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Speaker 1: Your tunes about Drive on your twenty four to seven

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Speaker 1: home of the Black and Goal Steelers Nation Radio.

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Speaker 2: Good afternoon, Steelers Nation. It's the Drive on the Steelers

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Speaker 2: Audio Network. West Huler and Matt Williamson with you here

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Speaker 2: for the next two hours on a Thursday, as it

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Speaker 2: is time to fully turn that page and focus on

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Speaker 2: the Baltimore Ravens.

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Speaker 3: The Rats about that time.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, the Purple people, although I guess that's still associated

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Speaker 2: with the Vikings because of the history there. But you

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Speaker 2: get what I'm saying. It's a big day today. We'll

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Speaker 2: talk to Bob Labriola. We got a big Thursday night

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Speaker 2: game tonight to talk about a little bit more before

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Speaker 2: we get out of here. It absolutely is, and we

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Speaker 2: are going to deep dive into Matt's stats as we

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Speaker 2: like to do on Thursdays as well, to kind of

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Speaker 2: set the scene, set the tone, begin to paint the

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Speaker 2: picture for Steelers and Ravens on Sunday. Before we jump there, Matt,

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Speaker 2: there is some kind of NFL news of the day

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Speaker 2: that I want to run by with you. We do this,

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Speaker 2: I'd say maybe fifty percent of the time to start shows,

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Speaker 2: you know, just kind of you know, front page of

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Speaker 2: the sports page type stuff, And this one, to me

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Speaker 2: is it won't grab a lot of headlines today in

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Speaker 2: this time of year, but this is pretty significant for

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Speaker 2: the National Football League moving forward. The NFL and the NFLPA,

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Speaker 2: the NFL Players Association, have agreed to a new model

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Speaker 2: for selecting playing surfaces in stadiums, one that will require

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Speaker 2: every team to choose from an improved set of manufacturers

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Speaker 2: and styles for both natural and synthetic fields. The policy,

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Speaker 2: teams are supposed to begin to replace their surfaces for

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Speaker 2: twenty twenty six, but must be recorded to do so

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Speaker 2: to have the approved fields by twenty twenty eight.

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Speaker 3: Okay, I think that's huge.

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Speaker 2: I think that that's long overdue, long over, long over

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Speaker 2: And you know, I we've had conversations forever about some

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Speaker 2: of these, you know, places like MetLife and whatever they

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Speaker 2: call where the Commanders play now, and you know how

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Speaker 2: notoriously bad those places are. How many knee and ankle

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Speaker 2: and achilles and ligament injuries happen.

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Speaker 3: Sure, I'm with you.

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Speaker 2: For a billion dollar entertainment product, multi billion, multi billion

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Speaker 2: dollar entertainment business, this seems like something that should have

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Speaker 2: probably been mandated a while ago. But I think it's

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Speaker 2: about time for this to happen.

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Speaker 3: Now, yeah, I think it's long overdue for two reasons.

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Speaker 3: First off, I think it's a better product. It's more

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Speaker 3: fun to watch than use a recent example when boswell,

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Speaker 3: you know this footing is terrible, so you know you

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Speaker 3: don't get the maximum product from a great athlete or

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Speaker 3: a great football play or whatever. Now we know sometimes

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Speaker 3: weather's going to screw things up. I mean, like these,

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Speaker 3: it's never gonna be perfect.

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Speaker 2: It's an out it's an outdoor sport. An outdoor sport

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Speaker 2: takes a lot of December and January.

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Speaker 3: And yeah, I mean like it's going to be rough

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Speaker 3: on growing grass and whatnot. Sure, but they have the money,

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Speaker 3: I mean we know that, and the NFL's greatest assets.

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Speaker 3: I guess we could argue this because they're players, so

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Speaker 3: protect them better, you know what I mean, less ankles

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Speaker 3: than these, And you don't want Saquon or Justin Jefferson.

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Speaker 2: Neighbors a couple months ago.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, right, right right. I wonder how many injuries could

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Speaker 3: have been prevented over the last decade with better surfaces.

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Speaker 2: There's a couple to pop the mind right away, Like

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Speaker 2: you know that Melik neighbors. One, yeah, Adrian Peterson all

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Speaker 2: those years ago. What was FedEx Field at the time. Again,

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Speaker 2: they changed the name every year where the Commanders play

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Speaker 2: there now. But so I think it makes a ton

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Speaker 2: of sense. You're right, I mean, those are their greatest assets,

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Speaker 2: and injuries are still going to happen. It's a national football.

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Speaker 2: Bigger part of football is blocking and tackling, as Mike

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Speaker 2: Tomlin likes to say a couple times a year.

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Speaker 3: But even a guy run around edge off tackle and

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Speaker 3: he slips like I don't want to see that, no

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Speaker 3: back slips and a guy catching an easy touchdown, you know.

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Speaker 3: You know.

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Speaker 2: Kind of the parallel to draw I think is we

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Speaker 2: know there's the same kind of parameters for players in

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Speaker 2: the helmets that they're allowed to wear. Right, NFL players

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Speaker 2: are allowed to pick their own helmet, but within certain

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Speaker 2: parameters you have to you have to you know, they

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Speaker 2: have to pass so many baselines to be available as

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Speaker 2: a choice. I think that makes it's kind of a

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Speaker 2: similar type thing here. You'll still have some wiggle room.

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Speaker 2: Do you want to go natural grass? Do you want

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Speaker 2: to go turf? You know, synthetic?

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Speaker 3: Three different companies you can call.

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Speaker 2: Companies you can call and get estimates and what type

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Speaker 2: of grass they're going to use, and what type of

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Speaker 2: this and that they're going to use, just like you

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Speaker 2: can for helmets. So there's still some wiggle room for

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Speaker 2: personal decision there, but it's within the guidelines that are

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Speaker 2: acceptable and a league wide standard across the board makes

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Speaker 2: a ton of sense.

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Speaker 3: It makes a ton of sense. And I assume this

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Speaker 3: like the Steelers field crew and maintenance staff, it does

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Speaker 3: all that work at Latrobe and we analyze it while

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Speaker 3: we're on the air and stuff. It's I mean, they

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Speaker 3: would still do the same amount of work. It's just

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Speaker 3: maybe guidelines would be different, you know, like you kept

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Speaker 3: I don't know, I'm really talking out of my butt here,

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Speaker 3: but like you gotta cut the grass certain way, are

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Speaker 3: you are going.

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Speaker 2: To be the certain seed that you have to use

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Speaker 2: or dream so.

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Speaker 3: Is different or whatever?

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Speaker 2: Right, Like you remember this was a We've talked about

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Speaker 2: this before a lot of times. It'd be like in

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Speaker 2: the past, it would be like I remember this like

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Speaker 2: it was yesterday, twenty years ago. Those electric USC teams

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Speaker 2: that had matt Liner and registers.

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Speaker 3: Oh yeah, yeah, they were fast. Yeah.

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Speaker 2: Every time they'd go somewhere like Notre Dame where it

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Speaker 2: was natural grass. They'd be they'd can plain. Pete Carroll

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Speaker 2: would complain and be like that grass should have been cut,

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Speaker 2: you know, a week ago, Like they had trying to.

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Speaker 3: Slow us down for three weeks because USC's coming to

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Speaker 3: town a month, right, yeah, yeah, yeah, And.

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Speaker 2: Like you know, like Tounch of Wolf used to tell

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Speaker 2: similar stories about like when Earl Campbell would come to town,

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Speaker 2: you know, and you wanted to flood the Houston. Houston

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Speaker 2: Oilers came to town in January, and so we sprayed

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Speaker 2: some extra water on the grass to make it nice

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Speaker 2: and slick and icy.

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Speaker 3: The best one is Houston. Maybe we'll even ask Labs

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Speaker 3: about it. Is raiders come here for a playoff game.

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Speaker 3: Might have been an AFC championship mid seventies, and who

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Speaker 3: knows how it happened, But the tarp was only on

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Speaker 3: the middle of the field. Outside the numbers was all

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Speaker 3: ice and you know our lovely friends from the south Side.

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Speaker 3: Well that's the same for both guys. And now Davis

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Speaker 3: is like we have Clifford Branch, we throw deep all

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Speaker 3: the time. That's not the same. And I'm gonna side

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Speaker 3: with mister Davis on that one.

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Speaker 2: I do love those old timey stories, but that would

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Speaker 2: fly five and Astro Turf December. Right, it's basically twenty

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Speaker 2: twenty six here. Uh. You gotta have some type of standards,

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Speaker 2: and I think in the same same parameters of with

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Speaker 2: a helmet, you have some some wiggle room to choose,

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Speaker 2: but it has to be underset guidelines. I think it

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Speaker 2: makes a ton of sense and it's overdue.

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Speaker 3: So the two other points I have, and again this

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Speaker 3: is a long time ago. It's gotten way better. But

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Speaker 3: like my pit days, we played Temple and that was

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Speaker 3: the same field the Eagles had, which was the worst

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Speaker 3: in the league at the time, because it was was.

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Speaker 2: That was this at the like the end of the

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Speaker 2: VET days.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, yeah, terrible. I mean like it was described to me,

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Speaker 3: and it felt like this when you walked on the field.

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Speaker 3: I wasn't a player, but I was out there and

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Speaker 3: it didn't feel like any other field we've been on.

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Speaker 3: Was cement with a little bit of carpet over it,

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Speaker 3: you know, and there was weird scenes where they sewed

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Speaker 3: it together like whoever the someone's grandma sewed it together

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Speaker 3: or whatever is what it felt like. There was bumps.

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Speaker 2: They brought it meme off from Levetaz.

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Speaker 3: Exactly to show up the line. And there's a million

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Speaker 3: injuries on those fields, you know, like we can't have this,

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Speaker 3: you know, like right not to mention if I as

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Speaker 3: a player, I wouldn't go play for the Eagles if

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Speaker 3: I have a choice, you know, absolutely. And well my

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Speaker 3: other question too is the overseas stuff we're seeing more

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Speaker 3: and more, And Mora's a good question. I don't know.

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Speaker 3: I'm sure they have some kind of parameters, but the

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Speaker 3: fields are built for smaller people. They're from all over

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Speaker 3: the world, they're different climates. That always worries me overseas,

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Speaker 3: and now we got more and more foreign games.

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Speaker 2: You know, I agree with you on that. The one

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Speaker 2: nice benefit of that though, is it's all natural grass.

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Speaker 2: H they don't do and usually weather's on an issue

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Speaker 2: or professional soccer players will not play on anything that's

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Speaker 2: not real grass.

