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HR 2: Steelers 10 Terrible Takes or Not: Week 8 · The Steelers Report

• 0:09
  Speaker 1: This is the Steelers Report with Brian Batko and Ed
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: Troup on Steelers Nation Radio, a part of the Steelers
• 0:17
  Speaker 1: Audio Network.
• 0:18
  Speaker 2: Hour number two here on the Steelers Report.
• 0:21
  Speaker 3: I am Ed Troop alongside Brian Bacco here on Steelers
• 0:24
  Speaker 3: Nation Radio, part of the Steelers Audio Network. We spent
• 0:27
  Speaker 3: a lot of time in the first hour scouting the
• 0:30
  Speaker 3: Cleveland Browns and the Pittsburgh Steelers. Our loyal fans here
• 0:34
  Speaker 3: on SNR that listen to the Steelers Report each and
• 0:37
  Speaker 3: every day will... Know that yesterday, Brian and I had
• 0:40
  Speaker 3: a bit of a discussion on Major League Baseball in
• 0:42
  Speaker 3: the World Series. Well, last night, the Milwaukee Brewers win
• 0:45
  Speaker 3: their first ever World Series title. Brewers are the kings
• 0:49
  Speaker 3: of Major League Baseball, and they might be for a while.
• 0:52
  Speaker 4: Who knows?
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  Speaker 3: There might be a lockout next year, so they might
• 0:54
  Speaker 3: hold that title longer than just one year.
• 0:57
  Speaker 2: We'll see how that all plays out.
• 0:58
  Speaker 3: But, Brian, the stat that we talked about across the
• 1:01
  Speaker 3: major sports, and football isn't one of them that plays
• 1:04
  Speaker 3: a best-of series title, Only one time in hockey, the
• 1:07
  Speaker 3: Toronto Maple Leafs, way, way, way, way back, came back
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  Speaker 3: in a championship series down 3-0.
• 1:13
  Speaker 2: Well, Tampa Bay, they got one.
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  Speaker 3: They pulled the 3-1, but they couldn't get that other
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  Speaker 3: one last night as the Brewers are the Major League
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  Speaker 3: Baseball champs.
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  Speaker 5: Yeah, congratulations to the Milwaukee Brewers, the Brew crew. I've
• 1:27
  Speaker 5: made the point on the show before. I'm sure the
• 1:30
  Speaker 5: Watt brothers, Riley Nowakowski, all probably very pleased. to see
• 1:36
  Speaker 5: that from their hometown or at least home state baseball team.
• 1:40
  Speaker 5: You know, another MLB season in the books. And, you know,
• 1:46
  Speaker 5: I guess it's kind of distressing to see a team
• 1:48
  Speaker 5: in the Pirates' own division hoist the crown. Kind of
• 1:52
  Speaker 5: be like watching the Browns or the Ravens or the
• 1:55
  Speaker 5: Bengals win it all this year. But I personally, just
• 1:59
  Speaker 5: the way I'm wired at, I like to see a
• 2:01
  Speaker 5: smaller market team get it done.
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  Speaker 6: I love that it wasn't the Dodgers or.
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  Speaker 5: The Yankees or the Red Sox or one of those
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  Speaker 5: teams winning it all.
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  Speaker 7: I agree.
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  Speaker 2: I'm with you as well, my friend.
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  Speaker 3: And I just thought it was an interesting stat that
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  Speaker 3: we mentioned yesterday between the NBA, which is never in
• 2:20
  Speaker 3: any of their playoff series have had a team come
• 2:23
  Speaker 3: back from 3-0.
• 2:24
  Speaker 2: Baseball's had a handful.
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  Speaker 3: Most recently, the Boston Red Sox back in the early
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  Speaker 3: 2000s during the American League Championship Series against the Yankees
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  Speaker 3: coming back. But in the World Series, did not take place.
• 2:35
  Speaker 3: Baseball now done, so football has our full attention. Let's
• 2:38
  Speaker 3: face it, football's had our full attention for a while now.
• 2:41
  Speaker 3: College football continues to sift through their season. They're in
• 2:44
  Speaker 3: and around the midway point as well. And basketball season
• 2:47
  Speaker 3: will be starting up here soon. NBA already underway in
• 2:50
  Speaker 3: college basketball, I should say, right around the corner.
• 2:53
  Speaker 2: Well, let's get back to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
• 2:55
  Speaker 3: We've been talking all week long about this upcoming much-anticipated
• 2:59
  Speaker 3: matchup between the Browns and Steelers. But before we jump
• 3:02
  Speaker 3: back into that, let's get to our terrible takes for
• 3:04
  Speaker 3: this week where I test Brian Bacco to see if
• 3:07
  Speaker 3: this is a Steeler hot take or not.
• 3:10
  Speaker 2: Is it terrible or not? And we'll start with the
• 3:12
  Speaker 2: offense this week.
• 3:13
  Speaker 3: And you know, Brian, I'm a former offensive lineman.
• 3:16
  Speaker 2: I'm a former big boy that played up front.
• 3:18
  Speaker 3: So listen, I like my linemen, so I'm going to
• 3:20
  Speaker 3: start this week with the offensive linemen for our first take.
• 3:23
  Speaker 3: Normally it's a quarterback or TJ Watt or a big
• 3:25
  Speaker 3: player on this team, but I'm going to start with
• 3:27
  Speaker 3: Zach Frazier.
• 3:28
  Speaker 2: And here's my terrible take or not for you.
• 3:30
  Speaker 3: Zach Frazier is the best center and interior lineman in
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  Speaker 3: the NFL currently.
• 3:38
  Speaker 5: Ooh, not a terrible take. I don't think so. I
• 3:42
  Speaker 5: don't think that's a terrible take, the way he's playing.
• 3:45
  Speaker 5: I think we all anticipated that this could be you
• 3:49
  Speaker 5: know the best season yet for Frazier and you know
• 3:53
  Speaker 5: next year will be the final year of his rookie
• 3:54
  Speaker 5: deal I'd be pretty surprised if they don't lock him
• 3:58
  Speaker 5: up long term given everything centers mean to the history
• 4:01
  Speaker 5: of this franchise and just the way that Frazier has
• 4:04
  Speaker 5: hit the ground running since the moment the Steelers drafted
• 4:07
  Speaker 5: him and continues to find other levels of play get
• 4:09
  Speaker 5: better and better maybe the latest for him is the
• 4:12
  Speaker 5: leadership aspect Mike McCarthy talked about that I think Mostly yesterday,
• 4:19
  Speaker 5: but earlier on this season, too. Aaron Rodgers, always very
• 4:22
  Speaker 5: complimentary of Frazier and his cerebral.
• 4:25
  Speaker 6: Nature, his football IQ. So you love to see that.
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  Speaker 5: And I think going back to week two against the Patriots,
• 4:31
  Speaker 5: that was a pretty rough outing for him against New England.
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  Speaker 5: I don't think he's the type to need extra motivation
• 4:37
  Speaker 5: or have a fire lit under him, but he's been
• 4:40
  Speaker 5: really good since then. And I'm with you. And I
• 4:41
  Speaker 5: think you can make a case that he's been the
• 4:43
  Speaker 5: best center in the NFL.
• 4:45
  Speaker 2: I'm with you.
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  Speaker 3: He was one of our hot takes before the season
• 4:48
  Speaker 3: started that this season Zach Frazier would take that next
• 4:51
  Speaker 3: step forward and become one of the best centers in
• 4:54
  Speaker 3: the NFL.
• 4:55
  Speaker 2: Next up, we'll stick with the offense.
• 4:57
  Speaker 3: Brian, we've talked a lot about Jalen Warren the last
• 4:59
  Speaker 3: few weeks and deservingly so with the numbers he's put up,
• 5:02
  Speaker 3: but here's my terrible take or not for you. If
• 5:04
  Speaker 3: running back Jalen Warren would get hurt, the Steelers would
• 5:08
  Speaker 3: miss the playoffs this season.
• 5:12
  Speaker 5: I think that's a Terrible take. I think they could
• 5:14
  Speaker 5: find a way, but I don't even want to think
• 5:17
  Speaker 5: along those lines. You know, I think that Rico Dowdle
• 5:21
  Speaker 5: could be the featured back, but you just don't need
• 5:23
  Speaker 5: him or really want him to be the featured back
• 5:25
  Speaker 5: right now because of the way Jalen Warren's been playing.
• 5:28
  Speaker 3: Well, let's do this. Let's all knock on wood together here.
• 5:31
  Speaker 3: When I said that about Jalen Warren, there you go.
• 5:34
  Speaker 3: That he does not get hurt this season.
• 5:37
  Speaker 2: He runs so hard, but I'm with you.
• 5:38
  Speaker 3: I think the Steelers have enough playmakers to ride that storm.
• 5:42
  Speaker 2: Hopefully that doesn't happen.
• 5:43
  Speaker 3: Rico Dattles come on lately too, but man, Warren has
• 5:46
  Speaker 3: been such a huge part of this offense during this
• 5:49
  Speaker 3: three game winning streak. So you definitely don't want to
• 5:51
  Speaker 3: lose him. Hopefully they'd be able to ride the ship
• 5:54
  Speaker 3: if something would happen. with Jalen Warren this season. Next up,
• 5:57
  Speaker 3: let's talk Steelers defense a bit, Brian. The Steelers will
• 6:01
  Speaker 3: be a top three NFL defense by the end of
• 6:04
  Speaker 3: the season. They are currently ranked number six. Terrible take
• 6:07
  Speaker 3: or not?
