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HR2: AFC North Preview · In the Locker Room presented by Neighborhood Ford Store (Pittsburgh Steelers)

• 0:08
  Speaker 1: This is In the Locker Room with Rob King, Max Starks,
• 0:12
  Speaker 1: and Willie Colon on Steelers Nation Radio, brought to you
• 0:15
  Speaker 1: in part by the Steelers Pro Shop. Get it direct
• 0:19
  Speaker 1: from the team at the Steelers Pro Shop at shop.steelers.com.
• 0:23
  Speaker 1: And by your neighborhood Ford store. The F-150 is the
• 0:27
  Speaker 1: official truck of the Pittsburgh Steelers.
• 0:31
  Speaker 2: And thanks very much for being with us in the
• 0:33
  Speaker 2: locker room here on the Steelers Audio Network. And we
• 0:36
  Speaker 2: have a fun day lined up for you. Jerry Dulac
• 0:38
  Speaker 2: is going to be joining us with some of the
• 0:40
  Speaker 2: latest Steelers news. Of course, the outstanding writer for the
• 0:43
  Speaker 2: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. And we are also going to be joined
• 0:48
  Speaker 2: by the Indianapolis Colts play-by-play man, which we are looking
• 0:53
  Speaker 2: forward to. One of the best in the business for
• 0:56
  Speaker 2: my money. I just think he does an outstanding job. So,
• 1:02
  Speaker 2: That's all coming up in just a little bit. Matt Taylor,
• 1:05
  Speaker 2: by the way, I should mention his name as long
• 1:07
  Speaker 2: as I'm talking about him. But Matt Taylor will be
• 1:09
  Speaker 2: joining us at 1 o'clock, give you the lowdown on
• 1:11
  Speaker 2: the Colts. So looking forward to all that. I hope
• 1:14
  Speaker 2: you are fine and dandy today, Willie, on this Thursday,
• 1:19
  Speaker 2: another incredible day in Pittsburgh. We're getting this weather, Willie,
• 1:23
  Speaker 2: where it's like you wake up and it's like 40 degrees,
• 1:27
  Speaker 2: a little chilly. Maybe you've got to put a sweatshirt on.
• 1:31
  Speaker 2: By the middle of the afternoon, it's like 72 degrees,
• 1:34
  Speaker 2: no clouds in the sky. It's been like this for
• 1:37
  Speaker 2: several days, and it's going to be like this several
• 1:39
  Speaker 2: days more. We're all good here in the Berg. How
• 1:42
  Speaker 2: are you doing?
• 1:43
  Speaker 3: We're good. We're good down here in Jacktown, Mississippi. It
• 1:47
  Speaker 3: is bright and sunny with the temperature, I think, steady
• 1:51
  Speaker 3: at 83 right now. The problem is, Rob, there's So
• 1:56
  Speaker 3: I live in the countryside, and I'm blessed and extremely
• 2:00
  Speaker 3: grateful to have an awesome property. I sit on 11 acres,
• 2:03
  Speaker 3: and I have all the amenities I need for one
• 2:06
  Speaker 3: man and his family. The problem is my neighbor, he
• 2:10
  Speaker 3: flies planes. He's his own personal pilot. I think that's
• 2:13
  Speaker 3: a hobby of his. And he has like a little
• 2:16
  Speaker 3: airstrip on the other side of my property. He's been
• 2:20
  Speaker 3: circling my house in the area for the last hour
• 2:24
  Speaker 3: or so. So if it sounds like I'm under attack,
• 2:29
  Speaker 3: it's my neighbor. He's currently flying a little crop yellow plane,
• 2:33
  Speaker 3: a little propeller plane. And he's just doing laps. He's
• 2:36
  Speaker 3: been doing it for the last hour. So it's interesting.
• 2:39
  Speaker 3: I've never, you know, never been a part of something
• 2:41
  Speaker 3: like this. And I don't know how to tell him
• 2:43
  Speaker 3: to stop or quiet down because I don't know how
• 2:45
  Speaker 3: you talk to somebody in the sky like that. Yeah, yeah.
• 2:49
  Speaker 3: that's where, that's where we're at. So if you hear
• 2:51
  Speaker 3: occasional round, that's my neighbor, Tom. So, uh, yeah, that's
• 2:56
  Speaker 3: Tom and his plane. Yep.
• 2:57
  Speaker 2: So I will tell you two things about Jackson. I
• 3:00
  Speaker 2: have been to two games. I don't know if they
• 3:02
  Speaker 2: still have a double a affiliate, but I've been to
• 3:04
  Speaker 2: two baseball games in Jack. Well, no one for sure.
• 3:09
  Speaker 2: I don't know if I was at the, I think
• 3:10
  Speaker 2: I was at a double a game. Then when I
• 3:13
  Speaker 2: was covering, uh, uh, St. Louis Cardinals minor league, uh,
• 3:17
  Speaker 2: team years and years ago when i first started in
• 3:19
  Speaker 2: tv went to a ball game there and then of
• 3:21
  Speaker 2: course there's the the uh unforgettable line in the song
• 3:26
  Speaker 2: by charlie daniels called uneasy rider which if if i
• 3:29
  Speaker 2: don't know if you know the song willie but it's
• 3:31
  Speaker 2: basically a very very old 55 year old country it's
• 3:37
  Speaker 2: basically a country rap song i i don't know how
• 3:39
  Speaker 2: else to put it uh because he speaks the words
• 3:42
  Speaker 2: But he says the last thing I wanted was to
• 3:44
  Speaker 2: get in a fight in Jackson, Mississippi on a Saturday night.
• 3:48
  Speaker 2: So here's your Jackson, Mississippi reference.
• 3:51
  Speaker 3: For the day. Yeah, so when I first visited Jackson,
• 3:56
  Speaker 3: I attended two games. One was the Mississippi Braves. I
• 4:00
  Speaker 3: think that's like the AA or AAA, whatever here.
• 4:04
  Speaker 2: Okay, and then there were the Jackson Mets when I
• 4:06
  Speaker 2: was there. Jackson Mets were the team that they were playing. Yeah,
• 4:09
  Speaker 2: that was a long time ago.
• 4:10
  Speaker 3: Yep. And then I saw, I was able to watch
• 4:13
  Speaker 3: Mississippi state play here, uh, and over in Pearl, Mississippi, nevertheless,
• 4:17
  Speaker 3: baseball is thriving and doing well here. Um, so it's
• 4:21
  Speaker 3: good to see my, I'm also a little blue Rob.
• 4:23
  Speaker 3: I don't know if you know this, my name, my
• 4:26
  Speaker 3: Yankees got swept and packed up, uh, and parked home
• 4:29
  Speaker 3: for the rest of the year. Uh, so it was
• 4:32
  Speaker 3: a tough one watching my Yankees go down and into
• 4:34
  Speaker 3: the whole Volpe home run thing. It's a home run.
• 4:36
  Speaker 3: I don't understand what we're doing right now. Um, it's
• 4:41
  Speaker 3: maddening for that to be robbed in Yankee Stadium by
• 4:46
  Speaker 3: one of your fans. I can't even compute how infuriated
• 4:51
  Speaker 3: I was watching that last night.
• 4:53
  Speaker 2: I will say this. If you're not a Yankees fan,
• 4:56
  Speaker 2: the heart does not exactly bleed when the Yankees lose.
• 5:00
  Speaker 2: But I'll also say this. David Bednar, local guy, was
• 5:03
  Speaker 2: on the Pirates. They traded him to the Yankees last year.
• 5:05
  Speaker 2: I've said this before. I know Garrett Cole is a
• 5:08
  Speaker 2: former Pirate, too. If David Bednar got the last out
• 5:14
  Speaker 2: in the World Series in Game 7, I would be thrilled.
• 5:18
  Speaker 2: Great guy, great family, heck of a competitor, absolutely the
• 5:24
  Speaker 2: kind of guy you're rooting for. As much as you
• 5:27
  Speaker 2: grow up in New York and you either love the
• 5:29
  Speaker 2: Yankees or you hate the Yankees. You grew up in
• 5:31
  Speaker 2: New York and loved the Yankees. I grew up in
• 5:33
  Speaker 2: New York and hated the Yankees. That's your two options.
• 5:37
  Speaker 2: There's no Hey, what do you think about the Yankees? Well,
• 5:39
  Speaker 2: I don't know. That doesn't exist. It's one or the other.
