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ITL101626HR2.mp3 · In the Locker Room presented by Neighborhood Ford Store (Pittsburgh Steelers)

• 0:04
  Speaker 1: This is In the Locker Room with Rob King, Max Starks,
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: and Willie Colon on Steelers Nation Radio. Brought to you
• 0:11
  Speaker 1: in part by the Steelers Pro Shop. Get it direct
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: from the team at the Steelers Pro Shop at shop.steelers.com.
• 0:19
  Speaker 1: And by your neighborhood Ford store. The F-150 is the
• 0:23
  Speaker 1: official truck of the Pittsburgh Steelers.
• 0:32
  Speaker 2: All right.
• 0:33
  Speaker 3: Speeding into power hour, hour number two here inside the
• 0:37
  Speaker 3: locker room on a Friday.
• 0:40
  Speaker 2: And we still, you know, Rob teased it.
• 0:44
  Speaker 3: We're going to have Steelers wide receiver Jeremy Bernard join
• 0:47
  Speaker 3: us in this hour.
• 0:49
  Speaker 4: But we've got to get to some underdog picks, Rob.
• 0:53
  Speaker 4: We've got to right the ship. We've got to figure
• 0:56
  Speaker 4: out how we can get back to winning ways here.
• 1:00
  Speaker 4: Inside the locker room. So I'll let you kick it off.
• 1:03
  Speaker 3: I know we're going to have a little truncated segment
• 1:05
  Speaker 3: because of Jeremy Bernard coming and joining us on the show.
• 1:08
  Speaker 2: Yeah. To recap our picks from week one, I'm going
• 1:11
  Speaker 2: to make this very brief. We're 0-4. Yeah, yeah. We
• 1:15
  Speaker 2: all lost.
• 1:17
  Speaker 3: Nobody won. Not even the Swami himself, Justin Miller, could pull.
• 1:20
  Speaker 2: One out of his hat. No, I did not. We
• 1:25
  Speaker 2: all have big L's on our forehead right now. So.
• 1:28
  Speaker 5: You know, I'm still competing with you guys for another week,
• 1:31
  Speaker 5: but pretty soon we're going to have the honor of
• 1:33
  Speaker 5: the locker room that we're going to have to worry about.
• 1:35
  Speaker 5: We're going to just hope somebody gets one right. So,
• 1:38
  Speaker 5: here are your games. Texans, Jaguars. Jaguars favored by 2.5.
• 1:44
  Speaker 2: Bears, Falcons. Bears favored by 1.5. That's in Atlanta.
• 1:49
  Speaker 5: The Ravens are 3.5-point favorites over the Browns in Cleveland.
• 1:53
  Speaker 5: Indianapolis is a 7-point favorite over the Titans. New England
• 1:56
  Speaker 5: is a 7.5 favorite over the Jets. New Orleans, 1.5
• 1:59
  Speaker 5: over the Giants. The Panthers on the road are favored
• 2:04
  Speaker 5: over the Eagles. The Steelers are favored over the Buccaneers
• 2:08
  Speaker 5: by 2.5. The Cardinals are 12.5 underdogs to the Rams.
• 2:13
  Speaker 5: The Chargers are 7.5 underdogs to the Chiefs. The Bills
• 2:18
  Speaker 5: are 5.5 underdogs to the Raiders. I'm sorry, Bills are
• 2:21
  Speaker 5: 5.5 favorites to the Raiders. Green Bay, a point and
• 2:25
  Speaker 5: a half over Dallas in Green Bay. And Washington is
• 2:31
  Speaker 5: a 7.5-point underdog against San Francisco. Now, we don't care
• 2:34
  Speaker 5: about how big of an underdog a team is. We
• 2:37
  Speaker 5: just care about picking an upset. So, team's got to
• 2:40
  Speaker 5: be an underdog for it to be an upset. So,
• 2:43
  Speaker 5: Max Sarks, you ready to go? You ready to lead
• 2:45
  Speaker 5: us off? We're going to change your order this week. Yeah,
• 2:48
  Speaker 5: I'm ready to lead things off. Okay, just give me
• 2:50
  Speaker 5: it one more time. The Eagles, are they still favorites
• 2:52
  Speaker 5: or no?
• 2:52
  Speaker 2: No, the Eagles are underdogs. They're underdogs. Okay, I'm not
• 2:57
  Speaker 2: picking them.
• 2:58
  Speaker 3: No, because there's no Jalen Hurts, no Devontae Smith, and
• 3:00
  Speaker 3: no Saquon Barkley. And Tanner McKee is starting, so I'm
• 3:03
  Speaker 3: not picking that one. I think I'm going to have
• 3:08
  Speaker 3: to go back with– this is a tough one.
• 3:13
  Speaker 2: This is a tough.
• 3:14
  Speaker 3: One because I don't like picking them, but I feel
• 3:18
  Speaker 3: like they can't be this bad and the other team
• 3:22
  Speaker 3: is not that– can't be that good.
• 3:27
  Speaker 2: Give me the cowgirls over the Packers in Green Bay. Yep,
• 3:33
  Speaker 2: there we go. That's my dog. That's my dog right there.
• 3:36
  Speaker 2: That's the dog of the week, baby. I like it.
• 3:39
  Speaker 2: Very good. I wondered, because we occasionally have dog barking,
• 3:44
  Speaker 2: I wondered what was going on there. Yeah, no, it's
• 3:47
  Speaker 2: not Oakley. Because any of our dogs could have been
• 3:49
  Speaker 2: loose at that point. But that was Justin Miller doing
• 3:52
  Speaker 2: a fine job of producing. That completely caught me by surprise.
• 3:56
  Speaker 2: All right, Willie, you have our second selection and our
• 3:59
  Speaker 2: upset of the week.
• 4:01
  Speaker 6: Yeah, so my upset of the week is going down
• 4:03
  Speaker 6: in Landon Town, Texans and the Jaguars. I am taking
• 4:08
  Speaker 6: the Houston Texans over, yes, Oakley, the Jacksonville Jaguars.
• 4:14
  Speaker 7: Listen, C.J.
• 4:15
  Speaker 6: Shroud over the last two weeks has been efficient. He's
• 4:18
  Speaker 6: been picking his game up a lot. And I'm valid
• 4:22
  Speaker 6: they did beat the Tennessee Titans, who is the bottom
• 4:24
  Speaker 6: of the league as far as everything. But if you
• 4:27
  Speaker 6: pay attention to the Texans offensively, valid with the lack
• 4:31
  Speaker 6: of run production, C.J.
• 4:32
  Speaker 7: Stroud has really been playing really well.
• 4:34
  Speaker 6: The offensive line is trying to figure it out, and
• 4:36
  Speaker 6: they're doing it slowly but surely. Now, with the addition
• 4:39
  Speaker 6: of Marvin Harrison Jr., I expect this offense to really
• 4:43
  Speaker 6: show up in London against Jacksonville. Now, Jacksonville is a
• 4:46
  Speaker 6: dog altogether, hopefully, so you got to watch out.
• 4:49
  Speaker 7: They have a really good defense. They're playing really well.
• 4:53
  Speaker 6: Travis Hunter could be a candidate for defensive player of
• 4:55
  Speaker 6: the year or comeback player of the year. Trevor Lawrence
• 4:59
  Speaker 6: seems to be in the MVP conversation thus far, especially
• 5:06
  Speaker 6: while year two in Liam Cohen's offense.
• 5:09
  Speaker 7: Overall, the Jacksonville Jaguars.
• 5:11
  Speaker 6: Are damn good, bottom line. But the Texans are a
• 5:15
  Speaker 6: team on the rise. So if there was an upset
• 5:19
  Speaker 6: to be had, I'm going with the Houston Texans beating
• 5:23
  Speaker 6: the Jacksonville Jaguars.
• 5:24
  Speaker 5: Okay, so I have to say, full disclosure right now,
• 5:28
  Speaker 5: that was my pick. But I think we need four
• 5:30
  Speaker 5: separate picks, right? We don't want anybody doubling up.
• 5:33
  Speaker 2: We do.
• 5:33
  Speaker 7: We do.
• 5:33
  Speaker 2: We can't double up. We can't double up.
• 5:35
  Speaker 5: Okay, so Justin Miller, I'm going to allow you to
• 5:39
  Speaker 5: go third, and then I will go fourth.
