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Speaker 3: Roll along here on this Tuesday as we're heading into
Speaker 3: the evening. It is the Drive Bonus Hour coming up
Speaker 3: in about twenty minutes. Get those tweets in if you
Speaker 3: want to get involved. You know we'll hit those to
Speaker 3: start the five o'clock hour as always, but to close
Speaker 3: things down here in the four o'clock hour, we are
Speaker 3: joined by an old friend, a familiar voice. If you
Speaker 3: are a if you are a Steelers junkie, like all
Speaker 3: of us are here, you have certainly familiar with the
Speaker 3: work of Chris Carter. The Pittsburgh Post Gazette locked on Steelers. Chris,
Speaker 3: thank you for taking the time to join us here
Speaker 3: and what has been a different training camp, certainly than
Speaker 3: what we were used to the last few years.
Speaker 4: Thanks for having me, and yeah, it's been very different.
Speaker 4: It's been fun to learn that what is different and
Speaker 4: to adapt to it and explain it to fans. A
Speaker 4: lot of fans, you know, shout out to all the
Speaker 4: Steelers fans that travel to La Trobe and get to
Speaker 4: in one experience and run into a bunch of them
Speaker 4: at Sharkys and they're they're big fans of all the work,
Speaker 4: especially people here at SNR. But it's been really interesting
Speaker 4: to see and then also discussed with people, even like
Speaker 4: some alumni that come through. I got to talk to
Speaker 4: Brian McFadden, who you know, he was part of the
Speaker 4: Cower and Tomlin years and he was just like, this
Speaker 4: is so different. He was like, I just got done
Speaker 4: covering the rams and this is different from how they
Speaker 4: do it, but certainly fun to learn how McCarthy wants
Speaker 4: to set things up this year.
Speaker 5: Chris, what have you noticed from coach McCarthy in terms
Speaker 5: of his dealing the hands on this with the quarterbacks
Speaker 5: and the two young pups. What kind of impressions do
Speaker 5: you have of them so far? Good? Bad, ugly over
Speaker 5: their head you know, talent, What do you think? Well,
Speaker 5: I'll start with McCarthy.
Speaker 4: Yeah, I really like the way that he kind of
Speaker 4: breaks down details and he seems to have a plan
Speaker 4: for like, hey, the overall project that we are here
Speaker 4: to try to teach quarterbacking and making good decisions and
Speaker 4: fixing fundamentals. It is a step by step process that
Speaker 4: he has mapped out and adapted over decades of coaching,
Speaker 4: and that I have appreciated hearing it from it. And
Speaker 4: like I got to talk to Will Howard, I think
Speaker 4: it was yesterday and when I was asking him about it,
Speaker 4: and I asked him, like, you know, how does how
Speaker 4: does it compare not just learning how to take the
Speaker 4: right steps and you have the right arm motions, but
Speaker 4: combine that with how do you.
Speaker 5: Process a defense? Where does your head here? Where does
Speaker 5: your head go there? You know? How do you know?
Speaker 5: How do you use your eyes as part of that?
Speaker 4: And he you know, kind I was able to break
Speaker 4: it down, and I've I've seen We've seen plenty of
Speaker 4: quarterbacks come through here. I've talked to plenty of quarterbacks
Speaker 4: around the NFL and college football. And sometimes that's the
Speaker 4: easiest thing to get lost in is all the different
Speaker 4: things you have to learn all at once, and that
Speaker 4: just throws you up in the air, and then you
Speaker 4: make so many mistakes. Then you can't fix problems because
Speaker 4: you can't isolate what's wrong. I think Mike McCarthy is
Speaker 4: doing a good job isolating what they need to work
Speaker 4: on now. As far as how they performed, I've been
Speaker 4: encouraged by I think some of the things that I've
Speaker 4: been able to see, but I also think they both
Speaker 4: have a long way to go. I think that Drew Aller,
Speaker 4: there are there are the moments that get shared on
Speaker 4: Twitter where man, look at that past, he's ready.
Speaker 5: But there's other moments where you're just like ah, you know,
Speaker 5: like okay, we see why he was a third round pick.
Speaker 4: Rookie and you're waiting to see and he's probably just
Speaker 4: gonna be third on the depth chart this year. As
Speaker 4: far as Will Howard, I think Will Howard he I'm
Speaker 4: intrigued to see, is can Will Howard be a gamer?
Speaker 4: Because you know that's something that when when I cover
Speaker 4: Pitt I talked to paton Ardus. He talked about certain
Speaker 4: guys that are gamers. They may not practice the best
Speaker 4: all the time, but when the lights turn on, they played,
Speaker 4: they step up. And I think Will Howard He's had
Speaker 4: some rough moments in camp, He's had some good moments
Speaker 4: in camp, but I want to see when the lights
Speaker 4: turn on, will he be that guy that steps so
Speaker 4: because that's what he did for Ohio State. You know,
Speaker 4: he wasn't one of their best players, but there were
Speaker 4: several times and the game was on the line, you
Speaker 4: could count on him to make a good decision to
Speaker 4: give his team the best chance.
Speaker 5: And he's a national champion and.
Speaker 3: Part of it, say, particularly the last time we saw
Speaker 3: him when Ohio State they had that lost to Michigan,
Speaker 3: it was like fire.
Speaker 4: Everybody could have gone a completely different direction.
Speaker 5: And as a college player.
Speaker 4: And I think that's the thing that is interesting to
Speaker 4: see the dynamics from them is that Will Howard is
Speaker 4: the guy that doesn't have all the physical traits that
Speaker 4: you want. He doesn't have the cannon arm, he doesn't
Speaker 4: have all those things. Drew la has those things. But
Speaker 4: Will Howard's stepped up in big moments college football. Dre
Speaker 4: Rowler notably folded in big moments. And so that's where
Speaker 4: I think it's interesting to see them come together under
Speaker 4: Mike McCarthy and Tom Marth and Frank Signety Junion, all
Speaker 4: these guys that are getting able to teach them and say, hey,
Speaker 4: let's work with you step by step and erase all
Speaker 4: the bad things that got in your way and then
Speaker 4: let you start anew with a clean slate here in
Speaker 4: the NFL.
Speaker 3: So I think the follow up question to that, obviously,
Speaker 3: is something that's been kicked around in these last two
Speaker 3: weeks or so of camp. How realistic is the idea
Speaker 3: of keeping four quarterbacks on the roster this year.
Speaker 4: My colleague Jerry Doula put points out all the time
Speaker 4: he thinks that it's there, definitely considering it. I just
Speaker 4: have a hard time seeing how they pull it off
Speaker 4: when you look at all the needs on this team. Like,
Speaker 4: the question is what position do you want to pinch
Speaker 4: to open up the door to keep four quarterbacks in
Speaker 4: the fifty three man roster, you need to keep at
Speaker 4: least six wide receivers because one of those guys is
Speaker 4: going to be a return man, because they seem adamant
Speaker 4: about making Cayden Weieden that guy, and Cayden Weigen, I
Speaker 4: don't know if he's going to be a wide receiver
Speaker 4: you want out there regularly.
Speaker 5: That means you need.
Speaker 4: Five ready to go wide receivers to take over that.
Speaker 4: And one of those guys most likely is gonna be
Speaker 4: Ben Scaroniic. We know they have the four going to
Speaker 4: be uh in you know, Metcalf, Pittman, Wilson, and Bernard.
Speaker 4: So you kind of already have your six slaughtered wide
Speaker 4: receivers right there. You can't pinch there running back, you
Speaker 4: know you're talking about you know, is Caleb Johnson gonna
Speaker 4: get cut?
Speaker 5: You know? You know you're keeping the top two.
Speaker 4: You got to keep at least three, you know, But
Speaker 4: do you want to keep Travis Homwerk because he's in
Speaker 4: on all the special teams? Do you want to you know,
Speaker 4: try a loon Nichols because of how he's done in
Speaker 4: pass protection, and so that's a tougher position. Offensive lineman,
Speaker 4: you know you're dealing with injuries. You know you're you're
Speaker 4: seeing that. Do you you can you afford to keep
Speaker 4: less than ten with this crew? And then the same
Speaker 4: thing goes for defense with corners and different positions.
Speaker 5: Looks like they're gonna keep a fullback this year and they.
Speaker 4: Want to keep it with Riley Noakowski. You know, do
Speaker 4: you want to just let him go? And so that's
Speaker 4: my thinking here is I think the ideal situation for
Speaker 4: the Steelers, if everything was to work out the way
Speaker 4: that Omar Khan in this front office I think want
Speaker 4: it would be Will Howard either gets close enough to
Speaker 4: Mason Rudolph that it's like, you know what, he's close enough.
Speaker 4: We're gonna we're gonna trade based on Rudolph because we
Speaker 4: feel like Will Howard isn't he's not as good, but
Speaker 4: he's close enough that we can say, hey, he can
Speaker 4: come in and.