• 5:42
  Speaker 3: Totally correct.
• 5:43
  Speaker 2: I grew up hating the Yankees. So, having said that,
• 5:49
  Speaker 2: having said that, if David Bednar had an awesome postseason
• 5:54
  Speaker 2: and that, I would be thrilled. So that's my caveat.
• 6:00
  Speaker 3: Yeah, I've always been a fan of Bednar. I know
• 6:02
  Speaker 3: he went through some woes earlier in the season and
• 6:05
  Speaker 3: To see him kind of shake that and get out
• 6:06
  Speaker 3: of his own way and pretty much started off the
• 6:09
  Speaker 3: top half of the year hot. I loved what he
• 6:12
  Speaker 3: did in the World Series Classic. He was money good
• 6:14
  Speaker 3: for Team USA. I got a lot of respect for Ben.
• 6:20
  Speaker 2: I think I'm going to challenge our producer Justin Miller
• 6:22
  Speaker 2: to find that track from Uneasy Rider by Charlie Daniels.
• 6:26
  Speaker 2: He's working on it. Yesterday he got us It's Your Thing,
• 6:30
  Speaker 2: my favorite song by the Isley Brothers. He's now working
• 6:33
  Speaker 2: on He's working on Uneasy Rider. He's going to town.
• 6:37
  Speaker 2: So while he is uneasy at the controls figuring that out, Willie,
• 6:41
  Speaker 2: some big news here for the Steelers. They announced just
• 6:44
  Speaker 2: a short time ago that Deshaun Elliott has gotten back
• 6:48
  Speaker 2: to practice with that because he was on the injured
• 6:51
  Speaker 2: reserve list that they have 21 days to activate him.
• 6:55
  Speaker 2: So I'm not saying he's going to be ready for Sunday,
• 6:58
  Speaker 2: but I think the world of Deshaun Elliott as a
• 7:01
  Speaker 2: football player I think the defense is just a lot
• 7:05
  Speaker 2: better when he's out there. Now, again, we'll have to see.
• 7:08
  Speaker 2: Hopefully he's recovered from all his injuries. I know he's
• 7:10
  Speaker 2: worked hard at it. Hopefully he's good to go and 100%
• 7:14
  Speaker 2: because I think, you know, we talk about tackling issues.
• 7:17
  Speaker 2: That becomes less of an issue when Deshaun Elliott's out
• 7:21
  Speaker 2: on the field.
• 7:22
  Speaker 3: Bob, I don't know, just for clarification, what was his
• 7:25
  Speaker 3: injuries today? I lost him off the top of my head.
• 7:27
  Speaker 3: It was a knee, right?
• 7:28
  Speaker 2: Yeah, knee.
• 7:29
  Speaker 3: Was it something he dealt with last year, too? Didn't
• 7:31
  Speaker 3: he get dinged by one of his guys?
• 7:34
  Speaker 2: Yeah, he suffered the injury last year and then came
• 7:40
  Speaker 2: back in camp and actually played a little bit in
• 7:43
  Speaker 2: the preseason and looked like it was a hamstring and
• 7:47
  Speaker 2: severe hamstring and hyperextended knee. Last season.
• 7:57
  Speaker 3: Right.
• 7:58
  Speaker 2: And then I think what he aggravated was the hamstring. Although,
• 8:05
  Speaker 2: you know, again, that's just reports. I don't think they
• 8:07
  Speaker 2: have to report on that stuff officially when injuries happen
• 8:10
  Speaker 2: in the preseason. So I don't know what the listing was,
• 8:15
  Speaker 2: but I do know that hamstrings are always– any pulled
• 8:18
  Speaker 2: muscle is worrisome. I pulled the calf muscle 12 years ago,
• 8:24
  Speaker 2: and it's never been the same. People talk about pulling
• 8:27
  Speaker 2: a quad. They're like, hey, man, you pull a quad,
• 8:30
  Speaker 2: and that quad's never quite the same. So you worry
• 8:34
  Speaker 2: about that. But if he can be healthy and he
• 8:37
  Speaker 2: can be at full speed, and I don't know whether
• 8:38
  Speaker 2: it's going to happen this week or after, Willie, but
• 8:42
  Speaker 2: I love his game. I just think he's– and I'll
• 8:45
  Speaker 2: just say this too because I've said this many times
• 8:47
  Speaker 2: on this show. He was one of those guys, when
• 8:49
  Speaker 2: they signed him for the Ravens, I'm like, oh, cool,
• 8:51
  Speaker 2: good signing. You know, I like his game. And he's
• 8:54
  Speaker 2: one of those guys that the more you see him,
• 8:56
  Speaker 2: to me, the more you see him, the more you
• 8:58
  Speaker 2: like him.
• 9:00
  Speaker 3: Yeah, so I actually got to know him and Keanu Benton.
• 9:03
  Speaker 3: What year was Derek Harmon's draft when he was selected
• 9:06
  Speaker 3: number one? Was that two years ago?
• 9:07
  Speaker 2: Two years ago, yeah.
• 9:09
  Speaker 3: Right, so the Steelers have flown me out to Mexico
• 9:12
  Speaker 3: City with Keanu and Deshaun. And I knew about the guys,
• 9:16
  Speaker 3: but I never necessarily didn't. I didn't know who they
• 9:18
  Speaker 3: were on a personal level. Nevertheless, man, I had a
• 9:22
  Speaker 3: couple of Had a couple days to really get to
• 9:24
  Speaker 3: know them and talk to them. And, you know, the
• 9:27
  Speaker 3: interesting thing I think the Steelers are doing, and I
• 9:29
  Speaker 3: don't know how many organizations do it, but they do
• 9:31
  Speaker 3: a great job of building a bridge where the old
• 9:34
  Speaker 3: used to talk to the new and present-day Steelers. And
• 9:37
  Speaker 3: it was awesome because as much as we laughed and
• 9:41
  Speaker 3: talked and, you know, just seeing the sights and talking
• 9:44
  Speaker 3: to the people, they really were interested in, on what
• 9:47
  Speaker 3: it meant to play during the golden years if you
• 9:49
  Speaker 3: will at the time when I was with the Steelers
• 9:51
  Speaker 3: and we were going to playoffs and making deep runs
• 9:54
  Speaker 3: and going to Super Bowls the early years of Mike Tomlin.
• 9:58
  Speaker 3: And it was interesting that they were interested because I
• 10:02
  Speaker 3: really do believe, in their mind, rightfully so, that they
• 10:06
  Speaker 3: have what it takes to go to the Super Bowl.
• 10:08
  Speaker 3: But from their standpoint, there's always talk about, and you've
• 10:12
  Speaker 3: heard it, Rob, from guys who've played in the past,
• 10:15
  Speaker 3: there was always something special about those teams. And I
• 10:17
  Speaker 3: had to tell them, you know, the one thing that
• 10:19
  Speaker 3: made it special if I had to kind of put
• 10:21
  Speaker 3: my thumb on one thing was the fact that everybody
• 10:23
  Speaker 3: in the helmet and the Steelers helmet was selfless. There
• 10:26
  Speaker 3: was a task that wasn't too big. There was nothing
• 10:29
  Speaker 3: that was active on the team that we weren't willing
• 10:34
  Speaker 3: to do or prepared to do. And a lot of it, yeah,
• 10:37
  Speaker 3: you could turn on the highlights and see Ryan Clark
• 10:40
  Speaker 3: hits and James Harrison sacks and Ben Roethlisberger touchdowns and
• 10:45
  Speaker 3: And it goes on and on. But I guess the minutia,
• 10:49
  Speaker 3: the substance of it all, was the fact that every
• 10:51
  Speaker 3: man was up for the challenge. And even if they
• 10:54
  Speaker 3: were hurt, injured, or whatever, it didn't matter. Like you
• 10:56
  Speaker 3: being hurt or whatever your physical state was, it was
• 11:00
  Speaker 3: never going to get in the way of what was
• 11:02
  Speaker 3: asked of you. And they received that. And so to
• 11:05
  Speaker 3: see Deshaun come back with coming off an injury, and
• 11:10
  Speaker 3: I'm with you, Rob. I hope he's fully healed because
• 11:12
  Speaker 3: I do think he's a damn good ballplayer. I hope
• 11:16
  Speaker 3: he comes back because I hope he realizes that at
• 11:18
  Speaker 3: this point where the Steelers are at, that the challenge
• 11:22
  Speaker 3: ahead of them is for this defense to step it up, right,
• 11:27
  Speaker 3: to kind of erase the deficiencies that we saw the
• 11:30
  Speaker 3: last two weeks as far as tackling and miscommunication and
• 11:34
  Speaker 3: individually to embrace the challenge. And, like, you know, I
• 11:39
  Speaker 3: know you've heard this expression before, to kind of embrace
• 11:42
  Speaker 3: the suck. No matter what happens on the field, whether
• 11:49
  Speaker 3: the offense gets a fumble and it's a quick, you know,
• 11:51
  Speaker 3: you got to go defend on short grass or whatever
• 11:54
  Speaker 3: the situation is that you're up for the challenge. And
• 11:57
  Speaker 3: I think that's why when you talk to a lot
• 12:00
  Speaker 3: of the old Steelers, like Casey Hampton and Aaron Smith,
• 12:03
  Speaker 3: it doesn't matter what position they were placed on the field,
• 12:06
  Speaker 3: they were up for the challenge and they were selfless.