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Speaker 3: Is that a thing? Yeah?

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Speaker 2: And you know what, maybe it ties this all together.

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Speaker 2: Interesting timing with this announcement being made when all so

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Speaker 2: many of these NFL stadiums that are hosting the World

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Speaker 2: Cup in July, the United States have to tear up

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Speaker 2: their synthetic field and put real grass down.

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Speaker 3: So like that's happening no matter what.

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Speaker 2: No matter what. MetLife is hosting the World Cup final,

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Speaker 2: and I think a couple other games, it was like mandated,

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Speaker 2: if you're gonna be the host site, you have to

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Speaker 2: rip up your like FIFA was, you have to rip

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Speaker 2: up your turf and put in real grass or we're

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Speaker 2: not playing games there.

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Speaker 3: All because no soccer player plays.

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Speaker 2: On No soccer player you think MESSI, you.

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Speaker 3: Know, is gonna like they be like a baseball field

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Speaker 3: that's astro turf.

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Speaker 2: Now exactly right, exactly like they do not play on that.

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Speaker 2: They don't do that in that in that sport, in

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Speaker 2: those countries, they don't even consider it. It's not even

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Speaker 2: in the realm of possibilities. And so that was one

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Speaker 2: of the big kickers of the United States and probably

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Speaker 2: I would imagine the Canada sites because I think Mexico

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Speaker 2: is probably already on board with that. You know, it's

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Speaker 2: United States, Canada and Mexico that are hosting a World Cup.

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Speaker 3: I would think most Canadian football stadiums are especially with

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Speaker 3: the weather they get right.

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Speaker 2: It was that was kind of like one of the

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Speaker 2: big first things was like if you're going to get

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Speaker 2: approved to host the World Cup. All the places that

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Speaker 2: are synthetic turf, you're ripping it out and you're putting

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Speaker 2: in real grass for the World Cup.

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Speaker 3: Up.

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Speaker 2: Okay, yeah, but then MetLife was like and then we'll

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Speaker 2: go right back to our turf, and it's like, come on, man,

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Speaker 2: like yeah, So at least this is I think it

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Speaker 2: raises the floor for what's required and that's realistically about

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Speaker 2: what is fair to ask for.

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Speaker 3: Oh yeah, yeah. Again, everything should be regulated that ever

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Speaker 3: touches a player, period, you know. I mean the medications,

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Speaker 3: the shoes, the helmets, as you mentioned, the pads, everything,

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Speaker 3: you know, right, the jerseys are all the same. I

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Speaker 3: mean yeah, as safe as possible.

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Speaker 2: As safe as possible, as quality as possible goes a

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Speaker 2: long way. I'm with you on that. And so I

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Speaker 2: like this by the NFL and the NFLPA. Let's take

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Speaker 2: a full couple couple, you know, like one.

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Speaker 3: You can't just ask a team to like have this

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Speaker 3: done by Sunday.

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Speaker 2: Here's the three suppliers you can choose from. Bid that

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Speaker 2: thing out and get it done on Sunday. But it's

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Speaker 2: nice that it starts to go into effect next year.

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Speaker 2: It has to be done by twenty twenty eight. Okay,

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Speaker 2: so you know, like a one to three year window

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Speaker 2: if you will.

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Speaker 3: I'm sure I know your opinion on this, considering the

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Speaker 3: college I'm going to reference, But I wonder is the

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Speaker 3: next step. Are they going to say, hey, you can't

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Speaker 3: have a college game on this field the night before.

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Speaker 2: That's an interesting one.

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Speaker 3: You know, like if we take it another step forward,

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Speaker 3: you know, and just field quality, I don't know, I

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Speaker 3: don't love it from a Steeler perspective that they share

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Speaker 3: with another.

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Speaker 2: I'm yeah, right, like I'm I don't know how gung

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Speaker 2: ho the Eagles are about Temple.

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Speaker 3: Using that facility, right right right.

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Speaker 2: I don't know how stoked the Dolphins are, although the

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Speaker 2: you might be bigger than Miami than the Dolphins that

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Speaker 2: they share, you know, ever since they demolished the Rose

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Speaker 2: bol ten years ago or whatever that was. It's an

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Speaker 2: interesting question.

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Speaker 3: Right, Like the next step, if we're going to take

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Speaker 3: field quality, then don't play on the whippules.

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Speaker 2: I think whippiles like I think Acroture part of me

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Speaker 2: is like only one of two or three stadiums that

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Speaker 2: host high school games regularly at all.

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Speaker 3: Right, yeah, and that's what four of them on a

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Speaker 3: Saturday all day. Sure, I mean it beats it up.

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Speaker 3: It's not the same as NFL game beats.

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Speaker 2: I think, especially for the neat for the for the

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Speaker 2: grass surfaces.

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Speaker 3: Oh sure, sure, yeah thousand.

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Speaker 2: Like this Saturday, the Big Twelve Championship is at Jerry

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Speaker 2: World at the Cowboys Stadium.

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Speaker 3: They play different.

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Speaker 2: It's not it's not real grass, so does that really matter?

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Speaker 2: But it's an interesting point where like, you can only

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Speaker 2: have so many games in such an allotted time if

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Speaker 2: it's a real grass surface.

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Speaker 3: Or I need four days with no one on this

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Speaker 3: field before I can play an NFL game.

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Speaker 2: Sure, whatever they do, it's not a bunch, But I

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Speaker 2: think it's I know it's happened twice because it just

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Speaker 2: did this past weekend, and then it did before that.

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Speaker 2: Who did the Steelers host before Chicago? Who do we

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Speaker 2: have in town before Chicago? Was at the Colts. Yeah,

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Speaker 2: so that was that the same weekend that Pitt played

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Speaker 2: Notre Dame, and then this past weekend Pitt played Miami,

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Speaker 2: So that it's happened twice recently and then maybe once

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Speaker 2: at the beginning, so it's only two or three times

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Speaker 2: the whole year, Like I know it.

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Speaker 3: Does happened a time, right and pit season's almost over

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Speaker 3: and there's effect playoffs or.

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Speaker 2: Right, right, But that's a very interesting point where like, hey,

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Speaker 2: if we're.

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Speaker 3: Gonna have that hurt field quality, I don't know.

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Speaker 4: Very interesting, very very thin makes a product better, field

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Speaker 4: surface better, overall product better, better for performance and for safety.

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Speaker 2: And again, billion dollar entertainment business, that's what you're looking for.

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Speaker 2: That's raise the raise the floor of the product, I

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Speaker 2: think is what you say.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, I don't want to be like man games not

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Speaker 3: up the standards.

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Speaker 2: Right, right, And that's not typically a seismic issue, but

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Speaker 2: it still has been an issue from time to time.

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Speaker 2: And again, like people love the rip on how bad

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Speaker 2: the MetLife services, people love the rip on how bad

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Speaker 2: the commander's service. They talk about these things all the time.

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Speaker 3: I'm sure it's just public knowledge of players.

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Speaker 2: Right, Yeah. Like I don't think so Far has as

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Speaker 2: much as it is an incredible stadium. I don't think

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Speaker 2: it's turf has the best reputation for being you know, maybe.

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Speaker 3: It's just an off brand or not one of these

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Speaker 3: ones that are check the box.

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Speaker 2: Right, sure, sure, And so again I don't you and

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Speaker 2: I were not going to pretend like we uh, you know,

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Speaker 2: went to college for turf man or anything like that.

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Speaker 2: But this is worth bringing up though, I think, definitely

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Speaker 2: worth bringing up in a pretty what I would call

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Speaker 2: good and a positive kind of news story of the

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Speaker 2: day to get us rolling here. Plenty more to get into.

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Speaker 2: We're going to get into Matt's stats. We've also got

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Speaker 2: some other kind of news and notables around the league

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Speaker 2: that we will discuss as we roll along as well. Well, Shuler,

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Speaker 2: Matt Williamson. Just getting started here on a Thursday. It's

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Speaker 2: the Drive on Steelers Nation Radio on the Steelers Audio Network,

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Speaker 2: your tunes.

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Speaker 1: About Drive on your twenty four to seven home of

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Speaker 1: the Black and Goal Steelers Nation Radio.

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Speaker 2: Matt, I do want to jump into your stats packet

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Speaker 2: here momentarily for the kind of back half. This first

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Speaker 2: hour should.

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Speaker 3: Be on Steelers dot Com shortly. I assume if it's

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Speaker 3: not by now, it's usual you right around now on Thursdays.

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Speaker 2: You gotta love it. I mean, I'm Matt Williamson, published author.

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Speaker 3: Check it out.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, no big deal. I mean you're just cranking out

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Speaker 2: four thousand words stories every week. Look at you.

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Speaker 3: Stories is a strong word for that. Bullet points.

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Speaker 2: You're painting the heck of a picture, though. I'll give

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Speaker 2: you that. A couple more things here at kind of

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Speaker 2: news and notables that I wanted to just kick around

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Speaker 2: with you before we get to the stat packet. Darius

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Speaker 2: Slay has been claimed right by a team that's in

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Speaker 2: the playoff hunt, in the playoff picture in a good position,

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Speaker 2: the Buffalo Bills. But Darius Slay, via his agent Drew Rosenhouse,

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Speaker 2: is unsure whether he wants to continue playing and will

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Speaker 2: not be reporting to Buffalo via Drew Rosenhouse, and I

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Speaker 2: quote Slagh is honored that a first class organization like

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Speaker 2: the Bills claimed him, but he is going to take

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Speaker 2: some time away from football right now and decide in

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Speaker 2: the next few days if he wants to keep playing.

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Speaker 2: And quote, of course, Slay, the thirty four year old,

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Speaker 2: was released by the Pittsburgh Steelers on Tuesday.

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Speaker 3: I don't have a time to react. I mean, it

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Speaker 3: makes you wonder how much his heart's spending it all year,

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Speaker 3: or the last couple of weeks, or you know. I mean,

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Speaker 3: there's that old saying which I half believe that you're

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Speaker 3: thinking about your retirement. You're retiring.

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Speaker 2: I think there is some truth to that, you know.

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Speaker 3: I mean he watches his own tape too and has

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Speaker 3: to realize I'm not the player I used to be,

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Speaker 3: you know. I mean it happens everybody.

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Speaker 2: I think football is one of those things. It requires

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Speaker 2: so much of you. It's so violent, it's so aggressive,

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Speaker 2: it's so detail oriented from from a study standpoint that

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Speaker 2: like you you can't sit on a fence.

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Speaker 3: You can't. I think that's a thousand.

