Latest / The Steelers Report / HR 1: Steelers 10 Terrible Takes or Not: Week 5

Transcript

HR 1: Steelers 10 Terrible Takes or Not: Week 5 · The Steelers Report

• 0:09
  Speaker 1: Watch, he gets a snap back to pass, looking at
• 0:11
  Speaker 1: some time, rolling out to his left, and T.J. Watt
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: has him for a sack back inside the 30-yard line.
• 0:18
  Speaker 2: Gets a snap back, Steelers bringing four, and it is.
• 0:20
  Speaker 3: A screen underneath, but T.J.
• 0:22
  Speaker 1: Watt read it and batted it away, intended for Judkins,
• 0:26
  Speaker 1: and a beautiful job by T.J. Watt, pumps the fist
• 0:30
  Speaker 1: as the Steelers will force the punt.
• 0:32
  Speaker 4: This is the Steelers Report with Brian Bacco and Ed
• 0:36
  Speaker 4: Troop on Steelers Nation Radio, a part of the Steelers
• 0:39
  Speaker 4: Audio Network.
• 0:42
  Speaker 3: T.J.
• 0:42
  Speaker 5: Watt still on a tear in the 2026 season. Four games,
• 0:47
  Speaker 5: 13 tackles, four and a half sacks, six and a
• 0:50
  Speaker 5: half tackle for losses, two pass deflections, an interception, a
• 0:55
  Speaker 5: forced fumble.
• 0:56
  Speaker 3: A fumble recovery, and a touchdown. T.J.
• 0:59
  Speaker 5: Watt on the path, maybe, just maybe, to become the
• 1:03
  Speaker 5: 2026 Defensive Player of the Year. We have a long
• 1:06
  Speaker 5: ways to go until we can get to that. But
• 1:08
  Speaker 5: if he keeps on this pace, Double B, no doubt T.J.
• 1:11
  Speaker 5: Watt is back to his old form and has a
• 1:14
  Speaker 5: good chance to get that award at the end of
• 1:16
  Speaker 5: the season. But more importantly for T.J. and the Pittsburgh Steelers,
• 1:19
  Speaker 5: he wants to win his first playoff game.
• 1:22
  Speaker 2: And you know what's quickly approaching it?
• 1:25
  Speaker 3: No, what's that? Halloween?
• 1:27
  Speaker 2: Well, even quicker than that, TJ Watt's 32nd birthday on
• 1:32
  Speaker 2: October 11th, which is Sunday, the day they host the
• 1:35
  Speaker 2: Colts right here in Pittsburgh at Accresure Stadium. Got to
• 1:39
  Speaker 2: go out there and get number 90, a win for
• 1:42
  Speaker 2: his birthday. Do you remember what you did for your 32nd?
• 1:45
  Speaker 3: Oh my goodness, Double B.
• 1:47
  Speaker 5: I mean, we're going back 14 years ago. I My
• 1:50
  Speaker 5: son Ryan was two years old, so I'm sure it
• 1:52
  Speaker 5: involved something with him and a birthday cake and celebrating
• 1:55
  Speaker 5: with me.
• 1:57
  Speaker 2: Yeah, for me, probably nothing. I guess my daughter would
• 2:00
  Speaker 2: have just turned one around that time and probably just
• 2:04
  Speaker 2: hung out at home. I got to a point where
• 2:07
  Speaker 2: I feel like once you get into your 30s especially,
• 2:11
  Speaker 2: but maybe even 20s, I'm not a big birthday guy.
• 2:15
  Speaker 2: I don't know if TJ is. I'm going to guess...
• 2:17
  Speaker 2: Probably not. He's got a little one and one on
• 2:19
  Speaker 2: the way. So you kind of you move into dad
• 2:23
  Speaker 2: mode of put everybody before yourself. Leaders eat last type
• 2:28
  Speaker 2: of mentality. And I would say that applies to the
• 2:31
  Speaker 2: birthday cake, too.
• 2:32
  Speaker 5: Yeah, I'm with you when you get into your really
• 2:35
  Speaker 5: when you get past 21. I mean, what's what's the
• 2:37
  Speaker 5: next big age for your birthday? I mean, 30, I guess,
• 2:39
  Speaker 5: is kind of a big deal. 40 is a milestone
• 2:42
  Speaker 5: that you haven't hit yet that I hit six years ago.
• 2:44
  Speaker 5: And that was not a fun one for me, first
• 2:46
  Speaker 5: of all. it was in February of 2020. So it
• 2:49
  Speaker 5: was literally a week or two before the entire world
• 2:51
  Speaker 5: shut down because of COVID. And on top of that,
• 2:54
  Speaker 5: when you hit 40, and I mentioned this to you
• 2:55
  Speaker 5: the other day with aches and pains, double B, when
• 2:58
  Speaker 5: you get on the other side of that number, yes,
• 3:00
  Speaker 5: the aches and pains become a bit more severe.
• 3:02
  Speaker 2: My friend. I actually think an underrated one is the
• 3:06
  Speaker 2: one that I hit a couple months ago, not even now.
• 3:08
  Speaker 2: 35 is your then eligible run for president in the
• 3:13
  Speaker 2: United States of America. So I think that an underrated birthday.
• 3:17
  Speaker 2: I mean, really, your potential as a human being in
• 3:21
  Speaker 2: this country is pretty capped until you reach that age.
• 3:24
  Speaker 2: And I guess maybe I'll consider gearing up for a
• 3:27
  Speaker 2: run now that I'm eligible.
• 3:28
  Speaker 5: I was ready to say, do we have breaking news
• 3:30
  Speaker 5: here on Steelers Nation Radio? Double B, Brian Bacco, the
• 3:33
  Speaker 5: native of Shaler and the University of Pittsburgh. Is he
• 3:36
  Speaker 5: going to run for president when the term is up
• 3:39
  Speaker 5: here in a couple years?
• 3:41
  Speaker 2: Well, at least I think I'd have some SNR listeners
• 3:44
  Speaker 2: who would be willing to vote for me, but Hey,
• 3:47
  Speaker 2: I think there'd be a lot more inclined to vote
• 3:50
  Speaker 2: for TJ watt, but he's still going to have a
• 3:53
  Speaker 2: little bit more than well come Sunday. He'll still have
• 3:56
  Speaker 2: three years to go before he can hold that office.
• 3:59
  Speaker 2: Another birthday today, October 8th, Amos zero way, famous Amos,
• 4:05
  Speaker 2: former Steelers and West Virginia running back. Shout out Wesley Euler.
• 4:10
  Speaker 3: Absolutely.
• 4:11
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 4:11
  Speaker 2: Amos zero way. He is a, let's see.
• 4:14
  Speaker 3: Famous Amos.
• 4:15
  Speaker 2: Wow, 50 today. The big 5-0 for Amos Zerway. I'm
• 4:19
  Speaker 2: sure there's some people out there right now saying that
• 4:21
  Speaker 2: makes them feel old.
• 4:22
  Speaker 3: Amos Zerway is older than me. My brain's ready to explode.
• 4:26
  Speaker 5: I would have thought he was my age or younger,
• 4:29
  Speaker 5: that he played around the same time that I did.
• 4:31
  Speaker 3: No, I didn't play. I'm just kidding. My playing days
• 4:33
  Speaker 3: were well over by then, Double B.
• 4:35
  Speaker 2: Do you know where Amos Zerway was born at?
• 4:39
  Speaker 3: I do not. And if I were to make a guess,
• 4:41
  Speaker 3: was it in the great state of West Virginia?
• 4:45
  Speaker 2: It was not. Ivory Coast. And I bring that up
• 4:47
  Speaker 2: because I don't think I mentioned that when we went
• 4:50
  Speaker 2: through our Steelers by the state in the summer and
• 4:53
  Speaker 2: then extended it into Steelers by the country. So another
• 4:58
  Speaker 2: country represented and heard from there. Good old Cote d'Ivoire,
• 5:03
  Speaker 2: I guess, as they say it. And it's written in
• 5:06
  Speaker 2: their language. But yeah, Ivory Coast. Amos Zero. I have
• 5:11
  Speaker 2: to imagine he's the best in NFL history, but maybe
• 5:13
  Speaker 2: I should to look that up to try to confirm.
• 5:16
  Speaker 5: You might have to do some research on that one,
• 5:17
  Speaker 5: but I would think that the former number 21 for
• 5:20
  Speaker 5: the Pittsburgh Steelers, you know, Brian likes his Steelers by state.
• 5:24
  Speaker 5: He appreciates the Steeler by number, but I have a
• 5:26
  Speaker 5: true love for Steeler by the number famous Amos number 21, right?
