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HR2: Trench Rankings · In the Locker Room presented by Neighborhood Ford Store (Pittsburgh Steelers)

• 0:04
  Speaker 1: This is In the Locker Room with Rob King, Max Starks,
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: and Willie Colon on Steelers Nation Radio, brought to you
• 0:11
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  Speaker 1: from the team at the Steelers Pro Shop at shop.steelers.com.
• 0:19
  Speaker 1: And by your neighborhood Ford store. The F-150 is the
• 0:23
  Speaker 1: official truck of the Pittsburgh Steelers.
• 0:31
  Speaker 2: All right, well.
• 0:33
  Speaker 3: Hour number two comes through, and I didn't hear my
• 0:37
  Speaker 3: friendly trucker come through.
• 0:41
  Speaker 4: There he is.
• 0:44
  Speaker 2: There we go. Let it go, Optimus. There we go.
• 0:48
  Speaker 4: All right.
• 0:50
  Speaker 3: I know, Willie, I know you're like, why does he
• 0:52
  Speaker 3: have this random thing? But it's the power hour, Will.
• 0:56
  Speaker 3: Hour number two here inside the locker room. And, you know,
• 1:01
  Speaker 3: I can't help but. think that Optimus is doing something
• 1:04
  Speaker 3: crazy around this country. And you know what it really
• 1:07
  Speaker 3: got born out of? When we were coming right out
• 1:09
  Speaker 3: of COVID, and you remember talking about all of the
• 1:13
  Speaker 3: truckers that were out there doing the job during COVID
• 1:19
  Speaker 3: when everybody else was locked inside their homes and hunkered down.
• 1:23
  Speaker 3: Our country still had to keep moving, and people still
• 1:26
  Speaker 3: needed services and supplies and everything, and our truckers were
• 1:29
  Speaker 3: out there. You might as well consider them essentially essential
• 1:32
  Speaker 3: workers and and also you know almost like first responders
• 1:36
  Speaker 3: because listen you know i remember when you remember when
• 1:39
  Speaker 3: the when the when uh the toilet paper was running
• 1:41
  Speaker 3: out of grocery stores well everybody was hoarding toilet tissue
• 1:45
  Speaker 3: you know yeah had to.
• 1:46
  Speaker 2: Get there somehow the shaman guy had had to deliver regardless.
• 1:50
  Speaker 5: Yeah it was it was weird not only to see
• 1:52
  Speaker 5: people hoard toilet paper but to now start to like
• 1:56
  Speaker 5: ramp up with their tinfoil hats and start coming up
• 1:59
  Speaker 5: with like these armageddon Care packages.
• 2:02
  Speaker 4: You know, people were saving beans and wax.
• 2:06
  Speaker 6: And it was just like, you know, cheese wire. It
• 2:10
  Speaker 6: was like the most random stuff. People were like, no,
• 2:12
  Speaker 6: we're going to need this. We're going to need this.
• 2:14
  Speaker 6: Because when they come, America's weak right now. So when
• 2:17
  Speaker 6: they come, they're coming in hot. We're like, I'm not
• 2:20
  Speaker 6: prepared for none of this. Like I just, I'm downsized actually.
• 2:24
  Speaker 6: I may have thrown all that stuff out.
• 2:26
  Speaker 4: So it was wild, man.
• 2:28
  Speaker 3: Yeah, it was like they were preparing for a pandemic,
• 2:31
  Speaker 3: but also, like, preparing for a zombie apocalypse, like, at
• 2:33
  Speaker 3: the same time.
• 2:34
  Speaker 4: At the same time.
• 2:35
  Speaker 3: Like, whoever got it was going to be a zombie
• 2:39
  Speaker 3: and was going to come after my toilet tissue.
• 2:41
  Speaker 6: I remember, and we're both old enough to know when
• 2:46
  Speaker 6: Y2K was a thing.
• 2:48
  Speaker 4: Oh. Yes. I remember, because Y2K, do you understand?
• 2:53
  Speaker 6: So, Y2K was interesting in New York because the Knicks had,
• 2:57
  Speaker 6: once again, I don't know if anybody knows this, but
• 2:59
  Speaker 6: the New York Knicks, that is, are NBA champions.
• 3:02
  Speaker 4: So, everybody take a knee.
• 3:04
  Speaker 2: Of course. Every New Yorker.
• 3:07
  Speaker 4: You're right.
• 3:08
  Speaker 6: I want to say this. In 1999, they did go
• 3:12
  Speaker 6: to the NBA championship. They went to the finals again
• 3:14
  Speaker 6: against the San Antonio Spurs. And I remember as, like,
• 3:19
  Speaker 6: you know, the buildup for the team was really, really good.
• 3:22
  Speaker 6: But prior to that, when, like, remember the ball dropped
• 3:26
  Speaker 6: in that, obviously, New Year's Eve. But I can remember
• 3:29
  Speaker 6: sitting in my aunt's living room. And usually New Year's
• 3:33
  Speaker 6: Eve is festive. Everybody's around. People party, right?
• 3:37
  Speaker 4: It's New Year's Eve. I can remember.
• 3:41
  Speaker 6: People, honestly, though, like sitting on the couch holding their breath,
• 3:45
  Speaker 6: waiting for something catastrophic to just happen out of nowhere.
• 3:51
  Speaker 2: Right?
• 3:52
  Speaker 6: People's homes had an excessive amount of beans and lima
• 3:56
  Speaker 6: beans in their cabinets.
• 3:57
  Speaker 2: People had more eggs than they needed.
• 4:00
  Speaker 4: Right.
• 4:01
  Speaker 6: And people just sat in their living rooms and just
• 4:03
  Speaker 6: waited for the big whatever. And when it didn't happen,
• 4:08
  Speaker 6: I know what I did. I remember it was like
• 4:09
  Speaker 6: 10 minutes before the ball dropped. And I said, I
• 4:12
  Speaker 6: don't want to see it.
• 4:13
  Speaker 4: I went to sleep.
• 4:13
  Speaker 6: Because whatever's going to happen is going to happen in
• 4:15
  Speaker 6: my sleep. And I remember waking up. I remember waking
• 4:20
  Speaker 6: up peeking like one eye open, expecting to see Jesus.
• 4:24
  Speaker 6: In my mind, collectively as the Colon family, we were
• 4:29
  Speaker 6: all going to be waking up at the footsteps of
• 4:31
  Speaker 6: Jesus because the way the media hype and everything that
• 4:34
  Speaker 6: had kind of built up into this and how this,
• 4:37
  Speaker 6: it was just going to be this big collapse and
• 4:39
  Speaker 6: maybe the matrix was going to break open. And I
• 4:42
  Speaker 6: remember waking up to hearing people like throwing stuff outside
• 4:47
  Speaker 6: and like the trash people, like people, like it was
• 4:49
  Speaker 6: just a normal day. And I'm saying to myself, I
• 4:53
  Speaker 6: think we overdid.
• 4:54
  Speaker 4: It, guys. I think everything's going to be okay.
• 4:57
  Speaker 2: Yeah, exactly. I don't know why you guys are so nervous.
• 4:59
  Speaker 2: So I went to bed. I don't know what you
• 5:00
  Speaker 2: guys are talking about.
• 5:01
  Speaker 4: Right. I went to bed and just fell asleep looking
• 5:05
  Speaker 4: out the window. I was like, well, this was fun.
• 5:06
  Speaker 4: I thought it was over. The media hype and everything
• 5:10
  Speaker 4: I went into, it was absolutely insane.
• 5:13
  Speaker 3: Yeah, I'm going to tell you, I took a completely
• 5:15
  Speaker 3: different approach, Willie, in my youth.
• 5:19
  Speaker 4: Once you build a telescope so you can see the
• 5:21
  Speaker 4: meteor actually hit Earth?
• 5:23
  Speaker 2: No, no, no.
• 5:24
  Speaker 3: I went straight hornball at that one. So I went
• 5:30
  Speaker 3: to an under-18 club, and we were partying, and I
• 5:32
  Speaker 3: was like, I need to kiss at least three or
• 5:34
  Speaker 3: four girls just in case it's the end of the apocalypse.
• 5:37
  Speaker 3: So you kind of just let them know. I went Prince,
• 5:40
  Speaker 3: partied like it's 1999, and I'll never forget it. It
• 5:42
  Speaker 3: was Virginia– Well, actually, no. Statue of limitation.
• 5:51
  Speaker 4: I'm not going to put names out there.
• 5:53
  Speaker 3: Anywho, I doubt they're listening in Orlando anyways. But, yeah,
• 5:56
  Speaker 3: just know that young Max Starks was a terror at
• 6:01
  Speaker 3: 1152 p.m., December 31st, 1999. And I remember when 2000 hit,
• 6:06
  Speaker 3: we all looked around. Like, right at midnight, we're like, oh, man,
• 6:10
  Speaker 3: ain't nothing happening. We just kept partying. And I was like,
• 6:13
  Speaker 3: thanks for the kiss. Anyways, but, yeah, it was like–
• 6:17
  Speaker 3: But you're right, the buildup and the intention for that
• 6:19
  Speaker 3: was just so crazy. I mean, the things we've already
• 6:23
  Speaker 3: seen in our lifetime is pretty remarkable. And, you know,
• 6:27
  Speaker 3: obviously it's going to take another 74 years before they
• 6:29
  Speaker 3: have a turn-of-century event. We will be long and gone,
• 6:33
  Speaker 3: and I'll be just watching down laughing. But enough with that,
• 6:38
  Speaker 3: I mean, because we got off on a tangent with Optimus.