Speaker 3: From hit right.
Speaker 4: Or Will Howard isn't close enough that you want him in,
Speaker 4: but he flashes a bit and someone's like, hey, we'll
Speaker 4: kick you at a mid to late day three pick
Speaker 4: for him or a pick swap of some sort, and
Speaker 4: in that way, the Steelers can get some more draft
Speaker 4: ammunition to add up to what their project is gonna
Speaker 4: be next spring.
Speaker 5: So, christ I'm curious for your thoughts of the right
Speaker 5: side of the offensive line. I mean, from uh my perspective,
Speaker 5: it looks like Anderson's pretty much grabbing that right pretty
Speaker 5: much job and I've been really impressed with the Haunta chore,
Speaker 5: but we haven't seen him for a couple of days. Yea,
Speaker 5: And how do you think that progression goes from here? Predictions?
Speaker 4: Well, I thought that Spencer Anderson was going to be
Speaker 4: a competition. I don't think I think he's made it
Speaker 4: not a competition. Yeah, yeah, he's locked it down. He's
Speaker 4: your starting right guard. And y'all like like I, I,
Speaker 4: you know, I try to pay attention to the lineman
Speaker 4: as much as possible, uh in these in these practices,
Speaker 4: when they get to go up and Spencer Anderson wins
Speaker 4: so many one on ones, it's really impressive.
Speaker 5: I'd like to extend him. I think that's the thing.
Speaker 4: If you can extend him, he could kind of be
Speaker 4: the ramone foster of this offense. Era, like you know,
Speaker 4: like back then, you had your first round picks like
Speaker 4: Powers and the Castro, and then you had Gilbert Is
Speaker 4: a second round pick, and now you've got Faltano, You've
Speaker 4: got Frasier's your second round and you know you drafted Max.
Speaker 4: You need guys that you didn't necessarily draft super high
Speaker 4: to be part of this. McCormick's fitting in as a
Speaker 4: fourth rounder right now. So I think Spencer Anderson, you
Speaker 4: know he's a seventh round pick, but I think he's
Speaker 4: fitting there now right tackle. That's gonna be interesting because
Speaker 4: I did like what I initially saw MAXI Honatchor, but
Speaker 4: I want to see an actual game time. I also
Speaker 4: want to see his hands improved. And I think Dylan
Speaker 4: Cook's done fine. I will say I was really low
Speaker 4: on Broderick Jones. The first week and a half of
Speaker 4: training camp. He was getting w Yeah, but like the
Speaker 4: last couple of days, I mean not today because it
Speaker 4: was it was a walkthrough. But when Saturday night practice
Speaker 4: he buried Nick Herbig.
Speaker 5: He stuffed Jack Sawyer, I was really impressed. Could he
Speaker 5: be in the right tackle mix.
Speaker 4: I think he's in the he's in the flip tackle
Speaker 4: mix because He's gonna be wherever they need him to be,
Speaker 4: and if he happens to settle in it right tackle,
Speaker 4: they'll say, hey, that's a win for now. But I
Speaker 4: think that what's gonna happen is that in these preseason games,
Speaker 4: if he gets in and he does well, if I'm
Speaker 4: Dylan Cook, I'm looking over my shoulder, like, okay, I
Speaker 4: need to step it up a little bit, because I
Speaker 4: don't think Dylan, like Spencer Anderson, has made it not
Speaker 4: a competition. Dylan Cook has left that door open.
Speaker 5: And I don't know to be thrilled to lose Broderick
Speaker 5: because you're you'd move him for ten cents on the dollar.
Speaker 5: But I bet somebody would offer you a pick if
Speaker 5: he puts good preseason tape out there.
Speaker 4: I think so it took me. We've seen it Dan
Speaker 4: Moore indeed, right, And I mean Dan Moore was a
Speaker 4: guy who you know in Pittsburgh people.
Speaker 5: Were like, man as this.
Speaker 4: I'm not sure if Dan Moore is the future and
Speaker 4: he got paid on the open market, and if Broddick Jones,
Speaker 4: like you said, if he comes out and plays well
Speaker 4: in the preseason and looks like he's getting over his injury,
Speaker 4: and someone needs an offensive tackle.
Speaker 5: Believe what was it? The Commanders just lost that?
Speaker 4: Yeah, so like you know, someone's desperate, Hey, we'll flip
Speaker 4: your pick for it, and or maybe you get another
Speaker 4: piece you need somewhere else. I think that could be
Speaker 4: something that you get there because you don't I don't
Speaker 4: think you want Broddick Jones to hit the open market.
Speaker 4: I mean, unless I might give you a calm pick bag,
Speaker 4: but then that's twenty eight. That's not twenty seven, right,
Speaker 4: And I think you want your ammunition this year because
Speaker 4: I think this year they're expecting it to be the
Speaker 4: quarterback draft class year.
Speaker 3: A couple more minutes here with our buddy Chris Carter,
Speaker 3: Pittsburgh Post Gazette, locked on Steelers. Chris defensive side of
Speaker 3: the football a little bit of a bummer to this point.
Speaker 3: Obviously we haven't seen Jalen Ramsey, we haven't seen Joey
Speaker 3: Porter Junior. But one man gathers what another man spills,
Speaker 3: and man, I feel like a Sante Samuel Junior and
Speaker 3: the rookie third rounder who's kind of being forgotten with
Speaker 3: some of the quarterback conversation, and Max and Bernard and
Speaker 3: Dalan Everett out of Georgia. Man, I think Everett might
Speaker 3: be having the best camp of any rookie. Sante Samuel
Speaker 3: Junior might be having one of the best camps of
Speaker 3: anybody at Yere.
Speaker 5: I mean he's up there. You know.
Speaker 4: I do a player of prac this for locked on
Speaker 4: Steelers every day and him and Derek Harr Samuel and
Speaker 4: Derek Harron and my two guys that have been repeats,
Speaker 4: and they they have both been standouts.
Speaker 5: But the Sante Samuel Jr.
Speaker 4: I mean, he has been been lined up with every
Speaker 4: wide receiver in this and I've not seen some anyone
Speaker 4: feel like they can say, oh, I've definitely got him.
Speaker 4: You know, they might get him once, but he'll get that.
Speaker 4: He'll get them right back with the next rep A.
Speaker 4: Sante said he's sticky in coverage. His footwork looks clean
Speaker 4: when he's turning and running. Uh, it makes me wonder,
Speaker 4: if you know. And Mike McCarthy did say he has
Speaker 4: position flex that's his that's his term that he likes
Speaker 4: to use for, you know, having flexibility in the in
Speaker 4: the d in any defense or offense. But when it
Speaker 4: comes to Sante Samuel Jr. He talked about position flex
Speaker 4: and how he plays there, and he has said this
Speaker 4: guy can play in the slot. He does not just
Speaker 4: have to play in the outside. I wonder if the
Speaker 4: initial plan of putting Jalen Ramsey in the slot, maybe
Speaker 4: they take a step and they say, wait a second,
Speaker 4: what if we use him in our safety rotation and
Speaker 4: he's one he's our best eleven exactly because if if
Speaker 4: Sante Samuel Junior is just much better as a cover
Speaker 4: corner in the slot, then we know what we need
Speaker 4: to keep him on the We get our best eleven
Speaker 4: on the field, and if it's Nickel, that could include him,
Speaker 4: and then put Ramsey back as our deep safety and
Speaker 4: then we'll rotate between Brisker or Elliott and figure out
Speaker 4: how we want that crew to work.
Speaker 5: They have a lot of options in the secondary, that's
Speaker 5: for sure, especially with Echles versatility as well. Yes, real quick,
Speaker 5: I know we have a ton of time. But you
Speaker 5: mentioned Harmon, and I'll be honest, I think fans like
Speaker 5: Harmon more than I like Harmon. Okay, picture and not.
Speaker 5: I adore his run stuffing ability, the way he plays big,
Speaker 5: I just don't see it to it Heyward guy as
Speaker 5: a pass rusher. But I'll be the first to admit
Speaker 5: maybe I was a little harsh on him off last
Speaker 5: year's tape because he was dealing with injuries from the start.
Speaker 5: Was I think he's moving better this year. You seem
Speaker 5: to be a believer.
Speaker 4: I'm a believer because I like how he applies as
Speaker 4: fundamentals and it reminds me of TJ. Watt in a
Speaker 4: way that when t J. Watt got to Steelers camp
Speaker 4: back at twenty seventeen, I remember the medals were so sound,
Speaker 4: but he did not have any pass rush moves. And eventually,
Speaker 4: like early on in the season, you saw in that
Speaker 4: first Browns game he might have had two or three
Speaker 4: sacks or something in his rookie game and his rookie
Speaker 4: appearance in his first game, and you saw in those
Speaker 4: early games he had like some pass rush moves, but
Speaker 4: by mid season they disappeared because the wear and tear
Speaker 4: of the season, you're focused on the other team's playbooks,
Speaker 4: not on your own fundamentals, and so you didn't see
Speaker 4: them really come back until his second and third years,
Speaker 4: where those pass rush moves.