• 12:09
  Speaker 3: They weren't pointing fingers at the offense. They weren't pointing
• 12:12
  Speaker 3: fingers at, any situation other than getting the job done
• 12:16
  Speaker 3: in that moment. And so having, having me have an
• 12:20
  Speaker 3: ability to relay that to him, I hope, I hope
• 12:24
  Speaker 3: he internalized that. And I, and I hope that defense
• 12:27
  Speaker 3: knows right now they have a great opportunity to go
• 12:29
  Speaker 3: against a team who's currently two and two, just like them,
• 12:32
  Speaker 3: who's trying to get on the right side of things,
• 12:34
  Speaker 3: just like them. And who really feels like, you know,
• 12:38
  Speaker 3: last year was an enigma because the culture started off
• 12:41
  Speaker 3: so hot and then, Obviously, Daniel Jones gets hurt, and boom,
• 12:44
  Speaker 3: they kind of fell off a cliff, and they had
• 12:48
  Speaker 3: to pretty much bring Phillip Rivers out of the grave.
• 12:52
  Speaker 3: With all that said, they're trying to get themselves together.
• 12:55
  Speaker 3: The Steelers are in the same predicament, but now the
• 12:58
  Speaker 3: challenge is on the Steelers because I feel like the unhinged,
• 13:03
  Speaker 3: the sloppy play, the operation, Mike McCarthy saying that he
• 13:06
  Speaker 3: wants to clean up his house and all this other stuff,
• 13:09
  Speaker 3: now this is on... you know, all this rolls into Sunday.
• 13:13
  Speaker 3: So getting one of your shorthand veterans who's a solid
• 13:17
  Speaker 3: ball player, somebody you can trust and rely on to
• 13:20
  Speaker 3: get guys not only in place, but to make an
• 13:23
  Speaker 3: impact is an awesome sign for the Steelers. And it's
• 13:27
  Speaker 3: an awesome sign for Deshaun Watson because I really think
• 13:29
  Speaker 3: a lot of them.
• 13:30
  Speaker 2: Yeah, we're on the same page on that. You know,
• 13:32
  Speaker 2: you brought something up that I wanted to follow up on, Willie.
• 13:36
  Speaker 2: And I think it's, for me, it's a really interesting topic. Actually,
• 13:40
  Speaker 2: it's a fascinating topic And the topic is who could
• 13:44
  Speaker 2: have played in what era, right? And I love the
• 13:48
  Speaker 2: conversation in any sport. And I understand that there are,
• 13:53
  Speaker 2: you know, baseball, African-Americans didn't play until 1947. You know,
• 13:57
  Speaker 2: I understand that that limits the field of competition. I
• 14:00
  Speaker 2: understand that the game of basketball has changed radically. It
• 14:06
  Speaker 2: began to change radically in the 60s. you began to
• 14:10
  Speaker 2: get better athletes and more guys who wanted to play.
• 14:13
  Speaker 2: I mean, I think everybody says, hey, Michael Jordan, maybe
• 14:18
  Speaker 2: the greatest of all time could play in any era.
• 14:20
  Speaker 2: Mario Lemieux in hockey, maybe the greatest of all time
• 14:23
  Speaker 2: could play in any era. But there are these constant questions.
• 14:26
  Speaker 2: Could Babe Ruth have been a great player? I'm a
• 14:28
  Speaker 2: believer that if you were a great athlete from another era,
• 14:32
  Speaker 2: you'd have found a way to be a great athlete today.
• 14:34
  Speaker 2: I mean, Babe Ruth was 6'2, 200 pounds. In his prime,
• 14:39
  Speaker 2: we always see the chubbier Babe Ruth at the end
• 14:41
  Speaker 2: of his career. Okay, well, what if he has today's
• 14:43
  Speaker 2: weightlifting regimen? Is he 6'2, 225? That's still a beast
• 14:48
  Speaker 2: in the game of baseball. But I do think that
• 14:52
  Speaker 2: this whole notion of, well, the old players weren't as
• 14:57
  Speaker 2: good as the good players exists more in the minds
• 15:00
  Speaker 2: of fans, I think, sometimes. When I hear you talk
• 15:04
  Speaker 2: about the guys who are following you and the guys
• 15:06
  Speaker 2: who preceded you, And when I go to those Steelers
• 15:09
  Speaker 2: alumni dinners and I hear a Larry Brown tell a
• 15:15
  Speaker 2: Marquise Pouncey, you could have played with us, and that
• 15:17
  Speaker 2: means something to Marquise Pouncey. He's totally into the fact
• 15:22
  Speaker 2: that some guy from 40 years ago says you could
• 15:25
  Speaker 2: have played with us, where the fans might say, oh,
• 15:29
  Speaker 2: those guys, today's athletes are way superior. I think that's
• 15:33
  Speaker 2: a fan thing. more than a player thing. I get
• 15:36
  Speaker 2: this sense, certainly in the Steelers organization, of this respect
• 15:40
  Speaker 2: of what came before and this desire to live up
• 15:43
  Speaker 2: to that and live up to the players who came
• 15:45
  Speaker 2: before you.
• 15:47
  Speaker 3: Man, you know, when the great Craig Wolfley passed, man,
• 15:53
  Speaker 3: before he passed, and him and Tunch, and I've talked
• 15:55
  Speaker 3: about this before, when they used to come on the
• 15:58
  Speaker 3: field and we would kind of have back and forth
• 16:01
  Speaker 3: about anything and everything, and then we would laugh, and
• 16:03
  Speaker 3: sometimes they would joke about me possibly getting into a
• 16:05
  Speaker 3: little tussle on the field on Sunday and kind of
• 16:08
  Speaker 3: appreciating my no-back-down mentality. They would tell me at the
• 16:14
  Speaker 3: end of every conversation, like, man, Willie, you could have
• 16:17
  Speaker 3: played with us. You had what it takes, or took, rather.
• 16:20
  Speaker 3: And it did mean something. It meant something because it
• 16:25
  Speaker 3: wasn't just about those men playing in that era, that
• 16:29
  Speaker 3: style of football, it was the fact that, you know,
• 16:33
  Speaker 3: those men played for each other in the brand. You know,
• 16:37
  Speaker 3: their mindset and what they stood for was about the
• 16:40
  Speaker 3: goal and accomplishing the goal. And so we live in
• 16:44
  Speaker 3: this NIL, money-driven, big bank takes little bank, you know, me, me,
• 16:50
  Speaker 3: me type of sports world. where those guys didn't have
• 16:54
  Speaker 3: those opportunities, right? You literally– there weren't a bunch of guys.
• 16:58
  Speaker 3: You know, Ming Joe Green was the first, I guess,
• 17:00
  Speaker 3: premier athlete to have a big brand commercial. And to
• 17:05
  Speaker 3: my knowledge, so you can clean me up if I'm
• 17:06
  Speaker 3: wrong with that, Rob, but when you start to see
• 17:11
  Speaker 3: those guys during that time and how they operated, and
• 17:14
  Speaker 3: even how they treat each other, that was the awesome thing,
• 17:17
  Speaker 3: being a Steeler. It's one thing to give respect to
• 17:21
  Speaker 3: those 70 Steelers, and the guys after that, before that,
• 17:25
  Speaker 3: even whatever. But it's another thing to see how they
• 17:28
  Speaker 3: treat each other. You know, I was fortunate enough to
• 17:31
  Speaker 3: see Franco, God rest his soul, and they always hug
• 17:35
  Speaker 3: each other, man. Like, they always hug each other like
• 17:38
  Speaker 3: if they grew up in the same house together, like
• 17:40
  Speaker 3: they were brothers. And it was a seamless transaction and conversation.
