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Roller Coaster Steelers · Pittsburgh Sports Memories

0:01
SPEAKER_04: Hi everybody, welcome to the Pittsburgh Sports Memories Podcast.
0:04
SPEAKER_04: My name is Tim Hannon and I am joined by uh Steve Wirt.
0:10
SPEAKER_04: Hi, Steve.
0:11
SPEAKER_06: Hey Tip.
0:13
SPEAKER_04: Today we're going to talk about a topsy tarvy stealer season.
0:32
SPEAKER_04: So let's go.
0:34
SPEAKER_04: Let's take the Wayback Machine back to the year 1993.
0:39
SPEAKER_04: What was some stuff that was happening in Pittsburgh in 1993?
0:42
SPEAKER_04: Well, the the storm of the century buries Pittsburgh in snow.
0:45
SPEAKER_04: Remember that one, Steve?
0:46
SPEAKER_04: 24 inches of snow in one day.
0:49
SPEAKER_06: I think I remember because I remember like our car, like it went over the top of our car in like a snow drift.
0:54
SPEAKER_06: I I think I have a picture of that somewhere.
0:56
SPEAKER_06: Yes.
0:56
SPEAKER_06: And on a more sad note, my grandfather died in the middle of that.
1:00
SPEAKER_06: We couldn't have his funeral for like a week after.
1:03
SPEAKER_04: Oh, that's that's that's yeah.
1:05
SPEAKER_06: Sorry in the down downer there, but he was 81, so he lived a he lived a long life.
1:12
SPEAKER_04: Um what else happened that year?
1:15
SPEAKER_04: Uh Mary O'Mieux announces he has cancer.
1:17
SPEAKER_04: That was pretty shocking.
1:18
SPEAKER_04: Uh strike leads to the death of the Pittsburgh press after 108 years.
1:23
SPEAKER_06: Hey, you know what history might be repeating itself here.
1:26
SPEAKER_04: That with the post is that yeah.
1:28
SPEAKER_06: Well, they have I will say this, they have the internet to fall back on, which they didn't in 1993.
1:33
SPEAKER_06: So they might survive this strike.
1:36
SPEAKER_04: Good point.
1:37
SPEAKER_06: Yeah.
1:37
SPEAKER_04: Uh and then uh Bruce Willis was protecting the Pittsburgh Rivers in the hit film Oscar winning striking distance.
1:46
SPEAKER_06: It didn't win an Oscar.
1:48
SPEAKER_04: It should have.
1:49
SPEAKER_06: Dennis Farino was great as the uh corrupt police officer.
1:54
SPEAKER_06: Uh John Mahoney, who's one of my favorite actors, was in that too.
1:58
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, a lot of good character actors.
1:59
SPEAKER_06: But no, he he was he didn't have a very big part.
2:01
SPEAKER_06: I liked him better.
2:02
SPEAKER_06: He's better as Frazier's dad in Frazier.
2:06
SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
2:07
SPEAKER_04: And Dennis Farino was better as cousin Abby and Snatch.
2:10
SPEAKER_04: But we digress.
2:12
SPEAKER_04: Anyway, let's talk about where the Steelers were as the 1993 season approaches.
2:17
SPEAKER_04: Uh so the 1992 Steelers had really shocked a lot of people because the Steelers really had been bad for a lot of years before that.
2:26
SPEAKER_04: And then they hired this new head coach, this young, very energetic, very opposite of Chuck Knowle guy named Bill Cower.
2:35
SPEAKER_04: And they also had a new starting quarterback, a guy named Neil O'Donnell.
2:39
SPEAKER_04: And in 1992, they win the AFC Central and they post the best record in the AFC.
2:45
SPEAKER_04: They do lose at home in the playoffs to a much more experienced Buffalo Bills team.
2:51
SPEAKER_04: You know, and so I I think you know, fans were disappointed by the playoff loss.
2:56
SPEAKER_04: But I I remember thinking, Steve, I don't remember what you thought at the time, that was that stunk that we lost.
3:01
SPEAKER_04: We lost at home.
3:02
SPEAKER_04: But you you kind of thought, okay, it's a young team.
3:05
SPEAKER_04: That was their kind of their first ever playoff game, and uh the the future definitely looked bright.
3:12
SPEAKER_06: I would agree with you, yes.
3:13
SPEAKER_06: It seemed like things were on the upswing.
3:17
SPEAKER_04: So 1993, also a very um big time of change for the NFL in general because it's the start of the salary cap and modern free agency era.
3:28
SPEAKER_04: And if if you don't remember what it was like before that, there really wasn't free agency.
3:33
SPEAKER_04: Like, like basically, if a team wanted to keep a player, they kept a player, and there was really nothing the player could could really do about it.
3:41
SPEAKER_04: Uh and there was no salary cap either, so you could just sort of pay people what you wanted to pay them.
3:47
SPEAKER_04: This was really new ground for everybody, including the Steelers.
3:50
SPEAKER_04: And right off the bat, they lose three longtime starters.
3:54
SPEAKER_04: Uh tackle Tonji Okin signs with the Packers, and then they lose two starting linebackers, Hardy Nickerson and Gerald Williams, Gerald with a J, uh, because that's what they used to always call him because uh the Steelers also had a guy on defense named Gerold with a G Williams on the defensive line.
4:13
SPEAKER_04: So they lose like three starters uh who were kind of veterans who had been there for a while, and the fans are a little ticked off.
4:21
SPEAKER_04: Um that these are fan favorites, and people start accusing Dan Rooney of being cheap because he let these guys go in free agency.
4:29
SPEAKER_04: Again, this was like very new, right?
4:31
SPEAKER_04: Because you didn't you weren't used to losing players.
4:33
SPEAKER_06: After out of those three guys, I don't know about the this the Gerald Williams, Hardy Nickerson did end up having a decent career in Tampa, right?
4:42
SPEAKER_06: Yes, in Tampa.
4:43
SPEAKER_06: Tunchokin was done.
4:45
SPEAKER_06: Right.
4:46
SPEAKER_06: I I but and I don't know about this Williams guy, what happened to him.
4:50
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, I I honestly don't remember what happened to Gerald with the Jay.
4:53
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, but but I think it was just like the shock of again, you didn't you didn't lose players.
4:59
SPEAKER_04: You just were used to having guys till they retired or until the Steelers were done with it.
5:03
SPEAKER_06: Wasn't that yeah, it was the year Reggie White signed with um Green Bay, right?
5:07
SPEAKER_04: Right, exactly.
5:08
SPEAKER_04: Yep, yep.
5:09
SPEAKER_04: So it was it was kind of again new ground for everybody.
5:12
SPEAKER_04: Um but the Steelers, I think, actually play this one pretty correctly because early in free agency, kind of the prevailing opinion was you could go get these big name guys and turn a bad team into a good team.
5:25
SPEAKER_04: You mentioned Reggie White, that was that was like the huge signing, and that did work out pretty good for Green Bay.
5:30
SPEAKER_04: But in general, that really doesn't didn't, and really it still to this day doesn't work to go out and sign some kind of you know big name player like it does in baseball.
5:40
SPEAKER_06: I will I will have to um respectfully disagree with you, Tib.
5:44
SPEAKER_06: I would say the last year's Los Angeles Rams would uh be the counterpoint to that.
5:50
SPEAKER_06: Now, maybe they're more the exception than the rule, because I remember the Redskins, the Washington team, whatever, tried it with like a bunch of, but once again, they signed like a bunch of like Deion Sanders, Bruce Bruce uh Smith, yeah, Smith, and like somebody else that was all over the hill.
6:09
SPEAKER_06: Whereas the only guy that like the Rams really signed that might have been over the hill is like Jalen Ramsey, and he still can play.
6:16
SPEAKER_06: He's yeah, but he's on the definitely on the backside, but Matthew Stafford isn't over the hill.
6:21
SPEAKER_04: But yeah, I was I was about to say the 1993 to 2022 Washington team is the counterpoint to your counterpoint.
6:30
SPEAKER_06: Yeah.
6:30
SPEAKER_04: Um, but but but I think even though even today when there's big signings, it's usually some tackle or some, you know, the number one player in free agency is not uh a veteran that's been around for eight years or ten years, usually, that that's kind of you know uh was a name and isn't anymore.
6:50
SPEAKER_04: So so yeah, the the Steelers Steelers general manager at this time is a guy named Tom Donahoe.
6:55
SPEAKER_04: He kind of gambles that these veterans, like the guys that we mentioned that they lost, are going to be high priced and they have an expiration date.
7:02
SPEAKER_04: So as long as you're constantly developing their replacements, you can direct that money elsewhere.
7:08
SPEAKER_04: And it does pay off here because uh Leon Searcy replaces Ilkin and he becomes really one of the best tackles in the league.
7:15
SPEAKER_04: And the two linebackers are replaced by a couple of young guys named Levon Kirkland and Chad Brown.
7:20
SPEAKER_04: That worked out.
7:22
SPEAKER_04: Exactly.
7:23
SPEAKER_04: So, and and then, you know, because you saved money by not signing those high-priced veterans, they're able to sign some free agents of their own, and they pick up a linebacker from the Rams named Kevin Green, who is a sack specialist who is in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
7:40
SPEAKER_04: And they also signed quarterback Mike Tomzak from the Browns.
7:44
SPEAKER_04: He was a very capable veteran backup who could uh who could be the understudy for Neil O'Donnell.
7:50
SPEAKER_04: So Steelers fans probably don't realize it at the time, but that's actually a pretty good offseason.
7:56
SPEAKER_04: And if the Steelers won the division the year before, then I mean they should be ready to take a step forward this year, especially with guys like Kevin Green in there and Leon Circe, right?
8:08
SPEAKER_04: Right?
8:09
SPEAKER_06: Fueler, Bueller.
8:10
SPEAKER_06: Uh yeah, uh, yeah, yeah.
8:12
SPEAKER_06: Uh well, since I kind of know how this season goes, uh yeah.
8:17
SPEAKER_06: I'm kind of curious though, I got as we get into this, like what exactly happened?
8:21
SPEAKER_06: I mean, I I'm curious to see what exactly happened here, too.
8:24
SPEAKER_06: Well, let's get into that.
8:25
SPEAKER_06: I I do remember they, yes, they they had they take a step back this season.
8:29
SPEAKER_06: We we can say that going forward.
8:32
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, that's that's not too much of a spoiler.
8:34
unknown: Yeah.
8:35
SPEAKER_04: Um, I think we've been setting that up the whole time.
8:37
SPEAKER_04: Uh the the the season isn't gonna be a cakewalk either because the Steelers kind of have a target on their backs now, especially in the division.
8:46
SPEAKER_04: The team who they beat out for the division title in '92 was the Houston Oilers, who had kind of been the kings of that division before then.
8:53
SPEAKER_06: Are these Houston Oilers of what you speak?
8:57
SPEAKER_04: They're a old football team that changed their name to the Tennessee Titans.
9:03
SPEAKER_06: They had a cool country music song, though.
9:05
SPEAKER_06: Have you ever heard that?
9:06
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, it was like Love You Blue or something like that.
9:09
SPEAKER_06: The Houston Oilers.
