Latest / The Irish Steelers Podcast / Missi Matthews joins us on the cusp of the Steelers regular season!

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Missi Matthews joins us on the cusp of the Steelers regular season! · The Irish Steelers Podcast

0:00
Speaker 1: As an official airline partner of the Pittsburgh Steelers, Aer
0:03
Speaker 1: Lingus is flying Steelers Nation even closer to the action.
0:06
Speaker 1: The Irish airline Aer Lingus has launched a brand new
0:09
Speaker 1: non-stop route between Dublin and Pittsburgh. So whether you're heading
0:13
Speaker 1: to Steel City for game day or crossing the Atlantic
0:15
Speaker 1: for that Irish adventure you've always dreamed about, flying there
0:18
Speaker 1: has never been easier. Book now at aerlingus.com. Here we
0:22
Speaker 1: go Steelers!
0:35
Speaker 2: Hey everybody, you're very welcome in to the latest edition
0:38
Speaker 2: of the Irish Steelers podcast presented by Air Lingus. Michael
0:42
Speaker 2: McQuaid here. As we get set, as we look forward
0:45
Speaker 2: to the best time of the year, football returns this
0:50
Speaker 2: weekend and Steelers football, more importantly for everybody on this podcast,
0:54
Speaker 2: returns this weekend. The Steelers get their season underway on
0:58
Speaker 2: Sunday night with a home opener against the Atlanta Falcons
1:02
Speaker 2: at Accreshire Stadium. For all fans, that game kicks off
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Speaker 2: at 6pm Ireland time on Sunday. And you can watch
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Speaker 2: that exclusively in Ireland, across the island of Ireland, on
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Speaker 2: NFL Game Pass on DAZN. And folks, you can also
1:19
Speaker 2: listen to the audio SNR version of the game On
1:22
Speaker 2: Off The Ball, we've got a great guest from that
1:24
Speaker 2: today coming up in a few moments. Before we do that,
1:27
Speaker 2: this is such a big week and we're back in
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Speaker 2: studio next week with a guest. But the first game
1:34
Speaker 2: of a new season, the new hope. Asking yourself, what
1:39
Speaker 2: is this season going to bring for the Pittsburgh Steelers?
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Speaker 2: One thing we know is they expect excellence. They expect
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Speaker 2: the very, very best. And I know that anybody listening
1:48
Speaker 2: to this podcast will expect no different from that. When
1:51
Speaker 2: you look at this team against the Falcons and probably
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Speaker 2: one of the biggest storylines which has come out this
1:56
Speaker 2: week for the Falcons is the fact that they have
1:58
Speaker 2: named Tua as their starting quarterback. And it's going to
2:02
Speaker 2: be interesting because we know, especially on that offense, they
2:06
Speaker 2: have definitely got weapons. And I've met Coach Stefanski last
2:09
Speaker 2: year and I know how much this Falcons team are
2:11
Speaker 2: going to be up for. I don't want to say
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Speaker 2: causing an upset, certainly, but certainly trying to really ruin
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Speaker 2: the party on that first day in Pittsburgh. And that's
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Speaker 2: something that none of us want And certainly a huge
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Speaker 2: season ahead for the Steelers. When we've talked so much
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Speaker 2: and we've talked about these different guys. And we've spoke
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Speaker 2: to different guys in the building in this podcast. All
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Speaker 2: I can really say now is I am just so,
2:36
Speaker 2: so excited for this season to get underway. And before
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Speaker 2: we bring our guest in this week, just a reminder
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Speaker 2: for people that we have got the Fulcher Steelers watch
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Speaker 2: party coming. in week six, against the Bucks, on Sunday,
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Speaker 2: October the 18th, I'll be down there, from four o'clock,
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Speaker 2: in Kennedy's pub, and restaurant, in Dublin, down at Steelers station,
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Speaker 2: which was announced today, they are showing, all the six o'clock,
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Speaker 2: and nine o'clock games, free entry, apart from that watch party,
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Speaker 2: of course, tickets are now, in the bio, you can
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Speaker 2: check that out folks, a huge, huge season ahead, for
3:12
Speaker 2: Steelers fans, in Ireland, Steelers fans, especially around Dublin, check out, Kennedy's,
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Speaker 2: and Steeders Station this weekend for week one of the season.
