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Speaker 1: Your tunes about Drive on Home of the Black and

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Speaker 1: Goal Steelers Nation Radio. M Welcome back. I am Dale Lally.

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Speaker 1: He is Matt Williamson, and this is the Drive on

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Speaker 1: Steelers Nation Radio. And the Steelers will play a football

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Speaker 1: game on Saturday. And it's kind of a meaningful football

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Speaker 1: game for the Steelers. I know there's a you know,

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Speaker 1: some people think that they're absolutely can't they're done, they

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Speaker 1: can't do anything. Uh this season. Uh, they are still

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Speaker 1: mathematically alive for a playoff spot. Um, as are the Raiders.

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Speaker 1: This is kind of making this kind of an elimination game. Man. Yeah,

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Speaker 1: I mean I think it's it is an elimination game.

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Speaker 1: I mean I think both these teams to have any

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Speaker 1: hope need to sweep you know, the their their remaining

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Speaker 1: schedule and probably get help. I don't know, I thought

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Speaker 1: of my head with the Raiders conference schedule was and tiebreakers,

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Speaker 1: but I know the Steelers is not favorable obviously, so

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Speaker 1: um but you're building for tomorrow and you know these things.

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Speaker 1: I don't think either one those teams will end up

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Speaker 1: in the playoffs, especially in this conference. Would be nice

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Speaker 1: if there in the NFC, But it doesn't mean it's

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Speaker 1: not important. And you know, Kenny Pickett's gonna come back

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Speaker 1: and get all the experience he can get. Primetime game

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Speaker 1: on Christmas Eve with everyone in the world watching. I mean,

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Speaker 1: it's gonna be great. Yeah, Pickett expected to return. Here's

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Speaker 1: what the Raiders have left. How about the end of

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Speaker 1: their schedule at the Steelers for this game? Next week?

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Speaker 1: They host San Francisco on New Year's Day, and then

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Speaker 1: they finish up post in Kansas City. Oh. Ouch, it

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Speaker 1: might not go all that great for the squad. They

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Speaker 1: got some injuries now to the line. I mean, so yeah,

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Speaker 1: it could be a rough ending, and I wonder. I mean,

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Speaker 1: it's been a lot of speculation about what cars future

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Speaker 1: is in Vegas, you know. I mean it's Josh McDaniels

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Speaker 1: didn't hand pick them. You could end up with early

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Speaker 1: picks and go get your own quarterback. You could get

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Speaker 1: something pretty nice in return for him. Is that still

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Speaker 1: a decision to be made if he lights it up

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Speaker 1: this last three or four weeks, did they stick with

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Speaker 1: them or they plan on moving on like that? That?

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Speaker 1: That's they're just in a lot different spot than the

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Speaker 1: Steelers are. Like, I think we can all envision the

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Speaker 1: direction the Steelers are going we don't know what names

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Speaker 1: they're going to add to the team, but they're gonna

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Speaker 1: add to it, and they're gonna keep most of what

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Speaker 1: they have. Or the Raiders when all in this year,

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Speaker 1: which was a risky move, like, you know, they could

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Speaker 1: have not gone traded for Davante Adams. Maybe they could

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Speaker 1: have traded car this offseason and started to rebuild. But

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Speaker 1: they pushed their chips in the middle and what looked

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Speaker 1: like a brutal division and they didn't win the hand. Yeah,

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Speaker 1: they didn't start well, right, a brutal Yeah, that just

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Speaker 1: killed him. If you look at the top five records

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Speaker 1: in the a f C since Week ten, you got

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Speaker 1: Cincinnati at five and oh, you got Buffalo at five

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Speaker 1: and one, you got Kansas City at five and one,

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Speaker 1: and then you've got the Raiders and the Steelers at

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Speaker 1: both four and two. Yeah, right, all right. I said

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Speaker 1: the Raiders have won four of the last five, you know, maybe, Yeah,

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Speaker 1: they were two and seven at one point, the Steelers

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Speaker 1: were two and six. So both of these teams kind

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Speaker 1: of playing their best football right now. Yeah, And I

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Speaker 1: I think the Raiders getting Waller and renfro back could

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Speaker 1: help as well. You know, they they were, they were

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Speaker 1: winning four their last five, but it was all Jacobs

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Speaker 1: and Allen and on offense, and they really needed something

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Speaker 1: else to complement those guys. I mean, it's a little

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Speaker 1: remarkable how much they ask of those two this year.

