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One more before the bye · The Irish Steelers Podcast

0:00
Speaker 1: As an official airline partner of the Pittsburgh Steelers, Aer
0:03
Speaker 1: Lingus is flying Steelers Nation even closer to the action.
0:06
Speaker 1: The Irish airline Aer Lingus has launched a brand new
0:09
Speaker 1: non-stop route between Dublin and Pittsburgh. So whether you're heading
0:13
Speaker 1: to Steel City for game day or crossing the Atlantic
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Speaker 1: for that Irish adventure you've always dreamed about, flying there
0:18
Speaker 1: has never been easier. Book now at AerLingus.com. Here we
0:22
Speaker 1: go Steelers!
0:23
Speaker 2: Aer Lingus.
0:33
Speaker 3: Hey everybody, welcome into the Irish Ears podcast presented by
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Speaker 3: Aer Lingus. Mark is on a bye week, Michael McQueen here.
0:40
Speaker 3: Delighted to have a very able replacement this week as
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Speaker 3: we look back on the Paris game and look forward
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Speaker 3: to the weekend of the season. Sky Sports NFL analyst,
0:49
Speaker 3: coach among many other incredible different things. Jeff Reinbold joins
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Speaker 3: us again on the Irish Ears podcast presented by Aer Lingus. Jeff,
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Speaker 3: my friend, you were missed in Paris, but it's good
0:59
Speaker 3: to see you. How are you doing, my man?
1:00
Speaker 2: You good? I'm doing outstanding, Michael. I, I missed Paris,
1:06
Speaker 2: but I missed more than anything else. I missed being on,
1:09
Speaker 2: on the streets of Paris with you. And, and, uh,
1:11
Speaker 2: it was so cool to watch you do your thing. And, um,
1:15
Speaker 2: you know, in the city of light, as we say, and,
1:20
Speaker 2: you know, the greatest, uh, author in American history to
1:24
Speaker 2: me in my mind is Ernest Hemingway. And he described
1:28
Speaker 2: Paris as a movable feast and certainly, uh, You feasted
1:32
Speaker 2: while you were moving around.
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Speaker 3: I will take that and take that to the hills,
1:38
Speaker 3: my friend.
1:38
Speaker 4: No, look, do you know what, Jeff?
1:39
Speaker 3: Obviously, we certainly appreciate you being on here and taking
1:43
Speaker 3: the time to talk to us, to talk to Steelers fans.
1:45
Speaker 3: Before we do that, just want to say a huge
1:47
Speaker 3: thank you to so many people from Ireland, from the UK,
1:50
Speaker 3: from Europe that came out to that game in Paris
1:52
Speaker 3: last week. My flight back on my Aer Lingus flight back,
1:54
Speaker 3: there were so many black and gold jerseys on the
1:57
Speaker 3: Sunday night and it was very, very fun and just
2:00
Speaker 3: to see so many people come over. And it really
2:02
Speaker 3: reminded me of Dublin. Geoff, you were on the East Coast.
2:07
Speaker 3: Did you get up and watch the game?
2:09
Speaker 2: I did. I watched it in its entirety and I
2:12
Speaker 2: really enjoyed it. I thought, Michael, if you're a Steeler fan,
2:17
Speaker 2: and certainly most of the people listening to this podcast
2:20
Speaker 2: are Steeler fans, I think you have seen in the
2:24
Speaker 2: last couple of weeks kind of a rejuvenation of Aaron
2:28
Speaker 2: Rodgers and what this Pittsburgh Steelers team is starting to
2:33
Speaker 2: play like. They're very good on defense. I think they
2:37
Speaker 2: dominated the Saints defensively, and they're good enough on offense. Now,
2:42
Speaker 2: I still think Roman Wilson or somebody else is going
2:45
Speaker 2: to have to step up a little bit outside to
2:48
Speaker 2: give them a little bit more explosiveness, but they've got
2:51
Speaker 2: a really, really outstanding back, and DK is DK, and
2:57
Speaker 2: They got a full-grown man at tight end. It's a
3:00
Speaker 2: tough matchup if you're a young guy trying to play
3:03
Speaker 2: against Washington down in the red zone.
3:06
Speaker 3: Let's actually try and talk about the game a wee bit.
3:08
Speaker 3: It's funny because the only time he caught the ball
3:11
Speaker 3: was for that touchdown. The Steelers' first touchdown, of course,
3:15
Speaker 3: in France, in Paris. Their first touchdown in Europe since
3:18
Speaker 3: they were in Dublin last year. You call him a
3:21
Speaker 3: full-grown man. There's so many guys we can talk about here,
3:24
Speaker 3: but I've seen him in the flesh last weekend. It
3:27
Speaker 3: was chatting to a few guys after the game, face-to-face.