9:10
SPEAKER_06: Maybe we can play that at the end.
9:12
SPEAKER_04: Sure.
9:13
SPEAKER_04: I'll get right on that.
9:15
SPEAKER_04: Uh Houston, Houston does make it to the playoffs in 1992 as a wild card, and then promptly blows the biggest lead in NFL history in Buffalo.
9:25
SPEAKER_04: So they decide they need to make some bold changes for 1993, and they hire a new defensive coordinator.
9:31
SPEAKER_04: It's a guy named Buddy Ryan.
9:33
SPEAKER_04: And Buddy Ryan was the architect of the 1985 Bears defense.
9:38
SPEAKER_04: So he was really new defense.
9:40
SPEAKER_04: He's also a hugely controversial figure.
9:43
SPEAKER_04: Oilers are definitely playing with fire for sure there.
9:46
SPEAKER_06: He got in a fight with Mike Ditka during the uh Dolphins, when the Dolphins played the Bears to beat their uh to ruin the Bears undefeated season, if you believe that or not.
9:55
SPEAKER_06: Not to preview anything that might be.
9:57
SPEAKER_04: I was gonna say Buddy Ryan getting into fights with people on a few.
10:03
SPEAKER_04: We'll see how that works out for the Oilers.
10:04
SPEAKER_04: But Sports Illustrated does pick them to be in the Super Bowl preseason.
10:09
SPEAKER_04: And then also in the division, Cleveland has this young head coached guy named Bill Belichick, and they make a big splash for the 93 season when they snatch up free agent quarterback Vinny Testaverdi, which was super controversial in Cleveland because they had a guy named Bernie Kosar who was their quarterback for years and who was from Ohio, and a lot of people were very upset when they signed.
10:32
SPEAKER_04: And it's almost like they cut Kosar, they signed Testaverdi to basically uh supplant Kosar as the starter.
10:39
SPEAKER_04: So those two teams are definitely better.
10:41
SPEAKER_04: So again, not going to be an easy season.
10:44
SPEAKER_06: I don't think Kozar was that bad that last year either.
10:47
SPEAKER_06: It wasn't like a slam dunk easy call.
10:51
SPEAKER_04: So yeah, it was it was an odd yeah.
10:54
SPEAKER_04: Well, we'll get into that too.
10:55
SPEAKER_04: It was it was odd how they treated Kosar.
10:58
SPEAKER_04: I have always thought that to this day, but we'll it gets even odder as we get into this season.
11:02
SPEAKER_06: So you gotta remember Belichick doesn't care about he only cares about winning.
11:08
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, he doesn't care about people's feelings.
11:10
SPEAKER_06: Yeah, and I give him credit for that.
11:12
SPEAKER_06: I mean, right.
11:13
SPEAKER_06: Sometimes you gotta make the tough decisions, and he's not not been afraid to make those over his career.
11:18
SPEAKER_04: So that's that's a fair point.
11:21
SPEAKER_04: So let's let's get into the season.
11:23
SPEAKER_04: The Steelers open the year at home against the San Francisco 49ers, and people are calling this a Super Bowl 28 preview.
11:30
SPEAKER_04: I mean, the the 49ers were an elite team back then.
11:34
SPEAKER_04: Uh this one doesn't go well for Pittsburgh.
11:36
SPEAKER_04: Steve Young torches the Steelers defense.
11:39
SPEAKER_04: Steelers can't do much on offense.
11:41
SPEAKER_04: Niners win the game by double digits.
11:44
SPEAKER_04: One bright spot for the game, Steel Wars cornerback Rod Woodson is assigned to cover Jerry Rice, who is, if you don't know, the greatest receiver in NFL history.
11:54
SPEAKER_04: And he intercepts Steve Young twice in that game.
11:58
SPEAKER_04: Uh it's it's really the start of bigger things for Rod Woodson in 1993.
12:03
SPEAKER_04: So, okay, the Steelers lose to one of the best teams in the league in week one.
12:07
SPEAKER_04: There's really no shame in that.
12:08
SPEAKER_04: Week one, everybody's always rusty.
12:10
SPEAKER_04: They head to Los Angeles for week two to play a really bad Rams team.
12:15
SPEAKER_06: Well, I remember, oh yes, I remember this game.
12:19
SPEAKER_06: There's there's a running back who may uh may or may not uh have a really good game against us, if I remember correctly.
12:26
SPEAKER_04: You do remember correctly.
12:28
SPEAKER_06: And this is in the old Anaheim stadium, was it?
12:31
SPEAKER_06: This wasn't in the Coliseum, was it?
12:33
SPEAKER_04: Right.
12:33
SPEAKER_04: This is when the Rams played in Anaheim.
12:35
SPEAKER_06: Yeah.
12:36
SPEAKER_04: Good memory, Steve.
12:37
SPEAKER_04: Good, good, good.
12:38
SPEAKER_04: He might have may or not have worn 36.
12:43
SPEAKER_04: So so this Rams team, like like we said, not very good.
12:46
SPEAKER_04: In fact, they only win five games all season.
12:49
SPEAKER_04: But one of them is this one, and not only do they win, so Steve, you remember everything else about this game.
12:53
SPEAKER_04: Do you remember the final score?
12:55
SPEAKER_06: I remember Jerome Vettis had like two million rushing yards.
12:58
SPEAKER_06: Correct.
12:59
SPEAKER_06: It was a blowout.
13:00
SPEAKER_04: So 27 to nothing.
13:02
SPEAKER_06: Yeah.
13:03
SPEAKER_04: Just a putrid performance by the Steelers.
13:06
SPEAKER_06: Hello, 0-2.
13:08
SPEAKER_04: 0-2.
13:09
SPEAKER_04: They really, I mean, and and they really expected their offense to take a step forward.
13:12
SPEAKER_04: Here they can't even score any points.
13:14
SPEAKER_04: And then the defense, as Steve alluded to, gets just run over by some rookie running back from Notre Dame named Jerome Bettis.
13:21
SPEAKER_04: Don't know whatever happened to that guy.
13:23
SPEAKER_06: Yeah, he'll never do anything in the league.
13:25
SPEAKER_04: So the panic alarm definitely goes off at that point, you know, owing to what's going on with this team.
13:30
SPEAKER_04: There's also some dissension starting to build in the locker room.
13:34
SPEAKER_04: Uh so Steve, tell me if you've heard this before.
13:37
SPEAKER_04: That the Steelers have a policy that they don't negotiate during the season.
13:41
SPEAKER_04: You've heard that, right?
13:43
SPEAKER_06: The old policy to this day, as far as I'm concerned.
13:47
SPEAKER_06: I mean, I don't know.
13:48
SPEAKER_06: I don't run the organization or have any ties to any inside knowledge inside.
13:54
SPEAKER_06: But as far as I know, they haven't changed that policy.
13:57
SPEAKER_06: But hey, you never know.
13:58
SPEAKER_04: So, no, you you're right.
14:00
SPEAKER_04: It's a policy to this day.
14:01
SPEAKER_04: Every time there's a hold out or whatever, you know, they they the TJ Watt hold in, which is right, right.
14:08
SPEAKER_04: And and every time that happens, you always hear that in the media.
14:11
SPEAKER_04: Well, the Steelers, you know, they don't get a deal done now.
14:13
SPEAKER_04: They'll they'll there's no negotiating during the season.
14:16
SPEAKER_04: Well, do you know why that policy started?
14:20
SPEAKER_04: It actually goes back to the year 1993.
14:23
SPEAKER_06: So no, is that Eric Green?
14:25
SPEAKER_06: Is this the infamous Eric Green?
14:27
SPEAKER_04: It is not Eric Green, but after that loss to the Rams, the Steelers make a deal with running back Barry Foster and cornerback Rod Woodson to give both of those guys shiny new contracts.
14:38
SPEAKER_04: And you think that's a good thing, right?
14:40
SPEAKER_04: Foster at this point is the Steelers' best player on offense.
14:43
SPEAKER_04: He had run for over 1,600 yards the year before.
14:47
SPEAKER_04: And Woodson is their best player on defense, and now they're both locked up for several more years.
14:51
SPEAKER_04: Yay, good thing.
14:52
SPEAKER_04: The problem is they're not the only two guys on the team who are wanting new contracts.
14:57
SPEAKER_04: And when they get signed, now the other guys are starting to ask, well, where's my deal?
15:02
SPEAKER_04: And this may have been now this may have been exasperated too by the fact that Foster had a 20-day holdout in camp.
15:09
SPEAKER_04: So it's like he got rewarded for sitting out most of training camp, whereas these other guys that wanted contracts were there.
15:16
SPEAKER_04: And and several of the players actually speak publicly about this.
15:20
SPEAKER_04: Uh so Steve, you mentioned Eric Green.
15:21
SPEAKER_04: It was actually the other tight end, Adrian Cooper.
15:23
SPEAKER_04: I don't know if you remember him.
15:25
SPEAKER_06: Yes, uh vaguely, yeah.
15:27
SPEAKER_04: But he he tells the local paper that the Steelers would be undefeated if they would have just given every one of the players, including him, new contracts.
15:35
SPEAKER_04: And he even says after the season that worrying about the contract actually negatively impacted his play on the field over the course of the season.
15:43
SPEAKER_04: And running back Merrill Hodge, he also comes out and says players are starting to worry more about their contracts, especially after that 0-2 start.
15:50
SPEAKER_06: Oh, wait up.
15:51
SPEAKER_06: Merrill Hodge was still on the team and Merrill Hodge is on this team.
15:54
SPEAKER_04: Yep.
15:54
SPEAKER_06: Did he have a I don't know?
15:56
SPEAKER_06: He was always a big game player though.
15:57
SPEAKER_06: I don't remember that about Merrill.
15:59
SPEAKER_04: Like, we'll we'll get to that.
16:00
SPEAKER_04: You're you're you're doing you're doing a great job, like uh seeing into the future of this episode.
16:05
SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
16:06
SPEAKER_04: Uh but that that whole thing with the the contracts, I mean, that's just obviously a huge distraction.
16:10
SPEAKER_04: And Dan Rooney smartly institutes a role after this that there will be no in-season contract negotiations.
16:17
SPEAKER_04: You can air your frustrations about this in camp, you can hold out, you can hold in, you can go to the press, whatever you want to do.
16:24
SPEAKER_04: But once the season starts, it's football and football only.
16:28
SPEAKER_06: You know what?
16:28
SPEAKER_06: If you stick to that, then it's fair.
16:30
SPEAKER_06: That everybody I I think if you just are consistent with it, people know where you stand.
16:35
SPEAKER_06: And that's with most rules.
16:37
SPEAKER_06: Even if you don't like them, you know, all right, it's the rule.
16:41
SPEAKER_06: You know, right.
16:42
SPEAKER_06: I think there was something with I saw this week like the NFL has a policy of no alcohol uh in the locker room or in the flights or anything, and one of the teams was celebrating.
16:54
SPEAKER_06: Yeah.
16:55
SPEAKER_06: Boy, they do everything wrong, don't they?
16:58
SPEAKER_06: And so they got fined and they're like, oh, what a stupid policy.
17:01
SPEAKER_06: I agree with you.
17:02
SPEAKER_06: You're adults, it's dumb.
