WEBVTT - HR1: Live from Training Camp 2026 Day 2 0:00:00.640 --> 0:00:05.320 Or the Steelers Audio Network presented by bud Light, Easy 0:00:05.400 --> 0:00:08.119 to drink, easy to enjoy, and brought to you in 0:00:08.200 --> 0:00:13.200 part by your neighborhood, Ford Store creator, Pittsburgh Community Food Bank, 0:00:13.440 --> 0:00:18.040 First National Bank. Let's get started remember FDIC West Shore 0:00:18.160 --> 0:00:25.439 Home Remodeling Reimagine by Leecom Digital, Donz Appliances Visit Donzappliances 0:00:25.480 --> 0:00:30.800 dot Com. Guaranteed lowest prices, free next day delivery, CGR 0:00:30.840 --> 0:00:36.960 Wholesale and by Hass's Steak and Seahouse. Hass Is his hospitality. 0:00:41.720 --> 0:00:45.360 Good afternoon, Stealer Nation, It's the drive on Steelers Audio Network. 0:00:45.360 --> 0:00:48.360 West Shooler Matt Williamson High atop chucknoll Field here on 0:00:48.400 --> 0:00:51.520 the campus of Saint Vincent College for a day number 0:00:51.520 --> 0:00:54.400 two of training camp coverage on your twenty four to 0:00:54.400 --> 0:00:57.560 seven home of the Black and Gold. Another day of 0:00:57.560 --> 0:01:00.920 practice in the books, Matt, Another beautiful day year as 0:01:01.400 --> 0:01:04.959 the weather beautiful sunny held off. Yeah, and uh you know, 0:01:05.040 --> 0:01:07.920 day number two, I think, once again, a high paced 0:01:08.000 --> 0:01:09.360 practice and plenty going on. 0:01:09.480 --> 0:01:14.360 Plenty going on, and more importantly, congratulations to young Wesley 0:01:14.360 --> 0:01:17.920 here and a lovely wife when they're tenth year anniversary. 0:01:17.400 --> 0:01:19.040 In the wedding anniversary. 0:01:19.360 --> 0:01:22.039 You guys are still puppies nothing but yeah, you guys 0:01:22.080 --> 0:01:23.440 probably still like each other and everything. 0:01:23.520 --> 0:01:26.800 It's crazy, you know this, this time ten years ago, Matt, 0:01:26.840 --> 0:01:29.600 I was not. I was not in the same frame 0:01:29.640 --> 0:01:31.480 of mind that I'm in right now. You know I was. 0:01:32.160 --> 0:01:34.040 I wouldn't I would not have been able to pass 0:01:34.080 --> 0:01:36.319 a field sobriety test or any of that ten years 0:01:36.360 --> 0:01:39.160 ago at this time. And now we're here taking notes 0:01:39.200 --> 0:01:41.480 diligently and watching another practice. But yeah, I know it 0:01:41.520 --> 0:01:44.400 is my wife and I was ten year anniversary gratulations 0:01:44.720 --> 0:01:46.800 time flies think, yes, I'll be I'll be buzzing home 0:01:46.840 --> 0:01:50.520 tonight for a nice for a nice dinner. But uh yeah, 0:01:50.600 --> 0:01:53.520 and with uh you know, plenty of plenty to get 0:01:53.520 --> 0:01:55.520 to here. And speaking of which, let's go ahead and 0:01:55.520 --> 0:01:58.560 do this now. Okay, if you're ready here, mister de Fabo, 0:01:58.680 --> 0:02:00.520 let me grab you a special guest. We do have 0:02:00.520 --> 0:02:03.279 a special guest to kick off the program here today. 0:02:03.320 --> 0:02:06.800 He's a familiar voice, familiar name, of course, in Pittsburgh 0:02:06.800 --> 0:02:10.800 Steelers media circles. It is of the athletic Mike de Fabo, 0:02:11.160 --> 0:02:12.960 La Trobe's very own. You know, when you look up 0:02:13.320 --> 0:02:16.400 the greatest people from this region. You know, it's Arnold Palmer, 0:02:16.520 --> 0:02:19.320 and it's mister Rogers, and it's Mike de Faba. What's up, dude. 0:02:19.360 --> 0:02:21.080 Well, I don't know if I belong in that category, 0:02:21.160 --> 0:02:24.240 but at Dino's, at least in terms of the top 0:02:24.320 --> 0:02:27.480 wing eaters, that's the conversation that I belong in. I mean, 0:02:27.520 --> 0:02:30.840 one of my proudest achievements here was there. My parents 0:02:30.840 --> 0:02:33.200 were having a party. They got Dino's wings, and this 0:02:33.280 --> 0:02:35.519 couple was talking about how they were considering in this 0:02:35.639 --> 0:02:39.040 good for you on your tenth anniversary, naming their son Michael. 