3:22
Speaker 2: As I said, the game is on NFL Game Pass
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Speaker 2: on the Zone. I'm absolutely delighted to welcome in this
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Speaker 2: week Steeders reporter, sideline reporter, SNR's Missy Matthews. Obviously, a
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Speaker 2: Steeders digital reporter as well. A fantastic guest in this
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Speaker 2: podcast who doesn't just look ahead to the season coming up,
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Speaker 2: but looks back on Dublin with some fond memories as well.
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Speaker 2: Here's Missy on this week's edition of the Irish Steelers
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Speaker 2: podcast presented by Aer Lingus. We're on the cusp of
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Speaker 2: week one, Steelers back in action this weekend. I think
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Speaker 2: we're all very, very excited. And somebody who's going to
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Speaker 2: be on the sideline this weekend is an unoffended sideline reporter,
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Speaker 2: and obviously with the Steelers, Missy Matthews, who joins us
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Speaker 2: ahead of this week one matchup on the Irish Steelers
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Speaker 2: podcast presented by Aer Lingus. Missy, it's great to have
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Speaker 2: you on here again. How excited are you for the season?
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Speaker 3: I'm really excited, just in general. I'm really excited. Football's
4:17
Speaker 3: just back this week, even Wednesday, Thursday. Those games, just
4:22
Speaker 3: to watch it, start some fantasy and whatnot. But I
4:26
Speaker 3: think it's always special when you get to start at
4:28
Speaker 3: home to kick off the season, which is something the
4:30
Speaker 3: Steelers don't get to do a lot. So second time
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Speaker 3: since 2014, I'm pumped. Weather looks beautiful. Maybe a little
4:38
Speaker 3: too hot, not football weather, but just to really see...
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Speaker 3: the Mike McCarthy era kick off at home in Pittsburgh,
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Speaker 3: which I just feel like is meant to be.
4:49
Speaker 2: While you mentioned Coach McCarthy, you have been with the
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Speaker 2: team for a number of different years now. Obviously, we're
4:56
Speaker 2: walking into a new era if we focus just on
4:59
Speaker 2: the old era very quickly. What sort of memories do
5:01
Speaker 2: you have of working with Coach Tomlin and speaking to
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Speaker 2: him throughout the years?
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Speaker 3: I just think he was a very personal part, like
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Speaker 3: a personable guy, even just walking through the hallways. Like
5:12
Speaker 3: he would all of a sudden be talking to a
5:14
Speaker 3: player about, you know, a concept or a defensive concept
5:17
Speaker 3: or something. And then I'd walk by and he'd be like,
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Speaker 3: Hey miss, how are the boys? You know, like what
5:21
Speaker 3: sport are we playing this season? So he always just
5:24
Speaker 3: had those little personal touches, which I think when you
5:27
Speaker 3: work with someone for so long and, He just had
5:29
Speaker 3: a pulse on every single player, knew things about them, nicknames,
5:34
Speaker 3: you know, giving different players nicknames. Tyler Maticiewicz always sticks
5:38
Speaker 3: out because he called him Dirty Red. Just things like that.
5:42
Speaker 2: Well, look, it's awesome. Obviously, it's the new year and
5:44
Speaker 2: we will talk about that in a wee second. And
5:46
Speaker 2: we're all very, very excited for this weekend, for this
5:49
Speaker 2: season to get underway. You talk about that home opener
5:52
Speaker 2: and you talk about the excitement there. For people listening
5:56
Speaker 2: in Missy, in Europe especially, but also in Ireland, What
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Speaker 2: is the vibe like in the city right now? As
6:01
Speaker 2: somebody that's living there, it must just be great as
6:04
Speaker 2: we get closer to Sunday.
6:06
Speaker 3: Well, I always say that since starting to work and
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Speaker 3: cover the NFL, that once July 4th hits here, I'm
6:14
Speaker 3: in football mode. Because you're just a few weeks away
6:18
Speaker 3: from training camp, and then once training camp starts, then
6:19
Speaker 3: it's preseason. And some people say, hey, preseason games don't matter.