17:03
SPEAKER_06: But you know what?
17:04
SPEAKER_06: We all work at places and they all have dumb rules.
17:07
SPEAKER_06: If you don't like it, go collect the paycheck somewhere else where you can drink at work, I guess.
17:12
SPEAKER_06: Go you know, go somewhere else, I guess, is is what I would say.
17:17
SPEAKER_04: But and like you said, Steve, it's about setting expectations.
17:20
SPEAKER_04: So now if you know that's the expectation, then that's just the expectation.
17:24
SPEAKER_04: And there's and no one has to work the GM doesn't have to worry about it, the coach, the players.
17:28
SPEAKER_04: When the season starts, the season starts.
17:30
SPEAKER_04: And that's I think that's worked pretty well since then, but unfortunately, they kind of had to learn that the hard way.
17:35
SPEAKER_06: Even Heinz Ward wouldn't come.
17:37
SPEAKER_06: And I remember that like Rooney at the call one time and said, Hey, can you gotta at least come come in and show us some good faith?
17:43
SPEAKER_06: And then they worked out a deal.
17:45
SPEAKER_06: I mean, you know, it is what it is.
17:47
SPEAKER_06: I mean Le'Veon Bell could never quite figure that out.
17:52
SPEAKER_04: So true.
17:54
SPEAKER_04: So things are looking bleak.
17:56
SPEAKER_04: The Steelers do pick up their first win of the season against the hapless Cincinnati Bengals.
18:01
SPEAKER_04: And then they travel to Atlanta for a week four Monday night football showdown with the Falcons.
18:07
SPEAKER_04: And I I want to just pause here and talk a little bit about Monday night football and what it meant in those days.
18:13
SPEAKER_04: Because it it was huge.
18:14
SPEAKER_04: I mean, it was like the game of the week.
18:16
SPEAKER_04: Uh, you know, they there was no Thursday night game, there was none of this other stuff.
18:20
SPEAKER_06: It was Mondays, yeah.
18:22
SPEAKER_06: It was it was Monday, Sunday, Sunday night, and that's it.
18:26
SPEAKER_06: Yeah, there was Sunday night.
18:27
SPEAKER_06: There was Sunday night.
18:28
SPEAKER_04: There was Sunday night, but it wasn't the same as Monday night.
18:31
SPEAKER_04: And and the NFL only put like really good teams on Monday night football.
18:34
SPEAKER_04: So for years, the Steelers had never really been included, but now after that '92 campaign, they're actually scheduled to be on Monday Night Football three times during the 1993 season.
18:45
SPEAKER_06: Was this the two legit to quit Atlanta team?
18:48
SPEAKER_06: Uh well, ooh, I wonder.
18:51
SPEAKER_06: Oh.
18:52
SPEAKER_06: MC Hammer might have been on the sidelines.
18:54
SPEAKER_06: Nice.
18:56
SPEAKER_04: For for Monday Night Football, though, I I was super excited about this because you know, Steve and I grew up in the suck era of the 80s.
19:04
SPEAKER_04: And to see them on center stage, I mean, that was pretty cool.
19:07
SPEAKER_06: Full disclosure, Tim, I only started really watching the Steelers in '92.
19:11
SPEAKER_04: So well, you still grew up in the suck era.
19:14
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, I did.
19:15
SPEAKER_04: You can't change that.
19:16
SPEAKER_06: Well, I can change it.
19:17
SPEAKER_06: I watched a lot of crappy pit football in the 80s.
19:20
SPEAKER_06: So does that make up for it?
19:24
SPEAKER_04: So uh Monday Night Football back then, uh, they also had these like very um showbiz-esque openings.
19:32
SPEAKER_04: Back then they had they had a um when they would come on, they'd play this music, and they would have like this giant helmet like crash down from the sky.
19:41
SPEAKER_04: Wouldn't they explode and stuff?
19:42
SPEAKER_04: Oh yeah.
19:44
SPEAKER_03: The Pittsburgh Steelers, named for the industry that was this city's lifeblood throughout the franchise's history, especially during their Steel Curtain dynasty of the 1970s, ferocious deepest has been their trademark.
19:58
SPEAKER_06: I mean, it's kind of funny, even in '93, I don't think there were many many steel mills left.
20:02
SPEAKER_06: I think the Cokeworks in Hazelwood was still there.
20:05
SPEAKER_04: So that that that happened for years, where that was just, you know, all the steel mills and hard hats, and it's like that that hadn't existed for a while, but whatever.
20:15
SPEAKER_04: But but then they would have that the helmets like would crash into each other, Steve, like you said.
20:20
SPEAKER_04: And then they would play this opening theme song from Hank Williams where he would sing, Are you ready for some football?
20:27
SPEAKER_04: Remember?
20:28
SPEAKER_04: All my rowdy friends are here.
20:29
SPEAKER_04: All my rowdy friends, yeah.
20:31
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, however, in 1993, ABC decides people are probably getting sick of Hank Williams.
20:38
SPEAKER_04: And also, Hank Williams, not really like hip and cool.
20:42
SPEAKER_04: You know, they wanted to reach a broader demographic appeal to appeal to the kids.
20:46
SPEAKER_06: MC Hammer, MC Hammer, come on, MC Hammer.
20:50
SPEAKER_04: And so, well, what they what they got instead was a rotating group of musicians to do the opening every week.
20:56
SPEAKER_04: So listen to this line, FC.
20:58
SPEAKER_04: No MC Hammer, unfortunately.
21:00
SPEAKER_06: Millie Vanelli.
21:00
SPEAKER_06: They meant I'm trying to new kids on the block.
21:03
SPEAKER_04: Uh you're you're a few years.
21:06
SPEAKER_04: This is not 1989, this is 1993.
21:09
unknown: Okay.
21:09
SPEAKER_04: So Bon Jovi, uh Boys to Men, Kiss, Brian Adams, The Temptations.
21:14
SPEAKER_06: They thought, and they thought uh what's his name was David, The Temptations.
21:19
SPEAKER_06: I mean, I like the Temptations, but geez.
21:21
SPEAKER_06: I mean, it's diverse.
21:22
SPEAKER_06: Yeah, I guess.
21:23
SPEAKER_04: So and for this game between the Stears and Falcons, we get an RB number by Johnny Gill.
21:29
SPEAKER_04: Oh, nice.
21:30
SPEAKER_06: So new edition, yes.
21:32
SPEAKER_04: Yes, from new edition.
21:34
SPEAKER_06: Rubb You the White Right Way?
21:36
SPEAKER_06: That was a B-94 classic.
21:38
SPEAKER_06: I remember that.
21:40
SPEAKER_04: So anyway, onto the and onto the actual game itself.
21:43
SPEAKER_06: Oh, you don't have the audio to run the Johnny Gill opening?
21:47
SPEAKER_04: Um I I won't even tell you how many hours I wasted trying to find the audio for that.
21:52
SPEAKER_04: I I I I won't.
21:53
SPEAKER_04: I'm just gonna I'm just gonna brush down the game.
21:55
SPEAKER_06: That should be our outros rub you the right way by Johnny Gill.
21:58
SPEAKER_04: Onto the game itself, the Falcon.
22:00
SPEAKER_04: Are being coached by our old buddy Jerry Glanville.
22:02
SPEAKER_06: I knew it.
22:03
SPEAKER_06: I knew it was Jerry Glanville.
22:05
SPEAKER_04: And his job is in trouble.
22:07
SPEAKER_04: So they desperately need a win just like the Steelers.
22:09
SPEAKER_04: And it doesn't start well.
22:10
SPEAKER_04: The Steelers give up 14 first quarter points on two splash plays because in the first quarter they get a 46-yard fumble return and a 97-yard kickoff return.
22:19
SPEAKER_04: That kick return would be the start of a very bad trend for the Steelers special teams, which we'll talk much more about as we get into this episode.
22:27
SPEAKER_04: The Steelers do come back, though, from that deficit, and they score 45 points.
22:32
SPEAKER_04: Their most points in almost a decade.
22:34
SPEAKER_04: The offense finally starts playing well.
22:36
SPEAKER_04: O'Donnell has two touchdowns.
22:38
SPEAKER_04: Barry Foster scores three touchdowns.
22:40
SPEAKER_04: Rod Woodson makes two more interceptions.
22:42
SPEAKER_04: And he even gets into the game on offense, where they had him run the ball on an end-a-round play that goes for exactly zero yards.
22:50
SPEAKER_04: But it was still cool to see him in on offense.
22:53
SPEAKER_04: The defense shuts down Falcons running backs Eric Dickerson and future Steeler Eric Pegrim.
22:58
SPEAKER_04: And the Steelers win big.
23:02
SPEAKER_04: The Steelers then beat San Diego in the next game, and that sets up a huge showdown at home against the undefeated New Orleans Saints.
23:11
SPEAKER_04: The Saints in that era were a pretty good team.
23:13
SPEAKER_04: They had seen made the playoffs four years in a row.
23:15
SPEAKER_06: I heard they couldn't do Diddley Pooh.
23:18
SPEAKER_04: Yes, their coach was Jim Mora.
23:20
SPEAKER_04: Yep.
23:22
SPEAKER_04: But this year they were, yeah, they were undefeated coming into Three River Stadium.
23:26
SPEAKER_04: But Rod Woodson gets a pick six in the first quarter, then has another interception that sets up a touchdown, and the Steelers are just off and running right off right from the get-go.
23:34
SPEAKER_06: Okay, I remember another thing that happened.
23:36
SPEAKER_06: Okay, now the two four.
23:37
SPEAKER_06: What is he up to?
23:38
SPEAKER_06: Six?
23:40
SPEAKER_04: Oh, I I I'm not keeping track of how many interceptions, but at least because he had two in the Niners game, two in the Falcons game, and two here.
23:47
SPEAKER_06: Yeah, because he he gets up to a certain number, and then like they're like, oh, 12, because Dick Night Train Lane, I think, still holds the record.
23:54
SPEAKER_04: He does, yeah.
23:55
SPEAKER_06: But like when Rod, I think when Rod got like the six or eight, it was like, we're not throwing on that.
24:00
SPEAKER_06: We're just throwing on this side of the field.
24:03
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, Woodson had a bunch of there.
24:05
SPEAKER_04: There was talk.
24:06
SPEAKER_04: I think the re that record for Night Train Lane's 14, actually.
24:09
SPEAKER_04: And there was there was a lot of talk of maybe he'll he'll break that record.
24:13
SPEAKER_04: But yeah, he he doesn't quite get there.
24:15
SPEAKER_04: Uh the Steelers in this game against the undefeated Saints take a 37-0 lead before New Orleans gets some garbage points at the end.
24:24
SPEAKER_04: So, I mean, now this team that started 0-2 just beat the best team in the league.
24:28
SPEAKER_04: Their offense is exploding with points.
24:30
SPEAKER_04: Woodson's basically already locked up defensive player of the year at this point.
24:34
SPEAKER_04: Uh, even kicker Gary Anderson's on fire.
24:37
SPEAKER_04: He sets the team record for accuracy that year and makes it to the Pro Bowl.
24:41
SPEAKER_04: So this is kind of like the team we all expected, right?