• 5:40
  Speaker 8: That is very kind of you, Rob, because I did
• 5:42
  Speaker 8: go last last week, mind you. And honestly, both of
• 5:45
  Speaker 8: the gentlemen who picked before me had both of my picks,
• 5:48
  Speaker 8: so I am like you, Kinger. And I'm scrambling a
• 5:51
  Speaker 8: little bit right now.
• 5:51
  Speaker 2: Okay.
• 5:52
  Speaker 8: But I think I got to go. I can't believe
• 5:55
  Speaker 8: they're favorites on the road. New Orleans is a favorite
• 5:58
  Speaker 8: taking on the Giants.
• 6:00
  Speaker 2: Now I'm scrambling. At MetLife.
• 6:01
  Speaker 8: And that doesn't make any sense to me. So my
• 6:04
  Speaker 8: pick is the Giants. One and a half point dogs
• 6:08
  Speaker 8: at home against Tyler Shuck in the one and four game.
• 6:11
  Speaker 8: new orleans saints and oh yeah yeah it just doesn't
• 6:16
  Speaker 8: add up to me that they're dogs at home i
• 6:18
  Speaker 8: think it could be a great game i could see
• 6:20
  Speaker 8: the saints pulling it out but that just doesn't sit
• 6:22
  Speaker 8: right with me and i'm not very high on the
• 6:24
  Speaker 8: giants but man rob can.
• 6:28
  Speaker 5: I throw something at you you don't want to fly
• 6:29
  Speaker 5: with them jets that was my third pick um yeah
• 6:33
  Speaker 5: no i don't seven and a half i don't i
• 6:36
  Speaker 5: don't want to I'm flying commercial on this one, Willie.
• 6:40
  Speaker 2: I'm not flying any jets today.
• 6:43
  Speaker 5: So, my pick, since I'm stuck with a pick, although,
• 6:46
  Speaker 5: I mean, I can't say I'm enthusiastic about it.
• 6:50
  Speaker 2: I'm with Willie. I do think the Texans are going
• 6:52
  Speaker 2: to win that game in London. I do.
• 6:54
  Speaker 5: I mean, their season's on the line, pretty much. And
• 6:57
  Speaker 5: that'd be a big swing game. I'm going to take
• 7:01
  Speaker 5: the Falcons at home against the Bears.
• 7:04
  Speaker 2: Okay, okay. With Caleb Williams coming back? Oh, Henry Braid.
• 7:09
  Speaker 2: I got to pick somebody. I mean, you could have
• 7:13
  Speaker 2: picked the Chargers Chiefs. I mean, the Chargers got to
• 7:15
  Speaker 2: win one, right, Rob? I did think about that.
• 7:19
  Speaker 5: That was probably fifth on the list.
• 7:26
  Speaker 2: You know, I mean, there was nothing else there I
• 7:29
  Speaker 2: really liked. You know what I mean?
• 7:31
  Speaker 5: I don't like the Browns at home. I picked the
• 7:33
  Speaker 5: Browns on the road last week. I don't like the Jets.
• 7:35
  Speaker 2: The Falcons? Well, I mean, I've taken the Falcons. They're
• 7:41
  Speaker 2: at home.
• 7:42
  Speaker 7: That's right.
• 7:43
  Speaker 2: They're at home.
• 7:44
  Speaker 8: That was my logic, Kinger.
• 7:47
  Speaker 2: And since you guys took my other picks. So let's recap.
• 7:50
  Speaker 7: What about the Cowboys versus the Packers?
• 7:52
  Speaker 2: That's what I picked. I took that one, Will. Oh,
• 7:54
  Speaker 2: you did. All right.
• 7:55
  Speaker 7: Let me just step.
• 7:57
  Speaker 2: Away for a second.
• 8:00
  Speaker 5: So before the barking sound put together by Justin, we
• 8:04
  Speaker 5: needed the audio of something scraping the bottom of a
• 8:08
  Speaker 5: barrel because that's what I felt like.
• 8:10
  Speaker 2: We need some kind of noise. I'll have to have
• 8:12
  Speaker 2: that one in the collection.
• 8:13
  Speaker 7: Yeah, yeah.
• 8:13
  Speaker 2: Because I'm scraping the bottom of the barrel.
• 8:16
  Speaker 5: But you never know. Like you never know when that's
• 8:18
  Speaker 5: the one that's going to win, right? By the end
• 8:21
  Speaker 5: of this show, I'm going to be convinced that that's
• 8:24
  Speaker 5: going to be the upset of the week.
• 8:25
  Speaker 2: But right now, I had to pick somebody. Justin, do
• 8:28
  Speaker 2: you want us to take a break now? Recap our
• 8:31
  Speaker 2: picks for us.
• 8:31
  Speaker 8: Yeah, let's recap the picks, and then we'll head to
• 8:33
  Speaker 8: a break, and hopefully we have Jeremy soon. So, quick recap.
• 8:36
  Speaker 8: Kinger has the Falcons over the Bears. Falcons are 1.5-point dogs.
• 8:42
  Speaker 8: I have the New York Giants at home, also 1.5-point dogs.
• 8:47
  Speaker 8: against the New Orleans Saints, who are 1-4.
• 8:50
  Speaker 7: I can't believe they're favorites on the road.
• 8:51
  Speaker 2: I can't either. That's bonkers to me.
• 8:54
  Speaker 8: Max has Dallas in Green Bay on Sunday night. They
• 8:58
  Speaker 8: are a couple-point dogs as well.
• 9:01
  Speaker 2: And 1.5.
• 9:01
  Speaker 8: Those are all 1.5-point spreads.
• 9:02
  Speaker 7: I don't know why I just realized that.
• 9:04
  Speaker 8: And then Willie has Houston across the pond over the Jaguars.
• 9:08
  Speaker 5: Okay, so now that everybody's mic is on, I'm going
• 9:12
  Speaker 5: to ask last week's winner to speak up.
• 9:19
  Speaker 2: Okay.
• 9:20
  Speaker 5: Radio silence right there. We did not have a winner
• 9:22
  Speaker 5: last week. Everybody missed it. So let's hope somebody's right. Listen,
• 9:26
  Speaker 5: the good thing about spreading this out is we have
• 9:28
  Speaker 5: a chance. We have a chance.
• 9:31
  Speaker 2: Somebody's going to win one eventually. Somebody better win one
• 9:34
  Speaker 2: of these games. Eventually somebody's going to be right, I think.
• 9:38
  Speaker 2: We're going to take a break right now.
• 9:39
  Speaker 5: Jeremy Bernard is going to be joining us in a
• 9:41
  Speaker 5: little bit as we continue in the locker room here
• 9:43
  Speaker 5: on the Steelers Audio Network.
• 9:57
  Speaker 1: This is In the Locker Room with Rob McClendon. King,
• 10:00
  Speaker 1: Max Starks, and Willie Colon on Steelers Nation Radio, brought
• 10:04
  Speaker 1: to you in part by the Steelers Pro Shop. Get
• 10:07
  Speaker 1: it direct from the team at the Steelers Pro Shop
• 10:10
  Speaker 1: at shop.steelers.com. And by your neighborhood Ford store. The F-150
• 10:16
  Speaker 1: is the official truck of the Pittsburgh Steelers.
• 10:24
  Speaker 9: Being with us in the locker room with Willie Corona,
• 10:27
  Speaker 9: Max Starks, I'm Rob Kuhn, getting you ready for the
• 10:29
  Speaker 9: Steelers and the Buccaneers game coming up on Sunday. And
• 10:33
  Speaker 9: we are really happy to be joined in the locker
• 10:35
  Speaker 9: room by rookie wide receiver, Jeremy Bernard.
• 10:39
  Speaker 2: Jeremy, thanks very much for being with us today. Really
• 10:40
  Speaker 2: appreciate it.
• 10:42
  Speaker 7: Of course. Thank you guys for having me on.
• 10:45
  Speaker 5: Jeremy, before we get started too much into this game,
• 10:49
  Speaker 5: I did want to ask you, Had a chance to
• 10:53
  Speaker 5: see you the night you were drafted, or maybe it
• 10:54
  Speaker 5: was the night after you were drafted. I think it
• 10:56
  Speaker 5: was the night after, over at the Steeler Southside facility.
• 11:00
  Speaker 5: And then, you know, from there, from being drafted, you know,
• 11:03
  Speaker 5: your family was with you. It was great, great to
• 11:06
  Speaker 5: see you. And then, you know, from that moment on,
• 11:09
  Speaker 5: what has the transition been like from, you know, a
• 11:13
  Speaker 5: guy in college to a guy now playing in the
• 11:16
  Speaker 5: NFL for the Pittsburgh Steelers?