• 17:46
  Speaker 3: And I would see Mel Blunt, and I would see,
• 17:48
  Speaker 3: you know, all those guys kind of get together and,
• 17:51
  Speaker 3: whether it was on the sideline or at an event
• 17:53
  Speaker 3: or whatever. And through it all, they would always greet
• 17:57
  Speaker 3: each other. And so it's special. And I think when
• 18:00
  Speaker 3: somebody tells you you can play in their time, it's
• 18:03
  Speaker 3: not only a badge of honor, but you understand that
• 18:07
  Speaker 3: they paid the ultimate sacrifice because those guys didn't get
• 18:10
  Speaker 3: a lot of recognition. It wasn't about me. It was
• 18:13
  Speaker 3: about we in the city and representing the city of
• 18:16
  Speaker 3: Pittsburgh to the best of your ability. And those guys
• 18:19
  Speaker 3: did it for it. So it's a special statement, and
• 18:25
  Speaker 3: not everybody is worthy of that.
• 18:27
  Speaker 2: Beautifully put. Thanks for sharing those thoughts, Willie. I just
• 18:30
  Speaker 2: think that's fascinating, and I love the topic. But, again,
• 18:36
  Speaker 2: to see– and it's a great fan debate. It really is.
• 18:39
  Speaker 2: It's a fun thing. Who's the greatest of all time,
• 18:43
  Speaker 2: which I think is fruitless. I mean, I think when
• 18:46
  Speaker 2: you're talking about halls of fame, for example, Willie, Like,
• 18:50
  Speaker 2: to me, you know, if you're in Canton or if
• 18:54
  Speaker 2: you're in Cooperstown, if you're in Springfield, Ohio, if you're
• 18:57
  Speaker 2: in Toronto, where the Hockey Hall of Fame is, you are,
• 19:02
  Speaker 2: you know, look, the levels are, you know, look, you
• 19:06
  Speaker 2: made it in the NHL or the NBA or whatever.
• 19:08
  Speaker 2: You played for a while. You know, you were a
• 19:11
  Speaker 2: solid starting veteran. You made a Pro Bowl or an
• 19:14
  Speaker 2: All-Star team or whatever. And there's different layers of things.
• 19:17
  Speaker 2: You get into the Hall of Fame. That's a different
• 19:20
  Speaker 2: level of things. And then there's that inner sanctum. You're
• 19:23
  Speaker 2: in the Hall of Fame, but there's this room in
• 19:25
  Speaker 2: the back where there's only room. And that room doesn't
• 19:27
  Speaker 2: hold one player to me. That room holds, depending upon
• 19:31
  Speaker 2: the sport, 10, 15, 20 players. You're going to tell
• 19:34
  Speaker 2: me that Tom Brady was better than Lawrence Taylor, was
• 19:38
  Speaker 2: better than Joe Green. Come on, man. There's only so
• 19:41
  Speaker 2: great you can be, right? But I love the debate,
• 19:45
  Speaker 2: but I do love getting the perspective of a former
• 19:48
  Speaker 2: player on former players. players and the respect that you
• 19:52
  Speaker 2: just showed those guys. I think it's awesome, man.
• 19:54
  Speaker 3: Very awesome. Yeah, I mean, I think it's a steal away.
• 19:59
  Speaker 3: You know, I'm fortunate enough, I have a podcast coming up, Rob,
• 20:02
  Speaker 3: called The Bridge, and the the thesis and I guess
• 20:08
  Speaker 3: the campaign of the podcast is to bridge the old
• 20:12
  Speaker 3: Steelers with the new Steelers. And I think that's something
• 20:16
  Speaker 3: that I think a lot of teams aren't fortunate to have.
• 20:18
  Speaker 3: And I think, excuse me, I believe Mike Tomlin was
• 20:21
  Speaker 3: somebody who really pounded at the table to kind of
• 20:25
  Speaker 3: keep that tradition alive. You know, he believed in oral history.
• 20:29
  Speaker 3: He believed in the wisdom and the knowledge of the
• 20:33
  Speaker 3: man who grew up in that era during that time,
• 20:36
  Speaker 3: living the life we currently, the current state where lives
• 20:38
  Speaker 3: now is just, it's a pool of, it's a knowledge
• 20:42
  Speaker 3: of wealth, right. And a pool of wealth, excuse me.
• 20:45
  Speaker 3: So it's, I think I want to uphold that. It's
• 20:50
  Speaker 3: an opportunity. I get to talk to some folks I've
• 20:52
  Speaker 3: never talked to and, and kind of, you know, really
• 20:54
  Speaker 3: speak to some guys I've played with. And I also
• 20:58
  Speaker 3: think it's an opportunity for, sometimes you never want to
• 21:02
  Speaker 3: be the old man on a porch. I always make
• 21:03
  Speaker 3: that statement. Back in my time, you know, we used
• 21:05
  Speaker 3: to pull our helmets out of our back pocket and
• 21:07
  Speaker 3: slap it on and go right to work. Those days
• 21:12
  Speaker 3: are over, but there's still a lot of similarities and
• 21:16
  Speaker 3: there's still a lot of things that really exist right
• 21:20
  Speaker 3: now that the present player feels like, right? But they're not.
• 21:26
  Speaker 3: They're just going through it in their time. The players
• 21:28
  Speaker 3: in the past, went through the same thing, if not
• 21:31
  Speaker 3: harder times. And what does that mean to live that
• 21:33
  Speaker 3: and go through that? For example, a quick story. Aaron Smith,
• 21:39
  Speaker 3: who I don't say this about many people. I only
• 21:43
  Speaker 3: put this– there's only three, four, or five people in
• 21:45
  Speaker 3: my life I say they made me a man, right?
• 21:48
  Speaker 3: Aaron Smith, outside of my father, made me a man.
• 21:51
  Speaker 3: And what I mean is in my rookie year, we
• 21:56
  Speaker 3: were practicing. And I wasn't– you know, Aaron was– Aaron Smith,
• 22:00
  Speaker 3: you know, he's a dominant figure. He was everything. And
• 22:04
  Speaker 3: he was kicking my butt in practice, Rob. Like, kicking, like, really. Like,
• 22:08
  Speaker 3: I could have pressed charges. He was kicking my butt
• 22:10
  Speaker 3: in practice. And so one day after practice, I said, Aaron, man,
• 22:15
  Speaker 3: can we come over here, man? I just want to,
• 22:18
  Speaker 3: I feel like you've got to read on me. I'm
• 22:19
  Speaker 3: just trying to, am I tipping anything off? And can
• 22:21
  Speaker 3: we get off some get-offs and stuff? Can we just,
• 22:23
  Speaker 3: he's like, yeah, come on, let's go over here. And
• 22:26
  Speaker 3: we walk over to this open field. Now, you know
• 22:28
  Speaker 3: how I practice fields. It's four fields. But, you know, Pitt,
• 22:32
  Speaker 3: the university, Pitt has the other two. But we were, like,
• 22:35
  Speaker 3: way off, Rob. Just me and him, wide open grass.
• 22:38
  Speaker 3: And he was like, let's talk. He goes, let's work
• 22:41
  Speaker 3: through your footwork and your stance. And if I see anything,
• 22:46
  Speaker 3: I'll tell you about it. I'm like, fine. He's like,
• 22:47
  Speaker 3: just get off, right? And he said, I'll move on
• 22:50
  Speaker 3: your move. Rob, we go off in the corner, and
• 22:53
  Speaker 3: I'm thinking we're going to walk through this thing, right?
• 22:55
  Speaker 3: I think we're just going to put some hands, he's
• 22:56
  Speaker 3: going to give me some words of wisdom, and we're
• 22:58
  Speaker 3: going to go back and unlock them. Aaron Smith paints
• 23:02
  Speaker 3: off on me like if it was AFC Championship on
• 23:05
  Speaker 3: a goal line and with a minute left in the game.
