Latest / In the Locker Room presented by Neighborhood Ford Store (Pittsburgh Steelers) / ITL092926HR2.mp3

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ITL092926HR2.mp3 · In the Locker Room presented by Neighborhood Ford Store (Pittsburgh Steelers)

• 0:04
  Speaker 1: This is In the Locker Room with Rob King, Max Starks,
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: and Willie Colon on Steelers Nation Radio. Brought to you
• 0:12
  Speaker 1: in part by the Steelers Pro Shop. Get it direct
• 0:15
  Speaker 1: from the team at the Steelers Pro Shop at shop.steelers.com.
• 0:19
  Speaker 1: And by your neighborhood Ford store. The F-150 is the
• 0:24
  Speaker 1: official truck of the Pittsburgh Steelers.
• 0:33
  Speaker 2: Oh, oh.
• 0:34
  Speaker 3: I didn't know that came first, but as Willie Colon
• 0:38
  Speaker 3: once said, that's Max Stark's Optimus Prime, right? Dressed up,
• 0:43
  Speaker 3: get that tape on, get the cleats on, turns Max
• 0:47
  Speaker 3: from 6'8 into 7'1. You get them all taped up,
• 0:52
  Speaker 3: powered up, and here comes Optimus Prime out on the field.
• 0:55
  Speaker 2: Sorry, Max.
• 0:56
  Speaker 4: Go ahead.
• 0:57
  Speaker 2: Yeah, no, no.
• 0:58
  Speaker 5: It's just, hey. It's the Power Hour, hour number two
• 1:00
  Speaker 5: here inside the locker room with Rob King, Max Starks,
• 1:03
  Speaker 5: and Willie Colon. We're go.
• 1:06
  Speaker 4: I can't see you, Max. Here's the problem.
• 1:10
  Speaker 5: We had like all this jargon and talking and everything,
• 1:14
  Speaker 5: so it just didn't feel good like doing it after
• 1:18
  Speaker 5: the fact.
• 1:18
  Speaker 4: Now, you know? Here's the problem, though.
• 1:21
  Speaker 3: I have a six-foot, eight-inch Max Starks who is not
• 1:24
  Speaker 3: positioned in his computer screen.
• 1:27
  Speaker 5: Well, it's a standing desk, Rob, and right now my
• 1:32
  Speaker 5: low back is killing me. So, yeah, we don't have that.
• 1:35
  Speaker 4: I thought Max wasn't there, Willie. I thought it was
• 1:38
  Speaker 4: up to me to bring us back. I don't want
• 1:39
  Speaker 4: to bring us back.
• 1:40
  Speaker 5: That's Max's moment.
• 1:42
  Speaker 4: I'm right here. That's Max.
• 1:43
  Speaker 2: There's Max.
• 1:45
  Speaker 4: That's Max's moment, Willie.
• 1:46
  Speaker 5: I don't want to rain on his parade.
• 1:49
  Speaker 2: Oh, man, you guys love each other. I love it.
• 1:52
  Speaker 2: Can't get enough of it.
• 1:53
  Speaker 4: Willie, Max, how's your back, dude?
• 1:55
  Speaker 2: Is it good?
• 1:57
  Speaker 5: No, it sucks. It sucks right now.
• 1:59
  Speaker 3: And you know what?
• 1:59
  Speaker 4: We're dealing with it. Not helping.
• 2:01
  Speaker 5: Yeah, and I got to get on a plane tomorrow. So, yeah,
• 2:04
  Speaker 5: we'll figure it out.
• 2:05
  Speaker 4: Where are you going tomorrow?
• 2:07
  Speaker 5: We got to get back to Pittsburgh for the Thursday nighter.
• 2:10
  Speaker 4: Oh, you're coming here first.
• 2:12
  Speaker 5: Yeah, I got to come here because there's a shortage
• 2:13
  Speaker 5: of hotels in Cleveland. So I got to stay in
• 2:16
  Speaker 5: Pittsburgh and take the 130 bus over. So I'm flying
• 2:20
  Speaker 5: in tomorrow evening.
• 2:23
  Speaker 4: We're leaving tomorrow.
• 2:26
  Speaker 2: No.
• 2:26
  Speaker 5: No, you might be leaving tomorrow.
• 2:28
  Speaker 4: Oh, you're taking the game day bus up.
• 2:30
  Speaker 5: Because there's not enough hotel rooms.
• 2:32
  Speaker 2: Okay.
• 2:33
  Speaker 5: In Cleveland because of the Guardians playoff.
• 2:35
  Speaker 2: Game or whatever.
• 2:36
  Speaker 4: Okay. We'll talk off camera if you need a chiropractor.
• 2:39
  Speaker 2: I'll help you out.
• 2:40
  Speaker 3: Okay, so. I said off camera. Off mic. Because we
• 2:46
  Speaker 3: don't have a camera here.
• 2:47
  Speaker 2: Okay, so.
• 2:48
  Speaker 3: Are you guys ready for. We're just going to do
• 2:50
  Speaker 3: this quickly. Because we have to cram everything into just
• 2:54
  Speaker 3: a couple of days here. So we are using the
• 2:57
  Speaker 3: athletic power rankings. And before we start, give me, considering
• 3:04
  Speaker 3: that the Steelers were, I believe, 21 last week, before
• 3:08
  Speaker 3: I get into it, where do you guys think, give
• 3:10
  Speaker 3: me your guess, where do you think the Steelers rank
• 3:12
  Speaker 3: after the defeat of the Cincinnati Bengals?
• 3:17
  Speaker 2: I'm going to say 18.
• 3:20
  Speaker 4: Max?
• 3:21
  Speaker 5: I'm going to go Price is Right, and I'm going
• 3:24
  Speaker 5: to go 17.
• 3:26
  Speaker 4: Oh, that is Price is Right. Come on, man.
• 3:29
  Speaker 5: Wow.
• 3:30
  Speaker 4: Okay, fine, fine, fine. 16, 16. You happy?
• 3:33
  Speaker 5: 16.
• 3:34
  Speaker 3: Okay, so number one, remaining number one, they beat the Cardinals.
• 3:38
  Speaker 3: San Francisco, they're 3-0, no complaints. You guys stop me
• 3:41
  Speaker 3: when we have complaints. Buffalo Bills, number two, they came back,
• 3:45
  Speaker 3: they beat the Chargers.
• 3:46
  Speaker 4: They're 3-0.
• 3:47
  Speaker 3: They were number two last week. I got no complaints.
• 3:51
  Speaker 3: Kansas City Chiefs, 3-0. They moved up from 4-3. They
• 3:54
  Speaker 3: beat the Dolphins. Got no complaints there.
• 3:57
  Speaker 4: We all good?
• 3:59
  Speaker 2: Sounds good.
• 4:00
  Speaker 5: They're all undefeated.
• 4:02
  Speaker 4: Number four, the Denver Broncos moving up.
• 4:08
  Speaker 3: I got to tell you guys, I have to admit,
• 4:10
  Speaker 3: I went to bed at halftime, said Sunday night, that's
• 4:12
  Speaker 3: a tough lift, man. After we're calling the game, you
• 4:15
  Speaker 3: get home, you're watching some action, you.
• 4:17
  Speaker 4: Got a short week.
• 4:19
  Speaker 3: I went to bed thinking the Rams were going to
• 4:21
  Speaker 3: roll and the Broncos came back and won that game.
• 4:25
  Speaker 3: They look like The Rams look like the clearly better team,
• 4:28
  Speaker 3: I thought, in the first half. So good job for
• 4:30
  Speaker 3: them for rallying. They moved from 11 to 4. And
• 4:34
  Speaker 3: by the way, they're at the 49ers on Friday.
• 4:38
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I think that's aggressive. If you watch that game
• 4:41
  Speaker 2: first quarter, fourth quarter, it was more self-inflicted wounds by
• 4:43
  Speaker 2: the Rams. Bo Nix did not play well. The defense
• 4:48
  Speaker 2: did rally in the second half and was able to
• 4:50
  Speaker 2: get some key takeaways. Shout out to Hufunga. But overall,
• 4:54
  Speaker 2: it wasn't a dominant performance by the Broncos. They did win,
• 4:57
  Speaker 2: so what is a win? But if they're going from 11,
• 4:59
  Speaker 2: I would bump them to number eight, not four.
• 5:02
  Speaker 4: Okay.
• 5:03
  Speaker 3: Well, a lot of teams did lose, including the team
• 5:06
  Speaker 3: that's at five, the Seattle Seahawks.
• 5:08
  Speaker 4: They were three. Sam Darnold comes back in. What do
• 5:11
  Speaker 4: they do?
• 5:11
  Speaker 3: They have their first regular season loss since week 11
• 5:15
  Speaker 3: of last year.
• 5:16
  Speaker 4: They've been that good. Not regular season loss, loss. What
• 5:20
  Speaker 4: am I saying? Not counting preseason, of course. I don't
• 5:22
  Speaker 4: know what they did in the preseason.
• 5:24
  Speaker 3: But that's an impressive stretch that comes to a close.
