Latest / The Steelers Report / HR 2: Steelers 5 Keys on Offense & Defense vs. Browns

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HR 2: Steelers 5 Keys on Offense & Defense vs. Browns · The Steelers Report

• 0:03
  Speaker 1: He's now going to play action pass. Rodgers floating as
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: a man.
• 0:06
  Speaker 2: Wide open.
• 0:07
  Speaker 3: It's Skorodik.
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: It's a Pittsburgh Steelers touchdown.
• 0:11
  Speaker 2: This is the Steelers Report with Brian Batko and Ed
• 0:15
  Speaker 2: Troop on Steelers Nation Radio, a part of the Steelers
• 0:19
  Speaker 2: Audio Network.
• 0:21
  Speaker 1: We are leading into, well, just about an hour now
• 0:25
  Speaker 1: to countdown to kickoff with Tom Offerman and Matt Williamson.
• 0:29
  Speaker 1: As we get you all set for Thursday night football
• 0:32
  Speaker 1: in Cleveland, the 2-1 Pittsburgh Steelers visit the 2-1 Cleveland
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  Speaker 1: Browns for a showdown for first place in the AFC North.
• 0:43
  Speaker 1: Brian Bacco, all four teams in the North are 2-1.
• 0:46
  Speaker 1: It's the only division in football where every team has
• 0:49
  Speaker 1: a winning record after three weeks.
• 0:52
  Speaker 3: Interesting stat. Interesting stat. And yeah, I guess depending on
• 0:57
  Speaker 3: what the Ravens and Bengals do this week, just to
• 1:01
  Speaker 3: remind people out there, the Bengals are at home against
• 1:05
  Speaker 3: the Jacksonville Jaguars, who are on fire right now. And
• 1:08
  Speaker 3: the Ravens are at home to the Tennessee Titans, who
• 1:11
  Speaker 3: are not on fire right now. So depending on those results,
• 1:14
  Speaker 3: this could also be a game for last place in
• 1:16
  Speaker 3: the AFC North.
• 1:18
  Speaker 1: Yeah, I guess you can skip the narrative, Double B,
• 1:21
  Speaker 1: and go back to that. Change the narrative, not skip
• 1:25
  Speaker 1: the narrative. We're not skipping any narratives, but we can
• 1:27
  Speaker 1: change the narrative and get back to that. But one
• 1:30
  Speaker 1: thing's for certain, and we were talking about it during
• 1:31
  Speaker 1: the first hour here on the show today, that this
• 1:35
  Speaker 1: Cleveland-Pittsburgh matchup this year, You know, you have everything behind
• 1:39
  Speaker 1: the scenes. The rivalry over the years, Browns, Steelers, Cleveland, Pittsburgh.
• 1:44
  Speaker 1: But this year's version, a bit different than what we've
• 1:46
  Speaker 1: seen in the past, mainly because the Cleveland Browns are
• 1:49
  Speaker 1: a younger team that the last few drafts have spent
• 1:52
  Speaker 1: a lot of draft capital in trying to build that
• 1:55
  Speaker 1: defense up. And then this past year, really spent a
• 1:57
  Speaker 1: lot of time building up that offense. If the future
• 2:01
  Speaker 1: is not bright yet in Cleveland, I said this after
• 2:03
  Speaker 1: the 2026 draft this past spring, Brian, the future is
• 2:06
  Speaker 1: going to be bright. It should be at least eventually
• 2:08
  Speaker 1: in Cleveland. And listen, we want this to be a
• 2:11
  Speaker 1: good game. We want Cleveland to be competitive because it
• 2:14
  Speaker 1: makes it for a better matchup with the Steelers. It's
• 2:16
  Speaker 1: a more enjoyable game as a fan. Of course, we
• 2:18
  Speaker 1: want the Steelers to win, but it's, you know, when
• 2:20
  Speaker 1: the Steelers went 43, nothing, is that fun for you?
• 2:24
  Speaker 3: Actually, yeah. Yeah, that's really fun for me as someone
• 2:26
  Speaker 3: who has to write a game story and have it filed.
• 2:29
  Speaker 1: That's true. Good point.
• 2:30
  Speaker 3: The clock hits triple zeros. Sign me up for that
• 2:33
  Speaker 3: every week at 43 to nothing en route to a
• 2:36
  Speaker 3: Super Bowl. I'll sign in blood for it right now.
• 2:40
  Speaker 1: Well, that's from a deadline standpoint, so I definitely get that, too,
• 2:43
  Speaker 1: because I've been there, done that, my friend. But my
• 2:47
  Speaker 1: main point on it is whenever you look at these
• 2:50
  Speaker 1: two teams, and the Steelers have blown the Browns out
• 2:52
  Speaker 1: a lot of years, and of course, again, you want
• 2:55
  Speaker 1: it as a Steelers. Hey, we're on Steelers Nation Radio.
• 2:57
  Speaker 1: You want the Steelers to win. But to have it
• 3:00
  Speaker 1: be more of a competitive game, it's fun, right? It
• 3:01
  Speaker 1: gets the juices flowing. It makes it for a better
• 3:04
  Speaker 1: matchup between these two teams. I think it'll be that tonight.
• 3:07
  Speaker 1: One thing to watch, I think, between these two teams
• 3:10
  Speaker 1: is Deshaun Watson because he had a shaky first game
• 3:13
  Speaker 1: to start the season out in Jacksonville. But the last
• 3:15
  Speaker 1: two games, Deshaun Watson has heated up for the Browns.
• 3:18
  Speaker 1: He's gotten much better than how he started the first
• 3:20
  Speaker 1: part of the season. In fact, when you look at
• 3:22
  Speaker 1: Deshaun Watson, they've scored 21-plus points in consecutive games for
• 3:28
  Speaker 1: the first time since weeks 12 and 13 of 2024.
• 3:30
  Speaker 1: The Browns have scored 21 points. points in three total
• 3:35
  Speaker 1: games in both 25 and 24. So they've already beaten
• 3:38
  Speaker 1: the last two seasons with that, with scoring three touchdowns
• 3:41
  Speaker 1: the last two weeks. And Deshaun Watson has a big,
• 3:43
  Speaker 1: big part to do with that.
• 3:46
  Speaker 3: He does. I think another thing to watch here is
• 3:47
  Speaker 3: one rookie for the Browns we have not talked about
• 3:49
  Speaker 3: on the offensive side of the ball. That's Austin Barber,
• 3:52
  Speaker 3: rookie right guard, big guy, 6'7. That's right. He was
• 3:55
  Speaker 3: a tackle at Florida, 6'7, 3'18. They took him in
• 4:00
  Speaker 3: the third round. He's been thrust right into a starting
• 4:03
  Speaker 3: role and completely rebuilt O-line from left to right. Left
• 4:07
  Speaker 3: tackle Spencer Fano is their first, first rounder. Steelers had
• 4:11
  Speaker 3: him in for a pre-draft visit. Kind of Troy Tanu-esque,
• 4:14
  Speaker 3: not the biggest tackle you're going to see, but really
• 4:17
  Speaker 3: light on his feet, really quick, athletic, nimble. He's at
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  Speaker 3: left tackle. Zion Johnson's a veteran left guard, a one-time
• 4:24
  Speaker 3: first rounder. Actually out of, uh, I think he went
• 4:27
  Speaker 3: to Boston College, if I'm not mistaken, was taken by
• 4:29
  Speaker 3: the Chargers. Their center is, wait, who's the Browns? Oh,
• 4:35
  Speaker 3: that's right. It's Luke Whipler, who's not a regular starter,
• 4:38
  Speaker 3: but he's ascending from a backup role into a starting
• 4:42
  Speaker 3: role for this one because Elton Jenkins, former Packer, is
• 4:47
  Speaker 3: not going to be out there. So this will be
• 4:48
  Speaker 3: the first start of the season for Whipler, seventh of
• 4:51
  Speaker 3: his NFL career. And then, like I said, right guard,
• 4:54
  Speaker 3: Austin Barber. Right tackle veteran Titus Howard, another first rounder
• 4:59
  Speaker 3: once upon a time of the Houston Texans. He's become
• 5:03
  Speaker 3: a versatile guy at this point in his career. But yeah,
• 5:06
  Speaker 3: gone are the Joel Batonios of the world and J.C.