24:45
SPEAKER_04: You know, after that, after that 92 campaign, this is now the team, it seems like that's ready to assert themselves as a real force in the NFL.
24:54
SPEAKER_04: The next game is week eight at Cleveland Municipal Stadium.
24:58
SPEAKER_04: Oh, I think I remember this game.
25:00
SPEAKER_04: I think you will take a deep breath.
25:03
SPEAKER_06: I know, I know, I there's gonna be somebody, yeah, yeah.
25:06
SPEAKER_06: I think there might be a Metcalf involved in this.
25:11
SPEAKER_04: So the Browns at this point are four and two.
25:13
SPEAKER_04: They're tied for first place with the Steelers, so it's a big game.
25:16
SPEAKER_04: Uh Cleveland gets off to a fast start.
25:19
SPEAKER_04: Uh, they have this kick returner who Steve just mentioned, his name's Eric Metcalf, and he returns a punt, 91 yards for a touchdown early in the game, and the Browns take a 14-0 lead.
25:29
SPEAKER_04: But the Steelers aren't phased, just like the Atlanta game.
25:32
SPEAKER_04: They come back to tie the score, and then it's a bunch of back and forth the rest of the way.
25:36
SPEAKER_04: It's it's really an epic game.
25:37
SPEAKER_04: I mean, this is this is one of those like classics that that um you know you don't see a lot from Pittsburgh and Cleveland over the years because you usually one team's good, one team's bad, and so usually the Browns are the bad team.
25:49
SPEAKER_04: But this one, this one was a really good one.
25:51
SPEAKER_04: And the Steelers have a 23-21 lead with under two minutes left.
25:55
SPEAKER_04: They're trying to run out the clock, but they have to punt the ball back to Cleveland.
26:00
SPEAKER_04: And that's when one of the most vomit-inducing moments in the history of the Steelers Browns rivalry takes place.
26:08
SPEAKER_06: Wow, vomit inducing.
26:10
SPEAKER_02: Has had more drama, more storylines than a Broadway play.
26:15
SPEAKER_02: Royals with a punt.
26:16
SPEAKER_02: Eric Metcalf has already taken one ninety one yards for a score.
26:20
SPEAKER_02: He has this one at the twenty five.
26:22
SPEAKER_02: Metcal to the outside.
26:33
SPEAKER_02: Unbelievable.
26:35
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, unbelievable is right.
26:36
SPEAKER_04: Right into that stupid enzyme with that stupid little hill that they had.
26:40
SPEAKER_06: That's right, with the dog.
26:42
SPEAKER_06: That was where the dog found one, wasn't it?
26:44
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, yeah.
26:45
SPEAKER_06: Uh yeah, um, I remember that because I went to work.
26:49
SPEAKER_06: I had to go to work.
26:50
SPEAKER_06: Believe it in 1993, Tim, some of us had jobs, even though I was still a junior in high school or so or freshman sophomore.
26:59
SPEAKER_06: And I remember going to work and like I walked in and they had like the TV hooked up with like antenna, and you couldn't pick up the channel real good, but so we had like aluminum foil attached to it.
27:09
SPEAKER_06: This is definitely ultimate 90s here.
27:12
SPEAKER_06: And I remember the one girl where he's like, he did it again.
27:14
SPEAKER_06: He he it was like he read that's the second one today.
27:17
SPEAKER_06: She was in she was even in total shock, and I was like, it it's it's unbelievable that they like.
27:24
SPEAKER_06: Yeah, it was uh it was just like you just shook your head and then went spend eight hours dishing out fast food.
27:32
SPEAKER_04: It it it I mean, Eric Metcalf was good, he was really good.
27:36
SPEAKER_04: He was he was kind of Devin Hester before Devin Hester, so it's not like he wasn't a very good punt returner.
27:41
SPEAKER_06: He was light yeah, why do he kick it out of bounds?
27:45
SPEAKER_06: Yeah, right.
27:46
SPEAKER_06: Or like he's Devin Hester light.
27:48
SPEAKER_06: Devin Hester, there's be Mel Gray is maybe the closest thing to Devin Hester.
27:53
SPEAKER_06: Yeah, Devin Hester is just unreal.
27:56
SPEAKER_06: And he might not even they're debating that whether I saw that whether he might make the Hall of Fame.
28:00
SPEAKER_06: I don't think he will.
28:01
SPEAKER_06: He was too much of a specialist.
28:03
SPEAKER_06: But if they're gonna put Adam Vinateri in, why don't you put him in or Ray Guy?
28:08
SPEAKER_06: Because I mean they're all kind of the same kind of player.
28:10
SPEAKER_06: They just did one thing, but they did it really, really good.
28:13
SPEAKER_06: So yeah, yeah.
28:14
SPEAKER_04: But but you're right, Metcalf was not quite in that same class.
28:17
SPEAKER_04: And again, after he already returned a punt 91 yards, you should just be especially when there's two minutes left in the game, and literally all you had to do because the defense was playing well, all you had to do was pin him deep and let the defense win the game, and they didn't even get the chance.
28:35
SPEAKER_04: So the Steelers special teams at this point, it's a real liability.
28:38
SPEAKER_04: I mean, we're seven games into the season.
28:40
SPEAKER_04: They've given up three kick return touchdowns.
28:43
SPEAKER_04: That's historically bad.
28:45
SPEAKER_04: The next game is at 0-7 Cincinnati, and the Steelers again go down early.
28:50
SPEAKER_04: The Bengals take a 16-0 lead before the Steelers mount yet another comeback to ultimately win the game.
28:57
SPEAKER_04: So we're seeing a pattern here, right?
28:59
SPEAKER_04: We called this episode the roller coaster Steelers because you never know which team is going to show up, not even just week to week, but like quarter to quarter.
29:08
SPEAKER_04: You know, they're they're down 16-0 to the 0-7 Bengals, and then in the second half they they kind of blow them out.
29:15
SPEAKER_04: So that's that game with the Bengals is followed up by a showdown at Three River Stadium with the Buffalo Bills, and it's another Monday Night Football game.
29:27
SPEAKER_06: Oh, yes, I know.
29:29
SPEAKER_06: Oh well, yes, I remember this one.
29:31
SPEAKER_06: Yes.
29:34
SPEAKER_04: For this one, we get a nice little instrumental from Santana.
29:51
SPEAKER_06: Yeah, it kind of sounded like the beginning of Sanford and Sun.
29:54
SPEAKER_06: I don't know.
30:00
SPEAKER_04: So that was that was that was the uh that was the musical artist for that night.
30:04
SPEAKER_04: Uh but but the this game, I mean, the Bills of this era were the cream of the crop in the AFC.
30:10
SPEAKER_04: Uh at this point, they were three time defending conference champions, and they had owned the Steelers.
30:15
SPEAKER_04: They had beaten them three times in the previous two seasons, including that aforementioned 92 playoff game, and none of those games were particularly close.
30:23
SPEAKER_04: Uh they had this know-how to offense, Jim Kelly, Thurman Thomas, Andre Reed, James Lofton.
30:28
SPEAKER_04: The Steelers defense could never stop it.
30:31
SPEAKER_04: Surely the 5-3 Steelers who just had to mount a massive comeback to beat the 0 7 Bengals, they're not going to be up for this challenge, right?
30:39
SPEAKER_04: Final score, Steelers 23, Bills 0.
30:44
SPEAKER_06: That was a heck of a game.
30:46
SPEAKER_06: Do you think Don Beebe remembers this game at all?
30:49
SPEAKER_04: I I doubt it.
30:51
SPEAKER_04: So what Steve's referring to there is uh this is the game you might have seen this hit before.
30:55
SPEAKER_04: Uh Steelers out of safety by the name of Gary Jones, just absolutely destroyed Don Beebe.
31:01
SPEAKER_04: Probably one of the most jarring hits you'll ever see.
31:04
SPEAKER_04: Uh the offense outgains the Bills 400 to 157.
31:08
SPEAKER_04: Uh what I remember, Steve, about this game was you and I were in North Carolina for a school trip, and they did not have televisions where we were, and so we couldn't watch the game.
31:18
SPEAKER_04: And the next day we were trying to find out who won.
31:21
SPEAKER_04: And one of the adults who were chaperoning us on this trip came in and said, Oh, the Steelers won 23 to nothing.
31:27
SPEAKER_04: And I remember I didn't believe them.
31:29
SPEAKER_04: I'm like, you had to have gotten that wrong.
31:31
SPEAKER_04: Because there's no way that they were, you know, A, we never beat the Bills back then, and then B, to shut out the Jim Kelly and Thurman Thomas at offense.
31:40
SPEAKER_04: I mean, that just seemed impossible.
31:43
SPEAKER_06: Was that here?
31:44
SPEAKER_06: That was here, right?
31:44
SPEAKER_04: That was at the River Stadium, yeah.
31:46
SPEAKER_06: Yeah.
31:47
SPEAKER_06: I don't know.
31:47
SPEAKER_06: I remember seeing the highlights of that.
31:49
SPEAKER_06: I don't know.
31:50
SPEAKER_06: I are you sure we were in North Carolina, boys?
31:52
SPEAKER_04: Yes.
31:53
SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
31:53
SPEAKER_04: Trust me.
31:54
SPEAKER_06: I just remember Bon Don B spitting on his head.
31:57
SPEAKER_04: Yes.
31:59
SPEAKER_06: That was bad for Don B.
32:01
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, I think we all saw the highlights because we wanted to come back and watch all the stuff that we missed.
32:06
SPEAKER_04: But yeah, we were we were we did not see that game.
32:09
SPEAKER_06: How long would Gary Jones would have lasted in his A's NFL?
32:13
SPEAKER_04: Not long.
32:15
SPEAKER_04: I was gonna say, unless unless you snuck out it on Monday night and found a TV somewhere, but I did I missed it.
32:21
SPEAKER_04: I know that.
32:21
SPEAKER_06: Like an episode of uh, I don't know, Porkies or something.
32:26
SPEAKER_04: A very tame episode of Porkies given where we were.
32:29
SPEAKER_04: One of the unfortunate outcomes of this game, though, uh Barry Foster hurts his ankle and is lost for the season.
32:36
SPEAKER_04: Now, if you read like retrospectives of the 93 season, a lot of people think that that doomed this team, losing Barry Foster.
32:44
SPEAKER_04: And it was a big loss for sure.
32:46
SPEAKER_04: I just I don't think it was as fatal as people remember because Foster was not carrying the entire offense like he was in '92.
32:52
SPEAKER_04: Uh the offense was way more diverse in '93.
32:55
SPEAKER_04: O'Donnell was passing a lot more.
32:57
SPEAKER_04: And if you look at the stats, Foster was averaging 106 yards per game in 92, and he only averages 79 per game in 93 before he gets hurt.
33:07
SPEAKER_06: So offensive diversity, there was like you know, different races and sexual preferences or a different kind of diversity.
33:15
SPEAKER_06: Oh, I'm sorry.
33:17
SPEAKER_04: My bad.
33:20
SPEAKER_04: And then, you know, Foster also was in somewhat of a timeshare at this point.
33:25
SPEAKER_04: It really wasn't.