• 5:28
  Speaker 3: The Commanders pulling the upset 33-31. Huge win for the
• 5:33
  Speaker 3: Commanders and just a drop of two spots for Seattle.
• 5:36
  Speaker 4: But you know what? I still think they're a top
• 5:38
  Speaker 4: five team.
• 5:41
  Speaker 2: Oh, what I've got. Their defense showed up. But so
• 5:45
  Speaker 2: did the Commanders' defense. I mean, it was just Sam
• 5:48
  Speaker 2: Donald has yet to figure out the, you know, don't
• 5:51
  Speaker 2: throw the ball to the guy that's kind of waiting
• 5:53
  Speaker 2: to spy on him. So, overall, man, Seattle's going to
• 5:59
  Speaker 2: be fine. They have more than enough to get to
• 6:01
  Speaker 2: where they want to be.
• 6:03
  Speaker 3: Number six, the Detroit Lions. They go from eight to six.
• 6:08
  Speaker 3: They beat the Jets. Jets gave them a battle, though, Willie.
• 6:12
  Speaker 3: You were all over that game. That was a close game, right?
• 6:17
  Speaker 2: Yeah, man, it was a close game. You know, it
• 6:19
  Speaker 2: looked like there was a chance that Detroit was going
• 6:21
  Speaker 2: to pull away from it. Geno played pretty stellar. Brees
• 6:25
  Speaker 2: Hall ended up getting hurt. The Jets struggled to run
• 6:27
  Speaker 2: the ball. And on third down, they just weren't efficient overall.
• 6:33
  Speaker 2: Detroit just had– they just know how to close out games,
• 6:35
  Speaker 2: and they were able to. And their defense played well
• 6:37
  Speaker 2: in crucial spots. It's just the Jets, you know, once
• 6:41
  Speaker 2: they were able to kind of neutralize– our tight ends
• 6:44
  Speaker 2: who we, well, not even said that because Keon Sadiq
• 6:46
  Speaker 2: had a big game. Gary Wilson played big for us,
• 6:48
  Speaker 2: but big for the Jets down the stretch. Uh, it
• 6:51
  Speaker 2: really came down to, you know, just being more, just
• 6:54
  Speaker 2: being more efficient in the fourth quarter. The Jets failed
• 6:56
  Speaker 2: at that.
• 6:57
  Speaker 4: Hey, Sadiq, could he be a big playmaker for them, Willie?
• 7:00
  Speaker 2: Without a doubt. He's, he's, he's next in line. Rob,
• 7:04
  Speaker 2: if I was to put him in a category, he's,
• 7:06
  Speaker 2: he's going to be like that Brock Bowers, Trace McBride, um,
• 7:11
  Speaker 2: He's in that category. He's that special. I mean, he's 6'3, 245,
• 7:16
  Speaker 2: 50 pounds, ran a 4'3, can catch it, can pretty
• 7:19
  Speaker 2: much do anything he wants to do on the field.
• 7:21
  Speaker 2: So he's next in line at being like that hyper
• 7:23
  Speaker 2: elite type and like Bob Bowers and those guys.
• 7:27
  Speaker 4: I'm a big fan.
• 7:29
  Speaker 3: I think Brees Hall, Garrett Wilson, and Sadiq, man, those
• 7:33
  Speaker 3: are three dangerous, dangerous guys in the playmaking department.
• 7:41
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I agree. Go ahead, Rob. I'm back. Sorry. No, no, no.
• 7:45
  Speaker 5: I was going to say, yeah, I like Sadiq coming out,
• 7:48
  Speaker 5: you know, because he was just one of those guys
• 7:50
  Speaker 5: that was a flex guy. And when you think about
• 7:53
  Speaker 5: what the tight ends asked to do now in this
• 7:55
  Speaker 5: league is, you know, a depth blocking is always a bonus.
• 7:59
  Speaker 5: But I need you to be able to be ISOed
• 8:01
  Speaker 5: on the backside, man-to-man, if we run some schemes and
• 8:04
  Speaker 5: concepts and win. And he's just like, I mean, be
• 8:07
  Speaker 5: a big receiver. He brings that type of capability, which
• 8:12
  Speaker 5: I enjoy watching.
• 8:13
  Speaker 3: By the way, we talk about blitzing veteran quarterbacks and
• 8:16
  Speaker 3: why Aaron Rodgers doesn't get blitzed very much. This is
• 8:19
  Speaker 3: in the athletics breakdown of the Lions victory. The New
• 8:24
  Speaker 3: York Jets blitzed Jared Goff 16 times on Sunday. 16 times.
• 8:30
  Speaker 3: He was 16 for 16 for 173 yards.
• 8:35
  Speaker 4: And two touchdowns. That's why it's better in quarterbacks. Not
• 8:39
  Speaker 4: every team's different. I get it. You have a better
• 8:41
  Speaker 4: back end.
• 8:42
  Speaker 3: You get home quicker, but whoa, man, that is.
• 8:47
  Speaker 2: Rob, that's what you have to do sometimes when you
• 8:49
  Speaker 2: can't generate a rush, and that's what killed the Jets.
• 8:52
  Speaker 2: They couldn't get any edge pressure. I mean, Panay Sewell
• 8:57
  Speaker 2: was putting on a clinic, and they pretty much shut
• 9:00
  Speaker 2: down the rush from the Jets, so they had to
• 9:03
  Speaker 2: send the dogs, and Jared Dolph made him pay.
• 9:06
  Speaker 3: So the Vikings are, I believe, we're going to find
• 9:10
  Speaker 3: them to be the lowest-ranked unbeaten team. They're 3-0. They
• 9:14
  Speaker 3: just beat the Buccaneers 23-16. Not only are they 3-0,
• 9:19
  Speaker 3: but they get the Dolphins on Sunday.
• 9:22
  Speaker 4: So, wow.
• 9:24
  Speaker 3: Kyler Murray got back in there. Justin Jefferson out with
• 9:27
  Speaker 3: an ankle injury. I don't know how long he's going
• 9:28
  Speaker 3: to be out for, but that's a wow to me
• 9:31
  Speaker 3: that they're number seven and– At 3-0 and a real
• 9:35
  Speaker 3: chance to go 4-0. And then the Nick Saban team
• 9:39
  Speaker 3: of the NFL, which means it's impossible for them to
• 9:43
  Speaker 3: be ranked out of the top ten. That's how it
• 9:46
  Speaker 3: was when Nick Saban was a coach at Alabama. Federal law,
• 9:49
  Speaker 3: few people knew about it. I sniffed it out, though.
• 9:52
  Speaker 2: The L.A.
• 9:52
  Speaker 4: Rams, 1-2. 1-2 in their number eight in the power rankings.
• 9:57
  Speaker 5: No. That's BS. not given us a reason.
• 10:02
  Speaker 4: Federal law max up there federal law.
• 10:04
  Speaker 5: I i don't care about the federal law i don't
• 10:07
  Speaker 5: care about the federal law it's fraudulent law that's what
• 10:10
  Speaker 5: it is that's what it feels like this team they
• 10:14
  Speaker 5: want them to be good so.
• 10:15
  Speaker 2: Bad They want them to be so bad.
• 10:17
  Speaker 5: And they're not. They're not. I mean, listen, you get
• 10:20
  Speaker 5: Puka Nakua back, we can talk. You get Miles Garrett back,
• 10:22
  Speaker 5: we can talk. But until that day, no.
• 10:27
  Speaker 2: No, sorry.
• 10:28
  Speaker 4: I can't prescribe it.
• 10:29
  Speaker 2: Not even that. They got exposed in the secondary. Like,
• 10:31
  Speaker 2: Trent McDuffie didn't have the best day. Watson struggled. I
• 10:36
  Speaker 2: think he ended up getting injured. Aaron Donald is starting
• 10:39
  Speaker 2: to look more... more human as the weeks go by.
• 10:43
  Speaker 2: I think he's starting to like, man, I should have
• 10:44
  Speaker 2: stayed my ass on the couch. They can have it.
• 10:46
  Speaker 2: I have to quit mine and slam them on the ground.
• 10:50
  Speaker 5: He got chokeslammed like the Undertaker coming out of a casket.
• 10:55
  Speaker 2: Yeah. Yeah, the rest of the deal are all good.
• 10:59
  Speaker 2: They were able to get Bo Nixon and try to
• 11:02
  Speaker 2: put a hurtin' on him. But overall, man, they just,
• 11:05
  Speaker 2: you know, they're not getting it done. And they lost,
• 11:09
  Speaker 2: you know, Stafford threw two, I think he had two
• 11:11
  Speaker 2: or three picks in that game that really crushed them. So, yeah,
• 11:16
  Speaker 2: it's going to be interesting. You're right. You're 100% right, Max.
• 11:19
  Speaker 2: The NFL wants the Rams to be absolutely spectacular. And
• 11:23
  Speaker 2: I get it. They have 11 primetime games. So there's
• 11:26
  Speaker 2: going to be a lot of Rams football we get
• 11:27
  Speaker 2: to watch. But overall, man, they don't look scary like
• 11:32
  Speaker 2: they looked last year.
