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Bengals Recap, Browns Preview · Steelers Country Weekly

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Today on Steelers Country Weekly, we eat crow and break
• 0:04
  Speaker 1: down the Steelers' big win over division rival Cincinnati. We're
• 0:09
  Speaker 1: going to look ahead to the matchup on a short
• 0:11
  Speaker 1: week in Cleveland this upcoming Thursday night against the Browns.
• 0:15
  Speaker 1: And then three games into the season, we're going to
• 0:17
  Speaker 1: talk about our biggest surprises in the NFL year so far.
• 0:21
  Speaker 1: I'm Nick DiTullio, and as always, I'm joined by the
• 0:24
  Speaker 1: world-famous accountant Eric Vamenschoten. Eric, how's it going tonight?
• 0:28
  Speaker 2: Oh, pretty good, you know. Rested on that newborn sleep. Actually,
• 0:34
  Speaker 2: it's going better than expected. Just like our season so far.
• 0:39
  Speaker 3: Yeah, this is....
• 0:42
  Speaker 1: Look, I said it in the intro. We are going
• 0:44
  Speaker 1: to eat crow because you and me and everyone else
• 0:49
  Speaker 1: said the Steelers were going to lose. I don't think
• 0:53
  Speaker 1: anyone thought it was going to be close. I really
• 0:56
  Speaker 1: don't think there was a single... rational person out there
• 1:01
  Speaker 1: in the ether that thought the Bengals were going to
• 1:05
  Speaker 1: lose to the Steelers after seeing what happened last week.
• 1:10
  Speaker 2: Did you see the Steelers' official, like, Instagram account? No.
• 1:16
  Speaker 4: They showed a graphic of, like, expert pickers. It was, like,
• 1:21
  Speaker 4: 12 of them. Every single one of them said the Bengals,
• 1:25
  Speaker 4: and the Steelers... like responded, you know, they posted it
• 1:30
  Speaker 4: and said, or something like that.
• 1:33
  Speaker 1: I mean, look, that's cute. And all that the Steelers
• 1:36
  Speaker 1: did that one that happens all the time every year.
• 1:40
  Speaker 1: And two, again, every rational person thought that the Bengals
• 1:45
  Speaker 1: were going to blow the doors down in Pittsburgh. So
• 1:48
  Speaker 1: I'm sorry that we, because we are prominent media members ourselves, uh,
• 1:56
  Speaker 1: I'm sorry that we offended the Steelers by trying to
• 2:00
  Speaker 1: be honest and true to ourselves.
• 2:02
  Speaker 2: I think it's.
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  Speaker 4: More that we lit a fire under their keister. And
• 2:06
  Speaker 4: that's why they won.
• 2:08
  Speaker 1: They probably tuned in and said, damn it, if we've
• 2:11
  Speaker 1: lost Nick and the world-famous accountant Eric Vamenschoten, then we
• 2:16
  Speaker 1: really need to get our heads on straight here. And yeah,
• 2:20
  Speaker 1: I'm sure that's it.
• 2:21
  Speaker 3: That's what it was.
• 2:23
  Speaker 1: Well, let's... not really waste any more time. Let's talk
• 2:28
  Speaker 1: about it. So the final score ended up being 30
• 2:30
  Speaker 1: to seven. And this was such an interesting game to
• 2:36
  Speaker 1: me for a lot of reasons. I think one, the
• 2:40
  Speaker 1: offense looked competent and I told you, you know, I
• 2:45
  Speaker 1: think in between the first and second quarter, if we
• 2:49
  Speaker 1: don't gain another yard today, this will already be the
• 2:52
  Speaker 1: most successful offensive game we've had And I don't think
• 2:58
  Speaker 1: that was a stretch.
• 2:58
  Speaker 3: I think it was true.
• 2:59
  Speaker 1: We got two touchdowns in the first quarter. That hasn't
• 3:01
  Speaker 1: happened in years. The other thing I thought was really interesting, too,
• 3:07
  Speaker 1: was the Steelers' defense only got to Joe Burrow once,
• 3:11
  Speaker 1: and it was on that last defensive play of the
• 3:13
  Speaker 1: game for the strip sack. So it was just kind
• 3:16
  Speaker 1: of mind-boggling to me because historically that's been the key
• 3:21
  Speaker 1: for the Bengals, protecting Joe Burrow. they might score 56 points,
• 3:28
  Speaker 1: but he'll get sacked 17 times and they'll lose.
• 3:31
  Speaker 3: You know, 59 to 56 or something like that.
• 3:34
  Speaker 2: Right.
• 3:35
  Speaker 1: In this game, we only got to him once and
• 3:39
  Speaker 1: we still managed to win while putting up 30 points.
• 3:42
  Speaker 1: So I was pretty happy with that really out of
• 3:45
  Speaker 1: the gate. The Steelers came swinging. You had Aaron Rogers, uh,
• 3:49
  Speaker 1: leading the offense down the field on the opening drive, uh,
• 3:53
  Speaker 1: making a big throw to Roman Wilson, who caught the
• 3:56
  Speaker 1: ball for a wide-open touchdown. You had Skoranek catching a
• 4:01
  Speaker 1: touchdown pass. The defense gave up a lot of yards,
• 4:06
  Speaker 1: gave up a lot of points, did not get as
• 4:09
  Speaker 1: much pressure as we would have liked, but again, they
• 4:12
  Speaker 1: were going up against one of the better offenses, and
• 4:15
  Speaker 1: I think that our offense playing as well as they
• 4:18
  Speaker 1: did definitely helped in that regard, because If we put
• 4:22
  Speaker 1: up the same offensive performance like we did last week,
• 4:26
  Speaker 1: it would have been lights out. And the other thing
• 4:31
  Speaker 1: that I thought was interesting, and I kind of laugh
• 4:37
  Speaker 1: looking back at it now, but the Steelers were actually
• 4:40
  Speaker 1: driving going into the last minutes of the second half.
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  Speaker 3: They were up 14 to.
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  Speaker 1: 17-10, they had a chance to really put some distance
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  Speaker 1: between them and the Bengals. And Aaron Rodgers threw a
• 5:01
  Speaker 1: pass to Roman Wilson that literally bounced right off his
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  Speaker 1: hands and into the Bengals' defender's hands for an interception,
• 5:11
  Speaker 1: which they ended up converting for a touchdown. And Aaron
• 5:18
  Speaker 1: Rodgers gets a lot of flack for his facial reactions
• 5:21
  Speaker 1: and his expressions and what he says off the field too.
• 5:26
  Speaker 1: But if there was ever a time where I've completely
• 5:29
  Speaker 1: sympathized with the guy for having a reaction, it was
• 5:33
  Speaker 1: in that moment where you throw a perfect pass to
• 5:36
  Speaker 1: a guy who, if anyone on the team needs to
• 5:39
  Speaker 1: be making as many catches as possible, it's Roman Wilson.
• 5:42
  Speaker 1: And he set them up for that. It was just, Again,
• 5:46
  Speaker 1: I laugh now, but in the time I was... I
• 5:48
  Speaker 1: probably had the same thoughts that Aaron Rodgers had. Like,
• 5:51
  Speaker 1: you've got to effing be kidding me.
• 5:54
  Speaker 4: I don't know if it was that play or another play,
• 5:56
  Speaker 4: but he kind of said, you know, get.
• 6:01
  Speaker 2: That MF-er off the field or this MF-er sucks.
• 6:07
  Speaker 1: It was.
• 6:08
  Speaker 2: He was frustrated, that's for sure.
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  Speaker 3: Absolutely.
• 6:12
  Speaker 1: And it was interesting, too, to see two players really
• 6:17
  Speaker 1: step up you had Jalen Warren who was running up
• 6:20
  Speaker 1: and down all over the field I am going to
• 6:24
  Speaker 1: go to my grave I probably won't be thinking about
• 6:28
  Speaker 1: it in a couple months but I'm going to say
• 6:29
  Speaker 1: I'm going to my grave thinking that the field is
• 6:33
  Speaker 1: what tripped him up on that run where he would
• 6:36
  Speaker 1: have walked into the end zone and he just tripped yeah.
• 6:40
  Speaker 2: That was unfortunate.
• 6:42
  Speaker 1: The field looked like garbage again, like, I'm sorry, it's garbage.
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  Speaker 3: Um, so I'll grant him that.
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  Speaker 1: And then he actually had an 87 yard run that
• 6:55
  Speaker 1: got called back because of a holding call on DK Metcalf.
