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Steelers Season Preview · Steelers Country Weekly

0:00
Speaker 1: Today on Steelers Country Weekly, we break down everything that's
0:05
Speaker 1: happened this offseason since we last got together, and then
0:08
Speaker 1: we're going to talk about our experiences in Canton, Ohio
0:12
Speaker 1: at the Pro Football Hall of Fame. I'm Nick Detulio,
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Speaker 1: and as always, I'm joined by the world famous accountants
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Speaker 1: Eric Vanminschutin.
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Speaker 2: Eric, how are you tonight?
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Speaker 3: I'm a little tired.
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Speaker 4: Four month regressions kicking in with my youngest, But you
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Speaker 4: know what, Football's right around the corner. We got the
0:35
Speaker 4: Hall of Fame game going on tonight, so prospects looking bright?
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Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, we are getting close. Our Bearcats are going
0:45
Speaker 1: to kick off on August twenty eighth, so we are
0:48
Speaker 1: less than a month away from the kickoff of our
0:50
Speaker 1: college team. And then you're right right after that about
0:54
Speaker 1: a week and a half, since they're playing on Thursday.
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Speaker 2: The Bearcats.
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Speaker 1: At least we get the NFL, particularly are Pittsburgh Steelers.
1:03
Speaker 2: So I'm with you, though I'm tired.
1:07
Speaker 1: Work's been busy, You've got that four month regression, but
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Speaker 1: at least at the end of the day we get
1:13
Speaker 1: to come back here and talk about the NFL and
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Speaker 1: the Pittsburgh Steelers, and I just want to say that
1:18
Speaker 1: we're recording this on July thirty first. We're gonna get
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Speaker 1: this in the can and submitted to the unpaid student
1:24
Speaker 1: intern before midnight. We are sticking to our one a
1:27
Speaker 1: month off season special. It's just coming to you at
1:32
Speaker 1: eleven fifty nine on July thirty first. So there you go.
1:36
Speaker 1: Don't say we're not committed people.
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Speaker 3: You can stay out for it. Very excited.
1:42
Speaker 2: Right, Well, No, I'm glad we did get to get
1:47
Speaker 2: together here.
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Speaker 1: I'm glad I have Eric here to Remimi that we
1:50
Speaker 1: committed to doing this and we actually we're going to
1:52
Speaker 1: try to do it last a couple days ago too,
1:55
Speaker 1: and that fell through.
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Speaker 2: But no, we're back.
1:58
Speaker 1: The Steelers are coming. It's awesome. We do have the
2:01
Speaker 1: NFL's Hall of Fame game. As you pointed out, it's
2:03
Speaker 1: the Chargers and the Lions right now. Chargers are winning
2:07
Speaker 1: fourteen to nothing as we speak. And even though a game,
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Speaker 1: it really doesn't mean anything, especially being the Hall of
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Speaker 1: Fame game.
2:15
Speaker 2: You are one hundred percent right.
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Speaker 1: It is just nice that it's the first sign that
2:19
Speaker 1: football is right around the corner. Yeah, all right, Well,
2:24
Speaker 1: since we spoke last a couple things have happened. The
2:29
Speaker 1: first big thing is the TJ. Watt deal got done.
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Speaker 2: TJ.
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Speaker 1: Watt now once again becomes the highest paid non quarterback
2:39
Speaker 1: in league history.
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Speaker 2: Is a three year deal, so that's exciting for him.
2:45
Speaker 1: And the Steelers go their got their guy resigned and
2:49
Speaker 1: before having to miss any serious time. There was no
2:52
Speaker 1: hold out, no other than the OTA's, no missing training
2:57
Speaker 1: camp anything like that.
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Speaker 2: So pretty happy with it. It is a lot of money.
3:03
Speaker 1: And you do have to take into effect that he
3:05
Speaker 1: is at the tail end of the prime of his career.
3:08
Speaker 1: I'd say he's probably still in this prime, but getting
3:11
Speaker 1: closer to the end than the beginning of it, obviously,
3:15
Speaker 1: And it shows that they are committed and they do
3:17
Speaker 1: want him to stay a Steeler for the long haul.
3:20
Speaker 1: So I'll ask you, what are your thoughts on the signing.
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Speaker 4: Yeah, I mean I think he's deserved it. Do I
3:32
Speaker 4: think that the deal could age poorly? Could but three
3:38
Speaker 4: years kind of caps off, you know, It's not a
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Speaker 4: four or five year deal.
3:45
Speaker 3: So I think that.