6:24
Speaker 3: It matters to fans. And it definitely matters to guys
6:27
Speaker 3: trying to make the team. But I think even just
6:29
Speaker 3: the first two home games we had at Accresure Stadium
6:32
Speaker 3: in the preseason, yeah, they don't count. But it was
6:34
Speaker 3: still exciting, you know, getting some guys to run through
6:37
Speaker 3: the tunnel for the first time. And Pittsburgh is crazy.
6:40
Speaker 3: If you watched a football town, you know, that was
6:42
Speaker 3: debuted prior to the draft, people wear sealer stuff all
6:47
Speaker 3: the time. Like it's, it's legit. But I will say,
6:52
Speaker 3: I go based off of my boys and what they
6:54
Speaker 3: wear to school and what their friends wear. And you
6:56
Speaker 3: can tell that like this is the week where everyone's
6:58
Speaker 3: like bringing out more and more black and gold. They're
7:00
Speaker 3: not just wearing like whatever the cool brand is now.
7:03
Speaker 3: And that's even my neighborhood group chat. Everyone's planning the
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Speaker 3: party for Sunday. And I'm like, can you guys wait
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Speaker 3: for me after? Like, I'll be there as soon as
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Speaker 3: I can. So you can just tell like football season
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Speaker 3: is here and everyone's ready to go.
7:17
Speaker 2: It's really exciting, obviously, for people listening in. Six o'clock
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Speaker 2: local time on Sunday, NFL on the Zone. Exciting, and
7:24
Speaker 2: obviously we can listen to the audio as well of
7:26
Speaker 2: Missy and the team on Off the Ball as well.
7:29
Speaker 2: Definitely going to tune into that, Missy, and listen to
7:32
Speaker 2: all the fun and the crack, as we say, going
7:34
Speaker 2: on over there in Hackershire Stadium. We were talking, funnily enough,
7:39
Speaker 2: I think it was actually, it was either this week
7:41
Speaker 2: last year or it was the week before last year
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Speaker 2: about your excitement And how much are you looking forward
7:47
Speaker 2: to heading over to Ireland for the first ever Dublin game?
7:50
Speaker 2: And now we were talking off camera a wee second ago,
7:52
Speaker 2: you get to live it all again this year in
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Speaker 2: Paris and in a really unique way, in a way
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Speaker 2: that a lot of people don't get to do in
8:00
Speaker 2: the sense of you're with the team, you're close to
8:03
Speaker 2: everybody there. How excited are you on a personal and
8:06
Speaker 2: a professional level to go to Paris for this historic game,
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Speaker 2: a game that is the first of its kind and
8:11
Speaker 2: the Steelers are making a little bit of history again?
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Speaker 3: I will be completely honest. I really think nothing is
8:18
Speaker 3: going to live up to our trip to Dublin. I just,
8:22
Speaker 3: I don't know how anything can. And I just think
8:24
Speaker 3: it was extra special because of all of the Rooney ties,
8:27
Speaker 3: the Steeler size. It was the first game there. Yes,
8:29
Speaker 3: this is going to be the first game in Paris,
8:31
Speaker 3: but we're the away team. So I just felt like
8:34
Speaker 3: because we were the home team in Dublin and it
8:37
Speaker 3: just was like a destination that like fits the MO
8:41
Speaker 3: of Steelers fans. so many people went. My parents were
8:45
Speaker 3: there last year, like their friends, aunts and uncles. Me personally,
8:49
Speaker 3: I've never been to Paris. So super excited to check
8:52
Speaker 3: that box and get a chance to hopefully see as
8:56
Speaker 3: much of the city as I can, but also to
8:58
Speaker 3: play in the first NFL game. There's going to be
9:01
Speaker 3: pretty cool just to see that stadium have American football
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Speaker 3: in it. So I'm excited. It again, I just, I
9:09
Speaker 3: don't think anything can compete with our trip to Dublin
9:13
Speaker 3: at all.
9:14
Speaker 2: I don't think I've ever asked you this, you know,
9:16
Speaker 2: obviously with the nature of your job and what you
9:20
Speaker 2: do and how close you are to the sideline at
9:22
Speaker 2: all times, what was it like standing in Dublin and
9:24
Speaker 2: just being a part of that? Because I had to
9:25
Speaker 2: go off to field Missy at the anthems just, and
9:29
Speaker 2: I literally said to the person at the end, I
9:31
Speaker 2: was like, I'm going to stand here until the end
9:32
Speaker 2: of the anthem and then I'll go. And when I
9:34
Speaker 2: was walking off and Just seeing the crowd and sort
9:38
Speaker 2: of walking off, but hearing it, that must have been phenomenal.