• 11:33
  Speaker 4: At the Eagles, too, Sunday at 1 o'clock. The ninth
• 11:37
  Speaker 4: place team.
• 11:37
  Speaker 2: So here's.
• 11:38
  Speaker 4: Here's something that I think.
• 11:39
  Speaker 3: All columnists who give their opinion in sports pages should
• 11:46
  Speaker 3: do just to show that you're human and you understand
• 11:50
  Speaker 3: when you make mistakes. It's a difficult job. You've got
• 11:52
  Speaker 3: to put your opinion out there all the time. Two
• 11:54
  Speaker 3: articles a year of mistakes that I made. Here's a
• 11:57
  Speaker 3: mistake that I made. So I'm going to write my
• 12:00
  Speaker 3: own article. Here's a mistake that I made. I didn't
• 12:03
  Speaker 3: think the Bears were going to be that good this year.
• 12:05
  Speaker 3: I believe after this win, 27-7 over the Eagles with
• 12:10
  Speaker 3: their backup quarterback, I might have to write a column,
• 12:13
  Speaker 3: things that I was wrong about.
• 12:14
  Speaker 4: And that might be one of them.
• 12:17
  Speaker 3: Guys, I thought they were going to be– every year
• 12:19
  Speaker 3: there's a team that comes back to earth after having
• 12:21
  Speaker 3: a good year.
• 12:22
  Speaker 4: I thought that team was going to be Chicago.
• 12:24
  Speaker 3: And I think through three games, I feel like I
• 12:28
  Speaker 3: am totally wrong with that assertion.
• 12:32
  Speaker 2: Well, yeah, I mean, you are wrong, Juan, and it's
• 12:35
  Speaker 2: okay to be wrong, Rob. You always have to be right.
• 12:39
  Speaker 2: I know you're the king, but you don't always have
• 12:42
  Speaker 2: to be right. Nevertheless, man, Ben Johnson has built an
• 12:45
  Speaker 2: ecosystem for anybody to pretty much thrive in. I mean,
• 12:49
  Speaker 2: when you have a dominant office line led by Joe Tooney,
• 12:52
  Speaker 2: when you have the backs they have with Manunga and Swift,
• 12:55
  Speaker 2: you talk about the tight end packages they have with
• 12:57
  Speaker 2: Colson Loveland and a host of others. Roman Duse is
• 13:00
  Speaker 2: a big-time player. I mean, they just have guys that
• 13:03
  Speaker 2: can get it done. And what you see right now
• 13:06
  Speaker 2: offensively is everybody knows their role and their job. And
• 13:10
  Speaker 2: last night's job was protect the old man. Case Keenan
• 13:13
  Speaker 2: is a third-string quarterback, right? And all he had to
• 13:16
  Speaker 2: do was just drive the car. He didn't have to
• 13:17
  Speaker 2: do nothing special, make his layups and free throws, so
• 13:20
  Speaker 2: to speak. And he was able to do so. And
• 13:22
  Speaker 2: then when you had the defense stand up in the
• 13:23
  Speaker 2: way they did, I mean, it just shows that they've
• 13:26
  Speaker 2: been able to cultivate a culture where every guy in
• 13:29
  Speaker 2: the helmet knows their job. And they have talent on
• 13:32
  Speaker 2: top of that. On top of that talent, they have belief.
• 13:35
  Speaker 2: And they have a belief right now that they're going
• 13:37
  Speaker 2: to win games with or without Caleb Williams, which is
• 13:39
  Speaker 2: awesome to see because I'm always going to be an
• 13:42
  Speaker 2: advocate of a team who can win games without the
• 13:45
  Speaker 2: guy being a guy instead of the guy having to
• 13:47
  Speaker 2: be the guy for them to win games. And Caleb
• 13:50
  Speaker 2: Williams is obviously a rising star, a big-time talent. But
• 13:53
  Speaker 2: Ben Johnson is the real star. And I think he
• 13:56
  Speaker 2: proved it last night by getting his guys ready to
• 13:57
  Speaker 2: play against the Philadelphia Eagles, who were feeling good about
• 14:01
  Speaker 2: themselves until last night.
• 14:03
  Speaker 3: Yeah, and I agree with everything you said. Really, I thought, Willie,
• 14:06
  Speaker 3: I thought the defense was so... It felt like they
• 14:10
  Speaker 3: were so dependent upon turnovers and winning games late with turnovers.
• 14:15
  Speaker 3: I just thought there would be a regression in that department.
• 14:18
  Speaker 3: The offense is the offense, and I'm a big Caleb
• 14:21
  Speaker 3: Williams fan. I think he's going to be a... I
• 14:22
  Speaker 3: think he already is a terrific player. And there's a
• 14:25
  Speaker 3: lot of reasons to like that offense, like you mentioned,
• 14:27
  Speaker 3: but I just thought the defense was going to come back,
• 14:30
  Speaker 3: and it hasn't.
• 14:31
  Speaker 4: So, well, week one they gave up 34 points or whatever.
• 14:35
  Speaker 4: But anyway, they're 9. Jacksonville was 10.
• 14:38
  Speaker 3: While I'm writing that column of things I was wrong about,
• 14:41
  Speaker 3: remember that was my game of the week last week,
• 14:43
  Speaker 3: Jacksonville and the Patriots. Willie shouted me down and told
• 14:46
  Speaker 3: me I was wrong. I told him he was wrong,
• 14:49
  Speaker 3: and I was wrong. Willie was right. It was a
• 14:52
  Speaker 3: bad game. Jacksonville trounced them. That's a pretty good number
• 14:56
  Speaker 3: 10 team. Max, I think Jacksonville is pretty good.
• 15:00
  Speaker 5: Yeah, for a 2-1 team, I mean, you think about
• 15:03
  Speaker 5: what they can do, and the team that you lost
• 15:05
  Speaker 5: to just has to be ahead of you in the
• 15:07
  Speaker 5: power ranking, right? So you could say this is properly placed.
• 15:11
  Speaker 5: I mean, everything but the Rams, I haven't had an
• 15:15
  Speaker 5: issue with in that top 10 because I think all
• 15:17
  Speaker 5: of them can go. And I think for Trevor Lawrence, especially, like,
• 15:21
  Speaker 5: you're seeing him mature in this, and he's becoming– A
• 15:25
  Speaker 5: capable game manager with big play potential, I think, is
• 15:30
  Speaker 5: the best way of kind of assessing him. He's not
• 15:34
  Speaker 5: in the tier one guys. He's not your Patrick Mahomes.
• 15:38
  Speaker 5: He's not, you know, Matthew Stafford. He's not Lamar Jackson.
• 15:43
  Speaker 5: But he's a guy that, you know, and having a
• 15:47
  Speaker 5: guy like Parker Washington, I mean, he's created Parker Washington
• 15:50
  Speaker 5: to a number one receiver who was not a number
• 15:52
  Speaker 5: one receiver coming into his career. He's made him a
• 15:55
  Speaker 5: number one, and so when you see that, there is
• 15:58
  Speaker 5: some positivity you can glean from that.
• 16:01
  Speaker 4: Eleven of the Ravens. Go ahead, Willie.
• 16:04
  Speaker 2: No, I'm saying I think the bigger question, and maybe
• 16:07
  Speaker 2: we'll get to it, so I don't want to jump
• 16:09
  Speaker 2: ahead of you, Rob, but I didn't know the Patriots
• 16:11
  Speaker 2: have a Drake May problem. I think you reared his
• 16:14
  Speaker 2: head the other day. Maybe I know the Patriots are
• 16:17
  Speaker 2: probably coming up on the rankings, so I'll save my
• 16:19
  Speaker 2: take for that.
• 16:20
  Speaker 3: Eleven is the Ravens. They beat the Cowboys. No problem
• 16:23
  Speaker 3: with that. Twelve, the Raiders. Willie, I'll give Willie credit again. Hey,
• 16:28
  Speaker 3: watch out for those Raiders. They beat the Saints 35-27.
• 16:31
  Speaker 3: They moved from 22-12. How about a matchup of unbeatens,
• 16:35
  Speaker 3: the Raiders and the Chiefs, Sunday at 425.
• 16:40
  Speaker 4: You know what?
• 16:41
  Speaker 3: I'm going to go ahead and say that's a game
• 16:42
  Speaker 3: I'm going to be interested in, just an early preview
• 16:45
  Speaker 3: of Friday.
• 16:46
  Speaker 4: That's a game I'll be interested in.
• 16:48
  Speaker 5: Super interesting. Another super interesting game. That's interesting-ish for Rob.
• 16:54
  Speaker 5: It just, yeah, let's keep it going, Rob.
• 16:56
  Speaker 4: Why not? I like them all.
• 16:59
  Speaker 5: Rob has 13 interesting games of the week when we
• 17:02
  Speaker 5: have to pick one.
• 17:02
  Speaker 3: All right, I'll pick one on Friday. I promise you
• 17:06
  Speaker 3: I'll pick one, and we're all picking an upset, and
• 17:08
  Speaker 3: Justin's keeping track.
• 17:10
  Speaker 4: Okay, 13.