• 6:40
  Speaker 2: And that led to that.
• 6:41
  Speaker 3: But I promise, we are not just cats looking for
• 6:44
  Speaker 3: the laser pointer, right? We actually have a show flow
• 6:49
  Speaker 3: in here.
• 6:53
  Speaker 2: Where is it? Squirrel? Squirrel? Okay.
• 6:57
  Speaker 3: We were talking about the trench power ranking for the
• 6:58
  Speaker 3: O-line and kind of went through the top 10 before
• 7:00
  Speaker 3: we went to break.
• 7:02
  Speaker 2: And Steelers weren't.
• 7:03
  Speaker 3: In that top 10 from the trench power ranking. I
• 7:07
  Speaker 3: want to give you the PFF power ranking of their
• 7:11
  Speaker 3: top 10. And listen, we just bagged on them.
• 7:14
  Speaker 4: But then.
• 7:15
  Speaker 3: It was like, oh man, we got to talk about them.
• 7:17
  Speaker 3: So Trench Power Ranking has the Denver Broncos offensive line
• 7:21
  Speaker 3: ranked number one, which, I'm sorry, PFF has them number one,
• 7:28
  Speaker 3: but Trench Power Ranking has them ranked number 14. That one,
• 7:33
  Speaker 3: I think with Bo Nix, I could see why they
• 7:36
  Speaker 3: would be 14 from Trench. PFF probably has it because
• 7:40
  Speaker 3: of the wins and because of where they finished. And
• 7:42
  Speaker 3: Bo Nix kind of having a resurgent like third down percentage.
• 7:46
  Speaker 2: Was really good.
• 7:47
  Speaker 3: And, you know, they controlled time of possession and, you know,
• 7:52
  Speaker 3: the second half of the games, they were to close
• 7:53
  Speaker 3: it out. Cause I remember calling that Philly Denver.
• 7:55
  Speaker 2: Game last year.
• 7:57
  Speaker 3: And I was like, man, I was like, Denver couldn't
• 8:00
  Speaker 3: get Pat, like couldn't get past the 30 yard line,
• 8:04
  Speaker 3: like in that game for the first three quarters. And
• 8:06
  Speaker 3: then once they broke through, they just started scoring at will.
• 8:09
  Speaker 3: And Philly could not, could not score after the first
• 8:12
  Speaker 3: two times. So, I get it. It's kind of polarizing.
• 8:15
  Speaker 3: I don't know if I necessarily agree with PFF or Trench.
• 8:18
  Speaker 3: I think they're kind of more middle. I probably have
• 8:21
  Speaker 3: them ranked probably like six or seven. Number two is
• 8:25
  Speaker 3: a Colts offensive line for PFF. That one was questionable
• 8:31
  Speaker 3: to have them behind some of the.
• 8:33
  Speaker 4: Other guys we talked about. Not really, Max.
• 8:36
  Speaker 6: I mean, the Colts were 8-2 up until one point.
• 8:38
  Speaker 6: Daniel Jones blew his Achilles. And Jonathan Taylor was early
• 8:43
  Speaker 6: in the first two seasons, excuse me, two seasons, two months.
• 8:46
  Speaker 6: I mean, he was on a tear. I mean, he
• 8:48
  Speaker 6: was in the MVP conversation. So it's really not that
• 8:52
  Speaker 6: much of a stretch. The issue with the Colts now,
• 8:55
  Speaker 6: that is, Quentin Nelson is asking for more money and
• 8:59
  Speaker 6: the Colts.
• 9:00
  Speaker 4: Say, come again? No.
• 9:04
  Speaker 6: So that's the issue their offensive line is dealing with
• 9:07
  Speaker 6: right now. they haven't really forked over the bag or
• 9:11
  Speaker 6: necessarily extended Quentin Nelson right now. So that's an issue
• 9:15
  Speaker 6: for them. But last year, the Colts were money hot.
• 9:17
  Speaker 6: They came out of nowhere. And Jonathan Taylor was ripping
• 9:20
  Speaker 6: it up early. So I'm not surprised that the offensive
• 9:23
  Speaker 6: line has that, you know, is graded at that level.
• 9:28
  Speaker 4: All right.
• 9:28
  Speaker 3: Well, I just look at that game against the Steelers.
• 9:32
  Speaker 3: It felt like the Steelers game was the straw that
• 9:34
  Speaker 3: broke the camel's back. And like you said, Daniel Jones
• 9:37
  Speaker 3: going down. And then you were just scrambling the rest
• 9:41
  Speaker 3: of the way and kind of fumbled the bag at
• 9:43
  Speaker 3: the end.
• 9:43
  Speaker 2: Of the season.
• 9:45
  Speaker 3: But like you said, we'll see how they look. Daniel
• 9:47
  Speaker 3: Jones coming off that injury should be healthier. And I
• 9:49
  Speaker 3: think that, you know, that'll bolster them. I just thought
• 9:51
  Speaker 3: two was just a little bit too rich.
• 9:55
  Speaker 2: For them as well.
• 9:57
  Speaker 3: I don't mind them at 9-10. I think they're above
• 10:01
  Speaker 3: average top third in the league offensive lines because I
• 10:05
  Speaker 3: think there is still– tackles are young but not as
• 10:08
  Speaker 3: solid as I'd like. But like you said, Quentin Nelson
• 10:10
  Speaker 3: leading the way covers up a lot of those boo-boos.
• 10:13
  Speaker 3: Number three, Chicago Bears offensive line. Now, I do love
• 10:19
  Speaker 3: me some Darnell Wright. I do love Darnell Wright at
• 10:22
  Speaker 3: right tackle.
• 10:22
  Speaker 4: He just got paid.
• 10:25
  Speaker 2: Pizzayed.
• 10:26
  Speaker 5: Woo!
• 10:27
  Speaker 3: Man, that's a lot of man which you can buy
• 10:30
  Speaker 3: to store in your apocalypse bunker. He just got broke
• 10:37
  Speaker 3: completely off. But that group, yeah, with Caleb Williams, I
• 10:41
  Speaker 3: felt like Caleb kind of settled down. That offensive line
• 10:44
  Speaker 3: from year one of Caleb Williams– to last year had
• 10:48
  Speaker 3: done a full 180, and I think now another year
• 10:52
  Speaker 3: under their belt. Like you said, you know who the
• 10:54
  Speaker 3: bell cow franchise offensive lineman is. It is Darnell Wright, Mr. Paid,
• 11:00
  Speaker 3: and that line's going to have a good challenging front,
• 11:03
  Speaker 3: but I feel like it's got some good bones to it.
• 11:06
  Speaker 6: Well, not only that, you know, the issue with this
• 11:08
  Speaker 6: Bears offensive line is they never expected the loss of
• 11:13
  Speaker 6: Drew Dorman, their star center. And mind you, he got
• 11:16
  Speaker 6: paid prior to him calling for retirement. So you're looking
• 11:21
  Speaker 6: at an offensive line who people have to remember was
• 11:24
  Speaker 6: damn good and extremely beneficial for a young quarterback making
• 11:28
  Speaker 6: a leap in year two.
• 11:29
  Speaker 4: Yeah, they got their sack total down and the system
• 11:31
  Speaker 4: is a lot.
• 11:32
  Speaker 6: Better in Chicago. And Caleb Williams had a hell of
• 11:36
  Speaker 6: a year. And I definitely think he's a rising star.
• 11:38
  Speaker 6: But thinking about what a run game does for a
• 11:40
  Speaker 6: young quarterback, it stabilizes the offense. The reason why we
• 11:43
  Speaker 6: know the names Menungai and Swift is because of the
• 11:47
  Speaker 6: way of that offensive line played. And, you know, I know–
• 11:51
  Speaker 6: was it Dedrick Willis.
• 11:53
  Speaker 4: The left tackle?
• 11:54
  Speaker 2: Oh, Jedrick. Jedrick Willis.
• 11:56
  Speaker 4: Jedrick, excuse me.
• 11:56
  Speaker 6: I know he was with the Browns, landed with the Bears,
• 11:59
  Speaker 6: and they actually just released him. So he's a free
• 12:01
  Speaker 6: agent right now. But from an offensive line standpoint, one
• 12:04
  Speaker 6: of the reasons why they stood out is because their
• 12:06
  Speaker 6: ability to run the ball and how efficiently they ran
• 12:09
  Speaker 6: the ball on the road. Remember, that's the same team
• 12:11
  Speaker 6: that went into Philly and beat the hell out of
• 12:13
  Speaker 6: the Philadelphia Eagles in Philly.
• 12:15
  Speaker 4: So that offensive line is one of the best in
• 12:18
  Speaker 4: the league for sure.
• 12:19
  Speaker 2: Yeah, no, I agree.
• 12:21
  Speaker 3: And I'm going to speed through until we get to
• 12:24
  Speaker 3: number nine. But number four was the L.A.
• 12:27
  Speaker 2: Rams. Number five was the Niners because we already talked
• 12:30
  Speaker 2: about them. Six was the Bills.