• 5:11
  Speaker 3: Tretter and Wyatt Teller, Jack Conklin, DeJuan Jones. A lot
• 5:16
  Speaker 3: of the names that the Steelers front has become familiar
• 5:19
  Speaker 3: with are no longer in Cleveland.
• 5:21
  Speaker 1: Yeah, different matchup from that standpoint. And, again, every year
• 5:24
  Speaker 1: is going to be a different matchup, right? But I
• 5:26
  Speaker 1: feel like the players have changed dramatically, and a lot
• 5:29
  Speaker 1: of that has to do with Myles Garrett no longer
• 5:31
  Speaker 1: being with the Cleveland Browns. That's for sure. That is
• 5:33
  Speaker 1: a big change coming into this 2026 matchup, the first
• 5:37
  Speaker 1: of two between the Steelers and the Browns upcoming this
• 5:41
  Speaker 1: evening at 815. Let's get into our five keys on offense,
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  Speaker 1: Double B, and we'll start. Oh, you got a thought.
• 5:47
  Speaker 1: Go ahead. Jump in.
• 5:48
  Speaker 3: We got to give our captain predictions, Ed.
• 5:51
  Speaker 1: That's that's right. I'm trying to I'm trying to skip
• 5:53
  Speaker 1: right through that double B because I did not do
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  Speaker 1: my homework. So so I'm going to I'm going to
• 5:58
  Speaker 1: I'm going to take my first guess right here and
• 6:01
  Speaker 1: right out of the gate. I'm going to say Brock
• 6:03
  Speaker 1: Hoffman is a captain tonight.
• 6:05
  Speaker 3: Oh, so you think they will lean into the revenge
• 6:08
  Speaker 3: game from his brief stint with the Browns? I'm going
• 6:11
  Speaker 3: to say DK Metcalf, captain on offense, start to get
• 6:14
  Speaker 3: lean into his leadership. Maybe a good way to spark him.
• 6:19
  Speaker 3: by having him go out there in the pregame circle
• 6:22
  Speaker 3: for the coin toss. Steelers are on the road, so
• 6:24
  Speaker 3: one of their three captains is going to have to
• 6:25
  Speaker 3: call the coin toss. Are you a heads or tails guy?
• 6:28
  Speaker 1: Tails never fails, my friend, every single time.
• 6:32
  Speaker 3: All right, defense. I'm going to say I think it's
• 6:35
  Speaker 3: maybe time for Patrick Queen on the defensive side of
• 6:38
  Speaker 3: the ball coming off of a fantastic game against the
• 6:41
  Speaker 3: Cincinnati Bengals, one of the best games we've seen him play. Actually,
• 6:44
  Speaker 3: he's putting together a little bit of a streak here
• 6:47
  Speaker 3: at the pick against drake may and the new england
• 6:49
  Speaker 3: patriots at gillette stadium so yeah i'll say that they
• 6:52
  Speaker 3: uh they run patrick queen out there because i think
• 6:55
  Speaker 3: this is going to be another one where whether it's
• 6:58
  Speaker 3: being in coverage on harold fannin or tackling quinshawn judkins
• 7:01
  Speaker 3: in the open field also by the way don't sleep
• 7:03
  Speaker 3: on raheem rocket sanders the backup running back he's a
• 7:07
  Speaker 3: big boy uh he came out of south carolina i
• 7:10
  Speaker 3: think by way of arkansas i liked him in the
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  Speaker 3: draft that year he's a nice little compliment to quinshawn
• 7:15
  Speaker 3: judkins did you say the rocket That's his nickname. Yeah,
• 7:19
  Speaker 3: and when he was at Arkansas, I think they called
• 7:20
  Speaker 3: him the Rocket Pig because of Woo Pig Suey. But, yeah,
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  Speaker 3: Raheem Sanders, he's the backup now in Cleveland.
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  Speaker 1: Nice. All right, defensively for me, and I'm going to
• 7:30
  Speaker 1: ask you for a mulligan here, buddy, because you went
• 7:32
  Speaker 1: through the captains for the first three weeks, and I'm
• 7:35
  Speaker 1: not sure if you named this one or not. I'm
• 7:37
  Speaker 1: like 50-50 on it, but was Derek Harmon already a
• 7:40
  Speaker 1: captain this year? All right, you say no, so I'm
• 7:42
  Speaker 1: going to go Derek Harmon, who saved the game against
• 7:45
  Speaker 1: the Bengals last week.
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  Speaker 3: Okay. That would be a big, big step up on
• 7:50
  Speaker 3: the pedestal there for a young guy, second year guy.
• 7:53
  Speaker 3: I think they've, I just think they've got some other
• 7:55
  Speaker 3: long in the tooth vets to get to before guys
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  Speaker 3: like that, but that'd be a cool honor for him
• 8:00
  Speaker 3: maybe later in this season. All right. And then the
• 8:02
  Speaker 3: last one would be special teams. And to me, this
• 8:04
  Speaker 3: is even more than Brock Hoffman. This is the revenge
• 8:07
  Speaker 3: game aspect. Ray Sean Jenkins, veteran safety, who he's kind
• 8:12
  Speaker 3: of a de facto starter on defense right now. And,
• 8:15
  Speaker 3: Might be playing even more this week if Jalen Ramsey
• 8:18
  Speaker 3: is at all limited with his wrist injury. Also, you
• 8:21
  Speaker 3: remember we were talking yesterday on the show about sometimes
• 8:24
  Speaker 3: you see those big dudes up front with the club
• 8:27
  Speaker 3: on their hand because they have a broken wrist. Well,
• 8:29
  Speaker 3: I guess it was reported last night in Philly that
• 8:32
  Speaker 3: their fantastic D-tackle Jalen Carter is playing through a hairline
• 8:36
  Speaker 3: wrist fracture. And if you're really up on your details,
• 8:39
  Speaker 3: he was my preseason defensive player of the year choice
• 8:42
  Speaker 3: when we did our preseason predictions so uh i guess
• 8:45
  Speaker 3: i'm glad the big fella's playing through it but he
• 8:48
  Speaker 3: hasn't been overly productive just yet so uh it's a
• 8:51
  Speaker 3: couple jaylins on the defensive side of the ball playing
• 8:54
  Speaker 3: through some sort of wrist fracture but yeah i'm gonna
• 8:58
  Speaker 3: go ray sean jenkins he was with the browns just
• 9:00
  Speaker 3: last season uh he's someone who you know he plays
• 9:04
  Speaker 3: defense he plays special teams a little bit he's a
• 9:07
  Speaker 3: veteran he's 32 i don't know how things ended for
• 9:10
  Speaker 3: him with the browns but that might be one that
• 9:13
  Speaker 3: you send him out there against his recent former team
• 9:15
  Speaker 3: who didn't bring him back yet.
• 9:17
  Speaker 1: And Rayshon Jenkins had a really good game last week
• 9:19
  Speaker 1: against the Bengals, too. I felt like between him and
• 9:21
  Speaker 1: Jalen Ramsey, they were in that backfield just about every
• 9:24
  Speaker 1: single time. I'm going to go Cam Johnston, the punter.
• 9:27
  Speaker 1: He hasn't been a captain yet, right?
• 9:30
  Speaker 3: No, he hasn't. And he had a nice game last week, too. One,
• 9:34
  Speaker 3: putting his body and his leg on the line for
• 9:36
  Speaker 3: the penalty. And also, by the way, I don't know
• 9:38
  Speaker 3: if you've seen this, but Bengals fans are crushing Zach
• 9:41
  Speaker 3: Taylor and their special teams coordinator, Darren Simmons, I think
• 9:44
  Speaker 3: his name is, for even having the punt rush punt
• 9:47
  Speaker 3: block on at that point in the game. I mean,
• 9:50
  Speaker 3: I get it from a fan's perspective, but that's one
• 9:53
  Speaker 3: of those you're damned if you do, damned if you don't.