• 23:07
  Speaker 3: I mean, he blasts me right in the chops. And
• 23:09
  Speaker 3: then I looked at him, and he goes, yeah, he goes,
• 23:12
  Speaker 3: you're leaning this, that. And I'm looking at him like, okay,
• 23:15
  Speaker 3: so now I'm tightening my straps because he just punched
• 23:19
  Speaker 3: me in the mouth. We do another rep.
• 23:21
  Speaker 4: Boom, he comes off the ball.
• 23:23
  Speaker 3: And I'm like, Aaron, what's going on, bro? Like, you
• 23:26
  Speaker 3: mad at me? He's like, what are you talking about?
• 23:27
  Speaker 3: He goes, you called me to get better, didn't you?
• 23:30
  Speaker 3: And I was like, yeah. He was like, well, this
• 23:31
  Speaker 3: is how I play, and this is the level I'm on.
• 23:35
  Speaker 3: And I'm like, oh, okay. And so the next rep,
• 23:40
  Speaker 3: I fix my stance, I'm balanced, my eyes and head focused,
• 23:43
  Speaker 3: and we bang, get come off the ball, right? Mind you,
• 23:46
  Speaker 3: this is just me and him. Me and him, ain't
• 23:48
  Speaker 3: nobody around him. It wasn't just me and him, just
• 23:50
  Speaker 3: off in his field. And he's locking me out, and
• 23:54
  Speaker 3: he's standing strong, and he goes, let's do it again.
• 23:56
  Speaker 3: We did like about four or five reps. It was
• 23:58
  Speaker 3: the same type of intensity that Aaron played with on Sunday.
• 24:01
  Speaker 3: There was only one way, right? And that's what he
• 24:04
  Speaker 3: was teaching me. He's like, you can't practice and think
• 24:09
  Speaker 3: you can get away with being or going half speed.
• 24:13
  Speaker 3: If you're going to go, you got to go all
• 24:14
  Speaker 3: the time. And your habits and your mechanics and how
• 24:18
  Speaker 3: you perceive things and how you have to do things
• 24:20
  Speaker 3: have to match that. It has to be all in alignment.
• 24:23
  Speaker 3: And so I walked in and, you know, we dapped
• 24:25
  Speaker 3: it up and we walk off the field and I
• 24:27
  Speaker 3: have a little bit of a busted mouth. I'm laughing.
• 24:29
  Speaker 3: I'm like, that's unreal. I just got beat up by Aerosmith.
• 24:32
  Speaker 3: I just got beat up for two hours on the
• 24:34
  Speaker 3: practice field. I got beat up after practice. But it
• 24:37
  Speaker 3: made me tougher. It made me realize the stand. This
• 24:40
  Speaker 3: is what the standard is. And him having those words
• 24:43
  Speaker 3: of communication and setting the standard and like, this is
• 24:45
  Speaker 3: what we're doing. He by far made me a better
• 24:48
  Speaker 3: ball player. Then off the field, he was somebody like,
• 24:51
  Speaker 3: I remember, you know, at the time I wasn't married,
• 24:54
  Speaker 3: I was, I was, I was a wild cat in
• 24:55
  Speaker 3: the streets. And Aaron was always late after he wasn't late,
• 24:59
  Speaker 3: but he would stay out to practice and work out
• 25:01
  Speaker 3: and do all this other stuff. And it was, it
• 25:04
  Speaker 3: was like, I think it was like Monday. So usually
• 25:06
  Speaker 3: the players come in, we review tape and, you know,
• 25:08
  Speaker 3: I'd get a lift and head home. Tuesday's our day off.
• 25:11
  Speaker 3: So Aaron is getting all freshened up. I'm like, Aaron,
• 25:13
  Speaker 3: where are you going? Oh, it's date night. I'm like,
• 25:16
  Speaker 3: date night? It's Monday. I'm like, where are you and
• 25:19
  Speaker 3: your wife going? He's like, we're going to go to
• 25:21
  Speaker 3: Home Depot. I'm like, Home Depot? He's like, well, we
• 25:26
  Speaker 3: try to have some me time. If we got to
• 25:27
  Speaker 3: go to Home Depot and get to dinner, we'll do that.
• 25:29
  Speaker 3: We'll go to dinner and go to Home Depot. But
• 25:31
  Speaker 3: we got to do it on Monday. I was like,
• 25:32
  Speaker 3: why Monday? He goes, because Tuesday I got to recover.
• 25:35
  Speaker 3: Wednesday is work. I got to get out of work.
• 25:37
  Speaker 3: We got homework. We got kids. You know, I got
• 25:39
  Speaker 3: to do Thursday the same thing. Friday, you know, I
• 25:42
  Speaker 3: try to get a little recovery, get ready. Saturday, I
• 25:44
  Speaker 3: try to spend some time with the family after practice.
• 25:46
  Speaker 3: And Sunday is game time. So Monday is my only
• 25:49
  Speaker 3: down day because Tuesday is my off day. And I
• 25:52
  Speaker 3: was like, oh, he's like, yeah. He goes, everything has
• 25:55
  Speaker 3: a place. And, you know, me attending to my wife,
• 25:59
  Speaker 3: just me and her is our time on Monday. And
• 26:01
  Speaker 3: I was just dumbfounded by that. I was just like,
• 26:05
  Speaker 3: Home Depot and dinner on a Monday, and you're getting
• 26:07
  Speaker 3: all freshened up? And so he was showing me this
• 26:10
  Speaker 3: is what a man has to do. Yeah, you can
• 26:12
  Speaker 3: live your dream, but you also got responsibilities, and your
• 26:15
  Speaker 3: responsibilities have to fit in a time, and there's a
• 26:19
  Speaker 3: day for it, and there's a place for it, and
• 26:20
  Speaker 3: it's called time management, but it's also called being accountable.
• 26:23
  Speaker 3: And he would let me know, you got to be
• 26:24
  Speaker 3: accountable for your work, your recovery, and being a father
• 26:27
  Speaker 3: and a husband. And so I will always be in
• 26:31
  Speaker 3: debt to Aaron Smith forever because I watched him from afar.
• 26:34
  Speaker 3: He was a man who played, you know, his knees,
• 26:38
  Speaker 3: his back. He went through a lot of things, man.
• 26:39
  Speaker 3: But he was just so damn tough. And he was
• 26:41
  Speaker 3: just a man's man. And I just loved everything about him.
• 26:44
  Speaker 3: And he kicked my tail for a long time. But
• 26:47
  Speaker 3: he made me better. He made me a better student.
• 26:49
  Speaker 2: Love that story. Willie, thank you very much. That's great stuff, man.
• 26:53
  Speaker 2: Great conversation. Max Starks, of course, is here with us
• 26:56
  Speaker 2: as well. We're going to be joined by Jerry Dulac
• 26:59
  Speaker 2: when we continue in the locker room here on the
• 27:01
  Speaker 2: Steelers Audio Network.
• 27:07
  Speaker 1: This is In the Locker Room with Rob King, Max Starks,
• 27:12
  Speaker 1: and Willie Colon on Steelers Nation Radio. Brought to you
• 27:15
  Speaker 1: in part by the Steelers Pro Shop. Get it direct
• 27:18
  Speaker 1: from the team at the Steelers Pro Shop at shop.steelers.com.
• 27:23
  Speaker 2: And by your.
• 27:24
  Speaker 1: Neighborhood Ford store. The F-150 is the official truck of
• 27:28
  Speaker 1: the Pittsburgh Steelers.
• 27:31
  Speaker 2: And that is the sound, the sound that always welcomes
• 27:35
  Speaker 2: our man Jerry Dulac. into the locker room. Jerry Dulac,
• 27:41
  Speaker 2: first of all, I want to say hello to you
• 27:44
  Speaker 2: because we love having Jerry Dulac in the locker room.
• 27:47
  Speaker 2: And thanks for joining us. I know it's a busy day. Jerry, who,
• 27:52
  Speaker 2: by the way, is brought to you by Frank B.
• 27:54
  Speaker 2: Fuhrer Wholesale. Jerry, news just coming out that Deshaun Elliott
• 28:01
  Speaker 2: is in the 21-day period in which he's still technically
• 28:06
  Speaker 2: on injured reserve. But now he has 21 days to
• 28:08
  Speaker 2: return as his practice began. He rejoined the team with
• 28:12
  Speaker 2: practice today. So I don't know whether that means we
• 28:16
  Speaker 2: can expect to see him on Sunday, but I do
• 28:18
  Speaker 2: know it's a positive sign for this defense that's been
• 28:21
  Speaker 2: worried about its tackling.