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Speaker 2: You can't half backside it, as some people would like

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Speaker 2: to say.

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Speaker 3: If Derek Henry's plowing at me after outside the numbers

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Speaker 3: and I don't much super interested and put my shoulder

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Speaker 3: into him, get him down, if he goes on tape

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Speaker 3: for everybody, and that's part of my legacy, and everybody

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Speaker 3: knows that stuff.

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Speaker 2: You know, if you're not gung ho about reporting to

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Speaker 2: a Super Bowl contender with a quarterback like that on

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Speaker 2: a Wednesday, that.

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Speaker 3: Was wondering, was he hoping to get claimed by somebody

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Speaker 3: else and just doesn't want to go to Buffalo, And

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Speaker 3: like that's a pretty good spot.

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Speaker 2: Pretty good landing spot. Playoff team, legit contender, legit Unicorn quarterback,

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Speaker 2: and yeah, if on a Wednesday, he's unsure if he

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Speaker 2: wants to continue. I can't imagine by Saturday he's gonna suddenly.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, I'm PSYCHEDO feel better and right, right, right.

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Speaker 2: I'm sure he's beat up. He's thirty four years old.

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Speaker 2: I mean, you know, been been strapping on the pads

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Speaker 2: since July back in Latrow.

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Speaker 3: Oh yeah, and last year he played as many games

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Speaker 3: as he possibly can.

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Speaker 2: And you know, right, had a lot of games over

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Speaker 2: the last few years with the Eagles, had a ton

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Speaker 2: of success. And maybe part of it is like I

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Speaker 2: just kind of picked up and moved across the state

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Speaker 2: of Pennsylvania a few months ago with my wife and

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Speaker 2: our kids. Like, do I want to go relocate the

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Speaker 2: Buffalo for the next couple of months.

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Speaker 3: Yeah. It's not that I know anything or implying anything,

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Speaker 3: but we don't know what's going on all these guys'

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Speaker 3: personal lives too, you know, like his kids might be

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Speaker 3: like that, I don't want to move again, you know,

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Speaker 3: or whatever. I don't want.

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Speaker 2: We don't want you to be gone buying Buffalo by

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Speaker 2: yourself for the next two months.

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Speaker 3: Right. I didn't know if he has kids, but I mean,

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Speaker 3: you know what I mean.

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Speaker 2: I know he's married. I think I think he does.

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Speaker 2: But that's actually.

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Speaker 3: He has money in the bank. We know that he is.

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Speaker 2: He has made a nice career earnings for himself, that

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Speaker 2: is for sure. Matt Eagles defensive tackle Jalen Carter ruled

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Speaker 2: out for Monday night football game against the Chargers after

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Speaker 2: a procedure this past Monday on both shoulders.

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Speaker 3: Yeah. I think that's only a one week absence. That

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Speaker 3: always blows me away. That happens a couple of times

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Speaker 3: a year where someone will get a procedure on both shoulders, right,

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Speaker 3: Which must be bad because it means he couldn't wait

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Speaker 3: till postseason, which.

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Speaker 2: Makes me think, is he just suddenly gonna weak off

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Speaker 2: and he'll be good.

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Speaker 3: To go, right right? I mean, I don't know. I mean,

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Speaker 3: I don't think it's an ir thing. Nobody's implying that

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Speaker 3: from the no the headlines I saw.

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Speaker 2: But that's a big loss for Phils.

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Speaker 3: Oh, he's tremendous players at a.

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Speaker 2: Time where they're kind of reeling and needing things to

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Speaker 2: go in the right direction.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, they probably win the division either way, but things

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Speaker 3: aren't great right now.

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Speaker 2: Oh. And you know, from an AFC playoff picture standpoint,

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Speaker 2: it would really help a lot of people out if

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Speaker 2: they could beat the Chargers on Monday night.

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Speaker 3: I was wondering, who do they play?

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Speaker 2: Yeah, but that task will get a little bit more

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Speaker 2: difficult without Jalen Carter.

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Speaker 3: We will sometimes these guys only miss a crazy I

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Speaker 3: mean the Singleton the linebacker for the Broncos testicular cancer

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Speaker 3: surgery and missed like two weeks. It was right, like,

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Speaker 3: what are we talking about here?

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Speaker 2: I'll never forget. And I'm not a big fan of his,

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Speaker 2: is you know as you just kind of alluded to

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Speaker 2: because of his alma mater, Tony Sarah Gusa, Like I

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Speaker 2: remember one time they like thought he was like paralyzed

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Speaker 2: in the middle of the game and he was back

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Speaker 2: out there in the second half.

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Speaker 3: Good lord nuts. Yeah. Now, but some of these procedures

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Speaker 3: and surgeries, guys have they miss a week or two.

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Speaker 2: It's like, wow, it's it is It's it's wild.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, it's absolutely one of a They're not like you and.

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Speaker 2: I, by the way, actually funny funny enough bringing up

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Speaker 2: Tony Sarah Goosa, Ravens Week, Ravens Week, every you know,

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Speaker 2: I I produced Touch and Wolf's show. Uh God, rest

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Speaker 2: their souls love those guys for a few years, I

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Speaker 2: would produce their morning show and then Motzen I would

440
00:20:09,760 --> 00:20:14,480
Speaker 2: be on in the afternoons every Ravens week. Every year,

441
00:20:14,840 --> 00:20:17,399
Speaker 2: Craig Wolfly would tell the story about Tony Sarah Goosea

442
00:20:17,480 --> 00:20:20,200
Speaker 2: doing the interview ahead of Steelers Ravens, where he told

443
00:20:20,240 --> 00:20:23,320
Speaker 2: Baltimore fans, if you see anybody wearing black and gold,

444
00:20:23,440 --> 00:20:26,120
Speaker 2: follow him into the bathroom and take care of business.

445
00:20:26,440 --> 00:20:27,000
Speaker 3: Beat them up.

446
00:20:27,000 --> 00:20:28,200
Speaker 2: There's no cameras in the.

447
00:20:28,119 --> 00:20:29,480
Speaker 3: Bathroom like that.

448
00:20:29,920 --> 00:20:32,480
Speaker 2: Wolf used to love to tell that story, like goose is,

449
00:20:32,760 --> 00:20:34,639
Speaker 2: goose Is talking and he's like, if you see anybody

450
00:20:34,680 --> 00:20:37,080
Speaker 2: wearing black and gold, follow him into the bathroom and

451
00:20:37,160 --> 00:20:39,720
Speaker 2: kick their butt, and they got no cameras in the bathroom,

452
00:20:39,720 --> 00:20:43,000
Speaker 2: and don't let those terrible pals into our stadium. Wolf

453
00:20:43,040 --> 00:20:44,960
Speaker 2: would have told that story at some point this week

454
00:20:45,119 --> 00:20:46,640
Speaker 2: much better than I just did.

455
00:20:47,240 --> 00:20:49,280
Speaker 3: Meanwhile, if the Steelers would have drafted him instead of

456
00:20:49,280 --> 00:20:50,680
Speaker 3: the Ravens.

457
00:20:51,000 --> 00:20:55,119
Speaker 2: One of those, he'd still be selling his mug on

458
00:20:55,200 --> 00:21:00,440
Speaker 2: a shirts down on the strip District. Matt speaking Baltimore,

459
00:21:00,480 --> 00:21:02,040
Speaker 2: and as we kind of start to transition and talk

460
00:21:02,080 --> 00:21:05,200
Speaker 2: about the Ravens here and Diagald that's but yeah, they

461
00:21:05,640 --> 00:21:10,320
Speaker 2: some news of the day just gave Mark Andrews shocked

462
00:21:10,359 --> 00:21:14,360
Speaker 2: to see the year extension. Same here where thirty nine

463
00:21:14,400 --> 00:21:19,800
Speaker 2: point three million includes twenty six million guaranteed thirty years

464
00:21:19,840 --> 00:21:22,479
Speaker 2: old was in the last couple of months here of

465
00:21:22,520 --> 00:21:26,399
Speaker 2: his contract. I think he's outstanding. I think he's had

466
00:21:26,440 --> 00:21:29,320
Speaker 2: a great career. But that's big money and nice term

467
00:21:29,400 --> 00:21:31,159
Speaker 2: to give a thirty year old at kind of this

468
00:21:31,280 --> 00:21:33,080
Speaker 2: stage of his career.

469
00:21:33,440 --> 00:21:36,320
Speaker 3: Last I saw the contract. Exact details of where the

470
00:21:36,359 --> 00:21:39,040
Speaker 3: money's at is not exactly been released. I mean that's

471
00:21:39,040 --> 00:21:41,040
Speaker 3: from the agent saying, look at all the money I

472
00:21:41,040 --> 00:21:43,800
Speaker 3: got from my player, Like, can they get out of

473
00:21:43,840 --> 00:21:44,880
Speaker 3: it after a year or two?

474
00:21:45,000 --> 00:21:47,560
Speaker 2: I bet they money's frontloaded and that.

475
00:21:47,640 --> 00:21:53,680
Speaker 3: I don't know. But he was like getting death threats

476
00:21:53,680 --> 00:21:57,040
Speaker 3: and egg Egg's house and you know after that drop,

477
00:21:57,080 --> 00:22:00,960
Speaker 3: which is nuts people, but crazy, that stuffs wrong. But

478
00:22:03,359 --> 00:22:04,760
Speaker 3: there was a lot of talk that he might even

479
00:22:04,760 --> 00:22:08,080
Speaker 3: get traded this offseason because they have likely they have Cohler,

480
00:22:08,240 --> 00:22:10,520
Speaker 3: They draft tight ends left and right. I mean, he

481
00:22:10,840 --> 00:22:12,680
Speaker 3: he was a reasonably big cap hit.

482
00:22:12,800 --> 00:22:15,879
Speaker 2: Was coming off of a despite that blunder in the playoffs,

483
00:22:15,960 --> 00:22:17,600
Speaker 2: was coming off of a great season last year.

484
00:22:17,640 --> 00:22:20,480
Speaker 3: Yeah, yeah, yeah, And I think there's reason to think

485
00:22:20,480 --> 00:22:22,960
Speaker 3: he's declining a little, you know, like in the staff pack,

486
00:22:23,000 --> 00:22:25,439
Speaker 3: there's a couple of things like his average up the

487
00:22:25,480 --> 00:22:27,600
Speaker 3: target and some of his numbers are a little down,

488
00:22:27,680 --> 00:22:29,280
Speaker 3: But so are the entire offenses.

489
00:22:29,880 --> 00:22:31,760
Speaker 2: But I think that's the toughest thing to judge for me.