Speaker 5: Came to light.
Speaker 4: I think something might have happened similarly with Derek Harmon,
Speaker 4: where I think he had one or two moves in
Speaker 4: college and that's all.
Speaker 5: He ever bigger, stronger than everybody may exactly.
Speaker 4: And he did lead college football in interior defensive line
Speaker 4: pressures his last year at Oregon, but a lot of
Speaker 4: that I think was, yeah, he just naturally was better
Speaker 4: than it. But in the NFL, that don't cut it.
Speaker 4: Now he can do great work and stuff to run.
Speaker 4: I think this year I've started to see him incorporate
Speaker 4: different moves. I still don't think he's fully there, You're
Speaker 4: like you're pointing out, but I do think he'll be
Speaker 4: a really good run stuffer. He'll be a better pass
Speaker 4: usher than he was last year. And ultimately, if he
Speaker 4: is stuff in the run and keeping the linebackers clean,
Speaker 4: I think that's the biggest thing this defense needs, is
Speaker 4: they need defensive linemen to eat space and take up
Speaker 4: offensive lineman and let the outside linebackers and inside linebackers
Speaker 4: be playmakers at the line of scrimmage, because if they are,
Speaker 4: that's where I think a lot of this stuff can
Speaker 4: get keyed up on. And then eventually then when he
Speaker 4: gets his pass rus moves going, then he might become
Speaker 4: the Hayward to it. I agree, he's not there yet.
Speaker 4: I do think he can get there someday.
Speaker 5: I mean, times have changed dramatically, but if they could
Speaker 5: do a fact simile of the Lebau Hampton Aaron Smith
Speaker 5: Keysol between Black and Harmon, Yeah, and just solidify the
Speaker 5: run defense, that's a pretty nice start for a second
Speaker 5: year guy.
Speaker 4: It would be amazing to have these guys step up
Speaker 4: that quickly. I also think it's great that ya Blackhead.
Speaker 4: And we talked to him today, you know, after their practice,
Speaker 4: and I was, you know, I've been impressed by how
Speaker 4: like last year, why a Black you know, kind of
Speaker 4: like Harmon, he was just bigger and badder than a
Speaker 4: lot of people at Iowa, and so he didn't need
Speaker 4: to get low. And last year he would stand up
Speaker 4: and guys would get get under him and put him
Speaker 4: on skates worried. This year, I'm seeing him fire off.
Speaker 4: He was the first guy to beat Zach Fraser in
Speaker 4: a one on one pass rush driller and I was like, whoa, because.
Speaker 5: I thought both those guys were consistently slower laid off
Speaker 5: the ball too. And they're getting off the ball a
Speaker 5: lot better.
Speaker 4: I feel like they're they're sharpening themselves. They're a little
Speaker 4: bit more explosive. They're lower, and they're and they're get
Speaker 4: off all those things check boxes for you. So like you, Matt,
Speaker 4: I'm encouraged by this defensive line, Like yeah, yeah, they
Speaker 4: might be the best position group on this team right now.
Speaker 4: As far as a hole, when you consider Keanu Betton,
Speaker 4: now he's a three, he's coming off the bench instead
Speaker 4: of trying to play the nose as a starter and
Speaker 4: now that rotation. I'll tell you my dark horse though,
Speaker 4: that I really like Gabriel Rubio.
Speaker 5: I thought he was a throwaway pick I had to
Speaker 5: play against.
Speaker 4: Yeah, Matt, I was literally on the Post Gazette live
Speaker 4: stream at ASLN Brewing Company in the Strip District when
Speaker 4: they made that pick, and like Paul Zeiss and Anna
Speaker 4: Bitner looked at me, and I was like, guys, I.
Speaker 5: Don't know that one. I don't know who that is.
Speaker 5: He wasn't even like the beast Steve and he could
Speaker 5: about it. I couldn't find nothing about him.
Speaker 4: But when I watched him up against venga Ewan and
Speaker 4: I was like, Okay, I see some some feistiness, but
Speaker 4: I can see it in camp. I had seen that feistiness.
Speaker 4: I talked to him after the Saturday and Night Lights practice.
Speaker 4: I have been impressed by how he has been aggressive
Speaker 4: using his hands. He is adapting more moves into his game.
Speaker 4: That guy's gonna make this fifty three man roster. And
Speaker 4: I think that with him, Sebastian Joseph Day and Count
Speaker 4: of Benton Joseph Edition, that they have depth like I
Speaker 4: am not. If I'm the Steelers, I am not afraid
Speaker 4: to rotate my top six defensive linemen all around and
Speaker 4: just keep tiring out that offensive line until my starters
Speaker 4: are fresh in the fourth quarter and they're chomping at
Speaker 4: the bit while your offensive lineman to have their hands
Speaker 4: on their hips and they're taking deep breaths because they've
Speaker 4: been geting whooped all day.
Speaker 5: That's why we opened the show like Cam Hayward can't
Speaker 5: lead defensive tackle his naps and your fourth quarter defense
Speaker 5: was the worse in the league. That I mean, these
Speaker 5: are the things that fix those things. Yep, get depth,
Speaker 5: and I think they got it this.
Speaker 3: Year, moving in the right direction, and we're excited to
Speaker 3: see it all start coming together. On Thursday night, Chris
Speaker 3: Carter locked on Steelers Pittsburgh Postcasette fun conversation. As always
Speaker 3: thanks for taking the time.
Speaker 5: Due thanks for having me, guys, great shot man.
Speaker 3: That's two hours down bonus hour. When we return. You
Speaker 3: know what that means, will hit the tweets to open
Speaker 3: up the five o'clock hour. Plenty more to come here
Speaker 3: on the campus of Saint Vincent College, We Shouler, Matt Williamson.
Speaker 3: It's the Drive Steelers Nation Radio on the Steelers Audio Network.
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Speaker 3: So a day off from a full public practice, but
Speaker 3: not a complete day off for the players to.
Speaker 5: Just sitting on the couch, eat and chips all day.
Speaker 3: They're not sitting up in the dorms playing PlayStation. They're
Speaker 3: getting ready and then they will travel at some point,
Speaker 3: I believe, back to Pittsburgh, you know, stay in a hotel,
Speaker 3: all that good stuff, ahead of of course Thursday's preseason
Speaker 3: opener against the Packers. But we will have a final
Speaker 3: walk through here.
Speaker 5: It looks like it might be right in front of us.
Speaker 3: Yeah, we were thinking that, you know, due to some
Speaker 3: of the weather stuff earlier, it might be back behind
Speaker 3: us in the new indoor facility. But some coaches and
Speaker 3: some people trickling down here. So maybe in fact we
Speaker 3: will have that evening walk through in front of us tonight,
Speaker 3: but an off day for all of our SNR shows tomorrow,
Speaker 3: obviously the game on Thursday, and then an off day
Speaker 3: on Friday, and then.
Speaker 5: We're back here, back at it pretty heavy.
Speaker 3: Yeah, yeah, for the final stretch Saturday, Sunday, Monday. Three
Speaker 3: more opportunities for you to get out here. If you
Speaker 3: want to see the first Mike McCarthy training Camp twenty twenty.
Speaker 5: Yes, that is it. If you haven't made it out here,
Speaker 5: you got three chances.
Speaker 3: You got three chances, and then if not, you better
Speaker 3: hold your piece till next year. Right, better, better luck
Speaker 3: next summer. Yep, yep, let's hit some of these tweets here,
Speaker 3: get the five o'clock hour rolling as we like to do.
Speaker 3: Ian says, good afternoon, gentlemen. Jealous you had the best
Speaker 3: wings on planet Earth last night. Although Ian I was
Speaker 3: the one at Dino's last night last night Matt Matta
Speaker 3: got some work done here and ate at the cafeteria.
Speaker 3: But I think you'll be getting yourself some Dino's wings
Speaker 3: here before.
Speaker 5: I'm doing one more night show there.
Speaker 3: So you've had, you've had, you've had there. I always
Speaker 3: do the.
Speaker 5: Bone list when I'm on the air, which I know
Speaker 5: is slightly selling myself short, but it's just because because
Speaker 5: it's way easier to do.
Speaker 3: Yeah, and you're not getting your hands all messy and everything.
Speaker 5: But that's where Wolf and I were a little different.
Speaker 5: He didn't care if it was in his hair and
Speaker 5: in his ears and in between his fingers and all
Speaker 5: over the place while we were trying to do a show.
Speaker 5: So I do the boneless to be a professional.
Speaker 3: Sure, you are nothing if not a pro. Matt Williams.
Speaker 5: It's the same sauce. And they're delicious too.
Speaker 3: I had I had a definitely, I had me ten
Speaker 3: wings there last night of the Sweet Heat and they
Speaker 3: were fantastic. Get do your normal bone list, but then
Speaker 3: just get five of the bone in.