0:02:39.400 --> 0:02:41.240 And I sat there and I crushed forty wings, and 0:02:41.240 --> 0:02:42.480 by the end of it they were like, we're naming 0:02:42.480 --> 0:02:44.720 the kid Mike. That settles it. 0:02:45.760 --> 0:02:48.079 So what is it? Why are wings such a big 0:02:48.120 --> 0:02:50.160 deal in this region, like other than the only place 0:02:50.160 --> 0:02:52.040 I've ever been where wings are a bigger deal is 0:02:52.080 --> 0:02:52.840 Buffalo Buffalo. 0:02:52.960 --> 0:02:56.280 Yeah, it's hilarious because there's basically, and I'm saying this 0:02:56.360 --> 0:03:01.400 is someone who grew up here loves Latrobe. All they've 0:03:01.400 --> 0:03:04.800 got here are two places, and they're both chicken wing joints. 0:03:05.120 --> 0:03:08.000 Dinos and Sharky's exactly right. And if I have the 0:03:08.040 --> 0:03:12.240 story correct, I believe that they were actually business partners 0:03:12.480 --> 0:03:15.480 at one point. I think there was some type of 0:03:16.280 --> 0:03:21.320 breakup and Sharky ends up moving starting somebody else starts Sharky's. 0:03:21.880 --> 0:03:24.480 So that's why when you look, not only are there 0:03:24.520 --> 0:03:26.480 like two places that are so similar, they have like 0:03:26.520 --> 0:03:29.280 the identical sweet hot sauce they do. There's just some 0:03:29.360 --> 0:03:31.240 slight variation, but it's very similar. 0:03:31.280 --> 0:03:33.320 And I don't think they're particularly buddies. And they're only 0:03:33.400 --> 0:03:34.920 like a block away from each other exactly. 0:03:34.960 --> 0:03:37.320 It's a little chicken wing rivalry right across from Route 0:03:37.360 --> 0:03:39.440 thirty on either side of Rout thirty. 0:03:39.520 --> 0:03:40.640 It's like sheets and wah wah. 0:03:40.640 --> 0:03:44.200 You gotta choose a lot of demarcation. You gotta pick. 0:03:44.520 --> 0:03:46.360 I mean, I kind of experienced it last night because 0:03:46.360 --> 0:03:48.560 we did a night show at Dino's. I got the 0:03:48.560 --> 0:03:50.680 boneless wings because on the air it's hard to get 0:03:50.680 --> 0:03:52.200 to get them all over your face and stuff. It's 0:03:52.200 --> 0:03:53.600 a bone and Boneless is the movie. 0:03:53.680 --> 0:03:54.840 I'll tolerate it when you're on air. 0:03:54.920 --> 0:03:56.520 On the air, I prefer what you know bone in, 0:03:56.560 --> 0:03:58.320 don't get me wrong, but you're on the air. So 0:03:59.000 --> 0:04:02.840 the pig out there, go to Sharky's right after, tell 0:04:02.880 --> 0:04:05.120 the manager and like all this you got brought out, 0:04:05.160 --> 0:04:07.320 all the things food. I appreciated. This is a reason 0:04:07.320 --> 0:04:09.960 I'm not eating because I ate a dinos. He's like, oh, 0:04:10.080 --> 0:04:12.400 he's don't tell me your problems. 0:04:12.040 --> 0:04:17.400 Man, Yeah, you're you're inviting some Yeah. 0:04:17.360 --> 0:04:18.600 Okay, I'm just doing my job. 0:04:19.320 --> 0:04:21.280 Mike. We know, coming back here to training camps a 0:04:21.320 --> 0:04:24.360 little bit of a fun homecoming for you every single year, 0:04:24.640 --> 0:04:26.920 and you have that in common with the head coach 0:04:26.960 --> 0:04:29.200 of the Pittsburgh Steelers, Mike McCarthy, who, of course has 0:04:29.200 --> 0:04:32.360 had his homecoming in his hometown of Pittsburgh now as 0:04:32.440 --> 0:04:36.360 the head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers. I assume that 0:04:36.440 --> 0:04:39.200 most of our are diehard Steelers fans have read your 0:04:39.279 --> 0:04:40.960 article in The Athletic, but you got to do a 0:04:41.279 --> 0:04:43.799 I guess a feature on Mike McCarthy is the industry 0:04:43.920 --> 0:04:46.040 term right where you got to ride around with him 0:04:46.080 --> 0:04:49.120 through his hometown just kind of paint that picture for 0:04:49.240 --> 0:04:52.400 us what that was like, what he was talking about, 0:04:52.480 --> 0:04:55.080 where you guys went, let's what did you get to 0:04:55.520 --> 0:04:56.679 know about the new head coach? 