• 5:31
  Speaker 2: Yes. Yes, he was. And he, uh, burst onto the
• 5:33
  Speaker 2: scene right around the time that, uh, Heinz field burst
• 5:37
  Speaker 2: onto the scene. Now Akershire stadium, his, uh, His 2001
• 5:41
  Speaker 2: campaign was his third in the league. Remember, he was
• 5:44
  Speaker 2: a third rounder back in 1999. But, you know, in
• 5:49
  Speaker 2: those days, there wasn't much running back by committee going
• 5:52
  Speaker 2: on in the NFL, especially if you had future Hall
• 5:55
  Speaker 2: of Famer Jerome Bettis in your backfield, which the Steelers
• 5:57
  Speaker 2: obviously did. So Zerway took just 24 totes through his
• 6:02
  Speaker 2: first couple seasons. And I guess he was, you know,
• 6:06
  Speaker 2: mainly used more as like a kick returner there his
• 6:08
  Speaker 2: rookie year but come 2001 started to uh bettis started
• 6:12
  Speaker 2: to seed some more work to him he got his
• 6:14
  Speaker 2: first career touchdown that year the year that heinz field
• 6:18
  Speaker 2: opened and started to get a little bit more involved
• 6:20
  Speaker 2: in the receiving game and then by 02 his high
• 6:23
  Speaker 2: water mark of 762 rushing yards and four touchdowns he
• 6:27
  Speaker 2: was uh really um A nice change of pace back
• 6:32
  Speaker 2: and a smaller guy.
• 6:33
  Speaker 3: He was.
• 6:33
  Speaker 2: A small, quick guy who still ran hard to complement
• 6:38
  Speaker 2: the bus. And at 5'8, 2'12, dawns on me that
• 6:41
  Speaker 2: because at some point we've got to stop talking about
• 6:44
  Speaker 2: birthdays and Steelers of yesteryear and bring it back to
• 6:47
  Speaker 2: the current day. But at 5'8, 2'12, he was pretty
• 6:50
  Speaker 2: much the exact same dimensions as a guy named Jalen Warren,
• 6:54
  Speaker 2: who is pretty good himself right now.
• 6:56
  Speaker 5: And as we found out yesterday, the same size as you,
• 6:58
  Speaker 5: Double B. Same height at least, right?
• 7:01
  Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, me and my 212 pounds of all muscle,
• 7:06
  Speaker 2: of course. Yes, that's me.
• 7:08
  Speaker 3: My man.
• 7:09
  Speaker 5: All right, let's talk about Pittsburgh Steelers injuries. You were
• 7:12
  Speaker 5: on the south side yesterday. You'll be down there today
• 7:14
  Speaker 5: as well for day number two this week. And the
• 7:17
  Speaker 5: Pittsburgh Steelers releasing their first injury report of the week
• 7:20
  Speaker 5: that came out yesterday.
• 7:21
  Speaker 3: Brian, you were there.
• 7:22
  Speaker 5: Jalen Ramsey did not practice due to his wrist injury
• 7:25
  Speaker 5: that he continues to monitor. Michael Pittman Jr. was a
• 7:28
  Speaker 5: limited participant with his foot injury that he's been dealing with.
• 7:32
  Speaker 5: Rico Dowdle was also a limited participant. Good news there.
• 7:35
  Speaker 5: At least he was on the field with that toe. Uh,
• 7:37
  Speaker 5: Jamel Dean did not practice. No surprise there. And Cam
• 7:40
  Speaker 5: Hayward was given the day off a veteran day off yesterday. Uh,
• 7:44
  Speaker 5: anything else from the injury report or, and I was
• 7:47
  Speaker 5: going to say, or, but I'll say, and, or how
• 7:49
  Speaker 5: about and slash or for you, any thoughts?
• 7:53
  Speaker 2: Not too much just yet. Um, We'll see where the
• 7:58
  Speaker 2: week goes. I guess the big one that I'd circle
• 8:01
  Speaker 2: there at is Michael Pittman Jr., not just because he's
• 8:05
  Speaker 2: been banged up really all season and going back to
• 8:08
  Speaker 2: training camp, but you really hope that he could get
• 8:11
  Speaker 2: out there this week against his former team. That's just
• 8:13
  Speaker 2: a natural human desire, I think, to go out there
• 8:17
  Speaker 2: and have an opportunity against the team that let you go.
• 8:21
  Speaker 2: If there's anything to be said for the emotional component
• 8:24
  Speaker 2: of the game, Maybe he would have really brought it
• 8:26
  Speaker 2: this week, and that could have lit a fire under
• 8:28
  Speaker 2: him and sparked him. Not that he's not motivated, but
• 8:31
  Speaker 2: that's been a little bit of a slow start to
• 8:33
  Speaker 2: the year for Pittman Jr., who, for my money, I'm
• 8:36
  Speaker 2: not going to backtrack on this. I certainly thought he
• 8:39
  Speaker 2: was the best offseason acquisition that the Steelers made between
• 8:43
  Speaker 2: free agency and the draft. We haven't really seen it
• 8:46
  Speaker 2: just yet. It would be a great time to see
• 8:48
  Speaker 2: it with the Colts coming here, but you hate to
• 8:50
  Speaker 2: see them start out the week limited, With a foot,
• 8:54
  Speaker 2: I mean, those foot injuries, I've been fortunate enough to
• 8:57
  Speaker 2: never deal with any, but especially in athletes, when you
• 9:00
  Speaker 2: see them, they can really linger and they can kind
• 9:04
  Speaker 2: of hurt your entire season. And I think the tough
• 9:08
  Speaker 2: part for professional football players, really any sport, yeah, it
• 9:13
  Speaker 2: might be easy for fans on the outside to say, well,
• 9:16
  Speaker 2: all right, well, if you're hurt, you're hurt. Don't try
• 9:17
  Speaker 2: to play through it and make it worse. And then
• 9:20
  Speaker 2: you're kind of a drain on the team. You're taking
• 9:22
  Speaker 2: up a roster spot. You get the injury prone label
• 9:26
  Speaker 2: thrown on you, but the same would be said if
• 9:29
  Speaker 2: you did shut it down for four weeks or something
• 9:31
  Speaker 2: and go on IR. So I understand why guys try
• 9:34
  Speaker 2: to tough it out and play through nagging injuries, even
• 9:39
  Speaker 2: ones that, you know, heaven forbid could, could get even
• 9:41
  Speaker 2: worse if you try to play through it. So hopefully
• 9:44
  Speaker 2: it's a precautionary limited practice for Pittman and then he'll
• 9:48
  Speaker 2: be able to ramp up throughout the week. But even
• 9:51
  Speaker 2: if that's the case, you don't really want to have
• 9:53
  Speaker 2: to be managing a foot injury all season because at
• 9:58
  Speaker 2: some point it'd be great to have him out there
• 9:59
  Speaker 2: at 100% or as close to it as he can get.
• 10:02
  Speaker 5: Yeah, special programming note on tomorrow's show as we give
• 10:06
  Speaker 5: our final analysis on Colts Steelers for Sunday here on
• 10:10
  Speaker 5: the show. We're going to have Matt Taylor, who's the
• 10:12
  Speaker 5: play-by-play voice of the Colts on the show. We actually
• 10:15
  Speaker 5: recorded with him yesterday. We'll air that tomorrow here on
• 10:18
  Speaker 5: the show. And Just a little bit of a sneak
• 10:19
  Speaker 5: preview with that. Brian, we asked him about the homecoming,
• 10:22
  Speaker 5: if you will, of Michael Pittman Jr. going up against
• 10:25
  Speaker 5: his former team. And I asked him, I said, does
• 10:28
  Speaker 5: Indianapolis miss Pittman? And he talked more about off the
• 10:31
  Speaker 5: field and the impacts that Michael Pittman did in the
• 10:33
  Speaker 5: community and him being a stand-up guy within the Indianapolis area,
• 10:38
  Speaker 5: within the organization.
• 10:39
  Speaker 3: That's the part they mainly miss.
• 10:40
  Speaker 5: But I'm sure they can use him on the field
• 10:42
  Speaker 5: right now because that wide receiver core that the Indianapolis
• 10:46
  Speaker 5: Colts have is also banged up.
• 10:49
  Speaker 2: Yeah, and obviously when the Colts did part ways with
• 10:52
  Speaker 2: him and send him to the Steelers for not a
• 10:56
  Speaker 2: ton in return, it was essentially a tacit admission by
• 11:01
  Speaker 2: them that they think Michael Pittman Jr. 's best days
• 11:03
  Speaker 2: are behind him. And maybe they are, but that doesn't
• 11:06
  Speaker 2: mean that he can't still contribute to the Steelers and
• 11:10
  Speaker 2: really help out this offense in this passing game. But again,
• 11:13
  Speaker 2: he needs to be right. He needs to be healthy.
