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Speaker 1: Joe. First things, first, congratulations on the new contract. Thank you.

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Speaker 1: Does it feel completely normal to say that you're a

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Speaker 1: Pittsburgh Steeler going back that it wasn't too long you

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Speaker 1: were drafted by the Browns and played for them for

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Speaker 1: so many years. Yeah. I think after last season, I

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Speaker 1: felt like I was a part of the Stillers organization,

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Speaker 1: felt like I was part of the family. Um. Very

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Speaker 1: comfortable where my family is comfortable here now. So I

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Speaker 1: think after last season kind of felt like a stealer

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Speaker 1: Week one heading to New England. They're going to raise

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Speaker 1: some banners, you know, with that environment's lake up there.

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Speaker 1: Is that a good or bad thing that you're going

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Speaker 1: into such a high pressure situation. Um, I think it's

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Speaker 1: a good thing. You know, no matter what happens. We've

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Speaker 1: got sixteen games, this is just one of the six team.

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Speaker 1: But I think just with the rivalry, UM, we look

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Speaker 1: forward to plan against New England. Tom Brady Grant quarterback,

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Speaker 1: so you know, we know what that comes along with.

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Speaker 1: So I think it's a good thing for our team

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Speaker 1: to just coming out of training camp, coming out of

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Speaker 1: preseason like ready for the season and then knowing we're

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Speaker 1: going against not a division opponent, but an opponent that

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Speaker 1: we always faced in the playoffs or as a tough

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Speaker 1: team to beat. All Right, we're talking about New England,

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Speaker 1: so I have to have to pull this out. When

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Speaker 1: you look at that, what's the first thing that comes

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Speaker 1: to your mind? Um, what my favorite place since I've

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Speaker 1: been in the NFL. I'm sucking the goals. He's gonna

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Speaker 1: throw the falls as an air sideline. That's going to be.

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Speaker 1: It's a lot of high pressure games. You play a

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Speaker 1: lot of night, you play a lot on the big stage.

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Speaker 1: Every game means something. Um, and we were trying to

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Speaker 1: make that playoff push. So uh, this is just something

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Speaker 1: I was finally happy I was able to make a

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Speaker 1: play for the team, and especially being against New England.

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Speaker 1: Do you look at that often to maybe remember that

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Speaker 1: moment since it was your favorite plays? You're saying, yes,

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Speaker 1: I do. I think I posted this picture about three

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Speaker 1: times on on Instagram, But I do. I do really

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Speaker 1: like it, And uh, I mean I think this is

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Speaker 1: what made me more of a stealer too at that moment.

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Speaker 1: Being at Hinesfield. Steve Nelson is new to the Steelers,

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Speaker 1: not new to playing the Patriots, faced them twice last year.

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Speaker 1: Does he add anything or can he share anything with

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Speaker 1: you guys that maybe you don't already know about them? Um,

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Speaker 1: I think not not as much as film study. I

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Speaker 1: think more of just him being out there, has his

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Speaker 1: practice presence. He practices very very hard, and I love

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Speaker 1: that he brought that to our room. In terms of

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Speaker 1: the Steelers defense, you have said it pretty much everybody

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Speaker 1: has said, you guys want to play fast and you

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Speaker 1: want to play physical. Now, besides adding some key players

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Speaker 1: who are fast and physical, how do you go about

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Speaker 1: doing that as a unit? Uh? You know, it starts

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Speaker 1: on practice. Like we said, we've been doing fast and physical.

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Speaker 1: We coach team makes his tackle all the time in

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Speaker 1: training camp, so that was something that we could tell.

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Speaker 1: In the early pie season games we were hitting people

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Speaker 1: a lot. So I'm just bringing that physicality, ball searching,

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Speaker 1: trying to punch out the ball, and then any opportunities

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Speaker 1: we have in practice that we drop picks or anything

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Speaker 1: we have a chance, Um, we're doing push ups finding people.

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Speaker 1: So just making sure that we know that that's something

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Speaker 1: that you have to you have to do. Are you

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Speaker 1: already seen without playing a regular season game, seeing a

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Speaker 1: difference from last year to this year. Yes, on the

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Speaker 1: defensive side, everybody's just running to the ball. Um. Coaches

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Speaker 1: are speaking the same language, players speaking the same language.

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Speaker 1: I don't think it's gonna be too many miscommunication errors. Uh.

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Speaker 1: So I think we're we're looking really good. If you

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Speaker 1: got to pick one player on defense not named Joe

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Speaker 1: Hayden in your opinion, who is poised to have a

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Speaker 1: really big year, uh T J j W. He's just

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Speaker 1: he's just been getting better and better. He his rookie

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Speaker 1: season was my first year here, and I've seen nothing

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Speaker 1: but professionalism. He's in the treats the game just like

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Speaker 1: a pro. Uh, he's like a girl man. So I

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Speaker 1: think just him his work ethic, the way that he

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Speaker 1: studies tape, and just the way it goes by this business. Um,

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Speaker 1: I would think he's eight years in you know what

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Speaker 1: I'm saying. Away, he just carried himself in place and practices. So, um,

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Speaker 1: he's just been doing the same things he's been doing.

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Speaker 1: But I could just tell he's just a little more

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Speaker 1: locked in and just wants to make a big difference. Lastly,

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Speaker 1: I wanted to ask you, and he wasn't your position coach,

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Speaker 1: but coach Drake met so much to everybody on the

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Speaker 1: Steelers team. Do you have a memory of him or

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Speaker 1: something that maybe you shared with him? Um, I just

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Speaker 1: my coach Drake. He was just a real dude. Man.

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Speaker 1: He was just a real guy. Um. He could connect

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Speaker 1: with everybody, and then I just know for me, Um,

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Speaker 1: we didn't We talked quite often, but every time I

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Speaker 1: went out to the practice field, he always say, Joe,

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Speaker 1: you're a bad mother, and I'd be like, that's just

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Speaker 1: my thing. He will always say to me every time

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Speaker 1: we saw him be So I'm gonna remember that, all right, Joe,

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Speaker 1: Thank you so much. Thank you