to happen. I know

796
00:41:51,440 --> 00:41:56,160
Speaker 1: that Pickett is going to not have the I don't

797
00:41:56,160 --> 00:42:00,799
Speaker 1: know football spine to want to stay and compete. You know,

798
00:42:00,840 --> 00:42:06,600
Speaker 1: he'd rather get a fresh start, you know. Yeah, quote

799
00:42:06,600 --> 00:42:10,960
Speaker 1: air quotes around fresh start. Everybody here listening on the

800
00:42:11,040 --> 00:42:19,120
Speaker 1: radio anyway, Yeah, Well, I mean taken a knee, you know,

801
00:42:19,120 --> 00:42:21,480
Speaker 1: with an eighteen point leaders I think he's going to

802
00:42:21,560 --> 00:42:26,239
Speaker 1: be the extent of his contributions to a team that

803
00:42:26,280 --> 00:42:30,800
Speaker 1: wins the Super Bowl. And again I think he was

804
00:42:30,840 --> 00:42:32,920
Speaker 1: gonna he was never going to be more than that

805
00:42:34,880 --> 00:42:39,960
Speaker 1: for any team. But again, that doesn't mean you don't

806
00:42:40,000 --> 00:42:43,200
Speaker 1: you don't not pick one until you think you got

807
00:42:43,760 --> 00:42:50,160
Speaker 1: uh the next Super Bowl MVP. I mean that's because

808
00:42:50,160 --> 00:42:54,919
Speaker 1: I don't even think you know, the great Andy Reid

809
00:42:55,000 --> 00:42:57,760
Speaker 1: knew that he was getting Patrick Mahomes when he traded

810
00:42:57,840 --> 00:43:02,080
Speaker 1: up to get Patrick Mahomes. Sure, I mean that's that's

811
00:43:02,280 --> 00:43:06,400
Speaker 1: just people who believe that are delusional.

812
00:43:07,600 --> 00:43:12,280
Speaker 5: Absolutely the other way up the one, yeah.

813
00:43:11,320 --> 00:43:15,439
Speaker 1: Yeah, exactly, And if and if you know, you could

814
00:43:15,560 --> 00:43:18,080
Speaker 1: know that the team that had one would have never

815
00:43:18,160 --> 00:43:20,040
Speaker 1: traded right right either.

816
00:43:21,880 --> 00:43:22,320
Speaker 5: Yeah.

817
00:43:22,600 --> 00:43:25,080
Speaker 3: Anyways, we gotta let you go, Bob. Here we're running

818
00:43:25,120 --> 00:43:28,120
Speaker 3: up against the break here, but that we appreciate you

819
00:43:28,120 --> 00:43:31,680
Speaker 3: your time and always your you're just your foresight and

820
00:43:32,480 --> 00:43:34,879
Speaker 3: knowledge of the game and the history of the game.

821
00:43:34,920 --> 00:43:38,160
Speaker 3: But our guest has been Bob Barbola, the editor of

822
00:43:38,320 --> 00:43:41,120
Speaker 3: Steelers Digestive, Steelers dot Com and the Dean of Doom

823
00:43:41,160 --> 00:43:44,239
Speaker 3: and Lord of Living. In his fears he's Matt Williamson.

824
00:43:44,360 --> 00:43:46,520
Speaker 3: I am Dale Lolly. This is the drive on the

825
00:43:46,520 --> 00:43:48,160
Speaker 3: Steelers audio network.

826
00:43:52,400 --> 00:43:55,279
Speaker 2: At least he's the drive with Dale Lolly and Matt

827
00:43:55,280 --> 00:43:58,160
Speaker 2: Williamson on your twenty four to seven Home of the

828
00:43:58,239 --> 00:44:01,400
Speaker 2: Black and Gold cast in R Nation Radio.

829
00:44:06,320 --> 00:44:09,319
Speaker 3: And we are back. I'm Dale Lolly. He is the

830
00:44:09,600 --> 00:44:11,440
Speaker 3: Matt Williamson and Matt before we get to what you

831
00:44:11,480 --> 00:44:13,640
Speaker 3: wanted to talk about him, Yes, so we talked about

832
00:44:13,719 --> 00:44:16,440
Speaker 3: Lance zier Lines. Rankings for the draft.

833
00:44:16,480 --> 00:44:19,080
Speaker 4: Came yesterday and yeah, yeah, I just want.

834
00:44:18,880 --> 00:44:21,920
Speaker 3: To remind people, because I hear this a lot. The

835
00:44:21,920 --> 00:44:26,360
Speaker 3: Steelers over drafted Kenny Pickett. Yeah yeah, Lance had a

836
00:44:26,360 --> 00:44:28,040
Speaker 3: sixty four to oh grade on him. He was his

837
00:44:28,120 --> 00:44:30,040
Speaker 3: number one quarterback in the draft. The sixt four to

838
00:44:30,080 --> 00:44:33,400
Speaker 3: oh grade is easily a first round grade.

839
00:44:33,840 --> 00:44:35,440
Speaker 5: Yeah, I mean I remember when it happened.

840
00:44:35,440 --> 00:44:38,400
Speaker 4: It wasn't Todd and Mel and all those people were like,

841
00:44:38,440 --> 00:44:40,240
Speaker 4: I can't believe this guy went in the first round.