0:04:57.120 --> 0:04:59.160 Yeah, well, first of all, it was an awesome opportunity. 0:04:59.279 --> 0:05:01.920 I think that the only reason why Mike McCarthy was 0:05:01.960 --> 0:05:04.920 willing to do it is because he feels so connected 0:05:04.960 --> 0:05:07.600 to the city of Pittsburgh, into the neighborhood of Greenfield. 0:05:08.040 --> 0:05:10.359 And I think he was willing to do it because 0:05:10.360 --> 0:05:12.920 he knew I'm a local, I grew up here in 0:05:13.240 --> 0:05:16.560 La Trobe. I understand what western Pennsylvania is all about. 0:05:16.960 --> 0:05:20.119 And so as we're going through, you know, on one hand, 0:05:20.200 --> 0:05:24.960 he definitely has these feelings where he's making his family 0:05:25.000 --> 0:05:29.039 immensely proud, and he has a job that I think 0:05:29.120 --> 0:05:32.839 is beyond his wildest dreams. To imagine that a kid 0:05:32.839 --> 0:05:37.480 from Greenfield whose father was a police officer, a firefighter, 0:05:37.480 --> 0:05:40.200 and a bar owner, which is basically the Pittsburgh Triple 0:05:40.240 --> 0:05:44.520 Crown in terms of blue collar jobs right there, not 0:05:44.640 --> 0:05:46.680 to mention a Korean War veteran and he worked at 0:05:46.760 --> 0:05:50.000 j N. L. Steele, that the son of that person 0:05:50.040 --> 0:05:52.720 would then coach the Pittsburgh Steelers. So on one hand, 0:05:52.760 --> 0:05:56.840 it's a joyful and exciting opportunity for him, But when 0:05:56.920 --> 0:06:00.400 we started driving through Greenfield, he kind of unexpect actively 0:06:00.440 --> 0:06:04.560 pulled into the cemetery cavalry, Catholic cemetery, and at that 0:06:04.680 --> 0:06:07.159 point I realized that maybe there was another depth to 0:06:07.200 --> 0:06:09.920 the story. And what that is is, you know, as 0:06:09.920 --> 0:06:13.720 he's back in Greenfield, the person that he may want 0:06:13.760 --> 0:06:15.280 to share this with the most, or the person that 0:06:15.320 --> 0:06:18.200 would have been the most proud of all, his brother, Joe, 0:06:18.200 --> 0:06:21.160 who passed away in twenty fifteen, is not here. And 0:06:21.240 --> 0:06:25.760 so they were extremely well connected. They were four years apart, 0:06:25.800 --> 0:06:28.800 but much closer than that would even suggest. And so 0:06:29.000 --> 0:06:31.960 Mike talked about his quote was like everywhere he goes 0:06:32.040 --> 0:06:35.239 in Greenfield, he can't help but be reminded of his brother. 0:06:35.560 --> 0:06:38.040 And one thing he said to me was that he 0:06:38.080 --> 0:06:41.719 feels that this is an opportunity to honor his brother. 0:06:42.040 --> 0:06:44.120 And so I think that you just see for so 0:06:44.200 --> 0:06:48.000 many different reasons why Mike McCarthy feels so much pride 0:06:48.040 --> 0:06:51.640 in and obligation. But there's another level to that with 0:06:51.680 --> 0:06:52.400 what he's gone through. 0:06:52.480 --> 0:06:54.919 That's cool. It does take it up even in another level. 0:06:54.960 --> 0:06:58.600 I mean, the connection is unbelievable. So I assume you 0:06:58.640 --> 0:07:01.599 guys agree. But what's really out to me since McCarthy 0:07:01.640 --> 0:07:04.200 took over as a head coach is attention to detail. 0:07:04.360 --> 0:07:07.520 Oh yeah, and that's really been exacerbated since we've got 0:07:07.560 --> 0:07:09.760 to Latrobe and you see the practice is going on. 0:07:09.880 --> 0:07:12.680 Is that something you just recognized spending that much time 0:07:12.680 --> 0:07:14.440 with him away from football. 