• 11:18
  Speaker 10: I mean, after that, it was a transition and going
• 11:20
  Speaker 10: to like, it's time to work now, you know, like
• 11:23
  Speaker 10: the dream came true. But now you got to put
• 11:26
  Speaker 10: in the real work and, you know, do what it
• 11:28
  Speaker 10: takes to, you know, be able to play and have
• 11:31
  Speaker 10: an impact.
• 11:35
  Speaker 3: And Jeremy, you know, coming into a wide receiver room
• 11:40
  Speaker 3: where you got guys like DK Metcalf and michael pitman
• 11:44
  Speaker 3: in there and just kind of talk about the leadership
• 11:47
  Speaker 3: in that room and kind of coming in as as
• 11:49
  Speaker 3: as a young guy right seeing these guys that are
• 11:51
  Speaker 3: veterans and just watching their habits like what have you
• 11:56
  Speaker 3: been able to glean from those guys to add to
• 11:58
  Speaker 3: your game that maybe you didn't necessarily have i mean
• 12:01
  Speaker 3: i know you were a very very studious football player
• 12:05
  Speaker 3: at bama but um you know what did you learn
• 12:09
  Speaker 3: about you know in that transition watching those guys work
• 12:12
  Speaker 3: versus what you came in from at alabama and kind
• 12:15
  Speaker 3: of what those differences were from college to the pros.
• 12:19
  Speaker 10: Yeah so um obviously like those are guys plus rome
• 12:23
  Speaker 10: they've been in the league for you know numerous amount
• 12:26
  Speaker 10: of years and they have a ton of experience and
• 12:29
  Speaker 10: so uh for me it was more learning the the
• 12:33
  Speaker 10: mental side of the game and learning how the ebbs
• 12:36
  Speaker 10: and flows of the game go, learning the different, you know,
• 12:42
  Speaker 10: disguises and schemes and coverages and, you know, how to
• 12:45
  Speaker 10: attack certain leverages and how to just, you know, play
• 12:49
  Speaker 10: the game mentally fast, you know what I mean? Because, like,
• 12:51
  Speaker 10: at this level, everybody's really talented, you know what I mean? Like,
• 12:55
  Speaker 10: guys are not in the league, you know.
• 12:56
  Speaker 11: For no reason. It's the reason that they're there and it's,
• 13:00
  Speaker 11: you got to learn how.
• 13:01
  Speaker 10: To separate yourselves and, you know, those guys have, had
• 13:04
  Speaker 10: an impact in the league for such a long time.
• 13:06
  Speaker 11: And, you know, that's something that I took from them.
• 13:08
  Speaker 10: And, you know, I put into my game is learning
• 13:12
  Speaker 10: the ins and outs, you know, the small details of
• 13:15
  Speaker 10: the game so you can play fast without thinking because
• 13:18
  Speaker 10: the talent is already there.
• 13:19
  Speaker 6: Hey, first and foremost, man, welcome aboard to Steeler Nation, man.
• 13:25
  Speaker 7: I think you're a hell of a talent. I'm glad
• 13:27
  Speaker 7: you're a Steeler.
• 13:28
  Speaker 6: Moving forward, obviously the Steelers leaned on you last week
• 13:31
  Speaker 6: due to injury, and I thought you was able to
• 13:34
  Speaker 6: pop off the tape. Now going into this week, we
• 13:38
  Speaker 6: know the Bucs defense is coming along. They have a
• 13:40
  Speaker 6: big-time safety in Tykee Smith. They're strong against the run.
• 13:45
  Speaker 6: How do you expect to impact the Bucs defense going
• 13:48
  Speaker 6: into this game?
• 13:50
  Speaker 10: I think for me it's just, you know, worrying about,
• 13:54
  Speaker 10: you know, us, worrying about my job and doing the
• 13:56
  Speaker 10: job to my best abilities, and, you know, those impact
• 14:00
  Speaker 10: plays will come. You know, I just got to just
• 14:02
  Speaker 10: continue to, you know, play my game, play fast, and,
• 14:06
  Speaker 10: you know, whenever my name is called and those opportunities
• 14:08
  Speaker 10: come my way, I know I have to make the
• 14:09
  Speaker 10: most of them.
• 14:14
  Speaker 5: Rookie for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Jeremy, I have to ask you,
• 14:19
  Speaker 5: you were two. when Aaron Rodgers is a rookie. So
• 14:24
  Speaker 5: unless you're one of those people that can remember life
• 14:26
  Speaker 5: at two years old, you don't ever remember life when
• 14:29
  Speaker 5: Aaron Rodgers was a quarterback at the NFL level and
• 14:32
  Speaker 5: a great quarterback. Obviously, he's going to be a first
• 14:35
  Speaker 5: ballot Hall of Famer. Is there any sense of getting
• 14:38
  Speaker 5: used to a guy like that? Do you ever look
• 14:40
  Speaker 5: up and be like, whoa, man, number eight's throwing me
• 14:42
  Speaker 5: the ball. This is kind of cool. Or is he
• 14:44
  Speaker 5: just the quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers? Was there a
• 14:47
  Speaker 5: wow factor when you first met him and first started
• 14:49
  Speaker 5: working with him?
• 14:51
  Speaker 11: Oh, yeah, 100%.
• 14:52
  Speaker 10: It was a surreal moment to know that I'm playing
• 14:58
  Speaker 10: with a.
• 14:59
  Speaker 11: Hall of Famer.
• 15:00
  Speaker 10: And I had to get used to playing with him.
• 15:06
  Speaker 10: He's had so much experience within the game, and he
• 15:09
  Speaker 10: knows so much. So it took a lot of asking questions.
• 15:13
  Speaker 10: It took a lot of learning, and it took a
• 15:15
  Speaker 10: lot of making mistakes sometimes. Um, and, uh, he's been
• 15:19
  Speaker 10: helping me a lot, you know, with that transition, you know, he,
• 15:22
  Speaker 10: he sees that, you know, I have, you know, the
• 15:24
  Speaker 10: talent there and there's no certain things that he still
• 15:28
  Speaker 10: wants me to work on.
• 15:29
  Speaker 11: And he's still challenging me.
• 15:30
  Speaker 10: You know, every single day, you know, to be the
• 15:33
  Speaker 10: best receiver that I can be so I can, you know,
• 15:36
  Speaker 10: be able to help the team, um, you know, with
• 15:39
  Speaker 10: whatever they need.
• 15:40
  Speaker 11: And so it's, it's been great for me. Um, just learning,
• 15:43
  Speaker 11: you know, mentally, you know, how to play the game.
• 15:45
  Speaker 10: Like I said, with like Deacon and Michael Pittman and Rome,
• 15:48
  Speaker 10: like they've helped me that way. But seeing it from
• 15:51
  Speaker 10: his point of view has really helped me grow in
• 15:54
  Speaker 10: a lot just because.
• 15:55
  Speaker 11: Of, you know, he's a QB.
• 15:57
  Speaker 10: He goes into depth about different coverages and what he
• 16:01
  Speaker 10: sees and what he knows and how he thinks.
• 16:03
  Speaker 11: And so me learning how he thinks and, you.
• 16:06
  Speaker 10: Know, the timing of everything and how, you know, he
• 16:10
  Speaker 10: wants things to be done.
• 16:11
  Speaker 11: That's how that trust is built and that's how you
• 16:14
  Speaker 11: make plays, you know, on the field being, being out
• 16:16
  Speaker 11: there with them.
• 16:16
  Speaker 10: And so, uh, it's been, it's been a great experience
• 16:19
  Speaker 10: for me to know, be out there and, and be
• 16:22
  Speaker 10: with him and learn from him.
• 16:23
  Speaker 11: It's been nothing but a blessing.
• 16:25
  Speaker 2: And he drops these pop quizzes on you too, huh, Jeremy?
• 16:28
  Speaker 7: Yeah.
• 16:29
  Speaker 11: Yeah, he does. He, he challenges me.
• 16:33
  Speaker 5: I mean, is it just like you guys are walking
• 16:34
  Speaker 5: to the lunchroom or something and he'll be like, you know, Hey,
• 16:36
  Speaker 5: what are you doing on this player against his coverage?
• 16:39
  Speaker 2: Or is it more, uh, Is it more structured than that?