• 6:10
  Speaker 5: Terrible take in the good way, you know, because the
• 6:13
  Speaker 5: terrible towel around here, terrible is kind of a positive
• 6:16
  Speaker 5: connotation in Steelers land.
• 6:19
  Speaker 6: And if the terrible towels.
• 6:20
  Speaker 5: Get the waving for this defense season, That'll mean they're
• 6:23
  Speaker 5: making a lot of plays. I think they could get
• 6:26
  Speaker 5: there to the top three the way that this is
• 6:28
  Speaker 5: all coming together. So by the standards of this game
• 6:33
  Speaker 5: and this exercise, that means not terrible take for the
• 6:36
  Speaker 5: Steelers defense to cement itself as an upper echelon unit.
• 6:40
  Speaker 5: Because like we said yesterday when we did our power rankings,
• 6:43
  Speaker 5: I mean, I think the Vikings are so clear out
• 6:45
  Speaker 5: ahead of the pack right now defensively. But a lot
• 6:48
  Speaker 5: of others have been up and down, you know, somewhat inconsistent.
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  Speaker 5: No one's been week in, week out dominant the way
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  Speaker 5: Minnesota has.
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  Speaker 6: So I think if things break their way, then yes,
• 6:59
  Speaker 6: the Steelers could be part of that discussion.
• 7:01
  Speaker 3: Yeah, we did our power rankings yesterday. I had the
• 7:04
  Speaker 3: Steelers at number five. You had them just on the
• 7:06
  Speaker 3: outside looking in, I believe. Not quite ready to put
• 7:09
  Speaker 3: them in the top five yet, but they have the
• 7:10
  Speaker 3: number six defense overall. And we broke down those categories yesterday.
• 7:15
  Speaker 3: The Steelers so far this season, Patrick Graham and company,
• 7:19
  Speaker 3: The defensive coordinator has them at least in the top
• 7:21
  Speaker 3: 10 in every category across the board.
• 7:23
  Speaker 2: And that was the standard.
• 7:24
  Speaker 3: Speaking of standard, that was the standard for a long
• 7:27
  Speaker 3: time in and around the Steelers, Brian, that they got
• 7:29
  Speaker 3: away from the last few years struggling defensively where they
• 7:32
  Speaker 3: These rankings defensively were not what we were.
• 7:35
  Speaker 2: Used to seeing. This, so far this season, is what
• 7:38
  Speaker 2: we're used to seeing.
• 7:39
  Speaker 3: And then, on one hand, some folks might say, well, look,
• 7:41
  Speaker 3: they've given up a lot of yardage down the middle
• 7:43
  Speaker 3: of the football field. But that's the design of this
• 7:46
  Speaker 3: defense right now. It's that bend-but-don't-break mentality. And, nope, it
• 7:51
  Speaker 3: has them at 5-2.
• 7:54
  Speaker 5: Yeah, and I think it's all about being opportunistic, right?
• 7:57
  Speaker 5: They come up with timely takeaways, timely sacks. Now, I've
• 8:01
  Speaker 5: said before, I think that there's a fine line between
• 8:05
  Speaker 5: relying on that too much because sometimes if the ball
• 8:10
  Speaker 5: doesn't bounce your way, then.
• 8:12
  Speaker 6: You need to just get a stop.
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  Speaker 5: But I go back to that Colts game, zero takeaways
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  Speaker 5: in that one, and they didn't really get a ton
• 8:19
  Speaker 5: of pressure on Daniel Jones, but they made the Colts one-dimensional.
• 8:23
  Speaker 5: I feel like that game played out similarly to the
• 8:25
  Speaker 5: Saints game, but they were even better at that style
• 8:28
  Speaker 5: of ball against New Orleans because they did come up
• 8:31
  Speaker 5: with the big sack and the big turnovers when needed.
• 8:35
  Speaker 5: I'm still counting the TJ Watt strip sack on Tyler
• 8:38
  Speaker 5: Shuck as a turnover. I don't care what they wrote
• 8:40
  Speaker 5: it in the box score. But yeah, I mean, that
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  Speaker 5: was vintage Steelers. I think Patrick Graham and this personnel
• 8:48
  Speaker 5: is a continuously evolving tandem here.
• 8:53
  Speaker 6: And I think they do have a high ceiling for 2026.
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  Speaker 6: I believe that.
• 8:57
  Speaker 3: I thought you were going to say there's a fine
• 9:00
  Speaker 3: line between squashing grapes or making wine, right?
• 9:03
  Speaker 2: Wasn't that the old saying by Coach T?
• 9:06
  Speaker 6: Yeah, I mean, that applies to defense, I would say.
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  Speaker 6: I mean, if you blitz and you get to the QB.
• 9:12
  Speaker 5: And you sack them, great. If not, someone's probably open
• 9:16
  Speaker 5: or at least in one-on-one coverage on the back end,
• 9:18
  Speaker 5: and you're leaving yourself exposed, but that's when you trust
• 9:21
  Speaker 5: your corners to go make a play.
• 9:23
  Speaker 6: And guess what?
• 9:24
  Speaker 5: Steelers lead the NFL in past breakups to this point
• 9:28
  Speaker 5: in the season. Now, a lot of that's been from
• 9:30
  Speaker 5: the corners. Jamel Dean and Asante Samuel Jr. have had
• 9:33
  Speaker 5: some games respectively, Dean against Tampa, Samuel against Indy, where
• 9:37
  Speaker 5: they've gotten tested a lot and they've dislodged a lot
• 9:40
  Speaker 5: of footballs. But some of that is also attributed to
• 9:43
  Speaker 5: the defensive line. Cam Hayward with five swats, Keanu Benton
• 9:46
  Speaker 5: with three I think Derek Harmon and Y.A.
• 9:49
  Speaker 6: Black each have one. So they're getting their hands up
• 9:52
  Speaker 6: in the.
• 9:52
  Speaker 5: Passing lanes, too, and not even letting those balls get
• 9:54
  Speaker 5: over the heads of the linebackers or the dvs yeah.
• 9:57
  Speaker 3: They've made some good plays up front this year knocking
• 10:00
  Speaker 3: down passes but you're right that's secondary also coming up
• 10:03
  Speaker 3: large at times okay a couple more here before we
• 10:05
  Speaker 3: get the break uh in just two seasons brian bacco
• 10:08
  Speaker 3: aaron rogers is now the third best quarterback in steelers
• 10:12
  Speaker 3: history so think about that for a second of course
• 10:15
  Speaker 3: we're not going to put him above bradshaw or ben
• 10:17
  Speaker 3: they played their whole careers here But Aaron Rodgers, just
• 10:20
  Speaker 3: in two seasons, would be number three on that list
• 10:23
  Speaker 3: if you were to rank all-time great Pittsburgh Steelers quarterbacks.
• 10:29
  Speaker 5: I think if you're just judging by what they accomplished
• 10:31
  Speaker 5: in the black and gold, I don't think I can
• 10:34
  Speaker 5: go that far just yet. I mean, if they win
• 10:36
  Speaker 5: the AFC North again this season and make some hay
• 10:40
  Speaker 5: in the postseason, then I'd absolutely consider it. But they
• 10:44
  Speaker 5: went to the Super Bowl with Neil O'Donnell. They got
• 10:47
  Speaker 5: really close. They got to the doorstep multiple times, right.
• 10:50
  Speaker 5: With Cordell Stewart.
• 10:51
  Speaker 6: So no, I don't think I can go that far
• 10:54
  Speaker 6: just yet with Rogers. It's still a relatively short term relationship,
• 10:58
  Speaker 6: but it has been a fun one.
• 11:00
  Speaker 5: And I don't know if you saw my story yesterday
• 11:02
  Speaker 5: on Steelers.com, but fun ride home on the flight back
• 11:06
  Speaker 5: from Paris. I think we all saw that photo of
• 11:09
  Speaker 5: Cam Hayward and then Rogers with the sunglasses on and,
• 11:12
  Speaker 5: you know, seemed like 80 pounds of ice around his neck.
• 11:15
  Speaker 7: Yes.
• 11:16
  Speaker 5: He talked about how it was just the, maybe the
• 11:17
  Speaker 5: most fun flight he's had in his 22 years in
• 11:21
  Speaker 5: the NFL. Now you probably have to dice that up
• 11:24
  Speaker 5: because naturally any international trip, it's going to be a
• 11:28
  Speaker 5: longer flight back. So there's more time for celebration. You probably,
• 11:31
  Speaker 5: you know, want to yuck it up and have a
• 11:34
  Speaker 5: good time just to make the trip go a little
• 11:36
  Speaker 5: bit faster. but he's been through, I think that was
• 11:40
  Speaker 5: his fourth international game in three different countries, obviously Dublin
• 11:44
  Speaker 5: last year. Everybody talked about how amazing that Dublin and
• 11:47
  Speaker 5: Ireland experience and game and overall voyage was, but it
• 11:51
  Speaker 5: seems like at least when you compare the flights home,
• 11:53
  Speaker 5: Rogers on what will be his final one across the pond,
• 11:58
  Speaker 5: he said that that one pretty much tops everything, and
• 12:00
  Speaker 5: Mason Rudolph said that A few players contributed their expensive
• 12:05
  Speaker 5: jewelry for that Rodgers photo, Keanu Benton, Daylon Everett, Darnell Washington,
• 12:09
  Speaker 5: and it looked like some others because it looked like
• 12:11
  Speaker 5: there were more than just three chains around his neck,
• 12:14
  Speaker 5: but that must have been a really fun time for
• 12:17
  Speaker 5: all the guys involved coming off of what was a
• 12:19
  Speaker 5: pretty long and strenuous journey all around.