• 17:10
  Speaker 5: And you can't pick four upsets. You can't pick one in, like,
• 17:14
  Speaker 5: the three possibles.
• 17:16
  Speaker 4: 13, Philadelphia.
• 17:17
  Speaker 3: They lost to the Bears. 14, your Pittsburgh Steelers. Both
• 17:21
  Speaker 3: of you guys lost. Over the actual retail price.
• 17:24
  Speaker 4: Yes, that's right.
• 17:26
  Speaker 2: Oh, wow.
• 17:26
  Speaker 4: Number 14.
• 17:27
  Speaker 3: I like it. Let's get through here quickly. They are
• 17:31
  Speaker 3: one spot ahead of the 15th-ranked Bengals. The Patriots tumbled
• 17:35
  Speaker 3: to 16. Willie, quick take time.
• 17:38
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I think the Patriots have a Drake May problem,
• 17:40
  Speaker 2: and I think he's clearly trying to be better than
• 17:44
  Speaker 2: he was last year. And I think we are realizing
• 17:47
  Speaker 2: the Patriots had an easier schedule last year. And this year,
• 17:51
  Speaker 2: I think they put more on his plate. He seems indecisive,
• 17:54
  Speaker 2: and I think when you see some of the throws
• 17:57
  Speaker 2: and how they're utilizing him, you can tell that right
• 18:00
  Speaker 2: now what's hurting him is from the neck up. He's overthinking,
• 18:04
  Speaker 2: overanalyzing with the ball in his hand. He's making poor decisions,
• 18:06
  Speaker 2: and they don't have enough access to make him right. A.J.
• 18:10
  Speaker 2: Brown is still hurt. Right now, Romeo Dobbs is average.
• 18:14
  Speaker 2: Matt Collins, you know, he's spotty. He makes some plays,
• 18:17
  Speaker 2: and the run game just hasn't been as efficient as
• 18:18
  Speaker 2: they would like. And so now you're asking this young
• 18:21
  Speaker 2: man to be a world beater, and I don't think
• 18:23
  Speaker 2: he's quite there yet. So Josh McDaniel and the company
• 18:25
  Speaker 2: are going to have to figure out how can they
• 18:27
  Speaker 2: get the best out of Drake May because right now
• 18:28
  Speaker 2: you can see he's just– there's one part on– there's
• 18:32
  Speaker 2: one highlight in the game where you see Mike Rabel
• 18:34
  Speaker 2: really putting both hands on Drake May, trying to calm
• 18:37
  Speaker 2: him down and talk him off the cliff because right
• 18:39
  Speaker 2: now he seems rattled, and there's a lot of football left.
• 18:42
  Speaker 2: So we'll see what Drake May looks like in the
• 18:44
  Speaker 2: next couple weeks.
• 18:45
  Speaker 4: They fall from 6-16. They're at the Bills.
• 18:48
  Speaker 3: Just quickly here, guys, 17 Cowboys, 18– The Cleveland Browns.
• 18:53
  Speaker 3: Get to more of them in a moment. 19, the
• 18:55
  Speaker 3: Colts coming up. 20, the Saints coming up.
• 18:57
  Speaker 2: 21, Giants. 22, Texans.
• 18:58
  Speaker 4: 23, Commanders. 24, Panthers.
• 18:59
  Speaker 2: 25, Falcons.
• 18:59
  Speaker 4: 26, Jets.
• 19:00
  Speaker 2: 27, Packers.
• 19:00
  Speaker 4: Wow.
• 19:00
  Speaker 2: 28, Arizona.
• 19:00
  Speaker 3: 29, the Chargers at 0-3. 30, the Buccaneers at 0-3.
• 19:04
  Speaker 4: 31, the Dolphins.
• 19:05
  Speaker 3: And somehow they've slipped ahead of the Tennessee Titans. But
• 19:22
  Speaker 3: we want to talk about that number 18 team. The
• 19:26
  Speaker 3: Cleveland Browns are moving up in the eyes of people.
• 19:30
  Speaker 3: They are 2-1. AFC North division lead is on the
• 19:33
  Speaker 3: line on Thursday night. We're going to get into the
• 19:37
  Speaker 3: key matchups of that game and give you our big
• 19:39
  Speaker 3: matchup of the game as well when we continue in
• 19:41
  Speaker 3: the locker room here on the Steelers Audio Network.
• 19:47
  Speaker 1: This is In the Locker Room with Rob King, Max Starks,
• 19:51
  Speaker 1: and Willie Colon on Steelers Nation Radio, brought to you
• 19:55
  Speaker 1: in part by the Steelers Pro Shop. Get it direct
• 19:58
  Speaker 1: from the team at the Steelers Pro Shop at shop.steelers.com.
• 20:02
  Speaker 1: And by your neighborhood Ford store. The F-150 is the
• 20:06
  Speaker 1: official truck of the Pittsburgh Steelers.
• 20:10
  Speaker 6: The D-line as a whole, Burrs, I had a chance
• 20:13
  Speaker 6: to see him live in the practice opportunities against the
• 20:17
  Speaker 6: Rams when I was out there in California. Sam Williams,
• 20:19
  Speaker 6: someone I've coached, we drafted him out of Ole Miss.
• 20:22
  Speaker 6: They're playing really good team defense. It's a different system
• 20:27
  Speaker 6: from Jim Swartz when he was there. We're just looking
• 20:31
  Speaker 6: at those changes.
• 20:35
  Speaker 3: It's a different D-line. It's a different Browns team. Okay,
• 20:40
  Speaker 3: so as long as now, look, I've already critiqued myself,
• 20:44
  Speaker 3: things I was wrong about. I did say at the
• 20:47
  Speaker 3: beginning of the year, looked like a really bad take
• 20:49
  Speaker 3: after week one, that I thought this Cleveland Browns team
• 20:52
  Speaker 3: could be an improved team and be a pain in
• 20:54
  Speaker 3: the neck, a thorn in the side of teams. I
• 20:57
  Speaker 3: didn't expect them to be 2-1. The reason I thought that, Max,
• 21:01
  Speaker 3: was because.
• 21:04
  Speaker 4: They took a.
• 21:04
  Speaker 3: Little bit of a, of a page out of the
• 21:09
  Speaker 3: Bears book, which was they went out and they rebuilt
• 21:11
  Speaker 3: their offensive line in free agency.
• 21:13
  Speaker 4: That's what the Bears did a year ago.
• 21:16
  Speaker 3: We heard Willie talking about Joe Tooney and the other
• 21:19
  Speaker 3: guys that they added to that offensive line. Well, the
• 21:22
  Speaker 3: Browns have Spencer Faneau, who they took early on as
• 21:26
  Speaker 3: their starting left tackle, first-round pick. Zion Johnson, you can
• 21:29
  Speaker 3: say what you want about him. With L.A., the Chargers,
• 21:33
  Speaker 3: a lot of people thought maybe they paid him too
• 21:35
  Speaker 3: much money Elton Jenkins, good, solid veteran at center. They
• 21:39
  Speaker 3: have their own Tevin Jenkins at right guard. Titus Howard
• 21:43
  Speaker 3: has been a solid right tackle in the NFL. Four
• 21:46
  Speaker 3: new starters, and they still have, like, DeJuan Jones. They're
• 21:48
  Speaker 3: going to be glad they had Luke Whipler, I think,
• 21:50
  Speaker 3: this week, who started a few games. They have some
• 21:53
  Speaker 3: depth guys. They have Harold Finn at a tight end.
• 21:57
  Speaker 3: I think Quinshawn Judkins is a really good young running back.
• 21:59
  Speaker 3: They added two first-rounders on the outside to give them
• 22:02
  Speaker 3: some speed and some ability to go with Judy. You know,
• 22:05
  Speaker 3: we're going to get to the defense in a minute,
• 22:07
  Speaker 3: but they completely remade the offense. The only question you
• 22:10
  Speaker 3: have is can they get anything out of the quarterback position?
• 22:14
  Speaker 4: Well, they've gotten more than anything.
• 22:15
  Speaker 3: Deshaun Watson, you know, didn't look great in week one,
• 22:19
  Speaker 3: but he has looked really good the last two weeks, Max.
• 22:23
  Speaker 3: He can scramble and hurt you with his legs. He's
• 22:26
  Speaker 3: been very accurate with the football. This Browns team, you know,
• 22:31
  Speaker 3: they look solid to me. As long as Watson's playing
• 22:35
  Speaker 3: decent ball.
• 22:37
  Speaker 5: Yeah, no, I mean, they're very competent. Like you said,
• 22:40
  Speaker 5: you have the skill guys there. So that's the most
• 22:42
  Speaker 5: important thing that you have on your side is you
• 22:45
  Speaker 5: have a run game to bolster the quarterback. You have
• 22:49
  Speaker 5: an offensive line that can hold this, a big road
• 22:52
  Speaker 5: grading offensive line and all of the guys that you
• 22:57
  Speaker 5: went and got. So, you know, what else is there, right?