0:07:14.040 --> 0:07:17.400 Too, Yeah, definitely. I think that he's very much someone 0:07:17.440 --> 0:07:21.240 that is very aware of the details. I mean, I 0:07:21.280 --> 0:07:23.400 think the other day that practice was scheduled to end 0:07:23.640 --> 0:07:25.800 at what was it to forty six? 0:07:25.920 --> 0:07:26.080 Yep? 0:07:26.400 --> 0:07:27.040 Was that what it was? 0:07:27.200 --> 0:07:31.040 Not two forty seven or twelve forty five, twelve forty seven, 0:07:31.080 --> 0:07:31.760 twelve forty. 0:07:31.560 --> 0:07:33.760 Siven They did not round up in any sort of 0:07:33.760 --> 0:07:36.760 a way. So very much an attention to detail, and. 0:07:36.720 --> 0:07:39.440 It ended at twelve forty six, not at twelve forty seven. 0:07:39.480 --> 0:07:42.560 Right, right. And I think the other thing that that shows, 0:07:42.600 --> 0:07:44.520 you know, people we've talked a lot about the attention 0:07:44.560 --> 0:07:48.400 to detail, I think you're also seeing a coach who 0:07:48.400 --> 0:07:51.480 has an evolved way of thinking. So if I were 0:07:51.480 --> 0:07:53.800 at a stereotype, you know, I thought, Okay, sixty two 0:07:53.920 --> 0:07:56.400 years old Western Pa guy, he's going to come in 0:07:56.440 --> 0:08:00.280 with this meat heead you know, old school. Maybe not 0:08:01.560 --> 0:08:03.760 this old school approach of like we're going to develop 0:08:03.800 --> 0:08:06.880 the callous here with these long, grueling practices, and they're 0:08:06.920 --> 0:08:09.000 going to be hitting, and it's going to be super 0:08:09.200 --> 0:08:11.040 like intense and tackling. 0:08:11.440 --> 0:08:13.160 And I know how we did it twenty years ago, 0:08:13.240 --> 0:08:14.080 so I'm still gonna do it now. 0:08:14.200 --> 0:08:16.600 Yeah, right. And what you're seeing instead, I know a 0:08:16.600 --> 0:08:19.760 lot it's been made about this no tackling because it's different. 0:08:20.840 --> 0:08:23.400 I think what you're seeing is he's aware of the 0:08:23.440 --> 0:08:26.040 science behind things, and he's talking to us today about 0:08:26.360 --> 0:08:30.440 priming the central nervous system, and he's big into the 0:08:30.560 --> 0:08:34.960 GPS monitors and how much work these guys do, and 0:08:35.000 --> 0:08:38.600 so everything he does there's a reason behind it. And 0:08:38.640 --> 0:08:40.719 it's I give him a lot of credit because I 0:08:40.760 --> 0:08:42.800 think a lot of coaches who are in their sixties 0:08:42.840 --> 0:08:45.760 would be rigid in their thinking and would do things 0:08:45.760 --> 0:08:47.920 the way that they did them in high school. It's 0:08:48.080 --> 0:08:50.440 very much the opposite. With Mike McCarthy. You could tell 0:08:50.480 --> 0:08:53.320 that he's continued to work at his own craft and 0:08:53.400 --> 0:08:56.320 continued to be on the forefront in terms of sports 0:08:56.320 --> 0:08:59.640 science and what's best for his team and for his players. 0:09:00.240 --> 0:09:02.400 I recall he took a year off between Green Bay 0:09:02.400 --> 0:09:07.840 and Dallas too and really focused on the analytics of 0:09:07.840 --> 0:09:09.800 the game, right, you know, like he didn't just take 0:09:09.840 --> 0:09:11.200 you just go to the beach. I'm sure he took 0:09:11.200 --> 0:09:13.840 some vacations and things, but he realized that that he 0:09:13.960 --> 0:09:17.079 was not super analytically inclined as the league was changing, 0:09:17.559 --> 0:09:19.520 and spent a lot of time at Pro Football Focused 0:09:19.600 --> 0:09:22.920 and all these different analytics outlets. And I think he's 0:09:23.080 --> 0:09:25.960 very self aware that the game changes very fast. 0:09:26.000 --> 0:09:27.600 And you're seeing that on the field here. I mean, 0:09:27.640 --> 0:09:30.160 he's placed a tremendous emphasis so far through these first 0:09:30.200 --> 0:09:33.280 two days on situational football. So we've seen the two 0:09:33.280 --> 0:09:37.239 minute drill in each of the first two days, and yesterday, 0:09:37.400 --> 0:09:40.640 day one, we saw just last second situations. They would 0:09:40.679 --> 0:09:43.240 put four seconds on the clock and the ball on 0:09:43.240 --> 0:09:45.240 the fourteen yard line, for example, And they did a 0:09:45.320 --> 0:09:48.560 series of drills like that, and he brought up a 0:09:48.559 --> 0:09:52.680 stat to his team saying, eight of the seventeen games 0:09:52.800 --> 0:09:55.240 on average are going to come down to the last possession. 