9:41
Speaker 2: And obviously you're in a professional mode doing work, but
9:44
Speaker 2: it must have been very different and a very cool
9:47
Speaker 2: way for you as well.
9:51
Speaker 3: Yeah, I will say it was like breathtaking in a way.
9:55
Speaker 3: And it was different even going out onto the field
9:57
Speaker 3: during pregame. You're just like, whoa. this place is huge.
10:01
Speaker 3: You know, just like looking up at everything and seeing
10:04
Speaker 3: the seats and just how the stadium is designed and whatnot.
10:07
Speaker 3: But I do agree like when the anthems hit and
10:10
Speaker 3: everybody's in their seats and then you see all these
10:13
Speaker 3: yellow terrible dials, you're just like, holy crap. It was
10:17
Speaker 3: kind of emotional in a weird way. You just got
10:19
Speaker 3: like those goosebumps like, wow, this is really cool. And then,
10:23
Speaker 3: of course, when you realize that it is mostly Steelers
10:27
Speaker 3: fans and loud, and it was just like, as a ginger,
10:33
Speaker 3: as somebody covering the team, it truly was one of
10:36
Speaker 3: those experiences that you can never forget.
10:39
Speaker 2: Hopefully we get a chance to do that again at
10:43
Speaker 2: some point in the near future. Time will tell. One
10:46
Speaker 2: thing that's coming up in the near future is week one.
10:49
Speaker 2: We'll maybe jump into this Falcons game in a wee second,
10:52
Speaker 2: but you know, you talk at the start of this podcast, Missy,
10:54
Speaker 2: about a new era, Coach McCarthy coming in. What have
10:58
Speaker 2: your impressions been of him so far? Because obviously, like,
11:01
Speaker 2: you know, being on the ground in the Trove and
11:03
Speaker 2: seeing the difference and hearing from the players about the
11:05
Speaker 2: differences in terms of schedules and stuff, it's just really intriguing.
11:09
Speaker 2: But a local guy coming back to a place where
11:12
Speaker 2: he's from, like, people in Ireland and Missy listening to
11:16
Speaker 2: this need to understand, like, the US is a huge country. Like,
11:20
Speaker 2: this is This is like, I'm not saying it's unheard of,
11:24
Speaker 2: but it's very, very special in that sense as well.
11:28
Speaker 3: I just think it's crazy when you think big picture
11:30
Speaker 3: about it. I think you saw his opening press conference
11:33
Speaker 3: when he was announced as the next Steelers head coach,
11:35
Speaker 3: the emotions. He couldn't even really get started because it
11:38
Speaker 3: just started to hit him. And it was emotional watching
11:41
Speaker 3: him get emotional. And then you're looking and you see
11:43
Speaker 3: his parents, his family, and you're just like, wow, this is,
11:46
Speaker 3: this is, crazy. You know, it's even like, there's a
11:50
Speaker 3: lot of times you see somebody from Pittsburgh play for
11:52
Speaker 3: the Steelers, but like to be the head coach, that's
11:55
Speaker 3: just another level that I don't think any of us
11:57
Speaker 3: can understand. But I just think the fact that he, um,
12:01
Speaker 3: it's just so comfortable. Like you start to hear some
12:04
Speaker 3: of his yinzer accent, as we will say, the Pittsburgh
12:07
Speaker 3: yeast come out a little bit, but when he is
12:10
Speaker 3: in his office, he can literally look out any of
12:13
Speaker 3: the windows and see Greenfield, the town where he grew
12:17
Speaker 3: up and, um, I mean, you see that from your
12:20
Speaker 3: office window. It's just it's remarkable and crazy that it's
12:23
Speaker 3: that close. He said how great it's been having a
12:27
Speaker 3: lot of time spending with his parents who still live
12:30
Speaker 3: in Greenfield. And I know it was really special when
12:33
Speaker 3: they came to the first preseason game. You could tell
12:36
Speaker 3: just how proud they were of him and how excited.
