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Time for Philly · The Irish Steelers Podcast

0:06
Speaker 1: Heap folks, Welcome into the Irisheelers podcast. On the cuff
0:10
Speaker 1: of Week fifteen of the NFL season, Michael mcweid here,
0:14
Speaker 1: delighted to be joined with my compatriot here davalg McKee.
0:18
Speaker 1: Jimmy isn't here today, but we wish him well over
0:20
Speaker 1: the weekend getting to watch his team in week fifteen.
0:24
Speaker 1: I do my sorry, what's the crack. I'm not excited
0:28
Speaker 1: to have this podcast, dobug did. I'm just already splur
0:30
Speaker 1: my words. How you doing, hypeim I'm doing well, Imick.
0:33
Speaker 2: And this this one is definitely one I've been looking
0:35
Speaker 2: forward as well, you know, because it's to feel like
0:37
Speaker 2: it's the opposition is in my opinion, it's the toughest
0:41
Speaker 2: game of the year so far, and it's one I
0:42
Speaker 2: had marked out in the calendar because the Eagles are
0:45
Speaker 2: one of those teams where you know, obviously the Philadelphia,
0:48
Speaker 2: the rich arts history as well, you know, a bit
0:50
Speaker 2: like Pittsburgh. And then I obviously have a lot of
0:52
Speaker 2: friends over there living that have lived over there, including
0:55
Speaker 2: Jimmy who's not here at the moment, but he he
0:57
Speaker 2: lived in Philadelphia. He spent a bit of time he
0:59
Speaker 2: understand the rivalry between the two teams as well. So
1:02
Speaker 2: it's one I've been marked out for on my calendar.
1:04
Speaker 2: But yeah, been reading sort of you know, a bit
1:07
Speaker 2: of statistics as well this weekend and it's read shipping
1:10
Speaker 2: up to be a great game. So I'll bet you're
1:12
Speaker 2: breaking and breaking it down with you, Mack here.
1:16
Speaker 1: Look, it's definitely appreciated, and I know we're gonna get
1:19
Speaker 1: into a lot of talk around this Eagles team and
1:23
Speaker 1: a lot of talk really around this team for the Staels.
1:26
Speaker 1: But it's been three or four days since we last spoke,
1:29
Speaker 1: and we obviously spoke after the weekend. It was after
1:31
Speaker 1: the win that was we will talk about our predictions
1:35
Speaker 1: ahead of this game. But you know, just just looking
1:38
Speaker 1: into this as we enter a ten day crucial period,
1:42
Speaker 1: how is the confidence for.
1:43
Speaker 2: You right now?
1:44
Speaker 1: Like, don't give your pack away for this game, but
1:46
Speaker 1: just just generally because I feel like we need to
1:49
Speaker 1: win two of these games. I think that's the base
1:51
Speaker 1: line for us. If you lose one, you lose one.
1:53
Speaker 1: Obviously want to win all of them. But for me,
1:55
Speaker 1: it just feels like win these two, win two, helt
1:58
Speaker 1: of three and we're at a very good and you
2:00
Speaker 1: never know what can happened in terms of the rest
2:03
Speaker 1: of the places in the top five in the conference
2:05
Speaker 1: right now.
2:07
Speaker 2: Yeah, mag I said it earlier in the week. I
2:09
Speaker 2: feel I'm just gonna put my hands up and said,
2:13
Speaker 2: I can't see us winning four out of four. I
2:15
Speaker 2: just can't. It's the National Football League. I mean, it's
2:18
Speaker 2: hard to win one, never mind four to four. And
2:20
Speaker 2: the teams we've got, as if you said over our
2:22
Speaker 2: ten ten death stretch, We've got the Philadelphia Eagles, you know,
2:26
Speaker 2: arguably the most talented team in the league in my opinion,
2:28
Speaker 2: probably I think the Lands are probably up there as best,
2:31
Speaker 2: but I think in terms of raw talent on their team,
2:34
Speaker 2: I think the Eagles are number one. We've got the
2:36
Speaker 2: Baltimore Ravens, who are coming off Obviously they have the
2:39
Speaker 2: chance this weekend they're probably gonna roll them. But they're
2:41
Speaker 2: also coming off I lost to the Eagles last week,
2:43
Speaker 2: so they have to win and it's gonna be a massive,
2:46
Speaker 2: you know, step up game for them. They're gonna want revenge.
2:48
Speaker 2: And then of course on Christmas Day, we have the
2:50
Speaker 2: Kansas City Chiefs. I mean, they don't really need to
2:52
Speaker 2: say anymore than that. Of course, they haven't been great
2:54
Speaker 2: this year, haven't been blown teams out, but they've been
2:57
Speaker 2: playing West to win, and of course they've won two
2:59
Speaker 2: super Bowls, and only you can't really, no matter what
3:02
Speaker 2: you say, you have to respect them. So arguably the
3:04
Speaker 2: toughest ten death stretch in league history. But I'm still
3:09
Speaker 2: I'm still sitting here with you, and I'm still confident
3:11
Speaker 2: because the Pittsburgh Steelers, we know, we find out West.
3:15
Speaker 2: We're a bit like those teams. We found out ways
3:16
Speaker 2: to win games. And of course I'll be land if
3:18
Speaker 2: I said my confidence was SKay haigh, because it's not.
3:22
Speaker 2: But at the same time, I find that as if
3:25
Speaker 2: you just said, I think winning two out of those
3:26
Speaker 2: four games. Of course we've left at the Bengals as well,
3:29
Speaker 2: and in Weekly eighteen, if you like Week seventeen, I'm
3:33
Speaker 2: not entirely sure I think it is, but yeah, the
3:35
Speaker 2: Bengals are an noth theing they're going to be looking
3:37
Speaker 2: revouns so and winning two out of them four games
3:40
Speaker 2: I think should be enough to win the division and
3:41
Speaker 2: set us up right for the playoffs. So I'm not
3:43
Speaker 2: going to get greaty, but I think it'll just be
3:45
Speaker 2: one of those will take a week by we can
3:47
Speaker 2: see how things go.
3:49
Speaker 1: And it's funny because we will talk about this game
3:52
Speaker 1: and it just in a little second. But we really
3:54
Speaker 1: can't complain of it access. Obviously we're biased because we're
3:58
Speaker 1: we have that and me as an opportunity. We're very
4:00
Speaker 1: thankful to do a podcast for the Pittsburgh Steelers. And
4:03
Speaker 1: shout out to everyone listening this weekend, especially if you're.