Speaker 5: I usually get a double order of boneless, so maybe
Speaker 5: I'll do one of each, and I usually like share
Speaker 5: with the table. I don't need.
Speaker 3: Yes, very nice that he's a very gracious uh wing
Speaker 3: orderer Matt Williams.
Speaker 5: It is everyone's always looking at him. I'm like, go
Speaker 5: ahead that one.
Speaker 3: Yeah, come on, they look good. Try one. Unless you're
Speaker 3: a stranger who's just loitering around our table. Then don't.
Speaker 3: Ian says, uh. Seeing other teams going through joint practices,
Speaker 3: do you think the Steelers are at a disadvantage with
Speaker 3: no joint practices?
Speaker 5: Maybe I think they're very valuable. Now. They're also very physical,
Speaker 5: very physical, and I would think, and I'm speaking for him,
Speaker 5: that coach McCarthy is trying to avoid physicality and injuries
Speaker 5: and scuffles and people on the ground. And you know
Speaker 5: what ensues with live football, even though it's on a
Speaker 5: practice field, not in a stadium on delights, as Tom
Speaker 5: Will used to say. So maybe that part doesn't interest them,
Speaker 5: but I don't know. We've had this conversation this year.
Speaker 5: A lot of things with these joint practices are more
Speaker 5: valuable because you can have something going on in this
Speaker 5: field and something going on in this field. And like
Speaker 5: we mentioned yesterday, if someone asked me, like, how would
Speaker 5: you play the quarterbacks this week, and I said, I'd
Speaker 5: have Rudolph through the first series, and then I think
Speaker 5: I'd have Howard take it down to the half and
Speaker 5: then Aler take the whole second half. And you know
Speaker 5: that gives Howard and Aller a chance to run a
Speaker 5: two minute drill at the end of their respective half. Well,
Speaker 5: you don't have to take a chance. And joint practice,
Speaker 5: he said, we're gonna run two minute here for the
Speaker 5: next fifteen minutes, and the Lions or the Bills or
Speaker 5: whoever says.
Speaker 3: In any situation that you want, yeah, you don't need
Speaker 3: it to organically occur throughout the course of season.
Speaker 5: Yeah, yeah, exactly. And that's the beauty of it. It's
Speaker 5: much more condensed than the coaches exactly get what they want.
Speaker 5: Like I pretty vividly remember. I guess it was COVID
Speaker 5: because it was at Akishore when the Bills, right, because
Speaker 5: they were That was a very physical joint practice. But
Speaker 5: it was the day or two before the preseason game.
Speaker 5: But Tomlin decided I'm going to put my eggs in
Speaker 5: the basket of the joint practice as opposed to the
Speaker 5: preseason game. You know, like played more of his big guys,
Speaker 5: It played more physical, you know, dedicated more time to
Speaker 5: That is at least the way I interpreted it. Like
Speaker 5: for example, in the game Bills versus Steelers preseason, Rodert
Speaker 5: Jones got toasted like twice, and everybody saw that. Ibody
Speaker 5: remembered it. They watched it on That's right.
Speaker 3: I do remember that all the panic.
Speaker 5: Yeah, and that it wasn't great, No, it wasn't. No.
Speaker 5: I mean I think Rousseau was one of them's, a
Speaker 5: high end defensive end but I mentioned, I'm like, yeah,
Speaker 5: but he looked better yesterday when everybody was going even
Speaker 5: one hundred percent. He had a really good practice, but
Speaker 5: nobody saw that or care right, you know, but the
Speaker 5: coach did.
Speaker 3: No, they do And and that's that part about being
Speaker 3: able to simulate all the things that you want to
Speaker 3: do on without If you want to work on two
Speaker 3: minute drill, you don't need a situation to arise in
Speaker 3: a game where it pops up. You could just simulate
Speaker 3: it out here, I wonder.
Speaker 5: Real quick, even like last year they did it against
Speaker 5: the Bucks.
Speaker 3: Yeah, yeah, and right here? Right wasn't that? Here? Was that?
Speaker 5: That was also a sure and Steer's defensive backs had
Speaker 5: a tough time. And I'm like, this first round pick
Speaker 5: Abuca might be pretty good, right, And he ended up
Speaker 5: being pretty good.
Speaker 3: Sure did.
Speaker 5: Yeah.
Speaker 3: Yeah, that's that's one of those Matt. I so much
Speaker 3: of what we're trying to deduce here every day in
Speaker 3: our first Mike McCarthy training camp. We're probably gonna have
Speaker 3: to recalibrate and adjust that the next couple of years
Speaker 3: going forward to because his first one isn't going to
Speaker 3: look the same as his next three.
Speaker 5: From what I heard Tomlin was kind of a hard
Speaker 5: ass his first one, even more so than he was.
Speaker 5: You know, you gotta kind of set the tone new.
Speaker 3: Sheriff, do things your way, and I think a lot of.
Speaker 5: Time and you learn from your stakes too, especially a
Speaker 5: first time coach like Tomlin. I'm sure, absolutely right.
Speaker 3: And so for McCarthy, I think it's been a lot
Speaker 3: about his guys instilling the development and the process that
Speaker 3: he wants here. Then maybe next summer you go, hey,
Speaker 3: you know, that's where we can start to veer away
Speaker 3: here and there, and maybe we can do a joint
Speaker 3: practice with this team or that team. That'll certainly be
Speaker 3: something to keep an eye on. But yeah, I'm a
Speaker 3: fan of the joint practices for every reason that you
Speaker 3: just laid out.
Speaker 5: Yeah. Now, I mean, I don't no idea this will
Speaker 5: be true or not, but it wouldn't shock me if
Speaker 5: next year practices or later in the day. And I understand,
Speaker 5: and it makes a ton of sense why McCarthy likes
Speaker 5: him earlier in the day, But more fans come late
Speaker 5: in the day. They do, so maybe they'll be later today.
Speaker 3: Next we shall see. Those will be all the things
Speaker 3: we'll be looking forward to as we get more years
Speaker 3: and years into this Mike McCarthy tenure. Mister steel City
Speaker 3: tweets and says, I have a segment idea for you guys,
Speaker 3: way too early, awards predictions for every award, any potential
Speaker 3: Steelers who could win individual awards, and also Steelers with
Speaker 3: the potential to be all pros. Mister steel City. We
Speaker 3: will definitely do that in a lead up to the season.
Speaker 3: We'll have Matt and I, you know, we'll have a
Speaker 3: few shows where we all of our individual award predictions,
Speaker 3: division division winners, you know, all that, all that kind
Speaker 3: of stuff. This is an interesting one though. He ends
Speaker 3: the tweet by saying, I think of any Steelers likely
Speaker 3: to win an individual award. Mike McCarthy getting Coach of
Speaker 3: the Year.
Speaker 5: That was actually pick to be real genius there, right,
Speaker 5: because the rookie of the years are gonna be tough,
Speaker 5: very I mean, you draft a tackle in the first round.
Speaker 3: That does almost always a quarterback, Yeah.
Speaker 5: Maybe a running back. I don't know the defensive player
Speaker 5: that's gonna have a million tackles or a million sacks,
Speaker 5: So that's gonna be really tough. I don't see an
Speaker 5: MVP candidate on the team. Let's just be honest. I mean,
Speaker 5: Aaron's won plenty of them, but I think the ship
Speaker 5: has probably sailed. Watt has won Defensive Players of the Year,
Speaker 5: but last year didn't play at that level. I mean,
Speaker 5: that was the best player in the league. I mean,
Speaker 5: if anyone was to win that honor, maybe it would
Speaker 5: be him. But McCarthy's got a chance. Usually the voters
Speaker 5: are rough on established head coaches. You know that you
Speaker 5: kind of know what you're gonna get. But let's say
Speaker 5: this team wins two playoff games, you know, like or
Speaker 5: he can take you to a twelve and five in
Speaker 5: the yeah season, Yeah, and takes you to that next level.
Speaker 3: Maybe I think it's a good call. Yeah, I think
Speaker 3: it's a good call.
Speaker 5: Individual awards don't mean you're a good team or a
Speaker 5: bad team necessarily, you know.
Speaker 3: I mean I think for most of those, you have
Speaker 3: to have some level of success as a team. Like,
Speaker 3: you're not going to be the problem, You're not going
Speaker 3: to be the league MVP on a six win team
Speaker 3: in large parts. But right that, But but you your
Speaker 3: point is also well made. But I that's a I
Speaker 3: think that's a good call. Little sneaky one. But I
Speaker 3: think if you had to pick an individual ward, because
Speaker 3: I don't know, I don't think there'd be anybody up
Speaker 3: for Comeback Player of the Year or anything. Yeah, what
Speaker 3: about Protector of the Year. We got a couple of
Speaker 3: guys out there who could win Protector of the Year.
Speaker 3: But that's a stack, that's one offensive the entire league.