33:26
SPEAKER_04: I think probably they ran him so much in '92, they just similar to you know what the Steelers have done in other years with other guys with like Le'Veon Bell and Maji Harris.
33:36
SPEAKER_04: They they wanted to take the load off a little bit.
33:38
SPEAKER_04: So Merrill Hodge and Leroy Thompson.
33:42
SPEAKER_06: I remember Leroy.
33:43
SPEAKER_06: Yeah, he was okay.
33:44
SPEAKER_06: He wasn't like horrible.
33:46
SPEAKER_04: And he's the guy that replaces Foster.
33:48
SPEAKER_04: And I I thought he actually did pretty well.
33:50
SPEAKER_06: He ended up winning a Super Bowl with New England, didn't he?
33:53
SPEAKER_06: Or no, he just went to a Super Bowl with New England, I think, like a year or two later.
33:56
SPEAKER_04: Yes, that would have been not winning it.
33:58
SPEAKER_04: You're right.
33:59
SPEAKER_06: Yeah.
34:00
SPEAKER_06: He likes to back up like really good running backs, I guess.
34:03
SPEAKER_06: He's like, hey, Curtis Martin's there, I'll back him up.
34:07
SPEAKER_04: So the Steelers are, even with the loss of Foster, I think the Steelers are probably feeling pretty good about themselves.
34:12
SPEAKER_04: They've got the NFL's best defense, which just took out the almighty Buffalo Bills.
34:17
SPEAKER_04: Next up is a trip to Denver to face John Elway, who's also a pretty good quarterback.
34:22
SPEAKER_04: That one doesn't go well.
34:24
SPEAKER_04: Elway torches the defense, the Broncos win in a blowout, uh, a bunch of fumbles, a bunch of steeler mistakes in this game.
34:31
SPEAKER_04: So once again, it's like, who is this team?
34:34
SPEAKER_04: Right?
34:34
SPEAKER_04: Shut out Buffalo Bills, and then they go to Denver and they get blown out.
34:40
SPEAKER_04: It's in Denver, so it is a tough place to win, for sure.
34:45
SPEAKER_06: That was the game where Richard Shelton got run over, wasn't it?
34:48
SPEAKER_04: No, that would have been before that.
34:50
SPEAKER_04: Oh, that was 92 then?
34:52
SPEAKER_04: That would have been 91 or 92, because he was gone by then.
34:54
SPEAKER_06: Yeah, okay.
34:55
SPEAKER_06: Yeah.
34:56
SPEAKER_04: Yep.
34:57
SPEAKER_04: We talked about that in a previous episode.
34:59
SPEAKER_06: Yeah, they got they they've gotten blown up by Denver and Denver a couple of times.
35:02
SPEAKER_06: They they have, yes.
35:04
SPEAKER_06: Yeah.
35:04
SPEAKER_04: A lot of people did back then, to be fair.
35:06
unknown: Yeah.
35:06
SPEAKER_04: So so at this point, the Steelers are again in a first place tie in the division, but it's not with Cleveland anymore.
35:13
SPEAKER_04: Now it's with Houston.
35:15
SPEAKER_04: Uh in the in the game, in the Eric Metcalf game against the Steelers, Vinnie Testaverdi had gotten hurt.
35:22
SPEAKER_04: But the Browns, it was okay, right?
35:24
SPEAKER_04: Because the Browns still had Bernie Kosar.
35:26
SPEAKER_04: Well, no, they didn't because they waive Kosar.
35:29
SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
35:29
SPEAKER_04: This is after Testaverdi got hurt.
35:31
SPEAKER_04: I think they started Kosar for a week and then Belitech cuts him.
35:34
SPEAKER_04: And they decide to start Todd Philcox, and they probably lose a bunch of games and fall out of contention.
35:42
SPEAKER_06: He wasn't quite the genius that he I think he could have got by until Vinnie came back, right?
35:49
SPEAKER_04: With I yeah.
35:51
SPEAKER_04: I I mean he he apparently thought Bernie was just so washed that he had to go with this Todd Gilcox guy.
35:59
SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
36:00
SPEAKER_06: That guy was not even a good backup.
36:02
SPEAKER_04: I mean who what when the Patriots hired Belichick, remember there was a whole fight with the Jets?
36:07
SPEAKER_04: The Jets were gonna hire him, and then the Patriots like stole him away.
36:10
SPEAKER_04: When that all happened, I remember watching that, and I remember saying they're fighting over the guy that cut Bernie Kozar.
36:17
SPEAKER_04: What what idiots.
36:19
SPEAKER_04: That guy sucks.
36:20
SPEAKER_04: And of course, I was not proven right.
36:23
SPEAKER_06: Um well he hadn't become like I think he hadn't found the right owner yet.
36:28
SPEAKER_06: Like sometimes it takes a guy getting with the right owner.
36:31
SPEAKER_04: Or or even maybe making some mistakes that you learn from, right?
36:34
SPEAKER_04: Maybe that wasn't.
36:35
SPEAKER_06: I mean, not that I mean Art Modell wasn't a bad I know.
36:39
SPEAKER_06: I'm gonna get myself self in trouble with Cleveland.
36:41
SPEAKER_06: Art Modell wasn't a bad owner for for I mean he did a bad thing at the end.
36:46
SPEAKER_06: It's the classic, you do one thing at the end of your life, everybody remembers you for it.
36:51
SPEAKER_04: He cared a lot, he cared a lot about the franchise for sure.
36:53
SPEAKER_04: And he made some top decisions.
36:55
SPEAKER_06: They were a hell of a lot more successful with Art Modell than they have been with the 20 different owners they've had since him.
37:01
SPEAKER_04: That's correct.
37:02
SPEAKER_04: That's very true.
37:03
SPEAKER_04: And the Ravens have done okay.
37:04
SPEAKER_04: So you're right.
37:05
SPEAKER_06: And they've won two Super Bowls.
37:07
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, he you you're right.
37:08
SPEAKER_04: He wasn't a bad owner, but everybody remembers him for moving the team, which is a pretty, pretty lousy thing to do, to be fair.
37:16
SPEAKER_04: So it's Houston that's now in first place with the Steelers, and they're playing the Steelers at home with first place on the line.
37:24
SPEAKER_04: And once again, the Steelers lay an egg.
37:26
SPEAKER_04: Uh the Oilers win 23-3.
37:29
SPEAKER_04: Uh it it's it's just amazing some of these scores.
37:32
SPEAKER_04: Like, it's like the Steelers offense either scores like more than 40 or like less than five.
37:38
SPEAKER_06: There's no uh in-between.
37:40
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, I mean, because 92 was a lot of like run the ball, win like the 16-13 games, you know, that kind of stuff.
37:47
SPEAKER_04: This year it's really all over the map.
37:49
SPEAKER_04: Uh now, to be fair, 23-3, this game's a little closer than the score indicates because the Steelers had a wide receiver.
37:58
SPEAKER_04: His name was Jeff Graham.
38:00
SPEAKER_04: They had drafted him out of Ohio State in the second round of the 91 draft.
38:04
SPEAKER_04: So they're they're kind of expecting big things from him here in his third season.
38:09
SPEAKER_04: He arguably has the worst season of any Steelers receiver ever.
38:13
SPEAKER_04: Uh, we've talked about him in previous episodes.
38:15
SPEAKER_04: He just cannot catch the ball that year, and it really hits a boiling point in this game at Houston.
38:20
SPEAKER_04: Uh the Steelers have a chance to get a touchdown right before halftime, but Graham drops a long pass that would have put them in the red zone.
38:28
SPEAKER_04: And then later in the game, O'Donnell gets knocked out, and Tomzak comes in and heaves what should be a 42-yard touchdown pass to Jeff Graham, but he drops the ball in the end zone.
38:40
SPEAKER_06: Yeah, I think no, Tom, that wasn't the one Tomzak, was that the same game Tomzak got in a fight, too?
38:46
SPEAKER_04: I believe it was, yeah.
38:47
SPEAKER_06: Yeah, yeah.
38:48
SPEAKER_06: Yeah.
38:49
SPEAKER_04: So just an ugly performance all around.
38:52
SPEAKER_04: The Oilers are now in the driver's seat in the division.
38:55
SPEAKER_04: Uh the Steelers then have a home game against the one in ten New England Patriots, and again fall behind 14 to nothing against a really, really bad team.
39:07
SPEAKER_06: I think I remember this game.
39:09
SPEAKER_06: Yeah.
39:09
SPEAKER_06: Was Parcellos the coach yet?
39:11
SPEAKER_04: Parcells was the coach and the quarterback.
39:13
SPEAKER_06: Yeah, with Drew Bledsoe.
39:14
SPEAKER_06: Yeah.
39:17
SPEAKER_06: I remember this game.
39:18
SPEAKER_06: Yeah.
39:19
SPEAKER_06: I had a chance to go to this game, believe it or not.
39:21
SPEAKER_06: They offered, I was offered to buy tickets, and my dad didn't want to go like$10.
39:29
SPEAKER_06: Literally, Tim, 10.
39:30
SPEAKER_06: Even back in 1993,$10 was not an un it was a pretty cheap ticket.
39:35
SPEAKER_06: I think we could have got two tickets for$20 to that game.
39:39
SPEAKER_04: Well maybe it was good that your dad didn't want to see it because it again, the Steelers fall behind.
39:46
SPEAKER_06: They win.
39:46
SPEAKER_06: They win, though.
39:47
SPEAKER_04: They they they come back.
39:48
SPEAKER_04: They they it's it's good that Drew Blitz is a rookie because he makes a bunch of mistakes.
39:54
SPEAKER_04: He throws five interceptions.
39:55
SPEAKER_04: But the Steelers actually still need a goal line stand at the very end of the game.
39:59
SPEAKER_06: That was on the that that's like, yeah, they have like Kirkland stuffing him on a quarterback sneak.
40:04
SPEAKER_04: On a quarterback sneak, right?
40:05
SPEAKER_06: And that was at like the entrance to the Steelers' offices.
40:08
SPEAKER_06: They had that blown up as a poster, believe it or not.
40:11
SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
40:12
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, the the they could have kicked a field goal to send the game into overtime, but being one and ten, they went for the win, which you know, you don't can't blame them for that.
40:19
SPEAKER_04: But the Steelers stopped them.
40:21
SPEAKER_04: The Steelers win, but it's certainly not impressive that they barely beat the one-win Patriots.
40:26
SPEAKER_04: Steve, I was at that game, and what I remember was I was having a lot of um what's to say digestive issues.
40:35
SPEAKER_04: And the the Three River Stadium men's room was not a place that's not a place you want to have digestive issues.
40:41
SPEAKER_06: Yeah, that's not a place where you ever want to have assuming you just didn't have to like pee a lot.
40:45
SPEAKER_04: I'm sure it's not a place where you ever want to go if you need to go into a stall.
40:50
SPEAKER_04: And you know, yeah.
40:52
SPEAKER_06: That's gonna be a problem.
40:53
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, and it was.
40:55
SPEAKER_04: So that's that's what I remember about that game was almost losing to the Patriots and that.
41:01
SPEAKER_06: Maybe it's just a sickening sight of Drew Bledstein.
41:04
SPEAKER_04: Maybe it was.