• 16:43
  Speaker 10: So, uh, we have, um, a players only meeting like
• 16:49
  Speaker 10: the skill guys. And, um, it's about like 15, 20
• 16:53
  Speaker 10: minutes and he'll just, you know, call me up there
• 16:55
  Speaker 10: and he'll, you know, ask me, okay, like, what are
• 16:58
  Speaker 10: the guys on defense?
• 17:00
  Speaker 11: Like, what are the names? What are the numbers?
• 17:01
  Speaker 10: Like, do they play left and right? Or is one
• 17:04
  Speaker 10: of them going to travel with our best guy? Um, no,
• 17:07
  Speaker 10: what's the scheme, what the coverage is they're going to run? Um,
• 17:10
  Speaker 10: what pressures do they run? Uh, he asked him, he
• 17:13
  Speaker 10: asked me about, you know, our own game plan, you know.
• 17:17
  Speaker 7: What I mean?
• 17:17
  Speaker 10: Like, so with him, it's about knowing what to do,
• 17:21
  Speaker 10: knowing how to do it, knowing why to do it,
• 17:23
  Speaker 10: going into depth about the game plan.
• 17:25
  Speaker 11: And so that really helps me prepare, you know, very well.
• 17:28
  Speaker 10: That's it's about preparation with him because he wants to
• 17:31
  Speaker 10: know that you're able to be trustworthy. And so, um,
• 17:35
  Speaker 10: it helps, it helped me, you know, learn how to
• 17:38
  Speaker 10: prepare better than I already was. And it's been, it's
• 17:41
  Speaker 10: been great for me. I take on the challenge and,
• 17:43
  Speaker 10: you know, you know, I'm not perfect. And if I
• 17:47
  Speaker 10: have a question I'm going to ask, I'm not afraid
• 17:48
  Speaker 10: to ask because I'm not afraid to get better.
• 17:53
  Speaker 2: Jeremy, you know, last week you had a.
• 17:58
  Speaker 3: Very high, you know, catch, you had, you know, career
• 18:01
  Speaker 3: high day at six catches for 80 yards. Just kind
• 18:04
  Speaker 3: of talk about, You know, just as you get better
• 18:08
  Speaker 3: in this offense and get more comfortable just about the
• 18:12
  Speaker 3: opportunities that present themselves. You know, and obviously the injury
• 18:17
  Speaker 3: to Pitt is something that's, you know, making this.
• 18:22
  Speaker 7: Tough for you.
• 18:22
  Speaker 3: Well, I wouldn't say tough, right? I mean, it's an opportunity. But,
• 18:27
  Speaker 3: you know, having an update on what you can do
• 18:31
  Speaker 3: and what you're bringing to the table, just kind of
• 18:33
  Speaker 3: talk about that opportunity that you're getting. um in the
• 18:37
  Speaker 3: midst of this and how that is a transition for
• 18:40
  Speaker 3: for any rookie right you know that comes into a
• 18:42
  Speaker 3: veteran room oh yeah.
• 18:44
  Speaker 10: I mean it's been great um you know for me
• 18:47
  Speaker 10: i know that you know i'm here you know for
• 18:51
  Speaker 10: a reason and you know for me it's just playing
• 18:53
  Speaker 10: my role you know i you know played my role
• 18:56
  Speaker 10: i i supported you know my guys and i prepared
• 18:58
  Speaker 10: like i was always a starter and then when the
• 19:01
  Speaker 10: opportunity came you know just you can't take it for
• 19:03
  Speaker 10: granted and you have to you know, step up, you know,
• 19:05
  Speaker 10: the team is, you know, they're looking, they're looking for that.
• 19:10
  Speaker 11: And it's just like that with every position. It doesn't
• 19:13
  Speaker 11: matter if you're a.
• 19:13
  Speaker 10: Rookie or if you're, you know, a nine year vet,
• 19:16
  Speaker 10: like you have to always be prepared because you never
• 19:18
  Speaker 10: know what's going to happen. And, you know, I have
• 19:22
  Speaker 10: a lot of confidence, you know, within myself to know
• 19:25
  Speaker 10: that I can, you know, help the team have success.
• 19:29
  Speaker 6: Me and Max were fortunate enough to be coached by
• 19:30
  Speaker 6: the great Mike McCartney, not Mike McCartney, excuse me, Mike Tomlin,
• 19:34
  Speaker 6: And and Bill Cower, we learned a lot. Where have
• 19:37
  Speaker 6: you learned from Mike McCarthy thus far going into at
• 19:40
  Speaker 6: the early stage of your still a career?
• 19:44
  Speaker 10: Yeah, he just for him, it's like, um you know
• 19:48
  Speaker 10: once once you once you get here and you finish
• 19:51
  Speaker 10: through otas and everything like he he doesn't look at
• 19:54
  Speaker 10: you as a rookie anymore you know he he looks
• 19:57
  Speaker 10: at you as a valuable asset um and he he's
• 20:00
  Speaker 10: going to push you he's going to challenge you because
• 20:02
  Speaker 10: he he wants the best out of you because he
• 20:04
  Speaker 10: you know he he sees that a lot of us
• 20:07
  Speaker 10: have potential coming in as rookies. For me, he's been
• 20:14
  Speaker 10: really well to me, just challenging me, helping me get better,
• 20:19
  Speaker 10: understanding the game. Like I said, I think this year
• 20:22
  Speaker 10: has been a lot mentally than physically. They've just been
• 20:27
  Speaker 10: making sure that I know what I'm doing within the playbook.
• 20:32
  Speaker 10: I know why we're doing certain things and how we're
• 20:34
  Speaker 10: supposed to get each other open or how certain concepts
• 20:38
  Speaker 10: are supposed to work.
• 20:39
  Speaker 11: They've been helping me evolve within the game.
• 20:43
  Speaker 5: Jeremy Bernard is our guest. He's a rookie wide receiver. Jeremy,
• 20:46
  Speaker 5: a couple things that were in your scouting report coming
• 20:49
  Speaker 5: in and that have certainly been manifested here is that
• 20:53
  Speaker 5: you're a tough guy to tackle. You're a hard physical
• 20:56
  Speaker 5: runner when you have the football in your hands. The
• 20:58
  Speaker 5: other one that I wanted to ask you about is
• 21:00
  Speaker 5: the blocking. For me, I think The Steelers wide receiver group,
• 21:06
  Speaker 5: and I'm going to throw the tight ends there too,
• 21:08
  Speaker 5: with Darnell Washington and Pat Fryermuth in particular, they have
• 21:12
  Speaker 5: done a great job of downfield blocking. We talk about
• 21:15
  Speaker 5: this all the time. You don't get five yards without
• 21:17
  Speaker 5: a good offensive line. You don't get 50 yards out
• 21:21
  Speaker 5: of a play without great downfield blocking. And I just
• 21:24
  Speaker 5: have been so impressed by the downfield blocking that the
• 21:27
  Speaker 5: Steelers have done this year.
• 21:29
  Speaker 2: Is this something that is talked.
• 21:30
  Speaker 5: About at all, or does everybody just know that's part
• 21:32
  Speaker 5: of the job and go out and do it?
• 21:37
  Speaker 11: We know that's part of the job. Be selfless. It's
• 21:40
  Speaker 11: about the team.
• 21:41
  Speaker 10: It's about doing whatever it takes for us to win,
• 21:44
  Speaker 10: and that's part of the game, and so that's what
• 21:47
  Speaker 10: we do.
• 21:47
  Speaker 7: Yeah, and I think that's kind of something.
• 21:55
  Speaker 3: Jeremy, I don't know how much of a historian you
• 21:58
  Speaker 3: are with the Steelers, but I mean, obviously a guy
• 22:00
  Speaker 3: by the name of Heinz Ward, um, really made that
• 22:03
  Speaker 3: a prominent deal for, for why receivers and kind of
• 22:06
  Speaker 3: is in the mantra and built into the DNA. Just, uh,
• 22:10
  Speaker 3: have you, have you like studied guys like Heinz Ward
• 22:13
  Speaker 3: or other, um, receivers as far as how, how their
• 22:17
  Speaker 3: blocking prowess is, is that something that's, that's been a
• 22:20
  Speaker 3: part of your study and regimen getting ready for this,
• 22:23
  Speaker 3: or is it something that's just always been a part
• 22:25
  Speaker 3: of you?
• 22:27
  Speaker 10: It's been something that's been a part of me. I mean,
• 22:32
  Speaker 10: that's not something you study. It's the will, you know
• 22:35
  Speaker 10: what I mean? Like, are you willing to do it
• 22:36
  Speaker 10: or not?
• 22:39
  Speaker 2: Absolutely.