• 23:01
  Speaker 5: You know, what else is going to be the big
• 23:03
  Speaker 5: ticket for you guys and i think that's the biggest
• 23:07
  Speaker 5: thing is that they have they have the dudes they
• 23:10
  Speaker 5: have they have some dudes that can that can play
• 23:12
  Speaker 5: this game at a very high level and you have
• 23:15
  Speaker 5: competent you have competent guys and you know listen denzel
• 23:18
  Speaker 5: boston you know as a receiver that we were looking
• 23:21
  Speaker 5: at and we were like okay this is a guy
• 23:23
  Speaker 5: that we're going to you know depend on to make
• 23:27
  Speaker 5: some big plays in the middle of the field really
• 23:29
  Speaker 5: be a big um a big target for Deshaun Watson.
• 23:34
  Speaker 5: And like you said, you pair him with Harold Fannin
• 23:36
  Speaker 5: and you got Quincy on Jenkins. I mean, you got
• 23:38
  Speaker 5: guys at every level. So it's an offense that you
• 23:42
  Speaker 5: can't take lightly, one that you have to think about
• 23:45
  Speaker 5: in a very positive light, and they're going to be
• 23:47
  Speaker 5: a challenge.
• 23:48
  Speaker 3: And Willie Casey Concepcion, who I think the Steelers had
• 23:52
  Speaker 3: some interest in as well. You know, he was a
• 23:55
  Speaker 3: playmaker in college. They use him on jet sweeps. They
• 23:58
  Speaker 3: use him on short little patterns that he can get
• 24:00
  Speaker 3: out and do something, you know, try to make some
• 24:02
  Speaker 3: plays on the outside.
• 24:04
  Speaker 4: They use him in the punt return game.
• 24:06
  Speaker 3: I mean, I'm not saying that this is a 15-2
• 24:10
  Speaker 3: football team. I'm just saying I think they made a
• 24:12
  Speaker 3: big step forward with what they did in the offseason
• 24:15
  Speaker 3: by attacking that O-line and getting some playmakers on the outside.
• 24:19
  Speaker 2: Yeah, because it's hard to evaluate a quarterback and what
• 24:22
  Speaker 2: he can and can't do if you don't have any protection.
• 24:25
  Speaker 2: And I think when you talk about the offensive line, they–
• 24:28
  Speaker 2: Over the last three years, you've seen the Browns build
• 24:33
  Speaker 2: a young, strong, talented roster, and they're starting to grow
• 24:36
  Speaker 2: year by year. I'm not surprised by the success they
• 24:40
  Speaker 2: have thus far. I think the quarterback hasn't been questioned forever,
• 24:44
  Speaker 2: so we know that's the headline. But I think it
• 24:46
  Speaker 2: comes down to Todd Munkin. When he left Baltimore, he
• 24:51
  Speaker 2: didn't get a lot of credit for how he was
• 24:53
  Speaker 2: able to elevate Lamar Jackson. allow him to be Lamar
• 24:57
  Speaker 2: Jackson with his skill set, and also become a better passer.
• 25:00
  Speaker 2: So on top of that, when he got to Cleveland,
• 25:02
  Speaker 2: there was a lot made of his age and where
• 25:06
  Speaker 2: he was at in his career, and I think it
• 25:09
  Speaker 2: seems like they've kind of hit this pivot, if you will,
• 25:15
  Speaker 2: where Sean Watson wants to change his name and be
• 25:18
  Speaker 2: a better ball player, and Tom Munkin wants to show
• 25:20
  Speaker 2: people that he can make hay without having an ultra-talented player.
• 25:25
  Speaker 2: quarterback in Lamar Jackson, that he's still a damn good
• 25:30
  Speaker 2: not only head coach, but a guy who can orchestrate
• 25:33
  Speaker 2: the offense. So I do think right now you're seeing
• 25:36
  Speaker 2: Deshaun Watson feel better about himself. That's why he's playing better.
• 25:39
  Speaker 2: And think about this, too, guys. I don't know if
• 25:41
  Speaker 2: this has been talked about, but in that fourth quarter,
• 25:45
  Speaker 2: the Dog Pound, the Browns fans, they were chanting Deshaun
• 25:49
  Speaker 2: Watson's name, right? And let's not forget A couple of
• 25:52
  Speaker 2: weeks ago, Deshaun was damn near saying, you know, pretty
• 25:55
  Speaker 2: much pulling his pants down and telling the whole Cleveland
• 25:58
  Speaker 2: Brown fan base to kiss his butt. So it's interesting
• 26:02
  Speaker 2: how within a couple of weeks, the Browns feel not
• 26:05
  Speaker 2: only optimistic about Deshaun Watson and where he's at in
• 26:08
  Speaker 2: his development, the Browns fans are willing and cheering him on.
• 26:12
  Speaker 2: But collectively, you're watching a team who will forever fly
• 26:15
  Speaker 2: on and hit the radar until they get a quarter,
• 26:17
  Speaker 2: you know, an elite quarterback. But right now you're watching
• 26:20
  Speaker 2: the Browns team that's just saying, hey, man, we're going
• 26:21
  Speaker 2: to take it week by week. We're going to put
• 26:23
  Speaker 2: our Dukes up, and we're going to scrap, and we're
• 26:25
  Speaker 2: going to fight. You know, they were down in that
• 26:26
  Speaker 2: game against Carolina. Harold Fannin Jr. scores two touchdowns. They
• 26:30
  Speaker 2: not only win that game, but they're going into this week,
• 26:33
  Speaker 2: a short week, where they feel confident. They feel confident
• 26:37
  Speaker 2: going against the Pittsburgh Steelers and feeling like they have
• 26:40
  Speaker 2: a defense that can– a pass rush that can get
• 26:43
  Speaker 2: after Aaron Rodgers. They also feel like they have enough
• 26:47
  Speaker 2: assets on offense where they can score points. So this
• 26:50
  Speaker 2: is going to be a tough matchup for the Steelers, man.
• 26:52
  Speaker 2: This is going to be a matchup about grit, heart,
• 26:54
  Speaker 2: and fight. Max said it earlier. But this is also
• 26:58
  Speaker 2: going to be a game where Aaron Rodgers hopefully has
• 27:01
  Speaker 2: the time to kind of let it rip. But it's
• 27:03
  Speaker 2: going to be up to our tight ends and DK
• 27:07
  Speaker 2: to have a monster game and also continue to run
• 27:09
  Speaker 2: the ball at a fish and tote. I'm excited for
• 27:12
  Speaker 2: this matchup, man, because I think both teams are going
• 27:15
  Speaker 2: to be a scrappy one. It's going to be a
• 27:16
  Speaker 2: good AFC North battle.
• 27:18
  Speaker 4: I totally agree.
• 27:19
  Speaker 3: You know, the Steelers haven't won there since 2021, and
• 27:22
  Speaker 3: it's felt like a big upset every time they've lost there.
• 27:25
  Speaker 3: I thought they played a poor game a year ago,
• 27:29
  Speaker 3: and then we saw Jameis Winston, you know, charging around
• 27:33
  Speaker 3: and doing some things as well. You know, when you
• 27:36
  Speaker 3: look at the Browns' defense, so, Willie, and I'll start
• 27:39
  Speaker 3: with you on this one, You know, they made the
• 27:41
  Speaker 3: big trade for Myles Garrett. They got Jared Burse back,
• 27:44
  Speaker 3: a two-time Pro Bowler. I mean, not an unbelievable pass rusher,
• 27:48
  Speaker 3: but a solid guy. You know, they had an injury
• 27:51
  Speaker 3: to their top returning sack guy, so they went out
• 27:53
  Speaker 3: and got, they signed Derek Barnett. They really haven't, you know,
• 27:57
  Speaker 3: those guys haven't, you know, been big, huge factors in
• 28:03
  Speaker 3: the pass rush game, but Mason Graham has. You know,
• 28:06
  Speaker 3: we were evaluating Mason Graham as much as you can, just,
• 28:09
  Speaker 3: you know, media guys and other guys. It just felt
• 28:13
  Speaker 3: like he was more of a kind of a, you know, good,
• 28:16
  Speaker 3: solid player. I know he's the first defensive lineman off
• 28:19
  Speaker 3: the board. You knew what you were going to get,
• 28:22
  Speaker 3: you know, high-trait leadership skills if you're trying to kind
• 28:26
  Speaker 3: of change the culture of a team. And he's one
• 28:28
  Speaker 3: of those guys you could look up two, three, four
• 28:30
  Speaker 3: years from now. He's a team leader, maybe makes a
• 28:33
  Speaker 3: Pro Bowl team or two. Well, I think I way
• 28:36
  Speaker 3: undersold him based on what he's done this year. He's
• 28:38
  Speaker 3: got four sacks. from the defensive tackle position. Here's the
• 28:43
  Speaker 3: other thing, too. Malik Collins is solid, and then you're
• 28:46
  Speaker 3: bringing these guys in waves. Aiden Huntington, Mike Hall is
• 28:51
  Speaker 3: back healthy. He was a second-round pick a couple years ago.