• 12:32
  Speaker 3: And then number seven was the Eagles offensive line, which
• 12:37
  Speaker 3: didn't even make it in the top 20 of trench
• 12:41
  Speaker 3: power rating.
• 12:42
  Speaker 4: Oh, wow.
• 12:42
  Speaker 3: Number eight is our Pittsburgh Steelers. So PFF liked us
• 12:47
  Speaker 3: enough to put us in the top eight. And, you know,
• 12:51
  Speaker 3: trench power had him at 21. So I think this
• 12:52
  Speaker 3: is an interesting point is this is very polarizing, right?
• 12:56
  Speaker 2: Because you go from.
• 12:57
  Speaker 3: Top 10 to end of the second tier. before you
• 13:02
  Speaker 3: get into the bottom third tier of this, how do
• 13:06
  Speaker 3: you feel about that ring? Where do you think the
• 13:08
  Speaker 3: Steelers should rank in your mind?
• 13:12
  Speaker 4: I think that's a fair assessment.
• 13:14
  Speaker 6: I think because if you're, if you're looking at what
• 13:18
  Speaker 6: they did last year, going into this year, you have
• 13:21
  Speaker 6: a group and show option, Troy for Tano Mason, McCormick,
• 13:25
  Speaker 6: Zach Frazier, Spencer Anderson Valley.
• 13:28
  Speaker 4: He was the sixth office alignment. Did he get a
• 13:30
  Speaker 4: lot of run last year?
• 13:31
  Speaker 1: Right.
• 13:32
  Speaker 6: We talked about who the right tackle is going to be,
• 13:34
  Speaker 6: who should it be. I think me and you and
• 13:37
  Speaker 6: I are in agreement. It should be Max Ahanachor. Obviously,
• 13:43
  Speaker 6: you've got to put some kid gloves around him and
• 13:44
  Speaker 6: kind of build him up. Hopefully, he gets in shape,
• 13:46
  Speaker 6: and he continues to get in shape. With all that said,
• 13:49
  Speaker 6: what we loved about this offensive line last year is
• 13:52
  Speaker 6: they didn't necessarily start off hot. They got bigger, and
• 13:54
  Speaker 6: they got stronger. I think people don't realize. I think
• 13:56
  Speaker 6: we said this, and I don't mean to be redundant.
• 14:00
  Speaker 6: The year you and I won our Super Bowl was
• 14:01
  Speaker 6: Super Bowl 43.
• 14:04
  Speaker 4: We did not start off well.
• 14:06
  Speaker 6: And I think collectively as a group, you know, I
• 14:11
  Speaker 6: think we finished that year with 49 sacks as a line,
• 14:14
  Speaker 6: which isn't great.
• 14:15
  Speaker 4: I mean, we just gave up 49 sacks.
• 14:18
  Speaker 6: One thing I do and I tell people time after
• 14:20
  Speaker 6: time that I will forever be proud of us as
• 14:23
  Speaker 6: a unit and as five guys who came together as
• 14:26
  Speaker 6: one is that We continue to invest in ourselves while
• 14:31
  Speaker 6: everybody else was down on us.
• 14:33
  Speaker 4: You know, we continue to say.
• 14:35
  Speaker 6: You know what, we know we're not perfect now, but
• 14:37
  Speaker 6: as long as we keep pounding the rock and stay steady,
• 14:40
  Speaker 6: we're going to be the line we want to be collectively.
• 14:42
  Speaker 6: Because I think individually, I think we were all sound.
• 14:45
  Speaker 6: Even though we had lost Marvell, we lost Kendu, you
• 14:48
  Speaker 6: had to transition to left tackle and get yourself together.
• 14:50
  Speaker 6: You know, Darnell Sabotin at the time was fresh off
• 14:54
  Speaker 6: the street.
• 14:55
  Speaker 4: You know, he was a hard-grafted free agent out of Rutgers.
• 14:58
  Speaker 6: They slapped them on Justin Hartwig, you know, had came
• 15:01
  Speaker 6: from another system and really had to grow into this system.
• 15:04
  Speaker 6: Me and Juice was the only two guys that had
• 15:07
  Speaker 6: enough playing time with that consistent starters on our unit.
• 15:11
  Speaker 6: And collectively five, we had to figure it out because
• 15:14
  Speaker 6: every other unit around us was playing at a high level.
• 15:16
  Speaker 4: And we were kind of, and.
• 15:18
  Speaker 6: I'll be honest, if you put that, we were kind
• 15:20
  Speaker 6: of holding the team back because we should have, with
• 15:22
  Speaker 6: the pieces we had around us, we should have scored
• 15:24
  Speaker 6: a lot more points and been better. But, we got
• 15:27
  Speaker 6: hot when it was time to get hot and I
• 15:29
  Speaker 6: was in the playoffs. And so when I look at
• 15:30
  Speaker 6: this unit, that's how I feel about them. You know,
• 15:34
  Speaker 6: I feel like if this unit stays together, they say,
• 15:37
  Speaker 6: you know, they, they, they kind of kick the naysayers
• 15:38
  Speaker 6: to the left and continue to invest in themselves and
• 15:41
  Speaker 6: continue to do what they need to do, just like
• 15:43
  Speaker 6: we needed to do.
• 15:44
  Speaker 4: And we did that. This unit can be a top
• 15:47
  Speaker 4: five unit.
• 15:47
  Speaker 6: This can be a top five office line that ushers
• 15:50
  Speaker 6: this team into the playoffs.
• 15:51
  Speaker 4: So hopefully the Superbowl.
• 15:52
  Speaker 6: So I see a lot of similarities between what this,
• 15:55
  Speaker 6: this young team is going through. Exactly what we– because
• 15:58
  Speaker 6: we were young at the time and what our young
• 16:00
  Speaker 6: unit had to go through and what we was able
• 16:02
  Speaker 6: to accomplish.
• 16:02
  Speaker 4: So it's just going to be interesting.
• 16:06
  Speaker 2: Yeah, no, it is.
• 16:07
  Speaker 3: And I think it's a fair assessment for right now because,
• 16:11
  Speaker 3: like you said, we haven't played any games.
• 16:13
  Speaker 2: This group has not played together.
• 16:16
  Speaker 3: All five of these guys have not played on the
• 16:18
  Speaker 3: field in a competitive snap that we're going to put
• 16:21
  Speaker 3: together on game day, right?
• 16:23
  Speaker 2: So that's going to be very interesting.
• 16:26
  Speaker 3: Or I should say, they haven't played a competitive snap
• 16:28
  Speaker 3: together in their current positions. Like Spencer Anderson has played
• 16:32
  Speaker 3: all around, and you're switching Mason and Troy to left,
• 16:37
  Speaker 3: and Spencer's going to play right guard, which he primarily
• 16:39
  Speaker 3: was more left guard, and then extra tight end. And
• 16:43
  Speaker 3: then Maxionator's going to be fresh, you know, rookie with
• 16:45
  Speaker 3: just a handful of preseason snaps. So I think it's
• 16:49
  Speaker 3: a fair assessment right now at that 21 position. And
• 16:52
  Speaker 3: I think this is kind of the scale. I think
• 16:54
  Speaker 3: this is one where they can move all the way
• 16:55
  Speaker 3: up into the top ten easily based off of what
• 16:58
  Speaker 3: you talked about. And you're absolutely right. It was a
• 17:00
  Speaker 3: great assessment. But they've got to take the time to
• 17:03
  Speaker 3: do the extra stuff. Like what we did that made
• 17:04
  Speaker 3: us so different because Darnell came in week four when
• 17:08
  Speaker 3: Kendall got injured. I came in week five after Marvell
• 17:11
  Speaker 3: got injured. And then we started growing together. But what
• 17:14
  Speaker 3: we did to curb that, remember, we spent extra time together.
• 17:18
  Speaker 3: I mean, we were already a tight unit and we
• 17:20
  Speaker 3: already hung out together. But we took Thursday nights. And remember,
• 17:24
  Speaker 3: we had film sessions every Thursday night that we would
• 17:28
  Speaker 3: go over everything to make sure we were communicating. Then
• 17:30
  Speaker 3: the running backs would come over there every once in
• 17:32
  Speaker 3: a while. Tight ends would come over and join us.
• 17:35
  Speaker 3: And it became a thing that, like you said, it
• 17:37
  Speaker 3: was all we got in that moment. And that's what
• 17:40
  Speaker 3: galvanized us in the end. And, of course, Ben on
• 17:43
  Speaker 3: that stage holding that Super Bowl trophy said, who's laughing now, O-line, right?
• 17:47
  Speaker 2: That was kind of the culmination. But you're right. They
• 17:50
  Speaker 2: can get there.
• 17:51
  Speaker 3: They just have to make that commitment to it.
• 17:52
  Speaker 2: All right.
• 17:53
  Speaker 3: I know we ran a little bit over there, but
• 17:55
  Speaker 3: we're going to, we're going to jump back into it.
• 17:57
  Speaker 3: I feel like, you know, we haven't really hit everything
• 18:00
  Speaker 3: in here. Well, I thought it was, I had this
• 18:02
  Speaker 3: as a one segmenter, but it looks like, I mean,
• 18:05
  Speaker 3: when you get to our alignment together, we're going to,
• 18:07
  Speaker 3: we're going to chop it up.
• 18:08
  Speaker 4: So get to talk to like a bunch of old ladies.
• 18:11
  Speaker 2: I know, I know.