4:05
Speaker 2: On the island of Ireland.
4:07
Speaker 1: But we've entered a week tallot where we've seen coach
4:10
Speaker 1: Tomlin and Pot McAfee earlier on Thursday, and we've also
4:14
Speaker 1: seen Hard Knocks. It's it's really it's weird because it
4:18
Speaker 1: just feels like we're getting so much closer to this
4:20
Speaker 1: team even though we live so far away, which is
4:22
Speaker 1: a credit to the organization. But more so, Coach Tomlin
4:26
Speaker 1: says it like it is. He's open, he's honest, he's
4:28
Speaker 1: a good crack, as we say. But it has been
4:31
Speaker 1: really enjoyable the Hard Knocks this week, and I know
4:32
Speaker 1: you really enjoyed the segment with Joey Porter Ginger.
4:36
Speaker 2: Yeah, I know that it was another great episode. I
4:38
Speaker 2: mean week one we got to see sort of at
4:41
Speaker 2: first time what MG. Thomalin is like, because you know,
4:43
Speaker 2: we see it anyway. You know, we know what he's like.
4:45
Speaker 2: He's very upfront and in the Cress conferences, he you know,
4:48
Speaker 2: he doesn't you know, hold back and he is just
4:51
Speaker 2: what you get. But he was yet again the start
4:53
Speaker 2: of the show makeer. There's been you know, a perception
4:56
Speaker 2: as well in the league. Around the league for a
4:58
Speaker 2: while the coach Thomlin tends to leave the offense, you know,
5:01
Speaker 2: because he's because of his defensive background. But that episode
5:04
Speaker 2: exactly proved exactly what it was. It was just a
5:06
Speaker 2: perception because we've seen him alongside Russ, we see him
5:09
Speaker 2: alongside Nauge even justin Fadus prepping for the game against
5:12
Speaker 2: the Browns, and you know, he was all in on
5:14
Speaker 2: the sort of game plan we were going to throw
5:15
Speaker 2: the war to Cleveland defense. So that was good to see.
5:18
Speaker 2: And he've just mentioned as well, Ue in the conversation
5:20
Speaker 2: he had with with Joey Porter Jr. And now that
5:22
Speaker 2: holds some moment which shows yet again, you know, the
5:24
Speaker 2: relationship he has, particularly with the younger players, and you
5:27
Speaker 2: know we've seen him last week with Nick Herbig. He
5:30
Speaker 2: treats him as if he's you know, almost like their
5:33
Speaker 2: own sons. You know, he has a sort of back
5:34
Speaker 2: from and not believe that they're going to go out
5:36
Speaker 2: and make players. So it's just really shown him at
5:38
Speaker 2: his operief's best. And you know, speaking of Joey Porter
5:41
Speaker 2: as well, Joey Porter Junior, we've got to say a
5:43
Speaker 2: bit of joy Joey Porter Senior in the episode, you know,
5:45
Speaker 2: the stories of him as a player, you know, against
5:47
Speaker 2: the rest of the FC North. He mentioned obviously about
5:50
Speaker 2: the time where he begged his wife not to wear
5:52
Speaker 2: his jersey because of the sort of you know, shenanigans
5:55
Speaker 2: she was gonna have to put up with. But she
5:57
Speaker 2: wore them anyway, and unfortunately she didn't get a great reception,
6:00
Speaker 2: which a want to the cities like Cleveland stuff. So
6:02
Speaker 2: that was basil. Wasn't it amazing? Amazing? It's it's it's
6:06
Speaker 2: hard to believe. It just shows you the levels of
6:08
Speaker 2: the of the Riverry. I mean, Cleveland do not like us.
6:10
Speaker 2: We do not like Cleveland, but the fans had that
6:12
Speaker 2: much hatred for Jorry Porter, Joey Porter that there anybody
6:17
Speaker 2: worn his jersey was just going to get flack. So yeah,
6:19
Speaker 2: that was amazing scene and it was really it was
6:21
Speaker 2: really cool to see a lot of him in the
6:22
Speaker 2: episode as well.
6:24
Speaker 1: It's funny because you see it not just with the Caesars,
6:26
Speaker 1: but with so many different teams of partners, the wives,
6:30
Speaker 1: the friends of players where they have to go to
6:33
Speaker 1: the different cities. Have seen George Kittle and Kyle just
6:36
Speaker 1: Shick's partners are very close together as friends, and I've
6:39
Speaker 1: seen him go to Buffalo recently with their jerseys and
6:42
Speaker 1: they had no fear at all. So it was funny
6:44
Speaker 1: see in that sense. But it's gonna be interesting, Doveo
6:46
Speaker 1: to see how this plays out on Hard Knocks, especially
6:49
Speaker 1: when you get three games in ten days, and regardless
6:52
Speaker 1: how the games go for us, I'm intriguously going to
6:56
Speaker 1: show that gap between the Saturday and the Wednesday, because
6:59
Speaker 1: it's really yes, we know that if you play Sunday
7:03
Speaker 1: that you have the enough time, you have the four
7:05
Speaker 1: days off, and I know it's the same difference between
7:07
Speaker 1: the Saturday, though I haven't say, but it's still different.
7:09
Speaker 2: So I'm really intrigued.
7:10
Speaker 1: I just feel like we're so closer one under this team,
7:12
Speaker 1: and I can only imagine if we're going to get
7:15
Speaker 1: like a Christmas Dinner video with a couple of weeks
7:17
Speaker 1: or something. Yeah, something tells me that one of Christmas
7:19
Speaker 1: Dinner with coach Tomlin.
7:21
Speaker 2: Who does you just mentioned it there, Mike. I think
7:25
Speaker 2: we got to see last week as well, the Thanksgiving
7:27
Speaker 2: dinner between the Heyward family. I mean, we got to
7:29
Speaker 2: make Connor Heyward where he's in Belfast, and we've seen
7:31
Speaker 2: just uptoking personal what he's like. But yeah, Mike, imagine
7:35
Speaker 2: Christmas and Mike Tomlin's house. Imagine and a lot of
7:39
Speaker 2: crack going on there anyway, you know, like a lot
7:40
Speaker 2: of bond there. But as he says, the standard, the
7:44
Speaker 2: standard to say that he even takes you know, the
7:46
Speaker 2: standard of Christmas dinner even serious, you know, So that
7:48
Speaker 2: would be an interesting one. I hope to see that.
