1
00:00:04,040 --> 00:00:07,440
Speaker 1: He's the Drive with Dale Lolly and Matt Williamson on

2
00:00:07,520 --> 00:00:09,719
Speaker 1: your twenty four to seven home of the Black and

3
00:00:09,720 --> 00:00:12,480
Speaker 1: Gold Steelers Nation Radio.

4
00:00:12,760 --> 00:00:16,120
Speaker 2: Welcome to the Drive. I'm Dale LOLLI he is Matt Williamson,

5
00:00:16,200 --> 00:00:21,000
Speaker 2: and it is a beautiful Monday here in Pittsburgh. And Uh, well, Matt,

6
00:00:21,040 --> 00:00:28,680
Speaker 2: if you believe reports Kuan Alexander visiting the Steelers tonight,

7
00:00:29,520 --> 00:00:30,360
Speaker 2: we'll see what happens.

8
00:00:30,320 --> 00:00:31,400
Speaker 1: I've heard that, Okay, but he.

9
00:00:33,080 --> 00:00:33,960
Speaker 2: Need to get in the loop.

10
00:00:34,440 --> 00:00:36,239
Speaker 1: Uh you get bring me in.

11
00:00:37,120 --> 00:00:40,960
Speaker 2: So, Kawan Alexander spent last year with the New York Jets,

12
00:00:41,920 --> 00:00:44,120
Speaker 2: has bounced around a little bit after he started to

13
00:00:44,159 --> 00:00:47,559
Speaker 2: his career in Tampa Bay. But he's a guy that

14
00:00:47,600 --> 00:00:51,000
Speaker 2: the Steelers had talked about in the past as potential

15
00:00:51,040 --> 00:00:55,760
Speaker 2: bringing him in. A former Pro Bowl linebacker twenty nine

16
00:00:55,840 --> 00:01:01,800
Speaker 2: years old. We'll see what comes to fruition, but probably

17
00:01:01,840 --> 00:01:03,720
Speaker 2: not a full time player at this point in his career.

18
00:01:04,360 --> 00:01:06,440
Speaker 1: No, I don't think so either, But I mean I

19
00:01:06,480 --> 00:01:10,000
Speaker 1: think again, it's the first I've heard this. He was

20
00:01:11,360 --> 00:01:14,440
Speaker 1: a very I think he's a good poster boy. Actually

21
00:01:15,200 --> 00:01:19,000
Speaker 1: for a conversation, we've had a lot of you know,

22
00:01:19,400 --> 00:01:22,560
Speaker 1: highly athletic he went in the fourth round. I remember

23
00:01:22,600 --> 00:01:25,280
Speaker 1: thinking he'd probably go in the second or so. He

24
00:01:25,400 --> 00:01:27,520
Speaker 1: ran a four or five five coming out of LSU

25
00:01:27,680 --> 00:01:30,160
Speaker 1: at a little under two hundred and thirty pounds, and

26
00:01:30,200 --> 00:01:32,440
Speaker 1: it took him a little while to acclimate for sure,

27
00:01:32,560 --> 00:01:33,840
Speaker 1: you know. I mean he was kind of an all

28
00:01:33,880 --> 00:01:37,760
Speaker 1: over the place athlete more than linebacker, and he's bumped

29
00:01:37,800 --> 00:01:40,920
Speaker 1: around a little bit. I don't know his special teams

30
00:01:40,959 --> 00:01:43,760
Speaker 1: background off the top of my head, but I would

31
00:01:43,800 --> 00:01:45,920
Speaker 1: think that would be an important component if he were

32
00:01:45,920 --> 00:01:48,520
Speaker 1: to join this team at this stage of the game.

33
00:01:49,880 --> 00:01:52,680
Speaker 1: I do think that there is a I don't say

34
00:01:52,680 --> 00:01:55,880
Speaker 1: an opening, but I would have a desire to bring

35
00:01:55,920 --> 00:02:00,560
Speaker 1: in someone of that ILK to compete with Atlanta Roberts

36
00:02:00,680 --> 00:02:05,200
Speaker 1: or backup or ensure on the second level of the defense.

37
00:02:05,280 --> 00:02:07,000
Speaker 1: So this makes some sense to me.

38
00:02:07,720 --> 00:02:09,679
Speaker 2: Yeah, I'm just looking up his stature. He hasn't played

39
00:02:09,680 --> 00:02:11,240
Speaker 2: a lot of special teams in his career.

40
00:02:11,760 --> 00:02:13,040
Speaker 1: Yeah, I didn't think so.

41
00:02:13,400 --> 00:02:15,840
Speaker 2: Yeah. His his career high for special team snaps is

42
00:02:15,880 --> 00:02:21,239
Speaker 2: sixty nine and that came back in twenty sixteen. Played

43
00:02:21,280 --> 00:02:23,800
Speaker 2: just ten special team snaps last year for the Jets.

44
00:02:24,639 --> 00:02:26,600
Speaker 2: But it's a it would be another one and we

45
00:02:26,840 --> 00:02:28,760
Speaker 2: don't know, you know, they maybe just be kicking at

46
00:02:28,800 --> 00:02:30,400
Speaker 2: tires to see how healthy he is.

47
00:02:30,760 --> 00:02:32,680
Speaker 1: Yeah, what health situation is.

48
00:02:34,720 --> 00:02:38,400
Speaker 2: But at this point, you know, his career again suited

49
00:02:38,400 --> 00:02:39,800
Speaker 2: more as a part time player. I think he played

50
00:02:39,800 --> 00:02:41,880
Speaker 2: forty nine percent of the snaps last year for the Jets.

51
00:02:41,919 --> 00:02:43,200
Speaker 2: In fact, I'm looking right here at it.