• 9:56
  Speaker 3: Hindsight's 20-20, of course, and it's... it was that odd,
• 10:01
  Speaker 3: one of those rare moments where you put the block on,
• 10:04
  Speaker 3: you don't get it, but not only do you not
• 10:05
  Speaker 3: get it, you run into the punter and the guy
• 10:07
  Speaker 3: couldn't hold up. Learning moment, teaching moment for the Bengals,
• 10:11
  Speaker 3: but a big old W for the Steelers.
• 10:14
  Speaker 1: So, Brian, the anticipation, everyone is, they could care less
• 10:18
  Speaker 1: about the game tonight. They just want to know who
• 10:19
  Speaker 1: won this between you and I. Who are the captains tonight?
• 10:22
  Speaker 1: Is it time to reveal them?
• 10:24
  Speaker 3: We don't know them yet. We're not going to know
• 10:26
  Speaker 3: them until they walk out there.
• 10:28
  Speaker 1: I thought Coach McCarthy named them during the week. You
• 10:30
  Speaker 1: guys found out at the beginning of the week, and
• 10:32
  Speaker 1: then I was just thinking to myself that you were
• 10:35
  Speaker 1: going on the honor system here and you weren't cheating
• 10:36
  Speaker 1: because you're a stand-up guy.
• 10:39
  Speaker 3: No, this is legitimate suspense. Another thing to watch for
• 10:43
  Speaker 3: before the ball is even Obviously, the players selected or
• 10:48
  Speaker 3: designated as captains that week aren't going to have an impact.
• 10:52
  Speaker 3: It doesn't have an impact on the outcome of the game,
• 10:55
  Speaker 3: other than the intangibles factor. But no, it's legitimately something
• 10:59
  Speaker 3: you can follow along for and have some fun with
• 11:02
  Speaker 3: each night when they line up right after the national
• 11:06
  Speaker 3: anthem and right before kickoff.
• 11:07
  Speaker 1: Well, let's do it every week, and I'm so sorry
• 11:09
  Speaker 1: I didn't know that because my dog ate my homework,
• 11:12
  Speaker 1: so I didn't have that in my homework to know
• 11:14
  Speaker 1: that we won't find out until they come out on kickoff. Okay,
• 11:16
  Speaker 1: so I have Brock Hoffman for offense, Derek Harmon for defense,
• 11:20
  Speaker 1: Cam Johnston for special teams, you have DK Metcalf for offense,
• 11:24
  Speaker 1: Patrick Queen for defense, and Rayshon Jenkins for defense. for
• 11:28
  Speaker 1: special teams tonight. Those are our three captain choices. And
• 11:31
  Speaker 1: when the coin toss occurs, Double B, I'll be texting
• 11:34
  Speaker 1: you to see who won. So you'll have to put
• 11:35
  Speaker 1: down your Steelers.com article for a half a second and
• 11:38
  Speaker 1: give me an emoji, a thumbs up or a thumbs down.
• 11:42
  Speaker 3: It's going to be a late night. I don't think
• 11:45
  Speaker 3: any writer really loves the primetime games because you're trying
• 11:48
  Speaker 3: to get your brain clicking even when it's late. By
• 11:52
  Speaker 3: the time that game ends, that's about the time that
• 11:54
  Speaker 3: I was already in bed dreaming last night at me.
• 11:59
  Speaker 1: And you, my friend. Absolutely. I was, I wasn't with you.
• 12:02
  Speaker 3: I was right.
• 12:02
  Speaker 1: I was with you. I wasn't with you next to you, but, uh, yeah, it's,
• 12:06
  Speaker 1: it's been some late nights when you're getting up at
• 12:08
  Speaker 1: five 30 in the morning to get your workout in, uh, the,
• 12:10
  Speaker 1: the nights tend to get a little bit shorter for you.
• 12:13
  Speaker 3: I'm not with you on that. I do not work
• 12:15
  Speaker 3: out that early. That's for sure. But also I'm not complaining.
• 12:18
  Speaker 3: It's a great job. It's a fun job. And it's a,
• 12:21
  Speaker 3: It's a privilege to get to cover primetime games, Thursday
• 12:25
  Speaker 3: night football, Sunday night football, Monday night football, even if
• 12:28
  Speaker 3: my sleep suffers from it a little bit.
• 12:30
  Speaker 1: I'm with you, my friend. Absolutely. Same here. We are
• 12:33
  Speaker 1: counting down to countdown to kickoff with Tom Offerman and
• 12:36
  Speaker 1: Matt Williamson. We are approaching just about 40 minutes or
• 12:40
  Speaker 1: so now, 45 minutes until we'll get to the two
• 12:42
  Speaker 1: of them to get things started tonight leading up to
• 12:45
  Speaker 1: the pregame show with Mike Pursuta, Jerry Dulac, and Bob Labriola.
• 12:49
  Speaker 1: at 6 o'clock before the official kickoff takes place for
• 12:52
  Speaker 1: the Steelers-Browns at 8.15 tonight. Brian, we have another minute
• 12:56
  Speaker 1: or two here before we have to go to break,
• 12:58
  Speaker 1: so let's get to a couple keys on offense, then
• 12:59
  Speaker 1: we'll finish them up on the back half. Jalen Warren,
• 13:02
  Speaker 1: established Jalen Warren early in this game last week, 176 yards,
• 13:06
  Speaker 1: averaged 7.5 yards per carry. Cleveland has allowed an explosive
• 13:10
  Speaker 1: run on 16.7% of their carries. That's worse in the NFL.
• 13:15
  Speaker 1: Good opportunity for Warren in that running game tonight.
• 13:19
  Speaker 3: Yeah, I think that the Cleveland front is one that
• 13:23
  Speaker 3: can be had. I don't think it's one of the
• 13:27
  Speaker 3: better defensive lines in football or anything like that, although
• 13:31
  Speaker 3: Vers and Graham are playing pretty well in terms of
• 13:34
  Speaker 3: getting to the QB, and I think Vers is a
• 13:35
  Speaker 3: good edge setter at his size out there at defensive end,
• 13:39
  Speaker 3: outside linebacker, whatever you want to call it. But otherwise,
• 13:42
  Speaker 3: just sort of some– You know, some journeyman types in
• 13:47
  Speaker 3: the middle there. You know, Malik Collins is one of those.
• 13:51
  Speaker 3: Isaiah McGuire on the other edge. You know, they're not
• 13:55
  Speaker 3: household names is my point. So I think that that
• 13:59
  Speaker 3: is maybe part of the reason that they've been giving
• 14:01
  Speaker 3: up some of those big runs. You know, you get
• 14:03
  Speaker 3: Jalen Warren to the second level. Now, Quincy Williams and
• 14:06
  Speaker 3: Carson Schlesinger are a pretty good inside linebacker tandem, but
• 14:11
  Speaker 3: maybe they haven't been on their P's and Q's just yet.
• 14:14
  Speaker 3: to this point in the season. But yeah, I think,
• 14:17
  Speaker 3: you know, guys like Michael Hall are also in that
• 14:19
  Speaker 3: D line rotation, Sam Williams, who played for Mike McCarthy
• 14:22
  Speaker 3: in Dallas way back when is, is a backup edge
• 14:26
  Speaker 3: rusher for them too. So yeah, I think that that
• 14:28
  Speaker 3: is a, that's a key here. And you know, one
• 14:31
  Speaker 3: thing we didn't know coming off the injury report Wednesday,
• 14:33
  Speaker 3: Rico Dowdle officially rolled out for this game. So you're
• 14:36
  Speaker 3: not going to see him back yet with that toe injury,
• 14:40
  Speaker 3: probably a pretty steady dose of Jalen Warren, but, Man,
• 14:44
  Speaker 3: if Lou Nichols can look like his August version of himself,
• 14:48
  Speaker 3: then that would be a nice little spell for Warren, too,
• 14:52
  Speaker 3: there in the backfield.
• 14:53
  Speaker 1: Our guy, speaking of spell, L-E-W, Lou.
• 14:57
  Speaker 3: And that's assuming he is elevated from the practice squad again.
• 15:00
  Speaker 3: We don't know that just yet as we sit here.