0:09:55.320 --> 0:09:57.960 So this is why I'm doing that and explaining the 0:09:58.000 --> 0:10:00.040 why behind it, and also. 0:10:00.200 --> 0:10:02.479 Under started to interrupt. I also think it think it contributes 0:10:02.480 --> 0:10:05.880 to the speed of practice and the conditioning aspect of 0:10:05.920 --> 0:10:07.800 it all too. We're gonna be in shape in the 0:10:07.880 --> 0:10:09.000 late in the fourth quarter. 0:10:09.120 --> 0:10:12.840 Right, Definitely, definitely. Yeah. And he talked about the like, 0:10:12.840 --> 0:10:15.400 like I said before, priming the central nervous system and 0:10:15.760 --> 0:10:19.120 thinking quickly and mentally being tough and all those types 0:10:19.120 --> 0:10:19.480 of things. 0:10:19.920 --> 0:10:21.600 It is Mike the Fabo of the athletic with us 0:10:21.600 --> 0:10:24.840 here on the drive on Steelers Nation Radio. I know 0:10:24.880 --> 0:10:27.120 it's only two practices, and Matt and I joke a 0:10:27.160 --> 0:10:30.160 lot of times about how you can overreact to everything, 0:10:30.280 --> 0:10:33.480 especially in this acclamation period. But have you noticed, you know, 0:10:33.880 --> 0:10:35.400 Matt and I are kind of up here in the 0:10:35.440 --> 0:10:37.880 press box taking everything in. You're down there on the 0:10:37.880 --> 0:10:40.320 field right next to all the action. Have you noticed 0:10:40.360 --> 0:10:42.920 a real increase in tempo? Does it feel like things 0:10:42.920 --> 0:10:45.520 are happening more rapidly than what we're used to out 0:10:45.520 --> 0:10:46.680 here at Saint Vincent College. 0:10:47.000 --> 0:10:49.959 Yeah, I mean you talked about like me being down 0:10:50.000 --> 0:10:51.480 on the field. I feel like I'm running back and 0:10:51.520 --> 0:10:53.680 forth like crazy, trying to be like, oh, shoot, there's 0:10:53.679 --> 0:10:55.839 the quarterbacks over here. Now, okay, now they're coming over here. 0:10:55.880 --> 0:10:59.120 Now they're doing this. So absolutely, I've seen the pace 0:10:59.200 --> 0:11:02.040 there steps in some cardio too. Yeah, and I mean 0:11:02.200 --> 0:11:04.559 with the detail too. One thing that you'll see that's interesting. 0:11:04.640 --> 0:11:07.640 They have a two minute TV timeout, and so they'll 0:11:07.679 --> 0:11:11.480 say they'll scream on like, uh like two maybe three 0:11:11.480 --> 0:11:14.160 times for a practice two minute TV timeout And we'll 0:11:14.160 --> 0:11:15.839 have to ask Mike McCarthy about this, but I think 0:11:15.880 --> 0:11:18.160 that goes to the attention to detail as well, where 0:11:18.160 --> 0:11:20.880 he's saying, like, let's figure out during those two minutes, 0:11:21.480 --> 0:11:24.560 what you're going to be doing, how much water you're consuming, whatever, 0:11:24.920 --> 0:11:26.600 So that then when it happens to what you need 0:11:26.640 --> 0:11:28.600 to talk to in an actual game, you're ready and 0:11:28.600 --> 0:11:31.880 you're practicing something that's going to happen in a game setting. 0:11:31.880 --> 0:11:33.599 Don't make it four minutes or five minutes to it 0:11:33.640 --> 0:11:34.440 two because that's what. 0:11:34.360 --> 0:11:36.319 They give you in the game, right, Yeah, and those 0:11:36.360 --> 0:11:40.360 are the few times where they're taking a break. So again, 0:11:40.400 --> 0:11:42.280 as we haven't seen a ton, but it sure seemed 0:11:42.320 --> 0:11:45.760 like Mike Tomlin took a macro view to practice. You know, 0:11:45.800 --> 0:11:47.960 he might be with the d lineman, he might be 0:11:48.000 --> 0:11:50.760 with the quarterbacks, he might just be standing at midfield 0:11:51.160 --> 0:11:54.880 CEO and the whole thing. McCarthy, you sure don't seem 0:11:54.880 --> 0:11:57.240 to hear his voice as much, and he seems to 0:11:57.280 --> 0:12:01.320 be very acutely in this specific bot I mean or 0:12:01.480 --> 0:12:05.040 with a specific group, namely the quarterbacks. Yeah, namely the quarterbacks. 