• 12:23
  Speaker 2: He looked like Mr.
• 12:23
  Speaker 3: T with all that gold wrapped around his neck.
• 12:27
  Speaker 5: I think Kirk Cousins was sort of parodying The Kirko
• 12:32
  Speaker 5: Chains from the Vikings, I think maybe that's kind of
• 12:37
  Speaker 5: the most the most famous of the genre. But it was,
• 12:41
  Speaker 5: I guess, Rudolph's idea to put some jewelry around Roger's neck.
• 12:45
  Speaker 5: Kirko Chains, Kirk Cousins, I think he took his shirt
• 12:48
  Speaker 5: off for that flight with the Vikings. Rogers, he kept
• 12:52
  Speaker 5: the shirt on, but I think they all had a
• 12:54
  Speaker 5: blast flying home from Perigee.
• 12:58
  Speaker 7: He did.
• 12:58
  Speaker 3: He certainly seemed like he did in that photo. That
• 13:01
  Speaker 3: was a great photo op and a good story by you,
• 13:03
  Speaker 3: my friend, on Steelers.com. Make sure you check it out
• 13:06
  Speaker 3: each and every day with Brian Bacco on Steelers.com, including
• 13:09
  Speaker 3: that article on the return trip home from Paris. With
• 13:12
  Speaker 3: Aaron Rodgers and Cam Hayward in that photo, that definitely
• 13:15
  Speaker 3: went viral after that big win in Paris. Okay, one
• 13:18
  Speaker 3: more before break, Brian. And we're two for two, by
• 13:20
  Speaker 3: the way. Two terrible takes, two non-terrible takes. So, so far,
• 13:23
  Speaker 3: so good. Let's see who has the advantage going into
• 13:26
  Speaker 3: the second half. The Steelers' use of edge rushers so
• 13:29
  Speaker 3: far this season hasn't produced a bunch of sacks, but
• 13:33
  Speaker 3: is being better used in coverages and schemes. that is
• 13:36
  Speaker 3: not showing up on the stat sheet. So again, past seasons,
• 13:40
  Speaker 3: Steelers have lived and died by the sack. This year,
• 13:43
  Speaker 3: through seven games, not so much. They're doing better in
• 13:45
  Speaker 3: their coverage. It's more of a scheme, and it's not
• 13:47
  Speaker 3: showing up on the stat sheet. Terrible take or not?
• 13:53
  Speaker 6: I like sacks.
• 13:54
  Speaker 5: I'm going to go terrible take. I like to see
• 13:56
  Speaker 5: the sacks pile up in the sack column. I think
• 14:00
  Speaker 5: that even those guys, they hold themselves to such a
• 14:02
  Speaker 5: high standard, so I would venture to guess that TJ Watt,
• 14:05
  Speaker 5: Alex Highsmith, Nick Herbig, Jack Sawyer. They're happy they're winning.
• 14:09
  Speaker 5: They're happy that the defense is clamping down when they
• 14:12
  Speaker 5: need to. They're happy that Jalen Ramsey and Patrick Queen
• 14:16
  Speaker 5: are getting game-clinching sacks. But they'd love to be the
• 14:19
  Speaker 5: ones doing it because that is the pressure that they
• 14:22
  Speaker 5: put on themselves every game for the Steelers. I mean,
• 14:25
  Speaker 5: so many Steelers defenses over the years. Pretty much the
• 14:28
  Speaker 5: whole ethos of the franchise is built on outside linebackers
• 14:32
  Speaker 5: who get to the quarterback.
• 14:33
  Speaker 4: And lay him down.
• 14:34
  Speaker 5: So I'm not going to go that far just yet, Ed,
• 14:38
  Speaker 5: with this being better overall. I think there's more meat
• 14:40
  Speaker 5: on the bones.
• 14:41
  Speaker 2: I'm with you.
• 14:42
  Speaker 3: Steelers sack total so far in seven games, just 18.
• 14:46
  Speaker 3: Last year, they had 48 total in 2025. So, you know,
• 14:50
  Speaker 3: we talked about this being a top five defense, number six.
• 14:53
  Speaker 3: But on the sack category, not so much, at least yet.
• 14:56
  Speaker 2: Maybe that's still coming.
• 14:57
  Speaker 7: Who knows?
• 14:58
  Speaker 2: Well, we shall see.
• 14:59
  Speaker 3: But so far, this scheme that Patrick Graham has put
• 15:02
  Speaker 3: into place is not so much bringing home the edge rushers,
• 15:05
  Speaker 3: They're dropping back in coverage more, but the Steelers are
• 15:08
  Speaker 3: at 5-2, and they are a top, well, they're No. 6,
• 15:10
  Speaker 3: just closing in on potentially being a top-five defense in
• 15:14
  Speaker 3: the NFL. Whenever we come back, we will get into
• 15:16
  Speaker 3: more terrible takes. We'll also check in on some NFL
• 15:19
  Speaker 3: terrible takes. And Cam Hayward spoke to the media yesterday.
• 15:22
  Speaker 3: We'll have to hear what Captain Cam had to say
• 15:25
  Speaker 3: after the post-Parish trip and the upcoming matchup against the
• 15:28
  Speaker 3: Cleveland Browns. But first, this is the Steelers report on SNR,
• 15:32
  Speaker 3: part of the Steelers Audio Network.
• 15:44
  Speaker 7: This is the.
• 15:45
  Speaker 1: Steelers Report with Brian Bacco and Ed Troop on Steelers
• 15:49
  Speaker 1: Nation Radio, a part of the Steelers Audio Network.
• 15:52
  Speaker 3: Welcome back to the Steelers Report here on Steelers Nation.
• 15:56
  Speaker 2: Radio, a part of the Steelers Audio Network.
• 15:59
  Speaker 3: I am Ed Troop alongside Brian Bacco, double B in
• 16:02
  Speaker 3: route on the south side as he gets set for
• 16:06
  Speaker 3: day number two of Pittsburgh Steelers prep for the Cleveland
• 16:10
  Speaker 3: Browns and coming up on tomorrow's show here on Friday,
• 16:14
  Speaker 3: Big show planned.
• 16:14
  Speaker 2: Every show is a big show. We talked about that yesterday.
• 16:17
  Speaker 3: But on tomorrow's show on Friday, we will have Ashley
• 16:21
  Speaker 3: Bastok of Cleveland.com on with us to help preview Browns-Steelers
• 16:25
  Speaker 3: for this Sunday. We talked to Ashley before the Thursday
• 16:28
  Speaker 3: night matchup.
• 16:29
  Speaker 2: At the beginning of the month.
• 16:30
  Speaker 3: And here at the end of the month, we'll get
• 16:32
  Speaker 3: her take on where the Browns currently are at 5-2
• 16:34
  Speaker 3: on the season. Also, we'll have our five keys on offense,
• 16:37
  Speaker 3: five keys on defense, and we'll take a look in
• 16:39
  Speaker 3: and around week eight in the NFL, which kicks off
• 16:42
  Speaker 3: tonight on Thursday Night Football.
• 16:44
  Speaker 2: Brian, a pretty good matchup.
• 16:46
  Speaker 8: Yeah.
• 16:46
  Speaker 5: Yeah, I'm kind of excited for that one. I feel
• 16:48
  Speaker 5: like the Packers have been on primetime a ton lately.
• 16:51
  Speaker 5: I mean, there was the Cowboys game. Well, I guess
• 16:54
  Speaker 5: it was primetime for me in Paris when they were
• 16:57
  Speaker 5: playing the Lions, and we actually went. Right across the street,
• 17:01
  Speaker 5: like I'm talking I could have like rolled there probably
• 17:04
  Speaker 5: as long as I didn't get run over from the
• 17:07
  Speaker 5: hotel that we were at in Paris was.
• 17:09
  Speaker 4: A Canadian pub.
• 17:12
  Speaker 5: So it was it was a French Canadian bar, but
• 17:16
  Speaker 5: really it was the most like North Americanized place. And
• 17:19
  Speaker 5: it just happened to be right smack next to the
• 17:22
  Speaker 5: hotel where like Wes and Rob and Max and I
• 17:26
  Speaker 5: were staying. And that kind of became like home base
• 17:29
  Speaker 5: for a lot of us and a lot of Steelers
• 17:31
  Speaker 5: fans who were there in town. Ran into some friends, actually,
• 17:34
  Speaker 5: from some family friends from Shaler on the last night.
• 17:38
  Speaker 5: I knew that they were over there and hadn't connected
• 17:41
  Speaker 5: with them. And then I'm walking out and they're like, hey, Brian.