• 28:55
  Speaker 3: And then behind Verst and Isaiah McGuire, now you're bringing in, again,
• 28:58
  Speaker 3: you have Sam Williams, you have Barnett. You're trying to
• 29:01
  Speaker 3: get a rotation going. I don't know as I think they're–
• 29:05
  Speaker 3: and behind them, by the way, Swessinger obviously was a
• 29:07
  Speaker 3: great player last year. You get Quincy Williams. We know
• 29:10
  Speaker 3: about Denzel Ward. We've seen him for years in the
• 29:12
  Speaker 3: back end. He's a terrific cover corner. He got paid.
• 29:16
  Speaker 3: Grant Delpit's a very good, strong safety. They've got some
• 29:19
  Speaker 3: good players. Even without Myles Garrett, they have some good
• 29:23
  Speaker 3: guys on that defense, and they can kind of come
• 29:25
  Speaker 3: at you in waves.
• 29:26
  Speaker 4: 100%.
• 29:28
  Speaker 2: I think when you lose Jim Schwartz, that's always a
• 29:32
  Speaker 2: blow because you can tell that that locker room and
• 29:35
  Speaker 2: those guys on my defensive side really loved him. And
• 29:37
  Speaker 2: Jim Schwartz, defensive coordinator, has a hell of a name
• 29:40
  Speaker 2: around the NFL and people love him and always loved
• 29:42
  Speaker 2: his brand of football. And to getting, especially getting those
• 29:46
  Speaker 2: guys to play at a high level. In reference to
• 29:49
  Speaker 2: Mason Graham, you know, he is playing at an all-pro level.
• 29:51
  Speaker 2: As you mentioned, you know, through three weeks he has
• 29:53
  Speaker 2: four sacks. And if I had to, if I had
• 29:56
  Speaker 2: a comp, man, I know you know who he is, Rob,
• 29:59
  Speaker 2: but Max probably knows as well. He reminds me a
• 30:02
  Speaker 2: lot of Kyle Williams, who used to play for the
• 30:04
  Speaker 2: Buffalo Bills. Oh, yeah. Kyle Williams was hell, man. First
• 30:09
  Speaker 2: of all, I didn't know he was Cajun until he
• 30:10
  Speaker 2: actually opened his mouth because he didn't really talk a lot.
• 30:13
  Speaker 2: But he was hell. His get-off, his strength at the
• 30:17
  Speaker 2: point of attack, he reminds me a lot of what
• 30:20
  Speaker 2: Kyle Williams used to do. Yeah. um if you don't
• 30:23
  Speaker 2: for those out there who don't know kyle williams just
• 30:25
  Speaker 2: just go youtube one one of the great buffalo bills
• 30:28
  Speaker 2: of all time especially on the defensive side so i
• 30:32
  Speaker 2: but mason graham has has now become the face of
• 30:35
  Speaker 2: that defense and obviously you ripped off a couple other
• 30:38
  Speaker 2: names but jab verse there was a lot of talk
• 30:40
  Speaker 2: about how well he was going to acclimate himself he
• 30:43
  Speaker 2: hasn't popped off the table as far as getting sacks
• 30:45
  Speaker 2: but he applies a lot of pressure so As much
• 30:49
  Speaker 2: as we sit here and we kind of congratulate the
• 30:52
  Speaker 2: Steelers office line for being great, they have another tough
• 30:55
  Speaker 2: task because this defensive front, this front seven for the
• 30:59
  Speaker 2: Browns is relentless. And there's no let up. So this
• 31:02
  Speaker 2: is going to be a great test for the Steelers
• 31:04
  Speaker 2: office line. But credit Todd Munkin, man, you would tell
• 31:06
  Speaker 2: collectively there's a belief. And you start to see Deshaun
• 31:11
  Speaker 2: Watson start to kind of get comfortable with And it
• 31:13
  Speaker 2: was good to see him rally the boys and beat
• 31:16
  Speaker 2: a very good Carolina team who I think is going
• 31:18
  Speaker 2: to be in the playoffs this year.
• 31:23
  Speaker 4: Max, you're nodding your head. That's it?
• 31:26
  Speaker 5: I mean, Willie said it all.
• 31:28
  Speaker 4: No, he did. He did.
• 31:30
  Speaker 2: I don't know what.
• 31:31
  Speaker 5: Else you could really say.
• 31:32
  Speaker 4: And by the way, they have had– You covered it all.
• 31:35
  Speaker 3: Especially with the way Graham has come on and the
• 31:39
  Speaker 3: way this rookie class– Like I've said this before, you
• 31:43
  Speaker 3: go to the Combine, and I don't know if you've
• 31:47
  Speaker 3: ever been there, Willie, but I know Max has been there,
• 31:49
  Speaker 3: and just by osmosis, you're hearing different things from different people,
• 31:54
  Speaker 3: and you're reading scouting reports, and you're talking to people
• 31:57
  Speaker 3: that have interesting views, and you're learning a lot about
• 32:02
  Speaker 3: what the scouting community thinks about players. So when I
• 32:05
  Speaker 3: left Indianapolis, I've said this before, when I left Indianapolis,
• 32:09
  Speaker 3: there were a few players that really stuck in my
• 32:12
  Speaker 3: mind one of them first and foremost was Max Ahanachor
• 32:15
  Speaker 3: which why I was thrilled when the Steelers drafted him
• 32:18
  Speaker 3: because he just the way people were talking about him
• 32:21
  Speaker 3: there was a buzz about him and then two of
• 32:24
  Speaker 3: the other guys were Casey Concepcion and Emmanuel McNeil Warren
• 32:31
  Speaker 3: and both those guys were drafted by the Browns the
• 32:35
  Speaker 3: Browns you look at their draft last year Again, just
• 32:38
  Speaker 3: for fans out there, I'm not trying to build them
• 32:41
  Speaker 3: into the super team yet.
• 32:42
  Speaker 5: They had a million draft picks.
• 32:45
  Speaker 3: They did. Last year they got Mason Graham. They got
• 32:49
  Speaker 3: Carson Swessinger, who is a rookie defensive player of the year,
• 32:53
  Speaker 3: among others. So that draft class was very good for
• 32:57
  Speaker 3: the Browns. And then this year you get Boston, Concepcion,
• 33:01
  Speaker 3: and Faneuil, three first-round picks, and Emmanuel McNeil-Warren. Yeah, they're
• 33:05
  Speaker 3: first-round picks, but how often do we see teams blunder those?
• 33:08
  Speaker 3: And it's not like Cleveland's hit on all those either
• 33:11
  Speaker 3: over the years. So I just think that they are slowly–
• 33:15
  Speaker 3: this is why I was kind of bullish on them
• 33:16
  Speaker 3: at the beginning of the year, and I thought they
• 33:18
  Speaker 3: had a very judicious use of free agency. I think
• 33:22
  Speaker 3: it's a team that's going to be a lot better
• 33:25
  Speaker 3: than Steelers fans think, and I think it's a team
• 33:27
  Speaker 3: that is building toward a pretty good future, especially if
• 33:31
  Speaker 3: Watson can give them anything out of that quarterback position, guys.
• 33:35
  Speaker 3: So we're going to take a break now. We're going
• 33:37
  Speaker 3: to get into our keys to the game and our
• 33:39
  Speaker 3: big-time matchup of the game when we continue in the
• 33:42
  Speaker 3: locker room here on the Steelers Audio Network.
• 33:50
  Speaker 1: This is In the Locker Room with Rob King, Max Starks,
• 33:54
  Speaker 1: and Willie Colon on Steelers Nation Radio. Brought to you
• 33:57
  Speaker 1: in part by the Steelers Pro Shop. Get it direct
• 34:00
  Speaker 1: from the team at the Steelers Pro Shop at shop.steelers.com.
• 34:05
  Speaker 1: And by your neighborhood Ford store. The F-150 is the
• 34:09
  Speaker 1: official truck of the Pittsburgh Steelers.
• 34:15
  Speaker 5: For those who may want to know where we are
• 34:18
  Speaker 5: in the broadcast program schedule, it is the final segment.
• 34:24
  Speaker 5: Sound the horn. Hear ye, hear ye. Our match-ups and
• 34:33
  Speaker 5: predictions and overviews are now here, ladies and gentlemen. And
• 34:38
  Speaker 5: I turn it over to Robert Schaefer-King.
• 34:43
  Speaker 2: Go, sir.
• 34:45
  Speaker 4: Maximilian Starks, the fourth. Thank you. Weisner.
• 34:48
  Speaker 2: Weisner. Don't forget Weisner. Weisner. Weisner. Weisner.
• 34:52
  Speaker 4: Weisner. Weisner.
• 34:54
  Speaker 5: I can't get enough letters in my name already, so
• 34:57
  Speaker 5: we added a very German middle name to round it out.
• 35:02
  Speaker 2: Okay.
• 35:02
  Speaker 4: So, guys, I think this is going to be a
• 35:06
  Speaker 4: tough game. I really do.
• 35:10
  Speaker 3: And then I'm going to give you my– you want
• 35:12
  Speaker 3: my keys to the game or my big-time matchup?
• 35:14
  Speaker 4: Max, I'll let you choose.
• 35:17
  Speaker 5: Let's go big-time matchup first, and then we'll kind of
• 35:20
  Speaker 5: end with the keys.