• 6:59
  Speaker 1: DK had, I think, two holding calls. Um, it was
• 7:03
  Speaker 1: one of those where it was, you throw the flag
• 7:06
  Speaker 1: if you're going by the, you know, the letter of
• 7:09
  Speaker 1: the law, but it's, it's one that you, it was
• 7:12
  Speaker 1: one of those calls where you don't see called every time,
• 7:15
  Speaker 1: if that makes sense. So I'm just saying all of
• 7:21
  Speaker 1: this to say that Jalen Warren was all over the place.
• 7:24
  Speaker 3: Absolutely.
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  Speaker 1: I would say the MVP of the day and Darnell
• 7:29
  Speaker 1: Washington too, had three catches and it was, it was
• 7:34
  Speaker 1: just so fun to see him get the ball and
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  Speaker 1: just overpower defenders left and right. getting first downs when
• 7:45
  Speaker 1: he was contacted five yards before the marker, just dragging
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  Speaker 1: people across, turning on the wheels. This was a big
• 7:55
  Speaker 1: day for the.
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  Speaker 3: Offense, especially.
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  Speaker 1: The defense had a fair performance given the opponent they
• 8:03
  Speaker 1: were playing to, so it was a good day to
• 8:07
  Speaker 1: be a Steeler fan. So now that I've waxed poetic
• 8:11
  Speaker 1: about all that, let me turn it over to you
• 8:13
  Speaker 1: and ask you, uh, what were your takeaways from this
• 8:18
  Speaker 1: performance that we saw on Sunday?
• 8:20
  Speaker 2: Yeah.
• 8:21
  Speaker 4: I mean, a lot of the same things that you saw, um,
• 8:25
  Speaker 4: you know, you texted me before the game about the
• 8:29
  Speaker 4: shift in the offensive line. Um, that came up huge,
• 8:34
  Speaker 4: you know, a guy, I hadn't even really heard of
• 8:37
  Speaker 4: his name when it came to the offensive rotation Hoffman. Um,
• 8:42
  Speaker 4: He had one of the best either running and blocking
• 8:46
  Speaker 4: grade in the NFL for week three, and he allowed
• 8:52
  Speaker 4: zero pressure. So for him, without any of the mentioning
• 8:59
  Speaker 4: pedigree to go in there, pretty much cold and play.
• 9:05
  Speaker 2: As well as he did. I'm not saying....
• 9:09
  Speaker 4: That this line combination will be the answer, but it's
• 9:12
  Speaker 4: good to see that we.
• 9:15
  Speaker 2: Found....
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  Speaker 4: I think overall, to me, it was telling that we
• 9:20
  Speaker 4: are starting to find out who is the starting 11
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  Speaker 4: on the field offense.
• 9:27
  Speaker 2: I think it's pretty solidified for defense, right?
• 9:30
  Speaker 4: But we need Jalen Warren to take the bell cow.
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  Speaker 2: He had, I think, 17 of our 23 carries.
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  Speaker 3: Yes.
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  Speaker 4: And, yeah, if he didn't have that penalty taken away,
• 9:45
  Speaker 4: he would have been closer to 200 yards on the day.
• 9:50
  Speaker 4: So I think he's been phenomenal, and I think that
• 9:55
  Speaker 4: that was, I think you basically have mentioned in each week,
• 10:01
  Speaker 4: like he should have been more involved and we finally
• 10:03
  Speaker 4: got to see it.
• 10:05
  Speaker 2: I feel like this was breakout for this year for Washington.
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  Speaker 4: I thought seeing him being a bigger performer, you know,
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  Speaker 4: I think Arthur Smith loved the tight ends and, He
• 10:18
  Speaker 4: went out and he wanted to get Jonah Smith. He
• 10:22
  Speaker 4: demoted Friar Muth, and Washington had to sub in there,
• 10:27
  Speaker 4: but maybe it's going to be with our wide receivers
• 10:32
  Speaker 4: looking so crappy, I think we probably will see a
• 10:36
  Speaker 4: lot more tight end sets because I think Muth is
• 10:41
  Speaker 4: one of the most reliable hands that we have on
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  Speaker 4: our receiving court, and Washington's one of the most explosive.
• 10:49
  Speaker 4: as well as can provide an edge in the run game. And,
• 10:56
  Speaker 4: you know, on the other end, stock down stuff. I mean, look,
• 11:02
  Speaker 4: you know, I'm not saying that Roman Wilson pulled the plug, but, yeah,
• 11:07
  Speaker 4: he didn't do himself any favors to.
• 11:09
  Speaker 2: Take snaps away from Jeremy Bernard. And to be honest.
• 11:15
  Speaker 4: I think DK Metcalf needs to come off the field
• 11:17
  Speaker 4: more often. You know, three catches, 31 yards, and you
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  Speaker 4: said he was at least responsible for the 87-yard run
• 11:28
  Speaker 4: being negated.
• 11:29
  Speaker 2: I will tell you, I.
• 11:32
  Speaker 4: Hate, like, as Steelers fans, one of the reasons why
• 11:37
  Speaker 4: people love Hines Ward so much was because he was
• 11:40
  Speaker 4: one of the best blocking wide receivers ever.
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  Speaker 2: He was gritty.
• 11:45
  Speaker 4: He wasn't the biggest guy in the world, but you
• 11:49
  Speaker 4: needed to know where he was.
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  Speaker 2: At all times on the field.
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  Speaker 4: DK is 6'4, 230 pounds, can run a 4'3, 40,
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  Speaker 4: and he gives the laziest block ever and holds. I mean, look,
• 12:08
  Speaker 4: if you can't catch the ball and you can't block....
• 12:12
  Speaker 2: What are you doing on the field? I don't care
• 12:13
  Speaker 2: if we're paying them $ 30 million a year.
• 12:16
  Speaker 4: We're paying the rest of the roster $ 200 million. Let's
• 12:22
  Speaker 4: go win a football game. And right now, I think
• 12:25
  Speaker 4: DK Metcalf should be either benched or he should not
• 12:32
  Speaker 4: be wide receiver one. I think if we can find
• 12:35
  Speaker 4: a combination of having maybe like a two tight end,
• 12:40
  Speaker 4: two running back, one wide receiver, or have Pittman and
• 12:45
  Speaker 4: Bernard on the field and have DK out there maybe
• 12:51
  Speaker 4: on passing situations and third down, I really do think
• 12:55
  Speaker 4: that it's needed. It finally is needed to get something
• 12:59
  Speaker 4: through his head that his shenanigans and his lack of
• 13:06
  Speaker 4: actually being anything other than I'm an athletic freak needs
• 13:10
  Speaker 4: to be put on display. I think that's tough for
• 13:15
  Speaker 4: a guy who's in his third game coaching the Steelers,
• 13:21
  Speaker 4: but Mike McCarthy needs to grow something, and it's something that, look,
• 13:27
  Speaker 4: Tomlin was always one to kind of protect his players.
• 13:33
  Speaker 4: I think sometimes to a fault, I think getting some
• 13:38
  Speaker 4: accountability and showing some disciplinarian-ish with, you know, gosh, we've
• 13:45
  Speaker 4: had so many issues with wide receivers.
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  Speaker 2: If you're not going to.
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  Speaker 4: Perform, like we dealt with Antonio Brown for all those years,
• 13:53
  Speaker 4: Martavis Bryant, even Chase Claypool, Mike Wallace, but all those guys,
• 14:02
  Speaker 4: like when we had them, performed.
• 14:04
  Speaker 2: And when they didn't, we traded them. Well, no one's
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  Speaker 2: going to take.
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  Speaker 4: DK's contract the way he's paid right now and the
• 14:14
  Speaker 4: way he's performing. So I think you just need to
• 14:17
  Speaker 4: get him off the field and deal with the situation.
• 14:22
  Speaker 1: I don't know that that's going to happen, to be honest.
• 14:25
  Speaker 1: But what do you think about, let's send him and
• 14:29
  Speaker 1: Joey Porter Jr. to the Cowboys in a trade for
• 14:32
  Speaker 1: George Pickens and a few picks. That'll solve the problem, right?
• 14:35
  Speaker 2: No. So we're going to take George back.
• 14:39
  Speaker 3: Yeah, why not?
• 14:41
  Speaker 2: I mean, I don't know if they have any.
• 14:43
  Speaker 4: Other competent wide receivers, but yeah, I even saw someone
• 14:47
  Speaker 4: throw out there, what if we traded Joey.
• 14:51
  Speaker 2: Porter Jr. for Jamison Williams?
• 14:56
  Speaker 4: And I was like, you know, I can get behind
• 14:59
  Speaker 4: that because, look, some cost– We paid DK what we did.
• 15:06
  Speaker 4: We gave him the draft compensation, but I don't think
• 15:13
  Speaker 4: he's going to give us the best chance to win on,
• 15:17
  Speaker 4: use the analogy, Sundays, but we're going to play on Thursday.