• 17:43
  Speaker 5: And I'm like, hey, what's up, guys? So we hung
• 17:45
  Speaker 5: out and chatted for a little bit. But over there,
• 17:47
  Speaker 5: when we were watching the tail end of the Sunday
• 17:50
  Speaker 5: afternoon slate, It was pretty late in Paris. So in
• 17:54
  Speaker 5: my mind, the Packers have played in prime time a lot.
• 17:57
  Speaker 5: But yeah, another one for them Thursday night against Carolina.
• 18:00
  Speaker 5: I think Green Bay is going to win that one.
• 18:01
  Speaker 5: I mentioned, pointed out yesterday on the show that sneakily
• 18:05
  Speaker 5: the Packers and specifically their defense have really been hot
• 18:08
  Speaker 5: of late. I know people think they got railroaded with
• 18:10
  Speaker 5: some bad officiating in that loss to Detroit. And Matt
• 18:14
  Speaker 5: LaFleur is always kind of under the microscope in the
• 18:16
  Speaker 5: hot seats. at this stage of his career, but I
• 18:19
  Speaker 5: think they'll find a way to get it done against
• 18:21
  Speaker 5: Bryce Young and the Panthers.
• 18:23
  Speaker 3: Yeah, you mentioned them having some momentum going into the
• 18:26
  Speaker 3: season now, does Green Bay, and I agree with you.
• 18:29
  Speaker 2: Should be a good one on Thursday night football.
• 18:31
  Speaker 3: We will recap that one tomorrow here on the show
• 18:33
  Speaker 3: as well as get you set for key games around
• 18:35
  Speaker 3: the AFC, AFC North.
• 18:37
  Speaker 2: And the NFL.
• 18:39
  Speaker 5: And before we do that tomorrow, I just wanted to
• 18:42
  Speaker 5: make another note of something that happened around the league today.
• 18:45
  Speaker 5: Jeffrey Simmons traded from the Tennessee Titans to the Chicago
• 18:49
  Speaker 5: Bears late this morning.
• 18:52
  Speaker 4: I mean, that is a blockbuster.
• 18:55
  Speaker 5: That is a humongous trade. He is one of the
• 18:58
  Speaker 5: very best interior defensive linemen, but he was on a
• 19:03
  Speaker 5: Tennessee team that was kind of stuck in neutral, stuck
• 19:07
  Speaker 5: in the mud right now in the phase of a
• 19:09
  Speaker 5: rebuilding process, and it didn't get off to the kind
• 19:14
  Speaker 5: of start they hoped.
• 19:15
  Speaker 4: This year down there in Nashville.
• 19:17
  Speaker 5: So they're going to, you know, a little bit ahead
• 19:19
  Speaker 5: of the trade deadline, what 10 days, two weeks away
• 19:21
  Speaker 5: now or something like that.
• 19:23
  Speaker 4: They're going to get ahead of it.
• 19:24
  Speaker 5: And they send Jeffrey Simmons, probably the best player in
• 19:27
  Speaker 5: that entire organization off to the Chicago bears.
• 19:30
  Speaker 4: Reportedly.
• 19:31
  Speaker 5: I haven't seen a compensation or anything yet confirmed as
• 19:34
  Speaker 5: of me saying this, but wow. You know, the pair,
• 19:39
  Speaker 5: the bears are adding pieces to compete.
• 19:41
  Speaker 4: With the Packers and lions and Vikings in that division.
• 19:44
  Speaker 5: And, the Bengals have an even easier time moving the ball,
• 19:48
  Speaker 5: particularly on the ground this week when the Titans come
• 19:51
  Speaker 5: to Cincinnati.
• 19:53
  Speaker 3: Seems like the NFL trade season is underway this week, Brian.
• 19:57
  Speaker 3: Lots of moves now starting to take place. This all
• 19:59
  Speaker 3: leads up to the November 10th. trade deadline next month.
• 20:03
  Speaker 3: And well, if you do your math quickly, that's about
• 20:05
  Speaker 3: 12 days from now. It seems like the last few years, Brian,
• 20:09
  Speaker 3: and I would think it's going to continue here in 2026.
• 20:10
  Speaker 3: The NFL trade period has really heated up. I mean,
• 20:15
  Speaker 3: we saw some trades back in the day, but not
• 20:18
  Speaker 3: as many as we're seeing each and every season. Teams
• 20:21
  Speaker 3: certainly using a lot of draft picks, a lot of
• 20:23
  Speaker 3: draft capital that they have. Steelers being one of them,
• 20:26
  Speaker 3: they have a lot of draft capital always, it seems like.
• 20:29
  Speaker 3: But these moves seem to be more regular than not.
• 20:33
  Speaker 4: I agree with you, Ed.
• 20:34
  Speaker 5: It seems to increase every single season. The Steelers have
• 20:37
  Speaker 5: been part of that for the longest time. They were
• 20:39
  Speaker 5: one of the more conservative organizations as far as that goes. Now,
• 20:44
  Speaker 5: people sometimes attribute that to Omar Khan, I think, and
• 20:47
  Speaker 5: I usually like to point out Kevin Colbert dealt a
• 20:51
  Speaker 5: first-round pick for Minka Fitzpatrick a couple weeks into that
• 20:54
  Speaker 5: 2019 season, and that was.
• 20:57
  Speaker 4: Damn near unprecedented at the time for the Steelers.
• 20:59
  Speaker 5: I think when I was writing about that trade, that
• 21:02
  Speaker 5: was my first season covering the Steelers for the Post-Gazette
• 21:06
  Speaker 5: eight years ago now. So it certainly caught me off
• 21:10
  Speaker 5: guard and by surprise. But I remember researching, I think
• 21:12
  Speaker 5: you'd have to go back to the 60s, the last
• 21:15
  Speaker 5: time that the Steelers had traded a first round pick.
• 21:17
  Speaker 4: And obviously they haven't done so since.
• 21:19
  Speaker 5: That's still not really in the DNA of of this
• 21:22
  Speaker 5: franchise you draft and develop you build through the draft
• 21:25
  Speaker 5: kind of tough to do that if you don't have
• 21:27
  Speaker 5: a first rounder but yeah I mean you're you're staying
• 21:29
  Speaker 5: around the league some teams taking the stance of we
• 21:31
  Speaker 5: don't care so much about the future draft picks when
• 21:34
  Speaker 5: we feel like we have a window to strike while
• 21:36
  Speaker 5: the iron's hot and win now obviously you know the
• 21:39
  Speaker 5: Bears felt that way To a lesser extent, the Seahawks
• 21:43
  Speaker 5: acquiring Quentin Nelson from the Colts earlier this week. Niners
• 21:47
  Speaker 5: acquiring DeForest Buckner from the Colts, too. So I'm sure
• 21:51
  Speaker 5: the Bears were probably in on him. They wanted to
• 21:53
  Speaker 5: get better at D-tackle, and they do with Jeffrey Simmons. And,
• 21:57
  Speaker 5: you know, I mentioned that that changes slightly the complexion
• 22:00
  Speaker 5: of Titans-Bengals. I think we already thought the Bengals were
• 22:03
  Speaker 5: going to win. Now maybe they score a few more points, but...
• 22:06
  Speaker 5: Changes the complexion of Steelers-Titans in, what is it.
• 22:09
  Speaker 4: Week 17, I think. Yes.
• 22:11
  Speaker 5: We head down there to Broadway, and now the Titans
• 22:15
  Speaker 5: won't have their best defensive player for that game. And,
• 22:18
  Speaker 5: you know, that's yet another chess piece off the board
• 22:21
  Speaker 5: for a future Steelers opponent.
• 22:23
  Speaker 3: We'll see if the Steelers will be active going up
• 22:25
  Speaker 3: to that November 10th deadline. And that's a good segue,
• 22:29
  Speaker 3: Double B, because that is our next terrible take.
• 22:32
  Speaker 2: Before break, we went through five of them.
• 22:34
  Speaker 3: Three terrible takes to two non-terrible takes, by the way,
• 22:37
  Speaker 3: is where we currently sit. Let's see where we get
• 22:39
  Speaker 3: here at the end of these next five. Our ten
• 22:41
  Speaker 3: terrible takes were on number six. The Steelers will trade
• 22:45
  Speaker 3: for wide receiver Josh Downs from the Indianapolis Colts before
• 22:48
  Speaker 3: that November 10th trade deadline.
• 22:50
  Speaker 2: Terrible take or not?
• 22:52
  Speaker 4: I don't think it's a terrible take.
• 22:53
  Speaker 5: I don't know that I'd put money on it if
• 22:55
  Speaker 5: I had to bet one way or the other because
• 22:59
  Speaker 5: I do think that they have some belief in the
• 23:02
  Speaker 5: in-house options. And I think it's just not easy to
• 23:06
  Speaker 5: onboard a guy mid-season anytime, but especially when you'd have
• 23:11
  Speaker 5: to get up to speed and on the same page
• 23:13
  Speaker 5: with Aaron Rodgers as far as all the unwritten language
• 23:16
  Speaker 5: and hand signals and whatnot. But on the flip side,
• 23:19
  Speaker 5: why I'm going to say it's not a terrible take, Ed,
• 23:22
  Speaker 5: I do think that you look at this offense and
• 23:24
  Speaker 5: you can talk yourself into, you need maybe another playmaker,
• 23:29
  Speaker 5: maybe another piece to really reach your full potential or
• 23:33
  Speaker 5: exceed it. And, you know, sometimes you see teams trade
• 23:37
  Speaker 5: for a guy, a rental, if you want to call
• 23:38
  Speaker 5: him that, at the deadline because of the arms race
• 23:41
  Speaker 5: that is the modern NFL. And he doesn't do a
• 23:44
  Speaker 5: whole lot, but, you know, if he helps you win
• 23:48
  Speaker 5: one or two games or, makes you more dynamic depending
• 23:51
  Speaker 5: on the game plan against a certain opponent late in
• 23:53
  Speaker 5: the season or if you're fortunate enough to get to
• 23:55
  Speaker 5: the postseason, then I think you say it's worth it.