7:51
Speaker 2: But yeah, we're really intense that you mentioned about the
7:54
Speaker 2: gap between Saturday and Wednesday. There we get to see
7:56
Speaker 2: what it's like every week. It's very intense, you know,
7:58
Speaker 2: the breakdown, the preparation goes in there really can't be
8:03
Speaker 2: there's the show. Yeah, you know, we've seen preparation that.
8:05
Speaker 2: I think the Chicago Bird earlier in the year a
8:08
Speaker 2: preseason we got to see their prep The difference is
8:10
Speaker 2: like day and night. I fail, and we're very lucky
8:12
Speaker 2: to have that sort of preparation in our books.
8:15
Speaker 1: I can confirm that. And I'm going over a Christmas.
8:19
Speaker 1: I'm going on hot I'm actually one of New York
8:20
Speaker 1: with my wife for Christmas, but I'm going to the
8:22
Speaker 1: game on Christmas death. So I shout out to my
8:25
Speaker 1: wife for her understanding. I wish you guys were I
8:28
Speaker 1: wish we were all there for that game together. But
8:29
Speaker 1: then I think you guys are gonna get more of
8:31
Speaker 1: the access than I got because of Christmas.
8:33
Speaker 2: But really excited that A will to go over.
8:35
Speaker 1: I mean, like, you're gonna have to hear some advice
8:37
Speaker 1: in the chat after this conversation, but then we'll definitely try.
8:41
Speaker 2: I know, I think the.
8:42
Speaker 1: Podcast will probably take a break out because it is Christmas,
8:44
Speaker 1: but I will be probably on but like probably on
8:47
Speaker 1: hand after to chat about the game. But man, the
8:51
Speaker 1: atmosphere is gonna be class his next home game, and
8:53
Speaker 1: I've never been to Pittsburgh, so I'm excited. Have you
8:56
Speaker 1: any pointers you can give me on a podcast, any
8:59
Speaker 1: advice at all, though before we hear them.
9:01
Speaker 2: On them, I suppose the only thing I would say
9:05
Speaker 2: is get around and and and sort of make a
9:08
Speaker 2: bit of noise, because Pittsburgh is a city it's it's
9:11
Speaker 2: it's very loud and in your face. I mean, the
9:13
Speaker 2: locals are fantastic. I would say, just get your hands dirty.
9:16
Speaker 2: I mean we've only been once, of course, and it
9:19
Speaker 2: was in October. But I feel like I'm part of
9:21
Speaker 2: the city because of already. You know, I've been there
9:23
Speaker 2: and I've done it. But yeah, I can't wait to
9:25
Speaker 2: get back. And A would say, it's a very good
9:27
Speaker 2: Christmas present to have in Pittsburgh getting to go and
9:30
Speaker 2: watch the Steelers. I'm very very jealous of. You have
9:32
Speaker 2: to say, what a game on the Chiefs like it's
9:35
Speaker 2: it's it's And obviously we've had games on Christmas Day before.
9:39
Speaker 2: I mean we beat the Ravens a couple of years
9:40
Speaker 2: ago on Christmas Day, but I failed this one with
9:42
Speaker 2: the Chiefs come to town. Potentially, Taylor Swift, if you can
9:45
Speaker 2: get our autograph from me at appreciate at mac. But yeah,
9:48
Speaker 2: that's that's one I'm very very jealous of. So I'm
9:51
Speaker 2: sure you're gonna have a great time. Oh well, look
9:53
Speaker 2: it's great. I was allowed I for you boys got
9:55
Speaker 2: out there. I'm looking a forward to getting out there.
9:57
Speaker 2: And look, let's let's see what happens over the nexte weeks.
9:59
Speaker 1: You're right, we have like game on Christmas, but it
10:01
Speaker 1: just feels like this year, not just Christmas novo, but
10:04
Speaker 1: the next few weeks are just different.
10:06
Speaker 3: And you know what, we.
10:07
Speaker 1: Will long for this time into a fleame month's time
10:10
Speaker 1: when the football is over.
10:11
Speaker 2: So we got to enjoy it.
10:13
Speaker 1: We got this Eagles game up first this week before
10:15
Speaker 1: myself and Dalvo talk a little bit about the game.
10:17
Speaker 1: Let's hear first from coach tomlm and then we're also
10:20
Speaker 1: going to hear from Russell Wilson. A had of this
10:22
Speaker 1: game against the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday on the Irish
10:25
Speaker 1: Hitters podcast.
10:28
Speaker 3: Dante Jackson had some spotty availability in game. He was
10:32
Speaker 3: sick on Sunday but was able to get through. I
10:36
Speaker 3: don't imagine that he'll be limited. And some other guys
10:39
Speaker 3: got some minor bump, some bruises associated with competition, and
10:43
Speaker 3: so you know, as we always do, we won't waste
10:46
Speaker 3: a lot of time focusing our energies on those not
10:49
Speaker 3: available to us. We'll appropriately focus our energies on those
10:52
Speaker 3: that are and how we divide that labor up and
10:56
Speaker 3: how we can best position them to perform and play
10:59
Speaker 3: winning football individually and collectively. Now on to the Philadelphia Eagles.
11:04
Speaker 2: Man.
11:04
Speaker 3: Really excited about this one man, this Pennsylvania state championship.
11:09
Speaker 3: Excited about representing Whippile in this I was just joking
11:13
Speaker 3: this morning. Man, we could play this game in Breezewood. Man,
11:16
Speaker 3: that'd be awesome. They're a really good football team. They
11:20
Speaker 3: need no endorsement for me. They're the winners of nine straight.
11:23
Speaker 3: When you look at the tape, man, you see exactly
11:25
Speaker 3: why I'll start first on offense. The acquisition of Saquon
11:30
Speaker 3: Barkley has got to be the most significant acquisition in
11:34
Speaker 3: the NFL in twenty twenty four. That's what the tape
11:37
Speaker 3: looks like. He's been dominant, eye opening at times, obviously,
11:43
Speaker 3: highlight real caliber plays, long runs, touchdowns, etc. It starts
11:49
Speaker 3: there for us. If you don't minimize him in some way,
11:53
Speaker 3: you're not even going to position yourself to have a
11:55
Speaker 3: chance to be successful. And so obviously he's got a
11:58
Speaker 3: lot of our attention at the early stages of week,
12:01
Speaker 3: but he can't have the totality or of your attention.