• 35:22
  Speaker 4: There are a few of them.
• 35:23
  Speaker 3: There's a lot of intriguing matchups along both lines. When
• 35:28
  Speaker 3: I think of big, big-time matchup, I mean, you can
• 35:31
  Speaker 3: think of– oh, there's so many of them in this game.
• 35:33
  Speaker 3: But I'm going to go– I'm not sure Elton Jenkins
• 35:37
  Speaker 3: is going to play. So he had a concussion on Sunday.
• 35:40
  Speaker 3: Jenkins is a two-time Pro Bowler. I think he's the
• 35:43
  Speaker 3: kind of guy you bring in. You're hoping he's going
• 35:45
  Speaker 3: to anchor that offensive line and give you some stability.
• 35:48
  Speaker 3: They brought in a lot of veterans. So I think
• 35:50
  Speaker 3: they're going to go with Whipler, the backup. And Luke Whipler,
• 35:54
  Speaker 3: he's got five starts under his belt. He's played in
• 35:57
  Speaker 3: a number of games. But, you know, I think Derek
• 36:00
  Speaker 3: Harmon coming off this big game. I know that, you know,
• 36:04
  Speaker 3: Derek's not always over the center. But I'm going to
• 36:07
  Speaker 3: kind of look at that matchup. Maybe I'd say Y.A. Black,
• 36:10
  Speaker 3: but I'm going to go with Whipler against Harmon. I
• 36:13
  Speaker 3: think that's my big-time matchup, and I think if Whipler's
• 36:16
  Speaker 3: in there, the Steelers have an opportunity to exploit him.
• 36:22
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I like that one, too.
• 36:24
  Speaker 5: Hey, find the deficiency, right? I mean, but that's what
• 36:28
  Speaker 5: short-week football is all about, right? It's not about... Where
• 36:33
  Speaker 5: we can scheme them out or create these intricate plays
• 36:38
  Speaker 5: to fool them. It's no, no, no, no, no. I
• 36:41
  Speaker 5: need to find the weakest link and I need to
• 36:43
  Speaker 5: run through it. You know, it's Red Rover, Red Rover.
• 36:47
  Speaker 5: You know, we're sending Derek Harmon on over and I
• 36:49
  Speaker 5: need Derek to go find the guy that doesn't really
• 36:52
  Speaker 5: want to hold the other person's hand. But for whatever reason,
• 36:55
  Speaker 5: they wipe the nose, you know, with a booger or something.
• 36:57
  Speaker 5: He's like, ah, you know, but you got to break
• 36:59
  Speaker 5: through the chain so you can bring somebody back over.
• 37:01
  Speaker 5: I think that's what you have to look at. I
• 37:03
  Speaker 5: think the Whipler matchup is one that I'm really intrigued about.
• 37:07
  Speaker 5: You're right. I mean, it has to be on the
• 37:09
  Speaker 5: line because we've seen when Deshaun Watson feels comfortable, he
• 37:14
  Speaker 5: starts making plays. And we detailed the weapons that he
• 37:16
  Speaker 5: has at his disposal, and especially in the run game.
• 37:19
  Speaker 5: Where can I affect the most in the backfield in
• 37:23
  Speaker 5: the run game? Well, it's going to be trying to
• 37:25
  Speaker 5: expose a backside A-gap so you prevent the cutback for
• 37:29
  Speaker 5: Quinson Judkins. or it's you know being able to run
• 37:33
  Speaker 5: blitz through that area with a three technique on him
• 37:36
  Speaker 5: and and he has to try and defend both gaps
• 37:39
  Speaker 5: those are the type of mismatches that we want to
• 37:41
  Speaker 5: see in this game and so you know i'm right
• 37:44
  Speaker 5: there with you i think i think that's that's a
• 37:46
  Speaker 5: really good matchup i really love you know once again
• 37:50
  Speaker 5: gotta go back you know not i'm not gonna call
• 37:54
  Speaker 5: him mean joe frazier but mean zach frazier is gonna
• 37:56
  Speaker 5: have to go and try and figure out the Morgantown
• 37:59
  Speaker 5: mauler is going to have to maul Mason Graham. He's
• 38:02
  Speaker 5: going to have to control the middle of that because
• 38:04
  Speaker 5: that's the area where when you think about Aaron Rodgers
• 38:08
  Speaker 5: and when he has success, he has to feel comfortable
• 38:10
  Speaker 5: in the middle. He has to have that escape lane north.
• 38:13
  Speaker 5: He can't go east and west like he used to,
• 38:16
  Speaker 5: so it's got to be an escape lane north. So
• 38:18
  Speaker 5: you've got to create that picket fence up front. So
• 38:20
  Speaker 5: how you deal with Mason Graham is going to weigh
• 38:23
  Speaker 5: heavily on the success of the passing game. and what
• 38:26
  Speaker 5: we can establish in the run game.
• 38:29
  Speaker 4: That's a good one.
• 38:30
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I agree. I think one of the matches I'm
• 38:32
  Speaker 2: excited to see is Harold Fanta Jr. versus our linebackers
• 38:35
  Speaker 2: and safeties because obviously we're dealing with some injury issues,
• 38:39
  Speaker 2: especially in the back end. And who knows the status
• 38:41
  Speaker 2: of Jalen Ramsey, but Harold Fanta Jr. has been Deshaun
• 38:45
  Speaker 2: Watson's number one security blanket. So if we're able to
• 38:49
  Speaker 2: eliminate him or erase him off the field, man, I
• 38:52
  Speaker 2: like our odds. So, He's been highly productive. I already
• 38:55
  Speaker 2: mentioned he scored two touchdowns and a comeback went over
• 38:57
  Speaker 2: to Carolina Panthers. But you also see this young man, man,
• 39:00
  Speaker 2: he catches the ball. He's looking to get north fast.
• 39:03
  Speaker 2: So tackling is going to be important. Our ability to
• 39:07
  Speaker 2: match up with him well is going to be important.
• 39:09
  Speaker 2: But also I'd like to see our linebackers really make
• 39:14
  Speaker 2: it hell for Doshon Watson because, yeah, he's been good.
• 39:17
  Speaker 2: He hasn't been great. You know what I mean? Rob,
• 39:19
  Speaker 2: you mentioned he had a tough week one. Week two,
• 39:23
  Speaker 2: he was better. Week three, he was okay again. I mean,
• 39:25
  Speaker 2: Casey consumption only had one reception going into the fourth
• 39:29
  Speaker 2: quarter of that game. against Carolina. So there's still some
• 39:31
  Speaker 2: instability upside down. And then Todd Munkin himself said this
• 39:34
  Speaker 2: is an offense that he feels once they figure it out,
• 39:37
  Speaker 2: they're going to be damn good. But right now they're
• 39:39
  Speaker 2: disjointed and they kind of get in their own way.
• 39:42
  Speaker 2: So they stall on a lot of drives. So it's
• 39:45
  Speaker 2: going to be imperative for the Steelers just to be disciplined, man.
• 39:48
  Speaker 2: Be disciplined. Play sound. get after Deshaun Watson, and it
• 39:52
  Speaker 2: doesn't have to be a dogfight, but it will be
• 39:55
  Speaker 2: one if we don't show up and do our part.
• 39:58
  Speaker 3: Max, why don't you start with our keys to the
• 40:00
  Speaker 3: game offensively and defensively for the Steelers?
• 40:04
  Speaker 5: Keys to the game. Here's my easiest one. Offensively, establish
• 40:09
  Speaker 5: the run. You got off to such a great start
• 40:12
  Speaker 5: against Cincinnati because you were what? Able to dominate the
• 40:16
  Speaker 5: trenches defensively. and run the football and create a wall
• 40:22
  Speaker 5: for Aaron Rodgers to feel comfortable with some of the
• 40:25
  Speaker 5: play action stuff. But as well, you allow Jalen Warren
• 40:29
  Speaker 5: to really run, especially on the outside stretch zone stuff,
• 40:31
  Speaker 5: where he could really press the outside edge and be
• 40:35
  Speaker 5: very intentional about getting up into the line and then
• 40:38
  Speaker 5: breaking out. It's because you had a solid wall up front.
• 40:41
  Speaker 5: And then defensively, it's pressure up the middle. I think
• 40:45
  Speaker 5: your key matchup in this assessment, Rob, was spot on
• 40:50
  Speaker 5: because that's where they want to control. They want to
• 40:52
  Speaker 5: control the interior. And now if you potentially don't have
• 40:55
  Speaker 5: Jenkins in at center and you got Whipler, you have
• 40:57
  Speaker 5: to think those guards are going to try and crash
• 40:59
  Speaker 5: those A gaps to really protect the interior center. So
• 41:03
  Speaker 5: how you affect things in the B and C gap
• 41:05
  Speaker 5: and stretch them out just a little bit wider than
• 41:08
  Speaker 5: they like, and you still are attacking into the A
• 41:11
  Speaker 5: is going to be key. And because Deshaun Watson doesn't
• 41:14
  Speaker 5: like pressure in his face. I mean, I can't name
• 41:16
  Speaker 5: a quarterback in America that does unless you're Lamar Jackson
• 41:19
  Speaker 5: because you can escape outside. But that's going to be key.