3:29
Speaker 3: He is built, but he's a guy that Aaron Rodgers
3:32
Speaker 3: loves throwing it to. As a coach, why do you
3:35
Speaker 3: think guys like him, and the guys even as well,
3:38
Speaker 3: like Pat Fryer, just love attaching themselves to Rodgers?
3:42
Speaker 2: I think there's a little bit of the fact that
3:45
Speaker 2: he creates such a unique situation down in the red zone,
3:49
Speaker 2: where size and positioning are so important. And when he...
3:54
Speaker 2: turns and puts his big muley on you, then it's
4:00
Speaker 2: awful tough. I'm watching Kool-Aid McKinistry, who's not a small
4:04
Speaker 2: guy by a long shot, but he looked like a
4:08
Speaker 2: little kid playing with his dad in the park. You know,
4:13
Speaker 2: it just was amazing how he posted up down in
4:15
Speaker 2: the goal line and, you know, McKinistry did everything he
4:18
Speaker 2: could trying to rip the ball out of his hands.
4:19
Speaker 2: It just wasn't happening because, you know, there is a
4:22
Speaker 2: reason why you know, people like Bill Parcells and a
4:27
Speaker 2: number of other great NFL coaches, Belichick's the same way.
4:32
Speaker 2: They always, if they're going to error, they err on
4:34
Speaker 2: the side of size, right? And big is better. It's
4:38
Speaker 2: just the way it is.
4:41
Speaker 3: The team came in on Friday. I was lucky enough
4:43
Speaker 3: to go to the press conference. I have to, I
4:45
Speaker 3: have to be honest, Jeff, like I'll talk about the
4:47
Speaker 3: game in a wee second, but I was really impressed
4:49
Speaker 3: with coach McCarthy and just how It didn't feel like
4:52
Speaker 3: it was just a normal week to him. He was
4:54
Speaker 3: taking it seriously, and they were very grateful to be
4:56
Speaker 3: there and play that game in France. How impressed have
5:00
Speaker 3: you been with Coach McCarthy through seven, eight weeks of
5:03
Speaker 3: the season so far in his job? Because this is
5:05
Speaker 3: a guy that's not just coaching the Cedars. He's coached
5:08
Speaker 3: the Cowboys, coached the Packers, and he's in here now.
5:10
Speaker 4: Week by week, they're getting better.
5:12
Speaker 2: Well, there's no question he has abilities. You don't win
5:16
Speaker 2: as many games as he's won in the National Football
5:18
Speaker 2: League at a number of different stops without... kind of
5:21
Speaker 2: having a sense of what's going on in the game and,
5:23
Speaker 2: you know, with your football team. The thing that's been
5:26
Speaker 2: impressive to me as I watch him is how he
5:31
Speaker 2: and Rodgers, their relationship has grown. And I think, you know,
5:35
Speaker 2: that it's been, you know, well documented that there were
5:38
Speaker 2: a couple incidents that, you know, certainly the cameras caught
5:42
Speaker 2: that maybe they hadn't caught. But that's life in the
5:47
Speaker 2: food chain now with all the cameras that are on
5:49
Speaker 2: the sideline. You're going to both think that's football and
5:52
Speaker 2: that stuff has always gone on and it will continue
5:54
Speaker 2: to go on because you're talking about, you know, type
5:57
Speaker 2: a personalities, uh, guys that are, you know, alpha males
6:01
Speaker 2: and they have strong opinions and they earn the right
6:05
Speaker 2: to have strong opinions because of the success they've had
6:07
Speaker 2: over time. And I'm talking about both Mike and Aaron Rogers.
6:11
Speaker 2: And so I think what he's done is he's won
6:15
Speaker 2: over his quarterback and I, that's not an easy thing
6:18
Speaker 2: to do. And you know, veteran quarterbacks have a way of,
6:23
Speaker 2: you know, they have, they're, they're set in their ways
6:27
Speaker 2: about how they like things done and how they like
6:29
Speaker 2: plays called and presented and all of it. And so,
6:32
Speaker 2: you know, there is going to be some bumping into
6:35
Speaker 2: one another early in the, early in the season. And
6:38
Speaker 2: I see what I see now though, is a much smoother,
6:42
Speaker 2: you know, it's, they're, they're getting plays in and on time. They're,
6:45
Speaker 2: they're getting substitutions made on time. You know, you don't
6:48
Speaker 2: see that, you know, Aaron Rodgers looking at the sideline
6:52
Speaker 2: with his hands over his ears, you know, like, like,
6:55
Speaker 2: like he's not sure what's, what's getting called. So I
6:58
Speaker 2: give him credit. I mean, and you know, this is
7:00
Speaker 2: the thing about the national football league, Michael, when you're
7:04
Speaker 2: under the spotlight, like these guys are, and there's 30
7:07
Speaker 2: some cameras at every game and you know, it's you're,
7:12
Speaker 2: you're growing together and you know, in real time in
7:18
Speaker 2: front of, millions and millions of people, right? That's one
7:22
Speaker 2: of the things that makes coaching so difficult at this
7:25
Speaker 2: level is, you know, you ain't hiding mistakes, right? And
7:29
Speaker 2: you ain't hiding temper tantrums. You're not hiding, you know,
7:33
Speaker 2: bad reactions or reactions that you wish you'd had, you know,
7:36
Speaker 2: you could have back. It's all right there on real time.