12:05
Speaker 3: I remember the last time we were in the stadium
12:07
Speaker 3: with him. I think it was twenty twenty and he
12:10
Speaker 3: was playing for the Giants and I think Daniel Jones
12:12
Speaker 3: was a very young quarterback at that time. We were
12:15
Speaker 3: able to focus a significant amount of our energy on them.
12:19
Speaker 3: We're not afforded that this time around. Jalen hurts Man
12:23
Speaker 3: is a top notch quarterback, decision maker, leader, passer, escape artists,
12:31
Speaker 3: you name it, he's capable of doing it. And so
12:34
Speaker 3: you know, we have the challenge of working to minimize
12:36
Speaker 3: both guys and making the decisions schematic decisions associated with
12:41
Speaker 3: what's required to do. So you couple that with dynamic
12:46
Speaker 3: receiving options on the other end of Jalen Hurst passes
12:51
Speaker 3: in the form of a couple of top notch guys.
12:53
Speaker 3: They've also acquired Dotson from the Commanders and so, man,
12:58
Speaker 3: they have the type of group that you got to
13:02
Speaker 3: make some real hardcore decisions about working to minimize and
13:05
Speaker 3: so we're working through that. The strategic component of that, obviously,
13:09
Speaker 3: you better play well. I've talked about their eligibles. They're
13:13
Speaker 3: running back, their quarterback, their receivers, but you can't talk
13:16
Speaker 3: about Philadelphia without talking about their front. They have some
13:19
Speaker 3: of the most dynamic people in football up front, Lane Johnson,
13:23
Speaker 3: you know, being the bell cow that group. Their offensive
13:27
Speaker 3: line has been stellar for a number of years. They're
13:30
Speaker 3: not talked about enough for obvious reasons. You get an
13:33
Speaker 3: opportunity to talk about the dynamic play making of guys
13:36
Speaker 3: like Saquan and see the highlight real plays like him
13:39
Speaker 3: jumping people backwards that oftentimes you missed the brilliance of
13:43
Speaker 3: a guy like Landon Dickerson Man or Lane Johnson. And
13:46
Speaker 3: so we recognize that the game is played up front,
13:50
Speaker 3: that they usually provide the wave that the little men ride,
13:53
Speaker 3: and so re respect that component of what they do
13:57
Speaker 3: and their capabilities in that area as well.
14:00
Speaker 2: On the defensive side of the ball, they.
14:02
Speaker 3: Got a bunch of young talented players, a bunch of
14:05
Speaker 3: Georgia guys, Guys that I've seen in draft planning over
14:09
Speaker 3: the last several years, ultra talented.
14:12
Speaker 2: Uh.
14:13
Speaker 3: They've been talented up front for a number of years.
14:16
Speaker 2: UH.
14:17
Speaker 3: They play a lot of people, UH, and they invest
14:20
Speaker 3: in those people in terms of talent acquisition. The same
14:23
Speaker 3: could be said about this collective. They do a really
14:27
Speaker 3: good job of mixing in some schematics. Man Vic Fangio
14:30
Speaker 3: is a veteran coordinator who's very multiple in terms of
14:35
Speaker 3: the schematic things that he throws at you. I'd be
14:38
Speaker 3: remiss if I didn't talk about the second level play.
14:41
Speaker 3: I think when you think about Philly's defense, you think
14:44
Speaker 3: about the talent acquisition up front, UH, the quality play
14:47
Speaker 3: making of the young people in the secondary UH in particular.
14:51
Speaker 3: But when I turned the tape on me and I
14:53
Speaker 3: saw two inside linebackers that are productive in all areas.
14:57
Speaker 3: The high volume tacklers, they're very good and underneath the fence,
15:01
Speaker 3: be it manor zone UH, the opportunistic they created a
15:04
Speaker 3: lot of turnovers for the group. They're really good blitzers.
15:09
Speaker 3: I just got a lot of respect for that that
15:11
Speaker 3: collective of inside linebackers in the quality in which they're
15:14
Speaker 3: playing at this juncture. As I mentioned earlier, they got
15:18
Speaker 3: a couple of dynamic young playmakers in the back end,
15:21
Speaker 3: and Mitchell and Cooper and study those guys in draft
15:25
Speaker 3: prep not surprised by the contributions that they're able to
15:29
Speaker 3: provide both guys of football players first and cover men second,
15:33
Speaker 3: in that they're very physical for their position. They don't
15:37
Speaker 3: turn down physical confrontation. They display global football awareness that
15:43
Speaker 3: allows them to make plays other than cover people. Cooper's
15:47
Speaker 3: shown a nice knack for screen destruction, for example, a
15:52
Speaker 3: perimeter to play destruction, bubble screens, wide out screens, et cetera.
15:57
Speaker 3: And so they got a real formidable group. Guys on A.
16:01
Speaker 1: Scored after Kean's interception and then again after Ilamin's fourth
16:04
Speaker 1: pound stop.
16:05
Speaker 2: Yeah, as a quarterback to kind of sense that those
16:07
Speaker 2: are special moments where you guys can see.
16:09
Speaker 4: His control on Yeah, I think anytime you get to
16:11
Speaker 4: go in a four quarter game, you're trying to find
16:13
Speaker 4: those moments and you're you're trying to find those momentum plays. Obviously,
16:17
Speaker 4: big Benton's interception that was the exceptional interception man, and
16:20
Speaker 4: we just capitalized. We got in a huddle, we meet,
16:22
Speaker 4: we said, hey, let's let's get a touchdown here and
16:23
Speaker 4: then I'll final in Driva believe it was next one,
16:26
Speaker 4: and just we did. We did some good things there,
16:27
Speaker 4: and that's complementary team football. That's what championship teams do.
16:31
Speaker 2: You have to approach it differently. This week would likely
16:34
Speaker 2: without George the lineup.
16:36
Speaker 4: You know, I think first of all, I think obviously
16:38
Speaker 4: George is doing everything he can to get back out there.
16:40
Speaker 2: I know that.