• 18:12
  Speaker 3: Just get to, just get to talking and laughing and cackling.
• 18:15
  Speaker 3: So we're going to continue that conversation going into this
• 18:18
  Speaker 3: and then If we have time, we'll get into the
• 18:20
  Speaker 3: defensive line one before we come back here. But we're
• 18:24
  Speaker 3: going to step aside right now inside the locker room
• 18:26
  Speaker 3: here on the Steelers Audio Network.
• 18:33
  Speaker 1: This is In the Locker Room with Rob King, Max Starks,
• 18:38
  Speaker 1: and Willie Colon on Steelers Nation Radio. Brought to you
• 18:41
  Speaker 1: in part by the Steelers Pro Shop. Get it direct
• 18:44
  Speaker 1: from the team at the Steelers Pro Shop at shop.steelers.com.
• 18:49
  Speaker 1: And by your neighborhood Ford store. The F-150 is the
• 18:53
  Speaker 1: official truck of the Pittsburgh Steelers.
• 18:55
  Speaker 3: All right, back inside the locker room here. We are
• 19:00
  Speaker 3: continuing our conversation today. We were supposed to do both
• 19:04
  Speaker 3: offensive line and defensive line. But, you know, when you
• 19:08
  Speaker 3: got two offensive linemen on the airwaves and just a.
• 19:12
  Speaker 2: Wealth of knowledge, experience, and thoughts, it just keeps permeating.
• 19:17
  Speaker 2: The conversation just keeps going. We have not got outside
• 19:20
  Speaker 2: of the top ten. Because, you know, because we watched
• 19:26
  Speaker 2: this game.
• 19:27
  Speaker 3: And I think also, Will, I think that also shows
• 19:30
  Speaker 3: that we played this game long enough and we understand
• 19:35
  Speaker 3: the appreciation and the nuances for our position, but we
• 19:38
  Speaker 3: also understand how apparently important a good offensive line is
• 19:44
  Speaker 3: to team success.
• 19:46
  Speaker 4: Right.
• 19:47
  Speaker 3: And when we're talking about at this point of the year, like,
• 19:50
  Speaker 3: this offensive line has a lot to prove this year
• 19:52
  Speaker 3: for the Steelers right there's a lot of draft capital
• 19:55
  Speaker 3: that's been invested in this squad I mean just look
• 19:58
  Speaker 3: at the amount of first rounders day two guys as
• 20:01
  Speaker 3: well as day three guys that that we're depending on
• 20:04
  Speaker 3: and that The Steelers have looked at and said these
• 20:07
  Speaker 3: picks are what the Steelers' future is looking like. So
• 20:11
  Speaker 3: to see these guys rounded out, I mean, that's one
• 20:13
  Speaker 3: of the things. When I think of this line, everybody
• 20:16
  Speaker 3: on that line is drafted. There's no undrafted free agent.
• 20:21
  Speaker 3: Like Brock Hoffman came in as a free agent to
• 20:23
  Speaker 3: kind of fill that depth of the interior side of it.
• 20:26
  Speaker 2: But your starting five is going to be.
• 20:28
  Speaker 3: Literally a purely drafted offensive line, which I think speaks
• 20:33
  Speaker 3: volume when you talk about Steelers development.
• 20:36
  Speaker 2: That's what you have to get to.
• 20:38
  Speaker 3: And the best Steeler lines that we've had over the
• 20:41
  Speaker 3: years have been because it's been a core of guys
• 20:43
  Speaker 3: that's been invested. I know early on, well, I'm sorry,
• 20:46
  Speaker 3: early on in my career, last couple of years of
• 20:48
  Speaker 3: Mike Tomlin, he went and he bolstered that, right? Went
• 20:51
  Speaker 3: and got Isaac Ciamalu, went and got James Daniel, and
• 20:56
  Speaker 3: I forgot Mason Cole and these other guys, right? Trying
• 20:58
  Speaker 3: to fill the gaps, but This is what you hope
• 21:03
  Speaker 3: to get to. This is what you hope to ascend
• 21:04
  Speaker 3: to is our guys are Steeler bread day one guys,
• 21:09
  Speaker 3: the eggs hatched here.
• 21:12
  Speaker 2: And that's what.
• 21:12
  Speaker 3: Blossomed into, into careers and longevity. So, you know, as
• 21:18
  Speaker 3: we look at this, this is a growth period, but
• 21:20
  Speaker 3: I mean, listen, they didn't.
• 21:22
  Speaker 2: Have them ranked 32nd.
• 21:23
  Speaker 3: You know, it's like they had them right there in
• 21:26
  Speaker 3: the middle tier because it's unproven as of right now.
• 21:28
  Speaker 6: Right.
• 21:29
  Speaker 3: We talked about a trench power rating, had them ranked
• 21:31
  Speaker 3: at 20 at 21. PFL was a little more bullish
• 21:34
  Speaker 3: at number eight. I think they were kind of future
• 21:36
  Speaker 3: projecting what this offensive line can be. And I'm not
• 21:39
  Speaker 3: mad at those. I know you said you weren't either, um,
• 21:41
  Speaker 3: about where they kind of land. Cause I think it
• 21:43
  Speaker 3: gives you a measuring stick of where they can fall between, right.
• 21:46
  Speaker 3: You kind of put a ceiling and a floor on
• 21:49
  Speaker 3: this team. And I, and I think it's a fair
• 21:51
  Speaker 3: place to put them as it stands right now.
• 21:52
  Speaker 2: And I think with the.
• 21:53
  Speaker 3: Ability to move up throughout the season, um, Just kind
• 21:57
  Speaker 3: of as we look beyond that, Will, I mean, I'll
• 22:00
  Speaker 3: round out the top ten. I'll say, okay, you know,
• 22:03
  Speaker 3: they had number nine New York Jets, number ten Kansas
• 22:05
  Speaker 3: City Chiefs. But were there any other teams that you
• 22:09
  Speaker 3: kind of look at where they're ranked and say, ah,
• 22:11
  Speaker 3: that's a bit too rich for my blood from the
• 22:14
  Speaker 3: trench power rating side or PFF side?
• 22:19
  Speaker 6: Well, I mean, for the trench side, listen, the– I'm
• 22:27
  Speaker 6: looking at it right here and I'm trying to go
• 22:28
  Speaker 6: through it. You know, the Cincinnati Bengals, I was just
• 22:32
  Speaker 6: like being number 12.
• 22:36
  Speaker 2: Yes, exactly. I was like, who? Who?
• 22:40
  Speaker 4: What Bengals team were you talking about? I'm going to
• 22:45
  Speaker 4: give you one more. The Ravens at number nine? Like
• 22:52
  Speaker 4: those two right there. And I'm staying in the division
• 22:54
  Speaker 4: because I try to stay in my own neighborhood.
• 22:57
  Speaker 6: But those two, they could have been pumped down a
• 23:00
  Speaker 6: little bit more.
• 23:02
  Speaker 4: The Ravens still have issues on the offensive line. They're
• 23:04
  Speaker 4: still trying to figure it out.
• 23:06
  Speaker 6: So part of their detriment to why they had a
• 23:10
  Speaker 6: rough season was because the offensive line just couldn't hold up.
• 23:14
  Speaker 6: And the Bengals, people forget, over the last four seasons,
• 23:18
  Speaker 6: Joe Burrow has been sacked 130 times.
• 23:23
  Speaker 4: So knocked out.
• 23:24
  Speaker 2: Knocked out on top of BSA. He's been knocked out
• 23:27
  Speaker 2: of games and seasons. Yes, sir. Yes, sir.
• 23:30
  Speaker 6: So as we continue to look at this, like, yes, I,
• 23:35
  Speaker 6: the Bengals and Ravens being in the top 15 was
• 23:38
  Speaker 6: concerning for me.
• 23:40
  Speaker 4: Yeah. That, that, that's just, it was just, it was
• 23:43
  Speaker 4: a lot. So those, those are my two right there.
• 23:47
  Speaker 6: I mean, And I'm looking at it– so they have–
• 23:50
  Speaker 6: so your Trench Wolfer.
• 23:52
  Speaker 4: Was it Trench– what is it called? Trench Power Rangers?
• 23:55
  Speaker 4: I apologize.
• 23:56
  Speaker 6: Yeah.
• 23:56
  Speaker 4: Yeah, they have the Ravens at nine.
• 23:58
  Speaker 6: I don't think so. They have the Bengals, as I mentioned,
• 24:04
  Speaker 6: at number 12. Not good for– I don't see that.
• 24:09
  Speaker 6: And the Giants, they have number 17. Like the Giants,
• 24:14
  Speaker 6: I do expect to be better, but that's questionable.
• 24:18
  Speaker 4: So– There's a lot right now.
• 24:20
  Speaker 2: They lost their entire starting backfield because of that all-out.
• 24:23
  Speaker 4: Yeah. Like, even the commanders.
• 24:27
  Speaker 6: Like, I know this came out before the injury of
• 24:29
  Speaker 6: Larry Tunsil, but that still was too high for me
• 24:33
  Speaker 6: to him.
• 24:33
  Speaker 4: So, you know, it is what it is.
• 24:37
  Speaker 6: But I think there's definitely some questionable ones right there
• 24:41
  Speaker 6: that we can... The Texans should be, I think, honestly...