• 28:23
  Speaker 4: Yeah, no, Rob, I would be shocked. I don't think
• 28:26
  Speaker 4: there's any intention of playing him on Sunday, you know,
• 28:31
  Speaker 4: after sitting out four weeks and a guy who did
• 28:34
  Speaker 4: not do a whole lot in the preseason as we know.
• 28:38
  Speaker 4: So I don't think that is going to happen. You know,
• 28:42
  Speaker 4: they were being, the reason they put them on IR
• 28:45
  Speaker 4: is they wanted to be extra cautious with that injury
• 28:48
  Speaker 4: to let it heal. So the last thing they want
• 28:51
  Speaker 4: to do is throw them right back in the lineup.
• 28:54
  Speaker 4: I think they're more interested in stopping the run this
• 28:56
  Speaker 4: week than worrying about the pass. I'm not saying they're
• 28:59
  Speaker 4: not worried about it, but no, I don't think you'll
• 29:02
  Speaker 4: see that happen at all.
• 29:03
  Speaker 2: And Jerry, just to follow that up real quick, I
• 29:08
  Speaker 2: was under the understanding it was a knee injury, but
• 29:10
  Speaker 2: there's some talk that it's been a hamstring. Am I
• 29:14
  Speaker 2: correct on that timeline? I think it had been reported
• 29:16
  Speaker 2: that it was a knee, but now there's talk that
• 29:19
  Speaker 2: it's maybe a hamstring, which is something you obviously have
• 29:21
  Speaker 2: to be very careful with.
• 29:23
  Speaker 4: I'm trying to remember, Rob, that I think it was
• 29:27
  Speaker 4: a little bit of both of what the injury was,
• 29:30
  Speaker 4: and that's what happened. I think it was the hamstring
• 29:35
  Speaker 4: that was the most the thing they were concerned about
• 29:38
  Speaker 4: the most and wanted it to heal. So, but I
• 29:41
  Speaker 4: believe it was kind of a dual injury, if you will.
• 29:44
  Speaker 3: Yep. Gotcha.
• 29:45
  Speaker 2: Okay.
• 29:47
  Speaker 5: And Jerry, you know, we've obviously had a number of
• 29:50
  Speaker 5: signings since the last time we talked to you, you know,
• 29:54
  Speaker 5: and those things becoming official, just kind of, The idea
• 29:59
  Speaker 5: behind going with two defensive backs, even though you had
• 30:01
  Speaker 5: a D-tackle go on IR, and then, of course, the
• 30:04
  Speaker 5: adding of a linebacker to the practice squad.
• 30:08
  Speaker 4: Well, I think, Max, is, you know, they've lost two
• 30:13
  Speaker 4: key components at the cornerback position. And let's face it,
• 30:17
  Speaker 4: the start of the year or during the offseason, the
• 30:20
  Speaker 4: cornerback position all of a sudden was, if it wasn't
• 30:22
  Speaker 4: the deepest on the team, it certainly was one of
• 30:24
  Speaker 4: the deepest defensive cornerback positions we have seen in years
• 30:28
  Speaker 4: and years. And, of course, the idea was it was
• 30:30
  Speaker 4: going to be Joey Porter and Jamel Dean, who they
• 30:33
  Speaker 4: signed in pre-agency, Asante Samuel, who they really liked would
• 30:38
  Speaker 4: be a backup, as Daylon Everett, who was basically the
• 30:42
  Speaker 4: star rookie of the spring in training camp. So they
• 30:45
  Speaker 4: had positioned themselves to be, you know, very deep at
• 30:50
  Speaker 4: that position, and now that's gone. Certainly Joey Porter Jr.
• 30:53
  Speaker 3: Is gone.
• 30:54
  Speaker 4: Jamel Dean will be back, but I think, you know,
• 30:57
  Speaker 4: they wanted to kind of restock that position, and that's
• 31:00
  Speaker 4: why they added two guys from practice squads to the
• 31:04
  Speaker 4: regular roster. And, you know, I didn't think, you know,
• 31:10
  Speaker 4: with the fact that Gabe Rubio and Kevin Javity Jr. were,
• 31:15
  Speaker 4: you know, on the roster but not active, I didn't
• 31:17
  Speaker 4: see a need to add a defensive lineman, but I
• 31:21
  Speaker 4: certainly felt that they needed to get some veteran players
• 31:27
  Speaker 4: at the cornerback position. Not that Asante Samuel Jr. isn't,
• 31:31
  Speaker 4: but you're looking at, you know, Daylon Everett there being
• 31:35
  Speaker 4: a young guy. And so I think that was their thinking. Max,
• 31:40
  Speaker 4: I wasn't surprised when they did that. But that's not
• 31:45
  Speaker 4: to say they're not going to miss Derek Harmon a
• 31:47
  Speaker 4: great deal this week as well.
• 31:51
  Speaker 3: Jerry, question for you. I know you've been around the team,
• 31:54
  Speaker 3: and obviously there's been a lot of talking from a
• 31:58
  Speaker 3: lot of different people about a lot of different conversations.
• 32:00
  Speaker 3: Can you, I guess, capsulize, what's the temperature of the
• 32:03
  Speaker 3: team right now going into Sunday against the Colts?
• 32:07
  Speaker 4: Well, you know, really it's– you know how it works with,
• 32:11
  Speaker 4: you know, professional athletes, NFL players, especially this time of year.
• 32:15
  Speaker 4: It's only four games. I don't think anybody would be– oh,
• 32:18
  Speaker 4: they would be– obviously probably have a little– more of
• 32:22
  Speaker 4: a hitch in their step if they were 4-0. I
• 32:24
  Speaker 4: don't think anybody's ready to practice. I mean, panic. I think,
• 32:30
  Speaker 4: you know, the way they lost in Cleveland, letting them
• 32:32
  Speaker 4: go down the field after they battled back the way
• 32:35
  Speaker 4: they did from 21-7, you know, you never like to
• 32:39
  Speaker 4: see that happen. That kind of leaves a sour taste
• 32:41
  Speaker 4: in their mouth. One thing we have seen from this team,
• 32:45
  Speaker 4: and we've seen it from Aaron Rodgers in his short
• 32:47
  Speaker 4: time here, is they bounce back from either losing efforts
• 32:50
  Speaker 4: or mediocre performances. And I expect them to do the same.
• 32:56
  Speaker 3: On Sunday.
• 32:58
  Speaker 4: And unlike the last home game, I don't think the
• 33:01
  Speaker 4: crowd is going to be kind of edgy and waiting
• 33:06
  Speaker 4: to pounce on the offense. I think they're going to
• 33:09
  Speaker 4: be a little edgy and maybe be ready to vocalize
• 33:15
  Speaker 4: about the defense after the last couple games, allowing 27 points,
• 33:20
  Speaker 4: having some of those breakdowns that we have seen, shoddy
• 33:24
  Speaker 4: tackling the other day. I thought it was, of course,
• 33:28
  Speaker 4: a favorite target this week is Patrick Queen, and that
• 33:32
  Speaker 4: comes one week after he played his best game as
• 33:36
  Speaker 4: a Steeler with 13 tackles, and they gave him the
• 33:38
  Speaker 4: game ball. So I don't think anybody's ready to ship
• 33:41
  Speaker 4: Patrick Queen out of town or anything like that, so
• 33:44
  Speaker 4: One thing I've always learned, Willie, over the years is
• 33:47
  Speaker 4: that come Wednesday, I could never tell if they had
• 33:50
  Speaker 4: just won 50-0 or lost 50-0. They let it go, and,
• 33:55
  Speaker 4: you know, it's the same attitude for the next game.
• 34:01
  Speaker 2: So good to hear the reports that Rico Dowdle is
• 34:06
  Speaker 2: back at practice. You know, talking with Matt Williamson, our
• 34:11
  Speaker 2: buddy who is so great with statistics, There's only been
• 34:14
  Speaker 2: four running backs that have had a 90% snap share
• 34:18
  Speaker 2: in a game this season, and it's happened four times,
• 34:23
  Speaker 2: twice as Jalen Warren the last two weeks. They don't
• 34:26
  Speaker 2: want to, I don't think they want to run Jalen
• 34:28
  Speaker 2: into the ground. Mike McCarthy also said, hey, it's time
• 34:32
  Speaker 2: for some of these young running backs maybe to get
• 34:34
  Speaker 2: some playing time. So I don't know whether Rico Dowdle
• 34:38
  Speaker 2: will be back out there on Sunday. I don't know
• 34:39
  Speaker 2: his health status. We're going to wait for the injury
• 34:41
  Speaker 2: report after practice, but Your thoughts on where the Steelers'
• 34:44
  Speaker 2: running back position lies and what it would look like
• 34:46
  Speaker 2: here moving forward.