16:41
Speaker 4: I think, you know, with all the guys that we have, though,
16:44
Speaker 4: we got guys that have great experience, have done some
16:47
Speaker 4: amazing things in this league. Obviously in Mike Williams. Obviously
16:49
Speaker 4: Calvin's been special this year, Scottie miller Man, he's made
16:53
Speaker 4: some great plays. We have some guys that hit big
16:55
Speaker 4: Ben you know, Scronning has done some amazing things too
16:58
Speaker 4: along the way. Van has been special for us year.
17:01
Speaker 4: You know, guy who's won football. So we we got
17:02
Speaker 4: great confidence in the guys we have. So, uh, whatever
17:05
Speaker 4: whatever it is, you know, we know we'll be ready
17:07
Speaker 4: to go for us.
17:08
Speaker 2: What did it mean to you to open up your
17:09
Speaker 2: why Not You Center this week? Yeah? And why is
17:11
Speaker 2: giving back to the community.
17:13
Speaker 4: Yeah, Tuesday was a cool day. You know, got to
17:15
Speaker 4: do some cool things obviously go to the children's hospital.
17:17
Speaker 4: But then, do you know, Sierra and I we have
17:20
Speaker 4: our foundation why You Foundation. The funny thing is when
17:21
Speaker 4: I first met c one of our first date night,
17:24
Speaker 4: we talked about things on a bucket list and we said,
17:26
Speaker 4: you know, you know, have a foundation together, do something
17:28
Speaker 4: like that, and and we talked about opening up a school.
17:30
Speaker 4: And one of the things that you know, we talked
17:31
Speaker 4: about is having why at you centers. You know, I
17:34
Speaker 4: grew up where, you know, didn't have much, but a
17:37
Speaker 4: lot of my friends did. And I got to go
17:38
Speaker 4: to like country clubs and these places. And I used
17:40
Speaker 4: to go to YMCA and go play ball day and
17:43
Speaker 4: play basketball and baseball and and just uh, you know,
17:46
Speaker 4: go to the Boys and Girls Club whatever it may be. C.
17:48
Speaker 4: Two and just we just had these spaces that we
17:51
Speaker 4: wanted to you know, grow up in and play in.
17:53
Speaker 4: And but I think also too, what we wanted to
17:55
Speaker 4: do is create a place where you know, resume builders
17:58
Speaker 4: for kids and even their fa families and their parents,
18:00
Speaker 4: and place also to that obviously you know musically and
18:05
Speaker 4: from a music standpoint and a young athlete standpoint, and
18:09
Speaker 4: just just a place of opportunity. And we got to
18:11
Speaker 4: we had the fortunate opportunity to partner up with Boys
18:14
Speaker 4: and Girls Club, you know, and obviously Western Pa is
18:18
Speaker 4: you know a great place to start in here right
18:20
Speaker 4: here in Pittsburgh. We're so excited, uh, you know, to
18:22
Speaker 4: to launch our one Au center here. At first one
18:25
Speaker 4: we plan on launching others as well, and we have
18:27
Speaker 4: plans to do that hopefully you know, three or or
18:30
Speaker 4: three or more here soon and just you know, but
18:32
Speaker 4: to launch our first one here in Pittsburgh is really exciting.
18:34
Speaker 4: We're just grateful and our and we know our foundation
18:37
Speaker 4: is super grateful too, and it's an exciting time. Russ
18:41
Speaker 4: push Tunean was talking about some of that maturity that
18:43
Speaker 4: he's seen from the young offensive line and so forth,
18:46
Speaker 4: and were polish, and he also.
18:47
Speaker 3: Likened that to some of what he's seen from the
18:49
Speaker 3: young defensive backs.
18:51
Speaker 4: They show that much maturity. Do you try to do
18:54
Speaker 4: any tricks that you would normally do with the young
18:56
Speaker 4: defensive backs or do you just kind of kind of
18:58
Speaker 4: play it more straight if those guys steep Lerning, Yeah, yeah,
19:02
Speaker 4: you're always playing the game, you know. I think that
19:03
Speaker 4: you're always trying to find ways to find that one
19:07
Speaker 4: percent that can help you throughout a game or whatever
19:09
Speaker 4: it is, practice or whatever. These guys, you know, for
19:12
Speaker 4: the Eagles, they got a lot of great talent. Obviously,
19:14
Speaker 4: I have such high regard for Sleigh, you know, I've
19:15
Speaker 4: haten to play them all over all these years, and
19:18
Speaker 4: he's just one of the best to do it. He's
19:20
Speaker 4: a guy that's you know, I've sat on the Pro
19:21
Speaker 4: Bowl buses with him and had you know, stories and
19:23
Speaker 4: laughs and just different things. And just like I said,
19:26
Speaker 4: you know, hold this guy in such high regard and
19:28
Speaker 4: the type of player and person he is, you know,
19:31
Speaker 4: and then obviously the rest of their secondary. You know,
19:33
Speaker 4: Gardner's a great player back there. He's made a lot
19:35
Speaker 4: of great plays. He's played great this season. Throughout his career.
19:39
Speaker 4: Blankenship's playing really well, I think. You know, obviously they're
19:42
Speaker 4: young corners and they got a lot of you know,
19:44
Speaker 4: good players on that side of the football, and so
19:46
Speaker 4: for us, you know, we just got to be detailed.
19:48
Speaker 4: They got a great defensive line too. They got some
19:50
Speaker 4: really great players up front. So we just got to
19:52
Speaker 4: be our best and focus on what we can do.
19:54
Speaker 2: What do you guys have to match what they do
19:56
Speaker 2: up in front?
19:57
Speaker 3: Their physical they're big, they're very to be guys, how
20:01
Speaker 3: much emphastiff for you guys to be ready with your checks?
20:03
Speaker 4: And they yeah, well, we have to we have to
20:05
Speaker 4: match their intensity. We have to match you know, really
20:09
Speaker 4: really just bring our best. You know, I think that
20:11
Speaker 4: they're gonna you know, be amped up and they they
20:15
Speaker 4: get to play you know, at home and all that stuff.