0:12:05.320 --> 0:12:08.240 And I think, truthfully that's the biggest thing for him 0:12:08.240 --> 0:12:11.240 and really the reason why, in my opinion, the Stealers 0:12:11.240 --> 0:12:13.360 are in this situation where they're having a new head 0:12:13.360 --> 0:12:18.760 coach is because Tomlin was unable to identify, draft and 0:12:18.800 --> 0:12:22.079 develop the successor to Ben Roethlisberger. And so now they 0:12:22.120 --> 0:12:25.600 have a coach who specialized not only on the offensive side, 0:12:25.640 --> 0:12:29.720 but in the quarterback position. And you really see the attention. 0:12:29.760 --> 0:12:32.880 All the things that we've talked about are magnified when 0:12:32.920 --> 0:12:35.280 you talk about him working with the quarterbacks in terms 0:12:35.280 --> 0:12:38.040 of every step of the quarterbacks Drop has a name. 0:12:38.360 --> 0:12:41.280 He talks about the QB school and the drills that 0:12:41.320 --> 0:12:44.280 they do, the fundamentals that they do, and you see 0:12:44.360 --> 0:12:47.319 him taking a very hands on approach with his quarterbacks, 0:12:47.400 --> 0:12:51.360 especially those young ones. And so that's really what got 0:12:51.440 --> 0:12:54.080 him here, and that's really a big point of focus 0:12:54.120 --> 0:12:55.600 for him. Is this quarterback position. 0:12:56.000 --> 0:12:57.680 Well, let's talk about those two young guys a little 0:12:57.720 --> 0:12:59.560 bit more. Again with the caveat right. If it's only 0:12:59.600 --> 0:13:01.960 been two actices, this is all grain of solid at 0:13:01.960 --> 0:13:04.960 this point. But any any early thoughts and observations on 0:13:05.000 --> 0:13:07.040 Will Howard and Drew out Well. 0:13:07.080 --> 0:13:10.479 Today was a big day for Will Howard because typically 0:13:10.640 --> 0:13:15.240 in every NFL practice, the only quarterbacks will get a 0:13:15.240 --> 0:13:18.040 two minute drill to the top two guys. So yesterday 0:13:18.120 --> 0:13:21.240 it was Mason Rudolph. He had a successful two minute 0:13:21.280 --> 0:13:23.600 drill where he led them into field goal range. Now, 0:13:23.640 --> 0:13:26.559 Will Howard was up during his two minute drill period. 0:13:27.040 --> 0:13:29.440 I'm sitting there saying, Okay, this's perfect. He's gonna score 0:13:29.480 --> 0:13:31.360 a touchdown and we're gonna write a story about how 0:13:31.400 --> 0:13:34.120 the competition is on. He had like three or four 0:13:34.160 --> 0:13:37.680 I think nice completions, chunk plays driving them down the field, 0:13:38.360 --> 0:13:41.720 and then he overthrew Max Hurlaman and right into Strashing 0:13:41.800 --> 0:13:42.920 Castro's arms. 0:13:43.080 --> 0:13:45.080 And so I found it. 0:13:45.120 --> 0:13:48.360 Kind of funny after practice. You know, last year, Will 0:13:48.360 --> 0:13:51.520 Howard was kind of the golden boy, you know, when 0:13:51.559 --> 0:13:54.600 you're a rookie. When you're rookie and you're new, the 0:13:54.640 --> 0:13:58.720 fan basees all of your promise, none of your warts, 0:13:59.000 --> 0:14:02.439 right yep. You know, Like I call it backup quarterback syndrome. 0:14:02.440 --> 0:14:04.360 The less the fan base seas of a quarterback, the 0:14:04.400 --> 0:14:06.480 better they think that they are. There's a lot of 0:14:06.520 --> 0:14:10.240 hype around Will Howard and he always was very polished 0:14:10.280 --> 0:14:13.600 and polite in interviews. So today, uh, you know, our 0:14:13.880 --> 0:14:17.679 our our friend Triva. 