12:38
Speaker 3: And he made sure the first thing he did was.
12:41
Speaker 3: when he came up the tunnel before pregame warmups was
12:43
Speaker 3: he'd be lined right to mom and dad, um, and
12:46
Speaker 3: the rest of the family that was there. So that
12:48
Speaker 3: was pretty cool to see.
12:49
Speaker 2: Yeah. Like I'm so excited to see what he can
12:51
Speaker 2: do just this season. I know it might, it might
12:53
Speaker 2: take a wee bit of time as well, but one
12:54
Speaker 2: thing we know is, is destined to happen is that
12:57
Speaker 2: regular season. Debbie for him as the head coach for
13:01
Speaker 2: the Steelers on Sunday evening for us against the Falcons. Missy,
13:04
Speaker 2: this is, um, well, first off it's nice and refreshing
13:07
Speaker 2: that there's a home opener. It's an early time for
13:10
Speaker 2: Irish fans and, obviously an early time for Pittsburgh people
13:13
Speaker 2: as well. We've obviously seen probably one of the biggest
13:17
Speaker 2: storylines this weekend that the Falcons have come out and
13:19
Speaker 2: said that Tua is going to start this game. Is
13:21
Speaker 2: there any storylines, even from a Steelers viewpoint or any
13:25
Speaker 2: viewpoint that you're looking at this week and going, these
13:27
Speaker 2: are the keys to this game in terms of getting
13:29
Speaker 2: that win and really just getting the 1-0 to start
13:31
Speaker 2: the season off and starting it off in the best foot?
13:34
Speaker 3: Well, I just think it didn't matter who Kevin Stefanski
13:38
Speaker 3: named as the quarterback for week one for the Falcons.
13:41
Speaker 3: It stopped Bijan Robinson. I mean, he's just a beast.
13:45
Speaker 3: He's so good at what he does. 90 rushing yards
13:48
Speaker 3: away from hitting 4,000 in his career as what I
13:51
Speaker 3: would still consider a young guy. Kyle Pitts got a
13:54
Speaker 3: contract extension, you know, about Drake London, they just, that
14:00
Speaker 3: offense has some really key weapons, but I think Dijon
14:03
Speaker 3: is just a guy you cannot let get comfortable and
14:05
Speaker 3: get rolling and make you miss on the first tackle
14:08
Speaker 3: because clearly you need to bring them down as fast
14:10
Speaker 3: as you can. You know, he's going to get the ball.
14:12
Speaker 3: He's like a quarterback's best friend. So I think for
14:16
Speaker 3: the Steelers defense to come out and show the run
14:19
Speaker 3: defense that um, improving this season and just what they've
14:22
Speaker 3: been able to do in terms of, you know, it
14:24
Speaker 3: being a little bit different under the new defensive coordinator,
14:27
Speaker 3: Patrick Graham. I do like though, they just have some
14:30
Speaker 3: young studs up there. And it was funny. I was
14:32
Speaker 3: remembering when Patrick Graham first came to Pittsburgh, I had
14:36
Speaker 3: a chance to interview him and I was asking him
14:38
Speaker 3: about some of the players. And he's like, I mean,
14:41
Speaker 3: just anybody that plays on the D line, like every
14:43
Speaker 3: time I meet someone, I'm looking up at them and saying, hi.
14:46
Speaker 3: And like, he's tall. He's like, these guys are huge.
14:50
Speaker 3: And that was just like his first takeaway, which, you know,
14:53
Speaker 3: sounds simple, but it is true. So hopefully, you know,
14:56
Speaker 3: we get to see some of that in action as well.
14:58
Speaker 3: And the outside linebackers getting to do what they do best.
15:01
Speaker 3: So definitely pumped to see how that schematically works out
15:05
Speaker 3: in terms of stopping Bijan, because if not, it's going
15:07
Speaker 3: to be a very long day.