52
00:02:43,280 --> 00:02:45,720
Speaker 1: I'm looking right now. Actually, in the last three years

53
00:02:45,760 --> 00:02:49,280
Speaker 1: he's been between five thirty five and six sixty eight,

54
00:02:50,000 --> 00:02:53,079
Speaker 1: which is generally a little over fifty percent. I don't

55
00:02:53,080 --> 00:02:54,640
Speaker 1: know how many snaps each of these teams played.

56
00:02:54,680 --> 00:02:58,720
Speaker 2: Well. In twenty twenty, he played ninety seven percent of

57
00:02:58,760 --> 00:03:02,560
Speaker 2: the snaps in his five games with the forty nine ers.

58
00:03:02,919 --> 00:03:05,600
Speaker 1: Okay, because but I'm looking at the combination of Saints

59
00:03:05,680 --> 00:03:06,560
Speaker 1: and Niners.

60
00:03:06,760 --> 00:03:08,920
Speaker 2: Yeah, he played seventy four percent of his snaps for

61
00:03:08,960 --> 00:03:13,600
Speaker 2: the Saints that year, ninety seven percent for the for

62
00:03:13,720 --> 00:03:16,440
Speaker 2: the forty nine ers. So uh, But earlier in his

63
00:03:16,480 --> 00:03:19,360
Speaker 2: career he was a high percentage snap guy. Ninety eight percent,

64
00:03:19,720 --> 00:03:23,120
Speaker 2: ninety six percent, ninety four percent, ninety percent. Those was

65
00:03:23,160 --> 00:03:24,320
Speaker 2: four years in Tampa Bay.

66
00:03:25,040 --> 00:03:27,320
Speaker 1: He was a rookie starter, and second year he started

67
00:03:27,320 --> 00:03:29,799
Speaker 1: to really step up. And he's been a household name

68
00:03:29,880 --> 00:03:32,040
Speaker 1: but has bumped around a little bit over the last

69
00:03:32,040 --> 00:03:32,880
Speaker 1: couple of years.

70
00:03:33,880 --> 00:03:38,080
Speaker 2: The signing, if it did come to fruition, would be

71
00:03:38,160 --> 00:03:44,040
Speaker 2: another steal. You could typify the Steelers twenty twenty three

72
00:03:44,080 --> 00:03:48,400
Speaker 2: offseason as going out and acquiring a bunch of been there,

73
00:03:48,440 --> 00:03:49,640
Speaker 2: done that guys.

74
00:03:50,160 --> 00:03:53,320
Speaker 1: Yeah, right right, I mean I think that a couple

75
00:03:53,440 --> 00:03:56,440
Speaker 1: themes obviously show up. I think he doesn't fit this

76
00:03:56,520 --> 00:03:58,840
Speaker 1: one as much, not these lacking in that area, but

77
00:03:59,000 --> 00:04:02,240
Speaker 1: big and physical and nasty. I think at all positions

78
00:04:02,840 --> 00:04:05,200
Speaker 1: has been a point of emphasis for sure. I mean

79
00:04:05,880 --> 00:04:09,720
Speaker 1: even corner and Alan Robinson and positions you don't think about,

80
00:04:09,920 --> 00:04:13,000
Speaker 1: you know, let alone the Herbigs of the world, but

81
00:04:13,080 --> 00:04:15,640
Speaker 1: certainly some dudes that have been around the block that

82
00:04:15,760 --> 00:04:18,720
Speaker 1: you can trust, that have had success, that have, as

83
00:04:18,839 --> 00:04:20,279
Speaker 1: coach likes to say, pedigree.

84
00:04:21,040 --> 00:04:25,240
Speaker 2: Yeah, this is it. It's very similar in some fashions

85
00:04:26,320 --> 00:04:30,320
Speaker 2: to what the Houston Texans did a couple of years ago,

86
00:04:30,640 --> 00:04:34,560
Speaker 2: where they went out and signed a bunch of NFL players,

87
00:04:34,640 --> 00:04:39,160
Speaker 2: maybe not stars, to bring them in, and you know,

88
00:04:39,200 --> 00:04:41,800
Speaker 2: the Texans that year wound up winning more games than

89
00:04:41,800 --> 00:04:46,720
Speaker 2: anybody expected. Yeah, because the guys they're bringing off the bench,

90
00:04:46,839 --> 00:04:49,279
Speaker 2: they're the guys that they're playing, or all NFL players.

91
00:04:49,279 --> 00:04:53,200
Speaker 2: They didn't go young, they didn't go young. Yeah, I

92
00:04:53,279 --> 00:04:55,360
Speaker 2: think that, you know, I think there's some value to

93
00:04:55,680 --> 00:04:57,760
Speaker 2: adding those kind of guys. And for a team like

94
00:04:57,800 --> 00:05:02,159
Speaker 2: the Steelers, unlike that Texans team from a couple of

95
00:05:02,200 --> 00:05:04,640
Speaker 2: years ago, you have stars on this roster.

96
00:05:05,279 --> 00:05:09,000
Speaker 1: Yeah, there's a different mindset. I mean that Texans team,

97
00:05:09,279 --> 00:05:11,240
Speaker 1: I think was trying to just get rid of all

98
00:05:11,279 --> 00:05:14,480
Speaker 1: the old and they brought in a million cheap free

99
00:05:14,480 --> 00:05:18,880
Speaker 1: agents to establish a culture and a competitiveness, and they

100
00:05:18,920 --> 00:05:22,440
Speaker 1: hoped twenty five percent of them would be keepers, you know,

101
00:05:22,520 --> 00:05:25,440
Speaker 1: and just not be have a bunch of depth guys

102
00:05:25,480 --> 00:05:29,080
Speaker 1: fighting for starting jobs, where the Steelers already have the culture,

103
00:05:29,279 --> 00:05:32,320
Speaker 1: already are a winning organization, and you have the depth

104
00:05:32,360 --> 00:05:35,000
Speaker 1: guys fighting for depth jobs as opposed to you know,

105
00:05:35,760 --> 00:05:37,080
Speaker 1: see Cam Hayward, you know what I mean?