490
00:22:32,040 --> 00:22:35,600
Speaker 2: Is he down or is it just the entire everybody?

491
00:22:35,480 --> 00:22:36,400
Speaker 2: Maybe a little bit of both.

492
00:22:36,440 --> 00:22:39,000
Speaker 3: I think that's one hundred per cent true. But I

493
00:22:39,000 --> 00:22:41,840
Speaker 3: think when he's remembered, he's going to go down as

494
00:22:41,920 --> 00:22:45,360
Speaker 3: like a Ring of honor type guy. Good yeah, yeah, yeah,

495
00:22:45,440 --> 00:22:47,359
Speaker 3: like one of the best Ravens. You know him and

496
00:22:47,400 --> 00:22:52,359
Speaker 3: Todd Heap and you know it's like outstanding player, outstanding player.

497
00:22:52,359 --> 00:22:55,360
Speaker 3: And they still feature him heavily in the red zone.

498
00:22:55,359 --> 00:22:58,280
Speaker 3: He still catches a lot of touchdowns. And I guarantee

499
00:22:58,720 --> 00:23:00,920
Speaker 3: Lamar put his stamp on this too, because he's been

500
00:23:01,000 --> 00:23:03,840
Speaker 3: kind of they were drafted the same year. He's been

501
00:23:03,880 --> 00:23:05,480
Speaker 3: as will be every step of the way.

502
00:23:05,680 --> 00:23:07,239
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's like, this is my guy. I don't want

503
00:23:07,320 --> 00:23:08,080
Speaker 2: him going anywhere.

504
00:23:08,320 --> 00:23:11,000
Speaker 3: And what's crazy is that draft year for them, they

505
00:23:11,080 --> 00:23:14,200
Speaker 3: drafted a tight end before Lamar in the round one,

506
00:23:14,440 --> 00:23:16,320
Speaker 3: and then they took Andrews a couple of years.

507
00:23:16,400 --> 00:23:17,320
Speaker 2: Who was that that they took?

508
00:23:17,440 --> 00:23:19,680
Speaker 3: Why am I forgetting off the top of hayden Hurst.

509
00:23:19,720 --> 00:23:20,399
Speaker 2: Hayden Hurst?

510
00:23:20,520 --> 00:23:22,880
Speaker 3: Right, he was a pirate prospect for a while. He

511
00:23:22,920 --> 00:23:25,240
Speaker 3: was like a twenty six year old dude. And he's

512
00:23:25,280 --> 00:23:26,760
Speaker 3: I mean, he may even still be in the league.

513
00:23:26,760 --> 00:23:29,040
Speaker 3: I don't think he is, but whatever, he wasn't horrible.

514
00:23:29,480 --> 00:23:31,760
Speaker 3: But then they end up doubling down with Andrews in

515
00:23:31,800 --> 00:23:33,520
Speaker 3: the third or fourth round and that ends up being

516
00:23:33,560 --> 00:23:35,880
Speaker 3: Lamar's guy. You know. And Lamar wasn't even their first

517
00:23:35,880 --> 00:23:36,560
Speaker 3: first round pick that.

518
00:23:36,600 --> 00:23:38,879
Speaker 2: Year, right, They traded back in to the to the

519
00:23:38,960 --> 00:23:40,960
Speaker 2: end of the first round to get him and what

520
00:23:41,119 --> 00:23:44,520
Speaker 2: ended up being a nice coup for the Baltimore Ravens. Certainly,

521
00:23:45,560 --> 00:23:48,320
Speaker 2: let's talk about that actually a little bit. Let's stay there, Matt.

522
00:23:48,800 --> 00:23:51,840
Speaker 2: I do not like we yesterday discussed a little bit

523
00:23:51,880 --> 00:23:56,280
Speaker 2: how from a again billion dollar entertainment business. Yeah, yeah,

524
00:23:56,320 --> 00:23:59,639
Speaker 2: how it's it's brilliant in that regard. But I do

525
00:23:59,720 --> 00:24:02,919
Speaker 2: not like how all these division games now are like

526
00:24:03,040 --> 00:24:04,879
Speaker 2: sandwiched at the end of the season and for the

527
00:24:05,000 --> 00:24:07,200
Speaker 2: drama and for the attention and the tie breakers and

528
00:24:07,240 --> 00:24:12,520
Speaker 2: all that particularly as it relates to the Ravens, because

529
00:24:12,560 --> 00:24:16,080
Speaker 2: one Lamar Jackson is pretty stinking good in the month

530
00:24:16,080 --> 00:24:16,600
Speaker 2: of December.

531
00:24:17,320 --> 00:24:22,359
Speaker 3: So it's Henry. Yeah, yes, they both have some very

532
00:24:22,440 --> 00:24:26,600
Speaker 3: distinguished numbers. Side note too, we talked about this a

533
00:24:26,640 --> 00:24:29,600
Speaker 3: week ago with Josh Allen. You know, we were talking

534
00:24:29,640 --> 00:24:32,760
Speaker 3: about Tomlin off a loss, how good he's been, Josh

535
00:24:32,840 --> 00:24:35,680
Speaker 3: Allen off a loss, how good he's been. Well, Lamar

536
00:24:35,760 --> 00:24:38,280
Speaker 3: is one of the only guys better than Alan. It's Mahomes,

537
00:24:38,280 --> 00:24:41,560
Speaker 3: Allen and Lamar the best three ever quarterback win percentage

538
00:24:41,560 --> 00:24:46,200
Speaker 3: off a loss, and Lamar's number one and his record

539
00:24:47,400 --> 00:24:52,119
Speaker 3: once December hits regular season, it's insane. It's insane. Dereck

540
00:24:52,200 --> 00:24:56,040
Speaker 3: Henry's numbers late in the regular season are insane, Like

541
00:24:56,119 --> 00:24:59,880
Speaker 3: he doesn't wear down defenses due and he just pun

542
00:25:00,600 --> 00:25:02,320
Speaker 3: just like he does the end of games. You know.

543
00:25:02,480 --> 00:25:06,000
Speaker 3: So that's a good point. You know, like when the

544
00:25:06,000 --> 00:25:08,879
Speaker 3: schedule comes out next year, maybe it'd be nice to

545
00:25:08,880 --> 00:25:12,320
Speaker 3: have one Raven game in October and then one in December.

546
00:25:12,359 --> 00:25:13,879
Speaker 2: You know, I'd love to go to the Inner Harbor

547
00:25:13,920 --> 00:25:16,600
Speaker 2: in September. Yeah, I'm sure it's lovely that time. I

548
00:25:16,600 --> 00:25:19,760
Speaker 2: bet it's nicer much different than when I'm gonna be

549
00:25:19,760 --> 00:25:21,920
Speaker 2: there on Saturday and I'll step outside of the hotel

550
00:25:21,960 --> 00:25:25,119
Speaker 2: and it's like, shit, yeah, that's a wind coming on

551
00:25:25,280 --> 00:25:27,520
Speaker 2: cold December wind coming off the water there in the

552
00:25:27,520 --> 00:25:28,119
Speaker 2: inner Harbor.

553
00:25:28,840 --> 00:25:28,959
Speaker 1: Uh.

554
00:25:29,040 --> 00:25:31,520
Speaker 2: Yeah. Lamar out standing in the month of December. So

555
00:25:31,680 --> 00:25:33,840
Speaker 2: is Derek Henry. But his December record, as you mentioned,

556
00:25:33,920 --> 00:25:35,440
Speaker 2: is one of the best in the history of the

557
00:25:35,520 --> 00:25:36,680
Speaker 2: National Football League.

558
00:25:37,160 --> 00:25:38,960
Speaker 3: So that's something that kind of stuff can't be a fluke.

559
00:25:39,240 --> 00:25:42,119
Speaker 3: It's not. It's the organization figures things out as it

560
00:25:42,119 --> 00:25:43,120
Speaker 3: goes a long Well, if.

561
00:25:43,000 --> 00:25:45,000
Speaker 2: It's maybe your third year in the league, you could

562
00:25:45,000 --> 00:25:47,840
Speaker 2: say Kay played twelve games, but at this point when

563
00:25:47,880 --> 00:25:49,720
Speaker 2: you've been in the league for eight years or whatever

564
00:25:49,760 --> 00:25:52,400
Speaker 2: he has, it's there's a large enough sample size there

565
00:25:52,400 --> 00:25:54,480
Speaker 2: to prove that it's a trend and it's something that

566
00:25:54,520 --> 00:25:55,120
Speaker 2: they do well.

567
00:25:55,560 --> 00:25:57,760
Speaker 3: And even like the past two years past the sniff test,

568
00:25:57,800 --> 00:26:01,120
Speaker 3: because they made some they're bye week both years, made

569
00:26:01,119 --> 00:26:04,359
Speaker 3: some drastic changes, particularly on defense, particularly on defense, and

570
00:26:04,400 --> 00:26:06,760
Speaker 3: it worked, you know, like they figure things out as

571
00:26:06,760 --> 00:26:09,600
Speaker 3: the season goes along pretty well. Yes, I think it's

572
00:26:09,600 --> 00:26:10,320
Speaker 3: a hardbough thing too.

573
00:26:10,400 --> 00:26:13,280
Speaker 2: I think that's very well said and Okay, so some

574
00:26:13,359 --> 00:26:15,240
Speaker 2: people might hear that and they might go, all right,

575
00:26:15,240 --> 00:26:17,640
Speaker 2: but this is not the same Ravens team. They haven't

576
00:26:17,640 --> 00:26:19,800
Speaker 2: been nearly as impressive. They haven't been nearly as good.

577
00:26:20,880 --> 00:26:23,800
Speaker 2: Not the same lamar nearly as impressive, nearly as good.

578
00:26:23,920 --> 00:26:26,840
Speaker 2: I will allow you that grain of salt. Fine, So

579
00:26:26,880 --> 00:26:30,280
Speaker 2: if that doesn't concern you, this I think certainly should,

580
00:26:30,480 --> 00:26:31,399
Speaker 2: or at least it does me.

581
00:26:33,000 --> 00:26:33,320
Speaker 3: Matt.

582
00:26:33,520 --> 00:26:37,560
Speaker 2: I know this is something in your stat packet, the

583
00:26:37,800 --> 00:26:41,520
Speaker 2: Baltimore Ravens' third quarter success this season.

584
00:26:41,720 --> 00:26:43,080
Speaker 3: Oh, this is troubling.

585
00:26:43,200 --> 00:26:44,360
Speaker 2: And we've talked.