• 23:58
  Speaker 5: So that's what everybody is thinking this time of year
• 24:02
  Speaker 5: as you come up to that deadline is, hey, if
• 24:04
  Speaker 5: we're a contender, what can we do to push us
• 24:07
  Speaker 5: over the top in the pursuit of a Super Bowl ring?
• 24:10
  Speaker 4: That's ultimately what it's all about.
• 24:12
  Speaker 7: Agreed.
• 24:12
  Speaker 2: I'm with you there, too. And we'll see if Josh
• 24:14
  Speaker 2: Downs will.
• 24:15
  Speaker 3: Still be available here in the upcoming weeks leading up
• 24:17
  Speaker 3: to that November 10th deadline. And if the Steelers would
• 24:20
  Speaker 3: try to make a move, he has requested a trade
• 24:22
  Speaker 3: out of Indianapolis. Colts seem to be punting on their
• 24:24
  Speaker 3: 2026 season trading to Forrest Buckner here most recently here
• 24:28
  Speaker 3: this week. Let's talk about two of the Steelers draft
• 24:31
  Speaker 3: picks from this 2026.
• 24:33
  Speaker 2: Draft, Brian. One very good and one, hmm-ha. I'm going
• 24:37
  Speaker 2: to start with the hmm-ha for you.
• 24:40
  Speaker 3: Kick returner Caden Weijin was a miss in the fourth
• 24:43
  Speaker 3: round of this year's draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers.
• 24:45
  Speaker 2: Is that a terrible take or not?
• 24:47
  Speaker 3: Or are you not quite ready to determine whether that's
• 24:50
  Speaker 3: a terrible take or not?
• 24:52
  Speaker 5: Well, I'll say it's a terrible take because I'm not
• 24:54
  Speaker 5: quite ready to determine just yet.
• 24:55
  Speaker 4: I think it's too early.
• 24:57
  Speaker 5: To call anybody a miss or a bust or anything
• 25:00
  Speaker 5: like that through seven games of a rookie season. I
• 25:05
  Speaker 5: would certainly say that it hasn't been overly impactful just yet,
• 25:10
  Speaker 5: that pick. You do hem yourself up into a corner
• 25:14
  Speaker 5: a little bit when you spend... pick that high on
• 25:17
  Speaker 5: a player who's that much of a specialist. But no,
• 25:20
  Speaker 5: I mean, I think Legion will still get some opportunities
• 25:24
  Speaker 5: to break a game open, flip the field and increase
• 25:28
  Speaker 5: your field position. And then at that point, assuming he
• 25:31
  Speaker 5: does that at least a time or two here and there,
• 25:35
  Speaker 5: then it'll be personal preference. Your mileage may vary on
• 25:39
  Speaker 5: whether that's worth it.
• 25:40
  Speaker 3: And they certainly did Brian thinking that his skillset was
• 25:43
  Speaker 3: good enough to spend that fourth-round draft pick on him
• 25:47
  Speaker 3: this past season.
• 25:48
  Speaker 2: And as we said, I'm with you.
• 25:50
  Speaker 3: I think it's still a bit too early to determine
• 25:53
  Speaker 3: whether he was more of a hit or miss quite yet. Again,
• 25:57
  Speaker 3: a fourth-round draft pick used in this past year's draft.
• 26:01
  Speaker 3: Caden Weijin out of Iowa coming through for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
• 26:05
  Speaker 2: But so far, mixed bag.
• 26:06
  Speaker 3: Has had a couple sparks here or there with returning
• 26:09
  Speaker 3: the football draft won this past week against the Saints,
• 26:12
  Speaker 3: and I think he had won as well against Tampa Bay.
• 26:14
  Speaker 3: So maybe that's getting better. Not always about the kick
• 26:16
  Speaker 3: returner either. A lot of it has to do with
• 26:18
  Speaker 3: the blocking that's taken place up front with special teams,
• 26:23
  Speaker 3: and that's been a mixed bag so far this year
• 26:25
  Speaker 3: as well.
• 26:26
  Speaker 2: A few more to get to here.
• 26:36
  Speaker 1: This is the Steelers Report with Brian Bacco and Ed
• 26:40
  Speaker 1: Troup on Steelers Nation Radio, a part of the Steelers
• 26:44
  Speaker 1: Audio Network.
• 26:46
  Speaker 2: Next up, Double B, let's talk about Maxi Auditore.
• 26:49
  Speaker 7: He will be the.
• 26:50
  Speaker 2: Better first-round draft pick at tackle for the Steelers than
• 26:53
  Speaker 2: Troy Fontanou.
• 26:54
  Speaker 4: You know, that's a tough one for me, Ed.
• 26:56
  Speaker 5: I mean, I think to this point, the transition for
• 26:59
  Speaker 5: Fontanou from right tackle to left tackle.
• 27:03
  Speaker 5: It's been hit or miss depending on the game. And
• 27:06
  Speaker 5: I think Max has had his ups and downs too,
• 27:09
  Speaker 5: to this point in the season. I'm going to say,
• 27:12
  Speaker 5: I guess I would put those two on somewhat equal
• 27:15
  Speaker 5: footing because I think Ihana chores may be playing a
• 27:19
  Speaker 5: little bit better to this point in the season. Granted
• 27:22
  Speaker 5: small sample size for him, but I think overall, you know,
• 27:26
  Speaker 5: given where they were both drafted, it's sort of a
• 27:29
  Speaker 5: coin flip. But Fauton, who has more on his NFL resume, obviously,
• 27:33
  Speaker 5: because I thought he played really well last season, especially
• 27:36
  Speaker 5: the second half of last season. So I guess that
• 27:39
  Speaker 5: all boils down to I don't think it's a terrible take,
• 27:42
  Speaker 5: but I need to see more out of Big Max.
• 27:44
  Speaker 4: And I think the jury is still out to some
• 27:47
  Speaker 4: degree on Troy, too.
• 27:48
  Speaker 5: I mean, it's it's almost just as small of a
• 27:51
  Speaker 5: sample size as far as him at his new old
• 27:53
  Speaker 5: position on the left side.
• 27:55
  Speaker 3: So wait, is that a terrible take or not then?
• 27:58
  Speaker 3: What's your final call?
• 27:59
  Speaker 4: I think I said not terrible, right? I mean, it's
• 28:02
  Speaker 4: kind of still a coin flip.
• 28:03
  Speaker 2: Yes, I'm with you. Okay, so we're going to go
• 28:06
  Speaker 2: no on that one.
• 28:07
  Speaker 3: All right, let's move to the Steelers' defensive line.
• 28:10
  Speaker 1: Y.A.
• 28:10
  Speaker 3: Black quietly is having the best season on the defensive
• 28:14
  Speaker 3: line so far this season. 16 tackles, a sack, three
• 28:17
  Speaker 3: tackle for losses, and a pass deflection. Terrible take or not,
• 28:21
  Speaker 3: has he been the Steelers' best defensive line?
• 28:23
  Speaker 4: I'm going to say.
• 28:24
  Speaker 5: Terrible take because I think Keanu Benton is doing more
• 28:28
  Speaker 5: with more reps.
• 28:29
  Speaker 4: I mean, Y.A.
• 28:30
  Speaker 5: Has mostly been in a backup role. So I don't
• 28:33
  Speaker 5: think I could vault him to the top of the list.
• 28:35
  Speaker 5: And Cam Hayward is, you know, continuing to eat double
• 28:38
  Speaker 5: teams and things of that nature. But I'll agree with
• 28:41
  Speaker 5: one word of that take. I mean, I'd say quietly Y.A.
• 28:44
  Speaker 5: Black is compiling those numbers because I was actually a
• 28:46
  Speaker 5: little surprised as you were reading off the full stat
• 28:49
  Speaker 5: sheet for the season for big Y.A.
• 28:52
  Speaker 8: Black.
• 28:53
  Speaker 5: I was a little surprised that 94 stats looked that good.
• 28:56
  Speaker 5: But it is indicative of the way he has improved
• 28:59
  Speaker 5: from year one to year two in Patrick Graham's Talked
• 29:02
  Speaker 5: about that on Monday, that he moves better than he expected.
• 29:04
  Speaker 4: And I don't know if you saw the clip from
• 29:06
  Speaker 4: the Bucs.
• 29:07
  Speaker 5: Game where he and his former college teammate at Iowa,
• 29:10
  Speaker 5: I think they were teammates, may have overlapped briefly, Tristan Wirfs,
• 29:13
  Speaker 5: were shooting the breeze.