106
00:05:37,680 --> 00:05:40,400
Speaker 2: Right right? So, you know, I look at this at

107
00:05:40,440 --> 00:05:43,000
Speaker 2: the Steelers roster. I mean, you still have TJ. Watt,

108
00:05:43,040 --> 00:05:45,480
Speaker 2: you still have Cam Hayward, you still have micka Fitzpatrick

109
00:05:45,520 --> 00:05:48,719
Speaker 2: on defense, you still have you know, Alex high Smith

110
00:05:48,760 --> 00:05:51,839
Speaker 2: is a is a guy that that you know, established

111
00:05:51,920 --> 00:05:55,640
Speaker 2: himself a bit last year. You know, Larry Ogan, Jobi's

112
00:05:56,320 --> 00:06:00,599
Speaker 2: not one of these journeyman type guys. Know, He's He's

113
00:06:00,600 --> 00:06:03,640
Speaker 2: a guy that is an established starter in the NFL.

114
00:06:05,120 --> 00:06:08,040
Speaker 2: Patrick Peterson has been a star. And that's just on

115
00:06:08,080 --> 00:06:10,200
Speaker 2: the defense. The offense is a different animal. It's a

116
00:06:10,240 --> 00:06:15,120
Speaker 2: lot younger and up and coming, you know, potentially with

117
00:06:15,160 --> 00:06:16,360
Speaker 2: a lot of those guys.

118
00:06:16,800 --> 00:06:19,919
Speaker 1: But I mean, they were the youngest offense in the

119
00:06:20,000 --> 00:06:22,880
Speaker 1: league last year. Football siders put this out recently, just

120
00:06:22,960 --> 00:06:26,119
Speaker 1: per snap and one of the youngest that they've ever seen.

121
00:06:26,800 --> 00:06:31,040
Speaker 1: But you go at her, big simlu Robinson, you know

122
00:06:31,080 --> 00:06:33,240
Speaker 1: you did bring a little bit of agent experience to

123
00:06:33,279 --> 00:06:33,920
Speaker 1: that group too.

124
00:06:34,600 --> 00:06:39,279
Speaker 2: Yeah. Absolutely, And I think, you know, the expectation for

125
00:06:39,360 --> 00:06:42,960
Speaker 2: the Steelers is that group continues to grow together and

126
00:06:43,040 --> 00:06:46,960
Speaker 2: continues to get better. And that leads me to my

127
00:06:47,080 --> 00:06:49,440
Speaker 2: next The next thing I wanted to talk about, Matt

128
00:06:50,440 --> 00:06:56,520
Speaker 2: and that would be I look at this Steelers team

129
00:06:57,960 --> 00:06:59,880
Speaker 2: and I think that to me, there seems to be

130
00:07:00,160 --> 00:07:08,880
Speaker 2: disconnect between everything that's happened this offseason and the national

131
00:07:08,960 --> 00:07:11,680
Speaker 2: expectations for this football team.

132
00:07:13,120 --> 00:07:15,520
Speaker 1: Agree. And let's get to that in one minute. So

133
00:07:15,560 --> 00:07:18,200
Speaker 1: I want to make one more point about age and whatnot. Like,

134
00:07:18,800 --> 00:07:22,120
Speaker 1: I fear that some people are listening going, well, I

135
00:07:22,120 --> 00:07:25,000
Speaker 1: don't want this team to get old, you know, signing

136
00:07:25,040 --> 00:07:28,720
Speaker 1: guys like Alexander and that doesn't make you old. That's

137
00:07:28,720 --> 00:07:29,760
Speaker 1: gonna be a one year deal.

138
00:07:29,880 --> 00:07:32,080
Speaker 2: You're signing these guys one year deals. And you know

139
00:07:32,080 --> 00:07:34,640
Speaker 2: if they if they go somewhere, let's say they have

140
00:07:34,680 --> 00:07:38,440
Speaker 2: a good year and they go sign somewhere else, Okay,

141
00:07:38,480 --> 00:07:40,040
Speaker 2: they now they help you, and now they help your

142
00:07:40,040 --> 00:07:44,800
Speaker 2: comp formula. You you're basically this is what the NFL

143
00:07:44,840 --> 00:07:49,200
Speaker 2: has turned into in many respects, is you have your

144
00:07:49,240 --> 00:07:52,800
Speaker 2: star players. Again, we've just rolled through all those guys.

145
00:07:52,920 --> 00:07:55,760
Speaker 2: That's your core. Those are the guys that formed the

146
00:07:55,760 --> 00:07:58,480
Speaker 2: basis of your team and your draft picks, right, That's

147
00:07:58,520 --> 00:08:00,440
Speaker 2: that's the core of your team. Then you fill in

148
00:08:00,520 --> 00:08:04,160
Speaker 2: around it with these guys on one year deals.

149
00:08:04,800 --> 00:08:09,320
Speaker 1: Yeah, and while you're developing the young guys. Like this

150
00:08:09,440 --> 00:08:14,320
Speaker 1: approach if gone wrong or not, this approach, but I mean,

151
00:08:15,440 --> 00:08:19,040
Speaker 1: if you're gonna put a lot of big signing bonuses,

152
00:08:19,120 --> 00:08:24,480
Speaker 1: multi year deals into veterans, they can quickly become roster cloggers,

153
00:08:24,640 --> 00:08:27,280
Speaker 1: you know, where you can't quick get out of it.