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Speaker 1: But they're both phenomenal players and that's gone a long way. Um,

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Speaker 1: you know, the the defense. I expected this defense to

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Speaker 1: be like the worst in the league. I mean they

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Speaker 1: have their warts, don't get me wrong, but it's not

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Speaker 1: as bad as I expected. Yeah. But the one thing

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Speaker 1: I sent you the emails today, they're they're like in

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Speaker 1: red zone defense and they're thirty second when you get

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Speaker 1: inside to ten you score a touchdown against the readers. Yeah. Absolutely,

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Speaker 1: And I think we were talking about this yesterday. I

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Speaker 1: was like, looking at E. P. A. They're really high

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Speaker 1: and run they're good, and run defense really bad and

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Speaker 1: past defense, but it's a bit of an illusion because

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Speaker 1: they're just kind of stuck playing run stuffers because they

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Speaker 1: don't have the linebackers and d tackles that are impact players.

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Speaker 1: You know, you're right though, I'm saying they just pulled

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Speaker 1: up their schedule. I mean, only one win in their

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Speaker 1: first nine games and they're they beat Denver two wins.

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Speaker 1: I'm sorry. They beat Denver at home and they beat

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Speaker 1: you they Denver in Houston. Actually, if you look at

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Speaker 1: all of their wins, um, there's not a Denver, Houston Chargers, Patriots, Jags.

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Speaker 1: Yeah that's preseason. Sorry, No, you're right, that's not that impressive.

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Speaker 1: They beat in Denver twice, they beat Houston, they beat Seattle,

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Speaker 1: which I guess is okay, they did beat the Chargers,

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Speaker 1: but that was a decent one. Yeah, but that was

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Speaker 1: without either receiver, if I remember correctly, I think both

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Speaker 1: Oh yeah, it definitely was. Williams and Allen were out.

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Speaker 1: And then they just beat the Patriots on the most

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Speaker 1: flukey of fluke plays that you ever see in the

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Speaker 1: history of the game. And in between the Chargers and Raiders,

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Speaker 1: they lost to Baker Mayfield on Thursday night. Correct Yeah.

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Speaker 1: So yeah, so won four or five. They got shut

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Speaker 1: out by New Orleans. Yeah, there's a couple of low moments.

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Speaker 1: I mean, there's some really bad moments for this team.

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Speaker 1: Just that's that's kind of the And they've blown They've

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Speaker 1: blown four leads of ten or more points in the

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Speaker 1: fourth quarter this year. That's what's about to say too,

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Speaker 1: is they They've lost a lot of close games, but

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Speaker 1: a lot of those games they were winning and controlling

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Speaker 1: until the fourth quarter. I mean some of the fourth

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Speaker 1: quarter numbers are really bad. They're the anti Giants and

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Speaker 1: and Vikings who happened to play this week? Yeah right,

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Speaker 1: the one score champs and these guys are not. And

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Speaker 1: I used to think, I'll be honest, there was a

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Speaker 1: about two months of the season I thought Josh McDaniels

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Speaker 1: might be one of these coaches, one of the coordinators.

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Speaker 1: It's masquerading as a head coach. I think he's figuring

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Speaker 1: it out more. And that they just don't have a

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Speaker 1: lot of good players. I mean, the the Gruden regime,

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Speaker 1: if you look at their drafts is so bad. I

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Speaker 1: mean all the first round picks they got for a

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Speaker 1: Mariti Cooper and Khalil Mack. I mean, Jacobs is like

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Speaker 1: the only one that's still around. Yeah. Um, here's something

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Speaker 1: that's interesting. Derek Carr and his career against the Steelers

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Speaker 1: has been pretty good. It's only three in three starts,

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Speaker 1: He's averaged three and thirty five passing yards. He's got

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Speaker 1: an eight touchdown to one interception ratio, A passer rating

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Speaker 1: of one thirteen point nine. That's the best quarterback against

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Speaker 1: the Steelers since nineteen seventy. That's better than Tom Brad

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Speaker 1: tom Brady's passer rating against the Steelers. Wow, I didn't

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Speaker 1: know that. That's impressive. He's a good player. I mean,

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Speaker 1: I think he gets lumped in with the Tannehills of

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Speaker 1: the world and the Cousins of the world. I think

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Speaker 1: he's substantially better than that. He's just not the borrow

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Speaker 1: Herbert Lamar level. You know here, might this might be

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Speaker 1: why Matt car is one in seven in road prime

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Speaker 1: time games in his career. Okay, that that smells a

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Speaker 1: little like Kirk Cousins. Huh, that's yeah, it's the worst.