15:09
Speaker 2: I think you're buying all of those three points you
15:11
Speaker 2: talk about on that Falcons roster as well. And it's
15:13
Speaker 2: almost a reminder for fans coming back into it. Like,
15:15
Speaker 2: you know, this, this team could perform very well, so
15:18
Speaker 2: it's definitely going to be on the Steelers to try
15:20
Speaker 2: and stop them, especially on key second and third downs
15:22
Speaker 2: on Sunday. The other side of the ball, probably one
15:25
Speaker 2: of the biggest ones, I'm sure you had a chance
15:26
Speaker 2: to chat to him this offseason, feels like a lifetime
15:29
Speaker 2: ago now, but he's going to make his regular season
15:31
Speaker 2: debut for the Steelers this weekend in Michael Pittman. I mean,
15:35
Speaker 2: a really, really important tool on this offense, and couple
15:39
Speaker 2: that with the return of Aaron Rodgers and you know,
15:43
Speaker 2: sure that you shouldn't expect to see, you know, exciting
15:45
Speaker 2: times in this offense going forward this season. I'm definitely
15:47
Speaker 2: thinking about it. Yeah.
15:49
Speaker 3: I mean, Aaron Rogers flat out said that, you know,
15:52
Speaker 3: Michael Pittman has to be a significant part of the
15:54
Speaker 3: offense in order for them to have success. The only
15:57
Speaker 3: downfall is that he missed some time in training camp
15:59
Speaker 3: and obviously Aaron didn't play in preseason games anyways, but
16:03
Speaker 3: you can definitely see the year to jump from DK
16:07
Speaker 3: and Aaron last year to DK and Aaron this year.
16:10
Speaker 3: So hopefully Aaron, it's something they can almost speed up
16:12
Speaker 3: that process process with Pittman because he is definitely, uh,
16:17
Speaker 3: you know, a guy that will grab other teams attention
16:20
Speaker 3: and hopefully get DK open and vice versa. Guys are,
16:24
Speaker 3: are doubling DK. So definitely interested to see how up
16:28
Speaker 3: to speed he can get. He's been practicing this week,
16:30
Speaker 3: which coach McCarthy was, you know, very happy with, um,
16:34
Speaker 3: not dealing with the injury anymore. And I also think
16:36
Speaker 3: the middle of the field, something that we've really been
16:38
Speaker 3: missing with the tight ends, um, Pat Friermuth and Aaron
16:42
Speaker 3: have that connection. Dale Arnell Washington got his contract extension.
16:47
Speaker 3: He's obviously a very good red zone target. And I
16:50
Speaker 3: think also Robert Tunyon made the team and he was
16:53
Speaker 3: a mini camp tryout, but he has that history with
16:55
Speaker 3: Aaron Rodgers and Mike McCarthy from Green Bay. But you
16:59
Speaker 3: really saw it continue throughout training camp. And he played
17:02
Speaker 3: a lot in the preseason games with the younger quarterbacks.
17:05
Speaker 3: And he was definitely a safety blanket for them to
17:08
Speaker 3: say the least.
17:10
Speaker 2: You obviously put an awful amount in a good way
17:14
Speaker 2: into your work. You do a lot of work with
17:17
Speaker 2: a team and it's been very enjoyable to see that
17:19
Speaker 2: work and the digital side of the team grow, especially
17:22
Speaker 2: over the last number of years, Missy. When you look
17:24
Speaker 2: at a schedule and you've obviously got family, et cetera,
17:27
Speaker 2: as well, what's it like when you start seeing the
17:30
Speaker 2: schedule at the start of the year and try to
17:32
Speaker 2: sort of piece your year together and is there somewhere
17:35
Speaker 2: on the road this year that you just can't wait
17:37
Speaker 2: to get to? Is there a season or is there
17:39
Speaker 2: a stadium that you're trying to tick off your list?
17:41
Speaker 2: So for example, I'm, I'm going to go to that
17:43
Speaker 2: Eagles game in November and try and double dip a
17:46
Speaker 2: little bit. It's, it's really interesting schedule for this team. Yeah.
17:51
Speaker 3: I will say, I always look, are we playing on
17:53
Speaker 3: any holidays? Um, that's my first, like, where are they at?