• 22:40
  Speaker 6: Jeremy, I'm going to keep it quick with you because
• 22:43
  Speaker 6: I know you're pressing. I know you want to get
• 22:45
  Speaker 6: out of this interview. I'm going to ask you, who's
• 22:48
  Speaker 6: your favorite office alignment on the team right now? Because
• 22:51
  Speaker 6: we're the ones that you need to kind of– grow
• 22:55
  Speaker 6: our lines too.
• 22:56
  Speaker 7: You block for us, we block for you. Who have
• 22:58
  Speaker 7: you fallen in love with thus far in the offensive line?
• 23:02
  Speaker 11: I got to go with my boy Troy.
• 23:04
  Speaker 10: Obviously, the whole group, I love them to death, but
• 23:08
  Speaker 10: that's been my boy since high school, so I got
• 23:10
  Speaker 10: to go with Troy.
• 23:12
  Speaker 2: Okay, so I have to leave you this.
• 23:14
  Speaker 5: I don't know if this is a group meeting or
• 23:17
  Speaker 5: I don't know how this happens, but Aaron Rodgers said
• 23:21
  Speaker 5: evidently Jennings Dunker, another offensive lineman, another rookie, has.
• 23:25
  Speaker 2: To give a joke of the day. Are you privy
• 23:28
  Speaker 2: to that?
• 23:28
  Speaker 5: I mean, did you have to give a joke of
• 23:30
  Speaker 5: the day, or are you there when Jennings Dunker tells
• 23:33
  Speaker 5: this joke of the day?
• 23:36
  Speaker 11: I'm there. It's in our offensive group meeting, so he
• 23:39
  Speaker 11: does it in front of everybody.
• 23:40
  Speaker 2: Is he good?
• 23:42
  Speaker 11: Yeah, oh, yeah, amazing jokes.
• 23:44
  Speaker 2: Did you have to tell any jokes?
• 23:47
  Speaker 11: I did.
• 23:48
  Speaker 2: Were you good?
• 23:48
  Speaker 11: I was decent. I'm not really a big jokester.
• 23:54
  Speaker 2: Well, it sounds like you guys are having fun.
• 23:56
  Speaker 5: We've really enjoyed watching as you've come along, Jeremy. We
• 24:01
  Speaker 5: look forward to calling Max and I many receptions this
• 24:06
  Speaker 5: week in Tampa Bay.
• 24:08
  Speaker 2: And thank you very much for being with us. Really
• 24:10
  Speaker 2: appreciate it.
• 24:11
  Speaker 11: Of course.
• 24:11
  Speaker 7: Thank you.
• 24:11
  Speaker 11: That's bad for me.
• 24:12
  Speaker 2: All right.
• 24:13
  Speaker 5: That's Jeremy Bernard. Before we go to break, first of all,
• 24:17
  Speaker 5: great to have that young man on. And, you know,
• 24:20
  Speaker 5: really impressive meeting his parents and everything on draft day. Just–
• 24:24
  Speaker 5: I mean, you can tell from talking to Jeremy and
• 24:27
  Speaker 5: what he has to say that he is a young
• 24:30
  Speaker 5: man who takes his craft quite seriously, which is great. Guys,
• 24:35
  Speaker 5: did you ever have to tell jokes or do anything? Like,
• 24:39
  Speaker 5: Jennings Dunker evidently has been doing this since training camp. Like,
• 24:43
  Speaker 5: he's been the guy, singled out. They've tried everybody else,
• 24:46
  Speaker 5: but evidently he's good at it, so he's the guy
• 24:48
  Speaker 5: that has to get up in front of the whole
• 24:50
  Speaker 5: group and pretty much tell a joke every day.
• 24:55
  Speaker 2: No joke. We had to sing. We had to sing.
• 25:00
  Speaker 2: But just once, right? Just once. Thank God, yes. You
• 25:05
  Speaker 2: didn't have to sing multiple times. No, I did not
• 25:10
  Speaker 2: have to sing multiple times.
• 25:12
  Speaker 7: You had to do it.
• 25:12
  Speaker 3: And show off your prowess to the audience. To the
• 25:21
  Speaker 3: masses while they ate. I mean, it was like a
• 25:24
  Speaker 3: dinner show, you know, type of deal. That's the only
• 25:27
  Speaker 3: thing you really had to do. But, yeah, it was
• 25:32
  Speaker 3: not a multiple deal situation.
• 25:35
  Speaker 2: Inquiring minds want to know.
• 25:39
  Speaker 7: Oh, man, what was my song?
• 25:40
  Speaker 2: What did you sing? Mine was Brown Sugar by D'Angelo.
• 25:45
  Speaker 2: I remember that.
• 25:46
  Speaker 7: What was mine?
• 25:49
  Speaker 6: Well, so this is how I know I remember it
• 25:51
  Speaker 6: because I was asked to stand up and not only
• 25:54
  Speaker 6: stand up, I had to stand on top of the table.
• 25:56
  Speaker 6: And so as I stood on top of the table
• 25:58
  Speaker 6: in front of the whole cafeteria in Latrobe.
• 26:00
  Speaker 7: I knew this. I think it was lean on me.
• 26:02
  Speaker 7: Is the lean on me or into the road by
• 26:06
  Speaker 7: boys to men? And I could be. But anyway, I
• 26:08
  Speaker 7: was drafted.
• 26:09
  Speaker 2: Excellent choices. Right.
• 26:11
  Speaker 6: I forgot which one of those songs. But anyway, I
• 26:14
  Speaker 6: had stage fright. I knew the song. I knew how
• 26:17
  Speaker 6: it goes. But for some reason, I stood up and
• 26:19
  Speaker 6: I overlooked that cafeteria and my mind went, beep, blank.
• 26:24
  Speaker 6: And so this is why it's always important to have
• 26:28
  Speaker 6: a rookie.
• 26:29
  Speaker 7: You're in the trenches.
• 26:32
  Speaker 6: One of my fellow office linemen at the time, Marvin Phillips,
• 26:34
  Speaker 6: who got drafted in the sixth round the same year
• 26:36
  Speaker 6: I got drafted in the fourth round, can't sing.
• 26:40
  Speaker 7: And knew the song.
• 26:41
  Speaker 6: So he stood up next to me, uh, on the
• 26:44
  Speaker 6: table and, and, and pretty much dragged me through the
• 26:47
  Speaker 6: song and saying it. And so we ended up singing
• 26:49
  Speaker 6: it together and the rest of the cafeteria kind of
• 26:52
  Speaker 6: got into it and I was let off the hook,
• 26:54
  Speaker 6: but I, I was a bad showing for Willie Colon.
• 26:57
  Speaker 7: I can, I cannot think of one word in that
• 26:59
  Speaker 7: song for some reason. It was crazy.
• 27:01
  Speaker 5: So I guess then, uh, for our listeners sake, um,
• 27:06
  Speaker 5: the obvious follow-up to that is, would you guys each
• 27:10
  Speaker 5: sing a verse of your songs now?
• 27:13
  Speaker 7: Yeah, I'll take a hard no for 2,000 points.
• 27:16
  Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah. I mean, I could do it.
• 27:19
  Speaker 3: I mean, do I want to embarrass myself?
• 27:21
  Speaker 2: Absolutely not. Okay. But I had to ask. Sometimes we
• 27:25
  Speaker 2: in the media.
• 27:25
  Speaker 3: It's in the arsenal.
• 27:26
  Speaker 2: It's in the arsenal. So you guys have player backgrounds.
• 27:29
  Speaker 2: I got media background. Sometimes we guys in the media
• 27:31
  Speaker 2: have to ask the tough questions. I had to ask, right?
• 27:34
  Speaker 2: Didn't I have to ask? Yeah, you did.
• 27:36
  Speaker 3: You did.
• 27:36
  Speaker 7: I'd ask.
• 27:37
  Speaker 3: For journalistic integrity, you definitely answered and asked the question
• 27:43
  Speaker 3: that people wanted.
• 27:43
  Speaker 7: To know about.
• 27:44
  Speaker 5: I did not expect an affirmative answer. I do expect
• 27:47
  Speaker 5: some answers, though, when we come back to these questions.
• 27:49
  Speaker 5: What are the big-time matchups for the game? What are
• 27:52
  Speaker 5: the keys to the game on offense and defense for
• 27:54
  Speaker 5: the Steelers to win their first game on the road
• 27:57
  Speaker 5: this season when they take on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
• 27:59
  Speaker 5: on Sunday? The guys will let you know. We'll all
• 28:01
  Speaker 5: weigh in on that, as a matter of fact, when
• 28:02
  Speaker 5: we continue. in the locker room here on the Steelers
• 28:05
  Speaker 5: Audio Network.