• 15:22
  Speaker 2: To me, I just don't think he's the guy.
• 15:26
  Speaker 4: We've seen a season and a quarter of him, and
• 15:31
  Speaker 4: the same issues that plague him keep showing up without
• 15:36
  Speaker 4: actually like any accountability.
• 15:37
  Speaker 2: I don't hear him.
• 15:39
  Speaker 4: Going out there and saying, you know, that's my fault.
• 15:43
  Speaker 2: I dropped that third down pass. That's my fault.
• 15:45
  Speaker 4: You know, I owe Jalen Warren a beer because that
• 15:49
  Speaker 4: run was sick and I, I blew up on that block. No,
• 15:53
  Speaker 4: like you don't hear any of that. You just, he,
• 15:57
  Speaker 4: he doesn't seem like he brings anything to the table.
• 16:00
  Speaker 4: So someone needs to get in his face and just,
• 16:04
  Speaker 4: Tell him what's up.
• 16:08
  Speaker 1: So it occurred to me while you were talking about this,
• 16:10
  Speaker 1: and we don't have to go down the DK rabbit
• 16:12
  Speaker 1: hole or anything tonight, but hearing you say he's not
• 16:21
  Speaker 1: the guy and just seeing the, if you want to
• 16:25
  Speaker 1: call it lack of effort or nonchalantness or just not
• 16:29
  Speaker 1: caring is concerning. I'm going to be I'm going to
• 16:35
  Speaker 1: choose to be optimistic this week anyway, depending on how
• 16:39
  Speaker 1: we do on Thursday. I could come back all pissy
• 16:41
  Speaker 1: again next week. But I was reminded that DK was
• 16:46
  Speaker 1: the guy who, several years ago, when he was still
• 16:51
  Speaker 1: in Seattle with Russell Wilson, I think it was Buda
• 16:55
  Speaker 1: Baker who made an interception when the Seahawks were playing
• 17:01
  Speaker 1: the Cardinals at the two-yard line. And it was a
• 17:04
  Speaker 1: clear shot for a pick six, except DK chased him
• 17:09
  Speaker 1: down from all the way back in the end zone
• 17:12
  Speaker 1: and got him before he got to score a touchdown.
• 17:15
  Speaker 1: It was kind of like the ultimate hustle play. There's
• 17:18
  Speaker 1: that famous one from the Bills in the Super Bowl
• 17:21
  Speaker 1: II against the Cowboys. Same concept. What happened to that guy?
• 17:28
  Speaker 1: That's kind of what I'm getting at with this long-winded story.
• 17:31
  Speaker 2: Yeah. And I understand that.
• 17:32
  Speaker 4: You're saying what could have been there before could be reinvigorated, right?
• 17:38
  Speaker 2: Maybe it's somewhere in there.
• 17:39
  Speaker 3: That's the best case scenario.
• 17:42
  Speaker 4: Yeah.
• 17:43
  Speaker 2: I just....
• 17:46
  Speaker 4: And believe me, I want him to turn it around
• 17:50
  Speaker 4: for the sake of, like, what we.
• 17:54
  Speaker 2: Look, it's gonna... It's gonna be ugly to get out
• 17:58
  Speaker 2: of that contract. Um... whether release him or trade him,
• 18:02
  Speaker 2: I just... So I want it to work.
• 18:05
  Speaker 4: Out, you know, for at least until, like, we can
• 18:09
  Speaker 4: get out from underneath the contract, but he's just not
• 18:13
  Speaker 4: a stealer to me. I mean, he's... Look, you know, people, like,
• 18:18
  Speaker 4: think that, you know, the Patriot way, or he's not
• 18:23
  Speaker 4: a stealer, or.
• 18:25
  Speaker 2: You know, those type of things are bullcrap. I... or cheesy.
• 18:31
  Speaker 2: I don't.
• 18:33
  Speaker 4: If you're not a gritty football player, if you.
• 18:39
  Speaker 2: Don't want to just win unbelievably... The one.
• 18:43
  Speaker 4: Thing I can say about Antonio Brown, I never doubted
• 18:47
  Speaker 4: that he wanted to win a football game.
• 18:49
  Speaker 2: Never. That guy might have been out of his mind
• 18:55
  Speaker 2: and crazy and.
• 18:58
  Speaker 4: Throw whatever you want... The guy literally just took a
• 19:01
  Speaker 4: settlement for attempted murder. You know, but he also, like,
• 19:10
  Speaker 4: was out of his mind on the football field, right?
• 19:12
  Speaker 4: He was a guy that, like, they put up with
• 19:16
  Speaker 4: all of his stuff because they knew that he wanted
• 19:20
  Speaker 4: to win a football game and he would do whatever
• 19:22
  Speaker 4: he needed to do to win.
• 19:26
  Speaker 2: And I just don't see that with DK, man.
• 19:28
  Speaker 4: And you know i don't is he receptive to change
• 19:32
  Speaker 4: is he receptive to criticism is he does he does
• 19:37
  Speaker 4: he want it like if he does that's great but
• 19:42
  Speaker 4: until i see that accountability for his mistakes, which have
• 19:46
  Speaker 4: been plentiful, I'm just not going to give him the
• 19:50
  Speaker 4: benefit of the.
• 19:51
  Speaker 2: Doubt right now.
• 19:54
  Speaker 1: Well, we will have to wait and see. And Thursday
• 19:57
  Speaker 1: will be his first opportunity to turn it around. And
• 20:02
  Speaker 1: he might have to do so because the Browns are
• 20:08
  Speaker 1: sitting at 2-1, and oddly enough, everyone in the division
• 20:11
  Speaker 1: is 2-1. It is the only division where everyone currently
• 20:15
  Speaker 1: has a winning record. So, AFC North is back on top.
• 20:18
  Speaker 3: Of the football world. But we'll get to Cleveland.
• 20:23
  Speaker 1: Before we do, was there anything else you wanted to
• 20:26
  Speaker 1: address or talk about from the game against Cincinnati before
• 20:30
  Speaker 1: we move on?
• 20:33
  Speaker 2: So, one thing that was kind of a theme in
• 20:35
  Speaker 2: that game, and....
• 20:38
  Speaker 4: I think it might have been something to do with
• 20:41
  Speaker 4: the stadium operators.
• 20:43
  Speaker 2: So, I believe we took three timeouts. Oh, yeah. Like, pre-snap,
• 20:51
  Speaker 2: because we couldn't get a play in or off.
• 20:54
  Speaker 4: And then Joe Burrow, to, like, start off the second
• 20:58
  Speaker 4: half or something like.
• 20:59
  Speaker 2: That, also had to bring the timeout.
• 21:01
  Speaker 3: Yeah.
• 21:02
  Speaker 4: Something tells me when there's four timeouts that are burnt
• 21:06
  Speaker 4: off of, like, stuff like that, it's not just like
• 21:09
  Speaker 4: a fluke and it's on both sides.
• 21:15
  Speaker 2: I don't know. I mean, I could be wrong, but
• 21:18
  Speaker 2: maybe part of.
• 21:18
  Speaker 4: Me thinks that like, did they just malfunction the play
• 21:22
  Speaker 4: cock and just like start it too early or not
• 21:28
  Speaker 4: on the ref's whistle? Or was it truly like just
• 21:31
  Speaker 4: two teams just not executing, you know, on the operations standpoint?
• 21:37
  Speaker 1: Well, knowing those two teams, that is still a very
• 21:40
  Speaker 1: distinct possibility. But no, I didn't even think about an
• 21:45
  Speaker 1: operations thing like the stadium clock or communications or things
• 21:49
  Speaker 1: like that. I mean, I suppose it's possible. I am
• 21:52
  Speaker 1: more inclined to think that it was user error, if
• 21:56
  Speaker 1: you will, just that we were the ones who were unorganized.
• 22:00
  Speaker 1: Because it didn't impact the Bengals in the first half,
• 22:03
  Speaker 1: and we used our timeout, our first timeout, pretty early
• 22:07
  Speaker 1: like if not on that first drive then it was
• 22:09
  Speaker 1: on the second drive but I think.
• 22:11
  Speaker 2: It was the first drive because I think I texted.
• 22:13
  Speaker 1: You like oh yeah and I was.
• 22:16
  Speaker 4: Like great that we're using a timeout two minutes into
• 22:19
  Speaker 4: the game or something like that.
• 22:20
  Speaker 1: And I said well you're clearly wrong because we did
• 22:23
  Speaker 1: that to draw up that touchdown pass but no that's
• 22:28
  Speaker 1: a good point I'm glad you brought it up and
• 22:30
  Speaker 1: I think that's kind of a pet peeve of mine
• 22:32
  Speaker 1: and I guess every situation is different But this obviously
• 22:38
  Speaker 1: isn't the first time we've seen a team use a
• 22:40
  Speaker 1: timeout when they probably shouldn't because they can't get a
• 22:44
  Speaker 1: play figured out or something like that.