17:56
Speaker 3: Where's the primetime games? Are they back to back? Are
17:59
Speaker 3: they primetime on the road? Like on the West coast,
18:02
Speaker 3: those are never the best. Um, You lose a lot
18:05
Speaker 3: of sleep on those ones. But Black Friday, I actually
18:08
Speaker 3: think is really exciting. I don't love Thanksgiving food. So
18:13
Speaker 3: Thanksgiving is not my favorite holiday. I'm not like I
18:15
Speaker 3: have to be there for it. So I'm OK with
18:17
Speaker 3: like hanging out on Thanksgiving, watching football mainly. But I'm
18:21
Speaker 3: cool with waking up and going to a game the
18:22
Speaker 3: next day. I actually think that's going to be great.
18:25
Speaker 3: It's going to be exciting. It's at home, which is
18:28
Speaker 3: also a nice thing, not traveling on Thanksgiving. Paris, of course,
18:32
Speaker 3: we've already gone over that one. But then for me personally,
18:35
Speaker 3: my brother and his family live in Tampa. So I
18:38
Speaker 3: was like stoked that we got to go there this year.
18:42
Speaker 3: They were actually in town this past weekend with my
18:44
Speaker 3: two little nieces. I have two boys, so I like
18:47
Speaker 3: need that girl energy sometimes. So I'm pumped to go
18:50
Speaker 3: to Tampa and to see them and have them come
18:52
Speaker 3: to the game and get to experience it, too.
18:56
Speaker 2: Well, look, that Tampa game obviously is very special for
18:58
Speaker 2: us as well. For people listening, the watch party happening
19:01
Speaker 2: in Kennedy's from four o'clock on that Sunday. And I'll
19:04
Speaker 2: talk about that later on in this podcast and remind
19:06
Speaker 2: people again. Missy, it feels like the season is going
19:09
Speaker 2: to fly in. I'm not going to ask you about
19:11
Speaker 2: your expectations. We both know what the expectations and what
19:14
Speaker 2: we hope and expect from this team is in terms
19:16
Speaker 2: of excellence and getting the job done. So it's going
19:19
Speaker 2: to be a fun year. I want to take this
19:20
Speaker 2: opportunity on behalf of Irish Sears fans, especially with obviously
19:24
Speaker 2: international fans as well, to not just thank you for
19:26
Speaker 2: coming on, but to obviously just wish you the very,
19:29
Speaker 2: very best luck this season. And we're all very excited
19:31
Speaker 2: to hopefully see you on that sideline in Paris. I
19:34
Speaker 2: think we were all a little bit too busy that
19:36
Speaker 2: day in Dublin. So excited to see you in Paris
19:38
Speaker 2: in a few weeks and just enjoy the season, Missy.
19:41
Speaker 2: And thanks so much for coming on as well.
19:43
Speaker 3: Yeah, I really appreciate that. Happy to come on anytime.
19:46
Speaker 3: Just love the support that our international community just gives
19:49
Speaker 3: back and just how intently everyone pays attention, especially just
19:54
Speaker 3: in a different time zone. I'm just like, man, that
19:56
Speaker 3: is a lot of respect. So I appreciate that as well.
19:59
Speaker 3: And I also like the one o'clock games in Pittsburgh,
20:01
Speaker 3: which I know you guys like. So hopefully none of
20:04
Speaker 3: those get flexed in new times.
20:07
Speaker 2: A lot of them this year, which is good for us.
20:10
Speaker 2: And you're right, the only thing I will say to
20:11
Speaker 2: finish off, I'm so glad that there's no more Monday
20:14
Speaker 2: Night Football doubleheaders because the second one was at 3am
20:17
Speaker 2: and I'm glad it's gone. I'm glad the Steelers aren't
20:19
Speaker 2: playing at any either. We'll definitely get a little bit
20:22
Speaker 2: more sleep, but it doesn't help whenever the NFL season
20:25
Speaker 2: kicks off on a Wednesday and then it goes Thursday
20:27
Speaker 2: and then Saturday, Sunday, Monday. It's all for the love
20:32
Speaker 2: of it. Missy, thank you so much and we will
20:34
Speaker 2: talk to you soon.
20:35
Speaker 3: Thank you.