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Speaker 1: Is second worst road prime time record by a quarterback

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Speaker 1: since two thousand with the minimum of eight starts. Andy

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Speaker 1: Dalton has one in fourteen in such games. Oh, by

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Speaker 1: the way, By the way, so in road prime time games,

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Speaker 1: Derek carrs one and seven, He's completed just under his passes.

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Speaker 1: He averages a hundred and seventy seven point five passing

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Speaker 1: yards with the seven touchdown to eight interception ratio. Brutal. Yeah,

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Speaker 1: I mean Cousins, Dalton level. I mean, I think you're right.

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Speaker 1: I mean, until you can start winning big games, playoff games,

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Speaker 1: primetime games on the road, things like that that are

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Speaker 1: not only a difficult situation as every game is, but

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Speaker 1: has something on top of it, a brighter spotlight, more meaning,

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Speaker 1: more eyes on you, you know, night game whatever. It's

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Speaker 1: hard to be in that first or second theory, quarterbacks,

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Speaker 1: it really is. Um. The Steelers also have you know,

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Speaker 1: they've they've kind of gone through this resurgence since they

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Speaker 1: got t J. What back. Now have seven games for

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Speaker 1: the Steelers this season without what? In seven games with what? Mhm,

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Speaker 1: the contrast is pretty stark. Oh, I mean, so with

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Speaker 1: what they're five and two without him? They were one

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Speaker 1: in six with what? Eighteen point nine points per game

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Speaker 1: without what? Point three points per game, total yards per

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Speaker 1: game with what? Three oh five point seven without what?

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Speaker 1: Point nine? And he doesn't play offense, but he sure

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Speaker 1: helps the whole team play the offense. They want. Sacks

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Speaker 1: with what? In seven games they have twenty one sacks

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Speaker 1: without what? In seven Three of those games the teams

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Speaker 1: they played ever throw the ball, never threw the ball

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Speaker 1: right without what. The seven games they played without what,

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Speaker 1: eight sacks Yeah, takeaways seven games with what they have,

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Speaker 1: twelve takeaways, seven games without what they had five. Wow.

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Speaker 1: I mean, it's it's could it be that simple? I mean,

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Speaker 1: because he wasn't even playing great up until maybe last week,

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Speaker 1: you know, but he did change blocking schemes and preparation

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Speaker 1: and all those things. And then there's things you can

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Speaker 1: put a you know, the aren't as obvious as those

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Speaker 1: even like what's their blitz percentage with him without him?

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Speaker 1: What's there too? High shells they can play because he's

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Speaker 1: in there, or you know, all the runs that would

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Speaker 1: have gone for games to the offenses right side that

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Speaker 1: didn't because of him, or three holding penalties he drew,

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Speaker 1: or things like that too. That if you really break

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Speaker 1: down every play, that's it is. It is amazing. It's

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Speaker 1: a little alarming that it's that stark though, to be

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Speaker 1: honest with you, I mean, just because he hasn't been

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Speaker 1: the defensive m v P type of guy for many

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Speaker 1: of those games. Yeah, but I just think the presence

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Speaker 1: that he brings the it's just it's it's just it's amazing.

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Speaker 1: And you know, um, you do have to account for

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Speaker 1: that guy, you absolutely do, absolutely, and I expect him

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Speaker 1: to look like t J in this game against suspect

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Speaker 1: right tackles. I don't even care who the right tackles.

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Speaker 1: This is the game last year, if you remember, I

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Speaker 1: mean he if t J, if if who's the offensive tackle?

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Speaker 1: Um that we from Alabama we hated Leatherwood, Yeah, Leatherwood.

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Speaker 1: If Leatherwood stays in that game, t J. Watt gets

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Speaker 1: like six saction, Yeah, there's no doubt. I remember I

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Speaker 1: was talking about it Monday or whatever, Like you think

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Speaker 1: he really got quote hurt or did his pride just

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Speaker 1: get hurt because they already had like he's already given

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Speaker 1: up a sack and had two holding penalties and like

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Speaker 1: the first six minutes of the game there was total contest.

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Speaker 1: It was gonna be ugly. So um yeah, I just uh,

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Speaker 1: you know, this Steelers pass rush, I think really has

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Speaker 1: to affect this game, and they really they really have

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Speaker 1: to get there with four and I would imagine that's

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Speaker 1: the plan against these guys, especially with what looks like

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Speaker 1: a healthier and spryer Watt. Highsmith has a tough, tough

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Speaker 1: matchup against Miller. And even if those guards do play,

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Speaker 1: I expect the defensive tackles Ogan Joby and especially Cam

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Speaker 1: to really push the pocket, and you know, Cars is

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Speaker 1: not going to really leave the pocket or be super creative,

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Speaker 1: you know, spinning around, run around like easy person. You know,

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Speaker 1: So interior pass rush will go a long way. But

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Speaker 1: if Watt's beaten double teams on the right side, I mean,

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Speaker 1: you know, yeah, it's they're gonna be in for a

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Speaker 1: long day if they have to start leaving. As good

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Speaker 1: as Colton Miller is um and he's probably what a

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Speaker 1: top tennis left tackle in the week, yeah, I mean,

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Speaker 1: it seems like it's his best year and he's getting better,

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Speaker 1: but he's not a superstar. If you're one on one

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Speaker 1: for you know, thirty five pass rushes, you're going to

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Speaker 1: give up some pressures and and maybe a sack in that.