• 29:15
  Speaker 4: And I think Y.A. said he weighs 370.
• 29:18
  Speaker 5: I think that was the number that he dropped as
• 29:19
  Speaker 5: they were having some chatter on the field.
• 29:21
  Speaker 4: So he is a... He is a large human being.
• 29:24
  Speaker 5: He blocks out the sun, but it's nice to see
• 29:26
  Speaker 5: him block passes and clog running lanes too.
• 29:29
  Speaker 2: Oh, Brian, I absolutely love that clip from NFL Films.
• 29:31
  Speaker 3: Yeah, you weren't here last week because you were already
• 29:33
  Speaker 3: in Paris when that came out, but that was awesome
• 29:36
  Speaker 3: stuff from Wyatt Black talking with some of the Tampa players.
• 29:40
  Speaker 2: In that game.
• 29:41
  Speaker 3: All right, last one, and it's currently five to four. Yeah,
• 29:44
  Speaker 3: five to four. So we have one, two, three, four,
• 29:47
  Speaker 3: five terrible takes to four non-terrible takes. Will we be tied,
• 29:52
  Speaker 3: or will the terrible takes take it for this week?
• 29:54
  Speaker 3: The winner of this Sunday's Browns-Steelers game will be the
• 29:58
  Speaker 3: winner of the AFC North at the end of the season.
• 30:01
  Speaker 2: Terrible take or not?
• 30:02
  Speaker 4: Cool. I mean.
• 30:03
  Speaker 2: It's a tough one.
• 30:04
  Speaker 5: I don't think I can call it a terrible take
• 30:05
  Speaker 5: because I think that's entirely possible, but all four teams
• 30:09
  Speaker 5: are still very much in the mix for this division crown.
• 30:14
  Speaker 5: I guess I would frame it as I think that's
• 30:18
  Speaker 5: way too much jumping the gun if you think that
• 30:21
  Speaker 5: this is like going to change the trajectory of it,
• 30:24
  Speaker 5: the winner of this game.
• 30:25
  Speaker 4: I think it is a big game.
• 30:26
  Speaker 5: Don't get me wrong, but I don't think it's a
• 30:28
  Speaker 5: must win or anything like that for either side because
• 30:31
  Speaker 5: of the way they've been stacking victories. So from that standpoint,
• 30:35
  Speaker 5: I'm going to have to give it the terrible label.
• 30:38
  Speaker 5: Or no, I'm going to have to say not terrible
• 30:41
  Speaker 5: because I think that it's still anybody's ballgame, but that
• 30:43
  Speaker 5: includes the Steelers and the Browns, regardless of the results
• 30:46
  Speaker 5: someday at Accresure Stadium.
• 30:49
  Speaker 3: All right, so we are tied 5-5 at the end
• 30:51
  Speaker 3: of the 10 terrible takes. Five terrible, five non-terrible. And
• 30:54
  Speaker 3: I'm with you too, Brian. I think it's a key game.
• 30:57
  Speaker 3: It's an important game. I think even more maybe for
• 30:59
  Speaker 3: the Steelers because you don't want to be swept by
• 31:02
  Speaker 3: any AFC North team during a regular season. And with
• 31:06
  Speaker 3: the Browns having already beat the Ravens once, this is
• 31:09
  Speaker 3: an important game from that standpoint too. For the Steelers,
• 31:12
  Speaker 3: you don't want to fall too far behind the eight ball. Brian,
• 31:15
  Speaker 3: we just have a few more minutes left before we
• 31:16
  Speaker 3: get to break, so let me give you a few
• 31:19
  Speaker 3: quick NFL terrible takes. Some leftovers, if you will. First up,
• 31:25
  Speaker 3: the Vikings. They are the last 6-0 team. They will
• 31:28
  Speaker 3: no longer be without a loss by the end of
• 31:31
  Speaker 3: this upcoming Sunday. They are at Detroit on Sunday.
• 31:34
  Speaker 5: Okay, so you're basically asking if I think the Vikings
• 31:38
  Speaker 5: will beat the Lions on Sunday. That's really what it
• 31:42
  Speaker 5: boils down to. Yeah, I'm going to say that's not
• 31:46
  Speaker 5: a terrible take. I think the Lions are going to
• 31:49
  Speaker 5: be the first team to beat the Minnesota Vikings.
• 31:53
  Speaker 4: I think that.
• 31:54
  Speaker 5: They figure out that evolving, aggressive Brian Flores defense just
• 32:00
  Speaker 5: enough to put some points on the scoreboard, and I'm
• 32:03
  Speaker 5: not overly thrilled with the Vikings offense.
• 32:05
  Speaker 4: So, yeah, I'm going to say not terrible on that one, Ed.
• 32:09
  Speaker 2: Yep, I'm with you there too.
• 32:10
  Speaker 3: I think it's going to be a tough one for
• 32:11
  Speaker 3: the Vikings this upcoming Sunday. In that game, between those
• 32:15
  Speaker 3: two teams, they are the last 6-0 team. We know
• 32:19
  Speaker 3: every year, Brian, it is harder and harder for teams
• 32:22
  Speaker 3: to remain undefeated throughout an NFL season. A lot of
• 32:26
  Speaker 3: times it's just how soon will that take place, and
• 32:28
  Speaker 3: so far the Vikings have made it through six weeks.
• 32:30
  Speaker 2: A few more to get to.
• 32:31
  Speaker 7: The L.A.
• 32:32
  Speaker 3: Chargers are 0-6, and they will still be winless by
• 32:36
  Speaker 3: the end of this upcoming Sunday.
• 32:38
  Speaker 2: They are at LA. They play at the Rams.
• 32:40
  Speaker 5: Not a terrible take because I'm taking the Rams in
• 32:42
  Speaker 5: the Battle of LA. I guess they'll have the Rams
• 32:44
  Speaker 5: signage at SoFi Stadium because it's a home game for
• 32:48
  Speaker 5: Sean McVay's club. I don't think the Chargers are going
• 32:51
  Speaker 5: to go winless this season or anything like that.
• 32:54
  Speaker 4: That would kind of surprise me.
• 32:55
  Speaker 5: I think they just have too much talent for that
• 32:58
  Speaker 5: to happen, and I think the quarterback is too good,
• 33:00
  Speaker 5: and Justin Herbert. But, man, I don't see them getting
• 33:03
  Speaker 5: off the schneid this week. This isn't a soft spot
• 33:06
  Speaker 5: for the Chargers to get a.
• 33:07
  Speaker 4: W in my mind.
• 33:08
  Speaker 2: I'm with you there, too. Tough sledding for John, or
• 33:12
  Speaker 2: Jim Vardal, rather.
• 33:14
  Speaker 4: And the L.A.
• 33:14
  Speaker 2: Chargers this week at L.A. Let's finish up with one
• 33:17
  Speaker 2: last one. The Buffalo Bills.
• 33:20
  Speaker 1: This is the Steelers report with Brian Batko and Ed Trudeau.
• 33:24
  Speaker 4: Not a terrible pick. A part of the Steelers' audio network.
• 33:28
  Speaker 4: John Gallin playing the way he is. Kind of like
• 33:31
  Speaker 4: when the Steelers had Ben Roethlisberger. To me, yeah, that means...
• 33:34
  Speaker 4: You just feel like you.
• 33:35
  Speaker 5: Are always going to have a chance, a puncher's chance,
• 33:38
  Speaker 5: in any game you get into, any situation, any opponent,
• 33:41
  Speaker 5: any defense. He might have something up his sleeve for you,
• 33:45
  Speaker 5: and I think the Bills have some nice pieces around
• 33:47
  Speaker 5: him as well. It's not just a one-man show, although
• 33:50
  Speaker 5: their defense needs to be a lot better than it's
• 33:52
  Speaker 5: been thus far.
• 33:53
  Speaker 2: All right, I lied.
• 33:54
  Speaker 3: I have two other ones before break. Quick, rapid fire,
• 33:57
  Speaker 3: if you will. The New York Giants will not win
• 33:59
  Speaker 3: the AFC East. They are your current leader at 4-2-1.
• 34:02
  Speaker 3: Terrible take or not?
• 34:03
  Speaker 7: Um.
• 34:04
  Speaker 4: I think that's a terrible take.
• 34:05
  Speaker 5: I think they're going to find a way to get
• 34:06
  Speaker 5: it done, but I think the Cowboys are creeping too.
• 34:09
  Speaker 3: The Denver Broncos are 5-2 on the season. They will
• 34:12
  Speaker 3: win the AFC West ahead of the Kansas City Chiefs,
• 34:15
  Speaker 3: who are 5-1 BB.
• 34:17
  Speaker 2: Is that a terrible take or not?
• 34:19
  Speaker 5: Now we get into my literal interpretation of this game
• 34:21
  Speaker 5: all the time, Ed.
• 34:23
  Speaker 9: I don't think it's a terrible take because there's not
• 34:27
  Speaker 9: a lot of separation between the two, and anything can
• 34:30
  Speaker 9: happen in the NFL, but my personal take projection is
• 34:35
  Speaker 9: that I think the chiefs are back this year.