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Speaker 4: He's deserving of it, even though he might be worth
3:53
Speaker 4: forty one million a year now, but I don't know
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Speaker 4: if he will be in year three.
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Speaker 1: Yeah, and That's kind of breakdown I had heard from
4:01
Speaker 1: a couple people, is you do want to reward him,
4:05
Speaker 1: you do want to make sure he's you know, he's
4:07
Speaker 1: given a good payday, and you're exactly right, he does
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Speaker 1: deserve that now. But given where he's at in his
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Speaker 1: career and his age, is that the smartest business decision
4:17
Speaker 1: to make long term And that's going to remain to
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Speaker 1: be seen and we'll have to see how well he
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Speaker 1: performs through the life of his contract. But it shows
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Speaker 1: you that the Steelers valued him enough to give him
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Speaker 1: that money and they're they're all in on t J.
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Speaker 2: Watt, So that's good.
4:35
Speaker 1: And you can look at the the record itself. They
4:39
Speaker 1: do not play well when he is not on the field,
4:43
Speaker 1: so take it for what it's worth. Having him there
4:47
Speaker 1: does help the team. And it is kind of interesting
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Speaker 1: though too, when you look at the Steelers divisional opponent,
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Speaker 1: the Bengals, with Trey Hendrickson he is. It looks like
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Speaker 1: he's gonna come to camp, although he's not happy about it.
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Speaker 1: They're still waiting on a deal for him too. So
5:07
Speaker 1: similar situation in terms of where both players were at
5:09
Speaker 1: in their contracts, the type of players they are and
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Speaker 1: what they mean to their team. All I have to
5:15
Speaker 1: say is I'm just glad that we got it figured
5:17
Speaker 1: out on the Steelers side.
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Speaker 3: Oh yeah.
5:22
Speaker 1: Well, and the other big thing that happened shortly before
5:27
Speaker 1: the TJ. Watt contract signing was another trade for the Steelers,
5:33
Speaker 1: which shockingly they've had.
5:35
Speaker 2: Multiple this offseason.
5:37
Speaker 1: Still, Steelers sent Minka Fitzpatrick to the Dolphins. I believe
5:43
Speaker 1: there was some picks exchanged, and technically it was two
5:47
Speaker 1: trades actually, but regardless, and the Steelers ended up getting
5:50
Speaker 1: Jalen Ramsey, the outspoken cornerback and John U. Smith, Arthur
5:57
Speaker 1: Smith's favorite tight end in the world, I guess. So
6:01
Speaker 1: the Steelers continue their quest to acquire every possible free
6:05
Speaker 1: agent or tight end that's on the market possible, and
6:09
Speaker 1: they get some additional cornerback help with Jalen Ramsey. They've
6:14
Speaker 1: discussed what kind of packages they can use him in.
6:17
Speaker 1: They can maybe slide him over to safety. Of course,
6:20
Speaker 1: this comes at a cost. They are sending Minca Fitzpatrick
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Speaker 1: to the Dolphins where he started his career. Actually, so
6:30
Speaker 1: for me, this was kind of a mixed bag and
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Speaker 1: we'll get your thoughts as well. Minca Fitzpatrick is one
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Speaker 1: of those guys that everyone seems to speak highly of.
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Speaker 1: Aaron Rodgers mentioned him by name when he first came
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Speaker 1: After that first Ota said, I love talking football with him.
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Speaker 1: He's a very high IQ guy. He seemed I thought
6:52
Speaker 1: to be a good leader in the locker room. But
6:56
Speaker 1: you know, things have to happen, and it seems like
7:01
Speaker 1: there weren't as many splash plays in the last year
7:05
Speaker 1: or so as they had become accustomed to, and with
7:08
Speaker 1: him also coming up on a contract year, I don't
7:11
Speaker 1: think they wanted to put themselves in the position where
7:13
Speaker 1: they had to consider re signing him. At least now
7:17
Speaker 1: they could trade him and get something in return. So
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Speaker 1: what are your overall thoughts on this entire package deal
7:25
Speaker 1: with Minca going to Miami and the Steelers getting John
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Speaker 1: new Smith and Jalen Ramsey in return.
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Speaker 3: Yeah, honestly, I'm all about it.
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Speaker 4: I like Minca, and I mean, he made tons of
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Speaker 4: splash plays, but I just don't know if he was
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Speaker 4: super consistent, and I do think that he has regressed
7:50
Speaker 4: at least the last two years. So now Jalen Ramsey
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Speaker 4: is older, getting paid more, is also a cornerback, So
8:06
Speaker 4: that's why you get paid more because it's a harder position.