• 22:46
  Speaker 3: And I guess I've always thought that.
• 22:52
  Speaker 1: The timeout is more valuable than the five yards you're
• 22:56
  Speaker 1: going to lose if you're going to take that delay
• 22:57
  Speaker 1: of game. And look, I understand it depends on what
• 23:01
  Speaker 1: the current down and how many yards to go you
• 23:04
  Speaker 1: have and where you're at in the field matters to that.
• 23:06
  Speaker 1: I just think in general, I'd rather save those timeouts
• 23:10
  Speaker 1: in case I need them for those last two minutes.
• 23:12
  Speaker 3: Yeah.
• 23:13
  Speaker 2: No, I agree.
• 23:15
  Speaker 4: I guess I'm in the minority. They'll burn a timeout
• 23:19
  Speaker 4: when they're at the 45 and they're going to punt it.
• 23:24
  Speaker 2: And I'm like, honestly, it might be more advantageous for you.
• 23:28
  Speaker 4: There's a lot of punters in this league that can
• 23:30
  Speaker 4: boom at 60 yards. Just move it back around to
• 23:34
  Speaker 4: like pound that thing you know like you see it
• 23:39
  Speaker 4: all the time where it's like people will it's just
• 23:43
  Speaker 4: like in their nature it's like to take the time
• 23:45
  Speaker 4: out rather than like you know like a a reflex
• 23:50
  Speaker 4: that's what they call it a reflex so it's like
• 23:54
  Speaker 4: is it just a reflex for them to take a
• 23:55
  Speaker 4: time out rather than burn it or is it or
• 23:58
  Speaker 4: is it analytics on their side i.
• 24:00
  Speaker 2: Don't know maybe all.
• 24:03
  Speaker 1: Right well Now that we're talking about timeouts, let's shift
• 24:08
  Speaker 1: over to Cleveland. Again, this game is going to be
• 24:12
  Speaker 1: interesting because the Browns have won their last two games
• 24:18
  Speaker 1: ever since Mike Tomlin said, you know, Cleveland's going to
• 24:21
  Speaker 1: Cleveland or the Browns are going to Brown, whatever he said.
• 24:24
  Speaker 1: And Todd Munkin did not like that. The Steelers are
• 24:27
  Speaker 1: going to roll into Cleveland to play the Browns. On
• 24:31
  Speaker 1: a short week, again, this will be done on Thursday.
• 24:34
  Speaker 1: Both teams are sitting at 2-1. Deshaun Watson, of course,
• 24:39
  Speaker 1: is the starter for the Browns. And we don't have
• 24:44
  Speaker 1: to worry about Miles Garrett this time, which is nice,
• 24:48
  Speaker 1: although no one's worrying about him right now.
• 24:50
  Speaker 3: He's sitting on the injured reserve.
• 24:52
  Speaker 1: But looking at this game, Eric, which is not quite
• 24:56
  Speaker 1: what we thought it was going to be, what are
• 24:59
  Speaker 1: some of your keys for the Steelers to get a
• 25:01
  Speaker 1: win here?
• 25:04
  Speaker 4: I mean, the Browns went ugly too, right? Like, so
• 25:09
  Speaker 4: in their two wins, they had 267 yards and let's see,
• 25:13
  Speaker 4: 259 yards. So, you know, they're not winning by like
• 25:23
  Speaker 4: being impressive. They're just playing pretty football. Um, which to
• 25:29
  Speaker 4: me normally tells me that there's, you have coaching on
• 25:33
  Speaker 4: your side. Like, Munkin's been around the league. I think
• 25:38
  Speaker 4: he's finally getting his chance. And, you know, it seems
• 25:43
  Speaker 4: like he's honestly a little bit more like, let's be
• 25:46
  Speaker 4: more accountable. Like, I don't love when people like throw
• 25:49
  Speaker 4: quarterbacks or people under the bus, but like, they were
• 25:54
  Speaker 4: sucking in preseason. He basically was like, look, I'm not
• 25:58
  Speaker 4: going to sugarcoat it.
• 25:59
  Speaker 2: Everyone's got to be better. And, you know, sometimes you
• 26:02
  Speaker 2: just need to hear that. So, I mean, this is
• 26:10
  Speaker 2: like Scooby-Doo, right?
• 26:11
  Speaker 4: Like, you take off the mask and it's still the Browns. Like,
• 26:16
  Speaker 4: they just have lucked out, right? So, I'm not worried
• 26:24
  Speaker 4: about them. I'm worried about us, right? Like, What is
• 26:29
  Speaker 4: the team that's going to show up? And honestly, it
• 26:34
  Speaker 4: is on both sides, right? TJ was basically absent on
• 26:37
  Speaker 4: the stat this past week after dominating the first two weeks.
• 26:46
  Speaker 2: We had so many blown.
• 26:48
  Speaker 4: Coverages against the Bengals. The one that came to mind
• 26:54
  Speaker 4: was the Juseki touchdown. Like, I know it was on
• 27:00
  Speaker 4: both sides, right? We had a couple wide-open touchdowns, but
• 27:04
  Speaker 4: that was really annoying, too. And then, you know, were
• 27:09
  Speaker 4: we going to, like, run the ball? As well as
• 27:12
  Speaker 4: we did with actually getting yards from running, the imbalance
• 27:17
  Speaker 4: was still there. Like, we talked about, I mentioned it
• 27:22
  Speaker 4: in our recap, Warren, I think, had 20... I think
• 27:26
  Speaker 4: we had a team of 23 carries. I'm pretty sure
• 27:31
  Speaker 4: that Rodgers had at least 23 passing.
• 27:34
  Speaker 2: So, like, we're still partial to the pass. It worked
• 27:39
  Speaker 2: out for us.
• 27:40
  Speaker 4: In Week 3, but I don't think that that's the
• 27:43
  Speaker 4: way that this team should be structured going forward.
• 27:46
  Speaker 2: So... To me, I think the.
• 27:52
  Speaker 4: Key is definitely going to lie more so on the
• 27:56
  Speaker 4: offensive performance than the defensive performance. I just don't think
• 27:59
  Speaker 4: that the Browns have the firepower. I think Watson has
• 28:05
  Speaker 4: shown he's prone to turnovers. So I can see us
• 28:10
  Speaker 4: getting one or two there.
• 28:12
  Speaker 2: So I'm not worried about that. It's just like... Are
• 28:18
  Speaker 2: we going to have the balance?
• 28:19
  Speaker 4: Are we going to incorporate the playmakers that are riding
• 28:22
  Speaker 4: the hot hand?
• 28:23
  Speaker 2: Or are we going to revert back to week two?
• 28:27
  Speaker 1: Yeah, and I would say that the Bengals' defense had
• 28:30
  Speaker 1: been performing better over the last couple weeks, but they
• 28:36
  Speaker 1: still aren't perfect. I think the Browns would probably still
• 28:40
  Speaker 1: have the better defense overall, so there is that to
• 28:43
  Speaker 1: keep in mind, even without Miles Garrett. so yeah I
• 28:50
  Speaker 1: think that's going to be the big thing and can
• 28:53
  Speaker 1: they replicate what they did against the Bengals or can
• 28:55
  Speaker 1: they at least be closer to that than to the
• 28:59
  Speaker 1: performance they put out against the Patriots because if they
• 29:05
  Speaker 1: I don't think there's a single team they're going to
• 29:07
  Speaker 1: beat if they play like they did against the Patriots
• 29:11
  Speaker 1: not one even.
• 29:12
  Speaker 4: If If we're a team that can score 23 or
• 29:16
  Speaker 4: 24 points, we're going to win a lot of football games.
• 29:19
  Speaker 3: Correct.
• 29:20
  Speaker 1: If you can only score three, then good luck. So, yeah,
• 29:27
  Speaker 1: I think the thing that I'm most interested to see, though,
• 29:29
  Speaker 1: is can we see the defensive line in particular, especially
• 29:35
  Speaker 1: TJ Watt, step up again?
• 29:38
  Speaker 3: I'm going to.
• 29:40
  Speaker 1: Trust that the offense has found some things that work.
• 29:46
  Speaker 1: They found a good combination at the line like you
• 29:48
  Speaker 1: talked about. They're still working through some things with the receiver.
• 29:51
  Speaker 1: We've seen flashes from Roman Wilson. We've seen some not-so-great
• 29:55
  Speaker 1: things from him. Same thing with Jeremy Bernard. We've seen
• 29:59
  Speaker 1: I'd say more good out of him than bad, but
• 30:01
  Speaker 1: there's the occasional tip to an interception like I talked about.