• 24:45
  Speaker 6: despite the issues that C.J. Stroud showed, should be a
• 24:48
  Speaker 6: little bit higher. Texans actually played better last year on
• 24:50
  Speaker 6: the offensive line standpoint. So they should be a lot higher.
• 24:53
  Speaker 3: And they spent a lot of resources this offseason bolstering
• 24:56
  Speaker 3: that offensive line.
• 24:57
  Speaker 4: Right. And even the Panthers.
• 24:59
  Speaker 6: I think the Panthers should be a lot higher than
• 25:01
  Speaker 6: what they are at 19th. The Steelers at 21st is
• 25:05
  Speaker 6: weird to me, but they should definitely be in the
• 25:08
  Speaker 6: top 15.
• 25:09
  Speaker 4: Especially in front of the teams we just named.
• 25:14
  Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean, for us to be the third best
• 25:16
  Speaker 3: offensive line in the AFC North, like, come on, really?
• 25:20
  Speaker 6: Really?
• 25:20
  Speaker 4: Terrific. People ain't watching football, Max. No, no, they ain't watching.
• 25:25
  Speaker 2: They're not watching.
• 25:27
  Speaker 4: They watch it, but they ain't looking at what we
• 25:29
  Speaker 4: looking at.
• 25:30
  Speaker 2: No, they ain't. Their eyeballs are open. I don't know
• 25:34
  Speaker 2: if they see him.
• 25:35
  Speaker 4: Yes, sir.
• 25:37
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I completely agree with you.
• 25:38
  Speaker 3: I think when you look at it, you know, these
• 25:41
  Speaker 3: were very rich– And I think it kind of bears
• 25:43
  Speaker 3: to show that we bagged on PFF. But PFF, the
• 25:49
  Speaker 3: layering discrepancy in those numbers because Baltimore trench power rating
• 25:56
  Speaker 3: is at number nine, but PFF has them at 16.
• 25:59
  Speaker 2: Cincinnati is 12. This might be the biggest difference.
• 26:03
  Speaker 3: Number 28 on PFF. And then, like I said, the
• 26:07
  Speaker 3: Steelers were 21, but bumped into top eight. So on PFF,
• 26:11
  Speaker 3: we're the top-ranked. division offensive line but in trench power
• 26:15
  Speaker 3: rating they look at it differently and I think it's
• 26:18
  Speaker 3: based on where they're at right now and I think
• 26:20
  Speaker 3: honestly the Ravens and the Bengals this is where they
• 26:25
  Speaker 3: truly benefit from who their quarterback is not what their
• 26:29
  Speaker 3: production was I think it's a lot of that's fair
• 26:32
  Speaker 3: like you yeah you love Lamar Jackson because listen even
• 26:36
  Speaker 3: though I do not like the Ratbirds at all I
• 26:38
  Speaker 3: don't want them to have any success in life um
• 26:42
  Speaker 3: But I do like Lamar Jackson. I do like him
• 26:46
  Speaker 3: as a player, as a person. Hey, you root for
• 26:48
  Speaker 3: him when he's not playing the Steelers.
• 26:50
  Speaker 2: But correct. You know, Joe Burrow as well. Like if
• 26:53
  Speaker 2: he can stay healthy, they go to a Super Bowl.
• 26:56
  Speaker 4: Right.
• 26:57
  Speaker 2: But he has not been.
• 26:58
  Speaker 3: It's only been one season that he has made it through.
• 27:03
  Speaker 2: And it's because of the offensive line. The offensive line
• 27:06
  Speaker 2: has always been one of those things.
• 27:08
  Speaker 3: He's going to throw that ball and get it out
• 27:09
  Speaker 3: of there really quickly, but he's still, like you said,
• 27:12
  Speaker 3: 130 sacks. There's no way you could tell me that
• 27:15
  Speaker 3: line is better than ours when you've given up 130
• 27:18
  Speaker 3: sacks over the season.
• 27:20
  Speaker 6: And by the way, I want to give the Bengals credit.
• 27:22
  Speaker 6: They did go out and assign left tackle Orlando Brown.
• 27:26
  Speaker 6: They signed another guard, so they're trying to make improvements.
• 27:30
  Speaker 6: I think the Bengals on paper– are probably a lot
• 27:33
  Speaker 6: more complete team than they were last year.
• 27:35
  Speaker 4: And it has nothing– yeah, Dexter Lawrence has something to
• 27:38
  Speaker 4: do with it.
• 27:39
  Speaker 6: But, I mean, what they were able to acquire in
• 27:41
  Speaker 6: the back end, what they were able to get next
• 27:44
  Speaker 6: to Jonathan Allen and some other pieces, like they've answered
• 27:47
  Speaker 6: some needs on the defensive side.
• 27:49
  Speaker 4: Now, the Bengals are going to just be different.
• 27:52
  Speaker 6: If they can keep Joe Burrow upright and the defense
• 27:54
  Speaker 6: can just be competent and respectable, and if Dexter Lawrence
• 27:58
  Speaker 6: can go back to his all-pro self, Yeah, the dark
• 28:01
  Speaker 6: horse in the division will be the Cincinnati Bengals. But
• 28:06
  Speaker 6: as of right now, we shall see.
• 28:11
  Speaker 4: Offensively, we know they can light it up. But what
• 28:14
  Speaker 4: they look like outside of that, we shall see.
• 28:18
  Speaker 3: Yeah, and every year is a new year. And I
• 28:21
  Speaker 3: think that's the other thing that you have to remember.
• 28:23
  Speaker 3: You cannot sit there and say, listen, how many times
• 28:26
  Speaker 3: have we seen paper champs get destroyed? Because, oh, we've
• 28:31
  Speaker 3: assembled the best players. Listen, just because you put a
• 28:34
  Speaker 3: group together don't mean you're going to be the Avengers.
• 28:36
  Speaker 3: I mean, that's just– it could just be a bunch
• 28:40
  Speaker 3: of dudes. It could be Fat Albert and the gang.
• 28:42
  Speaker 3: You never know what it could be. So, as we
• 28:46
  Speaker 3: kind of talked about, like you said, we don't have
• 28:47
  Speaker 3: any games to base this off of. This is pure speculation, preseason.
• 28:52
  Speaker 3: But it is great talking points to see how kind
• 28:55
  Speaker 3: of some people view that group and especially offense like
• 28:59
  Speaker 3: this is the toughest one to kind of get a
• 29:02
  Speaker 3: sense of because there's no tangible stats like our tangible
• 29:05
  Speaker 3: stats are other people's stats right like you know only
• 29:09
  Speaker 3: thing we get we get dinged for is rushing yard
• 29:12
  Speaker 3: average sacks tfls and pressures right there's no good stats
• 29:17
  Speaker 3: and it's not assigned to one person it's assigned to
• 29:19
  Speaker 3: the entire line whereas you can say on a d-line
• 29:23
  Speaker 3: tackles sacks tfls like all those stats that go for
• 29:26
  Speaker 3: them are bad for offensive linemen. And you can extrapolate
• 29:30
  Speaker 3: production off of that. Ours is a little bit different.
• 29:35
  Speaker 3: And listen, shout out to one of our Super Bowl
• 29:38
  Speaker 3: 43 champs, D-State, Washington Commanders, old line coach.
• 29:41
  Speaker 4: Yes, my brother, our brother.
• 29:44
  Speaker 2: Our brother, our brother. Now, he's got a task because
• 29:47
  Speaker 2: he's got to figure out who the left tackle is.
• 29:48
  Speaker 4: Going to be.
• 29:48
  Speaker 3: But like you said, Washington being in there, you could
• 29:53
  Speaker 3: see that because, right, Jaden Daniels have the running game.
• 29:56
  Speaker 3: They have the receivers. And you want to see how
• 29:59
  Speaker 3: they're going to do. And that's why I think they
• 30:01
  Speaker 3: got bumped in front of us for the trench power rating. But,
• 30:05
  Speaker 3: you know, that's a team that's going to have to
• 30:06
  Speaker 3: go out and prove themselves. The Chargers offensive line. That
• 30:10
  Speaker 3: was another one.
• 30:11
  Speaker 2: The Chargers. Listen, can they just stay healthy? Can you
• 30:14
  Speaker 2: stay healthy? Like, they haven't.
• 30:16
  Speaker 4: Had a year yet. I'm the last to talk. My
• 30:18
  Speaker 4: stealing career is riddled with IRs.
• 30:20
  Speaker 6: But I do know for a fact, if Joe Ault
• 30:25
  Speaker 6: and Rashawn Slater could anchor that office line with Mike McDaniels.
• 30:29
  Speaker 6: You know, the interesting, I think the interesting people, excuse me,
• 30:32
  Speaker 6: let me stop stuttering all over the place.
• 30:34
  Speaker 4: The interesting thing people.
• 30:35
  Speaker 6: Have to understand is that as much as Mike McDaniels
• 30:38
  Speaker 6: loves to throw the ball and his, his, his office
• 30:40
  Speaker 6: scheme is about footwork, rhythm and timing, hitting them receivers
• 30:45
  Speaker 6: in stride. They, he runs the ball when he was,
• 30:47
  Speaker 6: when he was the head coach with the Miami dolphins,
• 30:50
  Speaker 6: when he had those, uh, Devon HN and obviously the, well,
• 30:53
  Speaker 6: who's the other back, uh, But.