154
00:08:27,600 --> 00:08:30,320
Speaker 1: You know, where you know you're you're paying this guy

155
00:08:30,320 --> 00:08:32,960
Speaker 1: a decent amount. You may end up cutting them, and

156
00:08:33,040 --> 00:08:36,680
Speaker 1: it has cap ramifications. But adding veterans on one year

157
00:08:36,720 --> 00:08:39,320
Speaker 1: deals this time of year, when you're not competing against

158
00:08:39,400 --> 00:08:42,720
Speaker 1: anybody else, I mean, you could probably even get out

159
00:08:42,760 --> 00:08:45,000
Speaker 1: of the contract if he stinks in training camp, and

160
00:08:45,040 --> 00:08:46,080
Speaker 1: I wouldn't hurt you that bad.

161
00:08:46,200 --> 00:08:50,320
Speaker 2: This is largely what team. You know, the Eagles have

162
00:08:50,400 --> 00:08:53,240
Speaker 2: done this, you know, renting these guys for a year.

163
00:08:53,520 --> 00:08:56,480
Speaker 2: The Patriots have done this, you know, quite a bit, renting.

164
00:08:56,520 --> 00:08:59,080
Speaker 2: You know, hey, let's just sign these veteran guys and

165
00:08:59,200 --> 00:09:02,959
Speaker 2: have them instead of having twelve rookies on your roster

166
00:09:03,280 --> 00:09:06,199
Speaker 2: or twelve you know, rookies and first year players. Now

167
00:09:06,200 --> 00:09:09,120
Speaker 2: we're going to have We're gonna have our six rookies,

168
00:09:10,679 --> 00:09:13,000
Speaker 2: but that other you know, six guys that would have

169
00:09:13,040 --> 00:09:21,280
Speaker 2: been rookies at major roster are now veteran guys who again, yeah,

170
00:09:21,320 --> 00:09:22,800
Speaker 2: they know what they're doing. I don't. I don't have

171
00:09:22,800 --> 00:09:26,520
Speaker 2: to teach these guys the stadiums. Yeah, what it's like

172
00:09:26,559 --> 00:09:29,480
Speaker 2: to play in Baltimore in December, they've already done it.

173
00:09:30,080 --> 00:09:32,280
Speaker 1: Or how to maintain their body throughout the course of

174
00:09:32,320 --> 00:09:36,760
Speaker 1: the year, or don't worry about them hitting a rookie wall. Yeah,

175
00:09:36,880 --> 00:09:40,040
Speaker 1: you know how to practice, know all those things. And

176
00:09:40,080 --> 00:09:42,559
Speaker 1: they probably have friends. I mean, I know that he's younger,

177
00:09:42,559 --> 00:09:45,320
Speaker 1: but does he have a relationship with Patrick Peterson vougin

178
00:09:45,400 --> 00:09:47,000
Speaker 1: for him? I'm just you know, going to the LSU

179
00:09:47,160 --> 00:09:49,199
Speaker 1: route or you know. I mean a lot of these

180
00:09:49,200 --> 00:09:51,920
Speaker 1: guys have played with each other or against each other,

181
00:09:52,000 --> 00:09:54,600
Speaker 1: have respect for one another. Is this takes a lot

182
00:09:54,600 --> 00:09:57,400
Speaker 1: of doubt out of it without losing the upside, because

183
00:09:57,400 --> 00:09:59,760
Speaker 1: if you're Mark Robbinson's better than them, he's gonna play.

184
00:10:00,360 --> 00:10:05,080
Speaker 2: The other factor is they know how to study. I don't.

185
00:10:05,080 --> 00:10:06,640
Speaker 2: I don't have to win it when we're when we're

186
00:10:06,640 --> 00:10:10,040
Speaker 2: doing film study in a given week, or we're looking

187
00:10:10,040 --> 00:10:13,320
Speaker 2: ahead at the next opponent and I start explaining something,

188
00:10:13,360 --> 00:10:14,920
Speaker 2: I don't have to slow it down. I don't have

189
00:10:14,960 --> 00:10:18,439
Speaker 2: to dumb it down for these veteran guys because they

190
00:10:18,480 --> 00:10:20,959
Speaker 2: know what they're looking at. They know how to study film,

191
00:10:21,040 --> 00:10:22,520
Speaker 2: or they wouldn't have been in the league this long.

192
00:10:22,920 --> 00:10:24,760
Speaker 1: Yeah, they know how to practice, they know how to

193
00:10:24,800 --> 00:10:28,199
Speaker 1: prepare themselves all the professional stuff, or you wouldn't have

194
00:10:28,240 --> 00:10:30,480
Speaker 1: lasted this long. You're right, I mean, unless you're the

195
00:10:30,559 --> 00:10:33,480
Speaker 1: rarest of talents. But that's on what we're talking about here.

196
00:10:33,720 --> 00:10:37,600
Speaker 2: No, no, absolutely not. But getting back to that to that,

197
00:10:37,840 --> 00:10:42,040
Speaker 2: what I believe is a disconnect a lot of the

198
00:10:42,040 --> 00:10:44,199
Speaker 2: stuff that you've seen this offseason. Steelers have one of

199
00:10:44,240 --> 00:10:49,480
Speaker 2: the best off seasons of any team. The draft, Steelers

200
00:10:49,480 --> 00:10:52,160
Speaker 2: have one of the best drafts of any team, right,

201
00:10:53,679 --> 00:10:57,000
Speaker 2: and yet when you talk when people talk about, hey,

202
00:10:57,040 --> 00:10:59,640
Speaker 2: who's the you know, who's the sleeper I was listened

203
00:10:59,679 --> 00:11:03,480
Speaker 2: to it scias in this morning on Sirius FM XM

204
00:11:04,400 --> 00:11:07,400
Speaker 2: NFL and he was asked, hey, who's your sleeper team

205
00:11:07,440 --> 00:11:10,640
Speaker 2: in the AFC? In the AFC, you know whose sleeper

206
00:11:10,679 --> 00:11:15,040
Speaker 2: team was Miami. He's not a sleeper team.