20:17
Speaker 4: It'll be a great matchup. It'll be energy. You know,
20:20
Speaker 4: this is a type of matchup that you know, some
20:23
Speaker 4: of the best in the NFC and some of the
20:24
Speaker 4: best in the a f C. So you know, I've
20:26
Speaker 4: gotten to play there, you know, several times. Obviously, it's
20:29
Speaker 4: a place that you know, it's a tough environment to play,
20:32
Speaker 4: it's a place of great energy, and like I said,
20:34
Speaker 4: we got to bring our best.
20:36
Speaker 1: Okay, great to hear from both coush Tom and also
20:38
Speaker 1: our starting quarterback Russell Wilson as we go into this
20:41
Speaker 1: big match up between one of the best teams in
20:44
Speaker 1: the NFC and the Philadelphia Eagles on one of the
20:47
Speaker 1: best teams in a FC, the Pittsburgh Steaters this weekend.
20:49
Speaker 1: Do I don't know if you have an article or
20:52
Speaker 1: they're all online, but one of the biggest stots I
20:54
Speaker 1: have this week generally is the last time the Pittsburgh
20:57
Speaker 1: Staters defeated at the Philadelphi Eagles with what year.
21:02
Speaker 2: In Philadelphia. Sorry, yeah, I'm very well awarem Like I
21:07
Speaker 2: did read your articles earlier, and I'm very well aware
21:10
Speaker 2: of it's nineteen sixty five of a couple of stoughts
21:12
Speaker 2: for you actually, just to summarize how long ago that
21:14
Speaker 2: was with that's four years, it's it's mad. It's four
21:17
Speaker 2: years before Lance Armstrong sat foot in the moon Joe
21:20
Speaker 2: name of just saying with the Jets, and the NFL
21:23
Speaker 2: had changed the color of the penalty flag from white tallow.
21:25
Speaker 2: So as you imagine, it's very very long.
21:27
Speaker 1: I have to say, I literally, like when I seen
21:31
Speaker 1: a lot, I literally had to google it like four
21:34
Speaker 1: or five times.
21:34
Speaker 2: And then one of the things I added after it
21:36
Speaker 2: is that our QB.
21:37
Speaker 1: Russell Wilson is six and now he's undefeated against the Eagles.
21:40
Speaker 1: So hopefully, Yeah, like Lynden, like LBJ as president, it's
21:44
Speaker 1: not long ago. I think it's time to change now.
21:48
Speaker 1: If we look at this game. I'm not I am
21:51
Speaker 1: not putting you down here at all. I know you're
21:53
Speaker 1: a bit nervous about this game, and you know what
21:55
Speaker 1: it is the team podcast, but it's okay to admit
21:57
Speaker 1: it because I'm nervous about it as well. I think,
22:00
Speaker 1: like there's so much talk around the Eagles at the moment,
22:03
Speaker 1: davg especially the relationship on the offense between Gelon Hurts
22:08
Speaker 1: and j Brown. We're not going to the details of that.
22:11
Speaker 1: It's fully aware of people online. But part of me
22:14
Speaker 1: sort of is a bit worried that they could blow
22:17
Speaker 1: up in this game, you know, and just just go
22:19
Speaker 1: to time. But then again, it's all our defense, which
22:21
Speaker 1: just been stout all season to just keep that going.
22:23
Speaker 1: What's your general thoughts of this Zeals team and how.
22:26
Speaker 2: Concerned are you going forward this week? Yeah, Look, I'm
22:30
Speaker 2: I wouldn't say concerns maybe the right word, but I'm
22:33
Speaker 2: just a bit. I wouldn't even say nervous either, but
22:36
Speaker 2: I'm just a bit. I can still sort of take
22:38
Speaker 2: a step back and look, we're in a great position,
22:41
Speaker 2: and if we were to lose this game, I don't
22:42
Speaker 2: think it would be absolute travesty. I just think it's
22:45
Speaker 2: a good chance to set a marker down because I
22:47
Speaker 2: feel like we haven't been getting the respect we deserve.
22:49
Speaker 2: I mean, we're beating teams left, right, and center, but
22:51
Speaker 2: a lot of teams people will look at, Oh, it's
22:53
Speaker 2: only the Cleveland Browns, it's only the Cincinnati Bengals to
22:56
Speaker 2: give up like four hundred points a game. But I
22:58
Speaker 2: just feel in furnace. You know, with the Eagles as well,
23:01
Speaker 2: you mentioned about the record. We don't get to play
23:03
Speaker 2: on them, not often either, but when we do it's
23:05
Speaker 2: always a game both teams wild cherish or sorry, both
23:07
Speaker 2: fans will cherish because of two obviously Pennsylvania teams, the
23:10
Speaker 2: Bottle of Pennsylvania we call it, and obviously we spoke
23:13
Speaker 2: a little earlier in the week, they do have a
23:14
Speaker 2: lot of talent on both sides of the ball. Offensively,
23:17
Speaker 2: you know Saquon Barkley, I mean, obviously he's the clean, clear,
23:21
Speaker 2: main threat, but they've also got good wide receivers. You
23:23
Speaker 2: mantioned A j. Brown, Devonte Smith, a great young tight end,
23:26
Speaker 2: and Dallas Goddard and of course Jaled Hurts, who, of
23:29
Speaker 2: course maybe not the greatest pocket passer in the world,
23:32
Speaker 2: but outside of the pocket he's a massive threat. I'm
23:34
Speaker 2: gonna gets loose as well. So not only that, they've
23:37
Speaker 2: always had great offensive lines ranks number two number two
23:40
Speaker 2: behind the Lions and PFF. And defensively they're young and
23:43
Speaker 2: have a lot of stars all over the place. So
23:45
Speaker 2: this for me, it's it's probably gonna be one of
23:47
Speaker 2: the toughest games I did match it probably is our
23:49
Speaker 2: toughest game this season. We had a circle at the
23:51
Speaker 2: beginning of the year. I think all three of us
23:52
Speaker 2: we have to minute. I think we all had it
23:53
Speaker 2: down as losses. But there's a lot of noise going
23:56
Speaker 2: around with Garden. You know, you've just mentioned it. They're
23:58
Speaker 2: the Hurts and a J. Brown relationship. It's dressing. You know,
24:00
Speaker 2: they weren't exactly sat in the world alike either. You know,
24:03
Speaker 2: they weren't sat in the world alike last week against
24:05
Speaker 2: the three and ten Carolina Panthers. So as well as that, sorry,
24:09
Speaker 2: just as well, we have to remember they're actually already qualified,
24:13
Speaker 2: so already in the playoffs. I know they're battling for
24:15
Speaker 2: that number one seed with Detroit, but there's awfully certainly
24:18
Speaker 2: some room for you know, some slopping it. So let's
24:20
Speaker 2: hope we've caught them at a good time to play
24:22
Speaker 2: them where they're not exactly taken on all slanders and hopefully,
24:26
Speaker 2: you know, maybe that bit of reluctance to have, well,
24:28
Speaker 2: we'll slept in and we can come out with a vector.