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Speaker 4: But I honestly think that even though he's older, he's
8:16
Speaker 4: more in the prime than Minca is.
8:18
Speaker 3: And so.
8:21
Speaker 4: Minka was very talented at playing center field, which allowed
8:25
Speaker 4: us to have versatile looks. But you know, like I said,
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Speaker 4: I don't think he was very consistent, and I think
8:36
Speaker 4: he was starting to be a little bit of a
8:39
Speaker 4: liability in the past game. So and to me, I
8:48
Speaker 4: think that Jalen Ramsey has proven he can go to
8:51
Speaker 4: different spots and still play at a high level.
8:54
Speaker 3: So I don't know.
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Speaker 4: And then I mean, doing another tight end, I don't
9:02
Speaker 4: think that the third of Briar mooth enough to get
9:07
Speaker 4: a second one. Honestly, they could have thrown into him
9:11
Speaker 4: a little bit more. So he's gonna dig into his targets.
9:16
Speaker 4: But I mean, he's an offensive weapon, and since we
9:22
Speaker 4: weren't down the wide receiver, I guess it makes sense.
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Speaker 1: Yeah, I guess we're gonna see what kind of three
9:29
Speaker 1: tight end sets we can throw out there with with Smith,
9:35
Speaker 1: Washington and Friar Mouth. But yeah, that it was just
9:40
Speaker 1: not anything I had on my radar going going into
9:46
Speaker 1: the offseason, because if you recall, there were rumors that
9:48
Speaker 1: they had asked about trading for just Smith a couple
9:51
Speaker 1: of weeks before the trade actually happened. There was I
9:55
Speaker 1: don't recall there being any sort of indication that they
9:58
Speaker 1: were looking to move Fitzpatrick that or acquire Jalen Ramsey.
10:04
Speaker 1: That's the part that took me a little by surprise.
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Speaker 1: But so yeah, it's just interesting. I know that Arthur
10:15
Speaker 1: Smith unless really like working with John new Smith. He's
10:18
Speaker 1: with him in Tennessee, was with him in Atlanta. So
10:23
Speaker 1: we'll have to see what they do to utilize him.
10:30
Speaker 1: It's it's gonna be interesting. You have the three tight ends.
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Speaker 1: You've got DK Metcalf and then after that, like you said,
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Speaker 1: what's going on at wide receiver, Well, they have Roman Wilson,
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Speaker 1: who they drafted last year. Hasn't seen a single snap,
10:48
Speaker 1: so maybe he'll be great, maybe he'll he won't be
10:52
Speaker 1: maybe he won't see the field again, who knows. And
10:54
Speaker 1: then you got guys like Calvin Austin, who I think
10:57
Speaker 1: has been commendable in the roles they've given him. I
11:00
Speaker 1: don't know if he's able to step up and be
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Speaker 1: a wide out number two or not. So yeah, throwing
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Speaker 1: out every possible tight end that you can possibly acquire
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Speaker 1: seems to be a strategy.
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Speaker 2: We'll see what Aaron Rodgers does with that.
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Speaker 1: But yeah, when it comes back to Minca, if you
11:23
Speaker 1: remember this past year, we actually saw a lot of
11:26
Speaker 1: guys on the Steelers defense quite vocally complaining, and I
11:32
Speaker 1: think the quote at one point was it's hard to
11:34
Speaker 1: play defense when one guy's not doing their job, and
11:40
Speaker 1: everyone speculated on who they were talking about. I personally
11:44
Speaker 1: thought the most obvious suspect was Cam Sutton. But now
11:48
Speaker 1: people are saying, well, maybe it is Minca because he
11:51
Speaker 1: was not doing what he was supposed to do, or
11:54
Speaker 1: he was out of position, or you know.
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Speaker 2: I don't know.
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Speaker 1: I find that hard to believe, but it is just
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Speaker 1: kind of odd that, to the best of my knowledge,
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Speaker 1: I think Minka is really the only person they moved
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Speaker 1: off of from last year's defense, unless I'm drawing a blank.
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Speaker 2: So it's interesting.
12:18
Speaker 1: They have revamped the cornerback position this offseason. Obviously we've
12:22
Speaker 1: got Joey Porter junior there, but they go out, they
12:25
Speaker 1: get Darius Slay from Philadelphia.
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Speaker 2: They bring in Jalen Ramsey. You know what, let's see
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Speaker 2: what they do.