• 30:04
  Speaker 3: Against the Patriots.
• 30:06
  Speaker 1: As they continue to find themselves and what combination works,
• 30:09
  Speaker 1: I think that's going to come into form. And the
• 30:12
  Speaker 1: thing about Aaron Rodgers that is not going to change
• 30:17
  Speaker 1: is he is still highly intelligent. So he knows how
• 30:23
  Speaker 1: to read the defenses. He knows how to make changes
• 30:26
  Speaker 1: at the line. We talked about it. last week where
• 30:28
  Speaker 1: we said he actually confused his linemen um so that
• 30:32
  Speaker 1: part is not going to change the part that we
• 30:35
  Speaker 1: and everyone else has been concerned about is physically can
• 30:39
  Speaker 1: he at least come close to doing what he has
• 30:42
  Speaker 1: done historically right um so all that to say i
• 30:47
  Speaker 1: think that from a mental perspective aaron rogers knows what
• 30:51
  Speaker 1: he's doing and can make still make things happen Defensively
• 30:54
  Speaker 1: is where I need to see some more consistency because, again,
• 30:57
  Speaker 1: I know we were playing the Bengals. I know they've
• 31:00
  Speaker 1: got a great offense. I know we didn't have Joey
• 31:03
  Speaker 1: Porter Jr.
• 31:04
  Speaker 4: Again.
• 31:06
  Speaker 1: But we got no pressure on Burrow until the very
• 31:10
  Speaker 1: end of the game. And they sliced and diced us
• 31:15
  Speaker 1: moving the ball up and down.
• 31:16
  Speaker 3: The field with the exception of a few series. So, again.
• 31:23
  Speaker 1: if you're going to be the highest paid defense in
• 31:24
  Speaker 1: the league, I need you to perform consistently well. So, uh,
• 31:29
  Speaker 1: but TJ Watt especially is who I want to see
• 31:32
  Speaker 1: come back alive, um, and get some, make some plays
• 31:36
  Speaker 1: in the backfield here. I do think that the turnovers
• 31:39
  Speaker 1: are going to be big. And like you said, the
• 31:42
  Speaker 1: Browns do play really ugly. So hell, this might be
• 31:46
  Speaker 1: the ugliest game of all time then. Uh, with what
• 31:50
  Speaker 1: we're capable of too. So the only thing I will
• 31:56
  Speaker 1: say though, is we have struggled against Cleveland in Cleveland
• 32:01
  Speaker 1: for a while. I told, we were talking before we recorded,
• 32:04
  Speaker 1: I was looking up some history. I know that we've,
• 32:07
  Speaker 1: it's been a while since we've swept Cleveland. I did
• 32:10
  Speaker 1: not realize that we had lost six of the last
• 32:13
  Speaker 1: seven games in Cleveland. So for whatever reason, we just,
• 32:18
  Speaker 1: do not play well there, uh, at least over the
• 32:21
  Speaker 1: last seven years. So I think we, huh?
• 32:26
  Speaker 2: Cause Ben's gone.
• 32:28
  Speaker 4: I mean, you know, like Ben, Ben was a killer
• 32:31
  Speaker 4: just the way that Rogers was a bears killer, you know?
• 32:35
  Speaker 2: And, and, uh, no, a mental shift, right?
• 32:41
  Speaker 1: I mean, I get that, but the Browns, again, to,
• 32:44
  Speaker 1: to paraphrase Mike Tom, when the Browns are still the Browns, right? Um,
• 32:49
  Speaker 1: and it's not like they've swept us either. We've won
• 32:53
  Speaker 1: just as many games against them, uh, as well, uh,
• 32:56
  Speaker 1: at home.
• 32:57
  Speaker 2: So.
• 32:58
  Speaker 4: To be fair though, Tomlin was the coach of those
• 33:02
  Speaker 4: teams that, you know, they won six out of their
• 33:07
  Speaker 4: last seven at home.
• 33:08
  Speaker 2: So.
• 33:09
  Speaker 3: That's true.
• 33:10
  Speaker 2: Yeah. May each need his own crow.
• 33:13
  Speaker 4: But, um, look, I, yeah, I, I think, um, Look,
• 33:19
  Speaker 4: I have a ton.
• 33:20
  Speaker 2: Of Browns fans. This is their Super Bowl.
• 33:23
  Speaker 4: They circle this game on their calendar every year. You know,
• 33:29
  Speaker 4: if we're Ohio State, they're Michigan or vice versa. So,
• 33:36
  Speaker 4: you know, I think we have to expect that. And
• 33:40
  Speaker 4: this is a divisional game.
• 33:41
  Speaker 2: And the fact that there's huge stakes on the line,
• 33:45
  Speaker 2: you know, If the Steelers go 3-1 to start the season,
• 33:49
  Speaker 2: no one's really that surprised.
• 33:52
  Speaker 4: If the Browns go 3-1, then everyone's going to just
• 34:02
  Speaker 4: not believe it. They're going to think it's a fallacy.
• 34:04
  Speaker 4: I saw something that was like, teams that have won
• 34:10
  Speaker 4: five games in a row in the last 30 years.
• 34:14
  Speaker 2: And it was every major franchise. Every single one.
• 34:20
  Speaker 4: And I think this was including WNBA, NBA, NHL, MLB, NFL.
• 34:29
  Speaker 2: Except for the Browns. Only one team.
• 34:31
  Speaker 4: Isn't that astounding? Honestly, five games in, that was a
• 34:35
  Speaker 4: really hard number to hit in a row. But I
• 34:39
  Speaker 4: just was.
• 34:40
  Speaker 2: Like, dang, man. Like... That's rough. And if we lose
• 34:46
  Speaker 2: to them, we're game number three.
• 34:51
  Speaker 4: I think that this game's going to really matter to them,
• 34:55
  Speaker 4: and we have to not let that sneak up on us.
• 35:01
  Speaker 3: No, that's a good point.
• 35:03
  Speaker 1: I don't want to say the game matters more to
• 35:05
  Speaker 1: the Browns than it does to the Steelers, but.
• 35:09
  Speaker 3: This would.
• 35:11
  Speaker 1: If they were to win... it would send a message, right?
• 35:16
  Speaker 1: And it would be a huge morale boost for them, too. Like, hey,
• 35:21
  Speaker 1: maybe we can do this. We're turning the corner. And
• 35:24
  Speaker 1: for us, it'd be, holy shit, we just lost to
• 35:27
  Speaker 1: the Browns. We just lost to the Browns. So maybe
• 35:32
  Speaker 1: there is something to that.
• 35:33
  Speaker 3: I don't know.
• 35:34
  Speaker 1: But the thing that I think that everyone will keep
• 35:38
  Speaker 1: in mind is it's a division game who.
• 35:42
  Speaker 1: It's a very tight division right now. I know we're
• 35:44
  Speaker 1: only three weeks in, but it's not like we have
• 35:47
  Speaker 1: a team sitting at oh and three already. Like we
• 35:49
  Speaker 1: sometimes are accustomed to, um, and you got to rack
• 35:53
  Speaker 1: up those wins when you can. So if you're the,
• 35:56
  Speaker 1: if you're the Browns, you're playing a team, the jets,
• 36:00
  Speaker 1: then you got the Ravens and the Titans, the Steelers again.
• 36:03
  Speaker 1: And if you're the Steelers after this game, uh, you're
• 36:10
  Speaker 1: playing the Colts and the Bucks and the Saints, I'd say,
• 36:18
  Speaker 1: not that we're looking ahead, but you've got to think
• 36:20
  Speaker 1: that you could win two out of those three games, right?
• 36:25
  Speaker 3: Probably the first two.
• 36:26
  Speaker 4: Especially if Baker's out.
• 36:29
  Speaker 3: That's what I mean.
• 36:32
  Speaker 2: What were the three? Saints, Bucks, and.
• 36:36
  Speaker 1: It was In Order, Colts, Bucks, Saints. And the Saints
• 36:39
  Speaker 1: game is the one that's in France, for what it's worth.
• 36:42
  Speaker 4: For some reason, we love our Colts friends.
• 36:48
  Speaker 2: They don't fare well against us, though. Even when they're decent.
• 36:53
  Speaker 1: So yeah, again, I don't want to go too far
• 36:55
  Speaker 1: down the path here, but again, like you said, it's
• 36:59
  Speaker 1: a division game.
• 37:00
  Speaker 3: It is important.
• 37:01
  Speaker 1: The division's tight. And like I said, and we've talked
• 37:05
  Speaker 1: about it for years, You've got to stack wins when
• 37:08
  Speaker 1: you can.