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Speaker 1: You know, Oh yeah, I can who you are, and

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Speaker 1: you gotta know you do your predictions pre game. Highsmith

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Speaker 1: sack is a pretty safe one. I mean any week,

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Speaker 1: let alone a situation like this where if he gets

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Speaker 1: thirty five pass rush opportunities and only has to really

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Speaker 1: truly win one of them, I mean, I I love

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Speaker 1: his chances of getting Car in the ground in this game. Yeah,

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Speaker 1: I do think that they'll pressure Car they'll they'll get him,

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Speaker 1: they'll get him on the ground. And to your point,

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Speaker 1: I think a lot of that pressure might come up

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Speaker 1: the middle and get him a couple of times, and

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Speaker 1: that could lead to some stuff too. Uh. You know,

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Speaker 1: Higsmith has been really good this year and uh, really

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Speaker 1: good this year, very impactful. I don't know if you

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Speaker 1: saw the most recent chart that came out in terms

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Speaker 1: it has the number of sacks versus number of pressures.

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Speaker 1: He's one of the guys in the upper right hand corner. Yeah,

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Speaker 1: you know, he's he's kind of reached that status where

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Speaker 1: he's a really good pass rusher and he showed that

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Speaker 1: when t J wasn't in there and people were rolling

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Speaker 1: protections his way. And I don't think it's flukey at all.

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Speaker 1: I think he's a small school guy that kept getting

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Speaker 1: better and better and better and better, had really good traits,

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Speaker 1: heck of a draft pick. A lot of work ethic

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Speaker 1: and technique work by him as well that I think

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Speaker 1: they'll keep him long term. I mean, I know we're

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Speaker 1: not talking contracts and stuff now, but I think you

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Speaker 1: have to start going down that road, like, well, what's

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Speaker 1: he gonna cost us? Because he's very important, especially if

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Speaker 1: what's going to continue to miss a game here and

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Speaker 1: there more than you'd like. Yeah, for sure. Um. On

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Speaker 1: the other side of this, Uh, I mentioned yesterday the

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Speaker 1: Raiders defense against running backs. UM. I was thinking about

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Speaker 1: that a lot. I mean, I really think that's a

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Speaker 1: great way to attack these guys. Yeah, just uh one

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Speaker 1: of I think you know, if the if the Steelers

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Speaker 1: backs don't catch at least six passes in this game, UM,

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Speaker 1: I'll be shocked. I think you've got to find ways

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Speaker 1: to get them out in space. Uh, and let them

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Speaker 1: do some things. I really like Jill and Warren when

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Speaker 1: they get him out in space like that, he burst

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Speaker 1: and can kind of get lost in the shuffle. He's

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Speaker 1: He's done some nice things in the passing game this year.

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Speaker 1: But I would work non g Harris into the into

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Speaker 1: the passing game as well. And I know that hasn't

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Speaker 1: been a huge emphasis thus far this year, but I

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Speaker 1: would make it so in this game. Yeah. I've been

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Speaker 1: kind of pleading for that for a while that I

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Speaker 1: think that we're just kind scratching the surface of what

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Speaker 1: Nauzy can be as a receiver. This would be a

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Speaker 1: perfect game to exploit that, especially if you're struggling with

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Speaker 1: protection with Crosby, and you know you don't want to

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Speaker 1: throw in bombs left and right. You just want to

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Speaker 1: get it that quick with chains. Um. But I was

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Speaker 1: thinking about this too, is you know a lot of

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Speaker 1: priestsnap motion helps you determine man verse zo and if

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Speaker 1: you can get pretty strong indicators that you're getting man,

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Speaker 1: I'd like to see some of those Warren wheel routes

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Speaker 1: that we saw in camp, you know, just getting him

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Speaker 1: streaking down the sideline against Perryman or one of those

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Speaker 1: kind of dumpy, slow linebackers. I mean you make you

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Speaker 1: may create some big stuff there too. Yeah. Absolutely, especially

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Speaker 1: you know you you clear out that zone or that

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Speaker 1: man area and all of a sudden he's down there,

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Speaker 1: one on one with nobody behind him. You can make

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Speaker 1: some things happen against this team in particular. Um. You know,

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Speaker 1: so I think it's gonna be a fascinating game. Um.