• 15:03
  Speaker 3: I'm just one plus one equals two in terms of
• 15:07
  Speaker 3: Dowdle being out and, I mean, maybe even That news
• 15:11
  Speaker 3: could break really any minute here. So yeah, we'll see
• 15:15
  Speaker 3: what they do with the backfield. Travis Homer, also he's
• 15:18
  Speaker 3: on the active roster now, so we know that he
• 15:20
  Speaker 3: could be in the mix for some touches too.
• 15:22
  Speaker 1: One plus two could equal Lou, L-E-W. There you go.
• 15:26
  Speaker 1: When Double B and I come back, some more keys
• 15:28
  Speaker 1: on offense for tonight, and we'll get to our five
• 15:30
  Speaker 1: keys on defense as well. I'm Troop. He's back, and
• 15:33
  Speaker 1: we're counting down to countdown to kickoff at 4 o'clock
• 15:36
  Speaker 1: here today with Tom Offerman and Matt Williamson. It's the
• 15:40
  Speaker 1: Steelers Report here on Steelers Nation Radio, part of the
• 15:42
  Speaker 1: Steelers Audio Network.
• 15:50
  Speaker 2: This is the Steelers Report with Brian Batko and Ed
• 15:54
  Speaker 2: Troop on Steelers Nation Radio, a part of the Steelers
• 15:58
  Speaker 2: Audio Network.
• 16:01
  Speaker 1: Less than 40 minutes until we turn things over to
• 16:04
  Speaker 1: Countdown to Kickoff with Tom Offerman and Matt Williamson as
• 16:07
  Speaker 1: they will get you all set and ready to go
• 16:09
  Speaker 1: for Steelers Browns on Thursday Night Football. And here on
• 16:13
  Speaker 1: the Steelers Report, we're helping you get ready for the
• 16:17
  Speaker 1: Thursday night matchup in the AFC North. And Double B,
• 16:21
  Speaker 1: before we went to break, we were into some of
• 16:23
  Speaker 1: our keys on offense. We talked about establishing Jalen Warren
• 16:27
  Speaker 1: early in the football game, as they did last week,
• 16:30
  Speaker 1: as Cleveland has allowed an explosive run on 16.7% of
• 16:34
  Speaker 1: their carries. Their opponents have ran the football, I should say.
• 16:37
  Speaker 1: That is worse in the NFL. Our number two key
• 16:40
  Speaker 1: on offense is to attack Cleveland's nickel defense with the Steelers'
• 16:44
  Speaker 1: tight ends. The Browns play nickel, at least through the
• 16:47
  Speaker 1: first three games of the season, close to 86% of
• 16:50
  Speaker 1: their snaps. That is the second highest rate in the NFL. Look,
• 16:54
  Speaker 1: Steelers can get Darnell Washington and Pat Fryermuth in the
• 16:57
  Speaker 1: open against some of those nickel defensive backs, and they
• 17:00
  Speaker 1: can have some success tonight with their two big tight ends.
• 17:05
  Speaker 3: I like the sound of that. you know, fight, you know,
• 17:08
  Speaker 3: get the personnel mismatches out there and force them to
• 17:13
  Speaker 3: try to match your personnel, or you feel like you're
• 17:17
  Speaker 3: going to be coming downhill at a team that maybe
• 17:20
  Speaker 3: isn't suited for that when they have that formation out there. And,
• 17:24
  Speaker 3: you know, I think it could be a big, big
• 17:26
  Speaker 3: night for Pat Friermuth. He's been really consistent already this season.
• 17:30
  Speaker 3: I think Aaron Rodgers is looking for him, and I
• 17:33
  Speaker 3: think he's fit really well in this new Mike McCarthy
• 17:37
  Speaker 3: offense and scheme. But yeah, I mean, I think a
• 17:41
  Speaker 3: good thing about the way that this offense played last
• 17:43
  Speaker 3: week and, you know, even some of what we saw
• 17:45
  Speaker 3: week one against the Falcons, we won't even need to
• 17:48
  Speaker 3: talk about week two, but it's hard to even predict. Like,
• 17:52
  Speaker 3: could it be a Friar Muth game? Could it be
• 17:53
  Speaker 3: a Darnell Washington game? Could it be a Michael Pittman Jr. game?
• 17:57
  Speaker 3: And we still haven't even seen it materialize yet for
• 18:00
  Speaker 3: DK Metcalf. And I haven't even mentioned Jalen Warren. So yeah,
• 18:04
  Speaker 3: all those guys are, And depending on what the defense
• 18:07
  Speaker 3: gives you, Rogers is in position to take advantage of it.
• 18:11
  Speaker 1: Our third key on offense for tonight for the Steelers
• 18:13
  Speaker 1: offense versus the Browns defense. Keep attacking downfield. Rodgers had
• 18:17
  Speaker 1: 15 completions of attempts of 10 or more yards last
• 18:21
  Speaker 1: week in the air. That's his most as a Steeler
• 18:24
  Speaker 1: so far. Meanwhile, the Browns allowing opponents to target deep
• 18:27
  Speaker 1: throws at the highest rate in the NFL at 14%.
• 18:30
  Speaker 1: So maybe an opportunity, and you mentioned this already in
• 18:33
  Speaker 1: the first hour, Double B, to get DK involved early
• 18:36
  Speaker 1: again in this game. Take some shots with Metcalf downfield.
• 18:42
  Speaker 3: Yeah, and we'll see what kind of coverage they play there.
• 18:44
  Speaker 3: I mean, if they're sitting back deep, then that's going
• 18:47
  Speaker 3: to be easier said than done. But if they're devoting
• 18:50
  Speaker 3: a lot of– if they're rolling coverage and clouding DK Metcalf,
• 18:54
  Speaker 3: then you need your other guys to win one-on-one. And
• 18:57
  Speaker 3: I think a curious thing to watch on that front
• 19:00
  Speaker 3: with this offense going into tonight is who's going to
• 19:03
  Speaker 3: play more as that third receiver? Is it going to
• 19:05
  Speaker 3: be Jeremy Bernard or is it going to be Roman Wilson?
• 19:07
  Speaker 3: At this point, it's been Roman Wilson. Toward the end
• 19:09
  Speaker 3: of that game in Week 3 against the Bengals, it
• 19:11
  Speaker 3: was Bernard. Now, I think Wilson gives you more of
• 19:14
  Speaker 3: the deep ball threat, but Bernard may be a little
• 19:16
  Speaker 3: bit more reliable working over the middle, the crossers, the slants,
• 19:20
  Speaker 3: sitting down against the zone in the intermediate part of
• 19:23
  Speaker 3: the field. That's why, you know, to take it back
• 19:25
  Speaker 3: to all of our preseason, you know, ad nauseum discussion
• 19:29
  Speaker 3: of who's going to be this team's quote-unquote number three,
• 19:33
  Speaker 3: we always said that that role was probably going to
• 19:35
  Speaker 3: be divided, right, and that you were going to look
• 19:37
  Speaker 3: up at the end of the season and Neither one
• 19:39
  Speaker 3: of them really ran away with the de facto third
• 19:41
  Speaker 3: receiver role. I think it's going to be game plan dependent.
• 19:45
  Speaker 3: It kind of depends on what the Browns are playing
• 19:48
  Speaker 3: you as defensively, structure-wise. I think that both of those
• 19:53
  Speaker 3: guys have had some good moments and some not-so-good moments
• 19:57
  Speaker 3: in the last couple weeks, and I'm eager to see
• 20:00
  Speaker 3: how they respond or bounce back if they get the
• 20:01
  Speaker 3: opportunity to do so.
• 20:03
  Speaker 1: Our fourth key on offense is stay nasty on the
• 20:06
  Speaker 1: offensive line tonight with Hoffman and Max Yonachor. and the
• 20:10
  Speaker 1: rest of that front five. Last week, they were nasty, Brian.