• 11:16
  Speaker 2: So that to me is the big one to monitor
• 11:18
  Speaker 2: this week, even more than Rico Dowdle because I feel
• 11:21
  Speaker 2: like Jalen Warren is as long as he stays upright
• 11:24
  Speaker 2: to knock on wood he can really carry the load
• 11:27
  Speaker 2: and I on it like this is kind of a
• 11:30
  Speaker 2: this devolves into a running back value discussion but I'm
• 11:33
  Speaker 2: all right with Travis Homer or Lou Nichols or if
• 11:36
  Speaker 2: it comes to it Eli Heidenreich taking a few carries
• 11:39
  Speaker 2: in a game I don't think it's gonna lose you
• 11:42
  Speaker 2: a game you pick your spots with that if you're
• 11:44
  Speaker 2: Mike McCarthy and Brian Angelico and running backs coach Ramon
• 11:48
  Speaker 2: Chin Young but Obviously, you feel better when you have
• 11:51
  Speaker 2: two backs in there that you believe are dynamic. But
• 11:54
  Speaker 2: I think Pittman is the big one to watch. Ramsey
• 11:56
  Speaker 2: probably going to play through his broken wrist again, considering
• 12:00
  Speaker 2: he did so last week. And then on the Colts side,
• 12:03
  Speaker 2: I'll just mention real quick, Ed, before we take a break.
• 12:06
  Speaker 2: Keenan Allen, limited. He's certainly cooked the Steelers before at home,
• 12:13
  Speaker 2: but I feel like I was 12 years old at
• 12:15
  Speaker 2: that point because Keenan Allen is been around for so long.
• 12:19
  Speaker 2: Ashton Doolin, who's been stepping in for Alec Pierce at receiver.
• 12:22
  Speaker 2: He didn't practice to start the week with a hamstring.
• 12:25
  Speaker 2: That's always iffy. Akeem Davis Gaither, inside linebacker. The Steelers
• 12:30
  Speaker 2: know very well because he spent his first four years,
• 12:33
  Speaker 2: I believe, with the Bengals. Did not practice with a knee.
• 12:38
  Speaker 2: And center Tanner Bortolini has been pretty good for them.
• 12:40
  Speaker 2: Didn't practice with an ankle. And then the big one,
• 12:43
  Speaker 2: Arden Key, pass rusher. He's got a hamstring. He's out
• 12:45
  Speaker 2: for multiple weeks, I believe. So the Steelers will dodge
• 12:51
  Speaker 2: Arden Key. And as for the rest of those guys,
• 12:54
  Speaker 2: we'll keep an eye on the Colts practice report this
• 12:56
  Speaker 2: week as well.
• 12:57
  Speaker 5: And we talked with Matt Taylor yesterday, too, about those
• 13:00
  Speaker 5: edge rushers that you just mentioned. And of course, DeForest Buckner,
• 13:04
  Speaker 5: who has now come on the scene, re-emerging, if you will,
• 13:07
  Speaker 5: with the Indianapolis Colts defense so far this season. Three sacks,
• 13:11
  Speaker 5: 12 pressures, 133 pass rushes on the season. You still
• 13:14
  Speaker 5: got to deal with DeForest Buckner, but The list you
• 13:17
  Speaker 5: just went through, Double B, for the Colts. It sounds
• 13:19
  Speaker 5: like they're banged up a little bit, too. They're dealing
• 13:21
  Speaker 5: with some early season injuries, and again, could be an
• 13:24
  Speaker 5: advantage for the Steelers come Sunday.
• 13:27
  Speaker 2: Yeah, and Buckner's a guy who really puts the pressure
• 13:32
  Speaker 2: on in the interior, and he's a humongous dude, too,
• 13:35
  Speaker 2: so he can get his big paws up there and
• 13:38
  Speaker 2: try to bat away passes. That's an added challenge, not
• 13:42
  Speaker 2: just for Aaron Rodgers, who throws those passes, but those
• 13:46
  Speaker 2: interior linemen push him back so that he's not getting
• 13:49
  Speaker 2: that penetration and then wreaking havoc at the line of
• 13:52
  Speaker 2: scrimmage at 6'7, the way that Cam Hayward often does
• 13:55
  Speaker 2: at 6'5, or whatever he's listed at. So, yeah, the
• 14:00
  Speaker 2: Colts are 2-2, just like the Steelers, but obviously not
• 14:04
  Speaker 2: all 2-2s are created equal. They probably feel like they're
• 14:06
  Speaker 2: gaining some momentum and on the upswing after winning the
• 14:09
  Speaker 2: last two, whereas the Steelers are stuck in neutral a
• 14:12
  Speaker 2: little bit with one win, one loss, one win, one loss.
• 14:15
  Speaker 5: Yeah, the Colts faced two of the best teams so
• 14:17
  Speaker 5: far in the NFL and in the AFC, losing to
• 14:20
  Speaker 5: the Ravens in Week 1, 41-23 at home. Then they
• 14:23
  Speaker 5: went to Kansas City, played a competitive game in Kansas City,
• 14:26
  Speaker 5: but did lose 33-30. And then beating Houston at home,
• 14:31
  Speaker 5: which we know the Texans are 0-4, 19-17.
• 14:34
  Speaker 3: In Week 3.
• 14:35
  Speaker 5: And then Week 4, they went to Washington, 30-13. Didn't
• 14:39
  Speaker 5: go to Washington, went overseas. That game was overseas last
• 14:41
  Speaker 5: week against Washington. Counted as an away game for Indianapolis.
• 14:44
  Speaker 3: As I look here on their schedule, but we know
• 14:45
  Speaker 3: that was the international game.
• 14:47
  Speaker 5: We have a big show for you today. Coming up
• 14:49
  Speaker 5: next are 10 terrible takes for this week. And then
• 14:52
  Speaker 5: at 3 o'clock today, we're joined by our good friend
• 14:54
  Speaker 5: Tom Offerman. Yes, Tom, if you don't have enough Tom
• 14:58
  Speaker 5: during the day, if you don't have enough Tom on
• 15:00
  Speaker 5: Sunday during the pregame show, well, you get a little
• 15:03
  Speaker 5: bit more of Tom Offerman today, the host of The
• 15:05
  Speaker 5: Blitz here on SNR with our good pal Vince Williams.
• 15:10
  Speaker 5: So we'll have Tom on with us to talk Pittsburgh Steelers,
• 15:13
  Speaker 5: Indianapolis Colts at three and then 320 today. We're going
• 15:16
  Speaker 5: to go through some leftovers, some NFL terrible takes and 340.
• 15:19
  Speaker 3: We'll look at the season stat leaders so far. He's back. Oh,
• 15:23
  Speaker 3: I'm troop.
• 15:23
  Speaker 5: It is the Steelers report right here on Steelers Nation Radio,
• 15:26
  Speaker 5: part of the Steelers Audio Network.
• 15:35
  Speaker 4: This is the Steelers Report with Brian Batko and Ed
• 15:39
  Speaker 4: Troop on Steelers Nation Radio, a part of the Steelers
• 15:43
  Speaker 4: Audio Network.
• 15:46
  Speaker 5: The Steelers at home this Sunday against the Indianapolis Colts.
• 15:49
  Speaker 5: It'll be their third home game of the season already
• 15:51
  Speaker 5: in just the first five weeks. They will hit the
• 15:55
  Speaker 5: road the next two weeks at Tampa Bay on Sunday,
• 15:59
  Speaker 5: October 18th. And then you have the France game in
• 16:02
  Speaker 5: Paris on October 25th against the Saints. And then the
• 16:06
  Speaker 5: black and gold will be back at AccuShore Stadium on
• 16:08
  Speaker 5: November 1st against the Cleveland Browns. So, again, we take
• 16:12
  Speaker 5: this schedule by fours a lot, Brian. We've talked about that. Again,
• 16:16
  Speaker 5: I've stood by that I really think the Steelers need
• 16:19
  Speaker 5: to rip off three of these next four. You want
• 16:22
  Speaker 5: to get all four, but if you can go three
• 16:24
  Speaker 5: and one in this next stretch, you can set yourself
• 16:27
  Speaker 5: up nicely going into the bye week before you refocus
• 16:30
  Speaker 5: on a second half schedule that starts in Cincinnati on
• 16:33
  Speaker 5: November 15th and then at Philly.
• 16:35
  Speaker 3: On November 22nd.
• 16:38
  Speaker 2: Absolutely, and it's early in the season still, but it
• 16:42
  Speaker 2: feels like a pivotal Week 5 game here with the Steelers,
• 16:46
  Speaker 2: as I said before, 2-2. Likewise, the Colts, 2-2. So
• 16:50
  Speaker 2: many 2-2 teams, and it's all in the eye of
• 16:54
  Speaker 2: the beholder. 2-2 is what you make of it. I'm
• 16:58
  Speaker 2: sure the Cowboys feel like they're a very good 2-2
• 17:02
  Speaker 2: going into tonight against Tampa Bay, whereas the Eagles, I
• 17:06
  Speaker 2: think the sky is falling and fans are panicking on
• 17:09
  Speaker 2: the other side of the state even more than they
• 17:11
  Speaker 2: are here. And maybe, I mean, I'm seeing some of
• 17:14
  Speaker 2: the quotes out of there from Nick Sirianni and company.