0:14:16.600 --> 0:14:18.760 Mike Persuda likes to ask the hard questions, you know. 0:14:18.760 --> 0:14:22.840 Who isn't necessarily known for his tact and and he's 0:14:22.840 --> 0:14:24.400 not someone to beat around the bush. Said to him, 0:14:24.400 --> 0:14:25.760 you know, what did you see on that play? And 0:14:25.800 --> 0:14:29.160 he just said, they intercepted the ball, they picked it, 0:14:29.560 --> 0:14:32.080 you know, and you saw a little bit of a 0:14:32.120 --> 0:14:34.200 different side of Will Howard. And what I took that 0:14:34.320 --> 0:14:38.960 as is Will Howard the competitor. Where Okay, last year 0:14:39.120 --> 0:14:39.920 was okay, I'm. 0:14:39.800 --> 0:14:41.200 New everything shining rainbow. 0:14:41.360 --> 0:14:43.800 Now it's like I'm here to compete and like I'm 0:14:43.840 --> 0:14:46.040 not here to answer questions head down working. 0:14:46.080 --> 0:14:49.040 But I mean, he's not guaranteed a roster spot at 0:14:49.040 --> 0:14:50.840 this point. It's you know, right, he's got a lot 0:14:50.880 --> 0:14:51.320 to fight. 0:14:51.160 --> 0:14:54.080 For, so he's got a lot to prove in. You know, 0:14:55.520 --> 0:14:57.520 these are the things that at some point, it's just 0:14:57.680 --> 0:15:00.440 day two, we don't want to overreact, but at some 0:15:00.560 --> 0:15:05.240 point you do look back and competitive moments at the 0:15:05.280 --> 0:15:06.920 end of practice in a two minute drill, they do 0:15:07.000 --> 0:15:09.080 matter when it comes to this decision making process. 0:15:09.480 --> 0:15:11.160 The last thing I got for is do you have 0:15:11.200 --> 0:15:17.720 any insight inclination thoughts on Joey Porter's situation contractually? 0:15:18.800 --> 0:15:21.040 You know, I don't. I wish I had more insight 0:15:21.120 --> 0:15:24.320 into it other than the fact that I think that 0:15:25.160 --> 0:15:28.120 every day that goes on, if they are interested in 0:15:28.200 --> 0:15:30.520 extending him, I think the price is only going to 0:15:30.560 --> 0:15:34.640 go up because it's exactly like someone said the other day, 0:15:34.640 --> 0:15:36.480 do you make him a top five corner? And I'm like, 0:15:37.000 --> 0:15:39.080 the price of a top five corner is going up 0:15:39.080 --> 0:15:41.240 with every new contract. 0:15:40.640 --> 0:15:43.680 Like daily, right now, right right. 0:15:43.440 --> 0:15:46.520 So if you can get it done, I think you 0:15:46.640 --> 0:15:51.280 have to. Obviously, there's a certain line that Steelers probably 0:15:51.320 --> 0:15:54.120 feel comfortable walking up to, and it's just a matter 0:15:54.200 --> 0:15:57.000 of figuring out where that is and trying to find 0:15:57.240 --> 0:15:58.400 some type of a middle ground. 0:15:59.280 --> 0:16:01.360 Let's stay one for you, for me, let's stay with 0:16:01.400 --> 0:16:04.200 that same position group. Not any real concern over Jalen 0:16:04.280 --> 0:16:06.520 Ramsey starting the season on the pup list, just seems 0:16:06.560 --> 0:16:09.120 like a precautionary thing. Another Mike McCarthy thing that that 0:16:09.160 --> 0:16:10.920 we've heard so much about is just making sure you 0:16:10.960 --> 0:16:12.080 get your guys to September. 0:16:12.080 --> 0:16:12.440 Heltry. 0:16:13.280 --> 0:16:15.160 Yeah, yeah, I mean, you would love to have both 0:16:15.200 --> 0:16:16.840 of these guys on the field just because of the 0:16:16.840 --> 0:16:20.280 fact that you're installing a new defense and communication has 0:16:20.320 --> 0:16:23.120 been a problem for this unit in the past, and 0:16:23.160 --> 0:16:26.480 that's a point of emphasis, and there's going to be changes. 