• 37:09
  Speaker 2: Dude, on that.
• 37:11
  Speaker 4: Note, how annoying is it that Cowboys game, right? Very.
• 37:21
  Speaker 4: So for the listeners out there, and I didn't watch.
• 37:26
  Speaker 2: It live, read up on it, so if you haven't,
• 37:29
  Speaker 2: read up on it.
• 37:31
  Speaker 4: First and goal, they have 20 seconds left, the Cowboys do.
• 37:36
  Speaker 4: They're down three.
• 37:38
  Speaker 2: And I don't blame them at all.
• 37:40
  Speaker 4: You score the touchdown. So they score the touchdown. They
• 37:46
  Speaker 4: give the ball back to the Ravens. But then they
• 37:50
  Speaker 4: allow Zay Flowers to pick up 27 yards, which then
• 37:54
  Speaker 4: sets up a 56-yard field goal to win it at
• 37:58
  Speaker 4: the end. I mean, like this reminds me of when
• 38:02
  Speaker 4: the Bills Chiefs played.
• 38:04
  Speaker 2: Yeah. in the 13 seconds.
• 38:06
  Speaker 4: And I just was like, you gotta... The statistical anomaly
• 38:12
  Speaker 4: of that happening is so annoying. The fact that, like,
• 38:18
  Speaker 4: the Ravens were able to pick up that W. And
• 38:22
  Speaker 4: it obviously matters right now, you know? Because I think
• 38:25
  Speaker 4: that the Ravens have shown that they are a good team.
• 38:29
  Speaker 4: They're prone to some letdowns, but yeah.
• 38:33
  Speaker 2: Man, I.
• 38:34
  Speaker 4: I just, I saw it and I was like, come on, dude. Like,
• 38:40
  Speaker 4: couldn't catch a break there.
• 38:41
  Speaker 1: Yeah, I was cheering hard for the Cowboys there, which
• 38:44
  Speaker 1: is kind of awkward to do. But I did watch
• 38:49
  Speaker 1: the game live. And what's funny is I have a
• 38:53
  Speaker 1: group chat with some friends from work. One is a
• 38:55
  Speaker 1: Cowboys fan. The other is a Commanders fan, which is
• 38:58
  Speaker 1: always interesting for the two of them. But the guy
• 39:01
  Speaker 1: who's a Commanders fan is also a Michigan fan. So
• 39:04
  Speaker 1: I was joking with him about how the Ravens put
• 39:10
  Speaker 1: an extra second on the clock. And it's just crazy
• 39:13
  Speaker 1: that all these teams that he's got a vested interest
• 39:16
  Speaker 1: in have get the time added and all that stuff. But, um,
• 39:22
  Speaker 1: coming back to Cleveland, one thing that's come up, I
• 39:25
  Speaker 1: think really since we got ready to record here that
• 39:28
  Speaker 1: we didn't talk about is, uh, Jalen Ramsey his status
• 39:31
  Speaker 1: is in the air um we know that he got
• 39:33
  Speaker 1: banged up on Sunday but it looks like he's he
• 39:36
  Speaker 1: is saying that he's got a broken wrist so his
• 39:38
  Speaker 1: status is kind of up in the air I guess
• 39:42
  Speaker 1: I'm not a doctor we should probably get we should
• 39:44
  Speaker 1: probably get a medical expert to join the show um.
• 39:48
  Speaker 2: Tell our unpaid student intern to get on that. Right.
• 39:53
  Speaker 1: We should replace the unpaid student intern with the chat GPT. Anyway,
• 39:59
  Speaker 1: bad jokes aside, I assume, based on the way that
• 40:02
  Speaker 1: that headline is worded, that it probably depends on the
• 40:06
  Speaker 1: severity of the break, but I assume that it's possible
• 40:10
  Speaker 1: that he could play with a rap or a cast
• 40:13
  Speaker 1: or something, but how.
• 40:17
  Speaker 1: Close to 100 is it going to be what's joey
• 40:19
  Speaker 1: porter status so that's just something to keep in mind
• 40:22
  Speaker 1: too um with all that being said i am uh
• 40:30
  Speaker 1: in the spirit of eating crow after what we said
• 40:33
  Speaker 1: last week i'm going to choose to believe that the
• 40:35
  Speaker 1: steelers have got things under control for the time being
• 40:40
  Speaker 1: i'm going to give them a win i don't think
• 40:42
  Speaker 1: it's going to be a clean win or a you know,
• 40:46
  Speaker 1: a perfect win or a pretty win, I'm going to.
• 40:49
  Speaker 3: Give the Steelers a.
• 40:53
  Speaker 1: Let's say 20-17 victory over the Browns.
• 40:57
  Speaker 2: Okay. Yeah, I.
• 41:04
  Speaker 4: Like, if we don't beat the Browns, I'm nervous about
• 41:09
  Speaker 4: our season.
• 41:10
  Speaker 2: Yeah. So, like, we just....
• 41:15
  Speaker 4: We just need to do it. I still think we
• 41:20
  Speaker 4: need to win. I'm just going to go with your score.
• 41:28
  Speaker 2: I'm going to go lazy. Just because I do think
• 41:30
  Speaker 2: it's going to be.
• 41:31
  Speaker 4: A lower scoring game. I do think it's going to
• 41:37
  Speaker 4: involve a lot of good defense. That's the crux of
• 41:41
  Speaker 4: both of our teams that we're We're playing through on Thursday,
• 41:45
  Speaker 4: so whoever comes out victorious with that, with a better defense,
• 41:51
  Speaker 4: will win on Thursday.
• 41:55
  Speaker 1: Do you remember a couple years ago where it might
• 41:58
  Speaker 1: have been the year that I think it was Kenny
• 42:02
  Speaker 1: Pickett's second year where we ended up having a winning
• 42:08
  Speaker 1: record and I can't remember if.
• 42:09
  Speaker 3: We won the division or not.
• 42:12
  Speaker 1: No, it was a wild card win, but We had
• 42:15
  Speaker 1: a winning record with a negative point differential, and it
• 42:21
  Speaker 1: was just some crazy stat that no team had ever
• 42:23
  Speaker 1: won that many games and had that record with that
• 42:26
  Speaker 1: poorly of a point differential. We're only three games into
• 42:30
  Speaker 1: this year, but I thought this was funny. I'm looking
• 42:32
  Speaker 1: at the standings. Again, all teams are 2-1 in the
• 42:36
  Speaker 1: AFC North. The Steelers and the Browns have negative point differentials.
• 42:42
  Speaker 2: Oh, yeah.
• 42:44
  Speaker 1: The Bengals and the Ravens are in the positive, but
• 42:47
  Speaker 1: the Steelers have scored 53 points and allowed 60. The
• 42:52
  Speaker 1: Browns have scored 54 and allowed 71. So not too
• 42:57
  Speaker 1: much of a difference between the two.
• 42:59
  Speaker 2: Yeah. Very much indicative of luck. Yes.
• 43:05
  Speaker 4: But someone said luck is when Something meets opportunity or
• 43:14
  Speaker 4: something like that. Like, preparation meets opportunity, so.
• 43:18
  Speaker 1: Good luck is when preparation meets opportunity.
• 43:22
  Speaker 4: There we go.
• 43:23
  Speaker 2: Nick with a quote.
• 43:25
  Speaker 3: There you go.
• 43:26
  Speaker 2: But, uh... Yeah, I... Well, that was always Tomlin's M.O. Like,
• 43:35
  Speaker 2: there were so many games where it was like, was
• 43:38
  Speaker 2: it luck? Or was it just... He just loved to, like,
• 43:43
  Speaker 2: play those... He just... Did he puppeteer those gritty games,
• 43:48
  Speaker 2: you know?
• 43:51
  Speaker 4: Part of me thinks, like, after watching the Steelers for, like,
• 43:55
  Speaker 4: my whole entire life, that's just how we do things.
• 43:59
  Speaker 4: Aside from the Killer Bees era, I feel like we've
• 44:03
  Speaker 4: never been a pretty team.
• 44:04
  Speaker 2: So....
• 44:08
  Speaker 1: I would say in Tomlin's era, that's probably correct. Even
• 44:12
  Speaker 1: at the end of Cowher's era, you had, it seemed
• 44:17
  Speaker 1: like from the untrained eye, a lot more strategy and nuance.
• 44:22
  Speaker 1: In particular, I'm thinking of the gadget plays from the
• 44:25
  Speaker 1: run to Super Bowl 40 that they really pulled out
• 44:27
  Speaker 1: all year.
• 44:27
  Speaker 3: Like the offense was creative. It was innovative, right?
• 44:31
  Speaker 1: And that's what got Ken Wisenhut two different NFL coaching jobs.