• 30:56
  Speaker 3: Anyway, A-Tan ran roughshod last year.
• 31:00
  Speaker 2: So, yeah.
• 31:01
  Speaker 6: Right, but I'm saying the Dolphins over the last five years,
• 31:05
  Speaker 6: like they've been top ten. Under Mike McDaniels, they've been
• 31:07
  Speaker 6: top ten in rushing. Like he runs the ball. This
• 31:10
  Speaker 6: isn't just about him having the ability to air it out. Yeah,
• 31:13
  Speaker 6: he loves to throw the ball. But Mike McDaniels in
• 31:16
  Speaker 6: his offense, they pound the rock. So now you're looking
• 31:18
  Speaker 6: at this Chargers offensive line with the two big tackles
• 31:21
  Speaker 6: I just mentioned, Rashawn Slater and Joe Ault. With Amar
• 31:25
  Speaker 6: and Hampton, who's healthy this year? People forget that man
• 31:28
  Speaker 6: played with a fractured ankle, right? So now he's healthy.
• 31:31
  Speaker 6: Now what's interesting about that as well, Mike McDaniels just
• 31:35
  Speaker 6: didn't come in and say, all right, we're going to
• 31:36
  Speaker 6: run these plays and this is what's going to be
• 31:38
  Speaker 6: skinned for Justin Herbert.
• 31:40
  Speaker 4: He cleaned up Justin Herbert. He wants the ball out faster.
• 31:44
  Speaker 6: He wants Justin Herbert's footwork to be a lot more
• 31:46
  Speaker 6: in line and on time with his ability to throw
• 31:49
  Speaker 6: the football. Like he's polished up Justin Herbert. Because of
• 31:53
  Speaker 6: all the hits he's taken because of the weak offensive line.
• 31:56
  Speaker 6: I expect the Chargers to win the division. And I've
• 31:59
  Speaker 6: been on Good Morning Football. Like, I have the Chargers
• 32:02
  Speaker 6: winning the AFC West, not only because of what they've
• 32:04
  Speaker 6: done on the defensive side, but offensively, just Mike Medina
• 32:08
  Speaker 6: has come on and really revamped that offense.
• 32:11
  Speaker 4: So, and it all comes down to their offensive line.
• 32:13
  Speaker 6: If their offensive line can stay healthy with that young
• 32:15
  Speaker 6: running back in Amarion Hampton, man, you're talking about a
• 32:19
  Speaker 6: shakeup in the AFC.
• 32:21
  Speaker 4: So... Yeah, you're right.
• 32:22
  Speaker 6: I think the charges are, they should be, and I
• 32:25
  Speaker 6: get it. Justin Herbert's own three in the playoffs. He
• 32:28
  Speaker 6: hasn't done anything yet, but his regular season numbers and
• 32:32
  Speaker 6: how they perform.
• 32:33
  Speaker 4: It's pretty damn impressive.
• 32:35
  Speaker 2: Yeah, no.
• 32:36
  Speaker 3: And I'm right there with you. I think it's just been,
• 32:39
  Speaker 3: can you stay healthy on that offensive line? Because like
• 32:41
  Speaker 3: you said, when, when things are cooking, like they have
• 32:45
  Speaker 3: the talent, the talent just hasn't been available in, You know,
• 32:49
  Speaker 3: you think about last year. I mean, we went out
• 32:50
  Speaker 3: there and we definitely, definitely gave up an egg against
• 32:55
  Speaker 3: the Chargers. And that offensive line kind of bullied our
• 32:56
  Speaker 3: defensive line around. And we kind of were searching for
• 33:00
  Speaker 3: ourselves on Sunday night football. And I remember, funny story
• 33:04
  Speaker 3: real fast before we go to break. Well, you know,
• 33:08
  Speaker 3: I fly separate from the team. So I have to
• 33:10
  Speaker 3: fly commercial, you know, so they leave out on a
• 33:12
  Speaker 3: team jet and fly back to Pittsburgh. And then I
• 33:13
  Speaker 3: have to kind of stay overnight and then fly back
• 33:15
  Speaker 3: the next day. I remember walking through that parking lot
• 33:18
  Speaker 3: like the loneliest man on earth. Because you know at SoFi,
• 33:21
  Speaker 3: you're in L.A., you're in Englewood, and they got the
• 33:26
  Speaker 3: hot dog cart vendors. We've had a couple of street
• 33:30
  Speaker 3: meat sandwiches from our time in L.A.
• 33:33
  Speaker 2: When we were visiting. And I just remember walking.
• 33:37
  Speaker 3: And then all of a sudden, I'm here in the background,
• 33:41
  Speaker 3: and there's a Brandy and Monica concert right across the
• 33:44
  Speaker 3: street at the forums.
• 33:46
  Speaker 2: And I'm like, how low am I to be walking
• 33:48
  Speaker 2: by myself here after a loss?
• 33:50
  Speaker 3: There's the bacon-wrapped hot dog on this hot plate that's
• 33:55
  Speaker 3: in the air, and then Brandy and Monica, the boy
• 33:57
  Speaker 3: is mine, is playing in the background. I'm like, man,
• 33:59
  Speaker 3: I hope we get a new low here. It was
• 34:01
  Speaker 3: a bad moment. So for the Chargers, you know, I
• 34:06
  Speaker 3: think you're right. There's a lot of hype around them
• 34:09
  Speaker 3: this year, and especially when you think about just how
• 34:11
  Speaker 3: tough that AFC West division is. Patrick Mahomes ain't going nowhere.
• 34:15
  Speaker 3: and it looks like he'll be ready to go at
• 34:17
  Speaker 3: the start of the season. And then you think about
• 34:20
  Speaker 3: what Denver did last year as the reigning AFC West champion,
• 34:24
  Speaker 3: and that defense will always travel. But you're right, the
• 34:28
  Speaker 3: Chargers and the Broncos, it's going to be a fun,
• 34:32
  Speaker 3: fun season to watch outside of our Steelers football about
• 34:35
  Speaker 3: what's happening in the rest of the AFC. All right,
• 34:38
  Speaker 3: we're going to step aside. We've got the bell lap
• 34:40
  Speaker 3: coming up after this, and we're going to wrap. We're
• 34:42
  Speaker 3: just going to hit the D-line real quick because I
• 34:44
  Speaker 3: know Rob wants to go through it.
• 34:46
  Speaker 2: More extensively tomorrow.
• 34:48
  Speaker 3: So we'll just do a quick hitter for the last
• 34:50
  Speaker 3: segment of the defensive line when we come back here
• 34:53
  Speaker 3: inside the locker room.
• 34:54
  Speaker 2: Here on the Steelers Audio Network.
• 35:02
  Speaker 1: This is In the Locker Room with Rob King, Max Starks,
• 35:06
  Speaker 1: and Willie Colon on Steelers Nation Radio. Brought to you
• 35:09
  Speaker 1: in part by the Steelers Pro Shop. Get it direct
• 35:13
  Speaker 1: from the team at the Steelers Pro Shop at shop.steelers.com.
• 35:17
  Speaker 1: And by your neighborhood Ford store. The F-150 is the
• 35:21
  Speaker 1: official truck of the Pittsburgh Steelers.
• 35:29
  Speaker 2: All right, it has now come to that time in
• 35:31
  Speaker 2: the show.
• 35:33
  Speaker 3: Willie's favorite time of the show still kind of puzzles
• 35:36
  Speaker 3: him every once in a while.
• 35:37
  Speaker 2: But it's the bell lap.
• 35:43
  Speaker 4: It makes me want to start jogging.
• 35:45
  Speaker 2: I know, right?
• 35:46
  Speaker 3: It feels like you've got to just get out of
• 35:47
  Speaker 3: the gates and do something. Like, it's like, oh, okay,
• 35:49
  Speaker 3: but I need to do something with my hands.
• 35:51
  Speaker 2: Like, when you hear that.
• 35:52
  Speaker 4: Right.
• 35:53
  Speaker 2: Like I said. Yeah, exactly. I don't know what to do.
• 35:56
  Speaker 2: Just got to move them. Just got to move them.
• 35:57
  Speaker 3: Keep it choppin'. look good on film but you know
• 36:00
  Speaker 3: it used to be the lunch bell now it's the
• 36:03
  Speaker 3: late lunch bell if it's rob king or the early
• 36:05
  Speaker 3: dinner bell whichever one uh you want to prescribe to
• 36:08
  Speaker 3: that will be it we'll probably figure that out as
• 36:10
  Speaker 3: we get into the actual regular season this is kind
• 36:13
  Speaker 3: of still pre-season we'll call it week number four the
• 36:16
  Speaker 3: game that never was in the pre-season for this week
• 36:20
  Speaker 3: um but you know as we've kind of talked about
• 36:23
  Speaker 3: in this show will it's just been kind of a
• 36:26
  Speaker 3: very O-line centric. We talked about the quarterbacks, of course,
• 36:28
  Speaker 3: four quarterback system and keeping them on the active roster
• 36:32
  Speaker 3: and what those expectations look like. And then a lot
• 36:34
  Speaker 3: of this has kind of been a deep dive into
• 36:37
  Speaker 3: the league and how they look at offensive line. We've
• 36:39
  Speaker 3: got the rankings from trench power rankings as well as
• 36:42
  Speaker 3: PFF and kind of did a side-by-side analysis of where
• 36:47
  Speaker 3: one has them rated versus the other and kind of
• 36:50
  Speaker 3: our expectations and where that falls in between. But I
• 36:53
  Speaker 3: think I want to bring it back to the end
• 36:55
  Speaker 3: of this show and That's focused on us. This is
• 36:58
  Speaker 3: some me time, right? This is Steelers me time. And
• 37:02
  Speaker 3: let's talk about a position that both of us played
• 37:05
  Speaker 3: extensively in our careers, right? And that's the right tackle
• 37:09
  Speaker 3: position for the Steelers team. And, of course, the presumed starter, obviously,
• 37:14
  Speaker 3: starting depth charts and all that stuff has not been
• 37:16
  Speaker 3: released for the week yet.