• 17:17
  Speaker 2: And it's like, they are two and two, right? I
• 17:20
  Speaker 2: know they've lost the last two to the Bears and
• 17:22
  Speaker 2: the Rams and they've beaten the Commanders and the Titans.
• 17:25
  Speaker 2: But like, still 500. Now, I know in Philly, the
• 17:30
  Speaker 2: sky is falling in the sense of Lane Johnson abruptly retiring, trading.
• 17:34
  Speaker 2: one of their best young offensive linemen in Cam Juergens.
• 17:38
  Speaker 2: So that's a dysfunctional scene at the moment, at least
• 17:41
  Speaker 2: from the outside. But, yeah, it's just your season can
• 17:46
  Speaker 2: go any which way once you get to this point.
• 17:49
  Speaker 2: You'd rather be 3-1. You'd love to be 4-0. But
• 17:54
  Speaker 2: at least you're not really behind the eight ball when
• 17:57
  Speaker 2: you're sitting even four games in.
• 18:00
  Speaker 5: If you think the Steeler fan base is jittery at times,
• 18:04
  Speaker 5: look out in Philadelphia, not just with the Eagles, but
• 18:07
  Speaker 5: the Flyers, the Phillies. My goodness, when one thing goes wrong,
• 18:12
  Speaker 5: everything goes wrong in Philly. It's a long season, Brian.
• 18:14
  Speaker 5: That's the theme.
• 18:15
  Speaker 3: I mean, we're only four games in.
• 18:17
  Speaker 5: However, again, you never want to look ahead, but when
• 18:20
  Speaker 5: you start looking at this Steeler schedule, especially on the
• 18:22
  Speaker 5: back half, as it is every season, it seems like,
• 18:25
  Speaker 5: this is a pivotal stretch. I like that word you use,
• 18:28
  Speaker 5: pivotal stretch, here coming up in these next four For them,
• 18:31
  Speaker 5: if they can at least get three of these next four,
• 18:33
  Speaker 5: if they can get all four, great. But if you
• 18:34
  Speaker 5: can at least get three of the next four, I
• 18:36
  Speaker 5: think you set yourself up in a better spot after
• 18:39
  Speaker 5: that bye week. Let's get into our 10 terrible takes.
• 18:42
  Speaker 5: Double B, you got one more thing to add before
• 18:43
  Speaker 5: I get into these terrible takes?
• 18:45
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I was just going to say, I think this
• 18:46
  Speaker 2: is a spate of games that could probably end up
• 18:49
  Speaker 2: defining the Steelers by the end of the season. It's
• 18:51
  Speaker 2: not going to necessarily make or break you because you
• 18:54
  Speaker 2: will have a lot left after the bye week, but
• 18:57
  Speaker 2: at least on paper, the going gets tougher and You
• 19:01
  Speaker 2: always want to feel like, hey, you get to that
• 19:03
  Speaker 2: bye week and then you can rest and recharge and
• 19:07
  Speaker 2: peak down the stretch. So that would be huge for them.
• 19:11
  Speaker 2: And also when you just look at the individual opportunities,
• 19:16
  Speaker 2: you hesitate to look too far ahead because so much
• 19:18
  Speaker 2: can change in the NFL in terms of the personnel
• 19:21
  Speaker 2: available to you, personnel available to your opponents, but the
• 19:26
  Speaker 2: Colts at home and then going down to a pretty
• 19:28
  Speaker 2: banged up Tampa team. getting the Paris game and then
• 19:31
  Speaker 2: getting your revenge chance against Cleveland at home. Couldn't set
• 19:36
  Speaker 2: up a whole lot better, I don't think, at this
• 19:39
  Speaker 2: point in the calendar. Also some housekeeping. We're going to
• 19:42
  Speaker 2: clean up our house from yesterday's show a little bit
• 19:45
  Speaker 2: and see what I did there. Loyal listener Uncle Tommy
• 19:48
  Speaker 2: texted me to confirm the quarterback poll is indeed the
• 19:51
  Speaker 2: last quarter of a horse race. And he knows about
• 19:55
  Speaker 2: these sorts of things. So I think it's a misused
• 19:59
  Speaker 2: phrase often in sports talking. But I guess you could
• 20:04
  Speaker 2: just call it the quarter point or the quarter mark
• 20:06
  Speaker 2: of the season right now is where the Steelers are.
• 20:09
  Speaker 3: My man, Uncle Tommy, chiming in. I love it.
• 20:11
  Speaker 5: I'm telling you, Double B, we got to get Uncle
• 20:13
  Speaker 5: Tommy here in the studio one of these days. And
• 20:15
  Speaker 5: I know you've told me to be careful what I
• 20:17
  Speaker 5: wish for, but so far so good on the Uncle
• 20:19
  Speaker 5: Tommy side of things.
• 20:22
  Speaker 2: Yes, and now we all know quarter poll. Are we
• 20:25
  Speaker 2: going to call it the quarter poll when we get
• 20:26
  Speaker 2: to week 14, I guess it'll be, and then we
• 20:29
  Speaker 2: can really use the term correctly?
• 20:32
  Speaker 3: I guess we're going to have to based on all that, right?
• 20:36
  Speaker 2: But I still haven't figured out. I guess I'm going
• 20:38
  Speaker 2: to need him to text me again after listening to
• 20:40
  Speaker 2: today's show. So where are we now? Are we at
• 20:42
  Speaker 2: the one-eighth pull or the one-sixteenth pull? I don't know. Whatever.
• 20:49
  Speaker 2: I'm done worrying about it.
• 20:51
  Speaker 3: I'll simplify it for you and everyone out there. It's
• 20:53
  Speaker 3: week five. There you go.
• 20:54
  Speaker 2: All right?
• 20:55
  Speaker 3: We're good to go.
• 20:56
  Speaker 5: Hey, listen, one other thing, though, on scheduling, one good
• 20:59
  Speaker 5: news for the black and gold is having that bye
• 21:01
  Speaker 5: week pretty much right in the middle of your season, right?
• 21:03
  Speaker 5: After eight games. I mean, there's been some seasons. where
• 21:06
  Speaker 5: they've had it early just after a couple weeks. In fact,
• 21:09
  Speaker 5: this week, week five, is the first week of buys
• 21:11
  Speaker 5: in the NFL. The Kansas City Chiefs and the Carolina
• 21:13
  Speaker 5: Panthers on a buy this week. That is very early
• 21:17
  Speaker 5: into the season. Brian, you get it midway through. That's
• 21:20
  Speaker 5: almost perfect, right? Maybe even a couple more games after
• 21:23
  Speaker 5: that is good. You hate to have it early in
• 21:25
  Speaker 5: the season, especially from a health standpoint.
• 21:28
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I guess we're at the three-quarter pull. I guess
• 21:31
  Speaker 2: that would be the best way to put it. I'm
• 21:32
  Speaker 2: really hung up on this. But yeah, buy week's already beginning.
• 21:36
  Speaker 2: I've got to manage it for your fantasy teams, and
• 21:39
  Speaker 2: the Chiefs and the Panthers will have to manage a
• 21:41
  Speaker 2: lot of games in a row consecutively the rest of
• 21:44
  Speaker 2: the way, especially tough for two teams who probably feel
• 21:48
  Speaker 2: like they're on a bit of a roll right now
• 21:50
  Speaker 2: and playing really good football. Chiefs at 4-0, Panthers, stop
• 21:55
  Speaker 2: me if you've heard this before, 2-2, one loss, one win,
• 21:58
  Speaker 2: one loss, one win, but they just rolled it up
• 22:01
  Speaker 2: on the Detroit Lions on a rousing Sunday night. football
• 22:06
  Speaker 2: uh opportunity but yeah got to uh got to work
• 22:09
  Speaker 2: around the buys for Patrick Mahomes Travis Kelsey Kenneth Walker
• 22:14
  Speaker 2: Tedaroa McMillan maybe Bryce Young if you've been in the
• 22:17
  Speaker 2: the Bryce Young business or Chuba Hubbard and uh and
• 22:21
  Speaker 2: we'll see but those teams that you know they'll have
• 22:23
  Speaker 2: to find a way to keep coming back now that
• 22:26
  Speaker 2: they're going to have what I guess 13 or 12
• 22:30
  Speaker 2: 12 straight weeks of games after that early buy but
• 22:33
  Speaker 2: as a as a guy I used to know once
• 22:34
  Speaker 2: said We do not care.
• 22:37
  Speaker 3: That's it.
• 22:37
  Speaker 5: You've got to go out and play football one way
• 22:40
  Speaker 5: or another based on what's in front of you or
• 22:43
  Speaker 5: what's behind you. You always want to look forward, but
• 22:45
  Speaker 5: you've also got to reflect on what you've done in
• 22:47
  Speaker 5: the past, and that's what the Steelers have done here
• 22:49
  Speaker 5: in the last 10 days, reflecting on their first four games.