41:05
SPEAKER_06: Maybe it's some bad nachos at halftime.
41:07
SPEAKER_06: I don't know.
41:08
SPEAKER_04: Maybe, maybe.
41:10
SPEAKER_04: So, man.
41:12
SPEAKER_04: So again, up and down, up and down.
41:15
SPEAKER_04: The Steelers uh for the next game, they have to go on the road to play the 9-3 Miami Dolphins.
41:21
SPEAKER_04: Uh, that was the year that Dan Marino gotten hurt, but Miami is not missing a beat with backups uh Steve DeBerg and Scott Mitchell.
41:29
SPEAKER_04: Uh they're at the top of the AFC.
41:31
SPEAKER_04: And Steve, this is another Monday Night Football game.
41:35
SPEAKER_04: I know what's gonna happen.
41:36
SPEAKER_04: So let's see who we have opening up this one.
41:39
SPEAKER_04: And Steve, I think you're gonna recognize these guys.
41:48
SPEAKER_04: Oh, that's a big hit.
41:56
SPEAKER_01: The Pittsburgh dealers, tough on the rush.
41:59
SPEAKER_01: Donnie makes me nuts with every single touch.
42:01
SPEAKER_01: He fits quality balls.
42:03
SPEAKER_01: To the fellas when he can can take the big hit.
42:05
SPEAKER_00: Why?
42:06
SPEAKER_00: Cause he's a real man.
42:07
SPEAKER_00: The cold hearted fighters and the knocking of the out.
42:10
SPEAKER_00: Don't take them for the fuck a coke is not what they're about.
42:13
SPEAKER_00: When I need my scores, you know there'll be a fight.
42:15
SPEAKER_00: It's on the pay off Monday night.
42:18
SPEAKER_00: Damn right.
42:23
SPEAKER_06: There you go.
42:24
SPEAKER_06: That was a that was a big hit.
42:26
SPEAKER_06: Uh I think I uh I I I think my first C D was by uh Salt and Peppa, but it was uh the CD single to Shoop, which which would have been a year or two later, maybe.
42:37
SPEAKER_06: Oh, was that later?
42:38
SPEAKER_06: Okay, okay.
42:39
SPEAKER_06: I don't know if it was off this album, but yeah, I had Shoop and Let's Talk About Sex was the B side.
42:45
SPEAKER_06: But I guess there wasn't a B side on CDs, then there was just the other song on the show.
42:49
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, that's true.
42:50
SPEAKER_04: If you were turning your CD over, then you were probably having a problem with your CD player.
42:54
SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
42:55
SPEAKER_04: Uh I I like I like the lyrics in this.
42:57
SPEAKER_04: If you heard her say knock another out.
43:00
SPEAKER_04: Well, well, and the one line was Donnie makes me nuts with every single touch.
43:04
SPEAKER_04: And they were showing like Don Shula.
43:06
SPEAKER_06: Wow.
43:07
SPEAKER_06: Wow.
43:08
SPEAKER_06: C C's just like really getting hot for an octogenarian attack.
43:11
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, and she's doing like the like the isn't he dreamy eyes like it's it's pretty pretty entertaining.
43:17
SPEAKER_06: She was really into Don Shula.
43:19
SPEAKER_04: I I guess so.
43:20
SPEAKER_06: I wonder if she ever got a free meal at Don Shula's steakhouse.
43:25
SPEAKER_04: I hope so.
43:26
SPEAKER_04: I hope so.
43:26
SPEAKER_06: Send Peppa was that Salter Peppa?
43:30
SPEAKER_06: I don't know.
43:31
SPEAKER_06: Yes, I don't know.
43:32
SPEAKER_06: Maybe it was Spinderella, I don't know.
43:35
SPEAKER_06: They all got free stakes that night in Miami.
43:38
SPEAKER_04: I I hope.
43:39
SPEAKER_04: I certainly hope so.
43:41
SPEAKER_04: So what happens in the actual game?
43:43
SPEAKER_04: Well, of course, you know, the Steelers are on the road against a really good team coming off a really bad game.
43:48
SPEAKER_04: So of course they dominate.
43:51
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
43:51
SPEAKER_04: The defense sets up the offense with some big turnovers.
43:54
SPEAKER_04: The Steelers are in control all night.
43:56
SPEAKER_04: Scott Mitchell and Steve DeBerg, that Dolphins team was a mirage.
44:00
SPEAKER_06: That really it really was.
44:02
SPEAKER_04: That's fair, but I mean they were nine and three.
44:04
SPEAKER_06: So I mean it was back then when the dolphins would go, they were like the Cowboys.
44:08
SPEAKER_06: They go eight and eight, and everybody's like, oh, they're going to the Super Bowl.
44:11
SPEAKER_06: Like, no.
44:13
SPEAKER_06: Not with Steve Deberg and Scott Mitchell.
44:16
SPEAKER_06: No.
44:16
SPEAKER_04: And and well, Scott Mitchell got a huge contract off of that year with the Detroit Lions.
44:20
SPEAKER_04: Remember that?
44:21
SPEAKER_06: Well, that's the Detroit Lions stupidity.
44:24
SPEAKER_04: It was.
44:25
SPEAKER_04: It was.
44:26
SPEAKER_06: I mean, hey, good for Scott Mitchell.
44:28
SPEAKER_06: I'm sure he's still living off all that sweet Detroit Lion money, all that William Ford money.
44:33
SPEAKER_06: How many Ford Explorers they have to sell to pay off that contract?
44:40
SPEAKER_04: One footnote for this game.
44:42
SPEAKER_04: The Steelers, like we said, kind of were in control all night.
44:46
SPEAKER_04: They pretty much have a ice.
44:47
SPEAKER_04: They're leading by eight points real late in the game.
44:50
SPEAKER_04: And like the Cleveland game, they're unable to run off the clock, so they have to punt the ball away.
44:54
SPEAKER_04: And OJ McDuffie returns the punt 72 yards for a touchdown.
45:00
SPEAKER_04: Fortunately, in 1993.
45:02
SPEAKER_04: Next year was the two-point conversion.
45:04
SPEAKER_04: Yes.
45:05
SPEAKER_04: There's no two-point conversion.
45:06
SPEAKER_04: So the Steelers still hang on for a 21-20 victory.
45:10
SPEAKER_06: That's why they got the two.
45:12
SPEAKER_06: Oh, now it all makes sense.
45:14
SPEAKER_06: Oh, I didn't realize that's what happened.
45:17
SPEAKER_06: That's why we have the two-point conversion.
45:21
SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
45:21
SPEAKER_04: Because the Dolphins would have sent that game, or at least had a chance to send that game in overtime, but they didn't.
45:25
SPEAKER_06: Because Don Shula got screwed.
45:29
SPEAKER_06: Who owned it?
45:30
SPEAKER_06: Did Robbie still own the team?
45:31
SPEAKER_06: I think the Robbie's I think the Robbie still owned it.
45:35
SPEAKER_06: Uh wasn't Wayne Haizenga yet.
45:37
SPEAKER_06: Oh, that makes perfect sense.
45:39
SPEAKER_06: Because I remember that the two-point came in the next year.
45:42
SPEAKER_04: Yes.
45:42
SPEAKER_06: This league.
45:43
SPEAKER_06: Boy, the more things change, the more they stay the same, don't they?
45:47
SPEAKER_04: For sure.
45:48
SPEAKER_06: Hall of Fame, coach gets screwed.
45:50
SPEAKER_06: They change the roles.
45:54
SPEAKER_04: Nevertheless, it's unbelievable that the Special teams gave up their fourth kick return touchdown of the season and very nearly blew that game in the process.
46:04
SPEAKER_04: So, okay, now the Steelers, the Steelers just beat the best the team with the best record in the AFC at their stadium a week after looking like a complete dumpster fire.
46:13
SPEAKER_04: Now they have to come home to play the second game against Houston, and they're a game behind them in the division, but now they have a chance to tie them with a victory.
46:22
SPEAKER_04: As is their MO, the Steelers go down in that game 20 to nothing in the first half.
46:27
SPEAKER_04: This time they are not able to mount a comeback.
46:30
SPEAKER_04: Houston wins a game and they clinch the AFC Central Division.
46:34
SPEAKER_04: After the game, Buddy Ryan says, quote, I thought Pittsburgh would play more physical than they did.
46:39
SPEAKER_04: All the talk they do, they just don't walk the walk.
46:43
SPEAKER_04: End quote.
46:44
SPEAKER_04: From Buddy Ryan, who always like to antagonize people.
46:50
SPEAKER_06: Well, I don't think he was wrong because I remember I remember that too from some of those Cower teams.
46:54
SPEAKER_06: Like there'll be games like they show up and they're like knocking D Don BB out, and then there's other games like this Houston game, and it's like they're like timid little Yeah, so I don't know.
47:04
SPEAKER_06: It was a weird season.
47:06
SPEAKER_06: Normally that goes to coaching when you see like up and down stuff like that.
47:11
SPEAKER_06: So I I don't know, maybe Cower was still a young coach.
47:14
SPEAKER_06: So it happens to Tomlin too.
47:16
SPEAKER_06: So I don't know.
47:17
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, fair.
47:17
SPEAKER_04: And and you're right.
47:18
SPEAKER_04: I mean, Buddy Ryan was a jerk, uh, but he wasn't wrong.
47:21
SPEAKER_06: You know, the Steelers obviously Yeah, just because somebody's a jerk, yeah, doesn't make them wrong.
47:26
SPEAKER_04: Right.
47:26
SPEAKER_06: Doesn't make them less of a jerk, though.
47:28
SPEAKER_04: No, definitely not.
47:30
SPEAKER_06: Both could be true at the same time.
47:32
SPEAKER_04: So now the Steelers are eight and six.
47:34
SPEAKER_04: There's two games left in the season, but lucky for them, they're still in control of their own destiny for a wild card spot.
47:40
SPEAKER_04: And the last two games are against bad teams, the Seattle Seahawks and the reeling Cleveland Browns.
47:45
SPEAKER_04: Uh so the Steelers promptly go up to Seattle and get thumped 16-6 by the Seahawks in their bottom-ranked defense.
47:53
SPEAKER_04: Uh a Seahawks running back named John Vaughn had 138 yards rushing in that game, whoever that guy was.
48:00
SPEAKER_06: I couldn't name another.
48:01
SPEAKER_06: What was this, the 93 Seahawks?
48:03
SPEAKER_06: Rick Meyer.
48:05
SPEAKER_06: Courtney, yeah, was what was that uh who was that big defensive lineman?
48:09
SPEAKER_06: Was he on that team yet?
48:11
SPEAKER_06: But geez, Rick Meyer.
48:13
SPEAKER_06: They lose Rick Meyer.
48:14
SPEAKER_06: Ugh.
48:15
SPEAKER_06: Who was their coach?
48:16
SPEAKER_06: I couldn't even tell you who their coach was.
48:19
SPEAKER_06: Ugh, wow.
48:20
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, I couldn't tell you that either.
48:22
SPEAKER_04: Cortez Kennedy is a guy.
48:23
SPEAKER_06: That's that's yeah, he was good.
48:25
SPEAKER_06: Now that guy.