• 34:38
  Speaker 5: I'm not overly impressed by the Broncos, even on this
• 34:43
  Speaker 5: little run that they're enjoying, but they found a way
• 34:47
  Speaker 5: to win the division last year. And if Sean Payton
• 34:49
  Speaker 5: can get Bo Nix playing better at QB, then they
• 34:52
  Speaker 5: will have a chance.
• 34:53
  Speaker 4: So I'll, I'll give you the benefit of the doubt
• 34:55
  Speaker 4: on that one. And I'll say not a terrible take,
• 34:57
  Speaker 4: but I wouldn't, I wouldn't predict it.
• 35:00
  Speaker 2: That's why we make these challenging for you, Double B.
• 35:03
  Speaker 3: We want to make them difficult, so you have to
• 35:04
  Speaker 3: think a bit and come up with a solution, right,
• 35:09
  Speaker 3: an answer.
• 35:09
  Speaker 2: Is it a terrible take or not? That's going to
• 35:11
  Speaker 2: do it for the terrible takes for now.
• 35:13
  Speaker 3: Whenever we come back, we'll wrap the show up today
• 35:15
  Speaker 3: by hearing from Cam Hayward, Captain Cam.
• 35:17
  Speaker 2: Who spoke to the media yesterday.
• 35:18
  Speaker 7: He's back.
• 35:19
  Speaker 2: Oh, I'm Troop.
• 35:20
  Speaker 3: It's the Steelers Report right here on Steelers Nation Radio,
• 35:22
  Speaker 3: part of the Steelers Audio Network.
• 35:32
  Speaker 1: This is the Steelers Report with Brian Batko and Ed
• 35:35
  Speaker 1: Troup on Steelers Nation Radio, a part of the Steelers
• 35:39
  Speaker 1: Audio Network.
• 35:41
  Speaker 2: Well, we finally got our music back.
• 35:43
  Speaker 3: If you're paying attention for our show for today, we
• 35:47
  Speaker 3: just started with old-fashioned radio, right? You didn't need the
• 35:51
  Speaker 3: bed music in the back room. And Brian and I
• 35:55
  Speaker 3: yesterday had a conversation about the bed music you hear
• 35:58
  Speaker 3: in the background in and out of our breaks. And
• 36:01
  Speaker 3: the system decided not to let me use it for
• 36:03
  Speaker 3: the first half of the show today.
• 36:05
  Speaker 2: So we finally figured that out.
• 36:06
  Speaker 3: And luckily, we do have a little bit of music
• 36:09
  Speaker 3: in the background as I come back out of break.
• 36:14
  Speaker 2: And as we also wrap up the second.
• 36:15
  Speaker 3: Hour here on the Steelers Report, and again, a special
• 36:18
  Speaker 3: programming note, tomorrow here on the show on Friday, we'll
• 36:21
  Speaker 3: wrap up the week with our five keys to a
• 36:24
  Speaker 3: Steeler victory on offense and our five keys to a
• 36:27
  Speaker 3: Steeler victory on defense. Brian and I will also continue
• 36:31
  Speaker 3: to look at the Browns as we did at the
• 36:33
  Speaker 3: start of today's show. And we'll have Ashley Bastock of
• 36:36
  Speaker 3: Cleveland.com joining the show tomorrow to talk Steelers-Browns. We had
• 36:40
  Speaker 3: her on ahead of the first matchup. on Thursday night
• 36:43
  Speaker 3: football on October 1st, and now leading into the November 1st,
• 36:47
  Speaker 3: exactly one month in between the two meetings, we'll get
• 36:50
  Speaker 3: Ashley's take on.
• 36:51
  Speaker 2: The Browns so far, which, well, since then, they've been
• 36:54
  Speaker 2: on a roll.
• 36:54
  Speaker 3: They're 5-2, and again, this game, this upcoming week, will
• 36:57
  Speaker 3: be for first place in the AFC North. Cam Hayward
• 37:02
  Speaker 3: spoke to the media yesterday, Captain Cam, and here's what
• 37:05
  Speaker 3: he had to say post-Paris and also ahead of this
• 37:08
  Speaker 3: matchup for first place in the AFC North this Sunday.
• 37:11
  Speaker 8: Didn't handle adversity well, didn't keep them out of the
• 37:14
  Speaker 8: end zone. I know our offense battled back, got us
• 37:19
  Speaker 8: the lead. I can't surrender a try like that at
• 37:23
  Speaker 8: the end of the game to win the game.
• 37:26
  Speaker 7: You guys have been pretty good as a second half defense,
• 37:28
  Speaker 7: not allowing a touchdown.
• 37:30
  Speaker 8: I think over the.
• 37:30
  Speaker 7: Last month, how critical is that against a group that
• 37:32
  Speaker 7: has shown fourth quarter resiliency in their offense?
• 37:35
  Speaker 8: It's going to be critical. If we talk about trying
• 37:38
  Speaker 8: to win this game and you've seen the games they've won,
• 37:41
  Speaker 8: It all comes down to the fourth quarter, and you've
• 37:43
  Speaker 8: got to have a finished mentality. They do a great
• 37:46
  Speaker 8: job having Deshaun run, Judkins, big plays with Bannon, Concepcion,
• 37:54
  Speaker 8: and others. So we've got to make sure we're on
• 37:56
  Speaker 8: our P's and Q's, get them out of the red zone.
• 38:00
  Speaker 5: Is there a certain advantage or just a certain perspective
• 38:03
  Speaker 5: facing a team as close as you faced them last year?
• 38:06
  Speaker 8: I think that just happens in divisions. When you have
• 38:08
  Speaker 8: AFC North football, You understand the type of football you
• 38:11
  Speaker 8: want to bring. It's come down to the fourth quarter
• 38:14
  Speaker 8: a lot of times, especially those Baltimore and sometimes Cincinnati games.
• 38:18
  Speaker 8: And Cleveland is playing to that respect. And I can't
• 38:23
  Speaker 8: wait to see what it unfolds into. But when it
• 38:25
  Speaker 8: comes to those games, it comes to the hard style running.
• 38:28
  Speaker 8: comes to turnovers and possession.
• 38:31
  Speaker 7: Of the game.
• 38:32
  Speaker 5: Improving.
• 38:32
  Speaker 8: Still got things to work at, but I'm going to
• 38:38
  Speaker 8: let you work on that. Why is a big part
• 38:40
  Speaker 8: of that? I think he's moving a lot better this year,
• 38:43
  Speaker 8: playing with great hands, getting off blocks, and you just
• 38:48
  Speaker 8: feel his energy. I think we're just trying to learn
• 38:50
  Speaker 8: from our mistakes early on in the season.
• 38:52
  Speaker 7: I think when it came to tackles, we were.
• 39:09
  Speaker 8: giving it up a little bit. And so that's been
• 39:11
  Speaker 8: something we've been harping on as of late, getting more
• 39:13
  Speaker 8: guys to the ball. When you do that, you're able to,
• 39:16
  Speaker 8: you know, sustain those and get off the field.
• 39:18
  Speaker 9: Patrick Graham said yesterday, Monday, excuse me, that there was
• 39:21
  Speaker 9: an adjustment.
• 39:22
  Speaker 5: That needed to happen after camp because there.
• 39:24
  Speaker 7: Wasn't much tackling.
• 39:25
  Speaker 6: And it took time, but you guys are finding your rhythm.
• 39:28
  Speaker 4: What was that adjustment like as a captain and a
• 39:30
  Speaker 4: person who's seen it before and now?
• 39:33
  Speaker 8: Looking in the mirror, saying we can play better. Don't
• 39:37
  Speaker 8: take plays for granted. Just because there's one guy there,
• 39:39
  Speaker 8: it needs to be three or four guys. You need
• 39:42
  Speaker 8: to throw a party on it.
• 39:43
  Speaker 5: Kim, is there any worry about the way guys feel
• 39:45
  Speaker 5: this week after the travel across the East?
• 39:49
  Speaker 8: I haven't even thought about it, honestly.
• 39:52
  Speaker 3: What's allowed you guys to be so good once you
• 39:54
  Speaker 3: get to about the opponent's 30?
• 39:55
  Speaker 2: You guys have allowed some yards, but you're not allowing
• 39:57
  Speaker 2: a lot.
• 39:58
  Speaker 7: Of points, and you're getting a lot of field goals.
• 39:59
  Speaker 8: The opponent's 30 or our 30?
• 40:00
  Speaker 7: The opponent's 30. Basically getting a lot of field goals, but.
• 40:03
  Speaker 2: You guys aren't allowing 70.
• 40:06
  Speaker 8: I don't know. I think the field's condensed, and there's
• 40:11
  Speaker 8: less room for big shots or explosive plays, and I
• 40:16
  Speaker 8: think we're just kind of trying to lock in there, but...
• 40:20
  Speaker 8: you know, that's not indicative of when we play. We
• 40:21
  Speaker 8: want to keep them off the scoreboard completely. So there's
• 40:24
  Speaker 8: always some things we've got to work on.
• 40:25
  Speaker 4: You guys have batted down a ton of passes this season.
• 40:28
  Speaker 7: What is the key to getting your hands up and
• 40:29
  Speaker 7: the reaction times? How are you guys able to do that?
• 40:32
  Speaker 8: Understanding that a lot of teams want to throw quick.
• 40:34
  Speaker 8: A lot of teams want to get the ball quick
• 40:37
  Speaker 8: because of our pass rush. And then being aware we
• 40:41
  Speaker 8: practice it a lot. Not just myself, Keanu, YA. When D.