Speaker 5: Yeah, I mean it's not crazy to say Zach could
Speaker 5: win that.
Speaker 3: I'd be I'd be I'd be very Happy's so.
Speaker 5: Many good tackles. I mean, that's a tough There's so
Speaker 5: many good offensives every team. Every awards hard to win,
Speaker 5: obviously the individual award, but maybe Fraser could win it.
Speaker 3: Him and him and Faltanu and Spencer Anderson are having
Speaker 3: some fun in front of us right now, getting each
Speaker 3: other all wound up before practice.
Speaker 2: Uh.
Speaker 3: Speaking of Mike McCarthy, Matt, thanks to Jack for pointing
Speaker 3: this out to us on Twitter. Earlier today, Mike McCarthy
Speaker 3: and his press conference said the quarterbacks will play in
Speaker 3: three groups on Thursday. The first will get one or
Speaker 3: two series, the second will get the remainder of the
Speaker 3: first half, and the third we'll get the second half.
Speaker 3: That's exactly what we didn't specify, but.
Speaker 5: I assume it'd be Rudolph, young guy, young guy.
Speaker 3: That's I think. Yeah, you know what they say happens
Speaker 3: when you assume Matt. But I think that that's a
Speaker 3: safe assumption at this point.
Speaker 5: And it's funny I addressed this on a different airway too,
Speaker 5: like it's easy to say, we'll give Rudolph one series,
Speaker 5: but if you're three and out and he hands off
Speaker 5: twice and throws an incomplete pass or it gets tipped
Speaker 5: at the line of scrimmage or something like, I might
Speaker 5: as well throw them out for another series. Yep, you know,
Speaker 5: but that's probably about the limit.
Speaker 3: And I think you're right, it could get tinkered here
Speaker 3: or there. Yeah, but that sounds or yeah, that sounds
Speaker 3: like the rough the right rough outline as we as
Speaker 3: we stand here.
Speaker 5: Too, Howard, you know, maybe you want him to start
Speaker 5: the second half for a you know, one series, get
Speaker 5: him back out there, you know.
Speaker 3: Steele Curtain says the Steelers picked up Brandon Johnson earlier
Speaker 3: in the offseason. Did they end up letting him go?
Speaker 3: Haven't heard much about him. They did, He was one
Speaker 3: of those early in camp roster moves. I believe he's
Speaker 3: with the Raiders. Now, Matt, don't quote me on that,
Speaker 3: but yes he is. He is no longer with the team.
Speaker 3: The wide receiver Ran Johnson. He was one of the
Speaker 3: guys that the Steelers signed I think like back in May.
Speaker 5: Yeah, was out.
Speaker 3: Here for the first couple of practices, but then they
Speaker 3: started making some roster moves and he was. He was
Speaker 3: one of the guys who was let go. Todd Mitchell,
Speaker 3: who is our resident steel Hawk expert. He's from Iowa,
Speaker 3: He's a Hawk guy, loves the Steelers. He tweets us
Speaker 3: every once in a while about some of these guys.
Speaker 3: Wants to know what we've seen from from Cayden Weigien
Speaker 3: to this point. Honestly, it's been tough.
Speaker 5: It's been real tough.
Speaker 3: But what I will tell you is that he is
Speaker 3: clearly their guy as the returner. Yeah, there's been others
Speaker 3: that have factored in, but he is.
Speaker 5: I mean even like Roman Wilson and Caleb Wilson are
Speaker 5: back there sometimes on kickoff return, but he's the piece
Speaker 5: break any tackles. I mean, that's a real walkthrough situation,
Speaker 5: is return game.
Speaker 3: I think Cayden Wegen has a very clear cut role
Speaker 3: for this team. This year, and that's you're our return guy.
Speaker 5: Yeah, I think you knew exactly why they drafted him.
Speaker 5: I don't think that their opinion on him have changed
Speaker 5: anyway in the negative. I think you'll be your return
Speaker 5: specialist for both kicks and punts. Anything above that is
Speaker 5: gravy for year one, and you'll try to develop a
Speaker 5: whether that works or not. Maybe he's out there for
Speaker 5: a fluky play or a gimmick or a decoy, but
Speaker 5: all in all, he's here for one reason, and I
Speaker 5: get the impression they're happy with it. But as you
Speaker 5: can imagine, if they punt to him here on these
Speaker 5: fields in front of us, someone's not going to drill
Speaker 5: him in the teeth, yes, or he's not gonna put
Speaker 5: his best move on to make you all go, wow,
Speaker 5: you know what an unbelievable return guy.
Speaker 3: You know it's a tough one.
Speaker 5: I assume he'll be the number one returner for all
Speaker 5: three of these preseason games. I don't think he's at
Speaker 5: a point where you just like want to save him
Speaker 5: and don't get him hit.
Speaker 3: No, you want to you want to see him prove.
Speaker 3: I would turn it a little bit here in preseason,
Speaker 3: and hey, maybe he has one or two great returns
Speaker 3: on Thursday night and you go, Okay, that's enough.
Speaker 5: That's who I thought.
Speaker 3: But I would I would certainly think that at least
Speaker 3: starting Thursday, we'll see plenty of him. And he's been
Speaker 3: very prominent in the special teams periods here so.
Speaker 5: Far, because preseason, once in a while you when to
Speaker 5: get somebody new out there, just so they've done it
Speaker 5: once or twice.
Speaker 3: So break glass case. Yeah right, Jeff says, you know,
Speaker 3: plenty of conversation, rightfully, so around Caleb Johnson and Roman
Speaker 3: Wilson needing to have good showings this postseason.
Speaker 5: I think they're in different waters though, though I do too. Yeah,
Speaker 5: I think they were very similar coming into this.
Speaker 3: I think Roman has taken a step forward, not leaps
Speaker 3: and bounds, but he's taken a step forward.
Speaker 5: I think he's you could probably think I think he
Speaker 5: is too.
Speaker 3: Whereas for Caleb Johnson, I think that's probably still a
Speaker 3: coin flip. Jeff asks in your guys opinions, who are
Speaker 3: similar players on defense that need to have a good
Speaker 3: showing in preseason. Also, I want to see the run
Speaker 3: defense have a good showing this preseason. Good note there,
Speaker 3: Jeff's great on the run. It seems like the last
Speaker 3: couple of years the run defense has gotten gashed in
Speaker 3: the preseason.
Speaker 5: And as Chris was talking about when he had him on,
Speaker 5: you know that there is a lot of depth on
Speaker 5: the D line. I would expect the second team run defense,
Speaker 5: even with Cam Hayward not even putting shoulder pads on,
Speaker 5: to be quite competitive. And throughout all these games d
Speaker 5: line comes again, it comes to you know again. Yeah,
Speaker 5: it sounds like Rubio's getting harder and harder to cut.
Speaker 5: Doesn't bode well for Lowry and Lee. And uh the
Speaker 5: name I always kill an well yeah how much? Sure
Speaker 5: that was right? O Teguo or Rob always gets on
Speaker 5: that case for that. But I know they like him too.
Speaker 5: Other than that, you would think like a Kent if
Speaker 5: he'd have been healthy.
Speaker 3: Yeah, maybe even just a Dylan Everett and an Asante
Speaker 3: Samuel Junior to the good that they've done out here
Speaker 3: translated to in stadium.
Speaker 5: Yeah, I thought the question was more geared towards in
Speaker 5: order to make the team. Those guys are going to
Speaker 5: make the team. Maybe your last safety, maybe somebody like
Speaker 5: Brunner has to show you a little bit just because
Speaker 5: the roster gets full quick, like, can you give me
Speaker 5: enough Carson on defense that again, break glass in case
Speaker 5: of emergency if I have to throw you out there,
Speaker 5: Like maybe he plays a lot of linebacker snaps on
Speaker 5: Thursday and if they go okay, knowing he's a good
Speaker 5: special team or you're a little more comfortable.
Speaker 3: It's gonna be interesting to see them.
Speaker 5: I just feel like there's not a lot of roster
Speaker 5: spots of Aila.
Speaker 3: I'm with you on that.
Speaker 5: Yeah, I am with less than most gears.
Speaker 3: R J says, which teams that finished the last in
Speaker 3: their division? Could you guys see finishing first this year?
Speaker 3: And vice versa?
Speaker 5: Lions?
Speaker 3: I was gonna say the easiest. It's kind of cheating,
Speaker 3: but the Lions are the easiest one because they technically.
Speaker 5: Did a fourth place schedule.
Speaker 3: They went nine and eight, but they finished fourth last year. Yes,
Speaker 3: so they have a fourth place schedule, and they obviously
Speaker 3: have a roster that still has a good amount of talent.
Speaker 5: I have a hard time believing anyone in the AFC.
Speaker 5: I mean that's Raiders, Browns, Jets, Titans.
Speaker 3: I would give the Titans the best chance of that group,
Speaker 3: but I still wouldn't have it very high.