• 28:19
  Speaker 1: This is In the Locker Room with Rob King, Max Starks,
• 28:23
  Speaker 1: and Willie Colon on Steelers Nation Radio, brought to you
• 28:26
  Speaker 1: in part by the Steelers Pro Shop. Get it direct
• 28:30
  Speaker 1: from the team at the Steelers Pro Shop at shop.steelers.com.
• 28:34
  Speaker 1: And by your neighborhood Ford store. The F-150 is the
• 28:38
  Speaker 1: official truck of the Pittsburgh Steelers.
• 28:43
  Speaker 2: All right, final segment here today. And, of course, it wouldn't.
• 28:47
  Speaker 3: Be a final segment if we did not have the
• 28:52
  Speaker 3: king's decree to finish this out. And, of course, we've
• 28:57
  Speaker 3: had our intriguing matchups. We've had our underdog picks this week. Obviously,
• 29:02
  Speaker 3: we've got to see how that's all going to play out.
• 29:05
  Speaker 3: But most importantly, the most intriguing matchup that we will
• 29:08
  Speaker 3: be dealing with will be, of course... with our Steelers
• 29:12
  Speaker 3: versus those pesky Buccaneers and what they have to offer.
• 29:16
  Speaker 3: So we are excited. We just had Jeremy Bernard on.
• 29:21
  Speaker 3: That was so great. That was a fantastic rookie. Second-round
• 29:24
  Speaker 3: pick for the Steelers. Had a big game last week.
• 29:27
  Speaker 3: We talked about six catches for 80 yards. Let's see
• 29:29
  Speaker 3: if he can build upon that success going into Tampa Bay.
• 29:35
  Speaker 3: I'm really excited about what he can bring to the table. Will,
• 29:37
  Speaker 3: I know you've been excited about him as well.
• 29:40
  Speaker 2: And, you know, let's see where we go. But back
• 29:43
  Speaker 2: to you, Rob.
• 29:45
  Speaker 5: Okay, so we're going to get into our keys to
• 29:47
  Speaker 5: the game and our big-time matchup for the game.
• 29:50
  Speaker 2: Just as an overview, you know, just the.
• 29:53
  Speaker 5: Same way that Willie and I were both on Willie
• 29:58
  Speaker 5: getting the official pick, on the Texans beating the Jaguars
• 30:02
  Speaker 5: on Sunday. And my logic is the Texans are better
• 30:06
  Speaker 5: than that. They're better than 1-4. Their season's pretty much
• 30:10
  Speaker 5: on the line. I think Tampa Bay is better than 1-4,
• 30:15
  Speaker 5: and their season is pretty much on the line.
• 30:17
  Speaker 2: So I do not expect.
• 30:18
  Speaker 5: This game to be a pushover for the Steelers. I expect,
• 30:21
  Speaker 5: and I think Jalen Daniels, he's been very impressive. They
• 30:24
  Speaker 5: haven't limited him a tremendous amount. It's not like, you know,
• 30:29
  Speaker 5: he's going to go out there and be 7 of
• 30:31
  Speaker 5: 10 for 61 yards. They're letting him go a little bit.
• 30:34
  Speaker 5: I mean, he's not bombing the ball down the field routinely,
• 30:37
  Speaker 5: but they're letting him play. Todd Bowles has faith in him.
• 30:40
  Speaker 5: So I do believe this will be a difficult test
• 30:43
  Speaker 5: for the Steelers. That is my preamble to the game.
• 30:47
  Speaker 5: Unless you have a preamble, Willie, and a preamble is
• 30:51
  Speaker 5: certainly welcome, but let's get to the keys of the
• 30:54
  Speaker 5: game on offense and defense.
• 30:58
  Speaker 7: Yeah, I think we kind of hit on it all week.
• 31:01
  Speaker 6: I think it comes down to it's going to.
• 31:04
  Speaker 7: Be our ability to run the ball.
• 31:06
  Speaker 6: You know, listen, Aaron Rodgers, we understand the caliber of
• 31:09
  Speaker 6: quarterback he is, and we know that Ty Bowe is
• 31:11
  Speaker 6: going to run the plan to blitz the shoes off
• 31:14
  Speaker 6: the Pittsburgh. And, you know, some of the injuries that
• 31:17
  Speaker 6: we've now acquired, it's going to be imperative for us
• 31:20
  Speaker 6: to kind of– have Aaron Rodgers throw the ball 40
• 31:24
  Speaker 6: to 50 times on the road in Tampa. Now, I
• 31:27
  Speaker 6: know we talked about Steeler Nation has shown up in droves,
• 31:31
  Speaker 6: but there's still a defense that plays well, and they're
• 31:35
  Speaker 6: comfortable at home.
• 31:37
  Speaker 7: With all that said, man, it's obvious.
• 31:39
  Speaker 6: I think it comes down to our Steelers offensive line
• 31:41
  Speaker 6: versus the defensive line in Tampa Bay, Buccaneers led by
• 31:44
  Speaker 6: Villa Veda. They have a front seven right now who
• 31:49
  Speaker 6: ranks second in run defense. So the, our boys up
• 31:54
  Speaker 6: front have to have one of those bangle S type
• 31:57
  Speaker 6: games where we put, we put the bear, you know, the,
• 32:00
  Speaker 6: the brass knuckles on and we go to work because
• 32:03
  Speaker 6: this is a front that is expecting Jalen Warren to,
• 32:08
  Speaker 6: to be the feature back and not only the feature
• 32:09
  Speaker 6: back where the, the offense is going to go through
• 32:12
  Speaker 6: Jalen Warren.
• 32:12
  Speaker 7: So they're going to be geeked up and ready for it.
• 32:15
  Speaker 7: And I just think right now for this, the other
• 32:17
  Speaker 7: office line to stabilize the, the offense.
• 32:20
  Speaker 6: We're going to have to run the ball at a
• 32:21
  Speaker 6: high clip. And, And also playing manageable downs. As much
• 32:24
  Speaker 6: as we talk about this still often as being able to,
• 32:27
  Speaker 6: you know, continue jobs on third down, we got to
• 32:29
  Speaker 6: win on first and second down. So be doing a
• 32:32
  Speaker 6: better job of, you know, having positive plays on first
• 32:34
  Speaker 6: and second down, not letting penalties kind of handicap us
• 32:38
  Speaker 6: and being able to play bully ball against the outfit
• 32:41
  Speaker 6: who wants to play bully ball. If we're able to
• 32:43
  Speaker 6: do that, that takes the win out of their sails.
• 32:45
  Speaker 6: Because if we're able to, we know we can throw it.
• 32:46
  Speaker 6: We know we have the tight ends that can stretch
• 32:49
  Speaker 6: the middle of the field. But if we can run
• 32:51
  Speaker 6: the ball and run the ball at an efficient clip,
• 32:54
  Speaker 6: that opens up the offense. So it's up to the
• 32:56
  Speaker 6: boys up front, man. They're going to have to have
• 32:58
  Speaker 6: a big game and want to kind of put their
• 33:00
  Speaker 6: foot in the middle of the ring and bang it
• 33:01
  Speaker 6: out with the Buccaneers.
• 33:03
  Speaker 2: How about your offensive key, Max? My offensive key? Feed
• 33:08
  Speaker 2: the beast. And that beast's name is Jalen Warren.
• 33:12
  Speaker 3: I want to see what he can do and Like
• 33:14
  Speaker 3: to Willie's point, you've got to stay efficient with these
• 33:17
  Speaker 3: first down opportunities and staying on track, staying on schedule,
• 33:22
  Speaker 3: so to speak, is just key for the Steelers' success.
• 33:28
  Speaker 3: And then from there, I mean, it's taking advantage of
• 33:30
  Speaker 3: a team that's going to blitz, but not really getting
• 33:33
  Speaker 3: to the quarterback and getting the sacks that they want,
• 33:36
  Speaker 3: even though they commit a lot of resources. So watching
• 33:38
  Speaker 3: guys like Jeremy Medard win one-on-one is going to be key.
• 33:42
  Speaker 3: and seeing how he does with just the different challenges
• 33:46
  Speaker 3: that are going to present themselves, and can he take
• 33:50
  Speaker 3: advantage of what the.
• 33:53
  Speaker 2: Buccaneers are going to have.