• 20:13
  Speaker 1: They set a little bit of attitude up front, especially
• 20:16
  Speaker 1: with Brock Hoffman at that guard position. I just still
• 20:18
  Speaker 1: think back, I'm watching him chirp with big Dexter Lawrence
• 20:21
  Speaker 1: on the other side with Cincinnati. They'll have to keep
• 20:24
  Speaker 1: that attitude tonight, keep that swagger that we saw last week,
• 20:27
  Speaker 1: because it certainly helped them in the run game, and
• 20:30
  Speaker 1: they did protect Aaron Rodgers. Again, Dex got to him
• 20:32
  Speaker 1: twice last week, but for the most part, they kept
• 20:35
  Speaker 1: Rodgers upright.
• 20:37
  Speaker 2: Yeah, they did.
• 20:38
  Speaker 3: And, you know, I think this is an opportunity for
• 20:40
  Speaker 3: them to really establish some of that chemistry and in
• 20:44
  Speaker 3: gel and show that it was not a flash in
• 20:46
  Speaker 3: the pan that what they did against the Bengals is
• 20:50
  Speaker 3: going to be the new normal for this Steelers offensive line.
• 20:53
  Speaker 3: You know, with with Maxi Honachor, we're all excited to
• 20:57
  Speaker 3: see how how does he build on that first start?
• 21:00
  Speaker 3: Because he absolutely looked the part, looked like the guy
• 21:02
  Speaker 3: that the Steelers drafted in the first round and who
• 21:06
  Speaker 3: Andy Weidel loved going back to the regular season and
• 21:10
  Speaker 3: then loved even more after seeing him in the senior
• 21:13
  Speaker 3: bowl and going through that phase of the pre-draft process. Yeah,
• 21:18
  Speaker 3: it's always a good way to get out of these
• 21:20
  Speaker 3: Thursday night games on the road is control the line
• 21:23
  Speaker 3: of scrimmage, run the football, and shorten the game a
• 21:27
  Speaker 3: little bit. Take some pressure off of Aaron Rodgers so
• 21:31
  Speaker 3: that he doesn't have to stress his body too much
• 21:34
  Speaker 3: on a quick turnaround.
• 21:35
  Speaker 1: Our final key on offense for tonight, number five, is
• 21:38
  Speaker 1: to win third down and finish drives. The Steelers converting
• 21:41
  Speaker 1: just 32.4% on third down. We talked about this yesterday
• 21:45
  Speaker 1: on our hits and misses, and they're averaging a league
• 21:48
  Speaker 1: low 3.1 yards per play on third downs. Meanwhile, the Browns'
• 21:52
  Speaker 1: red zone defense, we just talked about that as well, 44%.
• 21:56
  Speaker 1: in the red zone defensively. So the Steelers need to
• 21:58
  Speaker 1: maximize their scoring opportunities when they get inside the 20.
• 22:02
  Speaker 1: Of course, you want seven, but even still settling for
• 22:05
  Speaker 1: three is not the worst thing in the world against
• 22:06
  Speaker 1: a very good red zone defense with the Cleveland Browns.
• 22:10
  Speaker 3: Well, it's been good so far, but maybe the Steelers
• 22:13
  Speaker 3: will make it not so good this week. And, you know,
• 22:16
  Speaker 3: they've got third down winners in my mind, Ed. And
• 22:19
  Speaker 3: you talk about Pat Fryermuth and Pittman. I think still
• 22:23
  Speaker 3: Jeremy Bernard can grow into that role. in time. Don't
• 22:27
  Speaker 3: know if it's going to happen as soon as week
• 22:28
  Speaker 3: four on the road on a Thursday night in Cleveland,
• 22:30
  Speaker 3: but yeah, I think that that is a very reasonable
• 22:34
  Speaker 3: to expect for him eventually be that possession guy. And,
• 22:37
  Speaker 3: you know, there's also something to be said for dump
• 22:39
  Speaker 3: it down to Jalen Warren and he'll get you, you know,
• 22:42
  Speaker 3: if it's third and four, I have a feeling he's
• 22:44
  Speaker 3: going to get you five because he never does go
• 22:46
  Speaker 3: down on that first contact. I just hope that for
• 22:50
  Speaker 3: his sake, you know, the shoulders feeling okay because he
• 22:52
  Speaker 3: came into last week questionable and He sure shouldered the
• 22:55
  Speaker 3: load on top of that.
• 22:56
  Speaker 1: Those are our five keys on offense. How about defense?
• 22:59
  Speaker 1: Five keys on the Pittsburgh Steelers. Defense starts with this.
• 23:04
  Speaker 1: Keep Deshaun Watson in the pocket. Watson is the Browns'
• 23:08
  Speaker 1: second leading rusher with 105 yards and has a 12%
• 23:12
  Speaker 1: scramble rate on the season. Meanwhile, the Steelers are excellent
• 23:15
  Speaker 1: in getting to the quarterback without blitzing. So containing Watson
• 23:18
  Speaker 1: and make him beat you from the pocket.
• 23:23
  Speaker 3: Yeah, maybe get some more of those bat downs. I think,
• 23:27
  Speaker 3: you know, that right guard being a rookie in Austin Barber, Harmon,
• 23:32
  Speaker 3: you know, have some success tossing him around up front,
• 23:35
  Speaker 3: or will it be maybe a Keanu Benton day? And
• 23:39
  Speaker 3: you never know. I mean, Zion Johnson against Cam Hayward,
• 23:42
  Speaker 3: that's good on good right there in terms of pedigree.
• 23:45
  Speaker 3: And I always want to put my money on Cam Hayward. And,
• 23:50
  Speaker 3: you know, he's– collapse in the pocket it seems like
• 23:53
  Speaker 3: only a matter of time before he doesn't have to
• 23:54
  Speaker 3: settle for a swat he can actually get all the
• 23:57
  Speaker 3: way to the quarterback and get himself a sack here
• 24:00
  Speaker 3: this season only one batted pass thus far through three
• 24:03
  Speaker 3: games for Deshaun Watson you don't want him extending plays
• 24:08
  Speaker 3: and using that ability I think that's just one club
• 24:11
  Speaker 3: in his bag that kind of separates him a little
• 24:13
  Speaker 3: bit more even from Joe Burrow and certainly from Cooper
• 24:17
  Speaker 3: Rush Steelers uh I wouldn't say they let that kill
• 24:20
  Speaker 3: them in week two against Drake May, but they did
• 24:22
  Speaker 3: have to account for it, and they have to account
• 24:25
  Speaker 3: for that again this week.
• 24:26
  Speaker 1: Our second key on defense still involves Deshaun Watson, and
• 24:31
  Speaker 1: it's the pressure, Deshaun Watson. Nine times he's been sacked
• 24:35
  Speaker 1: on 103 dropbacks so far this season. That's an 8.7%
• 24:39
  Speaker 1: sack rate. Meanwhile, the Steelers lead the NFL in sack
• 24:42
  Speaker 1: rate when rushing four or fewer runs with T.J. Watt
• 24:46
  Speaker 1: and Alex Highsmith each having three-plus sacks so far this year.
• 24:50
  Speaker 1: This is an obvious one, Brian, and you were just
• 24:52
  Speaker 1: alluding to it a little bit as well. Get that pressure,
• 24:55
  Speaker 1: and nobody better to do it than T.J. Watt or
• 24:57
  Speaker 1: Alex Highsmith.
• 24:59
  Speaker 3: Yeah, I think one part that's interesting each and every
• 25:03
  Speaker 3: week of this defense is how does Patrick Graham deploy
• 25:06
  Speaker 3: these guys? You never really have a beat on what
• 25:08
  Speaker 3: he's going to do because it's still so early in
• 25:10
  Speaker 3: his tenure, and he does adapt so much to each
• 25:14
  Speaker 3: and every week. Maybe it's a week that we see
• 25:16
  Speaker 3: TJ Watt rushing on the interior or Alex Highsmith coming
• 25:19
  Speaker 3: through the B-gap. We've seen Nick Herbig get rid of
• 25:23
  Speaker 3: guards real quick and get past them and get to
• 25:25
  Speaker 3: the quarterback. I love the idea of all of that.
• 25:29
  Speaker 3: It's just a matter of when we see it. I
• 25:31
  Speaker 3: think TJ Watt was up against it a little bit
• 25:34
  Speaker 3: last week in a really, really good and humongous young
• 25:37
  Speaker 3: right tackle in Amarius Mims as far as this week
• 25:41
  Speaker 3: and the challenge against Titus Howard. You know, he's not
• 25:45
  Speaker 3: nearly as big. Obviously, he's a savvier, older veteran guy.