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Speaker 1: You know, there's obviously there's going to be a lot

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Speaker 1: of stuff that that's happening around the game term emotional game,

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Speaker 1: emotion game and Mike Tomlin, uh, you know, driving that

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Speaker 1: point Oman, He was asked today, if you know, can

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Speaker 1: this be an emotional lift for your team this weekend,

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Speaker 1: or motivating factors, like we're professionals, we don't need a

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Speaker 1: motivating factor to play the game. But they're also humans.

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Speaker 1: But you're also human, And I'm going to go out

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Speaker 1: and win this game for the memory of Franco Harris.

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Speaker 1: You don't want to, you don't wanna say, oh, yeah,

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Speaker 1: the Steelers honored Franco Harris, but they lost the game.

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Speaker 1: Then Josh Jacobs ran all over him for two or

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Speaker 1: twenty five yards and couldn't stop the run and got

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Speaker 1: pushed around, Like that's not how That's not to how

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Speaker 1: you what you want to show the country. No, absolutely not.

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Speaker 1: And you know, as we saw last week, the Steelers defense,

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Speaker 1: uh when properly when when ticked off kid, pretty nasty, absolutely,

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Speaker 1: and I would expect more of that. I think that's

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Speaker 1: this whole season is going to end up with, not

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Speaker 1: Franco emotions so much, but as you know, an emotional,

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Speaker 1: charged up, aggressive defense, attacking blockers, attacking gaps, you know,

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Speaker 1: not sitting back absorbing double teams in the run game,

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Speaker 1: taking the fight to the the opponent. And I'm sure

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Speaker 1: it's been stressed within the building like crazy, Yeah, without doubt,

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Speaker 1: you know, because you do have a game coming up

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Speaker 1: against the Ravens next week. Again that that actually these

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Speaker 1: last two games give you an opportunity to, you know,

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Speaker 1: properly assessed that going into the off season. Are we

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Speaker 1: physical enough? Right? Right? You see Devin Dubernet out for

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Speaker 1: the season for the Ravens. Cday, Yeah, picked up Sammy

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Speaker 1: Watkins like her. Yeah, they're in bad shape. That passing

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Speaker 1: game is a disaster. How long before Sammy gets hurt? Yeah? Yeah,

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Speaker 1: I hope Paul Hamstring getting off the bus and even

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Speaker 1: Deshan Jackson will be in a race two gets hurt first.

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Speaker 1: I think they're in a really bad spot. They're in

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Speaker 1: a bit of trouble here. But um so that interested

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Speaker 1: to watch this Raiders game, interested to see finished the season?

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Speaker 1: Um yes, it's probably not going to end in a playoff.

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Speaker 1: I mean they they need all kinds of things, crazy

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Speaker 1: stuff to happen. But again, as we've been saying for

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Speaker 1: weeks now, just finished strong users as a jumping off

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Speaker 1: point for the three season and get your quarterback as

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Speaker 1: much experience as possible and see where that goes. Yeah,

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Speaker 1: I mean you can't forget they started two in six

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Speaker 1: If you could get the eight and nine and you

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Speaker 1: know all some of our advanced numbers were talking about

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Speaker 1: I mean, E p A. Since the buy is super high,

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Speaker 1: all the any metric you want to use. They're playing

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Speaker 1: like a top ten to twelve type of team. That's

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Speaker 1: exactly what you want to do around a you know,

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Speaker 1: a rookie quarterback soon to be second your quarterback as

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Speaker 1: you go to get into the off season. I mean

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Speaker 1: I could see a lot of momentum with this team

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Speaker 1: when the off season rolls around. Yep uh. Subscribe to

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Speaker 1: the Mike Tomlin Game Day podcast. Steelers Digest editor Bob

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Speaker 1: Labriola talks to Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin about the

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Speaker 1: upcoming game. New episodes dropped every game day. They're available

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Speaker 1: on the Steelers Mobile app, the I Heart Radio app,

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Speaker 1: and wherever you get your podcast. He is Matt Williamson.

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Speaker 1: I am Dale, Lala. You're listening to the drive here

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Speaker 1: on Steelers Nation Radio. We're gonna take a break. When

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Speaker 1: we come back, it's time for the Fantasy Football Focus.

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Speaker 1: Well we'll do that right after this