48:25
SPEAKER_04: He was very good, yes.
48:26
SPEAKER_06: Yeah, yeah.
48:27
SPEAKER_04: Um so again, like what in the world?
48:31
SPEAKER_04: You're gonna beat, you're gonna beat New Orleans, Buffalo, Miami, these elite NFL teams, but you can't beat Rick Meyer when your season's literally on the line.
48:39
SPEAKER_04: So now it all comes down to the final game of the season at home against Cleveland.
48:43
SPEAKER_04: Testa Verdi's back at this point, but the Browns have lost six out of their last eight.
48:48
SPEAKER_04: Uh, the Steelers, the Steelers not only need to win, but they also need help in order to qualify for the postseason.
48:55
SPEAKER_04: Uh and once again, the Steelers go down in the first half.
48:58
SPEAKER_04: In the locker room at halftime, linebacker Greg Lloyd goes off on his teammates.
49:02
SPEAKER_04: Reportedly, he throws tears and he cusses out the Steelers' offense, and he tells them that if they're not up for the task, then he'll just play offense also.
49:13
SPEAKER_04: Uh, to his credit, Lloyd backs up his talk by forcing two fumbles in the second half.
49:17
SPEAKER_04: The offense responds as well.
49:18
SPEAKER_04: Eric Green catches a touchdown.
49:20
SPEAKER_04: The Steelers do win the game.
49:22
SPEAKER_04: Of course, like we said, that didn't lock anything up.
49:25
SPEAKER_04: The Steelers needed help, and it's from an unlikely source.
49:29
SPEAKER_04: They need the Oilers to beat the New York Jets in the Sunday night game.
49:33
SPEAKER_04: And this game becomes infamous due to the fact that Buddy Ryan punches his own offensive coordinator, Kevin Gilbright, future Steeler offensive coordinator, Kevin Gilbright on the sidelines.
49:45
SPEAKER_06: The band all orchestrating this is one Jack Pardee.
49:48
SPEAKER_06: If I remember correctly, yes.
49:50
SPEAKER_06: He was just like a nice guy.
49:51
SPEAKER_06: He played on the uh Washing one of the Washington teams, didn't he?
49:55
SPEAKER_06: Mm-hmm.
49:56
SPEAKER_06: The team that lost the Super Bowl to Toncha was team.
50:00
SPEAKER_06: Yeah.
50:00
SPEAKER_06: Yeah.
50:00
SPEAKER_06: Yeah.
50:01
SPEAKER_06: So I mean he's like a really nice guy, but he kind of has two jerk assistant coaches.
50:05
SPEAKER_04: If if you ever want to watch an entertaining story, watch um, I think it was either a football life or a 30-30 that they did on the 93 Oilers team.
50:13
SPEAKER_04: It is an absolute soap opera.
50:16
SPEAKER_06: Yeah.
50:16
SPEAKER_06: I think somebody died.
50:17
SPEAKER_06: Didn't somebody die?
50:18
SPEAKER_06: I think that's a good one.
50:19
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, Jeff Alm.
50:20
SPEAKER_04: Jeff Alm.
50:21
SPEAKER_04: He was the uh I think he was a defensive lineman.
50:24
SPEAKER_04: He actually committed suicide.
50:25
SPEAKER_04: It was the week before that Steeler game that we mentioned.
50:29
SPEAKER_04: So yeah, there was just a lot of crazy stuff that happened.
50:31
SPEAKER_04: They had a they had a big controversy.
50:33
SPEAKER_04: One of the one of their players sat out of a game because his wife was having a baby, and that was a huge controversy.
50:39
SPEAKER_04: Uh there was there was all kinds of stuff that happened during that year, but but we'll go back to the Steelers.
50:46
SPEAKER_04: Uh the Oilers do win that game uh and do the Steelers a favor.
50:50
SPEAKER_04: They shot out the Jets 24-0, which means that the ninth and seven Steelers, after all those ups and downs, they're in the playoffs as the AFC's number six seed.
51:00
SPEAKER_04: And no one's really quite sure what to expect at this point.
51:03
SPEAKER_04: I think Well, no number six seed has ever won the Super Bowl.
51:06
SPEAKER_06: Yeah, well I don't think a six seed's even made it to the AFC Championship game at this point.
51:11
SPEAKER_04: Not at this point.
51:12
SPEAKER_04: But, you know, I mean uh here here's what I would say.
51:16
SPEAKER_04: We we know three things about this team at this point.
51:18
SPEAKER_04: Uh number one, they played down to their competition, but they play well against elite teams, and there's now that we're in the playoffs, there's only elite teams left.
51:27
SPEAKER_04: Uh number two, they're not great in the clutch.
51:29
SPEAKER_04: And number three, their special teams is absolutely atrocious.
51:35
SPEAKER_04: So let's let's let's talk about what happens in the playoffs.
51:38
SPEAKER_04: Their opponent in the wild card round is the Kansas City Chiefs.
51:43
SPEAKER_04: They're playing at Arrowhead Stadium, which is a tough place to win.
51:47
SPEAKER_04: And Kansas City has a quarterback named Joe Montana, who uh you may have heard of, won four Super Bowls.
51:53
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, was the greatest of all time before that Tom Brady guy came along.
51:58
SPEAKER_04: Uh this game is on ABC because in addition to getting the Monday night games, ABC also got to televise two wildcard playoff games.
52:08
SPEAKER_04: So now, Steve, we're in the playoffs.
52:11
SPEAKER_04: Who do you think they're gonna pull out for this opening?
52:14
SPEAKER_04: Like who's who's a who's really big in 1993 that they would they would pull out for this?
52:19
SPEAKER_06: I don't know.
52:19
SPEAKER_06: Uh I haven't heard uh boy, I don't know, Bon Jovi.
52:23
SPEAKER_04: Michael Jackson was pretty big back then.
52:25
SPEAKER_04: Uh I don't know, like Nirvana, maybe something different.
52:28
SPEAKER_06: Nirvana is not going to do a Monday night football game, too.
52:31
SPEAKER_06: It's not happening.
52:32
SPEAKER_06: You see Kirk Cobain, yeah.
52:34
SPEAKER_06: I think you.
52:35
SPEAKER_06: No, it's not happening.
52:37
SPEAKER_04: Well, it it's you'd think it's the playoffs, right?
52:39
SPEAKER_04: They want to get they want to they want to make it a big thing.
52:41
SPEAKER_06: So let's let's hear definitely the temptations.
52:44
SPEAKER_04: Let's let's hear let's hear who they got for this wild card game between the Steers and Thieves.
52:54
SPEAKER_05: Hey, are you ready for the football?
52:58
SPEAKER_05: Get the pumpkin heart.
53:01
SPEAKER_05: Now this is big old hang, and I'm back and I'm ready to get this game started.
53:08
SPEAKER_00: Now put the teams on the field and get 'em pumped up right.
53:11
SPEAKER_00: Cause all my body friends wanna play our bike.
53:17
SPEAKER_06: Well, that would be one Hank Williams Jr.
53:20
SPEAKER_04: Hank is back and always right with the world again.
53:26
SPEAKER_06: I guess they gave up on the uh Hank's a big Steeler fan, by the way.
53:31
SPEAKER_06: So is he?
53:32
SPEAKER_06: Yes, he is.
53:34
SPEAKER_04: So that's that's who opens the uh the wildcard game.
53:38
SPEAKER_04: Uh in terms of the Steelers opening up the wildcard game, they actually come out on fire.
53:42
SPEAKER_04: O'Donnell leads them down the field on a long touchdown drive.
53:45
SPEAKER_04: Everyone's contributing.
53:46
SPEAKER_04: Jeff Graham's actually catching passes in this game.
53:49
SPEAKER_04: Merrill Haj has a 32-yard reception on third and 17.
53:53
SPEAKER_04: Steve, you alluded to this earlier.
53:54
SPEAKER_04: Haj was always so clutch in playoff games.
53:57
SPEAKER_06: He was.
53:58
SPEAKER_06: He was.
53:58
SPEAKER_06: He had great playoff games.
54:00
SPEAKER_06: He really did.
54:00
SPEAKER_04: And he didn't get to play in a lot of them because of the teams he was on.
54:03
SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
54:04
SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
54:04
SPEAKER_04: Uh meanwhile, the defense is all over Montana.
54:07
SPEAKER_04: He goes 0 for his first seven passes and then gets temporarily knocked out of the game.
54:11
SPEAKER_04: So the Steelers have all this momentum, but then they shoot themselves in the foot.
54:16
SPEAKER_04: Uh the Steelers, as you mentioned, Steve Steve mentioned this earlier, right?
54:20
SPEAKER_04: Rod Woodson was just having one of the greatest seasons, probably, that any defensive back had ever had.
54:25
SPEAKER_04: And eventually teams said, we we just can't even throw on that side of the field anymore.
54:29
SPEAKER_04: So on the other side of the field, the guy that was playing there for the Steelers was a guy named DJ Johnson, who, I mean, he certainly wasn't Woodson, but he he held his own for the most part.
54:39
SPEAKER_06: Don't think he was the fresh prince either, but uh DJ Jazzy Jeff.
54:45
SPEAKER_06: Oh, oh God.
54:45
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, that was totally missed that reference, but thank you for explaining it.
54:49
SPEAKER_06: Yeah, it's okay.
54:51
SPEAKER_04: Uh DJ Johnson loses his mind in this game.
54:54
SPEAKER_04: He kicks uh Keith receiver Tim Barnett in the head, and he gets thrown out of the game, which I mean to get ejected from an NFL playoff game, you have to do something pretty egregious, and DJ's up for the task.
55:06
SPEAKER_06: Uh not only somebody in the head will do it.
55:09
SPEAKER_04: That'll do it.
55:09
SPEAKER_04: Yep, that'll do it.
55:10
SPEAKER_04: You can't really ignore that and let that one go.
55:13
SPEAKER_04: Uh not only does it give Kansas City 15 yards and the momentum back, uh, but it also gets them a touchdown on that drive.
55:21
SPEAKER_04: Um, just a really, really uh hard thing for the Steelers to come back from losing one of their starting cornerbacks to ejection in in the first half.
55:31
SPEAKER_04: Uh the game kind of seesaws back and forth after that.
55:34
SPEAKER_04: It's tied with four minutes left when O'Donnell leads them down the field and hits Eric Green on a 22-yard touchdown pass.
55:41
SPEAKER_04: And and you gotta really have to, people will never remember this, but O'Donnell was really clutch in this game.
55:46
SPEAKER_04: He throws for almost 300 yards.
55:48
SPEAKER_04: He has three touchdowns, no interceptions, uh, and he really does plenty more than enough for them to win.
55:55
SPEAKER_04: The Steelers have a 24-17 lead, but this is Joe Montana we're playing against, right?
56:01
SPEAKER_04: And the guy that can work miracles.
56:03
SPEAKER_04: But the defense sacks him on a third down, Kansas City has to punt.
56:07
SPEAKER_04: The offense runs some time off the clock, makes the Chiefs use all their timeouts, and now the Steelers are gonna punt from around midfield with Kansas City having no timeouts left.
56:18
SPEAKER_04: We're like in the final moments of the game here.