• 25:49
  Speaker 3: But I'll be really curious, too, to see the Alex
• 25:52
  Speaker 3: Highsmith matchup against Spencer Fano and that athleticism on the
• 25:56
  Speaker 3: left side.
• 25:57
  Speaker 1: Our number three key on defense tonight for the Steelers.
• 26:02
  Speaker 1: is to control Harold Fannin Jr. We talked about the
• 26:04
  Speaker 1: big tight end for Cleveland and how successful he's been.
• 26:08
  Speaker 1: He has 12 catches over his last two games. And
• 26:11
  Speaker 1: when you add in Concepcion and Boston Double B with Fannin,
• 26:15
  Speaker 1: they have accounted for 53 of the Browns' 82 targets
• 26:19
  Speaker 1: through the first three weeks of the season. So I
• 26:21
  Speaker 1: think it's very important for the Steelers' defense tonight to
• 26:23
  Speaker 1: control that middle part of the football field, specifically Harold
• 26:28
  Speaker 1: Fannin Jr.
• 26:30
  Speaker 3: Yeah, they had some coverage busts and some lapses last
• 26:32
  Speaker 3: week against the Bengals. There's no denying that. That's a
• 26:36
  Speaker 3: team that thrives on that when you talk about T. Higgins.
• 26:40
  Speaker 3: Sometimes you don't have a coverage bust. You play it perfectly,
• 26:43
  Speaker 3: but he's just going to T. Higgins you, and that's
• 26:46
  Speaker 3: a problem. But we'll see if Boston has that capability
• 26:49
  Speaker 3: just yet as a guy in his fourth regular season
• 26:52
  Speaker 3: NFL game. But absolutely, you don't want Harold Fannin running
• 26:57
  Speaker 3: free there through the middle, the teeth, of your defense,
• 27:01
  Speaker 3: you know, Concepcion's a guy who in college coming out
• 27:04
  Speaker 3: of Texas A & M had some drop issues at times.
• 27:07
  Speaker 3: Fannin has a couple of drops already this season, according
• 27:11
  Speaker 3: to pro football reference. And yeah, I mean, it's, it's
• 27:15
  Speaker 3: going to be the first primetime game for some young
• 27:17
  Speaker 3: players on that Browns team. We'll see how they respond,
• 27:21
  Speaker 3: but yeah, if you're the Steelers, you've got the veteran
• 27:23
  Speaker 3: savvy in the secondary. We didn't mention that Brandon Echols
• 27:26
  Speaker 3: is questionable for this game too. He has cleared concussion protocol.
• 27:30
  Speaker 3: but his status is still up in the air, somebody
• 27:33
  Speaker 3: who can play outside or inside corner.
• 27:35
  Speaker 1: Yeah, hopefully they get Echols back. They can certainly use him,
• 27:38
  Speaker 1: especially now with this secondary changing by the minute, right?
• 27:42
  Speaker 1: We know Joey Porter Jr. is not going to be
• 27:44
  Speaker 1: there tonight, so Echols would definitely help, right, Double B?
• 27:48
  Speaker 3: Yeah, he could. I mean, they haven't needed him yet
• 27:50
  Speaker 3: this season, and it seems like Daylon Everett's already ahead
• 27:53
  Speaker 3: of him sort of on the depth chart when you've
• 27:55
  Speaker 3: got to go to that. next man up. But we
• 27:57
  Speaker 3: saw Daylon Everett supplant Asante Samuel Jr. at the end
• 28:00
  Speaker 3: of last game. Maybe that was just situational, but it's
• 28:04
  Speaker 3: just good to have more options to throw out there.
• 28:06
  Speaker 3: Maybe you want to try Dean Everett on the outside,
• 28:10
  Speaker 3: Echols in the middle, or whether it's Dean Samuel and
• 28:13
  Speaker 3: Everett in some order, or if Jalen Ramsey's in there
• 28:16
  Speaker 3: at the nickel corner position and you've got Brisker and
• 28:20
  Speaker 3: Jenkins holding it down at safety. We'll find out what
• 28:23
  Speaker 3: the game plan is when they line up on defense
• 28:26
  Speaker 3: in this one.
• 28:27
  Speaker 1: Agreed. Number four on defense tonight for our five keys
• 28:31
  Speaker 1: with the Steelers' defense versus the Browns' offense. We talked
• 28:33
  Speaker 1: about the Steelers converting third downs on offense with one
• 28:37
  Speaker 1: of our keys there. Well, on defense, it's get off
• 28:39
  Speaker 1: the field on third down. The Browns are averaging just 30.6%
• 28:43
  Speaker 1: on third down. That's 30th in the NFL, worse than
• 28:46
  Speaker 1: the Steelers'. There are only three for 19 on third
• 28:49
  Speaker 1: and seven or longer. That's the worst in the NFL.
• 28:52
  Speaker 1: Don't give them easy conversions this week. You got to
• 28:55
  Speaker 1: get after them, especially on third down.
• 28:58
  Speaker 3: And try to make it third and long, or at
• 29:01
  Speaker 3: least third and manageable because third and short, you know, you're,
• 29:04
  Speaker 3: you're putting yourself up against it. They use a fullback too.
• 29:06
  Speaker 3: And we should mention that Michael Burton, he played 15
• 29:09
  Speaker 3: snaps last week against Carolina. If they're coming out there
• 29:13
  Speaker 3: in I formation and, They're really trying to establish the run.
• 29:17
  Speaker 3: You've got to hunker down if you're the Steelers' defense.
• 29:19
  Speaker 3: Don't let them just get yards between the tackles, three,
• 29:23
  Speaker 3: four yards in a cloud of dust with Judkins and
• 29:26
  Speaker 3: Raheem Sanders. If they use a fullback, you might have
• 29:29
  Speaker 3: to have something ready to counter that from your side.
• 29:32
  Speaker 1: Our final key on defense for the Steelers tonight is
• 29:36
  Speaker 1: to make the Browns one-dimensional. The Browns are averaging only
• 29:39
  Speaker 1: four-point yards per play, and they have a 9% explosive
• 29:43
  Speaker 1: play rate, one of the lowest in the NFL, but
• 29:45
  Speaker 1: the Browns are averaging just 2.49 yards per carry. We
• 29:48
  Speaker 1: talked about their struggle with the run, much like the
• 29:50
  Speaker 1: Steelers through the first couple weeks of the season. Quenshawn Junkins'
• 29:54
  Speaker 1: last 12 games only averaging that 2.9 yards per carry.
• 29:58
  Speaker 1: So the Steelers need to take away the run and
• 30:01
  Speaker 1: force the Browns to throw the football and put Deshaun
• 30:04
  Speaker 1: Watson in those uncomfortable situations where they are bringing the blitz,
• 30:07
  Speaker 1: push him out of the pocket, and force him to
• 30:09
  Speaker 1: make a mistake.
• 30:12
  Speaker 3: Put some stress on that young interior of the offensive line.
• 30:16
  Speaker 3: We mentioned Austin Barber, rookie record, who's been holding his own,
• 30:20
  Speaker 3: I guess, thus far. But Tevin Jenkins, who would be
• 30:22
  Speaker 3: the top backup there, he was rolled out. for this game.
• 30:27
  Speaker 3: And just looking at it real quick, I mean, the
• 30:29
  Speaker 3: guy who's going to start at center, Luke Whipler, he's
• 30:31
  Speaker 3: in his fourth season in the league, but so far
• 30:34
  Speaker 3: when he does start games, the Browns, it looks like
• 30:38
  Speaker 3: they are three and three in the six games that
• 30:41
  Speaker 3: Whipler has started, but not a ton of points scored
• 30:44
  Speaker 3: in those games. The point totals for Cleveland were 14, 31, three, 20, 13,
• 30:48
  Speaker 3: and 20. One of those games he started was late
• 30:56
  Speaker 3: last season against the Steelers actually at home. And we
• 30:59
  Speaker 3: know that 13-6 Browns victory was a slog of a game,
• 31:04
  Speaker 3: not a lot of offense on either side.