207
00:11:15,640 --> 00:11:16,880
Speaker 1: No, they really aren't.

208
00:11:18,679 --> 00:11:22,160
Speaker 2: I mean, and I get it. So the thing that

209
00:11:22,200 --> 00:11:25,280
Speaker 2: he was talking about, he's, oh, the AFC is so

210
00:11:25,400 --> 00:11:28,440
Speaker 2: stacked this year with the quarterbacks, and he starts rattling

211
00:11:28,440 --> 00:11:31,480
Speaker 2: off a bunch of quarterbacks in the AFC. And absolutely,

212
00:11:31,760 --> 00:11:35,839
Speaker 2: the AFC is stacked with quarterbacks. But guess what team

213
00:11:35,960 --> 00:11:39,200
Speaker 2: doesn't have to play ninety percent of those quarterbacks in

214
00:11:39,200 --> 00:11:39,760
Speaker 2: the AFC.

215
00:11:40,400 --> 00:11:43,640
Speaker 1: Yeah, that's that was Actually my next point is Okay,

216
00:11:43,720 --> 00:11:48,520
Speaker 1: so as you mentioned winning the officer, you're winning free agency.

217
00:11:48,760 --> 00:11:51,920
Speaker 1: Great job. Everyone's given him good numbers. Which for us

218
00:11:51,960 --> 00:11:54,360
Speaker 1: folks that put out grades or analysis, we don't have

219
00:11:54,400 --> 00:11:56,120
Speaker 1: a crystal ball. We don't know that all these draft

220
00:11:56,160 --> 00:11:58,319
Speaker 1: picks are going to hit or you free agent signs,

221
00:11:58,360 --> 00:12:03,559
Speaker 1: but consensuously are getting good responses by those of us

222
00:12:03,600 --> 00:12:05,680
Speaker 1: that do this for a living. Even better for the

223
00:12:05,800 --> 00:12:11,960
Speaker 1: draft cap management. I mentioned the youngest offense in the league, Well,

224
00:12:11,960 --> 00:12:15,600
Speaker 1: they're all a year older now and presumably better, certainly

225
00:12:15,679 --> 00:12:18,240
Speaker 1: more experienced, and then you add a lot of little

226
00:12:18,280 --> 00:12:22,640
Speaker 1: pieces in between, and then the schedule sets up so

227
00:12:22,640 --> 00:12:25,680
Speaker 1: so well. And oh, by the way, this coaching staff

228
00:12:25,720 --> 00:12:27,640
Speaker 1: has a pretty good track record of winning games in

229
00:12:27,679 --> 00:12:30,720
Speaker 1: this league. Now, if you want to say they're not

230
00:12:30,800 --> 00:12:34,920
Speaker 1: a contender in the AFC, okay, I mean to me,

231
00:12:35,040 --> 00:12:39,560
Speaker 1: that's perfectly fine, because it is a ridiculous slate of

232
00:12:39,640 --> 00:12:43,120
Speaker 1: quarterbacks and good teams. But to say that they're not

233
00:12:43,440 --> 00:12:48,240
Speaker 1: vastly improved or aren't a sleeper or man, I can't

234
00:12:48,240 --> 00:12:51,480
Speaker 1: see them winning eight and a half games, I just

235
00:12:51,840 --> 00:12:52,800
Speaker 1: strongly disagree.

236
00:12:53,640 --> 00:12:56,800
Speaker 2: Yeah, I do as well, and I you know, when

237
00:12:56,840 --> 00:12:58,480
Speaker 2: you look at teams, you know we talked a lot

238
00:12:58,520 --> 00:13:02,480
Speaker 2: about the Giants last year, how they were kind of

239
00:13:02,800 --> 00:13:05,360
Speaker 2: they haven't played anybody, blah blah, blah, blah blah. I

240
00:13:05,360 --> 00:13:09,160
Speaker 2: don't think they're that good. And yet they made the

241
00:13:09,200 --> 00:13:13,000
Speaker 2: playoffs and they won a playoff game basically largely on

242
00:13:13,040 --> 00:13:15,080
Speaker 2: the matchup. Would they have won a playoff game in

243
00:13:15,120 --> 00:13:18,640
Speaker 2: the AFC, maybe not, but they won their NFC playoff game.

244
00:13:20,559 --> 00:13:23,720
Speaker 2: I don't see. First of all, I think this Steelers

245
00:13:23,760 --> 00:13:26,320
Speaker 2: team is a better team than that Giants team.

246
00:13:26,600 --> 00:13:29,200
Speaker 1: I think so does about to say the same thing, right, And.

247
00:13:29,160 --> 00:13:32,000
Speaker 2: If you win enough games in the AFC, much like

248
00:13:32,559 --> 00:13:35,240
Speaker 2: what happened with the Giants, Let's like, okay, let's say

249
00:13:35,240 --> 00:13:39,880
Speaker 2: you win ten or eleven games this year. You win ten, A,

250
00:13:40,000 --> 00:13:42,360
Speaker 2: you're going to be in the playoffs. You win eleven,

251
00:13:42,880 --> 00:13:46,040
Speaker 2: there's a good chance you're the number one wildcard team

252
00:13:47,000 --> 00:13:49,920
Speaker 2: or maybe win the division or maybe win the division.