56:21
SPEAKER_04: So uh can Joe Montana drive 80 or 90 yards?
56:25
SPEAKER_04: Sure.
56:26
SPEAKER_04: He did that in the Super Bowl.
56:28
SPEAKER_04: Uh he can certainly do it, but against the Steelers defense, it's not gonna be easy.
56:32
SPEAKER_04: Uh and so the Steelers are really in good position here.
56:35
SPEAKER_04: Like they they really have a strong chance to pull off a huge road upset in the playoffs, just like the New Orleans game, just like the Buffalo game, the Miami game.
56:44
SPEAKER_04: The Steelers can be elite when they play like an elite team, and and maybe they can make a Super Bowl run after all.
56:51
SPEAKER_04: All they have to do is punt the ball away.
56:56
SPEAKER_03: Mark Royals define the kick is blocked.
57:00
SPEAKER_03: It is blocked, and this is Jones making off.
57:02
SPEAKER_03: He's inside the 20, tackled at the nine-yard line.
57:14
SPEAKER_04: So the Steelers special teams gifts Joe Montana the ball at the nine-yard line.
57:19
SPEAKER_04: Montana converts that into the game tie in touchdown.
57:22
SPEAKER_04: Keeps kicker Nick Lowry wins the game for Kansas City in overtime, and that's the end of the Steelers season.
57:30
SPEAKER_06: Didn't Joe Montana didn't he convert like a third and something on one of those drives or a fourth and something?
57:36
SPEAKER_04: The the when they when the Kansas City got the ball at the nine-yard line, the Steelers actually got it down to fourth and goal.
57:42
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, and I think he converted the touchdown on fourth down.
57:45
SPEAKER_04: So, I mean, even then the defense almost saved them, but you can't give Joe Montana the ball at the nine-yard line in a playoff game and and then tell your defense to go out there and save you.
57:55
SPEAKER_04: That's just not fair.
57:56
SPEAKER_04: The special teams just murdered the Steelers over and over and over again in 1993.
58:02
SPEAKER_04: And ultimately it just it cost them everything.
58:05
SPEAKER_04: It it's it just it's unbelievable just the way that the the special teams just let them down.
58:14
SPEAKER_06: Yeah.
58:14
SPEAKER_06: Uh they were pretty bad that year.
58:17
SPEAKER_06: The the special teams.
58:18
SPEAKER_06: It's kind of a weird, inconsistent year, too.
58:22
SPEAKER_06: And like I I think I've told I don't know if I've told this story before, I don't told it to Tim, but like my my uh I went out with my mother and my sister, they wanted to go shopping and they went into like games or something.
58:33
SPEAKER_06: I remember some store it doesn't exist anymore.
58:36
SPEAKER_06: And I was sitting in the parking lot listening to this game on the radio, and like I remember like Jack Fleming was like with the call, and this is like later in Jack's career when he really wasn't with it.
58:49
SPEAKER_06: Like he would call everything like 30 seconds after it happened, and like I remember like Nick Lowry is lining up for the field goal, he's like, and it's a field goal, and then like it's up, and then I hear like you know they're on the road, and it's like like all this cheering.
59:03
SPEAKER_06: I'm like, well, I guess that's the game.
59:04
SPEAKER_06: Then he's like, it's good.
59:06
SPEAKER_06: It's like, no, really, really, Jack, is it?
59:09
SPEAKER_06: Thanks, buddy.
59:12
SPEAKER_04: Fun fact, Steve.
59:14
SPEAKER_04: That was actually Jack Fleming's final uh steel or broadcast.
59:17
SPEAKER_04: So you were you were you were hearing history there.
59:21
SPEAKER_04: Uh should have probably been his final broadcast a little bit earlier than that, unfortunately, for Jack.
59:26
SPEAKER_04: But uh you mentioned that just the uh you know the the up and down of the season.
59:31
SPEAKER_04: The uh it really played out in this game, in this playoff game.
59:34
SPEAKER_04: You know, it it's it's it's like they they they had the game, they had the game under control.
59:41
SPEAKER_04: They were beating Joe Montana in the first half, then the the ejection happens and and they start looking like the bad team again, but then O'Donnell leads them down the field and they're gonna win the game, and then the special teams blows it.
59:52
SPEAKER_04: It was just a microcosm of the whole season in that one playoff game.
59:56
SPEAKER_04: And you know, realistically, I I just there was probably no way this team was gonna go real deep into the postseason just playing the way they did.
1:00:06
SPEAKER_06: No, no, and it is weird they had that down year, but I guess yeah, I don't know if it wasn't injuries like you know you were saying, like Foster probably didn't help Barry Foster getting hurt.
1:00:17
SPEAKER_06: Maybe they could have ran out the clock at the end of that Kansas City game, but at the same time, it really was inconsistent.
1:00:23
SPEAKER_06: It really, really was.
1:00:24
SPEAKER_06: Maybe I think this team had some some players that didn't like maybe fit in either, like I don't know, like like Barry Foster.
1:00:33
SPEAKER_06: Like I never I don't know.
1:00:35
SPEAKER_06: You know, and there's some and they got Tim McCrear too the next year because of the you know DJ Johnson thing.
1:00:44
SPEAKER_04: Yes.
1:00:45
SPEAKER_04: So so yeah, let's talk about the aftermath of this.
1:00:48
SPEAKER_04: Uh special teams coach John Guy is fired two days after the season ends, which is not a surprise.
1:00:54
SPEAKER_04: Uh Jeff Graham is traded to the Chicago Bears and actually goes on to have a pretty productive career after his very miserable '93 season.
1:01:01
SPEAKER_04: Uh DJ Johnson, as Steve mentions, signs with Atlanta in the offseason.
1:01:06
SPEAKER_04: Goes on to become a sideline reporter for Fox and actually does some acting.
1:01:10
SPEAKER_04: So if you want to go see all those great DJ Johnson movies.
1:01:14
SPEAKER_06: I didn't know he was a sideline reporter.
1:01:16
SPEAKER_06: Wow.
1:01:16
SPEAKER_06: Yep.
1:01:17
SPEAKER_06: Did he kick anybody in the head?
1:01:19
SPEAKER_04: I knew that was coming.
1:01:22
SPEAKER_04: Uh Buddy Ryan becomes the head coach of the Arizona Cardinals and fails miserably there.
1:01:27
SPEAKER_04: Uh Bernie Kosar signs with the Cowboys to back up Troy Ankman and actually gets a Super Bowl ring that season.
1:01:32
SPEAKER_04: So good for Bernie.
1:01:34
SPEAKER_06: Dallas really was the team to beat that year.
1:01:37
SPEAKER_06: I mean, when you're talking about Atlanta, really wasn't the best team in the NFL.
1:01:41
SPEAKER_06: They were just the only one that was left undefeated.
1:01:43
SPEAKER_06: The best team was San Francisco and Dallas.
1:01:47
SPEAKER_06: You're right.
1:01:48
SPEAKER_06: And the AFC was very weak.
1:01:50
SPEAKER_06: Well, I think Buffalo, Buffalo won the AFC again that year, didn't they?
1:01:54
SPEAKER_06: Yeah.
1:01:54
SPEAKER_04: Buffalo won the AFC and lost the Super Bowl to the Cowboys.
1:01:58
SPEAKER_06: Was that the year they played the Raiders in the championship game?
1:02:02
SPEAKER_04: No, they played Montana.
1:02:03
SPEAKER_04: They did play Montana because after the Kansas City beat us, they went down to Houston and upset the Oilers.
1:02:08
SPEAKER_06: That's right.
1:02:09
SPEAKER_06: Yeah.
1:02:09
SPEAKER_06: And that was, yeah, that wasn't that was just the end of the Oilers season.
1:02:13
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, it was really the end of the end of the Oilers.
1:02:15
SPEAKER_04: They were they never did anything after that, and then they moved like two or three years later.
1:02:19
SPEAKER_06: No, yeah, seriously.
1:02:20
SPEAKER_06: Yeah.
1:02:22
SPEAKER_04: Um as for the Steelers, I mean, I, you know, Steve, you said, you know, they they had that setback.
1:02:28
SPEAKER_04: They do rebound, though.
1:02:30
SPEAKER_04: I mean, I I think maybe it was a good season of you know, lessons learned, or like you said, even like trying to find the right personnel, because they go in to make the AFC championship game three out of the next four seasons, and they make it to Super Bowl 30 in 1995.
1:02:45
SPEAKER_04: That that team in the 90s doesn't win a championship, but boy, they come awfully close a few times.
1:02:50
SPEAKER_04: And those subsequent seasons are not nearly as enigmatic as this '93 season.
1:02:57
SPEAKER_04: So they definitely kind of Cower uh and and Donahoe and everybody kind of uh reset the the the the ship after this, and they went on to have some pretty good teams.
1:03:11
SPEAKER_06: Yeah, they there was some coaching changeover too, I think.
1:03:14
SPEAKER_06: Yeah, there was Chan Gailey was up and coming.
1:03:17
SPEAKER_06: I mean, Ron Earhart was technically the offensive coordinator.
1:03:21
SPEAKER_06: And then I think Dom Capers was still the defensive coordinator for a couple more years.
1:03:26
SPEAKER_04: Correct.
1:03:27
SPEAKER_06: Yeah.
1:03:27
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, and Dick Lebeau, I think, was like the secondary coach.
1:03:30
SPEAKER_06: So they had good coaches.
1:03:31
SPEAKER_06: I don't know in this year, but I think a year or two down the road, I think that did happen.
1:03:35
SPEAKER_06: Yeah.
1:03:36
unknown: Yeah.
1:03:36
SPEAKER_04: So they had something.
1:03:37
SPEAKER_04: I mean, again, they they had they had, you know, and maybe it was just that 92 season.
1:03:43
SPEAKER_04: I, you know, we could do an episode on that too, but I don't remember that having a whole ton of adversity.
1:03:49
SPEAKER_04: The Steelers kind of, you know, were were pretty good all year.
1:03:52
SPEAKER_04: They they won games convincingly, they had that solid running game.
1:03:55
SPEAKER_06: So I think they surprised.
1:03:57
SPEAKER_06: They they surprised teams, like they have to expect.
1:04:00
SPEAKER_04: And then in 93, again, like we said at the beginning of the episode, there's a target on your back, and you have the contract stuff, you have you know, all that stuff.
1:04:08
SPEAKER_04: It's always hard to follow up a good season, especially a surprisingly good season with another really good season.
1:04:14
SPEAKER_06: So ask the University of Pittsburgh about that one.
1:04:18
SPEAKER_04: Correct.
1:04:19
SPEAKER_04: That's very true.
1:04:20
SPEAKER_06: Yeah.
1:04:21
SPEAKER_04: All right.
1:04:22
SPEAKER_04: Well, that's all uh we have for the 93 stewards.
1:04:24
SPEAKER_04: Hopefully you enjoyed that uh trip down memory lane.
1:04:28
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1:04:32
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1:04:40
SPEAKER_04: And and please, especially uh tell your friends, because that's honestly our best way of uh spreading the word about the podcast.
1:04:49
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1:04:52
SPEAKER_04: Thank you, and we'll see you next time.