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Speaker 1: I am interested to see where they move Jaalen Ramsey around,
12:37
Speaker 1: if they will move him at all. But you know
12:42
Speaker 1: they're making moves, so we'll have to see how that
12:47
Speaker 1: impacts what they do throughout the year. And we've talked
12:50
Speaker 1: about it a lot too. For a defense as good
12:54
Speaker 1: as the Steelers is purportedly.
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Speaker 2: Is purportedly to be reported to be. Rather they got
13:04
Speaker 2: guessed toward the end of the year.
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Speaker 1: It wasn't just the offense that fell apart, it was
13:08
Speaker 1: the defense, and it was a lot.
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Speaker 2: Of the run game defense too. So I hope that
13:15
Speaker 2: the moves pan out for the Steelers, obviously, but.
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Speaker 1: It's just kind of crazy seeing all these off season
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Speaker 1: moves and seeing things happen when.
13:26
Speaker 2: That's not what we're accustomed to. But I guess we
13:28
Speaker 2: need to.
13:28
Speaker 4: Start getting used off. No, I mean, we don't typically
13:34
Speaker 4: trade premium picks. I think, like typically with Colbert it
13:41
Speaker 4: was like we'll throw a fit through a seventh rounder
13:45
Speaker 4: out there for a guy who might pan out, which
13:50
Speaker 4: I don't remember any of them panning out.
13:52
Speaker 3: But we'll see if these trades pan out.
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Speaker 1: Yeah, And speaking of trades, they the Steelers' ownership must
14:03
Speaker 1: feel pretty strongly about what's going on because you and
14:06
Speaker 1: I text about this too. Omar Kahan got extended before TJ.
14:11
Speaker 1: Watt did, so I believe he got three more years on.
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Speaker 2: The deal for himself. So I will say.
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Speaker 1: I've been pretty happy so far with the drafts that
14:26
Speaker 1: he's had. I think that some of the guys he's
14:29
Speaker 1: drafted are already making an impact, and it looks like
14:32
Speaker 1: he's trying to build from the trenches on out so
14:35
Speaker 1: on both the offensive and defensive line. And I'm really
14:41
Speaker 1: I feel kind of like a Browns fan right now
14:43
Speaker 1: for saying this, but I'm really looking forward to what
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Speaker 1: he does with this next draft, with all the speculation
14:49
Speaker 1: being around a quarterback.
14:53
Speaker 2: That will be I think.
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Speaker 1: The draft that makes you know, well, that's his kuda grass,
15:03
Speaker 1: so to speak, like that's or the cherry on top
15:06
Speaker 1: he's done all this groundwork. If he nails that quarterback pick,
15:11
Speaker 1: I feel like he's got a pretty good core that
15:16
Speaker 1: finding the right franchise quarterback would just really solidify all
15:21
Speaker 1: the work that he's already done.
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Speaker 4: Well, it's the hardest one to do, so I admittedly yes,
15:29
Speaker 4: I mean.
15:30
Speaker 3: That's what's saved John Lynch's job.
15:33
Speaker 4: Like we're watching this Hall of Fame game, and we're
15:37
Speaker 4: watching a guy who is gonna be a backup get
15:43
Speaker 4: traded for three first round picks just like five years ago.
15:50
Speaker 3: So but he nailed the Brock Birdie trade, you know.
15:53
Speaker 4: So those type of things will just propel you from
15:58
Speaker 4: that alone, there's been but I mean, if he does
16:03
Speaker 4: do that, then I mean, yeah, I think the early.
16:09
Speaker 3: Returns on his draft picks have been very favorable.
16:13
Speaker 2: I was.
16:15
Speaker 1: Watching this is another thing we can talk about too.
16:20
Speaker 1: I was watching a quick highlight reel from the Steelers
16:26
Speaker 1: because they just announced their Hall of Honor for this
16:29
Speaker 1: year and Marquise Pouncey was one of them, and I
16:35
Speaker 1: thought about that. We always talk about the Steelers defense,
16:39
Speaker 1: but the Steelers might and we talked about having only.
16:43
Speaker 2: Three coaches since you know, nineteen sixty nine.
16:49
Speaker 1: The Steelers streak at picking h Hall of Fame centers
16:55
Speaker 1: is also ridiculous too, And I'm gonna tie I'm gonna
16:59
Speaker 1: tie it back to Omer Coon. I'm not just going
17:00
Speaker 1: off on a tangent here. Yeah, you have Mike Webster,
17:05
Speaker 1: Grmadi Dawson, Marquise Pouncy obviously, with a few people in between.
17:11
Speaker 1: But now Zach Frasier from last year was one of
17:15
Speaker 1: the most praised picks because of when they got him.