24:32
Speaker 2: You've been beautifuler and your analysis. I have to say it.
24:35
Speaker 1: I do want to say one thing before we may
24:36
Speaker 1: be look at this game ourselves for each of it.
24:39
Speaker 1: George Pickens, we know at the minute he's not fully fit.
24:42
Speaker 1: He suffered a greed to hamstrings train and look, we
24:46
Speaker 1: are not spokespersons for this team. We can't say if
24:48
Speaker 1: he's gonna play or not, but obviously it may be unlikely.
24:51
Speaker 2: Players this week.
24:53
Speaker 1: I'm going to be really honest with you know, we
24:54
Speaker 1: have a greater than ninety nine percent chance of making
24:56
Speaker 1: the playoffs Sto v aug regardless of what happens here.
24:58
Speaker 1: We got it if it's me and obviously if if
25:01
Speaker 1: he plays on someday, I trust coach Tomlin. Of course
25:04
Speaker 1: in the medical team and those people are employed for
25:07
Speaker 1: that decision. But I certainly trust coach Tomlin and this
25:10
Speaker 1: team if they want to rest them for a couple
25:12
Speaker 1: of weeks and maybe even bring them back after the.
25:14
Speaker 2: Christmas and allow of you guys to come in. You've
25:16
Speaker 2: got pop frown with there.
25:17
Speaker 1: I feel like those next guys up are gonna be
25:20
Speaker 1: key against the Seagles team, especially when we know they
25:23
Speaker 1: can score points and we're gonna have to go up
25:24
Speaker 1: and score points in the night in this game.
25:28
Speaker 2: Yeah, just on you touched on George Peckins, Michael, I mean,
25:32
Speaker 2: I'm I'm sort of in the exact same boat. I
25:34
Speaker 2: do feel a lot because of our record and because
25:37
Speaker 2: of where we're currently stand, we have the ability to rest,
25:40
Speaker 2: not fully rest players, but if we've got players that
25:43
Speaker 2: are carri and Knox, we have the opportunity to rest them.
25:46
Speaker 2: The only thing is it's George Pepkins. I mean, we
25:48
Speaker 2: sing in the first quarter last week against the Browns
25:51
Speaker 2: when it was sort of a shock where oh God
25:52
Speaker 2: wors George, it was it was very difficult to you know,
25:56
Speaker 2: to get any sort of offense Fluiday in our first quarter.
25:58
Speaker 2: So that's the one thing. I mean, I wouldn't say
26:01
Speaker 2: we have an over reliance on him, but he's a
26:03
Speaker 2: special player. It's a special talent, and he's going to
26:05
Speaker 2: be messing any team. So I feel like, of course
26:08
Speaker 2: we got that next month in Natalia. We've seen Mike
26:10
Speaker 2: Williams came up with a big catch last Sunday against
26:13
Speaker 2: the Browns. Calvin Austin at third has been playing well
26:15
Speaker 2: all year, Pot Farmer is obviously a te you know,
26:19
Speaker 2: a component of our past game as well. And we've
26:21
Speaker 2: still got those two great backs in Nausea and Jilleen
26:23
Speaker 2: Warren who are going to be able to come out
26:24
Speaker 2: of the backfield. Jill Warren's especially, you know, his past
26:28
Speaker 2: catching this year and his ability to fight for every
26:31
Speaker 2: single year it has been incredible. So I'm agreeing with you.
26:34
Speaker 2: I do feel that, you know, we've got the ability
26:37
Speaker 2: to rest George if we need to, But at the
26:38
Speaker 2: same time, he's just one of those players that can
26:40
Speaker 2: make a massive difference, you know, in third and long
26:43
Speaker 2: when we've got to throw it up to somebody, George
26:45
Speaker 2: is always there and he's always coming down with it.
26:46
Speaker 2: So I'm sad to see because I do notice that
26:50
Speaker 2: he is down as questionable and he didn't practice today.
26:53
Speaker 2: I've set a look on the injury report he didn't practice,
26:55
Speaker 2: which is not good to see. But all we can
26:57
Speaker 2: do is, really, you know, do with what we got him.
26:59
Speaker 2: We are great, as you know, We're a great maximoun
27:01
Speaker 2: up team. No matter what position, no matter what side
27:04
Speaker 2: of the ball, We've got players to step in and
27:06
Speaker 2: come in and stap up rate to the mark. So
27:08
Speaker 2: that's really what I'm looking for this weekend. If he
27:10
Speaker 2: doesn't play, of.
27:10
Speaker 1: Course, and one guy that we have that may step
27:15
Speaker 1: up at certain points, and we know how good he
27:16
Speaker 1: is is Chris Boswell. He's literally on course to break
27:19
Speaker 1: the record this season for the amount of successful field
27:21
Speaker 1: goals if he keeps it up on average throughout the
27:24
Speaker 1: next few weeks. Just finally, before we make our game picks,
27:27
Speaker 1: we've got Chris Boswell. But the Eagles are really struggling
27:29
Speaker 1: with Jake Elliott. He has missed all his tries, five
27:32
Speaker 1: of them from fifty plus yards this season. And David,
27:35
Speaker 1: when you know how stout how good this defense of
27:38
Speaker 1: ours is. If we can stop the Eagles on those
27:40
Speaker 1: third down situations and they have to make a forty
27:43
Speaker 1: fifty yard field goal, we know that there's a kicker
27:46
Speaker 1: there that is struggling and that could be huge in
27:47
Speaker 1: this game.
27:49
Speaker 2: And all we've did in the past couple of weeks,
27:51
Speaker 2: Michael is play teams that have kickers that are struggling.