• 31:06
  Speaker 1: Those are our five keys on defense and offense for
• 31:10
  Speaker 1: the Pittsburgh Steelers tonight. We are inside 30 minutes before
• 31:12
  Speaker 1: we turn things over to Countdown to Kickoff with Tom
• 31:15
  Speaker 1: Offerman and Matt Williamson. When Double B and I come back,
• 31:18
  Speaker 1: we're going to look at some NFL stat leaders after
• 31:21
  Speaker 1: three weeks as week four. That's right, week four already.
• 31:24
  Speaker 1: Kicks off tonight between the Steelers and Browns, 8-15. It's
• 31:28
  Speaker 1: the Steelers Report.
• 31:29
  Speaker 3: I'm E.T.
• 31:30
  Speaker 1: He's B.B. right here on Steelers Nation Radio, part of
• 31:33
  Speaker 1: the Steelers Audio Network.
• 31:42
  Speaker 2: This is the Steelers Report with Brian Batko and Ed
• 31:46
  Speaker 2: Troup on Steelers Nation Radio, a part of the Steelers
• 31:50
  Speaker 2: Audio Network.
• 31:52
  Speaker 1: Wrapping up our number two, we are just about 15
• 31:55
  Speaker 1: minutes or so away from turning things over to Tom
• 31:58
  Speaker 1: Offerman and Matt Williamson for a countdown to kickoff to
• 32:00
  Speaker 1: get things going tonight. For Steelers, Browns from Cleveland, 8-15 kick.
• 32:07
  Speaker 1: And a special programming note, tomorrow on the show, Double
• 32:10
  Speaker 1: B and I will have a full game recap from
• 32:13
  Speaker 1: Browns Steelers, where hopefully we'll be talking about the 3-1
• 32:17
  Speaker 1: first place Pittsburgh Steelers. One thing's for certain, Double B, man,
• 32:20
  Speaker 1: that win against the Cincinnati Bengals, in my opinion, just
• 32:24
  Speaker 1: so big this past Sunday, because if you're 1-2 heading
• 32:28
  Speaker 1: up to Cleveland tonight, Again, we don't like to throw
• 32:31
  Speaker 1: around the must-win term this early in the season. However,
• 32:34
  Speaker 1: you didn't want to get to 1-3 if you have
• 32:35
  Speaker 1: a hiccup tonight in Cleveland going into the 10 days
• 32:39
  Speaker 1: in between now and your next game. You'd rather be 3-1,
• 32:42
  Speaker 1: best-case scenario, but if you're 2-2, at least you're at
• 32:45
  Speaker 1: 500 and not at 1-3.
• 32:46
  Speaker 3: I feel like throughout the course of the season, there
• 32:50
  Speaker 3: are big games, there are huge games, and there are
• 32:53
  Speaker 3: must-win games. I think last week against the Bank, they're
• 32:56
  Speaker 3: all big, which is why that's on the bottom of
• 32:58
  Speaker 3: my totem pole. If we get to week 18 in
• 33:01
  Speaker 3: a playoff spot, AFC North division title seating is clinched.
• 33:06
  Speaker 3: I'll tell you, it's not a big game, but until
• 33:07
  Speaker 3: we see otherwise, they're all big. I think last week
• 33:11
  Speaker 3: against the Bengals probably qualified as a huge game. I'd
• 33:14
  Speaker 3: probably say this is a huge game again, because, you know,
• 33:18
  Speaker 3: I would love to see Ed and this is the
• 33:21
  Speaker 3: opportunity that we have because we're not players. We're not coaches.
• 33:25
  Speaker 3: We sit in chairs and talk into microphones and, So
• 33:28
  Speaker 3: we can look ahead. We can look ahead at the Steelers' schedule.
• 33:31
  Speaker 3: You get the Browns tonight in Cleveland. You've got the
• 33:34
  Speaker 3: Colts at home coming off of a little extra rest,
• 33:37
  Speaker 3: and I don't think this Colts team has been anything
• 33:39
  Speaker 3: to write home about. They're 1-2. They won at home
• 33:42
  Speaker 3: barely last week against the Texans team that is struggling.
• 33:45
  Speaker 3: They took the Chiefs to OT. They got blown out
• 33:48
  Speaker 3: by the Baltimore Ravens. You get them at home next week.
• 33:51
  Speaker 3: Daniel Jones, the Steelers have owned Daniel Jones recently. so
• 33:55
  Speaker 3: far when they've faced him. Okay. Then you go to
• 33:57
  Speaker 3: Tampa week six. Oh, look at that. No Baker Mayfield.
• 34:00
  Speaker 3: Jalen Daniels is going to be at quarterback for them,
• 34:04
  Speaker 3: provided he plays these next two games and plays well
• 34:07
  Speaker 3: enough that they don't go out there and trade for
• 34:10
  Speaker 3: JJ McCarthy from the giants or whatever. So you've got
• 34:13
  Speaker 3: Jalen Daniels, a rookie quarterback undrafted on the road, but
• 34:17
  Speaker 3: still in week six, then you go to that Paris
• 34:21
  Speaker 3: game in week seven against the saints and The Stade
• 34:24
  Speaker 3: de France, I don't know what to expect out of that.
• 34:26
  Speaker 3: No one does. They've never played an NFL game in Paris.
• 34:29
  Speaker 3: The Steelers did well last year in Dublin, but it's
• 34:33
  Speaker 3: going to be a lot more hectic from a travel
• 34:35
  Speaker 3: standpoint in that game. So I bring this all up, Ed,
• 34:38
  Speaker 3: because if the Steelers win tonight, they're 3-1. If they
• 34:41
  Speaker 3: take care of Daniel Jones and Jalen Daniels, they're 5-1
• 34:45
  Speaker 3: going into Week 7, and then I feel like you
• 34:48
  Speaker 3: can go into the Paris experience excursion saying, you know what?
• 34:53
  Speaker 3: if funky stuff goes on here and we, and we
• 34:55
  Speaker 3: don't win this game, you know, six time zones away,
• 34:59
  Speaker 3: we're still all right. Sitting. Okay. At five and two.
• 35:03
  Speaker 1: Oh, I completely agree because you should be the favorite
• 35:05
  Speaker 1: against Indianapolis at home. Either way, regardless of what happens tonight,
• 35:09
  Speaker 1: you should be the favorite potentially in Tampa Bay with
• 35:11
  Speaker 1: everything you just outlined. Double B new Orleans. Now a
• 35:14
  Speaker 1: toss up before the start of the season, you probably
• 35:17
  Speaker 1: felt pretty good about that with what the saints were though.
• 35:19
  Speaker 1: One of us here did say the saints would win
• 35:22
  Speaker 1: the NFC South.
• 35:23
  Speaker 3: All right.
• 35:24
  Speaker 1: But maybe that's a toss-up at that point with how
• 35:26
  Speaker 1: well the Saints have played so far this year. And
• 35:28
  Speaker 1: then you get the Browns at home, a team in
• 35:30
  Speaker 1: which they have dominated at home. I mean, this one
• 35:34
  Speaker 1: thing on Thursday night that they've struggled with in Cleveland,
• 35:37
  Speaker 1: but here in Pittsburgh against the Browns, that will be
• 35:39
  Speaker 1: the Browns haven't won forever, but you did have a
• 35:41
  Speaker 1: thought there. Go ahead, jump in.
• 35:43
  Speaker 3: No, I was just going to say, I mean, the
• 35:44
  Speaker 3: Saints did just lose at home to the Raiders, giving
• 35:46
  Speaker 3: up 35 points. So they kind of quickly went from
• 35:48
  Speaker 3: darling to one and two and maybe just the same
• 35:52
  Speaker 3: old Saints. But I just think you don't never really
• 35:54
  Speaker 3: know what to expect from those international trips, especially because
• 35:58
  Speaker 3: the Steelers have a road game the week before Paris.