586
00:26:44,240 --> 00:26:46,359
Speaker 3: Plenty some of this second half stuff.

587
00:26:46,400 --> 00:26:48,879
Speaker 2: We've talked plenty about how the Steelers have struggled in

588
00:26:48,920 --> 00:26:51,359
Speaker 2: the third quarter, struggled out of halftime when that was

589
00:26:51,400 --> 00:26:53,400
Speaker 2: such a strength of a team in twenty twenty four.

590
00:26:54,320 --> 00:26:56,600
Speaker 2: That better not be the case on Sunday, because Baltimore

591
00:26:56,600 --> 00:26:58,480
Speaker 2: has been really good in the third quarter, and the

592
00:26:58,520 --> 00:27:01,440
Speaker 2: Steelers have really struggled in the third quarter. And doesn't

593
00:27:01,440 --> 00:27:05,200
Speaker 2: Baltimore have the most points scored on average in the

594
00:27:05,240 --> 00:27:07,600
Speaker 2: third quarter I think NFL right now.

595
00:27:07,480 --> 00:27:10,000
Speaker 3: Yeah, I think they're number one in points scored in third.

596
00:27:09,920 --> 00:27:13,560
Speaker 2: Quar like over a touchdown average. They score in the

597
00:27:13,600 --> 00:27:17,359
Speaker 2: third quarter. The Steelers have really struggled in that department, Right,

598
00:27:17,560 --> 00:27:20,960
Speaker 2: That's that's something that I'm a little concerned about, is hey,

599
00:27:21,000 --> 00:27:23,440
Speaker 2: maybe it's a four point game, three point game, something

600
00:27:23,520 --> 00:27:26,000
Speaker 2: like that at half, like we've seen, but then all

601
00:27:26,040 --> 00:27:28,080
Speaker 2: of a sudden in the first five minutes of the

602
00:27:28,119 --> 00:27:29,440
Speaker 2: third quarter, here come the Ravens.

603
00:27:29,560 --> 00:27:33,480
Speaker 3: Yeah, and it's not as true this year because they

604
00:27:33,480 --> 00:27:36,359
Speaker 3: haven't had as good a year, but the Ravens and

605
00:27:36,400 --> 00:27:38,560
Speaker 3: Eagles over the last couple of years, while both those

606
00:27:38,560 --> 00:27:42,159
Speaker 3: teams have been really, really good, they when they have

607
00:27:42,160 --> 00:27:43,360
Speaker 3: a halftime lead to.

608
00:27:44,080 --> 00:27:47,760
Speaker 2: They bury you because they run, run a lot of it.

609
00:27:47,800 --> 00:27:49,919
Speaker 3: They throw in the first half to run in the

610
00:27:49,960 --> 00:27:53,520
Speaker 3: second half, and they just put the clamps on you

611
00:27:53,640 --> 00:27:55,960
Speaker 3: like the Cower teams used to. You know, now, I

612
00:27:55,960 --> 00:27:58,359
Speaker 3: don't think this team's is dominant, nor the Eagles for

613
00:27:58,400 --> 00:28:02,320
Speaker 3: that matter, is dominant in that regard. But that's what

614
00:28:02,359 --> 00:28:04,679
Speaker 3: they want to do, and that's what they're built to do.

615
00:28:04,800 --> 00:28:06,280
Speaker 3: You know, you're gonna get a lot of recard and

616
00:28:06,359 --> 00:28:08,879
Speaker 3: extra tight ends and Henry Henry Henry, and you know

617
00:28:09,000 --> 00:28:10,200
Speaker 3: right right that gets old.

618
00:28:10,359 --> 00:28:12,840
Speaker 2: It does. It's more more difficult to do when Lamar

619
00:28:13,080 --> 00:28:16,600
Speaker 2: isn't clearly one hundred healthy and not the same rushing

620
00:28:16,720 --> 00:28:18,840
Speaker 2: threat that he has done in the past. But again,

621
00:28:18,920 --> 00:28:21,240
Speaker 2: still that number is from this that's not a Lamar

622
00:28:21,320 --> 00:28:24,760
Speaker 2: career thing. That's twenty five. That's the league best in

623
00:28:24,760 --> 00:28:26,760
Speaker 2: the league in the third quarter so far this season.

624
00:28:27,440 --> 00:28:28,720
Speaker 2: So those were So.

625
00:28:28,720 --> 00:28:32,160
Speaker 3: If you won the toss, would you rather maybe get Yeah?

626
00:28:32,480 --> 00:28:35,280
Speaker 3: Does it change your tune? Almost every team takes it

627
00:28:35,320 --> 00:28:38,600
Speaker 3: in the second half. I think you just do what

628
00:28:38,640 --> 00:28:39,120
Speaker 3: you do, you know.

629
00:28:39,320 --> 00:28:41,640
Speaker 2: I still like the Steelers taking it in the second half.

630
00:28:41,720 --> 00:28:41,920
Speaker 1: Yeah.

631
00:28:42,000 --> 00:28:43,800
Speaker 2: Yeah, They've had the lead in that position so many

632
00:28:43,800 --> 00:28:45,680
Speaker 2: times getting the ball back that's a great place to be.

633
00:28:46,160 --> 00:28:47,640
Speaker 2: You laid it out there have been able to take

634
00:28:47,640 --> 00:28:48,120
Speaker 2: advantage of it.

635
00:28:48,120 --> 00:28:50,720
Speaker 3: I mean those six drives that they've started the second

636
00:28:50,800 --> 00:28:53,760
Speaker 3: half with the football of all gone really bad, really bad.

637
00:28:54,040 --> 00:28:56,960
Speaker 3: Now that's only six drives, but you know three it's

638
00:28:57,000 --> 00:28:58,200
Speaker 3: four punts.

639
00:28:57,760 --> 00:28:59,920
Speaker 2: Four punts I think a turnover.

640
00:29:00,760 --> 00:29:05,960
Speaker 3: Down and the Bosa fumbo yes, a touchdown. Yeah, yeah,

641
00:29:05,960 --> 00:29:06,360
Speaker 3: that's right.

642
00:29:07,000 --> 00:29:08,200
Speaker 2: So those things they have not.

643
00:29:08,160 --> 00:29:10,600
Speaker 3: A successful drive when getting the ball coming out of

644
00:29:10,600 --> 00:29:13,120
Speaker 3: the second half. That doesn't mean you can't six times,

645
00:29:13,160 --> 00:29:13,480
Speaker 3: but you know.

646
00:29:13,760 --> 00:29:15,800
Speaker 2: It's also it's almost one of those things of like

647
00:29:16,240 --> 00:29:18,920
Speaker 2: I think you almost have to you almost have to

648
00:29:18,920 --> 00:29:20,560
Speaker 2: do or die, You almost have to sink or swim

649
00:29:20,600 --> 00:29:23,520
Speaker 2: in that department and this. Okay, so this is going

650
00:29:23,560 --> 00:29:23,800
Speaker 2: to be.

651
00:29:23,960 --> 00:29:26,360
Speaker 3: Throwing your defense back on the fields with the answer.

652
00:29:27,720 --> 00:29:30,920
Speaker 2: This is this is going to be a really bad analogy,

653
00:29:30,960 --> 00:29:34,000
Speaker 2: but I think it might land. It's the only kind

654
00:29:34,000 --> 00:29:39,240
Speaker 2: of similar thing that I can think of wrestling. Okay,

655
00:29:39,680 --> 00:29:42,280
Speaker 2: and I'm not talking w W. I'm talking like like

656
00:29:42,400 --> 00:29:46,280
Speaker 2: like like real rats, college and high school and Olympic wrestling.

657
00:29:47,000 --> 00:29:49,160
Speaker 2: You know how like a lot of times there's pauses

658
00:29:49,200 --> 00:29:50,960
Speaker 2: in the match when the guys go out of the

659
00:29:51,040 --> 00:29:54,280
Speaker 2: ring or whatever, and the ref like resets and one

660
00:29:54,320 --> 00:29:56,160
Speaker 2: guy gets like the upper leverage on the other.

661
00:29:56,400 --> 00:29:58,360
Speaker 3: Yeah, yeah, you know what I'm talking about. I understand

662
00:29:58,360 --> 00:29:58,880
Speaker 3: how that happens.

663
00:29:58,920 --> 00:30:01,680
Speaker 2: Like the scene in Greece with John Travolta's trying out

664
00:30:01,680 --> 00:30:03,640
Speaker 2: for the wrestling team and he's like, you know, like, oh,

665
00:30:03,720 --> 00:30:05,080
Speaker 2: let's see how you do it with a leg up,

666
00:30:05,080 --> 00:30:07,040
Speaker 2: and the guy still flips him around at half of

667
00:30:07,040 --> 00:30:09,640
Speaker 2: a second. It's like I still want the leg up,

668
00:30:09,680 --> 00:30:11,200
Speaker 2: even though it hasn't worked out for me.

669
00:30:11,440 --> 00:30:13,160
Speaker 3: Yeah, it doesn't mean if.

670
00:30:12,800 --> 00:30:15,080
Speaker 2: I'm a wrestler and my numbers are really bad when

671
00:30:15,080 --> 00:30:17,960
Speaker 2: I get put in the advantage position. Okay, well, I

672
00:30:18,000 --> 00:30:19,600
Speaker 2: want to figure out how to change that. I don't

673
00:30:19,600 --> 00:30:21,040
Speaker 2: want to all of a sudden not be in the

674
00:30:21,040 --> 00:30:24,160
Speaker 2: advantage position just because I haven't been able to capitalize. Ye.

675
00:30:25,720 --> 00:30:27,720
Speaker 2: If I'm a golfer and I'm hitting the ball better

676
00:30:27,760 --> 00:30:29,440
Speaker 2: out of the rough than i am the fairway, I

677
00:30:29,480 --> 00:30:31,280
Speaker 2: still want to hit the ball out of the fairway.

678
00:30:31,480 --> 00:30:33,000
Speaker 2: I just want to figure out how to hit.

679
00:30:32,920 --> 00:30:34,240
Speaker 3: It well out of the fairway.

680
00:30:34,280 --> 00:30:35,640
Speaker 2: That's a better, easier analogy.

681
00:30:35,720 --> 00:30:38,760
Speaker 3: Yeah. Yeah, you're gonna play a third quarter against them

682
00:30:38,760 --> 00:30:40,800
Speaker 3: either way, you know, right.

683
00:30:40,280 --> 00:30:41,920
Speaker 2: Right, if I can only hit a fastball and not

684
00:30:42,000 --> 00:30:44,160
Speaker 2: a curveball, I better be figuring out how to hit

685
00:30:44,160 --> 00:30:46,440
Speaker 2: the curveball instead of just hoping to get more fastballs.