7:39
Speaker 2: And that's some of the stuff we love about the game.
7:43
Speaker 2: And I love to watch, you know, I've loved watching
7:46
Speaker 2: these last three weeks as the Steelers have gotten better.
7:51
Speaker 2: I didn't see TJ Watt on the sideline going after
7:57
Speaker 2: Patrick Graham. Again, they had that moment, right? And that's
8:02
Speaker 2: part of the process of becoming a team.
8:06
Speaker 3: Yeah, look, you have to really commend Patrick Graham and
8:09
Speaker 3: his defense. And you're a mind reader, Jeff. We haven't
8:11
Speaker 3: got the questions written down. We're just talking here. But
8:14
Speaker 3: that is my next point of talk here.
8:15
Speaker 4: You mentioned TJ.
8:16
Speaker 3: TJ had the sack in the game, two tackles. And
8:19
Speaker 3: then Peyton Wilson with that really crucial interception. We'll talk
8:23
Speaker 3: about the offense in a second, but the defense really
8:25
Speaker 3: came up high in this game. Again, a reminder for
8:28
Speaker 3: people that listened to the podcast last week, a game
8:30
Speaker 3: that the Benson family, the Saints, were desperate to win,
8:33
Speaker 3: to put a performance on, and the Steelers' defense stopped them.
8:36
Speaker 3: Peyton Wilson's really impressive, isn't he? The size of him,
8:39
Speaker 3: how much he puts into the game. But this defense
8:42
Speaker 3: is slowly and surely getting better and better. Ten tackles
8:45
Speaker 3: from Patrick Queen, seven from Jalen Ramsey and Asante Samuel Jr.
8:48
Speaker 3: as well. The guys are just floating in and making
8:51
Speaker 3: big plays just when it matters. If they can keep
8:53
Speaker 3: this up, Jeff, who knows what's going to happen?
8:55
Speaker 2: Well, I think they're going to be in the thick
8:58
Speaker 2: of the thing all the way to the end, Mike.
9:00
Speaker 2: I really, really do. Unless they get hurt or they
9:04
Speaker 2: have unforeseen things happen. You look at this defense, I'm
9:07
Speaker 2: talking about Patrick Graham's defense. Obviously, it's a little different
9:10
Speaker 2: style than TJ and some of the guys are used to.
9:14
Speaker 2: but it's Patrick Graham's and they're now making it theirs.
9:17
Speaker 2: So you've got players at every level of the defense
9:22
Speaker 2: playing well. Cam Hayward still has an awful lot to give.
9:26
Speaker 2: And you look at TJ and you got Highsmith and
9:29
Speaker 2: then you got Wilson at middle linebacker and Queen at
9:33
Speaker 2: middle linebacker and Ramsey in the secondary and Asante Samuel
9:36
Speaker 2: in the second. You've got good players at every level
9:39
Speaker 2: of your defense. And I'm just, Here to tell you,
9:43
Speaker 2: as much as we want to have, you know, shootout
9:46
Speaker 2: games and everybody scoring 40 points and that's what the,
9:50
Speaker 2: you know, the sponsors want and the commissioner wants and
9:53
Speaker 2: all that. This game is still one on defense because
9:57
Speaker 2: defense travels and defense can show up in bad weather
10:00
Speaker 2: and defense can be a consistent where offenses tend to
10:04
Speaker 2: blow hot and cold. And that's why I think the
10:08
Speaker 2: Steelers are, again, this is going to be a huge
10:11
Speaker 2: game this week. I mean, a huge game against a
10:14
Speaker 2: 5-2 Browns team. But this Steeler team is equipped to,
10:19
Speaker 2: for playoff football.
10:21
Speaker 3: We will get into that in a wee second. We're
10:24
Speaker 3: going to hear from Coach McCarthy in a wee second
10:25
Speaker 3: before we do that. Before we do that, just very,
10:28
Speaker 3: very quickly, Jeff. The Steelers, obviously, the Rooney family, the
10:31
Speaker 3: ties to Ireland, the big game last year in Ireland,
10:35
Speaker 3: and the hands are up, they're playing in Paris. I
10:38
Speaker 3: had the chance to meet some players, talk to a
10:39
Speaker 3: few people around the team at the weekend, and it's
10:41
Speaker 3: a pleasure to do so, but the team are now
10:44
Speaker 3: used to doing this, and you feel like the team
10:47
Speaker 3: are very open to doing this. And Jeff, you're well
10:50
Speaker 3: involved in the international growth of the game. How important
10:53
Speaker 3: is it, do you think, for the Steelers to keep
10:54
Speaker 3: doing this and playing these games in Europe? Because for fans,
10:57
Speaker 3: it's just an incredible opportunity. And do you know what?