• 22:52
  Speaker 3: Mike McCarthy has talked about that quite.
• 22:53
  Speaker 5: A bit this week, cleaning up the house, as Brian
• 22:57
  Speaker 5: and I talked about earlier this week.
• 22:59
  Speaker 3: Go back and listen.
• 22:59
  Speaker 5: By the way, you can go back and listen to
• 23:00
  Speaker 5: any of our shows where you can find your podcast.
• 23:02
  Speaker 5: We have the podcast version online. of our daily show
• 23:05
  Speaker 5: as well that's out there. So make sure you check
• 23:08
  Speaker 5: that out. Okay, let's get into some 10 terrible takes. Steelers,
• 23:12
  Speaker 5: hot takes or not, overreactions or not after week four.
• 23:17
  Speaker 3: We'll start with this one, Double B.
• 23:19
  Speaker 5: DK Metcalf will now beat his 2025 numbers. And let
• 23:23
  Speaker 5: me just refresh your memory. First year with the black
• 23:25
  Speaker 5: and gold last year, 59 catches, 850 yards, six touchdowns.
• 23:30
  Speaker 5: The last two games, he's heating up. We talked about
• 23:32
  Speaker 5: this yesterday. Eight catches, 146 yards, and a touchdown on
• 23:37
  Speaker 5: 14 targets. Not a lot of drops in those 14
• 23:39
  Speaker 5: targets either the last two weeks. But my terrible take
• 23:42
  Speaker 5: or not for you is he's now on pace to
• 23:44
  Speaker 5: beat those numbers from last year.
• 23:49
  Speaker 2: Yeah, no, I don't think that's a terrible take because
• 23:51
  Speaker 2: I'm going to assume that he stays healthy and stays
• 23:56
  Speaker 2: on the field and plays every game, which he did
• 23:59
  Speaker 2: not do. in 2025. And yeah, I really liked the
• 24:04
  Speaker 2: DK that I saw late in that Browns game. And,
• 24:08
  Speaker 2: you know, I think a lot of the, a lot
• 24:11
  Speaker 2: of the focal point for this Steelers offense as the
• 24:14
  Speaker 2: season progresses, you know, the, the ancillary pieces who get
• 24:18
  Speaker 2: involved game to game will change, you know, right now
• 24:20
  Speaker 2: Darnell Washington and Roman Wilson are on a bit of
• 24:23
  Speaker 2: a hot streak, but you know, DK is, is going
• 24:25
  Speaker 2: to be a constant. So no, I don't think that's
• 24:27
  Speaker 2: a terrible take, especially because even right now, After the
• 24:30
  Speaker 2: slow start that he had, he's on pace for 9.05,
• 24:33
  Speaker 2: which would eclipse last season's total. I agree.
• 24:36
  Speaker 5: I think the last two games, DK, Aaron Rodgers, the
• 24:41
  Speaker 5: Mike McCarthy offense, they're starting to figure some things out, right?
• 24:45
  Speaker 3: Starting to get that ball moving a bit.
• 24:47
  Speaker 2: And this is another tough matchup from a cornerback perspective, though,
• 24:50
  Speaker 2: for him. And we did talk to Matt Taylor, the
• 24:54
  Speaker 2: voice of the Colts, about that. But you've got Sauce
• 24:56
  Speaker 2: Gardner on one side and Trevarius Ward on on the
• 24:59
  Speaker 2: other side. So they'll probably play their sides, which means
• 25:02
  Speaker 2: unless he goes into the slot, which I think is
• 25:04
  Speaker 2: actually an intriguing idea for this week, DK Metcalf will
• 25:07
  Speaker 2: see one of those two provided they're healthy. And, but
• 25:11
  Speaker 2: after that though, I'm going to say it lightens up
• 25:14
  Speaker 2: just a little bit. Maybe it's my lack of familiarity
• 25:17
  Speaker 2: with with Bucks and Saints personnel, but I think that
• 25:21
  Speaker 2: those corners are not in the same realm of uh
• 25:26
  Speaker 2: Christian Gonzalez or Sauce Gardner or Denzel Ward or maybe
• 25:31
  Speaker 2: even DJ Turner from the Bengals and then he'll get
• 25:34
  Speaker 2: a return encounter with the Browns and we saw the
• 25:38
  Speaker 2: momentum that he put together against them so yeah not
• 25:40
  Speaker 2: a terrible take.
• 25:41
  Speaker 5: At all yeah I agree with you with DK I
• 25:44
  Speaker 5: think he's in a good position especially the next two
• 25:46
  Speaker 5: weeks as well.
• 25:47
  Speaker 3: All right.
• 25:47
  Speaker 5: Our next terrible take or not. Let's talk Steelers offensive line.
• 25:51
  Speaker 5: Maxi on a chore. The team's first round draft pick
• 25:53
  Speaker 5: here in 2026. We'll make his third start of the season.
• 25:57
  Speaker 5: His third straight start of the season as well. This
• 25:59
  Speaker 5: upcoming Sunday against the Indianapolis Colts. So here's my terrible
• 26:02
  Speaker 5: take for you or not. Steelers tackle Maxi on a
• 26:05
  Speaker 5: chore will be the team's rookie of the year.
• 26:09
  Speaker 2: No, not a terrible take at not who I picked
• 26:11
  Speaker 2: coming into the season, but remember it was only a
• 26:14
  Speaker 2: month ago that, uh, We didn't know when he was
• 26:17
  Speaker 2: going to start for this team. Dylan Cook was, I
• 26:20
  Speaker 2: don't know if I'd use the word entrenched, but he
• 26:22
  Speaker 2: had cemented his spot going into the season opener against
• 26:25
  Speaker 2: the Falcons. Now, obviously, two weeks in, the Steelers decided
• 26:30
  Speaker 2: to make a couple changes there. But I think that's
• 26:33
  Speaker 2: early enough for Ihanachor and Jeremy Bernard's involvement has been
• 26:38
  Speaker 2: such that if I were inclined to, which I'm not,
• 26:43
  Speaker 2: I could easily switch my choice from Bernard Dewey-Honachor for
• 26:47
  Speaker 2: Steelers Rookie of the Year. But you know what? Low-key, Ed,
• 26:51
  Speaker 2: it's not going to be a two-horse race because you're
• 26:53
  Speaker 2: going to see more of Dalen Everett now at corner,
• 26:56
  Speaker 2: and we've already been seeing a lot of Robert Spears-Jennings
• 26:59
  Speaker 2: at safety, and he is an under-the-radar, exciting young player
• 27:03
  Speaker 2: for this team, both defensively and on special teams.
• 27:06
  Speaker 5: Yeah, there are some rookies that are being thrown into
• 27:08
  Speaker 5: this lineup, and they're contributing, and the Steelers, quite frankly,
• 27:11
  Speaker 5: will need them to continue to contribute to have success
• 27:14
  Speaker 5: here in this 2026 season, especially with some of these
• 27:16
  Speaker 5: injuries that have occurred.
• 27:18
  Speaker 2: Okay.
• 27:18
  Speaker 5: Let's get to our next terrible take or not. Maybe
• 27:23
  Speaker 5: a layup, another layup for you, Double B. I feel
• 27:25
  Speaker 5: like I've given you a couple layups. You're a basketball guy,
• 27:27
  Speaker 5: but I'm probably going to give you another one. But
• 27:29
  Speaker 5: here we go.
• 27:30
  Speaker 3: Jalen Warren. We've talked a lot about Warren this week.
• 27:32
  Speaker 5: He would be the Steelers' team MVP if the season
• 27:36
  Speaker 5: ended today. Again, the last two games, 34 carries, 220
• 27:39
  Speaker 5: yards rushing, six receptions for 82 yards, 302 total offensive
• 27:44
  Speaker 5: yards in the last two games. Would Jalen Warren be
• 27:47
  Speaker 5: your team MVP if the season ended today?
• 27:50
  Speaker 2: You're on a roll like the Tampa Bay Rays right now.
• 27:53
  Speaker 2: Three in a row, I'd say not a terrible take.
• 27:56
  Speaker 1: T.J.
• 27:56
  Speaker 2: Watt is very much in that discussion, but I think
• 28:01
  Speaker 2: the inconsistency of the defense would maybe lend you to
• 28:06
  Speaker 2: thinking what Warren has done has been slightly, ever so slightly,
• 28:12
  Speaker 2: more impressive. So you can't go wrong with either of
• 28:14
  Speaker 2: those two as the MVP at the three-quarter poll of
• 28:20
  Speaker 2: the season but yeah I don't think it's a terrible
• 28:23
  Speaker 2: take at all to give the nod to Jalen Warren
• 28:25
  Speaker 2: with what we've seen especially these last two games I
• 28:27
  Speaker 2: guess you could say hey wasn't really there the first
• 28:29
  Speaker 2: two weeks but it was it just wasn't there wasn't
• 28:32
  Speaker 2: as much quantity but there was still quality in the
• 28:34
  Speaker 2: way that he played against the Falcons and the Patriots
• 28:36
  Speaker 2: when he got his opportunities.