0:16:26.600 --> 0:16:30.200 While these guys have probably played every coverage known demand 0:16:30.440 --> 0:16:33.480 over their careers, you still want them out there. But 0:16:33.520 --> 0:16:36.120 the good news is it does sound like this is 0:16:36.160 --> 0:16:37.760 not going to be something that's going to linger into 0:16:37.760 --> 0:16:40.640 the season. You know, we've seen Jalen Ramsey walking around 0:16:40.720 --> 0:16:45.280 here no sort of brace or whatever, rap or anything 0:16:45.720 --> 0:16:48.520 on his injured knee, and so you just hope that 0:16:49.240 --> 0:16:51.640 he gets healthy sooner than later, because you know, with 0:16:51.640 --> 0:16:54.720 with Ramsey, you're not talking about just use losing one player. 0:16:54.840 --> 0:16:57.880 You're talking about losing you know, your star in the 0:16:58.000 --> 0:17:01.120 nickel defense, meaning your slot corn is what they call it. 0:17:01.400 --> 0:17:04.680 You're talking about potentially safety in some packages, you're talking 0:17:04.720 --> 0:17:08.920 about a corner maybe situationally, and with that, I think 0:17:08.960 --> 0:17:12.960 a lot of coverage disguises him, you know, playing a 0:17:12.960 --> 0:17:15.359 lot of different roles when it comes to those exes 0:17:15.400 --> 0:17:17.680 on a whiteboard and the different coverages and the way 0:17:17.720 --> 0:17:19.920 you may want to disguise it. So you know, that's 0:17:19.920 --> 0:17:21.520 why I think that it's really important for him to 0:17:21.520 --> 0:17:23.720 get out here. But obviously his health is the first 0:17:23.720 --> 0:17:25.080 and foremost most important thing. 0:17:25.119 --> 0:17:26.800 I do have one more thing now that we mentioned 0:17:26.880 --> 0:17:29.240 Ramsey is and the more I think through it, like 0:17:29.760 --> 0:17:33.040 the NFL is really really stressing that big nickel, that 0:17:33.200 --> 0:17:35.399 star you can, everyone calls it something different, but it's 0:17:35.400 --> 0:17:38.320 a brag nickel. So you know, it's Mike Hilton plus 0:17:38.320 --> 0:17:42.000 fifty pounds exactly, Stirwin James, it's Hamilton, it's the gene. 0:17:42.840 --> 0:17:46.000 But Ramsey's really well equipped for that. In my opinion, 0:17:46.080 --> 0:17:47.880 he'll play the run. He sticks his face in there, 0:17:48.359 --> 0:17:50.040 but he's got a lot more wear in his wear 0:17:50.080 --> 0:17:53.240 and tear in his body than Dejene or Branch or 0:17:53.520 --> 0:17:56.440 any of those guys him and worry. Maybe he just 0:17:56.520 --> 0:17:58.920 kind of save him from himself a little bit. I mean, 0:17:58.960 --> 0:18:01.320 that's not an easy position to play, even if you're not. 0:18:01.400 --> 0:18:05.080 I mean, you're taking on guards. You know. That beats 0:18:05.119 --> 0:18:05.440 you up? 0:18:05.640 --> 0:18:07.480 Yeah, you know. I mean, for all the reasons that 0:18:07.520 --> 0:18:10.199 you mentioned, it seems to fit his skill set, but 0:18:10.880 --> 0:18:12.960 it also is when you are closer to the line 0:18:12.960 --> 0:18:15.520 of scrimmage. You're inherently going to be part of more 0:18:15.520 --> 0:18:18.120 collisions and keeping him healthy is going to be important. 0:18:18.119 --> 0:18:20.040 But I agree with you when you say he's going 0:18:20.080 --> 0:18:21.800 to be successful there and the other part is just 0:18:21.840 --> 0:18:24.199 as a blitzer, you know. I think I think that 0:18:24.359 --> 0:18:27.879 with you know, the way that Patrick Graham wants to 0:18:27.880 --> 0:18:30.320 do things with his simulated pressures. I think that it, 0:18:30.480 --> 0:18:33.200 you know, adding the nickel to those pressures is going 0:18:33.200 --> 0:18:35.840 to be big. I think, you know, bringing him on 0:18:35.920 --> 0:18:38.000 just pure blitzes through the B gap, I think are 0:18:38.040 --> 0:18:42.000 going to be big. You run, fits, run support, all that. 0:18:42.119 --> 0:18:45.120 I think all fits a player like Rams who has 0:18:45.480 --> 0:18:49.400 the coverage ability but also prides himself on the physical 0:18:49.440 --> 0:18:50.080 side of the game. 0:18:50.280 --> 0:18:52.359 I don't see four defensive backs being on the field 0:18:52.440 --> 0:18:55.080 very often, but I don't think he comes off either. 0:18:55.200 --> 0:18:57.880