Speaker 5: No, I can't imagine the Cardinals. The Lions are an
Speaker 5: obvious one. Anyone in the South could win the South.
Speaker 5: So yes, And I know that this is short sighted
Speaker 5: because it happens every year, but and no one sees
Speaker 5: it coming, or we'd all, you know, put a bunch
Speaker 5: of money on these long shots. You know, the Patriots
Speaker 5: still go to the Super Bowl. They were this team
Speaker 5: last year. I I often reference FTN and DVOA and
Speaker 5: Aaron Shotts. And the one thing I've really noticed since
Speaker 5: his Almanac came out with podcasts he's been on, including
Speaker 5: his own, is he thinks the bad teams in the
Speaker 5: league right now, if you put that whole group in
Speaker 5: a bucket, that that bucket is worse than ever that
Speaker 5: those five or six junko teams.
Speaker 3: I could see it.
Speaker 5: Raiders, Browns, you know, we know who they are, Jets,
Speaker 5: Dolphins are worse than the lowest tier teams almost any year.
Speaker 5: And I'm I can you can sell me pretty easily
Speaker 5: on that. I mean, at least the Patriots last year
Speaker 5: are like well, Drake may Abel, you know, you know I.
Speaker 3: The other way around, worst or first to worst, I
Speaker 3: don't know.
Speaker 5: I mean, the NFC South is low hanging fruit for
Speaker 5: all these convers that could be any order.
Speaker 3: And you know what if if the Jets and the
Speaker 3: Dolphins weren't going to be so bad, I think you
Speaker 3: could mention the Patriots maybe in that category, but the chance.
Speaker 5: Of being worse than both those teams, and.
Speaker 3: Even like Seattle, if they have some big Super Bowl hangover,
Speaker 3: they're not going to be worse than the Cardinals.
Speaker 5: Probably not, you know. I mean, I don't think the
Speaker 5: Steelers will be worse than the Browns.
Speaker 3: I don't think the Broncos an maybe you know, but
Speaker 3: not worse than the Browns. I'd be shocked, like Denver
Speaker 3: could take a step back. I don't think they're going
Speaker 3: to be worse than the Raiders.
Speaker 5: Right again, the Junco teams are real junkie Eagles.
Speaker 3: Maybe would they be the I was thinking that the
Speaker 3: Commanders and the Giants are downlow too.
Speaker 5: They're not as bad as Jets in Miami, but they're
Speaker 5: still a long way away from Eagles and what I
Speaker 5: think the Cowboys are at.
Speaker 3: It's it always happens.
Speaker 5: It always happens. And to say, oh, it'll never happen,
Speaker 5: I really dumb.
Speaker 3: But it happens just about every single year. Yea, it
Speaker 3: is harder to see that tree through the forest right
Speaker 3: now than usual.
Speaker 5: I mean, clearly, if like Josh Allen misses the season,
Speaker 5: the Bills could be I don't think it would be
Speaker 5: last in that division. But like one of these teams
Speaker 5: that's so quarterback dependent that goes almost without saying, you know, Burrow.
Speaker 3: Or that's why this time last year, the Commanders were
Speaker 3: an easy pick. Yeah, of team's very quarterback dependent. But
Speaker 3: it's it's tougher this year. Usually there's like one or
Speaker 3: two great candidates on both sides of the ball. This year,
Speaker 3: I feel like it's a little bit tougher to kind
Speaker 3: of pinpoint them.
Speaker 5: I just think the bad teams are bad.
Speaker 3: The bad teams are bad, and hopefully the good teams
Speaker 3: are good, although that Super Bowl can tender exercise that
Speaker 3: we did. I mean, the Rams have a twelve and
Speaker 3: a half percent chance to win the Super Bowl according
Speaker 3: to analytics. Yeah, and that's the favorite twelve and a
Speaker 3: half percent.
Speaker 5: It's pretty low.
Speaker 3: That's pretty low.
Speaker 5: So the other thing about the bad teams is a
Speaker 5: couple of them Titans and Raiders look like they have
Speaker 5: their quarterback. But those bad teams, assuming they stay Bad Jets, Cardinals, Browns.
Speaker 5: They're not going to trade out of the second spot
Speaker 5: if Drake May and Jayden Daniels are sitting there, you
Speaker 5: know what, right right?
Speaker 3: That's also a very good point by you, Matt. I
Speaker 3: asked a tweet here of this segment. It's a nice
Speaker 3: tweet from Josiah. Josiah tweets and said, it's been about
Speaker 3: a year of Matt and Wes. Uh. You two were
Speaker 3: thrown into the deep end and took some time to
Speaker 3: find rhythm. I think you guys have had a great year.
Speaker 3: I look forward to the sophomore season of Wes and Matt.
Speaker 3: Maybe you guys can earn a fifth year option or
Speaker 3: at least get the Steelers a comp pick if you
Speaker 3: become free agents.
Speaker 5: Fifth year option, we're getting a big time extension.
Speaker 3: That's what I'm talking I paid in the league, and listen.
Speaker 3: I can't speak for Matt, but I think he also
Speaker 3: did the same thing as me, where our careers took
Speaker 3: us other places away from our hometown. You and I,
Speaker 3: You and I both lived in Ohio for work for
Speaker 3: a little while. Yeah, I was in Philadelphia for three years.
Speaker 3: I like to think that I've done my time away
Speaker 3: from Pittsburgh, and I'm here now for the long haul.
Speaker 3: I don't want to go anywhere else. This is where
Speaker 3: I want to be. I haven't applied for a job
Speaker 3: in nine years, and I hope I don't apply for
Speaker 3: another one the rest of my life.
Speaker 5: I've never written a resume, have you really? Never? No?
Speaker 5: I probably never will.
Speaker 3: I mean I have, but it's been a long time.
Speaker 3: It's been a long time since I have either. That's
Speaker 3: what you gotta keep going, mat Just never never have
Speaker 3: a resume. Just straight to the top.
Speaker 5: Just listen to the show. You just you just almost.
Speaker 3: Nick Saban me there, I'm not gonna so quit asking.
Speaker 3: Do you remember that clip Nick Saban where it was
Speaker 3: the time where they were going back and forth between
Speaker 3: uh Tua and Jalen Hurts.
Speaker 5: Okay, it was that era and it was a true
Speaker 5: freshman right.
Speaker 3: Yes, and uh it's like a sideline interview and uh
Speaker 3: and they were asking him about the young quarterbacks and
Speaker 3: he's like, you're always trying to get me to pick
Speaker 3: one or disparage the other. I'm not gonna so quit asking.
Speaker 3: And that that clip of Nick Saban going, I'm not
Speaker 3: gonna so quit asking kind of became like.
Speaker 5: A virul a man.
Speaker 3: I'm a man, I'm forty Matt Williamson and I. Unless
Speaker 3: the powers that be pulled a plug on us, we
Speaker 3: ain't going anywhere, all right.
Speaker 5: So yeah, you know I'm probably never leaving Pittsburgh.
Speaker 3: Yes, no, and again I've I've done that. I've I've
Speaker 3: left Pittsburgh and there say, listen, I'm not lying. There's
Speaker 3: other fabulous places, uh, across the across this beautiful land,
Speaker 3: across this beautiful country. But Pittsburgh's home. That's where, that's
Speaker 3: where the family is, that's where the friends are, that's
Speaker 3: where the heart is. Not to get too sappy and
Speaker 3: emotional on everybody.
Speaker 5: That was a nice tweet. It was a year.
Speaker 3: It was a very nice tweet.
Speaker 5: It's been a good year.
Speaker 3: Yeah, we're taking a big step forward our sophomore season.
Speaker 3: You better believe that second year jump coming at you
Speaker 3: in a big way. Matt and I are overdue for
Speaker 3: a break. We've got walkthrough going on in front of us. Yeah,
Speaker 3: with some energy here on campus as we come down
Speaker 3: the home stretch here.
Speaker 5: Gather a little bit from walkthroughs though, a little bit, Yeah.
Speaker 3: Not anything that we can talk about on air. Here,
Speaker 3: but things that are interesting for us to keeping.
Speaker 5: See the tops are and who's practicing with who, and
Speaker 5: that kind of thing.
Speaker 3: Some things that help paint a more clear and a
Speaker 3: more full picture for us as we roll along here
Speaker 3: for the rest of training Camp West Huler, Matt Williamson.
Speaker 3: It is the Drive all part of our ongoing coverage
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Speaker 3: Down the home stretch here of our Tuesday coverage on
Speaker 3: Steelers Nation Radio, as campus will go quiet for a
Speaker 3: few days, of course, all around the Steelers' first preseason
Speaker 3: game on Thursday night and ahead of preseason. Yeah, we
Speaker 3: had the Hall of Fame game last week. The preseason
Speaker 3: really getting going here this week, Matt. Yeah, NFL dot
Speaker 3: Com has put out their first Power rankings Holy Smoke
Speaker 3: pre preseason edition partner.