253
00:13:50,120 --> 00:13:52,680
Speaker 2: But if you're the number one wildcard team in the AFC,

254
00:13:53,840 --> 00:13:56,880
Speaker 2: who are you playing? You're going to play the AFC.

255
00:13:56,760 --> 00:13:59,680
Speaker 1: South, probably playing in Jacksonville or yeah, right.

256
00:14:00,160 --> 00:14:03,640
Speaker 2: And yeah, and then you might win that play You've

257
00:14:03,679 --> 00:14:07,080
Speaker 2: got a good shot to win that playoff game. It's

258
00:14:07,120 --> 00:14:09,760
Speaker 2: not all about hell, you gotta beat Patrick Mahomes, How

259
00:14:09,760 --> 00:14:11,480
Speaker 2: you gonna beat Joe Burrow. Well, first of all, they

260
00:14:11,520 --> 00:14:13,480
Speaker 2: only they don't play Patrick Mahomes this year in the

261
00:14:13,480 --> 00:14:17,160
Speaker 2: regular season. They don't play Josh Allen. They do play

262
00:14:17,200 --> 00:14:19,360
Speaker 2: Burrow twice. But you know that going into it. They

263
00:14:19,360 --> 00:14:21,600
Speaker 2: do play Lamar twice. You know that going into it.

264
00:14:21,840 --> 00:14:24,160
Speaker 2: But I would put their track record up against Lamar

265
00:14:24,640 --> 00:14:28,560
Speaker 2: against anybody's track record against Lamar. And I'm not sold

266
00:14:28,600 --> 00:14:31,440
Speaker 2: at de Shaun Watson. Is Deshaun Watson anymore?

267
00:14:31,920 --> 00:14:34,840
Speaker 1: Right, I have not either. And even bigger picture, not

268
00:14:34,920 --> 00:14:37,800
Speaker 1: even talking about twenty twenty three, you know, you win

269
00:14:38,040 --> 00:14:40,880
Speaker 1: ten to eleven games with a second year quarterback, and

270
00:14:40,920 --> 00:14:43,240
Speaker 1: then you have another offseason where you're not you know,

271
00:14:43,360 --> 00:14:46,400
Speaker 1: paying through the nose for people and add through the

272
00:14:46,480 --> 00:14:49,200
Speaker 1: draft and have a similar offseason to this one. You know,

273
00:14:49,240 --> 00:14:51,320
Speaker 1: I'm not saying you're pick in the top ten. Yeah,

274
00:14:51,400 --> 00:14:54,720
Speaker 1: you pick twenty third something like that. You may really

275
00:14:54,760 --> 00:14:59,160
Speaker 1: have something. And you start winning double digit games eight, nine,

276
00:14:59,200 --> 00:15:02,320
Speaker 1: ten years in a row, you know, right right, the

277
00:15:02,360 --> 00:15:02,920
Speaker 1: chips fall.

278
00:15:02,960 --> 00:15:05,520
Speaker 2: You know, I think everybody what they're getting caught up

279
00:15:05,760 --> 00:15:12,640
Speaker 2: in is looking just at the quarterback position. Right, when

280
00:15:12,640 --> 00:15:17,920
Speaker 2: we talked about the Steelers roster as a whole, it's

281
00:15:17,920 --> 00:15:21,200
Speaker 2: a top ten roster in the league. Agree, if you

282
00:15:21,280 --> 00:15:25,880
Speaker 2: take the quarterback out of the equation. If Kenny Pickett

283
00:15:25,920 --> 00:15:30,680
Speaker 2: is league average at quarterback this year, league average, yeah,

284
00:15:31,080 --> 00:15:33,600
Speaker 2: this is a pretty good football team.

285
00:15:33,880 --> 00:15:35,760
Speaker 1: Very good football team. I mean probably it's a top

286
00:15:35,760 --> 00:15:39,200
Speaker 1: ten team, probably, right, I mean that's what they shouldn't

287
00:15:39,400 --> 00:15:41,040
Speaker 1: lose Watt and Pickings and you know.

288
00:15:41,080 --> 00:15:44,040
Speaker 2: Right, yeah, assuming you'll have a massive amount of injuries.

289
00:15:44,120 --> 00:15:47,160
Speaker 2: But even at that, you know, even if you have

290
00:15:47,240 --> 00:15:52,040
Speaker 2: some injuries, because of what they've done this offseason, they've

291
00:15:52,080 --> 00:15:54,120
Speaker 2: got better depth than any team in their division.

292
00:15:55,120 --> 00:15:55,760
Speaker 1: Without question.

293
00:15:55,960 --> 00:15:58,400
Speaker 2: They might have the best depth in the AFC.

294
00:15:58,680 --> 00:16:01,160
Speaker 1: And they should have the best that's depth and division

295
00:16:01,400 --> 00:16:04,800
Speaker 1: for the foreseeable future. Again, back to quarterback contracts, you know,

296
00:16:04,840 --> 00:16:08,040
Speaker 1: I mean, like that's gonna be the formula for a while.

297
00:16:08,240 --> 00:16:12,240
Speaker 1: Is you know, people competing for starting spots that aren't stars.

298
00:16:12,360 --> 00:16:15,320
Speaker 1: No one's competing with Watton Hayward, obviously, but when you

299
00:16:15,400 --> 00:16:18,440
Speaker 1: lose a water Hayward, it doesn't cripple you either. You know,

300
00:16:18,560 --> 00:16:21,760
Speaker 1: like we can still withstand this. It's not ideal, but

301
00:16:21,840 --> 00:16:23,720
Speaker 1: every team has to deal with it, but we can

302
00:16:23,920 --> 00:16:25,800
Speaker 1: overcome it and still stay competitive.