• 28:38
  Speaker 3: Brian, on your side of things, I'm going to have
• 28:40
  Speaker 3: you look this up real quick.
• 28:41
  Speaker 5: When was the last time the Steelers returned a kickoff
• 28:44
  Speaker 5: in the regular season for a touchdown? When I did
• 28:47
  Speaker 5: this next terrible take for you, I looked that up yesterday,
• 28:50
  Speaker 5: and I kept coming up with this December 31, 2017,
• 28:52
  Speaker 5: when Juju Smith-Schuster took a kickoff 96 yards to the house.
• 28:59
  Speaker 5: in a 28-24 regular season win over the Cleveland Browns.
• 29:04
  Speaker 5: Is that accurate on your end? Is that what you're remembering,
• 29:07
  Speaker 5: the last time the Steelers returned a kick?
• 29:10
  Speaker 2: That sounds right to me, because that would be before
• 29:13
  Speaker 2: I started covering the team in 2019. And just naturally,
• 29:18
  Speaker 2: I think I would have a better, sharper memory of
• 29:20
  Speaker 2: plays since I got onto the beat. And I do not,
• 29:24
  Speaker 2: off the top of my head, recall a kick-return touchdown
• 29:27
  Speaker 2: game for the Steelers. So yeah, you might be right
• 29:31
  Speaker 2: on that one, Ed. I don't know that there has
• 29:33
  Speaker 2: been one.
• 29:34
  Speaker 5: Only the Minnesota Vikings in 2026 have returned a special
• 29:38
  Speaker 5: teams touchdown. in the first four games, and that's a
• 29:41
  Speaker 5: punt return. So here's my terrible take for you or not.
• 29:44
  Speaker 5: The Steelers' special teams this season in 2026, based on
• 29:48
  Speaker 5: everything I just told you, will produce a touchdown return
• 29:51
  Speaker 5: here in 2026 on a kickoff return.
• 29:56
  Speaker 2: I'm going to say that's a, oh. See, this is
• 30:00
  Speaker 2: where I get into the semantics.
• 30:02
  Speaker 3: I stumped you.
• 30:02
  Speaker 2: I don't think it's a terrible take necessarily. I certainly
• 30:08
  Speaker 2: could see it happening. Caden Weegean is so accomplished as
• 30:13
  Speaker 2: a returner at the college level that I'm not going
• 30:16
  Speaker 2: to say it's a terrible take, but I wouldn't predict
• 30:19
  Speaker 2: it myself. You need so much to break right. It's
• 30:22
  Speaker 2: like predicting a no-hitter or a perfect game, kind of.
• 30:25
  Speaker 2: I mean, it happens so infrequently that You're going to
• 30:29
  Speaker 2: be right a lot more often than not if you
• 30:31
  Speaker 2: just predict that it won't happen. So do they get
• 30:34
  Speaker 2: their first since 2017? I'd say no, but I don't
• 30:38
  Speaker 2: know if that makes it a terrible take or.
• 30:40
  Speaker 4: Not, Ed.
• 30:41
  Speaker 5: See, I'm getting in the weeds with you. I stumped
• 30:43
  Speaker 5: you for a second. Well, we'll go ahead and say yes,
• 30:45
  Speaker 5: that's a terrible take. Or I'll give you a 50-50 ball.
• 30:48
  Speaker 5: How about that? Go ahead.
• 30:51
  Speaker 2: We can't let you get a four-game sweep here with
• 30:54
  Speaker 2: four non-terrible takes in a row. I do have to
• 30:56
  Speaker 2: bring you down and humble you. at this point. So yeah,
• 30:59
  Speaker 2: that pushed me over the edge. So that's a terrible take.
• 31:01
  Speaker 3: I agree.
• 31:02
  Speaker 5: We have six more to go. We will get into
• 31:03
  Speaker 5: that whenever we come back.
• 31:05
  Speaker 3: I'm E.T. He's B.B.
• 31:06
  Speaker 5: It is the Steelers report right here on Steelers Nation Radio,
• 31:10
  Speaker 5: part of the Steelers Audio Network.
• 31:18
  Speaker 4: This is the Steelers report with Brian Batko and Ed
• 31:22
  Speaker 4: Troup on Steelers Nation Radio, a part of the Steelers
• 31:25
  Speaker 4: Audio Network.
• 31:28
  Speaker 5: Wrapping up our first hour here on the Steelers Report
• 31:33
  Speaker 5: with some terrible takes.
• 31:36
  Speaker 3: And don't forget, coming up here at 3 o'clock today,
• 31:38
  Speaker 3: Tom Offerman, host of the Blitz. Everyone loves Tom.
• 31:43
  Speaker 5: He's now on with our good friend Vince Williams each
• 31:46
  Speaker 5: and every day from 10 to 12.
• 31:48
  Speaker 3: So we will hear from Tom.
• 31:49
  Speaker 5: He's also the host of Countdown to Kickoff each game day.
• 31:54
  Speaker 5: four hours ahead of kickoff with matt williamson another good
• 31:57
  Speaker 5: friend of ours and everybody's a good friend of ours
• 32:01
  Speaker 5: double b we have a great network here and i'm
• 32:02
  Speaker 5: not just bragging a bit but uh you've now been
• 32:06
  Speaker 5: with us for about a year this is my second
• 32:08
  Speaker 5: year with snr and from top to bottom on the
• 32:11
  Speaker 5: scene off the scene producers everyone everyone's great.
• 32:17
  Speaker 2: We don't have any enemies i don't think we've made
• 32:18
  Speaker 2: any enemies yet ed which is great.
• 32:21
  Speaker 5: And we don't want to make any enemies with a
• 32:23
  Speaker 5: guy like Vince Williams or Max Starks or Willie Colon because,
• 32:26
  Speaker 5: as we've said many a times, we would not like
• 32:28
  Speaker 5: our odds in any of those street fights.
• 32:31
  Speaker 2: Or even from any of the opposing teams, you know,
• 32:35
  Speaker 2: media core who we interact with and chat with on here.
• 32:38
  Speaker 2: You know, we can be cordial across cities and across organizations.
• 32:44
  Speaker 2: Let the players on the field duke it out. Those
• 32:47
  Speaker 2: of us who write or talk into microphones for a living,
• 32:51
  Speaker 2: we can exchange, share, transfer knowledge, give each other tips
• 32:56
  Speaker 2: of what to do, uh, in the opposing city. Uh,
• 32:59
  Speaker 2: I don't, I don't plan on sparking up any beefs with, uh,
• 33:02
  Speaker 2: you know, Matt Taylor from the Colts or Ben baby
• 33:05
  Speaker 2: from the Bengals or Ashley Bastok from the Browns. Uh, we,
• 33:09
  Speaker 2: we thank all of those folks for coming on and, um,
• 33:12
  Speaker 2: you know, come Sunday, I'll be starting to think ahead to,
• 33:15
  Speaker 2: we want to get to talk Tampa.
• 33:17
  Speaker 5: Daniel Flick from Atlanta joins us in week one. So, Yeah,
• 33:21
  Speaker 5: we are four, well now five for five with having
• 33:24
  Speaker 5: Matt Taylor on. And again, we'll have that interview on
• 33:26
  Speaker 5: for you tomorrow. The play-by-play voice of the Colts joining
• 33:30
  Speaker 5: the show to help us preview Colts-Steelers for this upcoming Sunday.
• 33:33
  Speaker 5: But Double B, 100% correct. These out-of-town interviews that we've
• 33:38
  Speaker 5: had so far have been great. Hopefully our listening audience
• 33:41
  Speaker 5: is enjoying hearing from the other side as we get
• 33:44
  Speaker 5: set for the upcoming game. And it's always good to
• 33:47
  Speaker 5: get the perspective on what the opposing city thinks about
• 33:50
  Speaker 5: the Steelers, too. And, you know, we ask them that, too.
• 33:53
  Speaker 5: You know, what's the feeling in Indianapolis about this game
• 33:56
  Speaker 5: going in? You know, what's the feeling? Well, we know
• 33:58
  Speaker 5: what the feeling in Cleveland will always be going into
• 34:01
  Speaker 5: a game against the Steelers. So we didn't ask Ashley that.
• 34:03
  Speaker 5: Maybe next time around we will. But specifically the games
• 34:08
  Speaker 5: in the cities outside of the AFC North, it's always
• 34:10
  Speaker 5: good to talk to those markets because we only see
• 34:12
  Speaker 5: them once a year or once every few years.