• 37:18
  Speaker 2: That'll be next week.
• 37:19
  Speaker 3: We will start to get that, and it'll come to
• 37:21
  Speaker 3: clear a picture. But our expectation for both of us, Will,
• 37:23
  Speaker 3: and I think I can safely say this is, is
• 37:25
  Speaker 3: that Maxi Onatur will be the guy slotted in at
• 37:27
  Speaker 3: the right tackle position. And kind of what the expectation
• 37:32
  Speaker 3: and thoughts are behind Maxi Onatur's growth as it's going
• 37:38
  Speaker 3: to apply to the progression of this season, as well
• 37:42
  Speaker 3: as kind of what cues from a former player's perspective,
• 37:47
  Speaker 3: obviously we're not James Campin or Jari Evans, but kind
• 37:51
  Speaker 3: of some cues that we would like to see to
• 37:53
  Speaker 3: help with that maturation of Maxi on a chore?
• 37:59
  Speaker 6: Well, you know, listen, I think it's, I watched the
• 38:03
  Speaker 6: kid in a little time that I've watched him.
• 38:04
  Speaker 4: I like him. I do.
• 38:05
  Speaker 6: I think he, he possesses a lot of raw talent.
• 38:07
  Speaker 6: I think he, I know he didn't play. He doesn't
• 38:10
  Speaker 6: have an extensive, uh, because I think he didn't, you
• 38:14
  Speaker 6: can help me out with this mess. I think he
• 38:15
  Speaker 6: had really started playing football till he was in what
• 38:18
  Speaker 6: I think was late in his college, his.
• 38:19
  Speaker 4: High school career. Uh, yeah. Like junior year. Yeah.
• 38:23
  Speaker 6: Right, and so there's still a lot of mental growth
• 38:27
  Speaker 6: and physical growth and skill growth that he needs to
• 38:29
  Speaker 6: go through. But when you talk about raw size and
• 38:34
  Speaker 6: skill set and his footwork and his aggression, it's all there.
• 38:39
  Speaker 4: Now, I think.
• 38:41
  Speaker 6: When you look at his development, we have to understand–
• 38:46
  Speaker 6: The man started off Kent well, got hurt in training camp.
• 38:49
  Speaker 6: His first game in live reps, meaning against somebody else
• 38:52
  Speaker 6: that wasn't wearing the same jersey as him, was against
• 38:54
  Speaker 6: the Buffalo Bills.
• 38:56
  Speaker 4: And if you take that one tape, a couple things.
• 38:59
  Speaker 6: One, I still think the neck thing is still lingering.
• 39:02
  Speaker 6: I think he played through some early ouches. Two, I think,
• 39:07
  Speaker 6: I feel, rather, he's one of those guys when his
• 39:11
  Speaker 6: confidence is high, he plays a lot stronger and faster.
• 39:15
  Speaker 4: But that's like all rookies.
• 39:17
  Speaker 6: Three, he's one of those guys, as we've said before,
• 39:23
  Speaker 6: and we'll say it again, you can't leave him on
• 39:24
  Speaker 6: the island by himself. He's going to have to have
• 39:26
  Speaker 6: some chip help, some tight end presence just to get
• 39:29
  Speaker 6: him acclimated.
• 39:30
  Speaker 4: Early in games.
• 39:32
  Speaker 6: But when he was paired with Jenning Dunker, man, they
• 39:37
  Speaker 6: were moving folks at a very violent level.
• 39:40
  Speaker 4: These guys, they were tearing some heads off.
• 39:42
  Speaker 6: So he's one of those guys, the more he plays,
• 39:47
  Speaker 6: the more he sees– He continues to get coached up.
• 39:50
  Speaker 6: I love what they have in the office and line room.
• 39:52
  Speaker 6: I like the fact that Jahari Evans is now part
• 39:55
  Speaker 6: of that office and line room and can assist with
• 39:58
  Speaker 6: help developing a young guy like that because Jahari is, man,
• 40:01
  Speaker 6: he was a hell of a player during his time
• 40:03
  Speaker 6: when he was playing, and now he's on the Hall
• 40:06
  Speaker 6: of Fame list potentially of cracking Canton.
• 40:09
  Speaker 4: He's somebody that if I'm Jahari Evans.
• 40:12
  Speaker 6: I'm taking to the side and I'm just polishing this
• 40:14
  Speaker 6: kid up.
• 40:15
  Speaker 4: Just like how Harold Goodwin was for me and Darnell.
• 40:19
  Speaker 6: And other guys like yourself, like, yeah, there's the five,
• 40:22
  Speaker 6: but if I can take one or two or three
• 40:23
  Speaker 6: of these guys and just really sharpen up their skills and.
• 40:26
  Speaker 4: Polish them up, it could benefit the line and the
• 40:29
  Speaker 4: rest of the team.
• 40:30
  Speaker 6: Max, Max Harnacher, that is, he's one of those young
• 40:35
  Speaker 6: fellas that you can see sky's the limit for him
• 40:39
  Speaker 6: if he's handled the right way. If he's invested in
• 40:43
  Speaker 6: being the best he can be from a skill and
• 40:46
  Speaker 6: mechanic standpoint, This guy, he can be really special. But
• 40:51
  Speaker 6: I think they have to kind of– they got to
• 40:53
  Speaker 6: put him in an incubator, lack of a better word.
• 40:56
  Speaker 6: They got to kind of let him grow slow. And
• 40:58
  Speaker 6: when he's ready to get out and go, he's going
• 41:00
  Speaker 6: to be something special for the Steelers.
• 41:02
  Speaker 3: Yeah, I think what benefits him, Spencer Anderson, as a
• 41:05
  Speaker 3: guy that's played all over, has to know everything. So
• 41:09
  Speaker 3: having a smart guy next to you that you can
• 41:11
  Speaker 3: lean on as a young guy and kind of get
• 41:13
  Speaker 3: you set up.
• 41:15
  Speaker 2: Is great.
• 41:15
  Speaker 3: And I think the other part of that incubator is
• 41:17
  Speaker 3: a Darnell Washington who's pretty, you know, he's lost some weight.
• 41:22
  Speaker 2: But last year he was, I mean, he was one
• 41:24
  Speaker 2: cheeseburger away from.
• 41:25
  Speaker 3: Being in a three-point eternally because he was a big
• 41:28
  Speaker 3: dude last year and he slimmed up.
• 41:30
  Speaker 6: Max, there's a clip of, there's a shot of him,
• 41:33
  Speaker 6: I think it's against the Browns or maybe Baines, one
• 41:35
  Speaker 6: of them, where he catches like a ball in the
• 41:38
  Speaker 6: flat and he attempts to hurdle somebody but he couldn't
• 41:41
  Speaker 6: pick his knees up fast enough.
• 41:43
  Speaker 4: So he just.
• 41:44
  Speaker 6: He just ran over, right?
• 41:48
  Speaker 4: He couldn't have that quick cat-like instinct to jump over
• 41:50
  Speaker 4: the guy. So he said, oh, hell. He just ran
• 41:54
  Speaker 4: him over.
• 41:55
  Speaker 6: And I'm saying to myself, if them thighs was a
• 41:57
  Speaker 6: little lighter, he could have got him up in the air.
• 42:01
  Speaker 4: We could have had an ESPN-type highlight. But them thighs
• 42:03
  Speaker 4: was a little heavy. So he couldn't get up fast enough.
• 42:06
  Speaker 4: And I was just laughing, man.
• 42:08
  Speaker 6: But I'm glad the big fella, you know, he tightened
• 42:11
  Speaker 6: up and You can see his waistline, right? That's a
• 42:13
  Speaker 6: true testament for everybody out there. You know when somebody's
• 42:16
  Speaker 6: losing weight, not just by like, you know, obviously the
• 42:18
  Speaker 6: face gets a little smaller and the belly gets a
• 42:21
  Speaker 6: little smaller, but when you see a person's waistline, right?
• 42:24
  Speaker 6: When you see a man's waistline, that's how you know
• 42:27
  Speaker 6: true weight has fallen off that skeleton. So you can
• 42:30
  Speaker 6: see Darnell Washington's waistline right now.
• 42:33
  Speaker 4: Yeah, exactly.
• 42:33
  Speaker 3: The stomach doesn't hang over the baseline like it did
• 42:36
  Speaker 3: during our careers. We knew that our future was in
• 42:40
  Speaker 3: three-point stance. But you're right. Yeah, that play, it was
• 42:44
  Speaker 3: against the Bengals. And like you said, it was like
• 42:48
  Speaker 3: the mind was ready, but the body was not willing.