• 44:36
  Speaker 2: So. All right.
• 44:39
  Speaker 3: There you go.
• 44:40
  Speaker 1: We have the Steelers in the win column. I hope
• 44:44
  Speaker 1: we're right. But we will eat crow again next week, too,
• 44:47
  Speaker 1: if we have to. Although that time it'll be worse
• 44:49
  Speaker 1: because the Steelers will have let us down. Now that
• 44:52
  Speaker 1: we're three weeks in, we are almost to the quarter
• 44:57
  Speaker 1: point of the year, which is sad because it's moving quickly.
• 45:00
  Speaker 1: But we thought it might be fun to talk about
• 45:03
  Speaker 1: some of the biggest surprises so far. Doesn't have to
• 45:05
  Speaker 1: be any specific person or team or anything, really. Just
• 45:08
  Speaker 1: whatever comes to mind. And we'll kind of let the
• 45:11
  Speaker 1: conversation go from there. So, Eric, I'm going to just
• 45:16
  Speaker 1: take this first, and I'll let you give me your thoughts,
• 45:19
  Speaker 1: and then you can tell me what surprises you have, too.
• 45:22
  Speaker 1: I think the biggest surprise that I have is what's
• 45:26
  Speaker 1: going on with the Rams right now. Sitting at 1-2,
• 45:30
  Speaker 1: they got spanked in the first game against the 49ers
• 45:33
  Speaker 1: down under in Australia. Managed to get a win against
• 45:39
  Speaker 1: the Giants when Devontae Adams put up a monster performance.
• 45:44
  Speaker 1: And then they fell again to the Broncos. I believe
• 45:49
  Speaker 1: that was the Sunday night game. This is a team
• 45:53
  Speaker 1: that is, by all accounts, a very solid, good team.
• 45:57
  Speaker 1: They were very close to going to the Super Bowl
• 45:59
  Speaker 1: last year. If they had gone to the Super Bowl,
• 46:02
  Speaker 1: I think they would have won it. They did nothing
• 46:05
  Speaker 1: but on paper, get better this offseason. We already talked
• 46:08
  Speaker 1: about Miles Garrett. He was a non-factor in the first
• 46:12
  Speaker 1: game against the 49ers, and he's on the injured reserve,
• 46:15
  Speaker 1: so he's at least out for two more games, I think.
• 46:19
  Speaker 1: He has been a zero factor so far, but even
• 46:24
  Speaker 1: without him, you'd think that they would have had the
• 46:28
  Speaker 1: opportunity or been sitting a little bit better than they are.
• 46:33
  Speaker 1: I think they can still turn it around, but I
• 46:36
  Speaker 1: just frankly did not expect to see the Rams sitting
• 46:40
  Speaker 1: at 1-2 right there with Arizona.
• 46:44
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I think that is interesting. I think that they
• 46:49
  Speaker 2: got kind of a... Look, everyone's got.
• 46:53
  Speaker 4: To deal with the cards they're dealt, but they played
• 46:58
  Speaker 4: in Australia, and then I think, did they play at
• 47:02
  Speaker 4: Mile High for.
• 47:04
  Speaker 2: The Broncos game?
• 47:05
  Speaker 3: This last week they did, yes.
• 47:07
  Speaker 4: Yeah, so those are two losses. You know, the 49ers game,
• 47:12
  Speaker 4: not even close.
• 47:13
  Speaker 2: They got absolutely smoked. But, you know, I think it's
• 47:18
  Speaker 2: a little bit more forgiving for the Broncos.
• 47:21
  Speaker 4: The Broncos, if Knicks didn't get hurt in the AFC, no,
• 47:30
  Speaker 4: it was the game leading up to the AFC championship game. Yeah.
• 47:33
  Speaker 4: They probably would have represented in the Super Bowl, I think. So, look,
• 47:42
  Speaker 4: you know, you've still got to win those games, and
• 47:44
  Speaker 4: they were the clear favorite to win this year because
• 47:50
  Speaker 4: of all the moves that they made. So they definitely
• 47:54
  Speaker 4: don't deserve excuses, but I can kind of understand where
• 48:00
  Speaker 4: they're at, especially since– that their biggest acquisition is basically,
• 48:04
  Speaker 4: as you mentioned, a non-factor so far.
• 48:07
  Speaker 2: Yeah. To me, man, I'll stay on the West Coast, too. Man,
• 48:15
  Speaker 2: the Raiders, they might be fake, right?
• 48:19
  Speaker 4: Like, their wins against who they're against are not that impressive, right?
• 48:25
  Speaker 2: Dolphins, Chargers, Saints. If you look at the collective record
• 48:30
  Speaker 2: of those teams.
• 48:32
  Speaker 4: I think it's 1-8. Pretty horrendous, but they're still winning.
• 48:42
  Speaker 4: They're winning it. They won by two touchdowns in the
• 48:49
  Speaker 4: first two games. They beat the Saints on the road.
• 48:54
  Speaker 4: Kirk Cousins looks great. New head coach. I saw something
• 49:00
  Speaker 4: their fourth quarter. Defense is actually being compared to one
• 49:06
  Speaker 4: of the Steelers coward teams.
• 49:08
  Speaker 2: I think.
• 49:11
  Speaker 4: It might have been when it might have been 95
• 49:15
  Speaker 4: through first three games.
• 49:16
  Speaker 2: They allowed no points and.
• 49:20
  Speaker 4: Seven turnovers, where the Steelers provided no points and eight
• 49:25
  Speaker 4: turnovers for the first three games.
• 49:28
  Speaker 2: And we went 11-5 that year. So, all that to say....
• 49:36
  Speaker 4: Are the Raiders going to end up with 11 wins
• 49:39
  Speaker 4: on the season?
• 49:40
  Speaker 2: I don't know.
• 49:41
  Speaker 4: That's a tough division. They haven't played anyone in their
• 49:45
  Speaker 4: division yet. Well, they played the Chargers, sorry. But yeah,
• 49:52
  Speaker 4: I do think that's going to be a toughie to
• 49:54
  Speaker 4: get through. But I will say, if you're a Chargers
• 49:59
  Speaker 4: or a Raiders fan, you have to be You have
• 50:04
  Speaker 4: to be very optimistic about what's going on, especially the
• 50:07
  Speaker 4: fact that you have Tom Brady in the room.
• 50:12
  Speaker 2: You feel like maybe we have the coach. You have
• 50:17
  Speaker 2: an older quarterback.
• 50:19
  Speaker 4: That's probably going to mentor your chosen franchise quarterback. Now,
• 50:23
  Speaker 4: you don't have him out there yet, but I also
• 50:26
  Speaker 4: saw a stat that the number one overall picks... What
• 50:31
  Speaker 4: have they accomplished over the last decade? And it's basically
• 50:35
  Speaker 4: when it comes to winning Super Bowls and winning first-team All-Pros,
• 50:43
  Speaker 4: diddly squat. So I like the reversion back to what
• 50:49
  Speaker 4: it used to be, which is like, hey, we don't
• 50:52
  Speaker 4: need to rush this guy out.
• 50:54
  Speaker 2: We can try to find ways to.
• 50:58
  Speaker 4: win and build around him without throwing them into the fire.
• 51:02
  Speaker 4: So look, I'm not saying I'm buying the 26 Raiders
• 51:08
  Speaker 4: stock right now, but you know, I, I think things are,
• 51:12
  Speaker 4: are ticking up in their, in their favor.
• 51:15
  Speaker 3: Yeah.
• 51:15
  Speaker 1: And again, we know who they've played, uh, but they're
• 51:21
  Speaker 1: still averaging 30 points a game too, or right around
• 51:24
  Speaker 1: 30 points. Um, I agree with the, um, having Fernando
• 51:29
  Speaker 1: Mendoza there in the wings waiting. I do like that.
• 51:33
  Speaker 1: I think a lot of times we do. Well, when
• 51:37
  Speaker 1: I say we, I mean, I think teams do rush
• 51:40
  Speaker 1: out someone before they're ready, especially in the quarterback position. Um,
• 51:45
  Speaker 1: and a lot of times it's be of idiotic fans
• 51:48
  Speaker 1: in the stands chanting their names.
• 51:50
  Speaker 3: And I'm just like, it doesn't matter. Why, why would
• 51:53
  Speaker 3: you put that person in now?