• 34:16
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I ended up talking to some Bucs reporters. Actually,
• 34:21
  Speaker 2: was it last year, I think? Yeah, because they had
• 34:22
  Speaker 2: that joint practice with the Bucs ahead of the preseason games.
• 34:26
  Speaker 2: There was a little more juice to that engagement than
• 34:29
  Speaker 2: there typically would be. But there's plenty of opportunities still
• 34:36
  Speaker 2: to come to familiarize ourselves with the likes of the
• 34:40
  Speaker 2: NFC South. Only one of those games so far is
• 34:43
  Speaker 2: in the bag for the Steelers. And, you know, as
• 34:46
  Speaker 2: we were kind of shooting the breeze with Matt Steelers Colts,
• 34:50
  Speaker 2: not a divisional game, but much like Steelers Patriots, it
• 34:54
  Speaker 2: seems like they find, find their way to each other
• 34:57
  Speaker 2: very often, which is not always the case in the AFC.
• 35:00
  Speaker 2: Like I feel like the Steelers in the, I don't
• 35:03
  Speaker 2: know that the chiefs have not played all that often
• 35:06
  Speaker 2: or the Steelers in the jets or the Steelers and
• 35:08
  Speaker 2: the dolphins. These teams are, seemingly always circling each other.
• 35:14
  Speaker 2: And now they get another one here in Pittsburgh where
• 35:17
  Speaker 2: the Steelers have kind of dominated this series. They haven't
• 35:20
  Speaker 2: had as much success out at Lucas Oil Stadium, but
• 35:24
  Speaker 2: that doesn't matter because they won't be at Lucas Oil Stadium.
• 35:27
  Speaker 2: They'll be here at Accresure.
• 35:28
  Speaker 5: Yeah, they've really done well against the Colts here in Pittsburgh.
• 35:32
  Speaker 5: But as you said, going on the road, playing Indianapolis
• 35:35
  Speaker 5: has been a different story over the years. Some really
• 35:37
  Speaker 5: good Colts teams too during that stretch, specifically with? Peyton Manning,
• 35:41
  Speaker 5: one of the best to have ever done it at
• 35:43
  Speaker 5: the quarterback position. Let's get into some more terrible takes.
• 35:46
  Speaker 5: We have six more to go. Before the break, we
• 35:48
  Speaker 5: did four, and three of the four were not terrible takes,
• 35:51
  Speaker 5: according to Brian Bacow. Only one, and that was even
• 35:53
  Speaker 5: a questionable one, but he didn't want to give me
• 35:55
  Speaker 5: four layups in a row.
• 35:56
  Speaker 3: Well, here's another one. Let's stick with the special teams.
• 35:59
  Speaker 5: Punter Cam Johnston is the best punter in the NFL
• 36:02
  Speaker 5: right now.
• 36:02
  Speaker 3: Let me give you his numbers, Double B.
• 36:04
  Speaker 5: 18 punts through four games for a total of 889 yards.
• 36:08
  Speaker 5: averaging 49.4 yards per punt, so just shy of 50
• 36:13
  Speaker 5: yards every time he puts a ball in the air
• 36:15
  Speaker 5: off of his foot.
• 36:17
  Speaker 2: Love Cam Johnston, but I think I've got to go
• 36:19
  Speaker 2: terrible on that one. I mean, I just, there's a
• 36:22
  Speaker 2: lot of punters out there right now who are having
• 36:26
  Speaker 2: good seasons, and I don't get too far into the
• 36:29
  Speaker 2: weeds on scouting that particular position. Not even Matt Williamson
• 36:35
  Speaker 2: does that in Matt's stats. He's usually got a um,
• 36:40
  Speaker 2: a special teams category at the bottom there. Uh, but
• 36:43
  Speaker 2: I don't think he, he often includes too much about
• 36:46
  Speaker 2: the punting game. Uh, I think Johnston has been very
• 36:50
  Speaker 2: good and very reliable. And I think he's been an
• 36:52
  Speaker 2: upgrade at that spot, but I don't know that I'd
• 36:55
  Speaker 2: say he's punting quite at an all pro level just yet. Uh,
• 37:00
  Speaker 2: although he's, he's got a long track record of that,
• 37:03
  Speaker 2: but I have to just say from the game alone,
• 37:06
  Speaker 2: we just watched and attended and, um, I don't even
• 37:09
  Speaker 2: think Johnson was the best punter on the pitch. Corey
• 37:11
  Speaker 2: Bajorquez for the Browns. I mean, he blasted that one
• 37:16
  Speaker 2: ball that flipped the field. I mean, that was absurd.
• 37:18
  Speaker 2: I think Todd Munkin gave him a game ball for that. So, yeah,
• 37:22
  Speaker 2: I mean, like I said, Johnson's one of them, but
• 37:25
  Speaker 2: there are a lot of punters who are very good
• 37:27
  Speaker 2: at their craft.
• 37:28
  Speaker 5: Yeah, the one in Cleveland, very good. As you said,
• 37:31
  Speaker 5: we just saw last week. All right, let's get to
• 37:33
  Speaker 5: another one here. The biggest concern on the Steelers' defense
• 37:36
  Speaker 5: right now are the middle linebackers.
• 37:40
  Speaker 2: Ooh, not a terrible take. I don't know that I
• 37:44
  Speaker 2: would agree with it because I'd probably put the secondary
• 37:49
  Speaker 2: just above them with all of the injury issues and
• 37:53
  Speaker 2: guys shuffling in from other teams' practice squads around the league, which,
• 37:57
  Speaker 2: quick note on that, Ed, I believe when you do that,
• 38:00
  Speaker 2: when you quote-unquote poach a player from another team's practice squad,
• 38:05
  Speaker 2: they have to stay on your active roster for a
• 38:07
  Speaker 2: minimum of three weeks. There was a guy... geez, I
• 38:13
  Speaker 2: think it was 2021 or 2022, David Aneni, I think
• 38:17
  Speaker 2: his name, maybe it was even 2019. He was an
• 38:20
  Speaker 2: edge rusher from, I think from Houston he went to,
• 38:24
  Speaker 2: and the Steelers were banged up at that spot and
• 38:27
  Speaker 2: they signed him to the 53-man roster. That's another part
• 38:31
  Speaker 2: of it. If you sign someone off someone's practice squad,
• 38:33
  Speaker 2: you have to put them on your 53. You can't
• 38:36
  Speaker 2: just let them make a lateral move from P squad
• 38:39
  Speaker 2: to P squad. Cause they'd rather be in Pittsburgh than
• 38:45
  Speaker 2: Houston or something. But they signed that guy to the
• 38:48
  Speaker 2: practice or to the 53, excuse me, from the Titans
• 38:51
  Speaker 2: practice squad. And he never even appeared in a game
• 38:53
  Speaker 2: for the Steelers. He was inactive all three games, but
• 38:56
  Speaker 2: they had to keep him on the active roster that
• 38:59
  Speaker 2: whole time. So we'll see if Sean Murphy bunting and
• 39:02
  Speaker 2: Terrell Smith do get up to speed and ultimately get
• 39:04
  Speaker 2: helmets in today's NFL playoffs. with the practice squad elevation
• 39:09
  Speaker 2: rules and having 16, actually 17 with Julius Welchoff as
• 39:14
  Speaker 2: the international exemption and having, you can have up to
• 39:17
  Speaker 2: six veterans, I think, with no limit on accrued seasons.
• 39:21
  Speaker 2: It almost doesn't matter whether you're 50, whether you're like
• 39:26
  Speaker 2: one of the last three guys on the 53 or
• 39:27
  Speaker 2: one of the first three on the P squad, you
• 39:31
  Speaker 2: can shuffle those up to an extent every Sunday. But yeah,
• 39:36
  Speaker 2: because of that, I would say the secondary has my
• 39:40
  Speaker 2: concern a little bit more, but I don't necessarily think
• 39:42
  Speaker 2: it's terrible to say that the inside linebackers need to
• 39:45
  Speaker 2: be better and maybe even need to be a lot better.
• 39:47
  Speaker 3: Yeah, I think they do.
• 39:49
  Speaker 5: I thought at times Queen and Wilson have looked good,
• 39:52
  Speaker 5: and other times not so much. I think there needs
• 39:54
  Speaker 5: to be more consistency at the middle linebacker spot going forward, Brian.
• 40:00
  Speaker 5: I think that's really what they need, just be consistent
• 40:02
  Speaker 5: game in and game out. I'm sure Vince Williams is
• 40:04
  Speaker 5: talking to Tom Offerman about that on the blitz, him
• 40:08
  Speaker 5: playing that former position. Let's stay in the Steelers' defense,
• 40:12
  Speaker 5: and we'll just kind of build on what you just said.
• 40:14
  Speaker 5: You mentioned the secondary defense. So here's a terrible take
• 40:16
  Speaker 5: or not for you, overreaction or not. The Steelers will
• 40:19
  Speaker 5: trade for a cornerback before the trade deadline in November.