10:59
Speaker 3: I am going to name check a few people. A
11:01
Speaker 3: guy that you know quite well, Tom McCormick, who was
11:04
Speaker 3: the international fan of the year. Tom's waited 40, 50
11:06
Speaker 3: years of his life and he's had the chance to
11:08
Speaker 3: watch the Steelers in Europe two years in a row.
11:10
Speaker 3: This means a lot to a lot of people and
11:12
Speaker 3: the players, the organisation, are embracing that and we've seen
11:15
Speaker 3: that on the field on Sundays.
11:17
Speaker 2: Yeah, I think that's really true, Mike, and I think
11:19
Speaker 2: that that goes top to bottom in the organization. You
11:22
Speaker 2: hear the things.
11:23
Speaker 5: That Coach talks about, about how important it is for
11:28
Speaker 5: their football team and for the Steeler and Steeler Nation
11:32
Speaker 5: to have an opportunity to do this, what it means
11:34
Speaker 5: to the players.
11:37
Speaker 2: You could sense Aaron Rodgers talking about how much he
11:40
Speaker 2: enjoyed his experience in Dublin when you asked him that question,
11:44
Speaker 2: and then on and on and on and on throughout
11:46
Speaker 2: the whole deal. And I thought it was really cool.
11:48
Speaker 2: And I hope they'll do this when they come to
11:53
Speaker 2: Dublin again next year. Because I hope they bring out
11:55
Speaker 2: those Peaky Blinders hats that they all showed up in
11:58
Speaker 2: and rocked up in the stadium. Those were awesome.
12:02
Speaker 3: It's funny because you sort of mentioned that Peaky Blinders.
12:05
Speaker 3: I could imagine you sitting watching that on your phone
12:07
Speaker 3: and seeing that. You're a man of distinct style as well, Jeff.
12:10
Speaker 3: So I'm sure you're going to give him a 10
12:12
Speaker 3: out of 10 just for that effort. For me, Mason Rudolph,
12:14
Speaker 3: best dressed. I have to give it to him.
12:17
Speaker 2: I'm going to tell you something. They had gotten deep
12:19
Speaker 2: in their closet, that's for sure. They got to their
12:21
Speaker 2: best stuff. And those lids, I don't know who supplied
12:25
Speaker 2: them or where they got them from, but, man, oh, man,
12:28
Speaker 2: that was pretty awesome.
12:31
Speaker 3: A big shout-out to Pat Friermuth, who we met at
12:34
Speaker 3: the end of the game, and he stopped. And even
12:36
Speaker 3: when he was meeting his family, he turned around and
12:38
Speaker 3: gave a big shout-out to all the Steelers fans in Ireland.
12:41
Speaker 3: He remembers coming over, not just playing on the field
12:44
Speaker 3: last year, but come on over pregame before that a
12:46
Speaker 3: few months before. And he, and he recognized this and
12:49
Speaker 3: said hello to everybody. So everybody listening, pot fire move
12:52
Speaker 3: says hello to you, including you Jeff as well, my friend.
12:54
Speaker 3: And before we get your phone, Michael, one.
12:56
Speaker 2: Of the things I think that, you know, we should
12:59
Speaker 2: really take a moment and recognize is the way that
13:06
Speaker 2: the Steeler organization and the way that the Steeler football team, right.
13:15
Speaker 2: has embraced this opportunity to reach out to Steeler Nation
13:21
Speaker 2: around the world and how much they recognize and how
13:26
Speaker 2: much they appreciate the passion of those people who wave
13:31
Speaker 2: those terrible cows, whether it's in Paris or Dublin or Pittsburgh.
13:37
Speaker 2: And I think that is fantastic because It really unites
13:41
Speaker 2: an entire fan base. It's an international fan base with
13:44
Speaker 2: the Pittsburgh Steelers. It's not just Western Pennsylvania. It's an
13:49
Speaker 2: international fan base that loves that black and gold.
13:53
Speaker 3: I couldn't have put it better myself, Jeff. If I
13:55
Speaker 3: was holding my mic, I would drop it, my friend.
13:58
Speaker 3: We're going to get your thoughts in a second ahead
13:59
Speaker 3: of this big Browns game at the weekend. We'll probably
14:02
Speaker 3: look back on Paris, folks, and talk about it for
14:03
Speaker 3: weeks to come. But honestly, thank you so much to
14:06
Speaker 3: everyone that came up, talked to us, had to support.