20:37
Speaker 2: So great to have Missy on the podcast. And it
20:39
Speaker 2: just really sums up and hits home that football is back,
20:44
Speaker 2: my friends. We're so close to Cedars football. I cannot
20:48
Speaker 2: wait to just see the crowd on Sunday and see
20:51
Speaker 2: that game get underway. And you can be sure at
20:55
Speaker 2: six o'clock on Sunday, I'll be sitting down to watch
20:57
Speaker 2: that Cedars game against the Falcons. A huge game, which
21:01
Speaker 2: we're going to react to, obviously, coming up next week.
21:04
Speaker 2: We can't wait to get back under the cosh and
21:07
Speaker 2: get into every little bit of X and O's and
21:10
Speaker 2: talk about the Steelers, hopefully victory in week one. Big,
21:14
Speaker 2: big start to the season. We know exactly how important
21:17
Speaker 2: getting off to the right way and getting off to
21:20
Speaker 2: the right start is for this Steelers team. A reminder, folks,
21:25
Speaker 2: Steelers station at Kennedy's, free entry for the 6 o'clock
21:29
Speaker 2: and 9 o'clock games this season. Get in and watch
21:32
Speaker 2: the game. Watch the true game. authentic American broadcast of
21:36
Speaker 2: this game if you can. At some point this season,
21:39
Speaker 2: not just on the watch party, but hopefully a couple
21:43
Speaker 2: of times this season, especially in the early stretch, I'm
21:46
Speaker 2: going to try and get down as well. I will
21:47
Speaker 2: let you know in the podcast feed if I'm going
21:49
Speaker 2: to get down there and we can sit down and
21:50
Speaker 2: have a drink and watch the game together and talk
21:52
Speaker 2: some Steelers ball. I'm really looking forward to that whenever
21:54
Speaker 2: I get the chance, hopefully over the next couple of weeks.
21:57
Speaker 2: But one thing is for sure, we're back. And if
22:00
Speaker 2: you're listening this far in, you, my friends, have survived
22:04
Speaker 2: the long off-season. An off-season which seen Pittsburgh make some
22:08
Speaker 2: big additions in free agency, Pittsburgh re-sign players, Pittsburgh bring
22:13
Speaker 2: back Aaron Rodgers, and the city of Pittsburgh hosts an
22:17
Speaker 2: iconic and historic first-ever time for the city, NFL Draft,
22:21
Speaker 2: and to be there in person to witness that was
22:24
Speaker 2: a genuine pleasure and a real moment that I will
22:27
Speaker 2: remember for a very, very long time. Now, That time
22:30
Speaker 2: for talk with the new recruits in the draft, etc.
22:33
Speaker 2: is over. The time is for the guys to get
22:35
Speaker 2: out in the field and put that iconic uniform on
22:38
Speaker 2: and do each and every one of us Irish fans
22:41
Speaker 2: proud by going out and striving for another Lombardi trophy.
22:46
Speaker 2: I can't wait this Sunday. I know you can't either.
22:48
Speaker 2: A huge thanks for Missy having us on. A reminder
22:51
Speaker 2: that you can follow us on Steelers Ireland, on all
22:53
Speaker 2: forms of social, Instagram, X and also on TikTok. Get involved.
22:58
Speaker 2: Let us know what you'd like to see this season.
23:00
Speaker 2: It's such a fun few weeks ahead. And my friends,
23:02
Speaker 2: this is truly the best time of the year. Six
23:05
Speaker 2: o'clock on Sunday against the Falcons. NFL on the zone.
23:09
Speaker 2: And you can also listen on OTB Radio from myself,
23:12
Speaker 2: from Michael McQuaid. Here we go.
23:14
Speaker 1: We're back, lads.
23:15
Speaker 2: We're back, folks. Have a great Steelers weekend. And I'll
23:19
Speaker 2: talk to you next week.
23:33
Speaker 1: As an official airline partner of the Pittsburgh Steelers, Aer
23:36
Speaker 1: Lingus is flying Steelers Nation even closer to the action.
23:39
Speaker 1: The Irish airline Aer Lingus has launched a brand new
23:42
Speaker 1: non-stop route between Dublin and Pittsburgh. So whether you're heading
23:46
Speaker 1: to Steel City for game day or crossing the Atlantic
23:48
Speaker 1: for that Irish adventure you've always dreamed about, flying there
23:51
Speaker 1: has never been easier. Book now at aerlingus.com. Here we
23:55
Speaker 1: go Steelers!