686
00:30:46,480 --> 00:30:48,320
Speaker 3: They're greed, and I'm sure they're working on what are

687
00:30:48,320 --> 00:30:50,000
Speaker 3: we doing wrong coming out of half? You know, I'm

688
00:30:50,000 --> 00:30:52,320
Speaker 3: sure it's on their mind. And additionally, I'm glad you

689
00:30:52,320 --> 00:30:54,360
Speaker 3: brought that up because this team's a little scary from

690
00:30:54,360 --> 00:30:54,800
Speaker 3: that department.

691
00:30:54,880 --> 00:30:57,320
Speaker 2: Scary from that department. Yeah, it worries me because of

692
00:30:57,360 --> 00:31:00,480
Speaker 2: the Steelers recent form in that regard, but I also

693
00:31:00,600 --> 00:31:03,560
Speaker 2: do have some optimism because they last year twenty twenty four,

694
00:31:03,600 --> 00:31:04,760
Speaker 2: they were so good there.

695
00:31:04,920 --> 00:31:07,040
Speaker 3: Yeah. Again, and it's the combined tame.

696
00:31:07,440 --> 00:31:10,920
Speaker 2: It's the same coordinators, it's a largely very similar coaching staff,

697
00:31:11,000 --> 00:31:12,440
Speaker 2: largely very similar roster.

698
00:31:12,760 --> 00:31:13,320
Speaker 3: Yeah.

699
00:31:13,360 --> 00:31:15,600
Speaker 2: Like I if you're asking me of all the areas

700
00:31:15,640 --> 00:31:18,640
Speaker 2: that they've really struggled that could turn around quickly, that

701
00:31:18,720 --> 00:31:20,640
Speaker 2: might be the one that I would would point out

702
00:31:20,680 --> 00:31:21,960
Speaker 2: pretty early in the conversation.

703
00:31:22,680 --> 00:31:25,080
Speaker 3: I bring it up, I think every show, but the

704
00:31:25,160 --> 00:31:28,280
Speaker 3: second half stuff. To me, it all comes down to time,

705
00:31:28,360 --> 00:31:30,840
Speaker 3: possession and running to me, plays in terms of the defense,

706
00:31:30,840 --> 00:31:32,080
Speaker 3: in terms of the defense, yeah, yeah, yeah.

707
00:31:32,160 --> 00:31:35,560
Speaker 2: And there's a correlation there with how slow the offense

708
00:31:35,600 --> 00:31:37,760
Speaker 2: has been out of out of the locker.

709
00:31:37,600 --> 00:31:38,760
Speaker 3: Room as well. Yeah, oh yeah.

710
00:31:38,840 --> 00:31:42,320
Speaker 2: Lately a lot of three and outs and quick three

711
00:31:42,320 --> 00:31:44,480
Speaker 2: and outs too, like three and complete passes and twenty

712
00:31:44,520 --> 00:31:46,440
Speaker 2: seconds off the clock and you're off the field type thing.

713
00:31:46,560 --> 00:31:48,840
Speaker 3: All of a sudden, we got another twenty eight minutes

714
00:31:48,840 --> 00:31:50,280
Speaker 3: to play, right right.

715
00:31:50,960 --> 00:31:53,000
Speaker 2: I want to get into some of thatth's specific numbers

716
00:31:53,040 --> 00:31:55,560
Speaker 2: on both the Steelers and the Ravens as we continue

717
00:31:55,560 --> 00:31:59,360
Speaker 2: to talk, some stats, some analytics, set in the stage,

718
00:31:59,400 --> 00:32:01,760
Speaker 2: set in the seat for Steelers Ravens Sunday at M

719
00:32:01,800 --> 00:32:04,480
Speaker 2: and T. Banks Stadium in Baltimore. We'll do that to

720
00:32:04,520 --> 00:32:06,400
Speaker 2: close down to the first hour. Talk to our buddy

721
00:32:06,400 --> 00:32:09,360
Speaker 2: Blob blah blah blah blah bluh. Talk to our buddy

722
00:32:09,640 --> 00:32:12,960
Speaker 2: Bob Labriola in about twenty minutes from now as well,

723
00:32:13,000 --> 00:32:15,080
Speaker 2: so plenty to get to here. On the Drive, West Shouler,

724
00:32:15,120 --> 00:32:18,840
Speaker 2: Matt Williamson, It's Steelers Nation Radio on the Steelers Audio Network,

725
00:32:25,640 --> 00:32:26,600
Speaker 2: your tunes.

726
00:32:26,280 --> 00:32:28,720
Speaker 1: About Drive on your twenty four to seven home of

727
00:32:28,760 --> 00:32:30,880
Speaker 1: the Black and Goal, Steelers Nation.

728
00:32:30,840 --> 00:32:47,520
Speaker 2: Radio, closing down the first hour here and more Matt stats,

729
00:32:47,840 --> 00:32:53,000
Speaker 2: more numbers, and Matt, let's get into it all right.

730
00:32:54,160 --> 00:32:58,040
Speaker 2: A lot of talk about going part of me. I

731
00:32:58,120 --> 00:33:02,400
Speaker 2: just again, I can't no. It was just like a

732
00:33:02,400 --> 00:33:07,560
Speaker 2: little burt So TV brought me this outstanding like craft

733
00:33:07,640 --> 00:33:11,800
Speaker 2: root beer, like small batch homemade root beer, and it's

734
00:33:11,880 --> 00:33:14,120
Speaker 2: really good. But I just slug down like the second

735
00:33:14,160 --> 00:33:17,200
Speaker 2: half of it like thirty seconds before we came on

736
00:33:17,280 --> 00:33:18,400
Speaker 2: air here and just got.

737
00:33:18,240 --> 00:33:20,959
Speaker 3: The little carbonation. Yeah, Okay, burp there for a second.

738
00:33:21,160 --> 00:33:24,880
Speaker 2: We're surviving a lot of conversation this week about going

739
00:33:25,000 --> 00:33:27,720
Speaker 2: under center for the offense, what it means for the

740
00:33:27,760 --> 00:33:29,960
Speaker 2: run game, what it means for opposition defense, is all

741
00:33:30,000 --> 00:33:33,240
Speaker 2: that stuff. Last week, all of Pittsburgh's running plays were

742
00:33:33,240 --> 00:33:34,880
Speaker 2: out of shotgun or pistol.

743
00:33:35,160 --> 00:33:35,400
Speaker 3: Sure.

744
00:33:36,040 --> 00:33:38,520
Speaker 2: On the season, the Steelers running backs averaged three point

745
00:33:38,560 --> 00:33:41,560
Speaker 2: eight yards per carry out of shotgun or pistol compared

746
00:33:41,600 --> 00:33:44,480
Speaker 2: to four point six from under center, So nearly a

747
00:33:44,560 --> 00:33:48,640
Speaker 2: yard difference per carry. That's substantial. Why is that paint

748
00:33:48,640 --> 00:33:49,520
Speaker 2: the picture for us?

749
00:33:49,880 --> 00:33:51,920
Speaker 3: I'm not great with this, to be honest with you.

750
00:33:52,160 --> 00:33:57,160
Speaker 3: I definitely think that backs get a better angle. I think, well,

751
00:33:57,760 --> 00:34:00,760
Speaker 3: I think linebackers get a better you of it all

752
00:34:01,960 --> 00:34:04,520
Speaker 3: seeing it there too, as opposed to getting a step

753
00:34:04,600 --> 00:34:06,720
Speaker 3: or two before I get the football, trying to think

754
00:34:06,760 --> 00:34:09,920
Speaker 3: like a running back as opposed to I'm basically flat

755
00:34:09,960 --> 00:34:12,239
Speaker 3: footed when I get the ball, as opposed to I'm

756
00:34:12,239 --> 00:34:15,080
Speaker 3: starting to build momentum. Build momentum like Henry is the

757
00:34:15,080 --> 00:34:18,600
Speaker 3: best example, because that guy takes him a second or

758
00:34:18,640 --> 00:34:20,880
Speaker 3: two to get the full speed. Sure, and you know

759
00:34:20,920 --> 00:34:23,080
Speaker 3: this is gonna be a Keith of Steelers. Is getting him,

760
00:34:23,200 --> 00:34:26,439
Speaker 3: getting some contact on him as early as possible. Yeah,

761
00:34:26,640 --> 00:34:30,200
Speaker 3: he's a track runner, so I think that's part of it.

762
00:34:31,320 --> 00:34:35,839
Speaker 3: I guarantee you offensive gurus could tell you, well, it's

763
00:34:35,880 --> 00:34:39,000
Speaker 3: easier to pull my guard and blocking angles and this

764
00:34:39,080 --> 00:34:41,960
Speaker 3: run play definitely works better out of it all those things.

765
00:34:42,600 --> 00:34:44,960
Speaker 3: But I do believe, and these numbers back it up,

766
00:34:45,120 --> 00:34:49,400
Speaker 3: that under center runs to me are better. They just

767
00:34:49,480 --> 00:34:52,600
Speaker 3: are now. I also think, and this bothers me a

768
00:34:52,600 --> 00:34:56,560
Speaker 3: little bit with the Steelers offense lately, is they've really

769
00:34:56,560 --> 00:34:57,920
Speaker 3: gotten away from play action.

770
00:35:00,120 --> 00:35:03,880
Speaker 2: Just thirteen point three percent of their dropbacks, sixth lowest

771
00:35:03,920 --> 00:35:05,000
Speaker 2: in the National Football League.

772
00:35:05,120 --> 00:35:07,799
Speaker 3: From what I remember doing the stat pack in like

773
00:35:07,920 --> 00:35:12,359
Speaker 3: week three four, they were in the top ten. Like

774
00:35:12,480 --> 00:35:13,400
Speaker 3: they started on.

775
00:35:13,600 --> 00:35:16,400
Speaker 2: They started, yes, like it was what we were calling

776
00:35:16,480 --> 00:35:17,960
Speaker 2: for and it was happening.

777
00:35:17,600 --> 00:35:19,960
Speaker 3: And it was happening right, And then I think it

778
00:35:20,000 --> 00:35:22,440
Speaker 3: was very effective from what I recall, just even just

779
00:35:22,480 --> 00:35:24,839
Speaker 3: the numbers of it all. And I don't know why

780
00:35:24,840 --> 00:35:27,200
Speaker 3: they got away from it, and I think it's I

781
00:35:27,200 --> 00:35:33,240
Speaker 3: think there's studies that play action work is a cheat code,

782
00:35:33,320 --> 00:35:37,799
Speaker 3: no matter what. I half believe that. I don't think

783
00:35:37,840 --> 00:35:41,359
Speaker 3: play action out of pistol or shotgun does that much

784
00:35:41,400 --> 00:35:43,080
Speaker 3: for you, you know, it's just not.