17:19
Speaker 1: I think it was a second round and he was
17:21
Speaker 1: a first round grade on a lot of boards. So yeah,
17:27
Speaker 1: I just go back to saying like, it seems like,
17:31
Speaker 1: again not being the world's greatest expertise myself, but it
17:35
Speaker 1: seems like he's making all these picks trying to It
17:39
Speaker 1: just feels like it's building up to this. You know,
17:41
Speaker 1: we're waiting for you, waiting for that big quarterback pick.
17:45
Speaker 2: We've known it's been coming.
17:48
Speaker 1: A lot of people will say they've known since before
17:50
Speaker 1: they drafted Kenny Pickett. Since the new Kenny Pickett wasn't
17:52
Speaker 1: the guy. I was not quite as confident as they were.
17:56
Speaker 1: I was going to give him a little bit of
17:58
Speaker 1: a chance. But yeah, it's all been building towards that.
18:03
Speaker 1: But all that being said, we do have an actual
18:07
Speaker 1: football season to go through right now, and I'm sure
18:11
Speaker 1: that people in the building in Pittsburgh don't want to
18:14
Speaker 1: think that this is just a throwaway here, even though
18:17
Speaker 1: some podcasters may or may not have put that out
18:21
Speaker 1: there already.
18:22
Speaker 3: Yeah, I put it out in the Scrasker.
18:26
Speaker 1: Well, I was the one who said I was ambivalent
18:28
Speaker 1: about Aaron Rodgers because it didn't matter one way or
18:30
Speaker 1: the other. They weren't going to win the Super Bowl
18:32
Speaker 1: and they're going to draft a quarterback anyway. So yeah, yeah, Well,
18:38
Speaker 1: so the thing I just mentioned was the Steelers have
18:42
Speaker 1: the Hall of Honor, and I'm kind of kicking myself
18:44
Speaker 1: for not thinking about that and sharing it with you
18:46
Speaker 1: beforehand so we could plan about it. But this Hall
18:52
Speaker 1: of Honor class really hits home for me, and I
18:55
Speaker 1: guess I'll ask. I know, I just told you about
18:57
Speaker 1: Marquise Pouncy. Did you see the announcement for the other two?
19:02
Speaker 3: Was Ben in? There?
19:03
Speaker 2: He was?
19:06
Speaker 3: And then I don't know who would be like Joey Porter?
19:13
Speaker 1: Oh really, So it's Big Ben, Joey Porter, and Marquise Pouncy.
19:20
Speaker 1: And the reason this hits home was because those are
19:25
Speaker 1: all guys that are actually from our era that we
19:29
Speaker 1: not only grew up watching, but we're watching as recently
19:32
Speaker 1: as was that what three years, four years ago whatever
19:36
Speaker 1: Ben Roethlisberger's last year was. So as we're sitting here
19:41
Speaker 1: sounding really tired and grumpy, it just also reiterates that
19:46
Speaker 1: we are now old too, because the guy the guys
19:50
Speaker 1: that we watched are now going into the Hall of Honor,
19:52
Speaker 1: and I guess what two years that'll be the Hall
19:55
Speaker 1: of Fame for Ben and Pouncy probably will get consideration
19:59
Speaker 1: for the Hall of Fame.
19:59
Speaker 2: I don't if he'll get in or not, but no,
20:04
Speaker 2: I was. I was glad to see that.
20:07
Speaker 1: I think all three of them definitely deserve to be in.
20:10
Speaker 1: Roethlisberger probably goes without saying. Joey Porter was one of
20:16
Speaker 1: the driving forces behind the Steelers' resurgence in the early
20:20
Speaker 1: two thousands, particularly with the Super Bowl forty win and
20:24
Speaker 1: Marquise Pouncy came in after the Super Bowls, but was
20:31
Speaker 1: a very solid anchor on that line. He was about
20:35
Speaker 1: as good of a center as you're gonna find anywhere
20:37
Speaker 1: in the NFL.
20:38
Speaker 3: Yeah, so.
20:42
Speaker 2: Definitely, yeah, yeah, No, you're not kidding.
20:48
Speaker 3: Infamous, So it's uh, it is.
20:55
Speaker 1: I'm glad they're in. I'm interested to see who who
20:58
Speaker 1: goes in next year. I think this probably solidifies that
21:03
Speaker 1: Roethlisberger is not coming back to.
21:05
Speaker 2: Play anytime soon. But that's all right.