• 33:54
  Speaker 3: Like you said, they're going to have a good safety challenge,
• 33:56
  Speaker 3: but also unlocking our tight ends, man. Our tight ends
• 33:59
  Speaker 3: are so good, and I would love to see 13
• 34:01
  Speaker 3: as 11 personnel. I mean, that's one of my favorite,
• 34:04
  Speaker 3: I think, groupings that I want to see is how
• 34:07
  Speaker 3: well can we really utilize– patrick fire pat fryer move
• 34:13
  Speaker 3: utilize mount washington utilize robert tonyan because i think he's
• 34:16
  Speaker 3: the one that we haven't seen a lot but he
• 34:19
  Speaker 3: has high capability and a lot of trust with aaron
• 34:22
  Speaker 3: um so i would love to see how they can
• 34:24
  Speaker 3: kind of unlock him as well um that would be
• 34:28
  Speaker 3: one of my favorite matchups to watch out is how
• 34:30
  Speaker 3: these linebackers do against those guys yeah.
• 34:34
  Speaker 5: Um i think as far as when looking at the
• 34:37
  Speaker 5: steward's offense i think you mentioned it max I mean,
• 34:41
  Speaker 5: both you guys talked about running the ball. I think
• 34:43
  Speaker 5: this might be one of those games where they may
• 34:48
  Speaker 5: want to get to it a little bit backward, running
• 34:51
  Speaker 5: some play action early. I mean, we saw Jalen Warren
• 34:54
  Speaker 5: have a monster game in a hundred yard rushing game.
• 34:56
  Speaker 5: He only had four carries at the half. I wouldn't
• 34:58
  Speaker 5: be surprised if the Steelers went that route again. And
• 35:02
  Speaker 5: if they go that route using the tight ends, because
• 35:04
  Speaker 5: their tight ends have been terrific. We know that the
• 35:08
  Speaker 5: The wide receiver position is banged up. There's talks of
• 35:11
  Speaker 5: Juju Smith-Schuster being brought in for a workout. As of
• 35:15
  Speaker 5: right now, the Seahawks are going to have to recall
• 35:17
  Speaker 5: probably three receivers, including Brandon Smith, from the practice squad
• 35:22
  Speaker 5: just to fill the holes out there, unless Caden Wegen
• 35:25
  Speaker 5: is a guy that they're planning on using at wide receiver.
• 35:28
  Speaker 5: So I think utilizing the tight ends, and because, as
• 35:31
  Speaker 5: Willie mentioned, it's the second-best rush defense in the NFL,
• 35:35
  Speaker 5: Maybe you loosen them up and soften them up a
• 35:37
  Speaker 5: little bit with some play-action pass to the tight ends,
• 35:39
  Speaker 5: take advantage of one of their weaknesses, and then get
• 35:42
  Speaker 5: back to that running game. That would be a key
• 35:44
  Speaker 5: for me. And I know we're going to get to
• 35:46
  Speaker 5: defensive keys in a moment, and Max, I'll start with
• 35:49
  Speaker 5: you on this one. But before we say this, before
• 35:51
  Speaker 5: we get into that, got to mention this again. Special
• 35:55
  Speaker 5: teams can be a big factor in this game. So
• 35:59
  Speaker 5: Tampa Bay averages five more yards per return, per kick
• 36:02
  Speaker 5: return in the Steelers, and they average... a little over
• 36:05
  Speaker 5: four kick returns per game. So you're looking at 21
• 36:10
  Speaker 5: yards there, and in the punt return game, only a
• 36:13
  Speaker 5: couple of punt returns per game, another five yards or thereabouts.
• 36:17
  Speaker 5: So you're looking at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. You know,
• 36:21
  Speaker 5: you talk about the hidden yardage. They got about a
• 36:23
  Speaker 5: 25-yard advantage on kick coverage return yards over the Steelers.
• 36:28
  Speaker 5: That's something that the Steelers have just got to get
• 36:31
  Speaker 5: more out of the kick return game.
• 36:33
  Speaker 2: They're last in the NFL.
• 36:35
  Speaker 5: In kick return average Tampa Bay Buccaneers are fifth in
• 36:38
  Speaker 5: the league in return average that could wind up being
• 36:41
  Speaker 5: a big factor in this game we've already seen it
• 36:43
  Speaker 5: be a big factor in games we saw it be
• 36:45
  Speaker 5: a big factor in London last week so I know
• 36:48
  Speaker 5: it's not offense I know it's not defense but that
• 36:50
  Speaker 5: is one of my keys to the game is you've
• 36:51
  Speaker 5: got to be better at special teams especially in the
• 36:57
  Speaker 5: kick return game and the kick coverage game than the
• 37:00
  Speaker 5: Steelers have been let's get to our defensive keys Max
• 37:03
  Speaker 5: what is your defensive key for the Steelers.
• 37:06
  Speaker 2: Get after the rookie quarterback.
• 37:08
  Speaker 3: I need to see the Steelers squad get back on
• 37:11
  Speaker 3: track with how they have just absolutely been a nightmare
• 37:16
  Speaker 3: for teams in the sack game in the first two
• 37:18
  Speaker 3: games and then kind of disappeared the last couple of weeks.
• 37:23
  Speaker 3: I want to see them back on track with that.
• 37:25
  Speaker 3: I think that's one that I'm kind of like, okay,
• 37:28
  Speaker 3: we've got to get this team back together and see
• 37:32
  Speaker 3: what the band can do when– All things are equal, right?
• 37:36
  Speaker 2: I mean, that's really what I want to see.
• 37:38
  Speaker 3: I just want to see that aspect of it, the
• 37:40
  Speaker 3: sacks pick up, the pressure pick up, Patrick Graham stop
• 37:43
  Speaker 3: playing safe, just be an aggressive defense because you've got
• 37:47
  Speaker 3: the dogs that can do the job. I think that's
• 37:50
  Speaker 3: the one thing that I've always been a big proponent
• 37:53
  Speaker 3: of is they can do the job, but you've just
• 37:55
  Speaker 3: got to trust them to do it, right? And you've
• 37:58
  Speaker 3: got to take the training wheels off. You're down here now,
• 38:01
  Speaker 3: so let's just go ahead and see what it can be.
• 38:05
  Speaker 3: I mean, let's see what this squad can do.
• 38:08
  Speaker 2: What does the defense need to do, Willie, to beat
• 38:11
  Speaker 2: the Buccaneers?
• 38:14
  Speaker 6: Very much the same thing I was just asking the
• 38:16
  Speaker 6: students off his line to do, being able to own
• 38:18
  Speaker 6: a line of scrimmage.
• 38:19
  Speaker 7: This defensive front, this defensive line is going.
• 38:21
  Speaker 6: To have a heavy task on really making this a
• 38:24
  Speaker 6: phone booth fight.
• 38:25
  Speaker 7: And that's what Todd Bowles wants.
• 38:27
  Speaker 6: He wants to be able to run the ball with
• 38:28
  Speaker 6: Bucky Irvin and having those and living that heavy personnel.
• 38:33
  Speaker 6: it's going to be imperative for this defensive line not
• 38:36
  Speaker 6: to get pushed around and be willing.
• 38:39
  Speaker 7: To sustain the fight through all four quarters.
• 38:41
  Speaker 6: I think we understand that in the first half, the
• 38:44
  Speaker 6: Steelers can and will put up a fight, but are
• 38:48
  Speaker 6: they prepared to go through that type of game to
• 38:51
  Speaker 6: play that type of game for all four quarters? They
• 38:55
  Speaker 6: don't want to put the ball in the hands of
• 38:57
  Speaker 6: their undrafted rookie free agent quarterback, and they don't want
• 39:01
  Speaker 6: to have him sit back there and and throw the
• 39:03
  Speaker 6: ball a million times. They know that that plays into
• 39:06
  Speaker 6: the hands of the Steelers. You've got to understand, the
• 39:09
  Speaker 6: game against the Cowboys, the Buccaneers could only beat the
• 39:14
  Speaker 6: Cowboys one way, and that's by running the ball. They
• 39:16
  Speaker 6: were able to do that. But also, it wasn't just
• 39:18
  Speaker 6: Bucky Irvin.
• 39:19
  Speaker 7: Having a day.
• 39:20
  Speaker 6: The young quarterback was able to use his legs as
• 39:23
  Speaker 6: well to extend drives. So they're just going to have
• 39:26
  Speaker 6: to be on their P's and Q's. They have to
• 39:27
  Speaker 6: have receivers who can make things happen on the outside.