785
00:35:43,080 --> 00:35:44,480
Speaker 2: As convinced it's not as convincing.

786
00:35:44,520 --> 00:35:45,839
Speaker 3: It's just not as convincing, you know.

787
00:35:46,680 --> 00:35:49,120
Speaker 2: But I do think the linebackers don't have to account

788
00:35:49,160 --> 00:35:50,560
Speaker 2: for as much in that scenario.

789
00:35:50,719 --> 00:35:52,640
Speaker 3: Yeah, I just don't think you bite as hard.

790
00:35:52,760 --> 00:35:54,680
Speaker 2: Right, You're not doing the like hold your water for

791
00:35:54,719 --> 00:35:58,000
Speaker 2: an extra half second that you're trying to get.

792
00:35:58,080 --> 00:35:59,640
Speaker 3: You're watching the ball come in out of the guy's

793
00:35:59,680 --> 00:36:03,399
Speaker 3: stommach or whatever. You know. But I think these two

794
00:36:03,400 --> 00:36:08,800
Speaker 3: things correlate, sure, absolutely. Also, we don't know if Rogers

795
00:36:08,800 --> 00:36:09,600
Speaker 3: can go under center or.

796
00:36:09,600 --> 00:36:12,439
Speaker 2: Not, and that's a big yeah. Yeah, maybe they could

797
00:36:12,480 --> 00:36:16,440
Speaker 2: do a smoking mirrors thing. If he's like struggling to

798
00:36:16,440 --> 00:36:19,000
Speaker 2: go under center first series of the game, have him

799
00:36:19,000 --> 00:36:21,040
Speaker 2: do it a couple of times, and then then don't

800
00:36:21,120 --> 00:36:22,520
Speaker 2: do it in the rest of the way.

801
00:36:22,719 --> 00:36:24,040
Speaker 3: You think it's still in your.

802
00:36:23,960 --> 00:36:28,120
Speaker 2: Think, it's still right in your possibility. Matt Steelers offense

803
00:36:28,280 --> 00:36:31,279
Speaker 2: is actually twelfth best in the league in rushing EPA,

804
00:36:31,719 --> 00:36:33,680
Speaker 2: tenth best in rushing success rate.

805
00:36:33,840 --> 00:36:34,120
Speaker 3: Yeah.

806
00:36:34,200 --> 00:36:36,640
Speaker 2: Yeah, Yet the Steelers are throwing the ball this year

807
00:36:36,760 --> 00:36:40,000
Speaker 2: nearly fifty eight percent of the time, thirteenth highest in

808
00:36:40,080 --> 00:36:43,279
Speaker 2: the National Football League. Direcond correlation to the time of

809
00:36:43,320 --> 00:36:44,120
Speaker 2: possession problem.

810
00:36:44,239 --> 00:36:48,080
Speaker 3: I think that well, two things. I could understand what

811
00:36:48,160 --> 00:36:51,120
Speaker 3: I wrote there if they were losing heavy on the

812
00:36:51,160 --> 00:36:54,400
Speaker 3: scoreboard a bunch. They haven't been down heavy all that

813
00:36:54,480 --> 00:36:57,160
Speaker 3: much this year. I mean there's times in their losses

814
00:36:57,200 --> 00:37:01,200
Speaker 3: where late in the game, it's especially Bill's game, like

815
00:37:01,239 --> 00:37:02,920
Speaker 3: we're in trouble here, we gotta throw, we gotta throw,

816
00:37:03,000 --> 00:37:05,200
Speaker 3: no row, no doubt. But it's for a six and

817
00:37:05,280 --> 00:37:08,480
Speaker 3: six team. They have not been in many instances where

818
00:37:08,520 --> 00:37:10,520
Speaker 3: you have to scrap the run, you know, for a

819
00:37:10,560 --> 00:37:12,959
Speaker 3: team that's lost half their games. I mean every team

820
00:37:13,239 --> 00:37:15,839
Speaker 3: gets in a two minute situation or whatever. I don't

821
00:37:15,880 --> 00:37:18,480
Speaker 3: think they've had to been forced, you know, to skew

822
00:37:18,560 --> 00:37:20,840
Speaker 3: these numbers that's strong into the pass for that reason.

823
00:37:21,600 --> 00:37:24,400
Speaker 3: So a big thing that's been going through my noodle

824
00:37:24,719 --> 00:37:29,160
Speaker 3: this week is, yeah, noodle time possession is a massive problem.

825
00:37:29,239 --> 00:37:30,280
Speaker 3: We talked about this every.

826
00:37:30,080 --> 00:37:31,840
Speaker 2: Five We sound like a broken record.

827
00:37:32,520 --> 00:37:34,640
Speaker 3: I can't stress it or enough. So how do you

828
00:37:34,640 --> 00:37:36,759
Speaker 3: fix it? Well, I mean it's easy to say, well,

829
00:37:37,040 --> 00:37:40,839
Speaker 3: get better at runs, yeah, but I think step one

830
00:37:40,960 --> 00:37:43,479
Speaker 3: is at least run the ball higher percentage of the time.

831
00:37:44,440 --> 00:37:48,920
Speaker 3: And these numbers, which success rate is basically your consistency

832
00:37:48,960 --> 00:37:53,040
Speaker 3: of it all EPA factors in more explosiveness and a

833
00:37:53,080 --> 00:37:55,360
Speaker 3: big play weighs more than a little play, et cetera.

834
00:37:56,840 --> 00:38:01,360
Speaker 2: And those aren't top five, but twelve, you're tenth, thirteenth,

835
00:38:01,360 --> 00:38:02,960
Speaker 2: you're above the average line.

836
00:38:03,120 --> 00:38:06,120
Speaker 3: Yeah, And I think there's been, especially lately in the season,

837
00:38:07,080 --> 00:38:10,520
Speaker 3: much more room for optimism with the Steeler running game

838
00:38:10,640 --> 00:38:13,200
Speaker 3: than how it started to. Like, I mean, just watching

839
00:38:13,200 --> 00:38:15,959
Speaker 3: the games, it's getting better. You know, it's getting better.

840
00:38:16,480 --> 00:38:20,399
Speaker 3: So assuming it's a close game and you can stick

841
00:38:20,480 --> 00:38:23,480
Speaker 3: with it, run the ball to higher percentage, you know.

842
00:38:23,560 --> 00:38:27,680
Speaker 3: I mean, even like last year when they were on

843
00:38:27,719 --> 00:38:30,600
Speaker 3: hot streaks, their run percentage was very high. I mean

844
00:38:30,640 --> 00:38:33,000
Speaker 3: they were with the Ravens and the Eagles and teams

845
00:38:33,000 --> 00:38:35,040
Speaker 3: that at the top of the league and percent of

846
00:38:35,080 --> 00:38:36,640
Speaker 3: run plays they were.

847
00:38:36,719 --> 00:38:38,839
Speaker 2: And I think we all thought that that would drop

848
00:38:38,880 --> 00:38:41,520
Speaker 2: a little bit with sure Rogers at the helm, but

849
00:38:41,760 --> 00:38:43,560
Speaker 2: not maybe as drastically as it has.

850
00:38:43,719 --> 00:38:46,320
Speaker 3: Yeah, But it just seems like to me that's step

851
00:38:46,360 --> 00:38:49,840
Speaker 3: one of making life easier on your defense, getting the

852
00:38:49,840 --> 00:38:53,160
Speaker 3: time possession stuff back to some sort of normalcy.

853
00:38:52,800 --> 00:38:55,480
Speaker 2: You know, completely agree, And I think, especially this week,

854
00:38:55,680 --> 00:38:57,960
Speaker 2: because we know how much the Steelers like the short

855
00:38:57,960 --> 00:39:01,560
Speaker 2: passing game, right. That is well, it has been a

856
00:39:01,640 --> 00:39:06,280
Speaker 2: challenge already and could only get worse this week. Here's why, Matt,

857
00:39:06,520 --> 00:39:08,920
Speaker 2: you actually referenced this, I think in our opening segment.

858
00:39:09,080 --> 00:39:12,920
Speaker 2: But I know it's something Ravens games last year. I

859
00:39:13,000 --> 00:39:14,680
Speaker 2: know you and Dale talked about it. Motz and I

860
00:39:14,719 --> 00:39:17,560
Speaker 2: talked about it throughout training camp this year when we

861
00:39:17,600 --> 00:39:20,200
Speaker 2: would go round the AFC North and talk about some

862
00:39:20,239 --> 00:39:23,120
Speaker 2: other teams in the division. This would pop up. Last

863
00:39:23,160 --> 00:39:26,160
Speaker 2: year at the bye week, they essentially changed. They made

864
00:39:26,239 --> 00:39:28,960
Speaker 2: drastic changes to their defense, and I think chief most

865
00:39:28,960 --> 00:39:33,080
Speaker 2: amongst them, not the Kansas City Chiefs, was Kyle Hamilton

866
00:39:33,200 --> 00:39:36,280
Speaker 2: moving back to kind of like a Minka Fitzpatrick true

867
00:39:36,280 --> 00:39:42,200
Speaker 2: free safety center fielder, you know, safety blanket for the defense.

868
00:39:42,280 --> 00:39:44,680
Speaker 3: Yeah, yeah, like let everyone else. I'll take one for

869
00:39:44,719 --> 00:39:45,279
Speaker 3: the team here.

870
00:39:45,440 --> 00:39:48,360
Speaker 2: And it might not have best utilized his skill set,

871
00:39:48,480 --> 00:39:50,520
Speaker 2: but for the greater good of the whole, it was

872
00:39:50,600 --> 00:39:53,200
Speaker 2: obviously the right move and paid dividends and they took

873
00:39:53,200 --> 00:39:55,799
Speaker 2: off from there and you know, ended up winning the

874
00:39:55,960 --> 00:39:59,120
Speaker 2: division and winning the playoff game and all that stuff. Right,

875
00:40:00,120 --> 00:40:03,040
Speaker 2: this year, it's been different. They've moved him closer to

876
00:40:03,080 --> 00:40:06,040
Speaker 2: the line of scrimm the total opposite total opposite, which

877
00:40:06,160 --> 00:40:07,759
Speaker 2: really showcases his versatility.