21:10
Speaker 1: So, yeah, there's been a lot happening this offseason. I
21:13
Speaker 1: think it's there's been a lot of drama, but I
21:15
Speaker 1: think it's.
21:15
Speaker 2: Been mostly good for the Steelers.
21:17
Speaker 1: I think that this is going to be another good
21:21
Speaker 1: year for them. And the question, though, always comes back
21:25
Speaker 1: to if they make the playoffs, can they win a game?
21:31
Speaker 2: And I think based on what I'm seeing now and
21:38
Speaker 2: I'm sure jinks that are shoot myself in.
21:41
Speaker 1: The foot, I mean, I feel like they're putting pieces together.
21:45
Speaker 1: I think they could probably at least win a game.
21:47
Speaker 1: I don't quite think they're super Bowl contenders. But you
21:51
Speaker 1: made the point, you know one of the last times
21:53
Speaker 1: we talked, and it was with Aaron Rodgers, do you
22:01
Speaker 1: think that he still has it in the tank? And
22:05
Speaker 1: I don't mean just because you know he's going to
22:06
Speaker 1: be forty two. You brought up that you didn't think
22:10
Speaker 1: his last year in Green Bay was very good. So
22:12
Speaker 1: you're not even taking into account the drama with the
22:15
Speaker 1: Jets and the torn Achilles and the dumpster they.
22:19
Speaker 2: Were last year.
22:21
Speaker 1: Yeah, what it comes down to is do you think
22:23
Speaker 1: he can get back to where he was four years ago?
22:27
Speaker 1: Was the last year in Green Bay a fluke as well?
22:30
Speaker 1: Or was that where the wheels really did start to
22:33
Speaker 1: fall off for him?
22:37
Speaker 3: Yeah?
22:37
Speaker 4: I mean I think the wheels are let's call him loose,
22:42
Speaker 4: they're not.
22:42
Speaker 3: Ah, but.
22:46
Speaker 4: The days of like Rogers being the top ten quarterback
22:50
Speaker 4: are gone. Can you produce a the thirteenth best quarterback
22:56
Speaker 4: in the league and that might be enough, sure, but
23:01
Speaker 4: I don't see Rogers being the you know, five thousand yards,
23:08
Speaker 4: forty five touchdowns and six picks now.
23:13
Speaker 2: Unless he likes throwing to tight ends a lot.
23:15
Speaker 1: Right, Yeah, all right, Well, was there anything else with
23:20
Speaker 1: the off season in particular that you thought we needed
23:23
Speaker 1: to talk about while we're together?
23:25
Speaker 3: I think so, yeah, we're.
23:28
Speaker 2: I'm with you.
23:29
Speaker 1: The preseason hasn't started yet. We had those few trades
23:33
Speaker 1: and re signings obviously, but right now we're just kind
23:37
Speaker 1: of waiting for camp to start and then the preseason
23:42
Speaker 1: to get underway, and then before you know it, it'll
23:45
Speaker 1: be that first full weekend in September and we'll be
23:48
Speaker 1: watching the Steelers and the Jets.
23:50
Speaker 3: Right yeah, on our birthday weekend.
23:54
Speaker 1: There you go, your birthday weekend, my.
23:58
Speaker 2: Anniversary. It'll be a good day, let's see. Yeah, all right.
24:04
Speaker 1: You know, we talked a little bit about the Hall
24:06
Speaker 1: of Fame game going on right now, and what's interesting
24:10
Speaker 1: is Hall of Fames in Canton, Ohio. It's in northeast Ohio,
24:16
Speaker 1: but for a long time, the Ohio State football championship
24:23
Speaker 1: for high school was played at the Hall of Fame game.
24:28
Speaker 1: You might know better than I would. I know they've
24:30
Speaker 1: played at Ohio State since then. Columbus would be the
24:33
Speaker 1: best place to play, just because of the location. I
24:36
Speaker 1: think there was some rule about playing on college fields
24:40
Speaker 1: or Ohio State was actually the ones who might have
24:43
Speaker 1: put their foot down and not wanted it anymore, but
24:47
Speaker 1: because it was kind of inconvenient for us in Cincinnati
24:50
Speaker 1: to drive the extra couple hours up there and play
24:52
Speaker 1: to play team to play teams that were already within
24:55
Speaker 1: an hour drive if not in.
24:57
Speaker 3: Canton, I know, but yeah, that was a that was
25:02
Speaker 3: kind of a tough drive. I remember, Yeah, well, and.