303
00:16:26,400 --> 00:16:30,400
Speaker 2: Yeah. I just think that there's there's there are surprise

304
00:16:30,520 --> 00:16:35,320
Speaker 2: teams every year, right And though the Miami Dolphins do

305
00:16:35,440 --> 00:16:37,880
Speaker 2: not count as you know, when you when you go

306
00:16:37,920 --> 00:16:39,520
Speaker 2: out and you're paying the kind of money that they're

307
00:16:39,560 --> 00:16:41,520
Speaker 2: paying to a lot of their guys, they don't count

308
00:16:41,600 --> 00:16:42,600
Speaker 2: us it. They're not a sleeper.

309
00:16:43,000 --> 00:16:44,400
Speaker 1: Like the Jets don't count after you.

310
00:16:44,400 --> 00:16:47,320
Speaker 2: The Jets aren't a sleeper. They went. You know, if

311
00:16:47,360 --> 00:16:50,280
Speaker 2: you're if your team's over under win total is like

312
00:16:50,400 --> 00:16:52,840
Speaker 2: nine and a half or ten, you're not a sleeper,

313
00:16:53,280 --> 00:16:56,400
Speaker 2: right right, right, Vegas knows all about you.

314
00:16:57,200 --> 00:16:59,480
Speaker 1: I mean everybody knows about everybody. I mean, the term

315
00:16:59,560 --> 00:17:02,040
Speaker 1: sleeper in general to me rubs me wrong because like

316
00:17:02,080 --> 00:17:04,600
Speaker 1: when I was a kid, Oh that I'm gonna pick

317
00:17:04,640 --> 00:17:07,320
Speaker 1: that sleeper in the fifth round. Well now everybody knows

318
00:17:07,320 --> 00:17:08,920
Speaker 1: those people. There's the internet, you know what I mean.

319
00:17:09,880 --> 00:17:12,680
Speaker 2: But it's like calling this year's Lions a sleeper. Nobody's

320
00:17:12,680 --> 00:17:15,720
Speaker 2: calling the Lions. If the Lions win the NFC North,

321
00:17:15,800 --> 00:17:17,359
Speaker 2: nobody's going to be surprised by that.

322
00:17:18,680 --> 00:17:24,000
Speaker 1: So a side note, who are a who counts in

323
00:17:24,080 --> 00:17:27,000
Speaker 1: the AFC as sleepers like I think the Patriots now do.

324
00:17:27,359 --> 00:17:29,560
Speaker 2: The Patriots are a sleeper. There's no doubt the Steelers

325
00:17:29,560 --> 00:17:35,119
Speaker 2: are a sleeper. And those are two franchises you can't

326
00:17:35,119 --> 00:17:38,760
Speaker 2: call on that. Indianapolis, if it were to somehow win

327
00:17:38,840 --> 00:17:43,560
Speaker 2: the win the South, would be an absolute sleeper. Denver

328
00:17:43,640 --> 00:17:46,560
Speaker 2: counts absolutely. Denver's a year late to the party last year.

329
00:17:46,600 --> 00:17:50,800
Speaker 2: They weren't sleepers, you know, the obviously the Raid. The

330
00:17:50,920 --> 00:17:53,400
Speaker 2: Raiders would be a sleeper if they somehow want you know,

331
00:17:53,600 --> 00:17:57,720
Speaker 2: if they are if your expectations are low, Cleveland is

332
00:17:57,760 --> 00:18:01,000
Speaker 2: somewhat of a sleeper. But they're they always They're always

333
00:18:01,040 --> 00:18:02,360
Speaker 2: a sleeper and they are always asleep.

334
00:18:02,440 --> 00:18:07,320
Speaker 1: That's the yeah, the thing the Raiders Titans Texans and

335
00:18:07,359 --> 00:18:10,600
Speaker 1: said they're too bad to even be a sleeper if

336
00:18:10,600 --> 00:18:13,119
Speaker 1: they were to make the playoffs. Good for them. Wow,

337
00:18:13,200 --> 00:18:16,760
Speaker 1: that's a story. That's coach of the year stuff man

338
00:18:17,400 --> 00:18:22,200
Speaker 1: Will Levis's rookie of the year. You know, those things

339
00:18:22,200 --> 00:18:26,000
Speaker 1: happen in this league. That's absolutely But Denver, the Colts,

340
00:18:26,000 --> 00:18:29,199
Speaker 1: the Steelers, the Pats, and the Browns were on the

341
00:18:29,200 --> 00:18:31,840
Speaker 1: fringe for me because their high profile and to Shawn

342
00:18:32,000 --> 00:18:36,080
Speaker 1: and YadA YadA, if they're a playoff team, they're a sleeper.

343
00:18:36,880 --> 00:18:40,040
Speaker 1: But I'll think the Steelers over all those Oh.

344
00:18:39,920 --> 00:18:44,560
Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, Well that's the other The other part of

345
00:18:44,600 --> 00:18:47,119
Speaker 2: the equation to this matter is that all the teams

346
00:18:47,160 --> 00:18:51,960
Speaker 2: that you just mentioned, a lot of them, the Steelers

347
00:18:52,000 --> 00:18:55,399
Speaker 2: play this year and they don't and they don't play

348
00:18:55,440 --> 00:18:58,480
Speaker 2: the teams that you consider the non sleepers.