878
00:40:07,760 --> 00:40:10,040
Speaker 3: But right this shows how awesome he is. Very good player.

879
00:40:10,400 --> 00:40:12,919
Speaker 2: The Steelers have the highest short pass rate in the league.

880
00:40:13,480 --> 00:40:16,640
Speaker 2: And get this, since the Ravens move Kyle Hamilton back

881
00:40:16,680 --> 00:40:19,680
Speaker 2: closer to the line of scrimmage, their defense ranks number

882
00:40:19,719 --> 00:40:21,840
Speaker 2: one in EPA on short passes allowed.

883
00:40:21,960 --> 00:40:24,160
Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean, you know, Roquan carries a ton, you know,

884
00:40:24,400 --> 00:40:27,120
Speaker 3: covers a ton of ground tracking SF down if Hamilton's

885
00:40:27,120 --> 00:40:30,279
Speaker 3: close to the line of scrimmage, phenomenal at it. Their

886
00:40:30,280 --> 00:40:34,200
Speaker 3: corners tackle well. They don't have great edge pass rushers,

887
00:40:34,200 --> 00:40:36,040
Speaker 3: but those guys can get out to the flats well

888
00:40:36,239 --> 00:40:37,840
Speaker 3: and they get a lot of bodies to the ball.

889
00:40:38,320 --> 00:40:41,040
Speaker 3: So real quick, I'll just tell the tell the story

890
00:40:41,120 --> 00:40:44,640
Speaker 3: of the last two years of the Ravens d SO

891
00:40:45,880 --> 00:40:48,360
Speaker 3: two off seasons ago, Seattle high.

892
00:40:48,200 --> 00:40:49,360
Speaker 2: The head coach to Seattle.

893
00:40:49,440 --> 00:40:52,880
Speaker 3: Yeah, they take the defense coordinator from and he goes

894
00:40:53,080 --> 00:40:56,239
Speaker 3: and leaves for Seattle. Was the one who replaced Pete

895
00:40:56,239 --> 00:40:58,239
Speaker 3: Carroll there a few years, Yes, and good for him,

896
00:40:58,239 --> 00:40:59,440
Speaker 3: and it's worked out great for Seattle.

897
00:40:59,520 --> 00:41:02,279
Speaker 2: Yeah. The playoffs, yeah, it might be the one seed.

898
00:41:02,440 --> 00:41:06,080
Speaker 3: But people, unless you're Baltimore might not noticed. Two other

899
00:41:06,200 --> 00:41:10,760
Speaker 3: of their top assistants became defensive coordinators elsewhere, like Weaver

900
00:41:10,880 --> 00:41:14,200
Speaker 3: went to Miami and Tennessee stole a defensive backs coach

901
00:41:14,239 --> 00:41:17,400
Speaker 3: or whatever. So they lost like their top three minds.

902
00:41:17,520 --> 00:41:20,360
Speaker 3: Yeah right, so they promoted from within or and I

903
00:41:20,400 --> 00:41:22,279
Speaker 3: don't know if he's good or bad or whatever, but

904
00:41:22,360 --> 00:41:25,520
Speaker 3: at their bye week last week last year, they went

905
00:41:25,560 --> 00:41:29,080
Speaker 3: out and got some like senior advisors and brought some

906
00:41:29,120 --> 00:41:31,160
Speaker 3: more people in the building to look at the defense.

907
00:41:31,239 --> 00:41:33,759
Speaker 3: And that's when they made these huge changes. And the

908
00:41:33,880 --> 00:41:37,400
Speaker 3: Ravens defense again, this is twenty twenty four. Before the

909
00:41:37,400 --> 00:41:42,640
Speaker 3: bye week was a disaster. After the bye week, yeah, it.

910
00:41:42,640 --> 00:41:44,720
Speaker 2: Was a night and day type difference.

911
00:41:44,840 --> 00:41:47,600
Speaker 3: Yes, and this year is kind of similar. I think

912
00:41:47,600 --> 00:41:50,520
Speaker 3: it correlates with their bye week, but it also correlates

913
00:41:50,560 --> 00:41:53,440
Speaker 3: with a trade they made. So first of all, i'll

914
00:41:53,440 --> 00:41:57,160
Speaker 3: rewind it a little bit. Mentioned how having Hamilton as

915
00:41:57,160 --> 00:42:01,200
Speaker 3: your deep middle neuters him a little bit, because I mean,

916
00:42:01,239 --> 00:42:03,239
Speaker 3: he's like the best blitzing safety in the league. He

917
00:42:03,280 --> 00:42:05,880
Speaker 3: can take on guards, I mean like him near the

918
00:42:05,880 --> 00:42:08,319
Speaker 3: line of scrimmage is a problem, and a Paula Mallo.

919
00:42:08,120 --> 00:42:10,640
Speaker 2: Like I was just gonna say to that level, right,

920
00:42:10,800 --> 00:42:11,920
Speaker 2: same type of concept.

921
00:42:12,000 --> 00:42:16,200
Speaker 3: Yes, So they draft a safety in the first round.

922
00:42:16,320 --> 00:42:18,680
Speaker 3: You know, didn't think safety was a huge need, but

923
00:42:18,760 --> 00:42:22,239
Speaker 3: we want to maximize the firepower of Hamilton's So we

924
00:42:22,280 --> 00:42:27,520
Speaker 3: take a safety in the first round Starks, who's okay Georgia. Yeah,

925
00:42:27,719 --> 00:42:31,120
Speaker 3: And but he wasn't the immediate fix that they needed.

926
00:42:31,880 --> 00:42:34,719
Speaker 3: So they trade their best edge pass rusher, oh Way

927
00:42:35,520 --> 00:42:39,680
Speaker 3: for Gilman, who's basically a true free safety. And immediately

928
00:42:39,680 --> 00:42:42,880
Speaker 3: I thought, man, your pass rush stinks, Now, why you

929
00:42:42,960 --> 00:42:47,040
Speaker 3: get the best guy in a Harbaugh Harbor trade with

930
00:42:47,040 --> 00:42:51,719
Speaker 3: the Chargers. And since then and their bye week, which

931
00:42:51,840 --> 00:42:53,600
Speaker 3: might be the same week or a week or two apart,

932
00:42:53,600 --> 00:42:56,919
Speaker 3: I can't remember, they've been much better on defense too

933
00:42:57,040 --> 00:43:00,000
Speaker 3: for that reason. Now, their pass rush still isn't good.

934
00:43:00,200 --> 00:43:02,720
Speaker 3: It wasn't good before the trade, it's not good now. Weakness,

935
00:43:03,000 --> 00:43:05,960
Speaker 3: but their thought process was, which is kind of smart

936
00:43:06,080 --> 00:43:07,920
Speaker 3: is and they have a good secondary, they have a

937
00:43:07,920 --> 00:43:10,960
Speaker 3: real good secondary. If we have a great secondary, what

938
00:43:11,080 --> 00:43:13,880
Speaker 3: does splitz like crazy? Then you know we're not getting

939
00:43:13,880 --> 00:43:14,400
Speaker 3: home with.

940
00:43:14,840 --> 00:43:17,680
Speaker 2: Those guys up in coverage for an extra one or

941
00:43:17,719 --> 00:43:18,120
Speaker 2: two second.

942
00:43:18,160 --> 00:43:21,040
Speaker 3: If I can blitz Hamilton four more times because he's

943
00:43:21,080 --> 00:43:23,040
Speaker 3: close to the line of scrimmage as opposed to deep

944
00:43:23,120 --> 00:43:26,000
Speaker 3: middle where Gilman and Starks are going to handle now,

945
00:43:26,080 --> 00:43:27,520
Speaker 3: and this team's nick makes up.

946
00:43:27,480 --> 00:43:30,600
Speaker 2: For my lack of not and sugs on the defense front.

947
00:43:30,640 --> 00:43:32,120
Speaker 3: I don't have the edge, guy, I mean, I don't

948
00:43:32,120 --> 00:43:34,400
Speaker 3: have the one on one beaters, but I'll dow stuff

949
00:43:34,480 --> 00:43:38,319
Speaker 3: up and trust my corners. Yeah, and for the most

950
00:43:38,320 --> 00:43:40,440
Speaker 3: part it's worked well. The defense as a whole is

951
00:43:40,560 --> 00:43:44,880
Speaker 3: way better since those moves, So I mean give Harbaugh credit.

952
00:43:44,640 --> 00:43:46,320
Speaker 2: For I was gonna say they deserve credit for that.

953
00:43:46,440 --> 00:43:48,760
Speaker 3: Yeah, getting getting out of your lane and doing something different.

954
00:43:48,800 --> 00:43:52,959
Speaker 2: They've kind of zigged and zagged when needed to over

955
00:43:53,000 --> 00:43:55,319
Speaker 2: the last two seasons, and yeah, getting out of their

956
00:43:55,400 --> 00:43:58,120
Speaker 2: lane doing something different. Last year it was moving Kyle

957
00:43:58,120 --> 00:44:01,960
Speaker 2: Hamilton back, stabilizing the back into that defense. Now it's

958
00:44:02,000 --> 00:44:03,560
Speaker 2: getting him back up to the line of scrimmage and

959
00:44:03,600 --> 00:44:06,000
Speaker 2: letting him cause some chaos and he certainly has, and

960
00:44:06,000 --> 00:44:07,879
Speaker 2: that's made them really good in the short pass game,

961
00:44:07,960 --> 00:44:10,279
Speaker 2: like you mentioned, with the combination of Roquan Smith there

962
00:44:10,320 --> 00:44:10,719
Speaker 2: as well.

963
00:44:10,880 --> 00:44:12,799
Speaker 3: Yeah, he's playing well again this year.

964
00:44:12,840 --> 00:44:16,359
Speaker 2: It's certainly something to keep an eye on on Sunday afternoon. Yeah,

965
00:44:16,520 --> 00:44:18,640
Speaker 2: we will get into more Matt's stats than hour number two.

966
00:44:18,640 --> 00:44:20,359
Speaker 2: But when we return on the other side, we will

967
00:44:20,440 --> 00:44:24,000
Speaker 2: lead off with the Dean of Doom, the Lord of

968
00:44:24,040 --> 00:44:27,440
Speaker 2: living in his fears. Bob Labriola joins us. When we

969
00:44:27,480 --> 00:44:30,760
Speaker 2: return to kick off our number two, you'll Ler williamsonence

970
00:44:30,800 --> 00:44:34,360
Speaker 2: the drive on Steelers Nation Radio on the Steelers Audio Network.