14:08
Speaker 4: We have those tiles.
14:09
Speaker 3: That for me and TJ's celebration stood up there for me.
14:12
Speaker 3: Just a fantastic day. Before we get Jeff's thoughts on
14:15
Speaker 3: this big Browns game before the bye week, let's hear
14:17
Speaker 3: from Coach McCarthy ahead of this matchup on the Irish
14:19
Speaker 3: Steelers podcast presented by Air Lingus.
14:22
Speaker 2: Growing up in Pittsburgh as you did, rooting for the
14:25
Speaker 2: Steelers as you did, does coaching against their arch rival
14:29
Speaker 2: mean anything extra to you or is it just another game? Absolutely.
14:33
Speaker 6: I mean, Cleveland is, you know, if you grew up here,
14:37
Speaker 6: you'd think, you know, I was shocked the first time
14:40
Speaker 6: I went to Cleveland because it looked like nothing I
14:43
Speaker 6: was told it looked like, you know, they have nice suburbs,
14:46
Speaker 6: they got a good downtown and, you know, but the
14:49
Speaker 6: impression of, you know, of what you think of the
14:52
Speaker 6: Cleveland Browns in Cleveland as a kid is, is different.
14:56
Speaker 6: So yeah, I enjoyed, I remember the great rivalries in
14:59
Speaker 6: the old days, the cardiac kids and, you know, the
15:01
Speaker 6: history of it too. So, um, that's cool. Um, when
15:06
Speaker 6: I do bring it up, I don't, I don't think
15:07
Speaker 6: some of the guys even know what the hell I'm
15:08
Speaker 6: talking about. If I bring up the cardiac kids, but so,
15:10
Speaker 6: and you know, some of the, some of those, some
15:13
Speaker 6: of those years, but yeah, you know, this is a,
15:15
Speaker 6: this is a new era and they got a new
15:17
Speaker 6: coach and we have a new coach. So, you know,
15:21
Speaker 6: we had our first game together up here in Cleveland.
15:23
Speaker 6: It was a, it was a tough battle. And so
15:25
Speaker 6: I'm looking forward to getting it on again.
15:27
Speaker 7: When you think of that loss, what are a couple
15:29
Speaker 7: of things that have to go differently for you guys
15:30
Speaker 7: to swing the outcome in your favor?
15:33
Speaker 6: Oh, I just think that just the, you know, build
15:35
Speaker 6: off of where we are today. Let's not lose sight
15:38
Speaker 6: of what we've accomplished, you know, the last three weeks, um,
15:42
Speaker 6: recognize what they've done, you know, the last, you know,
15:46
Speaker 6: every how many weeks where they have four or five,
15:48
Speaker 6: you know, victories coming back in the fourth quarter. So
15:50
Speaker 6: just recognizing those specifics of, you know, what's being done,
15:53
Speaker 6: how they're doing. And, but at the end of the day,
15:56
Speaker 6: you know, we need to play to our play style,
15:58
Speaker 6: you know, play to, to everything we believe in the
16:01
Speaker 6: specifics of it. And, and our performance will be where
16:04
Speaker 6: it needs to be to win the game.
16:06
Speaker 7: What you were saying earlier about the big guys on
16:08
Speaker 7: the team, when you inherited this roster and you saw
16:11
Speaker 7: guys like Keanu, Zach, Troy, guys that have been developing
16:14
Speaker 7: but are still young and developing, what kind of conversations
16:17
Speaker 7: or planning did you put in to say, hey, I
16:18
Speaker 7: want to create an environment that not only maintains their
16:20
Speaker 7: development but progresses and finds the other ways we need
16:23
Speaker 7: to do to get the best out of those guys?
16:26
Speaker 6: Well, I mean, that's a question you can answer on
16:30
Speaker 6: so many levels.
16:30
Speaker 3: I don't know.
16:31
Speaker 6: You know, we first just start from the personnel department.
16:34
Speaker 6: I think clearly, you know, defensively playing the 3-4 defense
16:38
Speaker 6: here since 1992, you know, I have an understanding of
16:43
Speaker 6: what the outside linebacker position is and how you draft
16:47
Speaker 6: for it. No one's done it better. I mean, it's,
16:49
Speaker 6: you know, history shows you that repeatedly here. So, and
16:53
Speaker 6: that's still in place. The inside pieces, you know, with
16:57
Speaker 6: the length, you know, and Cam and Derek and, you know, KB,
17:02
Speaker 6: all those guys reflect that. So, you know, they're big men,
17:06
Speaker 6: you know, big men with length. So the profile's definitely,
17:10
Speaker 6: it has been in place here, you know, up front.