27:54
Speaker 2: I mean, we had Dustin Hopkins last week. He has
27:56
Speaker 2: been struggling all year. We've had Justin Tucker and you
28:00
Speaker 2: mentioned it as well. You know we've got a kicker
28:02
Speaker 2: that can kick field goals left right center. Boswell is
28:04
Speaker 2: the best in this league outside of fifty yards. It's
28:07
Speaker 2: the starter that they will prove it. So in my opinion,
28:11
Speaker 2: I think you've nailed it on ahead there. And of
28:13
Speaker 2: course we've got a special team that if, for example,
28:15
Speaker 2: if Jake Elliott and the you know, the long snopper
28:17
Speaker 2: for the Eagles, they're able to get it off. We've
28:19
Speaker 2: got a special teams that are always capable of blocking
28:21
Speaker 2: kick some punts. So you've just mentioned that there are
28:23
Speaker 2: Tony Roman and matched it last week as well. Three
28:26
Speaker 2: the three components of your team offense, defense, special teams.
28:30
Speaker 2: When they're all clicking, you're undoubtably a super Bowl contender.
28:32
Speaker 2: So I'm I'm a complete agreement with you. I think
28:35
Speaker 2: you're eating could come down to Boswell this weekend, and
28:38
Speaker 2: if it does, we've got the batter kicker especially outside
28:40
Speaker 2: of fifty and win the Philadelphia. So yeah, I am
28:44
Speaker 2: in a complete agreement with there. Hopefully it does, and
28:46
Speaker 2: if it does, I can see it's coming out with it.
28:49
Speaker 2: Here's my pick. You're gonna laugh. People are gonna laugh.
28:53
Speaker 1: I'm telling you now, I've just got that feeling in
28:56
Speaker 1: the air. Russell's gonna go out and three touch signs
28:58
Speaker 1: and win this game. I think it'll be very, very tight.
29:01
Speaker 1: I feel like it is. It's really gonna be that
29:03
Speaker 1: combination of two elements.
29:05
Speaker 2: It's gonna be.
29:05
Speaker 1: You know, will Gialan be able to get back on
29:07
Speaker 1: track with a J Brown? He might do, But how
29:10
Speaker 1: much can we contain it? As as the defense on
29:12
Speaker 1: the day, Yes, it's gonna be down to our pass
29:14
Speaker 1: and the running game to actually get points on the board.
29:16
Speaker 1: But this defense is going to win this game twenty
29:20
Speaker 1: four to twenty one, and it's going to be a
29:23
Speaker 1: slug fest. But I tell you what, lot, if we
29:26
Speaker 1: are sitting on Monday evening talking about a team that's
29:29
Speaker 1: won again, our expectations need to go up a jump
29:32
Speaker 1: this week.
29:33
Speaker 2: Now, I know you've been on the fence. So if
29:35
Speaker 2: you feel that the egos.
29:36
Speaker 1: Are gonna win and you want to drop that l
29:38
Speaker 1: right now and then come back, I know those team
29:40
Speaker 1: podcast but you can do it as grand.
29:44
Speaker 2: It's not happening. It's just not happening. I mean, I've
29:47
Speaker 2: mentioned that this is the closest I was given to
29:49
Speaker 2: a loss. But I can't. I can't bring myself to
29:52
Speaker 2: this and you know I'm not gonna lay. I have
29:55
Speaker 2: been on the fence with it all week. You know,
29:56
Speaker 2: as I said earlier. I feel this is an always
30:00
Speaker 2: was going to be the most difficult game of the year.
30:02
Speaker 2: Philly is arguably up there with Buffalo. I think Buffalo
30:05
Speaker 2: is also another difficult probably the most difficult places to
30:08
Speaker 2: play in the league, you know, in the NFL. So
30:10
Speaker 2: I'm expecting a very tough assignment and I do feel
30:13
Speaker 2: like it is going to be low scoring and it
30:15
Speaker 2: could be one of those games that it does come
30:16
Speaker 2: down to the kicker or who has the ball. Last
30:18
Speaker 2: you I mentioned there as well, But George Pekins another
30:20
Speaker 2: name that I'm a dreaded seeing on the injury report
30:22
Speaker 2: With to Shaun Elliott, I mean, he's having a magnificent season.
30:25
Speaker 2: You know, he's also out of a hamstring injury. I
30:27
Speaker 2: don't know what's going on with these hamstrings. But having
30:29
Speaker 2: said that, you know, the Eagles are also dealing with
30:31
Speaker 2: their injuries. You know, Jalen Carter I matched the Burger
30:33
Speaker 2: in the week He's listed as questionable, so it'd be
30:35
Speaker 2: interesting to see if he if he manages this kid out.
30:37
Speaker 2: But I did flirt with the idea of giving this
30:40
Speaker 2: as a loss this weekend, but unfortunately I just can't
30:43
Speaker 2: bring myself to do it. So I'm going to go
30:45
Speaker 2: for a very low scoring game, but I'm only going
30:47
Speaker 2: to go Steelers nineteen, Eagles seventeen. Gonna go with Boswell
30:50
Speaker 2: last second key winner, first win in the city of
30:53
Speaker 2: brother brotherly love in just under sixty years. I say,
30:57
Speaker 2: now what, I'll always say, take it to the bank,
31:00
Speaker 2: Take it.
31:01
Speaker 1: To the bankman, and then tell you what if they
31:02
Speaker 1: win it for the first time in sixty odd years
31:04
Speaker 1: in Pennsylvania, in Philadelphia, bring it on, folks, do that?
31:09
Speaker 2: So your predictions.
31:10
Speaker 1: Steeters Ireland on x on Instagram having the Jimmy spects,
31:13
Speaker 1: but I feel like he's gonna give us a win.
31:15
Speaker 1: We'll be back after the game this week. Please do
31:17
Speaker 1: follow along. The game is not on Sky. It's actually
31:20
Speaker 1: an NFL game passing that's done. They've selected the Bills
31:23
Speaker 1: Lions game. We all agree we think that game should
31:25
Speaker 1: be on Sky, but we know that next week we're
31:27
Speaker 1: gonna have the Ravens game on Sky and then the
31:29
Speaker 1: Christmas Day game in Netflix.
31:30
Speaker 2: So yeah, it's great to see and longmaking to meg.
31:33
Speaker 2: Here we go, man. I hope you have a great
31:35
Speaker 2: weekend and everyone listening have a fantastic weekend. Enjoy watching
31:38
Speaker 2: the Staters. We both chat easton