• 40:24
  Speaker 2: I'm going to say that's not a terrible take either.
• 40:26
  Speaker 2: You're on fire. Or maybe I'm just very forgiving this
• 40:30
  Speaker 2: Thursday afternoon.
• 40:31
  Speaker 3: I think you might be.
• 40:33
  Speaker 2: Look, Murphy, Bunning, and Smith, they aren't just random guys
• 40:37
  Speaker 2: who are floating around undrafted. They've got pedigree. They've got
• 40:42
  Speaker 2: NFL experience. In Murphy Bunting's case, at least, he's got
• 40:46
  Speaker 2: some pretty solid versatility on his resume. But when you
• 40:50
  Speaker 2: start scouring the other 31 teams' practice squads, I think
• 40:56
  Speaker 2: that that's an indication of Omar Khan and Andy Weidel
• 40:59
  Speaker 2: and Mike McCarthy. They feel some urgency to maybe make
• 41:03
  Speaker 2: some improvements and backfill for Joey Porter Jr. 's departure,
• 41:08
  Speaker 2: which is permanent, and then Jamel Dean's injury, which is temporary.
• 41:11
  Speaker 2: But either way, I mean, you've got to get guys
• 41:13
  Speaker 2: out there to play. And I think we're going to
• 41:16
  Speaker 2: have to dive into that a lot more on Friday's
• 41:18
  Speaker 2: show as we preview Steelers-Colts because we're not entirely sure
• 41:22
  Speaker 2: as we sit here today who is going to be
• 41:24
  Speaker 2: out there. But I think when you look ahead to
• 41:27
  Speaker 2: the rest of the season, teams do define themselves a
• 41:31
  Speaker 2: bit more. I mean, talking so much today about all
• 41:33
  Speaker 2: the 2-2 squads, once teams start getting to.
• 41:36
  Speaker 3: 2-5, 2-6, 3-5, 3-6, Yep.
• 41:41
  Speaker 2: You're going to see some some players on the block
• 41:44
  Speaker 2: and maybe the Steelers would look into that.
• 41:46
  Speaker 3: Yeah, I agree.
• 41:47
  Speaker 5: I think there are still some moves to be made
• 41:49
  Speaker 5: before we get to that trade deadline in November.
• 41:52
  Speaker 2: All right.
• 41:52
  Speaker 5: Next up, Roman Wilson is the Steelers second best wide
• 41:57
  Speaker 5: receiver in four games. He has 14 catches, 188 yards
• 42:01
  Speaker 5: and two touchdowns.
• 42:03
  Speaker 2: No, I can't I can't disagree with that too much,
• 42:08
  Speaker 2: I think. He's been really productive these last couple games,
• 42:13
  Speaker 2: and he's already been more productive than his first two
• 42:16
  Speaker 2: seasons combined. I think he's settling into that role of
• 42:21
  Speaker 2: someone who can– Aaron Rodgers talked about him really highly
• 42:26
  Speaker 2: on Wednesday after practice of someone who can play outside,
• 42:29
  Speaker 2: play inside, use that speed, skill set. It seems like
• 42:33
  Speaker 2: he's putting it all together, and if he really starts
• 42:36
  Speaker 2: to trust and have confidence– in that speed. Rodgers referred
• 42:39
  Speaker 2: to that play at the end of the first half
• 42:41
  Speaker 2: where he kind of tried to cut it back inside
• 42:44
  Speaker 2: and then he got walloped by that Browns defender. Rodgers
• 42:47
  Speaker 2: was like, hey, if he just keeps it north-south, he
• 42:50
  Speaker 2: might score on that play. So maybe that's the next
• 42:53
  Speaker 2: step and the next part of the maturation process for
• 42:58
  Speaker 2: Roman Wilson as he starts finishing some of those already
• 43:02
  Speaker 2: encouraging plays. So no, not a terrible take to say
• 43:04
  Speaker 2: he's the Steelers' second-best wideout right now.
• 43:07
  Speaker 3: I think he is as well, and I think he's
• 43:09
  Speaker 3: on the rise.
• 43:09
  Speaker 5: I hope so because the Steelers could sure use him,
• 43:12
  Speaker 5: that's for sure, in that wide receiver room and finally
• 43:14
  Speaker 5: get Roman Wilson to arrive, and he may have just
• 43:18
  Speaker 5: done that. We'll see what he does against the Colts
• 43:19
  Speaker 5: this upcoming weekend. Double B, we have two terrible takes
• 43:23
  Speaker 5: out of eight so far.
• 43:24
  Speaker 3: We have two more left.
• 43:24
  Speaker 5: We'll get to them quickly. We have a couple more
• 43:26
  Speaker 5: minutes before break. And they're both involving special teams. So
• 43:29
  Speaker 5: everything else we've been good with. Two tricky ones here
• 43:32
  Speaker 5: for you. And quickly, the Steelers' 2027 quarterback is currently
• 43:38
  Speaker 5: not on the roster. We're looking way, way ahead past
• 43:41
  Speaker 5: this season.
• 43:43
  Speaker 2: Hmm. 2027 quarterback. Is he or is he not currently
• 43:49
  Speaker 2: on the roster? Yeah, I can't let you skate too much.
• 43:55
  Speaker 2: I'm going to say terrible take on that one. With
• 43:59
  Speaker 2: Drew Aller, Will Howard, and potentially Mason Rudolph coming back,
• 44:04
  Speaker 2: I'd put my chips on those three in some order
• 44:07
  Speaker 2: before I really start to look down the road. I mean,
• 44:10
  Speaker 2: it absolutely could be the case. I mean, they're still
• 44:13
  Speaker 2: in the mode of we need to find our long-term
• 44:16
  Speaker 2: franchise quarterback. But I think the investments that they've made
• 44:21
  Speaker 2: in recent years in these young players, it all could
• 44:24
  Speaker 2: change depending on the draft outlook and what this quarterback
• 44:28
  Speaker 2: class looks can be come April. But I'm going to
• 44:32
  Speaker 2: say terrible take on that one. And if I had
• 44:35
  Speaker 2: to bet, maybe I'd say they're dipping back into that
• 44:38
  Speaker 2: draft pick QB poll in 2028 if the young guys
• 44:42
  Speaker 2: currently on the roster aren't the answer.
• 44:45
  Speaker 3: That's a good point.
• 44:46
  Speaker 5: Give them one opportunity next year, one of them, at
• 44:49
  Speaker 5: least an opportunity next year.
• 44:50
  Speaker 3: See where it takes you.
• 44:51
  Speaker 5: And if it doesn't take you to where you want
• 44:52
  Speaker 5: to be eventually, they can always look at that falling draft.
• 44:56
  Speaker 2: Okay.
• 44:56
  Speaker 3: Last one real quick.
• 44:57
  Speaker 5: Uh, the Steelers will go three and one in their
• 44:59
  Speaker 5: next four games and be five and three at the buy.
• 45:04
  Speaker 2: Not a terrible take at all. I could even see
• 45:06
  Speaker 2: them going four. No, I could see them going two
• 45:09
  Speaker 2: and two. We don't really, uh, have to, in my mind,
• 45:12
  Speaker 2: a great answer yet of what this team is. We haven't, uh,
• 45:16
  Speaker 2: we haven't seen enough consistency for me to feel great
• 45:19
  Speaker 2: about really any, uh, prediction i'd be shocked if they
• 45:24
  Speaker 2: go one and three let alone oh and four but
• 45:27
  Speaker 2: anything else i wouldn't be too stunned.
• 45:30
  Speaker 5: Yeah i'm with you too like i said at the
• 45:31
  Speaker 5: top of the show today and i've been talking about
• 45:33
  Speaker 5: it all week these next four you got to get
• 45:35
  Speaker 5: three of them somehow some way you'd love to get
• 45:37
  Speaker 5: all four but if you can at least get three
• 45:39
  Speaker 5: i think you set yourself up nicely for that second
• 45:41
  Speaker 5: half of the season three of ten today on the
• 45:44
  Speaker 5: terrible takes so the non uh terrible takes so far
• 45:48
  Speaker 5: today is your winner They have gotten seven of Brian
• 45:52
  Speaker 5: Bacco's terrible takes, three that are.
• 45:55
  Speaker 3: So there we go. There we sit.
• 45:56
  Speaker 5: Up next, we're going to be joined by Tom Offerman,
• 45:59
  Speaker 5: host of the Blitz here on SNR with Vince Williams,
• 46:02
  Speaker 5: and countdown to kickoff, which you can hear every game day,
• 46:04
  Speaker 5: including this Sunday, four hours ahead of time with Matt Williamson.
• 46:09
  Speaker 3: I'm Ed Troop alongside Brian Bacco.
• 46:11
  Speaker 5: It is the Steelers report right here on Steelers Nation Radio,
• 46:14
  Speaker 5: part of the Steelers Audio Network.