• 40:46
  Speaker 8: Harmon gets back, he's a part of that too. So
• 40:49
  Speaker 8: We all just got to be aware and understand our restaurants.
• 40:51
  Speaker 4: What's the best part about playing the Browns?
• 40:57
  Speaker 8: Best part? Got our fans in tune. Ruckus crowd. But
• 41:05
  Speaker 8: best part is winning.
• 41:07
  Speaker 7: How much is there an.
• 41:08
  Speaker 9: Extra sense of urgency this year? You guys have not
• 41:11
  Speaker 9: been swept on the ground since 1988 as a team.
• 41:13
  Speaker 9: You weren't even alive back then. Is there an extra
• 41:15
  Speaker 9: sense of urgency to make sure you guys cover your
• 41:18
  Speaker 9: properties and dot your.
• 41:19
  Speaker 6: I's this week to make sure that doesn't happen?
• 41:21
  Speaker 8: It's ignore football. Urgency is there. I don't think it's
• 41:25
  Speaker 8: because of anything else than just that. So we understand
• 41:30
  Speaker 8: what they're trying to do and Should make for a
• 41:32
  Speaker 8: great game.
• 41:33
  Speaker 2: When the week kind of starts off with what he
• 41:35
  Speaker 2: said and then you're concerned about that, about how you.
• 41:37
  Speaker 5: Guys are going to take care of that business, Denzel
• 41:41
  Speaker 5: Ward's asked about it today. When there's that kind of
• 41:43
  Speaker 5: extra bulletin board material, is there any kind of extra juice?
• 41:48
  Speaker 8: If you're looking for words for juice, you're in the
• 41:50
  Speaker 8: wrong league. This game, A to North, that's what it's about.
• 41:55
  Speaker 8: Everybody talks, but it's about walking.
• 41:57
  Speaker 3: Captain Cam's talk there at the end. in regards to
• 42:00
  Speaker 3: AFC North football. And once again, that'll be on full
• 42:03
  Speaker 3: display at AccuShare Stadium this upcoming weekend.
• 42:05
  Speaker 2: How about Aaron Rodgers? He also spoke to the media yesterday.
• 42:08
  Speaker 3: And Aaron Rodgers, this is the first time that he
• 42:11
  Speaker 3: has started a season 5-2 or better since 2021 with
• 42:16
  Speaker 3: the Green Bay Packers. And that was significant because that
• 42:19
  Speaker 3: was his last MVP season. He started 5-2 that year
• 42:24
  Speaker 3: with the Green Bay Packers. Actually, he started 6-1, rather.
• 42:27
  Speaker 3: So better than 5-2, I should say. This year, 5-2
• 42:30
  Speaker 3: in 2026, 6-1 in 2021. Now, here are some familiar
• 42:34
  Speaker 3: stats with that 2021 season, which was an NFL MVP
• 42:38
  Speaker 3: season for Rodgers, his last there, one of four MVPs
• 42:42
  Speaker 3: that he won. They were 6-1, and he threw for
• 42:45
  Speaker 3: 1,710 yards in those first seven games. This year, he's
• 42:49
  Speaker 3: thrown just short of 1,700 yards, so pretty much the
• 42:52
  Speaker 3: same stat. 13 touchdowns and five interceptions so far this
• 42:56
  Speaker 3: season back in 2021. 15 touchdowns and three interceptions so
• 43:00
  Speaker 3: again very similar numbers two game-winning drives so far this
• 43:04
  Speaker 3: year he also had two that season so not sure
• 43:07
  Speaker 3: in his last NFL season if it will turn into
• 43:09
  Speaker 3: an MVP type season for Aaron Rodgers but so far
• 43:12
  Speaker 3: at least compared to his last MVP campaign in 2021
• 43:16
  Speaker 3: so far he seems to have the same numbers here's
• 43:19
  Speaker 3: what Aaron Rodgers had to say yesterday with the media.
• 43:22
  Speaker 7: Aaron what's your big takeaway from the first game I
• 43:27
  Speaker 7: thought we did some good things on offense. I thought
• 43:29
  Speaker 7: we moved the ball in two minutes pretty well. We
• 43:34
  Speaker 7: had some penalties, a couple turnovers. We've got to play
• 43:39
  Speaker 7: a little cleaner.
• 43:40
  Speaker 6: I thought you had a chance to go back and
• 43:45
  Speaker 6: look at it. What did you like about how you
• 43:46
  Speaker 6: guys won on the third down.
• 43:47
  Speaker 7: This past week? It was our best third down game
• 43:50
  Speaker 7: of the season. I think we ran the ball well
• 43:53
  Speaker 7: on the shorter opportunities, which is good, which we hadn't
• 43:56
  Speaker 7: showed a lot of. I think we were five for
• 43:59
  Speaker 7: five on the runs on third down, so that was
• 44:00
  Speaker 7: really efficient. I thought we sustained drives, which is important.
• 44:06
  Speaker 7: We just got to get some touchdowns in the red zone.
• 44:08
  Speaker 5: I just realized we forgot to ask Cam about the
• 44:10
  Speaker 5: picture that was going around from the flight home. What
• 44:12
  Speaker 5: can you tell us about the change and I guess
• 44:15
  Speaker 5: the vibe, the overall good times coming back?
• 44:18
  Speaker 7: Probably my favorite flight back from a road game in
• 44:22
  Speaker 7: 22 years. Top Dublin, wasn't it? Oh, this is definitely
• 44:27
  Speaker 7: top Dublin. Definitely top Dublin.
• 44:29
  Speaker 4: How so?
• 44:31
  Speaker 7: Well, it was, the crew was amazing. They let us
• 44:35
  Speaker 7: kind of take over the hallways and there was a
• 44:39
  Speaker 7: lot of, the aisleways, there was a lot of good
• 44:42
  Speaker 7: times being had on that flight.
• 44:45
  Speaker 4: You made the big play out of structure early, throwing
• 44:47
  Speaker 4: the deep ball to DK.
• 44:49
  Speaker 7: You've done that a ton over here, obviously, with that
• 44:51
  Speaker 7: structure stuff.
• 44:52
  Speaker 4: What is the key to making the play like that,
• 44:54
  Speaker 4: and how.
• 44:55
  Speaker 2: Does the defense kind of change as you get out
• 44:56
  Speaker 2: of the pocket and start moving?
• 44:59
  Speaker 7: I don't think I'm a run threat like I used
• 45:01
  Speaker 7: to be, but I've always been a pass-first guy out
• 45:03
  Speaker 7: of the pocket. And, you know, there were some times
• 45:06
  Speaker 7: where we were gloved down the field, and I was
• 45:09
  Speaker 7: able to extend a little bit out of first down
• 45:12
  Speaker 7: to B. Smith, That was an important one. Obviously the
• 45:15
  Speaker 7: one DK was good, and then unfortunately everybody was covering.
• 45:19
  Speaker 7: I had to run on the one, but I got
• 45:21
  Speaker 7: enough yards for the first down. It's still in the repertoire.
• 45:24
  Speaker 7: It's just not quite as dangerous as it used to be.
• 45:28
  Speaker 7: When you play the Browns, you're going to see a
• 45:30
  Speaker 7: lot of man coverage.
• 45:31
  Speaker 5: What's the key to executing in those situations against this
• 45:33
  Speaker 5: specific team?
• 45:35
  Speaker 7: You've got to win your one-on-ones. Man coverage is one-on-one
• 45:39
  Speaker 7: all over the field. You've got to win the one-on-ones
• 45:41
  Speaker 7: and get open, and I've got to get them.
• 45:44
  Speaker 3: The ball Aaron Rodgers speaking with the media yesterday ahead
• 45:47
  Speaker 3: of this matchup this weekend between the Browns and the Steelers.
• 45:50
  Speaker 3: And again, Aaron Rodgers, 5-2 this year. The last time
• 45:54
  Speaker 3: he started 5-2 or better was a 6-1 start back
• 45:58
  Speaker 3: in 2021. And that season, through seven games, he had
• 46:02
  Speaker 3: thrown for over 1,700 yards, 15 touchdowns, and three interceptions
• 46:05
  Speaker 3: so far this season. He is just one yard short
• 46:08
  Speaker 3: of 1,700, 13 touchdowns and five interceptions. Both of those
• 46:12
  Speaker 3: seasons through the first seven games, he had two game-winning
• 46:14
  Speaker 3: drives as well. So very similar numbers this year as
• 46:17
  Speaker 3: compared to the last time he won.
• 46:19
  Speaker 2: The NFL MVP in 2021. That's going to do it
• 46:22
  Speaker 2: for the show for today.
• 46:23
  Speaker 3: Double B and I back at it one more time
• 46:25
  Speaker 3: this week, tomorrow, as we put our final touches ahead
• 46:29
  Speaker 3: of Steelers-Browns this Sunday. I'm Ed Troop alongside Brian Bacco.
• 46:33
  Speaker 3: Thanks for listening to the Steelers Report. Up next, it's
• 46:36
  Speaker 3: Wes Euler and Matt Williamson on SNR's The Drive right
• 46:40
  Speaker 3: here on Steelers Nation Radio, part of the Steelers Audio Network.