17:13
Speaker 6: And offensive line, just, you know, you look at the
17:14
Speaker 6: draft capital that's, you know, in place, you know, that's
17:17
Speaker 6: why it's so important to take Max, you know, and
17:20
Speaker 6: the way that worked out with Max, it's, he belongs here,
17:23
Speaker 6: you know, he's what a Pittsburgh Steeler offensive tackle looks like,
17:28
Speaker 6: you know, he has the ability to play right or
17:29
Speaker 6: left in today's game. So we, We don't just draft
17:33
Speaker 6: the left tackle profile, the right tackle profile, which was
17:36
Speaker 6: done at one time in my career. So from the
17:39
Speaker 6: personnel emphasis and direction, I think it's clearly we agree,
17:45
Speaker 6: and that's the way we'll look at it moving forward.
17:47
Speaker 6: And then for me, it starts with the coaching. I mean,
17:49
Speaker 6: look at the coaches I hired. The first two guys
17:51
Speaker 6: I hired, Patrick Graham and James Campin. Enough said.
17:56
Speaker 3: Coach McCarthy talking. We got Coach Reinbold here. Jeff, you
17:59
Speaker 3: said a few minutes ago, This game is an absolutely
18:02
Speaker 3: monumental game probably for both teams in the AFC North. Obviously,
18:06
Speaker 3: the Steelers coming in at 5-2. The Browns have that
18:08
Speaker 3: head-to-head 5-2. That Thursday night game seems like last week,
18:12
Speaker 3: but it wasn't. Now, in terms of a Paris rendezvous,
18:16
Speaker 3: it's a rendezvous in the AFC North. The game is
18:19
Speaker 3: in Pittsburgh. Before we talk about the Steelers, Jeff, I
18:21
Speaker 3: know in our different podcasts, we've talked about the Browns
18:25
Speaker 3: and about how a lot of people probably didn't expect
18:27
Speaker 3: them to be sitting with five wins. One of the
18:29
Speaker 3: most impressive things that they'd done against the Steelers a
18:32
Speaker 3: few weeks ago for me was they controlled that game.
18:34
Speaker 3: The crowd got into it. And Deshaun Watson, especially a
18:37
Speaker 3: quarterback to be fair to him, is finding ways to
18:40
Speaker 3: get guys like Fanon and Concepcion involved. This is a
18:44
Speaker 3: huge game, not just for the Steelers, but what an
18:46
Speaker 3: opportunity for both teams. The Browns are definitely in a
18:49
Speaker 3: position that me or you probably didn't see coming in August.
18:53
Speaker 3: Is that a fair enough statement to make?
18:55
Speaker 2: Yeah, I don't think there's any question that I would
18:58
Speaker 2: have never said. If you told me they were two
19:00
Speaker 2: and five, I'd say probably. If you told me they
19:02
Speaker 2: were going to be five and two, I'd say no way.
19:04
Speaker 2: But that's where they are right now, and they've earned it.
19:08
Speaker 2: Munkin has done an amazing job changing the culture in Cleveland.
19:12
Speaker 2: The thing that you notice when you look at the Browns,
19:16
Speaker 2: the Browns have got some good young football players. Schlesinger,
19:20
Speaker 2: the linebacker, is an outstanding player. Concepcion, you mentioned, and Concepcion,
19:26
Speaker 2: you really saw Concepcion's yards after catch is what we
19:29
Speaker 2: call yak yardage, yards after catch. You really saw that
19:33
Speaker 2: was the thing when, Michael, if you remember back to
19:35
Speaker 2: when we were talking about the draft and Casey Concepcion
19:38
Speaker 2: was up and we were discussing receivers. And one of
19:42
Speaker 2: the things we talked about was his ability to make
19:44
Speaker 2: plays with the ball in his hands after the catch.
19:47
Speaker 2: And you really saw that in evidence last year. weekend,
19:50
Speaker 2: particularly in the fourth quarter. Now, Deshaun Watson, for all
19:55
Speaker 2: of the things you can say about Deshaun Watson, there's
19:57
Speaker 2: one thing more you can say now is that he
19:59
Speaker 2: has the ability to bring a team back in the
20:02
Speaker 2: fourth quarter. I think they've won four games of their
20:05
Speaker 2: five games have been wins in the fourth quarter. And
20:10
Speaker 2: that I can't stress how much that means in terms
20:16
Speaker 2: of confidence level to a football team, because if you,
20:22
Speaker 2: you know, you make those kinds of plays and you
20:24
Speaker 2: finish games and you close games out, you get to
20:28
Speaker 2: that point where the belief is just so strong. Now,
20:32
Speaker 2: here's what's happening in this game, in my opinion. You're
20:36
Speaker 2: going to go over on one side, and you're going
20:38
Speaker 2: to see Watt, and you're going to see Ramsey, and
20:42
Speaker 2: you're going to see Samuel, and you're going to see Highsmith,
20:46
Speaker 2: and you're going to see Wiltz. Those are all veteran
20:49
Speaker 2: guys that know how to win. The Pittsburgh Steelers are
20:55
Speaker 2: not somebody who doesn't have a history of winning. They've
20:59
Speaker 2: won big games. They've been there. They know the deal.