349
00:18:59,720 --> 00:19:02,720
Speaker 1: Yeah, high wind totals and right, no, they should be

350
00:19:02,760 --> 00:19:04,200
Speaker 1: favored in a lot of games.

351
00:19:04,800 --> 00:19:07,680
Speaker 2: So I don't know, it just struck me as odd

352
00:19:07,720 --> 00:19:09,600
Speaker 2: that you know, you're going to talk about sleepers in

353
00:19:09,640 --> 00:19:10,960
Speaker 2: the a f C and you're going to say the

354
00:19:10,960 --> 00:19:14,240
Speaker 2: Miami Dolphins or sorry, Boomer, get your head out of

355
00:19:14,240 --> 00:19:17,680
Speaker 2: New York for about five seconds. Yeah, you know.

356
00:19:17,880 --> 00:19:21,320
Speaker 1: You're trading for Aaron Rodgers and Jalen Ramsey and Bradley Chubb,

357
00:19:21,400 --> 00:19:22,200
Speaker 1: and you know.

358
00:19:22,640 --> 00:19:25,680
Speaker 2: You're not a sleeper. Yeah right, you're not a sleeper

359
00:19:25,840 --> 00:19:26,359
Speaker 2: at that point.

360
00:19:26,440 --> 00:19:30,720
Speaker 1: Expectation, it's it's more again, these are all expectations and

361
00:19:30,800 --> 00:19:34,040
Speaker 1: every owner is different. But if you're Miami's owner now

362
00:19:34,240 --> 00:19:36,200
Speaker 1: or the Jets owner and you don't make the.

363
00:19:36,160 --> 00:19:40,880
Speaker 2: Play playoffs, are bust? Exactly with what I've spent Are

364
00:19:40,880 --> 00:19:41,359
Speaker 2: you kidding?

365
00:19:41,400 --> 00:19:44,760
Speaker 1: Me right, right, Giants making the playoffs last year, Wow,

366
00:19:44,800 --> 00:19:45,679
Speaker 1: we're ahead of schedule.

367
00:19:45,680 --> 00:19:46,080
Speaker 2: Way to go.

368
00:19:46,720 --> 00:19:48,480
Speaker 1: Jets not making the playoffs this year?

369
00:19:49,520 --> 00:19:51,879
Speaker 2: What are we doing here, Fellows? Yeah, hey, we should

370
00:19:51,880 --> 00:19:54,720
Speaker 2: we blow it up? You know, Right, That's that's where

371
00:19:54,720 --> 00:19:57,000
Speaker 2: you're at with those with those teams. So no, it's

372
00:19:58,000 --> 00:20:01,560
Speaker 2: and I get it, you know, I just don't think

373
00:20:01,640 --> 00:20:05,280
Speaker 2: enough people are talking about the Steelers after the offseason

374
00:20:05,359 --> 00:20:08,080
Speaker 2: that they had in free agency and after what they

375
00:20:08,080 --> 00:20:11,680
Speaker 2: did in the draft, like you can't do as well

376
00:20:11,720 --> 00:20:15,159
Speaker 2: as And this isn't just us saying this, this is universal. Oh,

377
00:20:15,200 --> 00:20:17,280
Speaker 2: the Steelers really did well in free agency. Oh, the

378
00:20:17,280 --> 00:20:19,840
Speaker 2: Steelers really did well in the draft, and they were

379
00:20:19,840 --> 00:20:23,280
Speaker 2: a nine win team last year, right, but they're somehow

380
00:20:23,320 --> 00:20:25,040
Speaker 2: going to win fewer games this year.

381
00:20:25,640 --> 00:20:29,920
Speaker 1: And rookie quarterback struggle. I mean, I know there's people

382
00:20:29,960 --> 00:20:32,679
Speaker 1: with have mixed opinions on Picket out there. Everyone's entitled

383
00:20:32,720 --> 00:20:35,479
Speaker 1: to them. I mean, I've heard people say Steelers might

384
00:20:35,480 --> 00:20:37,040
Speaker 1: be in a quarterback market a year from now, or

385
00:20:37,040 --> 00:20:39,159
Speaker 1: people saying I think Picket's gonna be a star. Of

386
00:20:39,160 --> 00:20:42,439
Speaker 1: course all vary. I bet he's better this year than

387
00:20:42,480 --> 00:20:42,920
Speaker 1: last year.

388
00:20:43,880 --> 00:20:45,639
Speaker 2: Yeah, no, no doubt about it in.

389
00:20:45,720 --> 00:20:47,320
Speaker 1: Your quarterback he knows what things all about.

390
00:20:47,600 --> 00:20:49,600
Speaker 2: Well, we'll talk about that in the next segment. Matt,

391
00:20:49,880 --> 00:20:52,280
Speaker 2: he is Matt Williamson. I am Dale Lulie. You're listening

392
00:20:52,359 --> 00:20:55,880
Speaker 2: to the Drive here on Steelers Nation Radio. Hey, Matt,

393
00:20:55,920 --> 00:20:58,160
Speaker 2: did you know you can listen to Steelers Nation Radio

394
00:20:58,200 --> 00:21:01,320
Speaker 2: anytime anywhere through your smart speaker. Just say Alexa, play

395
00:21:01,359 --> 00:21:04,520
Speaker 2: Steelers Nation Radio from my heart and Alexa will take

396
00:21:04,560 --> 00:21:06,399
Speaker 2: care of the rest. We're gonna talk about some of

397
00:21:06,400 --> 00:21:09,520
Speaker 2: those expectations for Kenny Pickett and Nausea Harris and some

398
00:21:09,560 --> 00:21:12,480
Speaker 2: of those guys on that offense. We come back on

399
00:21:12,600 --> 00:21:13,840
Speaker 2: the Drive right after this