842
00:44:40,320 --> 00:44:42,520
Speaker 3: I mean, a six to four to oh grade just

843
00:44:42,560 --> 00:44:46,600
Speaker 3: some people know means that they think Lance thinks, or

844
00:44:46,640 --> 00:44:48,560
Speaker 3: the people at NFL dot com think he'll become a

845
00:44:48,600 --> 00:44:51,800
Speaker 3: good starter within two years. That was his final g

846
00:44:52,280 --> 00:44:54,200
Speaker 3: that was his grade coming out of that draft. So

847
00:44:54,920 --> 00:44:55,920
Speaker 3: it didn't work out here.

848
00:44:56,000 --> 00:44:58,000
Speaker 4: No, of course on right of the reasons that many

849
00:44:58,000 --> 00:45:00,760
Speaker 4: first round quarterbacks don't across correct.

850
00:45:00,239 --> 00:45:01,480
Speaker 3: Of the league, by the way, and he was, oh,

851
00:45:01,560 --> 00:45:03,120
Speaker 3: by the way, the twentieth pick in the draft.

852
00:45:03,120 --> 00:45:05,360
Speaker 4: He wasn't first, he wasn't one or two or whatever.

853
00:45:05,640 --> 00:45:07,160
Speaker 4: But one thing I wanted to just bring up real quick.

854
00:45:07,160 --> 00:45:09,000
Speaker 4: I know we have a short segment here, but we

855
00:45:09,239 --> 00:45:14,960
Speaker 4: were talking about aggressive organizational aggressiveness overall, and I think

856
00:45:15,000 --> 00:45:20,000
Speaker 4: that there's a misconception that active and aggressive equals wins.

857
00:45:20,480 --> 00:45:24,000
Speaker 4: You know, Like, yes, the Eagles, to all their credit,

858
00:45:24,040 --> 00:45:27,120
Speaker 4: are an active, aggressive organization and they're the current champions

859
00:45:27,160 --> 00:45:30,040
Speaker 4: of the world. Great, but in like the last ten years,

860
00:45:30,680 --> 00:45:37,840
Speaker 4: probably the most active and aggressive organizations in this league Jets, Jags, Panthers,

861
00:45:38,120 --> 00:45:41,880
Speaker 4: chase of shiny new thing every year, Browns, I mean

862
00:45:41,920 --> 00:45:45,640
Speaker 4: winsd they have, you know what I mean? Just activity

863
00:45:45,719 --> 00:45:47,719
Speaker 4: does not mean progress.

864
00:45:47,520 --> 00:45:49,520
Speaker 3: No, it does not. I can remember when the Steelers

865
00:45:49,560 --> 00:45:55,440
Speaker 3: played the Jaguars in the playoffs in twenty seventeen, answering

866
00:45:55,520 --> 00:45:58,440
Speaker 3: questions for people on message boards and how did the

867
00:45:58,520 --> 00:46:01,759
Speaker 3: Jaguars get all these good players on defense, they pay

868
00:46:02,120 --> 00:46:04,840
Speaker 3: five every year. Yeah, they were a top ten drafting

869
00:46:04,880 --> 00:46:07,080
Speaker 3: team every year. They got all those guys in the

870
00:46:07,120 --> 00:46:09,200
Speaker 3: top ten. None of them are still stuck around. Yeah,

871
00:46:09,200 --> 00:46:11,160
Speaker 3: that's part of it, you know, Jayalen Ramsey's gone bortals.

872
00:46:11,200 --> 00:46:14,720
Speaker 3: I mean, all those early picks aren't Jags for very long. Yeah,

873
00:46:14,760 --> 00:46:17,520
Speaker 3: So that's they're always looking for the next shiny new thing.

874
00:46:17,640 --> 00:46:19,719
Speaker 3: And you know, if you're willing to to stink for

875
00:46:19,800 --> 00:46:21,640
Speaker 3: ten years, yeah, you can build a pretty good roster.

876
00:46:22,160 --> 00:46:24,319
Speaker 3: Oh yeah, yeah, right, you keep ticking the top right,

877
00:46:24,520 --> 00:46:27,879
Speaker 3: you know, at least if you're getting it right, you know. So, yeah,

878
00:46:28,000 --> 00:46:29,640
Speaker 3: I agree with you. I think, you know, there's a

879
00:46:29,640 --> 00:46:34,359
Speaker 3: difference between being prudent and being just crazy with your mom.

880
00:46:34,400 --> 00:46:36,320
Speaker 3: I was just going to go spend, spend, spend, spend spend.

881
00:46:36,360 --> 00:46:38,840
Speaker 4: Doesn't mean the process was wrong, you know. I mean again,

882
00:46:38,920 --> 00:46:42,080
Speaker 4: you know, trading up for bush hit big or drafting

883
00:46:42,080 --> 00:46:45,000
Speaker 4: pick at a twenty hit big. No, but that doesn't

884
00:46:45,040 --> 00:46:47,600
Speaker 4: mean that the logic behind it was wrong necessarily or

885
00:46:47,840 --> 00:46:50,000
Speaker 4: the organizational outlook on.

886
00:46:49,920 --> 00:46:51,440
Speaker 5: It, you know. Yeah.

887
00:46:51,600 --> 00:46:53,480
Speaker 3: So anyways, let's get to a break that's going to

888
00:46:53,520 --> 00:46:55,399
Speaker 3: do it for our number one of the drive here

889
00:46:55,440 --> 00:46:58,479
Speaker 3: on the Steelers Audio Network. This is Steelers Nation Radio

890
00:46:58,480 --> 00:47:01,480
Speaker 3: and the Steelers Audio Network. Matt and now will be

891
00:47:01,520 --> 00:47:03,560
Speaker 3: back with our number two right after this