21:02
Speaker 2: They know what it takes. they will be ready to play.
21:06
Speaker 2: I firmly believe they'll be ready to play. The question
21:10
Speaker 2: will be, in my opinion, how does, how do the
21:13
Speaker 2: Steelers get more juice in their offense? Right. And I,
21:18
Speaker 2: and I meant, I mentioned Roman Wilson, but he, somebody's
21:21
Speaker 2: got to step up and give you some of that,
21:25
Speaker 2: some of that big play ability that we saw Concepcion
21:28
Speaker 2: have right. And Concepcion may now, How do they do that?
21:32
Speaker 2: I can't tell you right now, but I know that
21:34
Speaker 2: that's got to be one thing that as Mike and
21:37
Speaker 2: his staff sit down on offensive, you know, as a
21:40
Speaker 2: game plan offensively is, you know, how can we create
21:42
Speaker 2: more good plays? How do we get more down the
21:45
Speaker 2: field throws? How do we get more explosive things into
21:49
Speaker 2: our offense? And, you know, part of it is you
21:52
Speaker 2: got to make sure that you keep your quarterback upright.
21:55
Speaker 2: And I thought he did a great job, Mike, in
21:56
Speaker 2: the last game of moving around in the pocket, managing
21:59
Speaker 2: the pocket. And actually you saw him get out of
22:01
Speaker 2: the pocket and make a heck of a throw.
22:04
Speaker 4: There's so much to break down there.
22:06
Speaker 3: I think firstly for me, I was lucky enough to
22:08
Speaker 3: be in Akershire in week three, Jeff, the week before
22:11
Speaker 3: that Thursday night game against the Browns. And we've seen
22:14
Speaker 3: the fluidity of that offense just grow and grow and grow.
22:16
Speaker 3: And there has been a wee bit of stop start.
22:18
Speaker 3: Then two or three weeks later, you see an AFC
22:22
Speaker 3: performance of the week at the run game in terms
22:24
Speaker 3: of Jalen Warren there. I feel like it's going to
22:27
Speaker 3: be that right mix of ensuring that the Browns can't
22:30
Speaker 3: get at the run game for the Cedars, but ensuring
22:32
Speaker 3: that the Cedars find a way to get 25 to
22:35
Speaker 3: 32 points in this game. For me, that's the key
22:37
Speaker 3: to the game because we know that defense is going
22:39
Speaker 3: to show up, but it's getting the points on the board.
22:42
Speaker 3: And there have been weeks this year where that hasn't happened,
22:44
Speaker 3: and that has to be a key.
22:46
Speaker 2: I think, Michael, one of the things that's going to
22:49
Speaker 2: be key, and you mentioned you used the term 20
22:51
Speaker 2: to 25, and I'll take that and I'll run with
22:54
Speaker 2: it a little further and say, Jalen Warren needs to
22:57
Speaker 2: have 20 to 25 touches in the game.
23:00
Speaker 4: Yeah. Okay.
23:03
Speaker 2: Okay.
23:04
Speaker 4: I'm sure he will.
23:05
Speaker 2: I'm sure he will. I think they have to do that.
23:08
Speaker 2: They have to find a way to get him the football, right?
23:12
Speaker 2: He is the one explosive piece that they have right now.
23:16
Speaker 2: I mean, DK is DK. DK is a big, physical,
23:20
Speaker 2: fast wide receiver, and he can make plays over the top.
23:23
Speaker 2: But Jalen Warren is one of those guys that has
23:25
Speaker 2: the ability to create with the ball in his hands.
23:28
Speaker 2: And I think right now, that's the one area of
23:31
Speaker 2: the Steeler offense, if you ask me where they can
23:35
Speaker 2: get better, to me it's in explosive plays. And he's
23:39
Speaker 2: an explosive play guy.
23:42
Speaker 3: What do you feel like the situation is going to
23:46
Speaker 3: be on Sunday, Jeff, in terms of Rodgers? Do you
23:48
Speaker 3: think the Browns are going to get at him in
23:49
Speaker 3: terms of trying to blitz him or, or do you
23:52
Speaker 3: think you have enough time in the pocket?
23:54
Speaker 2: Well, I think there's a general consensus amongst coaches. When you,
23:59
Speaker 2: you play in a veteran, you don't, you don't, you
24:02
Speaker 2: gotta be really careful about blitz and veterans because he's
24:06
Speaker 2: seen Aaron Rogers has seen every blitz that ever that's
24:09
Speaker 2: ever been. You're not going to fool him with some
24:14
Speaker 2: newfangled blitz. Cause he's seen everything. So I, his ability
24:18
Speaker 2: to get the ball out of his hand, and he
24:20
Speaker 2: still has, Mike, very, very, very elite-level quickness in his release.