• 51:55
  Speaker 1: Um, it, I go back to a, since we talked
• 52:01
  Speaker 1: about the Bengals, I look at Joe Burrow when he
• 52:03
  Speaker 1: got his knee dinged, and I say dinged, he was
• 52:06
  Speaker 1: out for the year in his rookie season, when they
• 52:09
  Speaker 1: put him out there behind an offensive line that they
• 52:11
  Speaker 1: knew was not ready and was not able to protect
• 52:14
  Speaker 1: a quarterback. I don't understand that logic. You know, Carson
• 52:20
  Speaker 1: Palmer was a guy who sat for a year and
• 52:22
  Speaker 1: that seemed to work. Big Ben was going to sit
• 52:25
  Speaker 1: for at least a long time. until injuries kind of
• 52:29
  Speaker 1: played a role in that.
• 52:32
  Speaker 3: So I'm with you.
• 52:32
  Speaker 1: I think we talk, it's been a topic of conversation
• 52:36
  Speaker 1: for the last couple of years that the NFL is
• 52:38
  Speaker 1: terrible at developing quarterbacks. Well, we're going to see if there's,
• 52:45
  Speaker 1: if developing a quarterback and taking your time is going
• 52:48
  Speaker 1: to work out in this situation. So I think it's good.
• 52:53
  Speaker 3: And I'm with you.
• 52:55
  Speaker 1: Maybe they're not going to win 11 games this year,
• 52:57
  Speaker 1: but I could definitely look at this glass half full
• 53:00
  Speaker 1: and like what I'm seeing so far, right?
• 53:03
  Speaker 2: Yeah.
• 53:04
  Speaker 1: I'm looking at their schedule right now. It's pretty tough,
• 53:08
  Speaker 1: I do have to say. Coming up, they've got the Chiefs, Patriots,
• 53:13
  Speaker 1: the Bills, and the Rams, who we talked about being disappointing,
• 53:17
  Speaker 1: but maybe they'll have their stuff together by then. Then
• 53:21
  Speaker 1: they play the Jets, but then they've got the 49ers, Seahawks,
• 53:26
  Speaker 1: and Broncos back to back to back. Um, and of
• 53:29
  Speaker 1: course they'll end up playing the, the chargers Broncos and
• 53:32
  Speaker 1: chiefs one more time as well because of their division opponents.
• 53:35
  Speaker 1: So there is a chance. So, um, but yeah, again,
• 53:42
  Speaker 1: I think they got a good coach too. That's, um,
• 53:46
  Speaker 1: I was kind of surprised and I can't remember the
• 53:49
  Speaker 1: timing of how it all played out, but I thought
• 53:52
  Speaker 1: that Kubiak was a guy that the Steelers would probably
• 53:55
  Speaker 1: maybe take a look at.
• 53:57
  Speaker 3: Um, Obviously, they didn't, and here we are.
• 54:00
  Speaker 1: But like you said, they've got Tom Brady in the building.
• 54:04
  Speaker 1: They've got Fernando Mendoza waiting there. They've got a new
• 54:07
  Speaker 1: coach who seems to know what's going on. And obviously,
• 54:11
  Speaker 1: he's very capable of running an offense because that team
• 54:14
  Speaker 1: that he came from, Seattle, just won the Super Bowl.
• 54:18
  Speaker 1: So yeah, I think if you look at the 49ers,
• 54:20
  Speaker 1: at the Raiders, there's no reason to not be happy
• 54:23
  Speaker 1: and optimistic.
• 54:25
  Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, exactly. Even if it doesn't all pan out this.
• 54:29
  Speaker 4: Season, what I have belabored over the past few years
• 54:36
  Speaker 4: is just where is the direction of this team going?
• 54:40
  Speaker 2: At least if you're the Raiders, you feel it, right?
• 54:45
  Speaker 4: They have a guy who is called a T.J.
• 54:49
  Speaker 2: Watt equivalent.
• 54:50
  Speaker 4: Age, pedigree, injury history, etc.
• 54:55
  Speaker 2: but.
• 54:56
  Speaker 4: he's a difference maker and you have them on that
• 54:58
  Speaker 4: side of the ball and you have Alshon Jeff, Jeffrey, um,
• 55:05
  Speaker 4: you have one of the best tight ends in the league. Uh,
• 55:11
  Speaker 4: you have done a lot of things, right. And if
• 55:15
  Speaker 4: you can kind of just get things around it out, um,
• 55:21
  Speaker 4: I will say the wide receiver room seems still pretty pathetic. But, like,
• 55:26
  Speaker 4: you know, all things considered, I'd buy the Raiders stock.
• 55:31
  Speaker 4: That's all I'm saying. Yeah.
• 55:33
  Speaker 3: Use your first pick on a wide receiver next year.
• 55:35
  Speaker 3: Problem solved.
• 55:35
  Speaker 2: There you go.
• 55:37
  Speaker 1: One other surprise that I'll mention, this will be the
• 55:39
  Speaker 1: last one I have, that you referenced as well when
• 55:42
  Speaker 1: we were, before we recorded, was the Chargers being a surprise.
• 55:46
  Speaker 1: They're sitting at 0-3. They've got, uh, Justin Herbert at quarterback.
• 55:51
  Speaker 1: They picked up Mike McDaniel as their offensive coordinator, uh,
• 55:54
  Speaker 1: who is considered to be a play calling genius, a whiz,
• 56:00
  Speaker 1: all kinds of stuff in their three games against the Cardinals,
• 56:05
  Speaker 1: the Raiders, and then the bills. They have put up 14,
• 56:08
  Speaker 1: 14 and 16 points. And actually, um, defensively, they've given
• 56:17
  Speaker 1: up 26, 26, and 24 points. So, three games, three
• 56:21
  Speaker 1: very similar outcomes, and they just look kind of dead.
• 56:26
  Speaker 1: Almost like they fell off a cliff, so to speak.
• 56:30
  Speaker 1: And once again, they're in the same division as the Raiders,
• 56:33
  Speaker 1: so their schedule is very tough. It looks like they're
• 56:37
  Speaker 1: paired with the NFC West this year, which is why
• 56:39
  Speaker 1: they have such a tough schedule. Their next four games
• 56:44
  Speaker 1: are the Seahawks, Broncos, Chiefs, and Rams. So you can't
• 56:49
  Speaker 1: go out... It's not going to get any easier for
• 56:52
  Speaker 1: them either. They could, with the way they are playing,
• 56:55
  Speaker 1: they could very easily lose those next four games.
• 57:00
  Speaker 2: Yeah, for sure. And probably will. I mean, I.
• 57:05
  Speaker 4: You know, I'm not a huge fan of the khaki man.
• 57:13
  Speaker 2: But, you know, I... I do think he's a good coach, but.
• 57:18
  Speaker 4: I think he's definitely going to get outkicked as coverage
• 57:20
  Speaker 4: on this one. We'll see what happens. I understand there's
• 57:32
  Speaker 4: all the tantalizing factors to like about Herbert, but he's
• 57:36
  Speaker 4: never shown to be a good processor.
• 57:38
  Speaker 2: I think it's showing. He's got....
• 57:43
  Speaker 4: The height, he's got the arm, but he's just not
• 57:49
  Speaker 4: been able to ever show that he's able to put
• 57:52
  Speaker 4: it all together. So that doesn't mean that, like, if
• 57:56
  Speaker 4: he had a chance to come to the Steelers, I
• 57:58
  Speaker 4: would say no.
• 57:58
  Speaker 2: I'm just saying that he seems grossly overrated, and.
• 58:05
  Speaker 5: Maybe we're kind of starting to see that, you know,
• 58:11
  Speaker 5: This could turn ugly pretty quickly between a coach that
• 58:15
  Speaker 5: I feel is a little overrated and a quarterback that
• 58:17
  Speaker 5: might be overrated.
• 58:20
  Speaker 3: Yeah, only time will tell. Were there any other surprises
• 58:23
  Speaker 3: you wanted to mention?
• 58:28
  Speaker 2: No, I think that that's good.
• 58:30
  Speaker 4: I mean, we can call them out later in the season,
• 58:32
  Speaker 4: but I think those were probably the most telling ones
• 58:35
  Speaker 4: so far.
• 58:37
  Speaker 3: I would agree with you. Just.
• 58:41
  Speaker 1: The way that those things have shaken out, it's been
• 58:44
  Speaker 1: interesting so far. But it's a reminder that anything can happen.
• 58:48
  Speaker 3: So, who are we?
• 58:50
  Speaker 2: All right.
• 58:51
  Speaker 1: Well, I think that's going to do it for us.
• 58:53
  Speaker 1: We've been going for about an hour now. We talked
• 58:55
  Speaker 1: about the Bengals game. We previewed the Browns game. Talked
• 58:58
  Speaker 1: about our surprises. And a lot of other things crammed
• 59:01
  Speaker 1: in between. So, for the world-famous accountant Eric Vamenschoten, I
• 59:06
  Speaker 1: am Nick DiTullio. And this has been another episode of
• 59:09
  Speaker 1: The Game Out. Steelers Country Weekly.