• 34:49
  Speaker 4: You know, Rico Dotto has the triple whammy in New England.
• 34:55
  Speaker 4: He not only dislocated his toe once in the game,
• 34:57
  Speaker 4: he dislocated it twice. And then he sustained turf toe
• 35:01
  Speaker 4: on top of it.
• 35:03
  Speaker 3: So....
• 35:04
  Speaker 4: And without him, yes, Jalen Warren has been used more
• 35:10
  Speaker 4: than they want. Ninety-four percent of the snaps the last
• 35:13
  Speaker 4: two games. The only people who play more snaps than
• 35:16
  Speaker 4: that on average are quarterbacks and offensive linemen. And for
• 35:21
  Speaker 4: a running back to play that many snaps on a
• 35:23
  Speaker 4: team that prefers a one-two punch, yeah. You know, that's
• 35:28
  Speaker 4: not what the Steelers want. The good news is he's
• 35:31
  Speaker 4: been highly productive, and he's been their best offensive player
• 35:35
  Speaker 4: in four games. You know, he's ninth in the league
• 35:38
  Speaker 4: in rushing. He's seventh in the league in scrimmage yards.
• 35:41
  Speaker 4: And this is the other thing I think that is
• 35:44
  Speaker 4: somewhat surprising, but kudos to him. He's third in the
• 35:47
  Speaker 4: league in runs of at least 20 yards. I mean,
• 35:50
  Speaker 4: he's not that kind of back you wouldn't think. You know,
• 35:53
  Speaker 4: he's not Jameer Gibbs or, you know, B.
• 35:57
  Speaker 3: John Robinson.
• 35:59
  Speaker 4: But three runs of 20-plus yards for Jalen Warren, I mean,
• 36:02
  Speaker 4: you know, good for him. And we see the way
• 36:04
  Speaker 4: he runs. You know, he's not Derrick Henry. He's not
• 36:07
  Speaker 4: Najee Harris. He's not bowling guys over. He's bouncing off them.
• 36:10
  Speaker 4: But he takes a lot of hits because of that.
• 36:14
  Speaker 4: And that's why the Steelers, you know, they want to
• 36:17
  Speaker 4: be very careful how much they use them. But they're
• 36:19
  Speaker 4: not in a position to be playing these other guys.
• 36:21
  Speaker 4: They're bringing up Lou Nichols and Travis Homer from the
• 36:25
  Speaker 4: practice squad. Eli Heinenreich isn't ready to play that many snaps.
• 36:29
  Speaker 4: I think the combined total of snaps for those guys
• 36:33
  Speaker 4: is like 10 or 12 or something. So it's not
• 36:35
  Speaker 4: exactly like they're utilizing them. They don't have much other
• 36:39
  Speaker 4: choice right now without Rico Dotto. And so it's kind
• 36:43
  Speaker 4: of a double-edged sword. Man, the guy's been very good.
• 36:46
  Speaker 4: extremely productive uh but yet we don't want to beat
• 36:49
  Speaker 4: them into the ground this early this season.
• 36:53
  Speaker 5: Yeah no i completely agree and i just thought that
• 36:58
  Speaker 5: jerry some of the run schemes i thought you could
• 37:00
  Speaker 5: at least try and supplement like a lou nichols who
• 37:03
  Speaker 5: had a fantastic training camp and is one of those
• 37:07
  Speaker 5: between the tackle runners and we run between.
• 37:10
  Speaker 2: The tackles so it's like Well, at least send them
• 37:13
  Speaker 2: in there and let them bludgeon.
• 37:14
  Speaker 5: Now, I saw Travis Homer got those two rushes that
• 37:17
  Speaker 5: netted negative one yards, but I was like, why didn't
• 37:19
  Speaker 5: Lou Nichols go in?
• 37:20
  Speaker 2: Like, you trust him on kickoff return. Why not just
• 37:23
  Speaker 2: let him run a dive play? You know, let him
• 37:25
  Speaker 2: run a simple off-tackle play.
• 37:26
  Speaker 5: It's not that hard, but you can see that there
• 37:29
  Speaker 5: are some trust issues when it's not Jalen Warren or
• 37:33
  Speaker 5: when it's not.
• 37:35
  Speaker 2: Rico Dowdle in the lineup.
• 37:37
  Speaker 5: They don't have any trust in any third running back
• 37:40
  Speaker 5: that's available or dressed on the game day roster.
• 37:43
  Speaker 4: You're right about that, Max. And, you know, the only
• 37:46
  Speaker 4: thing we saw from Travis Homer was two games ago
• 37:48
  Speaker 4: when he had that 14-yard run, which, aside from Jalen
• 37:52
  Speaker 4: Warren's three runs over 20, is the next longest run
• 37:57
  Speaker 4: by a Steeler back. And then last week, nothing. You know,
• 38:01
  Speaker 4: Eli Heiningreich, I think, is, you know, obviously, I don't
• 38:04
  Speaker 4: think he's the type of back. for their offense. That's
• 38:07
  Speaker 4: nothing against him. But there's no question that the guys,
• 38:11
  Speaker 4: whether it's a trust issue or a production issue, you know,
• 38:16
  Speaker 4: they're not willing to put them in there on any
• 38:19
  Speaker 4: type of extended basis. I'm with you on Lou Nichols.
• 38:23
  Speaker 4: What we see of him all the time, it's like,
• 38:25
  Speaker 4: you know, you think this guy could be a decent
• 38:27
  Speaker 4: back in the NFL, and that would be the guy
• 38:30
  Speaker 4: that I would try and, you know, force feed a
• 38:32
  Speaker 4: couple more runs just to give Jalen Warren a little
• 38:37
  Speaker 4: bit of break for the amount of snaps. You know,
• 38:39
  Speaker 4: he's played 201 snaps. He's really close to half his total,
• 38:45
  Speaker 4: you know, from last year. And he had 489 or something. So, obviously,
• 38:50
  Speaker 4: it's not what they want. But in the position they're
• 38:54
  Speaker 4: in and, you know, they're behind in Cleveland, they're trying
• 38:57
  Speaker 4: to battle back, guess what? They want to use Jalen Warren.
• 39:00
  Speaker 4: And so, you know, his body is going to bear
• 39:03
  Speaker 4: the brunt of it. But, hey, so far so good.
• 39:05
  Speaker 4: Keep your fingers crossed.
• 39:09
  Speaker 3: Staying on the offensive side, the Steelers are one of
• 39:12
  Speaker 3: the best teams in the league right now when they
• 39:15
  Speaker 3: choose to be on the center. I think they're averaging, what,
• 39:17
  Speaker 3: 6.8 yards per play in four games. And they live
• 39:21
  Speaker 3: in heavy. I'm a fan and I'm a believer that
• 39:24
  Speaker 3: the best, you know, the best person on the Steelers'
• 39:27
  Speaker 3: offense right now is Jalen Warren. and their ability to
• 39:29
  Speaker 3: play in heavy with their Titans. Do we expect to
• 39:32
  Speaker 3: see more of that this Sunday? Kind of just, you know,
• 39:33
  Speaker 3: Mike McCarthy talked about cleaning up the house, doing what
• 39:37
  Speaker 3: we do best. Should we expect this being one of
• 39:40
  Speaker 3: the aspects they exploit coming Sunday against the Colts?
• 39:44
  Speaker 4: You know, when you look at the advent of Darnell Washington,
• 39:48
  Speaker 4: Darnell Washington is no longer just an option for Aaron Rodgers.
• 39:52
  Speaker 4: He's become a target for Aaron Rodgers, and all I
• 39:55
  Speaker 4: have to do is point to those three consecutive passes
• 39:59
  Speaker 4: to him in the end zone. You know, when they're
• 40:03
  Speaker 4: down at the Browns' 11, there's under two minutes remaining.