Speaker 5: Oh yeah, let's agree if we let's see if we
Speaker 5: agree that the bottom five or six teams are really
Speaker 5: that bad.
Speaker 3: Okay, because that's kind of piggybacks off I was talking about.
Speaker 3: And number thirty two on this list, Matt, I don't
Speaker 3: think it's a big surprise. The most obvious teardown this
Speaker 3: offseason the Miami Dolphins.
Speaker 5: I agree. I agree, Like Arizona has the lowest wind total,
Speaker 5: but that's more based on schedule. Arizona's got more going
Speaker 5: for them. Maybe quarterback aside.
Speaker 3: I mean, that's the one kicker. He could He could
Speaker 3: be a high tide that raises some chips there.
Speaker 5: And that's really the the whole goal of this year
Speaker 5: for Miami is get out of cap hell. Maybe you
Speaker 5: found your quarterback, and then go from there and the
Speaker 5: old line's actually in kind of decent shape too, and
Speaker 5: then start building the thing up from scratch.
Speaker 3: Do not have a lot of pass catchers though, and
Speaker 3: no little little fin on defense.
Speaker 5: I can't imagine them doing much this year.
Speaker 3: Thirty one is the Las Vegas Raiders.
Speaker 5: Yeah, it's still pretty bad. It's still pretty bad, especially
Speaker 5: on defense, and they again maybe they their quarterback.
Speaker 3: Maybe they do, and you know, maybe hey, Nikobe Dean
Speaker 3: and kway Walker help stabilize the interior of that defense.
Speaker 3: But there's still they are certainly moving in the right direction,
Speaker 3: like I won't say that about the Dolphins yet. You
Speaker 3: can't say the Dolphins are moving in the right direction yet.
Speaker 3: I think the Raiders are. But there's a long way
Speaker 3: to go. They're five steps into a five hundred mile journey.
Speaker 5: Of course.
Speaker 3: Of course, number thirty is the New York Jets.
Speaker 5: Yes, same again. These teams are all pretty bad right
Speaker 5: here too.
Speaker 3: I might have the Raiders ahead of the Jets, but
Speaker 3: I'm not gonna I'm not gonna belly ache over thirtieth
Speaker 3: and thirty first.
Speaker 5: Miami would be thirty two for me, though.
Speaker 3: Twenty nine is the Washington Commanders, and this has obviously
Speaker 3: factored in the loss of layer of Tunsol, which is
Speaker 3: hard to argue.
Speaker 5: Now. I don't consider them a total bottom bucket team,
Speaker 5: like I would have the Browns beneath them, But I
Speaker 5: really do not have much optimism for Washington, even after Diggs,
Speaker 5: but especially after the Tunsil loss. You know, they kind
Speaker 5: of counteract each other in the negative.
Speaker 3: Right, It's like you finally started to feel a little
Speaker 3: bit better about your fights, and then other than your quarterback,
Speaker 3: you lose your second best, second most important piece.
Speaker 5: I always think that that team, or at least over
Speaker 5: the last couple of years, thinks they're closer than they
Speaker 5: are in terms of how they build.
Speaker 3: Yes, is the Cleveland Browns.
Speaker 5: Sure?
Speaker 3: Do you see some reports coming out today that they're
Speaker 3: considering cutting Shador sanders Man.
Speaker 5: They got a lot of quarterbacks in the ring.
Speaker 3: They do, but I just I don't know which way
Speaker 3: they go. There's not an easy answer there, but that
Speaker 3: will be it'll be very interesting to see what that
Speaker 3: initial fifty three looks like for the.
Speaker 5: I would imagine if Shador or Dylan Gabriel gets cut,
Speaker 5: they get picked up by somebody.
Speaker 3: They're still so young, right, and they'd be free.
Speaker 5: It's kind of like if powered or Aler gets cut.
Speaker 5: I mean, someone take a chance on them, right.
Speaker 3: People always need quarterbacks, always need depth at that position.
Speaker 3: Twenty seven the New York Giants.
Speaker 5: I suppose I would probably put them ahead of all
Speaker 5: these spots.
Speaker 3: Yeah, higher, but I certainly think they belong in the twenties.
Speaker 5: There's some pieces in place so they should have a
Speaker 5: dominant pass rush. They have maybe a quarterback and neighbors
Speaker 5: in an improving O line and coach.
Speaker 3: Twenty six is those Arizona Cardinals.
Speaker 5: I'm glad that they're this high because I think there's
Speaker 5: stuff to build on. I somethink they're gonna win any games.
Speaker 3: They've got maybe the toughest schedule in the air.
Speaker 5: It's so bad.
Speaker 3: Yeah, twenty five here, matt as a team that I
Speaker 3: think I would definitely have a few spots lower. It's
Speaker 3: the Atlanta Falcons at twenty five.
Speaker 5: Yeah, I tend to agree.
Speaker 3: And you've got a factor in losing Jalen Walker and
Speaker 3: just their quarterbacks back and forth is gonna be gonna
Speaker 3: be a real work in progress.
Speaker 5: So a couple like the positive things. They were second
Speaker 5: in the league in sacks last year after being the
Speaker 5: worst team for the twenty years in sacks, but their
Speaker 5: two edge guys aren't going to be around, certainly for
Speaker 5: Week one against Steelers. They did nothing in terms of
Speaker 5: bringing people in because they're biding their time for next
Speaker 5: year when they have a ton of cap space. But
Speaker 5: they did keep their core. They locked up London in
Speaker 5: Bijon and an offensive lineman and Pitts, and I just
Speaker 5: don't think the quarterbacks in place that they're gonna be
Speaker 5: another team.
Speaker 3: Very quarterback twenty four the Tennessee Titans. Hey, if they're
Speaker 3: the twenty fourth best team and that's way this year, yeah,
Speaker 3: I mean they were thirty first or thirty second last year.
Speaker 5: Yeah, went Wards taking the right steps, and I could
Speaker 5: see that their ow line's pretty bad too, though it's.
Speaker 3: Gonna shit struggles. They Yeah, they need a lot of
Speaker 3: help there. But hey, carnal All reports that Carneal Tate
Speaker 3: has been really looking the part in training camp. Yeah,
Speaker 3: at good point could go a long way for them.
Speaker 5: They could really use. I mean, the guys that Cam
Speaker 5: Worder's throwing to last year were criminal.
Speaker 3: Twenty three reigning NFC South champions, the Carolina Panthers.
Speaker 5: Getting riddled by injuries, bad mojo. Then I'm not a
Speaker 5: young fan.
Speaker 3: You know what's funny, Matt, there's a whole stretch here
Speaker 3: of NFC.
Speaker 5: Southeeds say, I don't know how it'd rank the.
Speaker 3: South Carolina at twenty three, Bucks at twenty two, Saints
Speaker 3: at twenty one.
Speaker 5: I think that's the order i'd have them, though, in
Speaker 5: terms of Saints, one, Falcons, last Buck second.
Speaker 3: Yeah. Yeah. Twentieth the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Speaker 5: I think that's rough.
Speaker 3: I think it's a little rough.
Speaker 5: I do. This whole neighborhood's hard to sort out, to
Speaker 5: be fair, you know, twenty to sit in fourteen or so.
Speaker 5: I mean, they won the division last year, and I
Speaker 5: think their roster's better.
Speaker 3: If you look at the couple teams ahead of them,
Speaker 3: the Colts are at nineteenth. I think I definitely have
Speaker 3: the Steelers ahead of the Colts.
Speaker 5: Yeah, they've been really good. Daniel Jones reports, But let's
Speaker 5: speak let's.
Speaker 3: See eighteenth Minnesota Vikings. I think i'd have the Steelers
Speaker 3: ahead of the Vikings.
Speaker 5: Probably Again, this whole neighborhood's clustered. To me.
Speaker 3: Seventeen the LA Chargers. That's an interesting one. That's a
Speaker 3: little bit lower than I've seen them on a lot
Speaker 3: of these lists.
Speaker 5: Yeah, I think their defensive losses including mentor are greater
Speaker 5: than people want to admit. But I do think the
Speaker 5: Chargers are a contender.
Speaker 3: Sixteen the San Francisco forty nine ers, if they could
Speaker 3: stay healthy. My goodness, they're already destroid right now. It's
Speaker 3: said like twenty percent of their roster is on the
Speaker 3: injury report right now. Yes, Like that's insane.
Speaker 5: So I mentioned I do a podcast with Peacock who
Speaker 5: does the Locked on Niner stuff, and the five skill
Speaker 5: position players tight end, running back, three receivers. Theirs right
Speaker 5: now are Debo, Evans, Kittle, McCaffrey, and who am I
Speaker 5: missing as the other receiver? Whoever? I guess Kirk At
Speaker 5: this point all are thirty or older. Yeah, and like
Speaker 5: the last ten years, he told me the most games
Speaker 5: where every one of your skill position players was thirty
Speaker 5: or over that a team is put out there is
Speaker 5: two in a year. Wow, and they're hoping for seventeen.