25:08
Speaker 1: It again just maybe it's just me being Petti us
25:11
Speaker 1: being in the southwest corner of the state and having
25:13
Speaker 1: drive all the way up to the northeast to play
25:15
Speaker 1: a team in their backyard. But anyway, we normally won,
25:19
Speaker 1: so I guess that's okay. I went to a football
25:25
Speaker 1: game up there. I watched my team play. I did
25:28
Speaker 1: not play in high school past freshman year. Unlike Eric,
25:32
Speaker 1: who was a varsity letterman All Star for the Elder Panthers.
25:37
Speaker 2: So so you actually there you go. If I had one,
25:43
Speaker 2: I would do that too, but I don't even have that.
25:46
Speaker 2: But no, I thought it.
25:48
Speaker 1: Might be interesting to just kind of talk to each
25:49
Speaker 1: other about some of our memories going up to the
25:52
Speaker 1: games and uh, for you actually being on the field,
25:55
Speaker 1: for me being in the stands. Uh, because I think
26:00
Speaker 1: it is really neat that we have that in our
26:02
Speaker 1: home state of Ohio and not everyone gets to say
26:05
Speaker 1: they played at the Tom Benson I think Tom Benson.
26:10
Speaker 2: Field, but at the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
26:12
Speaker 1: So if it's all right with you, I just kind
26:15
Speaker 1: of want to hear like your story about getting to
26:18
Speaker 1: play in the Yeah, play in the state championship game
26:22
Speaker 1: for Elder up in Campton.
26:25
Speaker 3: Yeah, so.
26:30
Speaker 4: I thought, you know, as a glorified Scout team player,
26:36
Speaker 4: I was gonna go out there and I'm gonna I'm
26:38
Speaker 4: gonna show the other team how tough I am.
26:41
Speaker 3: And because of that, I'm gonna not wear sleeves.
26:45
Speaker 4: Well, the architecture of this stadium basically allows for a
26:52
Speaker 4: ton of win to whip you. And so it's played
26:57
Speaker 4: in late November early December.
27:01
Speaker 3: I forget, and I mean.
27:06
Speaker 4: I could not run into the I could not run
27:08
Speaker 4: into the locker room quick enough during halftime.
27:12
Speaker 3: I mean, those leaves went on.
27:16
Speaker 4: It's extremely windy up in northeast Ohio, and I paid for.
27:21
Speaker 2: It, so that that was.
27:23
Speaker 3: My experience and we lost, So no idea.
27:28
Speaker 1: The other thing to remember, too is I think the
27:32
Speaker 1: stadium actually looks pretty nice now. It feels like it's
27:34
Speaker 1: fully enclosed. It was not like that when you played,
27:40
Speaker 1: and when I went up there to watch a game,
27:43
Speaker 1: it was open, so you're right.
27:45
Speaker 2: The wind would.
27:46
Speaker 1: Whip and then the turf probably wasn't the best either.
27:51
Speaker 2: At the time.
27:51
Speaker 1: It might have just still been that astro turf. But
27:55
Speaker 1: I mean we remember even what was it. As recently
27:58
Speaker 1: as five years ago they had to actually cancel the
28:00
Speaker 1: Hall of Fame game just because of the really terrible
28:03
Speaker 1: field conditions. Oh yeah, so yeah, So let's throw a
28:08
Speaker 1: bunch of high school kids out there in the middle
28:10
Speaker 1: of winter, see what happens to them. I I wish
28:17
Speaker 1: I had better memory of the stadium itself.
28:22
Speaker 3: I remember, it's hard to remember.
28:25
Speaker 4: I think it's like, I don't think it was very
28:29
Speaker 4: big it was like ten fifteen thousand people.
28:34
Speaker 2: Yeah, something like that.
28:35
Speaker 1: I mean it's I think it is a little bit
28:38
Speaker 1: bigger now because they're trying to do more things throughout
28:41
Speaker 1: the year there, and you know, if they're going to
28:45
Speaker 1: do an NFL game there every year, even if it
28:47
Speaker 1: is a preseason game, it's got to be up to snuff.
28:52
Speaker 1: But yeah, I think when we went there, it was
28:54
Speaker 1: just all bleachers, very like you said, just stands. Uh
29:01
Speaker 1: not not really fancy, but yes, it was very cold.