• 40:06
  Speaker 4: Same play, same read, three straight throws to Darnell Washington. Fellas,
• 40:11
  Speaker 4: I bet Terry Bradshaw never threw three straight times to
• 40:14
  Speaker 4: Lynn Swan in the end zone. Ben Roethlisberger threw twice
• 40:17
  Speaker 4: to Santonio Holmes back-to-back in the end zone. And that's it.
• 40:21
  Speaker 4: The throw to the same guy who's not even your
• 40:23
  Speaker 4: number one target. You could see if he tried to
• 40:25
  Speaker 4: just force-feed the ball to DK Metcalf. But, you know,
• 40:29
  Speaker 4: Darnell Washington, the point being, though, that's the trust he
• 40:32
  Speaker 4: has in Darnell. And that's why I say he's become
• 40:36
  Speaker 4: more of a dependable, legitimate, quote, target for Aaron Rodgers.
• 40:41
  Speaker 4: And that's why I think, Willie, to your question, I
• 40:44
  Speaker 4: think you're going to see, you know, the continued use
• 40:47
  Speaker 4: of the 12 personnel because, you know, they want Pat
• 40:50
  Speaker 4: Friermuth on the field, especially with no Michael Pittman Jr.
• 40:55
  Speaker 4: apparently again. So I think you'll see them continue to
• 40:59
  Speaker 4: play the way they have. You know, they've been pretty
• 41:01
  Speaker 4: good offensively. I know they had that lull from the
• 41:04
  Speaker 4: first series until the fourth quarter against the Browns. You know,
• 41:09
  Speaker 4: Aaron Rodgers has thrown six touchdowns the last two games.
• 41:13
  Speaker 4: We've seen the offense go up and down the field.
• 41:15
  Speaker 4: Look at that first play drive in Cleveland. Nearly 10 minutes,
• 41:20
  Speaker 4: 17 plays, four or four third downs. So I think
• 41:24
  Speaker 4: whatever they've been doing offensively, I don't think they're going
• 41:27
  Speaker 4: to change a whole lot. Sure, they'll adapt a little
• 41:30
  Speaker 4: bit to what the Colts do, but I think you'll
• 41:32
  Speaker 4: see them continue to play the way they've been playing
• 41:36
  Speaker 4: because it's been working for the most part.
• 41:39
  Speaker 2: Yep, agreed. Jerry Dulac. is brought to you by Frank B.
• 41:43
  Speaker 2: Fuhrer Wholesale. Jerry, thanks for being with us in the
• 41:46
  Speaker 2: locker room, my friend. Appreciate it, and look forward to
• 41:48
  Speaker 2: seeing you on Sunday, if not before.
• 41:50
  Speaker 4: I will see you fellas at the ball yard on Sunday.
• 41:55
  Speaker 4: Always a treat to chat with you.
• 41:57
  Speaker 2: All right, that's Jerry Dulac. The cool breeze brings him in,
• 42:00
  Speaker 2: and the cool breeze blows him away for another week
• 42:04
  Speaker 2: until we get a chance to talk to him next week.
• 42:06
  Speaker 2: Stick around. As we mentioned, Matt Taylor, the outstanding play-by-play
• 42:09
  Speaker 2: man for the Indianapolis Colts. is going to be joining
• 42:11
  Speaker 2: us at the top of the hour. Much more still
• 42:13
  Speaker 2: to come in the locker room here on the Steelers
• 42:15
  Speaker 2: Audio Network.
• 42:22
  Speaker 1: This is In the Locker Room with Rob King, Max Starks,
• 42:26
  Speaker 1: and Willie Colon on Steelers Nation Radio. Brought to you
• 42:29
  Speaker 1: in part by the Steelers Pro Shop. Get it direct
• 42:33
  Speaker 1: from the team at the Steelers Pro Shop at shop.steelers.com.
• 42:37
  Speaker 1: And by your neighborhood Ford store. The F-150 is the
• 42:41
  Speaker 1: official truck of the Pittsburgh Steelers.
• 42:46
  Speaker 2: Now the last thing I wanted was to get in
• 42:47
  Speaker 2: a fight in Jackson, Mississippi on a Saturday night, especially
• 42:51
  Speaker 2: when there was three of them and only one of me.
• 42:54
  Speaker 3: There you go, man.
• 42:55
  Speaker 2: You asked and you received. Well, I asked. There it is,
• 42:59
  Speaker 2: Willie Colon. Charlie Daniels, way.
• 43:03
  Speaker 3: Back in the day.
• 43:05
  Speaker 2: Uneasy rider. Last thing you wanted was to get in
• 43:08
  Speaker 2: a fight in Jackson, Mississippi on a Saturday night.
• 43:14
  Speaker 3: I love it, Rob. I've never heard that song in
• 43:15
  Speaker 3: my life. You've got to put it in the group
• 43:20
  Speaker 3: chat so I can download it because it sounds like
• 43:22
  Speaker 3: something I would blast rolling down the road in Mississippi.
• 43:26
  Speaker 2: Yeah, it's an interesting song. So Charlie Daniels, he's an
• 43:32
  Speaker 2: interesting musical guy. He was a session musician for Bob Dylan.
• 43:36
  Speaker 2: Then he went out on his own. He was a
• 43:38
  Speaker 2: bass player, guitar player, fiddle player. Had his own, of course,
• 43:41
  Speaker 2: successful career. I had a chance to interview him once,
• 43:44
  Speaker 2: which was very cool. So when I was working in Syracuse,
• 43:50
  Speaker 2: we'd have occasional guests from the New York State Fair.
• 43:53
  Speaker 2: We'd do the show out at the New York State Fair,
• 43:54
  Speaker 2: which is in Syracuse. And Charlie Daniels was going to
• 43:58
  Speaker 2: be our guest. And the anchor was like, I don't
• 44:05
  Speaker 2: know anything about Charlie Daniels. And I'm like, I know
• 44:07
  Speaker 2: a lot about Charlie Daniels. They're like, why don't you
• 44:08
  Speaker 2: do the interview? I'm like, sounds good to me, man.
• 44:11
  Speaker 2: So I interviewed Charlie Daniels. It was very cool. Very,
• 44:15
  Speaker 2: very nice gentleman. Super, super nice. He also had a
• 44:21
  Speaker 2: line in his song. A song was called In America.
• 44:24
  Speaker 2: It came out when we were kind of a patriotic,
• 44:27
  Speaker 2: not kind of a patriotic tune, a patriotic tune when
• 44:30
  Speaker 2: we were in the midst of our troubles in the
• 44:33
  Speaker 2: late 70s as a country. Recession, inflation, really, really big problems.
• 44:39
  Speaker 2: But he had the line, You just go and lay
• 44:41
  Speaker 2: your hands on a Pittsburgh Steelers fan, and I think
• 44:44
  Speaker 2: you'll begin to understand. So he's got a couple of connections. Justin, Justin,
• 44:53
  Speaker 2: are you doing it? In America is the name of
• 44:56
  Speaker 2: the song, Justin. Justin's going to hook us up. So
• 45:00
  Speaker 2: a little musical direction as we go. We don't have
• 45:02
  Speaker 2: long in this segment because we ran long on a
• 45:05
  Speaker 2: couple of previous segments, but we'll try to get that
• 45:07
  Speaker 2: one for you. We have Matt Taylor. The Colts have
• 45:13
  Speaker 2: a really outstanding broadcast. Matt Taylor at the controls, and
• 45:17
  Speaker 2: he's going to fill us in on the Indianapolis Colts. Justin,
• 45:20
  Speaker 2: go to a break now so we can get Matt
• 45:21
  Speaker 2: right at the top of the hour.
• 45:22
  Speaker 3: Yes?
• 45:23
  Speaker 2: Okay, we're going to do that now. We're going to
• 45:24
  Speaker 2: take a break. Matt Taylor is going to fill you
• 45:26
  Speaker 2: in on this Colts team. Hey, man, two 2-2 teams.
• 45:28
  Speaker 2: Mentioned the power rankings yesterday. The Colts sitting at number
• 45:32
  Speaker 2: 19 and the Steelers at number 20. That goes to
• 45:36
  Speaker 2: show you how important this matchup is for both these
• 45:38
  Speaker 2: two and two teams as we get you ready with
• 45:41
  Speaker 2: Matt Taylor for Sunday's game. That's up next. We continue
• 45:43
  Speaker 2: in the locker room here on this Tuesday.