Speaker 3: Of them for seventeen right, that's uh speaking of Yeah,
Speaker 3: that's like the Cam Hayward conversation that we're having earlier. Right,
Speaker 3: you might get away with.
Speaker 5: It, but but you're flirting with disaster there fifteen.
Speaker 3: Matt one of the more interesting cases in the NFL
Speaker 3: this year because which direction are they going? It's the
Speaker 3: Kansas City Chiefs.
Speaker 5: I'm leaning towards going the wrong way.
Speaker 3: But Mahomes he could he could make a make a
Speaker 3: big difference without.
Speaker 5: I mean, I didn't want to tell him short but
Speaker 5: I don't think there's much around him. Fourteen, I probably
Speaker 5: have Chargers ahead of the Chiefs.
Speaker 3: I might, honestly, at least in terms of stability, just
Speaker 3: at this point, you know, until you see Mahomes get
Speaker 3: back to being Mahomes and then you could start giving
Speaker 3: the Chiefs some of that benefit of the doubt again.
Speaker 5: Yeah.
Speaker 3: Fourteenth Detroit Lions, Thirteenth Green Bay Packers. I got no
Speaker 3: problem with either of.
Speaker 5: Those of the Lions over the Packers though. Patriots at twelve, okay,
Speaker 5: I think the defense is gonna take a step backwards,
Speaker 5: the offense gonna take a step forward.
Speaker 3: And Eleventh the Dallas Cowboys.
Speaker 5: I'm a believer. I think they could be a real content.
Speaker 3: I think they're going to be a dangerous team this year.
Speaker 3: As much as I hate saying that, I think they
Speaker 3: could win that division. The offense is going to be
Speaker 3: absolutely loaded. Yeah, and if they can just get some
Speaker 3: stability on defense. They locked up Quinn Williams of that
Speaker 3: big deal you draft Caleb Downs. Dallas seems like they
Speaker 3: do that roller coaster thing where it's like eleven or
Speaker 3: twelve wins in a contender one year and then you
Speaker 3: fall back and then a similar to the Niners conversation
Speaker 3: that we've had. I think this will be a high
Speaker 3: year for the Cowboys.
Speaker 5: I lean that way too, and we were talking about
Speaker 5: today briefly. I think he's eighth on the list of
Speaker 5: MVP candidates. Allen's number one, but I think i'd put
Speaker 5: a buck on back for the payoff head.
Speaker 3: The payoff's probably pretty good, and he's not too long
Speaker 3: ago was in that conversation. Let's take our last break.
Speaker 3: We'll look at the top ten of this list when
Speaker 3: we return. I also want to get just a final
Speaker 3: thought or two from Matt on what we're looking for
Speaker 3: Thursday night in that first preseason game. We'll do that
Speaker 3: to close down the drive when we return, Yuler and Williamson.
Speaker 3: It's all part of our training camp coverage Steelers Nation
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Speaker 3: Down the home stretch here, final segment of the drive
Speaker 3: onto this Tuesday, our last day on campus until we
Speaker 3: return on Saturday for the final leg. Matt and I
Speaker 3: rounding out this NFL dot Com pre preseason power rankings
Speaker 3: before we get out of here, Matt. Number ten the
Speaker 3: Chicago Bears.
Speaker 5: Yes, but I've referenced, you know often the DVOA sites
Speaker 5: they project the Bears to have the best offense in
Speaker 5: the league and the worst defense. I don't think there
Speaker 5: will be true, but their defense leaves a lot to
Speaker 5: be desired.
Speaker 3: It sure does. Yeah, and they lost a couple of
Speaker 3: pieces on that side of the ball. They were so
Speaker 3: good at taking the ball away last year.
Speaker 5: They're not because, yeah, they put teams away. Or is
Speaker 5: it going to be first a race to forty every week?
Speaker 3: One of those roads of like are you going to
Speaker 3: continue to climb and grow or you take a step
Speaker 3: back this season? Number nine in Houston, Texans I'm a
Speaker 3: big believer. Maybe the best defense in the league.
Speaker 5: I'm leaning towards AFC championship prediction being Denver Houston. I
Speaker 5: think that's pretty good defenses and you know, good enough quarterbacks,
Speaker 5: you hope, but the rest is in place, Matt.
Speaker 3: This is crazy highest we've seen them on one of
Speaker 3: these lists for a while. Number eight is the Cincinnata Bengals.
Speaker 5: Haven't been mentioned. Yeah, I do think the dal will
Speaker 5: be better.
Speaker 3: Oh, I think they'll be improved. Yeah, but eight might
Speaker 3: be a little rich.
Speaker 5: Yeah, I would have Housedton ahead of them. I was
Speaker 5: probably that might even the Chargers ahead of them.
Speaker 3: Number seven is the Jacks Jags, the Jacksonville Jaguars at seven.
Speaker 5: I like what they've done over you know, the Lawrence,
Speaker 5: you know head coach situation, but they really did nothing
Speaker 5: this offseason.
Speaker 3: They had a pretty quiet offseason.
Speaker 5: Yeah, and usually if you take a shark, if you
Speaker 5: stop swimming, you die.
Speaker 3: Maybe getting Travis Hunter though back is a real big.
Speaker 5: I think that's massive. I think the O line's a
Speaker 5: little overrated.
Speaker 3: Number six the Baltimore Ravens. Okay, to be real high
Speaker 3: on these lists.
Speaker 5: They're still a little higher than i'd have them, especially
Speaker 5: if this Wiggans sings a real deal.
Speaker 3: Not great, No, not great. Five the Buffalo Bills. Joe
Speaker 3: Brady step right up.
Speaker 5: I don't know if that's a good thing. Though I
Speaker 5: know McDermott knows how to win games in this league.
Speaker 5: I don't know if this coach does. And I don't
Speaker 5: think that's the difference between being really good and a
Speaker 5: Super Bowl champion.
Speaker 3: It's gonna be a very interesting year in Buffalo for
Speaker 3: a lot of reasons.
Speaker 5: Yeah. Number like their defense either.
Speaker 3: Number four, Matt, perhaps the most volatile team in the league.
Speaker 3: It's across the Commonwealth of Philadelphia. Eagles.
Speaker 5: Yeah, but I think they're quarterbacks less than the ones
Speaker 5: we've brought up lately.
Speaker 3: You know, I think the Eagles still can be a
Speaker 3: legit Super Bowl contender, but I also think they could
Speaker 3: fall off the face of the earth and have a
Speaker 3: losing record.
Speaker 5: I can see the offense having some early season growing pains,
Speaker 5: just a lot of change.
Speaker 3: Number three defending Super Bowl champions Seattle Seahawks.
Speaker 5: I'm cool with that. I mean, I think they're just
Speaker 5: very good. Yeah.
Speaker 3: Yeah, and then Matt, a team you just mentioned at
Speaker 3: Denver Broncos. They have them took in it too, and
Speaker 3: then obviously the Rams won on pretty much everybody's list.
Speaker 5: And I would definitely have the Rams one too. I mean,
Speaker 5: I think they're a very very good team. The thing
Speaker 5: people overlook now about the Rams is the weakest part
Speaker 5: of the team was the secondary. They rebuilt that before
Speaker 5: they did anything else in a big way. Watson and McDuffie.
Speaker 5: Now it's a strength. And then you throw even a
Speaker 5: better pass rush on top of that. That party that
Speaker 5: these really good and.
Speaker 3: They could still be adding a former three time oh yeah,
Speaker 3: that player of the year and Aaron Donald here in
Speaker 3: the next couple of weeks, Matt, we got about sixty
Speaker 3: seconds left before we go. What do you want to
Speaker 3: see Thursday night from the Steelers?
Speaker 5: Some low hanging fruit is obviously the young quarterbacks looking
Speaker 5: like they belong like I don't need them to be great.
Speaker 5: I just don't want them to look deer in headlights.
Speaker 5: You know. It's their first NFL action for both players unfortunately,
Speaker 5: and again I want to see Everett and Rubio kind
Speaker 5: of has my excitement. I mean, just draft pick guys,
Speaker 5: you know, right, I mean some of can you these
Speaker 5: young cheap dudes be valuable middle to bottom of the
Speaker 5: roster guys in their first season.
Speaker 3: I also want to see Kayden Wegen return, some kicks iabigrate. Yeah,
Speaker 3: let's see that going too. That will do it for
Speaker 3: Matt and I today. We will return on Saturday along
Speaker 3: with our full gambit of SNR coverage for the final
Speaker 3: stretch of camp. But thanks to Chris Carter for joining
Speaker 3: us earlier, and thanks to our guy Brian Lamartine for
Speaker 3: producing for us back at the ranch. Take care, everybody,
Speaker 3: We will talk to you soon. As always, you know
Speaker 3: where to find us. It's on your twenty four to
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