24:28
Speaker 2: That ball is out of his hands. When he sees pressure,
24:31
Speaker 2: it is out of his hands right now. And the
24:34
Speaker 2: little subtle things that Aaron Rodgers does as he works
24:37
Speaker 2: in the pocket really are fascinating to me because the
24:40
Speaker 2: other day, he knew he had a free runner off
24:43
Speaker 2: the side, off one side, and all he did was
24:46
Speaker 2: just angled his drop just a little bit to buy
24:50
Speaker 2: him that extra step and a half to get the
24:53
Speaker 2: ball out of his hands. Now, that's something that a
24:56
Speaker 2: lot of young quarterbacks struggle with because they might even
25:00
Speaker 2: see the pressure, but they don't know about how to
25:04
Speaker 2: angle their drop, how to adjust their footwork so that
25:07
Speaker 2: they can get the ball out. And he did it
25:09
Speaker 2: and made a huge play in the game.
25:12
Speaker 3: I think for me, just adding to that very quickly
25:14
Speaker 3: as well, Jeff, is there were moments last week where
25:17
Speaker 3: you could see it wasn't working and he immediately got
25:19
Speaker 3: rid of the ball. And I think that's, it's that ownership,
25:22
Speaker 3: it's that management at his age. As you said, he's
25:25
Speaker 3: seen it all. He knows when to either get down.
25:28
Speaker 4: Or to give the ball away, which is so, so important.
25:30
Speaker 3: If I just finally said, there's two things I want
25:33
Speaker 3: to ask you.
25:35
Speaker 4: One, do you like the bye week after this week?
25:38
Speaker 3: So they go to Paris, play this game and then
25:41
Speaker 3: have a bye week. And two, I'm going to say
25:43
Speaker 3: 27-24 Steelers in an AFC North Classic 6-2 at the
25:48
Speaker 3: bye week. Do you want to give us a score prediction, Jeff,
25:50
Speaker 3: or how it's going to go?
25:51
Speaker 2: I'm going to say 24-17 Steelers. And I think that
25:55
Speaker 2: I would be surprised if the Browns can put three
26:00
Speaker 2: touchdowns on that Steeler defense. Now, they might, but again,
26:03
Speaker 2: if they are, Deshaun's going to have to manufacture some plays.
26:08
Speaker 2: I just, I think that when it comes down, these are,
26:12
Speaker 2: these are the games, Mike, that you go old school on.
26:15
Speaker 2: These are the games that protecting the football becomes the
26:18
Speaker 2: most important thing. This is where field position is so critical.
26:22
Speaker 2: This is where third down defense comes into play. All
26:25
Speaker 2: these little things that situational football, this is where you
26:29
Speaker 2: find out who the good teams are and who the,
26:33
Speaker 2: you know, teams that are trying to be good teams are.
26:36
Speaker 4: You're up here.
26:38
Speaker 3: You couldn't be more right, my friend. You couldn't be
26:40
Speaker 3: more right. This game is on your alma mater and
26:42
Speaker 3: the place that you're going to in a few weeks, Jeff.
26:44
Speaker 3: I know a lot of Cedars fans would be excited
26:46
Speaker 3: to see you back in Sky Sports. It's on Sky Sports.
26:49
Speaker 3: It's on NFL in the zone. And we really appreciate
26:51
Speaker 3: you not just taking the time here, but checking in.
26:55
Speaker 4: And I'm sure we'll.
26:56
Speaker 3: Hopefully, if you're up for it, get you on again
26:58
Speaker 3: at some point this season. And I've no doubt this
27:01
Speaker 3: season is flying in fast. We certainly appreciate you coming on, man.
27:04
Speaker 3: Thank you so much for coming on and taking the time.
27:06
Speaker 2: My pleasure. You know, it always is. Anytime I can
27:09
Speaker 2: talk football, particularly Steelers football, with you, I'm in.
27:13
Speaker 4: I love it.
27:13
Speaker 3: For people listening, enjoy the game this weekend. It's also
27:16
Speaker 3: on the OTB Sports app across Ireland, audio-wise.
27:19
Speaker 4: We'll see you.
27:19
Speaker 3: We will have a podcast next week, at least one.
27:22
Speaker 3: There is obviously a bye week coming up, but we
27:24
Speaker 3: will have content next week. Of course, keep checking out
27:26
Speaker 3: Steelers Ireland on social. And if you have a chance,
27:29
Speaker 3: head on down to Kennedy's Steelers station on Sunday. Free
27:32
Speaker 3: entry to watch the game.
27:33
Speaker 4: Here we go. We will talk to you soon.
27:45
Speaker 2: Here we go, Steelers!