• 41:23
  Speaker 5: And how you deal with Quenshawn Juckins is going to
• 41:26
  Speaker 5: affect how that passing game. You force them into one dimension.
• 41:30
  Speaker 5: Don't keep them two-dimensional. I think that's really going to
• 41:32
  Speaker 5: be my two keys. I'm focusing on one on offense,
• 41:34
  Speaker 5: one on defense.
• 41:35
  Speaker 2: How about you, Willie? Yeah, I like that. I think
• 41:38
  Speaker 2: I'm going to piggyback off Max on the opposite side. Listen,
• 41:41
  Speaker 2: it's going to... We just talked about how dominant this
• 41:43
  Speaker 2: offensive line was Sunday against the Bengals. Understand the Browns
• 41:47
  Speaker 2: aren't going to sit in the phone booth and try
• 41:48
  Speaker 2: to bang it out with the Steelers. It's going to
• 41:50
  Speaker 2: depend on if the Steelers' offensive line can handle their movement,
• 41:54
  Speaker 2: because there's going to be a lot of slanting. There's
• 41:56
  Speaker 2: going to be a lot of downhill stuff. They want
• 41:58
  Speaker 2: to make it ugly, especially for Jalen Warren, considering that
• 42:02
  Speaker 2: Rico Dotto is banged up. They want to bang him up.
• 42:05
  Speaker 2: They don't want to sit there and just allow him
• 42:07
  Speaker 2: to kind of rip off runs and allow him to
• 42:09
  Speaker 2: dictate what he wants to do with the football on
• 42:11
  Speaker 2: his hands. So if this Steeler offensive line can handle
• 42:14
  Speaker 2: the Browns movement, we'll be fine. Defensively, man, we just
• 42:18
  Speaker 2: need to see T.J. Watt and Alex Hotsmith and them
• 42:21
  Speaker 2: boys do what they do, and that's get after Deshaun Watson,
• 42:24
  Speaker 2: control the edges, stay, you know, obviously control the containment,
• 42:28
  Speaker 2: but also be able to be a menace. You know,
• 42:31
  Speaker 2: we need T.J. Watt and her being one of those
• 42:33
  Speaker 2: guys to be a menace for this offensive line and
• 42:35
  Speaker 2: the Cleveland Browns. Deshaun Watson, like once again, is still
• 42:39
  Speaker 2: figuring himself out. But I know one thing. Once he
• 42:41
  Speaker 2: throws one pick, there's another one coming. So we just
• 42:45
  Speaker 2: got to get him to turn over the ball and
• 42:47
  Speaker 2: really just razzle him because he doesn't want to get
• 42:50
  Speaker 2: hit anymore. As much as he does use his legs,
• 42:52
  Speaker 2: I think it's more out of desperation. He doesn't use
• 42:55
  Speaker 2: them as a weapon like he used to. So if
• 42:57
  Speaker 2: we can get him on a run, hit him, make
• 43:00
  Speaker 2: him see ghosts, it should be a good day for
• 43:01
  Speaker 2: the Pittsburgh Steelers.
• 43:03
  Speaker 4: Yeah, and I'm going to– I think these all tie
• 43:06
  Speaker 4: in together.
• 43:06
  Speaker 2: Yeah.
• 43:07
  Speaker 4: Max has got to stop in Judkins.
• 43:10
  Speaker 3: If you can kind of control Judkins by controlling the
• 43:13
  Speaker 3: middle of that field, you can get him into.
• 43:15
  Speaker 4: Pass rush situations.
• 43:17
  Speaker 3: If Harmon and Hayward can pick on the two guys
• 43:21
  Speaker 3: that I think might be most vulnerable, which is Whipler
• 43:23
  Speaker 3: if he's in the game and Zion Johnson at left guard,
• 43:26
  Speaker 3: make things difficult for Deshaun Watson and make you have
• 43:30
  Speaker 3: to think about helping inside, man, oh, man, I think
• 43:34
  Speaker 3: we could see T.J.
• 43:35
  Speaker 4: Watt and Highsmith have a field day. But you've got
• 43:37
  Speaker 4: to stop.
• 43:37
  Speaker 3: Judkins to begin with I agree with you Willie I'm
• 43:41
  Speaker 3: right on it I think those guys could have big
• 43:42
  Speaker 3: games but then the other thing that happens is Deshaun
• 43:45
  Speaker 3: Watson can still slip out he's fourth in among quarterbacks
• 43:50
  Speaker 3: and rushing yards in the NFL you know he's still
• 43:54
  Speaker 3: and he's not the same Deshaun Watson that could rip
• 43:56
  Speaker 3: a long one but man on third and six I
• 43:59
  Speaker 3: still think he's a guy that can get you seven
• 44:01
  Speaker 3: so my key after you guys have stopped the run
• 44:04
  Speaker 3: and gotten pressure on the outside is to make sure
• 44:07
  Speaker 3: he doesn't slip out and make a big play. Easier
• 44:10
  Speaker 3: when you're in zone. I understand that. I don't know
• 44:12
  Speaker 3: how they're going to attack him. The other one, my
• 44:15
  Speaker 3: other key is similar to what you guys are saying.
• 44:17
  Speaker 3: I wonder if I'm a weak premature. I want to
• 44:20
  Speaker 3: see more offensive balance. Mike McCarthy mentioned this. I think
• 44:23
  Speaker 3: the balance within the passing game is phenomenal. Everybody's getting fed.
• 44:27
  Speaker 3: The ball is moving all over the place. I'd like
• 44:30
  Speaker 3: to see more runs. Now, if Rico Dowdle can't go,
• 44:34
  Speaker 3: And Jalen Warren, who plays so hard, is coming off
• 44:36
  Speaker 3: a short week. Maybe that has to wait for a week.
• 44:39
  Speaker 3: Maybe that balance has to come later. But last year,
• 44:42
  Speaker 3: they didn't run the ball well in that game in Cleveland.
• 44:45
  Speaker 3: I didn't think they ran it enough. I'd like to
• 44:47
  Speaker 3: see them run the ball more. So I know that
• 44:53
  Speaker 3: you said get the running game going. I just want
• 44:55
  Speaker 3: to see more balance offensively, a closer distribution between running
• 44:59
  Speaker 3: game and passing game. And I guess my final thing is,
• 45:03
  Speaker 3: If I'm going to predict a score, I'm going, I
• 45:05
  Speaker 3: think it's going to be lower scoring. I think we're
• 45:07
  Speaker 3: going to see a 20-13 type of game with the
• 45:10
  Speaker 3: Steelers on top.
• 45:13
  Speaker 5: Yeah, I like that assessment, Rob. I think that's something
• 45:18
  Speaker 5: that you have to assume is something that we can
• 45:23
  Speaker 5: pull off. And listen, why can't we see a little
• 45:27
  Speaker 5: sweet Lou Nichols, baby? Why can't we see a little
• 45:30
  Speaker 5: sweet Lou?
• 45:30
  Speaker 4: Yeah, it's okay with me.
• 45:31
  Speaker 5: Sweet Lou, baby. Yeah, hey, send in the hefty lefty.
• 45:36
  Speaker 5: I mean, we need some assistance there.
• 45:41
  Speaker 2: Yeah, you know how I feel about Lou Nichols. I
• 45:43
  Speaker 2: love his run style. I think he'll be a great addition. And,
• 45:47
  Speaker 2: you know, you're talking about the offensive line is starting
• 45:48
  Speaker 2: to get a rhythm, especially our combo blocking and our
• 45:50
  Speaker 2: dual blocking. He's the guy that, man, he can eat
• 45:53
  Speaker 2: you up between the 20s. So if he gets to
• 45:56
  Speaker 2: go on Thursday, man, I'll be excited to see that.
• 45:59
  Speaker 3: I think my favorite play of the preseason, the entire preseason, was–
• 46:03
  Speaker 3: Lou was lined up to the right of the quarterback.
• 46:05
  Speaker 3: They brought a blitz on the offensive left side, and
• 46:10
  Speaker 3: Lou slid over and just stoned the blitzer.
• 46:13
  Speaker 4: I'm like, all right, man, loved it. Way to go.
• 46:15
  Speaker 3: So if he's got to be there and pass, bro,
• 46:17
  Speaker 3: you know that's part of what they do and part
• 46:18
  Speaker 3: of what makes Jalen Warren such a great all-around back.
• 46:22
  Speaker 4: Guys, enjoyed it.
• 46:23
  Speaker 3: Look forward to the trip up to Cleveland on Thursday,
• 46:27
  Speaker 3: and Willie, we will be talking to you once more
• 46:29
  Speaker 3: on Friday. Our thanks to Jerry Dulac for coming on.
• 46:32
  Speaker 3: Our thanks to our producer, Justin Miller. For Willie Colon,
• 46:36
  Speaker 3: for Max Starks, I'm Rob King. We thank you, as always,
• 46:39
  Speaker 3: for being with us in the locker room here on
• 46:41
  Speaker 3: the Steelers Audio Network.