29:06
Speaker 1: The wind did whip up in there. And really the
29:12
Speaker 1: biggest difference between me and you is I was in
29:15
Speaker 1: the stands and my team won. No, not rubbing an
29:23
Speaker 1: I mean, I had nothing to do with it. I
29:26
Speaker 1: was a sophomore and watching the varsity play. But I
29:32
Speaker 1: think what was most interesting about my experience is, I
29:38
Speaker 1: don't know how much you remember about that, but my
29:41
Speaker 1: high school had won it two years before and with
29:45
Speaker 1: a lot of the same guys that I guess had
29:48
Speaker 1: played us sophomores but were just so athletic. They were
29:51
Speaker 1: on varsity, So it was it was almost like we
29:55
Speaker 1: had we were We were the favorites all year to win.
29:59
Speaker 1: They started off number one. They stayed number one. I
30:01
Speaker 1: think they finished something ridiculous like number two in the
30:04
Speaker 1: country in some polls.
30:07
Speaker 2: So I didn't.
30:09
Speaker 1: Quite appreciate it or take it in as much as
30:12
Speaker 1: I should have, just because you kind.
30:15
Speaker 2: Of expected it to happen, you know what I mean. Yeah,
30:18
Speaker 2: it's kind of like.
30:19
Speaker 1: Being a Yankees fan and they win the World Series.
30:23
Speaker 1: It's like, okay, well, what's another one.
30:27
Speaker 3: It just has to make another trip to Canton.
30:30
Speaker 2: It's a little bit longer of a drive now.
30:35
Speaker 1: I did have someone ask me, who's from not from Ohio, said, oh,
30:41
Speaker 1: have you ever been there? My son has been bugging
30:43
Speaker 1: me to take him, And I'm like, I've been there.
30:46
Speaker 1: I have not been inside. If I've been to that,
30:50
Speaker 1: I have been there. But no, like I said, I
30:54
Speaker 1: think it's it's cool that it's there. I would like
30:57
Speaker 1: to go again someday. Maybe I'll wait until Big Ben's
31:03
Speaker 1: Hall of Fame induction or Hinds wards if he ever gets.
31:05
Speaker 3: In and go around then yeah.
31:09
Speaker 1: But yeah, no, it's a school little stadium, so much
31:13
Speaker 1: better now for sure than when you and I went last.
31:17
Speaker 3: I feel like that's a lot of stadiums so that
31:19
Speaker 3: you could.
31:19
Speaker 1: Say, uh, yeah, I'd agree with that. But some stadiums
31:26
Speaker 1: are classic, some stay, but I.
31:30
Speaker 3: Do not. You do not.
31:33
Speaker 2: I had a bad experience there.
31:35
Speaker 1: He has nothing to do with the stadium, but I, uh, yeah,
31:41
Speaker 1: it's just Cubs fans. Man, what are you gonna do?
31:44
Speaker 3: Oh? Really, it was a fan.
31:47
Speaker 2: It was they. We'll just leave it at that. We'll
31:52
Speaker 2: save that for another fun topic.
31:54
Speaker 4: Someday.
31:54
Speaker 3: You're worst.
31:57
Speaker 1: We'll have to remember that worst fan experience is in
32:00
Speaker 1: a stadium.
32:01
Speaker 2: We can talk about that too.
32:03
Speaker 1: All right, was there anything else you wanted to hit
32:05
Speaker 1: on tonight?
32:08
Speaker 3: I don't think so.
32:09
Speaker 1: All right, Well, it is July thirty first, at nine
32:13
Speaker 1: to thirty five Eastern. Once again, we're getting our July
32:15
Speaker 1: special in right under the gun. Then you and I
32:19
Speaker 1: are going to get together, I'd say, one more time
32:24
Speaker 1: before the season starts, and then.
32:29
Speaker 2: Well, no, that's exactly right.
32:31
Speaker 1: We can get together one more time in August, and
32:33
Speaker 1: then that first week of September. September first is on
32:37
Speaker 1: a Monday. I believe the NFL season for the Steelers
32:41
Speaker 1: will kick off on the seventh. We'll probably get together
32:44
Speaker 1: during your birthday week, my anniversary, and wife's birthday week
32:48
Speaker 1: and give our first pregame analysis, so we are definitely
32:54
Speaker 1: getting there.
32:55
Speaker 4: Buddy, Yeah, yeah, I'm excited to make Steelers Country Weekly
33:02
Speaker 4: weekly again.
33:04
Speaker 2: Amen. Enough of this baseball and soccer nonsense. Let's get
33:08
Speaker 2: to football.
33:10
Speaker 3: Yeah all right.
33:11
Speaker 1: Well, for the world famous accountant Eric Vammon showtin, I'm
33:15
Speaker 1: Nick Detulio and this has been another episode of the
33:17
Speaker 1: GameHouse dot COM's Steelers Country Weekly