• 42:52
  Speaker 4: Nope. Them calves and thighs were just a little too heavy.
• 42:56
  Speaker 6: The hip flexors weren't quite ready to take off just now.
• 43:01
  Speaker 2: Yeah, no, he had a little bit of that R. Kelly.
• 43:05
  Speaker 2: My mind's telling me no.
• 43:06
  Speaker 3: We ain't doing this.
• 43:10
  Speaker 2: We ain't doing it. Yeah, exactly. But I think you're right.
• 43:19
  Speaker 3: When you look at Maxiana Chur, you know, I think
• 43:23
  Speaker 3: with the run prowess, because I think you said it,
• 43:26
  Speaker 3: the aggression and the power is what, is going to
• 43:30
  Speaker 3: be his calling card.
• 43:30
  Speaker 2: And when you think about right tackle, right? We both
• 43:33
  Speaker 2: played right tackle. That was the one thing you had
• 43:35
  Speaker 2: to have.
• 43:36
  Speaker 3: That was the prerequisite before we even thought of it. Like,
• 43:39
  Speaker 3: are you going to be nasty and are you going
• 43:41
  Speaker 3: to finish these blocks? Because we're going to run it
• 43:42
  Speaker 3: your way, right? Teams still run right predominantly. And then
• 43:47
  Speaker 3: left side is kind of like the finesse and change-up side.
• 43:51
  Speaker 3: But when you're at that right side, you're at the
• 43:52
  Speaker 3: point of attack at everything. And I think the Buffalo
• 43:55
  Speaker 3: game is what gave everybody that comfortability.
• 43:57
  Speaker 2: Because when him and Dunk got together– Can I ask you?
• 44:00
  Speaker 4: Yeah. And I'm going to cut you off.
• 44:02
  Speaker 6: And I know you're going– I know we're running out
• 44:03
  Speaker 6: of time. Is there anything– do you see a lot
• 44:06
  Speaker 6: of comparisons of him and you being that young at
• 44:11
  Speaker 6: that position?
• 44:11
  Speaker 4: Because you were a young tapper.
• 44:13
  Speaker 2: Yeah.
• 44:13
  Speaker 4: And you started early.
• 44:15
  Speaker 2: Yeah, started early.
• 44:16
  Speaker 4: Do you see a lot of yourself in him?
• 44:19
  Speaker 3: So I see where it's like, you know, when in doubt,
• 44:21
  Speaker 3: we just going to scrap. And I think that's something–
• 44:24
  Speaker 3: You know, he did get that.
• 44:26
  Speaker 2: Penalty in the game.
• 44:27
  Speaker 3: They were like, oh, yeah, no, he was trying to trap.
• 44:30
  Speaker 3: I'm like, he trapped the back of his neck. And
• 44:33
  Speaker 3: I'm like, and when I saw that, I was like,
• 44:36
  Speaker 3: you know what? I can work with that. I can
• 44:38
  Speaker 3: work because that was one of my things. Like, I
• 44:40
  Speaker 3: was trying to attack a dude's throat. Like, I was
• 44:42
  Speaker 3: trying to grab him by the throat and squeeze if
• 44:43
  Speaker 3: I could. As long as I could legally get away
• 44:45
  Speaker 3: with it. I was going to because at that point,
• 44:48
  Speaker 3: you know, this, you know, It comes to a point
• 44:51
  Speaker 3: where we talk about his buttholes and elbows at times. Like, listen,
• 44:54
  Speaker 3: we got to just fight this out. And that's what
• 44:58
  Speaker 3: kind of Kendall and I kind of developed. Like, we
• 45:00
  Speaker 3: just got to be nasty in these moments. And I
• 45:02
  Speaker 3: think that was one, when you think about, and I'll
• 45:05
  Speaker 3: put this play out there, Super Bowl 40, the Willie
• 45:08
  Speaker 3: Parker run. Like, that was one where we were just like, oh, man,
• 45:13
  Speaker 3: this is opening up. It can't be us. You know,
• 45:15
  Speaker 3: and you got to have to have that mentality. We're
• 45:18
  Speaker 3: not going to be the weak link on this play.
• 45:20
  Speaker 3: And I just remember we came down double team. I
• 45:23
  Speaker 3: crashed the hip of the D tackle and worked up
• 45:26
  Speaker 3: to the linebacker, Lofa Tutupu. And Lofa's faster than me. Listen,
• 45:30
  Speaker 3: I was like, oh, he's not going to beat me
• 45:32
  Speaker 3: over the top. And you just have to have that
• 45:34
  Speaker 3: willingness not to lose. And I think I see a
• 45:37
  Speaker 3: lot of that. And you can see that hunger. And
• 45:39
  Speaker 3: also he wants to learn. And I see a lot
• 45:42
  Speaker 3: of that of myself in him and Granted, we do
• 45:45
  Speaker 3: have the same first name, so already he's on a
• 45:47
  Speaker 3: good foot.
• 45:48
  Speaker 2: But I think that's kind of how I look at it.
• 45:50
  Speaker 3: And it's just cleaning up some of the footworks there,
• 45:53
  Speaker 3: but it's matching the hands with the feet. That's going
• 45:56
  Speaker 3: to be the biggest thing because they're both kind of
• 45:58
  Speaker 3: a little disconnected because he just hasn't played.
• 46:00
  Speaker 2: You talked about conditioning.
• 46:01
  Speaker 3: It's the conditioning aspect of making sure that both of
• 46:03
  Speaker 3: those things work in sync with each other.
• 46:07
  Speaker 6: Yeah, you know, it was good for the Steelers moving
• 46:10
  Speaker 6: forward is that this line is young. You know, this
• 46:13
  Speaker 6: isn't an aging line. There's no– I don't know the
• 46:16
  Speaker 6: average age, and it may escape me, and I'm pretty
• 46:18
  Speaker 6: sure you'll figure it out. But this could be a
• 46:20
  Speaker 6: line for the next five years that can play together.
• 46:23
  Speaker 6: And when you start talking about big picture stuff, this
• 46:27
  Speaker 6: is why you do want to get a guy like
• 46:29
  Speaker 6: JPP paid right now because you do have a Troy Furtado.
• 46:33
  Speaker 6: If Troy can come out and have a pro bowl
• 46:35
  Speaker 6: like you at left tackle, That's a huge blessing for
• 46:37
  Speaker 6: the Steelers. Mason McCormick can continue to be durable and
• 46:40
  Speaker 6: play the snaps and continue to be the Marlowe he's
• 46:42
  Speaker 6: supposed to be in the run game. He's already a
• 46:45
  Speaker 6: really efficient pass blocker. That would be great. Zach Frazier
• 46:47
  Speaker 6: has really immersed himself as kind of the captain of
• 46:51
  Speaker 6: that line with his play and his ability to do
• 46:54
  Speaker 6: what he do at the center position. I do think
• 46:56
  Speaker 6: Spencer Anderson, barring he has a successful year, could really
• 47:01
  Speaker 6: lock up that right guard spot.
• 47:02
  Speaker 4: And obviously Mack's. the rookie right tackle that we just
• 47:05
  Speaker 4: drafted out of Arizona State.
• 47:07
  Speaker 6: If that five can have a successful year, you're talking
• 47:12
  Speaker 6: about a line that can play together for the next
• 47:14
  Speaker 6: four or five years, which doesn't happen, right? A couple
• 47:17
  Speaker 6: years ago, you can see lines stay together and play
• 47:20
  Speaker 6: four or five years together. That doesn't happen because maybe
• 47:25
  Speaker 6: lack of offensive line play and protection isn't as great,
• 47:27
  Speaker 6: but at the same time, Guys want the bag, and they're.
• 47:30
  Speaker 4: Going to chase the money.
• 47:31
  Speaker 6: But we have an opportunity where they can maximize a
• 47:33
  Speaker 6: three-year window with the same five guys, and hopefully it
• 47:37
  Speaker 6: leads to a Super Bowl.
• 47:39
  Speaker 4: Yeah.
• 47:39
  Speaker 2: No, I completely agree.
• 47:41
  Speaker 3: But it all starts this season, and that chemical reaction,
• 47:44
  Speaker 3: that incubation period starts week one against the Atlanta Falcons.
• 47:48
  Speaker 3: And we'll be here all 17 regular season games and
• 47:53
  Speaker 3: guy-willing playoffs to bring you all the action, and we'll
• 47:56
  Speaker 3: keep talking about all of that progress, not only.
• 48:00
  Speaker 2: With the Steelers, but with that Steelers O-line. It's been
• 48:02
  Speaker 2: fun today, Will.
• 48:04
  Speaker 3: We'll get our member back, Rob King. I know, driving
• 48:09
  Speaker 3: the bus, baby, driving the bus. Listen, all gas, no brakes.
• 48:14
  Speaker 4: There you go. Great job.
• 48:16
  Speaker 2: All right. Well, for Willie Colon, I'm Max Starks.
• 48:19
  Speaker 3: And, of course, Justin Miller over there, our lead detective
• 48:22
  Speaker 3: in the production aspect of this show.
• 48:25
  Speaker 2: We are going to step aside.
• 48:26
  Speaker 3: We'll see you tomorrow at noon here on the Steelers
• 48:29
  Speaker 3: Audio Network. You've been inside the locker room, also on
• 48:33
  Speaker 3: Steelers Nation Radio.