• 39:30
  Speaker 6: With Tez Johnson and Ibuka, they understand that. But they
• 39:34
  Speaker 6: really want to play a more conservative team. play behind
• 39:37
  Speaker 6: the defense, win the time of possession, grind it out
• 39:40
  Speaker 6: type of game. And the Steelers have to be, you know,
• 39:42
  Speaker 6: very intentional about what they do on the field and owning.
• 39:47
  Speaker 7: The line of scrimmage. And it starts with our D-line, man.
• 39:50
  Speaker 7: Our D-line has to play big.
• 39:53
  Speaker 6: The same type of production we had last week, we're
• 39:55
  Speaker 6: going to need that plus more because it's going to
• 39:57
  Speaker 6: be on the road. And, you know, the Bucs right now,
• 39:59
  Speaker 6: as much as we sat here and talked about the
• 40:02
  Speaker 6: Houston Texans, playing a big game out in London. This
• 40:05
  Speaker 6: is a big game for the Bucs because if they
• 40:07
  Speaker 6: win this game, they're back in the heat of things, right?
• 40:09
  Speaker 7: Especially in a division in the NFC.
• 40:12
  Speaker 6: South that we know is so up and down and
• 40:15
  Speaker 6: at times can look really good and at times can
• 40:17
  Speaker 6: be really mediocre. So they feel like as much as
• 40:20
  Speaker 6: they kind of stumbled out of the gates, they win
• 40:22
  Speaker 6: this game at home against a worthy outfit in the
• 40:24
  Speaker 6: Pittsburgh Steelers. They feel like momentum is on their side.
• 40:28
  Speaker 6: So it's going to be imperative that this defensive line
• 40:32
  Speaker 6: really gets to owning the line of scrimmage, man. There's
• 40:35
  Speaker 6: going to be double team blocks across the board.
• 40:38
  Speaker 7: They love to run power. They love to have.
• 40:40
  Speaker 6: Those tight ends, you know, really kind of crack down
• 40:42
  Speaker 6: on the edges. They like to pull them.
• 40:44
  Speaker 7: It's going to be a lot of motion.
• 40:45
  Speaker 6: So it's going to be, it's going to depend on
• 40:47
  Speaker 6: the Pittsburgh Steelers defense to communicate. Communication is going to
• 40:50
  Speaker 6: have to be really key. And I love him back
• 40:52
  Speaker 6: in court. Max alluded to it that yes, it's one
• 40:55
  Speaker 6: thing to get after the passer, but we got to be,
• 40:57
  Speaker 6: we got to continue to be a solid tackling team.
• 41:00
  Speaker 6: Bucky Irvin is, is one of those slippery backs who
• 41:02
  Speaker 6: has the ability to get yards, and he has a
• 41:06
  Speaker 6: home running back capability. With all that said, man, this
• 41:11
  Speaker 6: defense has to start fast. Do not make this one
• 41:14
  Speaker 6: of those games where they kind of eke into it,
• 41:17
  Speaker 6: and in third quarter, they got to have heroic play
• 41:20
  Speaker 6: out of their guys to kind of, you know, pretty
• 41:22
  Speaker 6: much what they did in Cleveland.
• 41:23
  Speaker 7: It can't happen.
• 41:24
  Speaker 6: They have to come out hot, heavy, and ready for
• 41:27
  Speaker 6: the fight, and if they do that, they should be fine,
• 41:30
  Speaker 6: but I would not sleep on this Buccaneers team. I
• 41:32
  Speaker 6: would not sleep on the young undrafted quarterback, Jalen Daniels.
• 41:36
  Speaker 6: I wouldn't sleep on what they could do offensively. It's
• 41:39
  Speaker 6: just a matter of understanding that every possession is a
• 41:43
  Speaker 6: crucial one because the more time we give them legs
• 41:45
  Speaker 6: and opportunity, they're going to seek it.
• 41:47
  Speaker 7: And it could be a positive on their part.
• 41:50
  Speaker 5: By the way, the running backs have seven carries too.
• 41:52
  Speaker 5: So I agree completely with what you guys said. I
• 41:55
  Speaker 5: think it's very thorough of the keys.
• 41:57
  Speaker 7: To the game.
• 41:58
  Speaker 5: Now let's have some fun. Let's get into our big-time
• 42:00
  Speaker 5: matchup of the game, and Willie, we'll have you lead off.
• 42:03
  Speaker 5: What is your big-time matchup of this game?
• 42:07
  Speaker 6: Well, I mean, it comes down to our tight ends
• 42:11
  Speaker 6: versus their safeties. Tykee Smith is one of their big-time guys.
• 42:14
  Speaker 6: Not only is he great in getting down in the
• 42:17
  Speaker 6: box and stopping the run, but he's solid against pass cover.
• 42:20
  Speaker 6: So it comes down to Pat Fairmouth and Darnell Washington
• 42:23
  Speaker 6: against their safeties. And, you know, it's It has to
• 42:27
  Speaker 6: be a situation where we not only exploit them in
• 42:30
  Speaker 6: the middle field, but we use them in the red zone.
• 42:32
  Speaker 6: Aaron Rodgers has shown that he's comfortable in that fact
• 42:34
  Speaker 6: of going to Darnell Washington in the red zone.
• 42:36
  Speaker 7: We just got to keep that up and make those
• 42:38
  Speaker 7: safeties pay. Max, your big-time matchup.
• 42:42
  Speaker 3: I'm going Maxi on a tour versus Reuben Bain, right?
• 42:45
  Speaker 3: I mean, it's a rookie first-round matchup.
• 42:49
  Speaker 2: I want to see somebody get bodied. You know what
• 42:52
  Speaker 2: I'm saying?
• 42:52
  Speaker 3: And I think this is a game where you talk
• 42:54
  Speaker 3: about Maxi on a tour, and if we're going to
• 42:56
  Speaker 3: run the football– That's going to be one. I want
• 42:59
  Speaker 3: to see belly-to-belly, backs-to-ground type of just mauling action, and
• 43:05
  Speaker 3: I think Maxi Onachor is going to do that to
• 43:07
  Speaker 3: Reuben Bain, and I feel really good about it, and
• 43:09
  Speaker 3: that's the one I want to see.
• 43:11
  Speaker 5: Yeah, you know, they're so funny because I had three
• 43:13
  Speaker 5: of them, and you guys didn't hit on any of them.
• 43:15
  Speaker 5: Isn't it how much fun the little individual matchups can be?
• 43:18
  Speaker 5: I'm looking at Peyton Wilson getting Bucky Irving to the ground.
• 43:22
  Speaker 5: Bucky Irving cannot do what he did against Tampa Bay,
• 43:24
  Speaker 5: but the two big The two big matchups on the
• 43:27
  Speaker 5: offensive and defensive lines for me, Tristan Wirfs may be
• 43:31
  Speaker 5: the best left tackle in football.
• 43:33
  Speaker 2: He's so good. And Alex Heisman, that's going to be
• 43:35
  Speaker 2: a great matchup.
• 43:36
  Speaker 5: And then big Vita Vea, that nose tackle two-time Pro
• 43:40
  Speaker 5: Bowler against Zach Frazier is going to be another fun matchup.
• 43:43
  Speaker 5: So those are the matchups I'll be watching next week
• 43:46
  Speaker 5: before we go to Paris when I watch the game
• 43:48
  Speaker 5: back that I won't be able to watch because I've got.
• 43:52
  Speaker 2: To follow the ball.
• 43:53
  Speaker 5: But it'll be fun following the– following those matchups as well.
• 43:57
  Speaker 5: If you have a chance to peek at those things,
• 44:00
  Speaker 5: we encourage you to do so. We want to thank
• 44:02
  Speaker 5: Missy Matthews for joining us. I want to also thank
• 44:05
  Speaker 5: Jeremy Bernard, the rookie wide receiver, for joining us in
• 44:08
  Speaker 5: the locker room. Gino Annamarino filling in at the very
• 44:11
  Speaker 5: end here. He's going to get a shout-out, as is
• 44:13
  Speaker 5: Justin Miller.
• 44:13
  Speaker 2: The closer.
• 44:14
  Speaker 5: Yeah, he was the closer. That's exactly right. For Max Starks,
• 44:18
  Speaker 5: for Willie Colon, I'm Rob King. We thank you, as always,
• 44:20
  Speaker 5: for being with us in the locker room here on
• 44:22
  Speaker 5: this year's Audio Network.