• 36:01
  Speaker 3: I mean, the league and the schedule didn't do them
• 36:03
  Speaker 3: any favors in terms of that. And then, yeah, you
• 36:05
  Speaker 3: don't even have a bye coming off of the Paris game.
• 36:08
  Speaker 3: But to your point, Ed, the home game traditionally for
• 36:13
  Speaker 3: the Steelers against Cleveland has been a free space on
• 36:16
  Speaker 3: the bingo card. And then you finally get your bye,
• 36:19
  Speaker 3: and then you can really kind of reset, recharge, recover.
• 36:22
  Speaker 3: and get ready for what's a really difficult stretch run. Cincy, Philly, Denver, Houston, Jacksonville, Baltimore. Man,
• 36:30
  Speaker 3: that is a thresher of a schedule there coming out
• 36:33
  Speaker 3: of your off week. But yeah, I mean, hey, if
• 36:35
  Speaker 3: you can, you get this game tonight, and then I
• 36:38
  Speaker 3: think you're feeling pretty good about being favored the rest
• 36:41
  Speaker 3: of the way. And hey, maybe you get through the
• 36:43
  Speaker 3: first eight weeks of the season at, I don't know,
• 36:46
  Speaker 3: six and two. Could we even consider seven and one?
• 36:49
  Speaker 3: I'm doing the look ahead thing, but Again, we're allowed.
• 36:52
  Speaker 3: We're in the media.
• 36:54
  Speaker 1: Of course, they go out tonight and get blown out
• 36:56
  Speaker 1: in Cleveland. Tomorrow we come in and say, wow, they're
• 36:58
  Speaker 1: going to be 1-7. They've won two games already. It
• 37:01
  Speaker 1: could change quickly, Double B, but I'm with you. Realistically
• 37:05
  Speaker 1: and seriously, as a football guru, we both are. We
• 37:09
  Speaker 1: dive into this seven days a week this time of
• 37:12
  Speaker 1: the year, that's for sure. Great opportunity, really, for the
• 37:15
  Speaker 1: Black and Gold to be sitting at 6-2, maybe five
• 37:19
  Speaker 1: and three at worst after eight games so I'm I'm
• 37:21
  Speaker 1: with you after and you really have to get there
• 37:24
  Speaker 1: because you know again not looking too far ahead but
• 37:27
  Speaker 1: at Cincy at Philly as you just outlined in Denver
• 37:29
  Speaker 1: at home that three-game stretch right there alone could be
• 37:32
  Speaker 1: very challenging Houston now doesn't look as good as they
• 37:34
  Speaker 1: did coming into the season but who knows they the
• 37:36
  Speaker 1: Texans still have the ability to turn their season around
• 37:39
  Speaker 1: by the time you get to December 6th.
• 37:41
  Speaker 3: They did last year as I recall I think they
• 37:43
  Speaker 3: started pretty slow and then they uh they really picked
• 37:46
  Speaker 3: up steam and came together by the end and brought
• 37:48
  Speaker 3: that team that we saw in the wildcard game to
• 37:51
  Speaker 3: Accresure stadium. But no, I, I hear you on the
• 37:54
  Speaker 3: opposite too. I mean, if you, if you go out
• 37:55
  Speaker 3: there and lose tonight in Cleveland and a tough place
• 37:58
  Speaker 3: to play, then you're two and two. And you know,
• 38:01
  Speaker 3: not only that, but that return game with the Browns
• 38:04
  Speaker 3: at home just inherently is going to feel a little tougher, right?
• 38:08
  Speaker 3: Because that'll be a team that you lost to rather
• 38:10
  Speaker 3: than one that you beat at their house. So yeah,
• 38:13
  Speaker 3: it's a, it's a huge game. I guess we'll, we'll
• 38:15
  Speaker 3: boil it down to that. I don't, I'll consider it
• 38:17
  Speaker 3: a must win. I'm a pretty tough sell when it
• 38:20
  Speaker 3: comes to the quote unquote must win any time, especially
• 38:24
  Speaker 3: week four. But yeah, this is this is a huge game.
• 38:27
  Speaker 3: It's bigger than a big game in my mind. And
• 38:30
  Speaker 3: I'm getting I'm getting excited for it with each passing
• 38:32
  Speaker 3: minute and hour that we get closer to kickoff.
• 38:34
  Speaker 1: Yeah, we are within 15 minutes before Tom Offerman and
• 38:37
  Speaker 1: Matt Williamson take over for countdown to kickoff. to officially
• 38:41
  Speaker 1: get things underway here for tonight. Double B, let's look
• 38:44
  Speaker 1: at in and around the NFL, some stat leaders going
• 38:47
  Speaker 1: into the start of week four here later tonight between
• 38:50
  Speaker 1: the Steelers and the Browns. I always like to ask
• 38:52
  Speaker 1: you at the top of each category, if you want
• 38:54
  Speaker 1: to take a guess, we have a new offensive leader
• 38:57
  Speaker 1: for most passing yards in the NFL. And I was
• 38:59
  Speaker 1: a bit surprised to see this name. Do you want
• 39:02
  Speaker 1: to take a guess?
• 39:04
  Speaker 3: Offensive passing leaders, Bryce Young.
• 39:07
  Speaker 1: You are correct, my friend. 939 yards from Carolina is
• 39:10
  Speaker 1: number one in the NFL. Tyler Shuck from the Saints,
• 39:14
  Speaker 1: number two with 917. Matthew Stafford with the Rams, 872.
• 39:18
  Speaker 1: Jordan Love is fourth at 844. And Patrick Mahomes, 812
• 39:22
  Speaker 1: at number five in the NFL for passers.
• 39:25
  Speaker 3: All right. So yeah, some of the usual suspects on there,
• 39:28
  Speaker 3: but otherwise, guys that not only are a bit surprising
• 39:31
  Speaker 3: to see at the top of that list, Ed, but
• 39:33
  Speaker 3: guys that the Steelers are going to see later in
• 39:34
  Speaker 3: this season, provided they stay healthy.
• 39:36
  Speaker 1: Yeah, they'll see, what, Shuck? And, well, they're going to
• 39:41
  Speaker 1: see some other ones. They're going to see Carolina, Bryce
• 39:43
  Speaker 1: Young right at the top.
• 39:45
  Speaker 3: Yeah, the leader, Bryce Young. That's here in December, I think.
• 39:49
  Speaker 1: Rushing leaders so far through the first three weeks. This
• 39:52
  Speaker 1: has not changed. Kenneth Walker III, defending NFL Super Bowl MVP,
• 39:57
  Speaker 1: number one at 360. Bajon Robinson, 349 is second. James
• 40:01
  Speaker 1: Cook is third at 346. Jameer Gibbs, number four with 307.
• 40:06
  Speaker 1: And AFC North foe, Derrick Henry from the Ravens is
• 40:09
  Speaker 1: fifth at 301. No surprises there.
• 40:13
  Speaker 3: And the Steelers will see Derrick Henry in time. Of course,
• 40:16
  Speaker 3: we know they never... really see the Ravens until it
• 40:19
  Speaker 3: starts snowing outside. And this, this season is no different.
• 40:24
  Speaker 1: Any guests on who you're receiving leaders are through the
• 40:27
  Speaker 1: first three weeks.
• 40:30
  Speaker 3: I'm going to say Chris Olave is probably still up
• 40:32
  Speaker 3: there because Bryce Young's leading the league in passing. And
• 40:35
  Speaker 3: last time I checked, if you get a passing yard,
• 40:37
  Speaker 3: someone has to be on the receiving end of said
• 40:40
  Speaker 3: passing yard. So ipso facto carry the one, someone from
• 40:44
  Speaker 3: Carolina would maybe be up there, but I think they've
• 40:45
  Speaker 3: been pretty balanced between Jalen Coker and Tedaroa McMillan, Darren Waller.
• 40:50
  Speaker 3: So I'm going to say Chris Olavi from the Saints
• 40:52
  Speaker 3: is still number one. And for number two, receiving, how
• 40:57
  Speaker 3: far down the list until you get to a running back?
• 40:59
  Speaker 3: Because some running backs have been having some really big
• 41:02
  Speaker 3: receiving games too thus far. But for number two, I
• 41:05
  Speaker 3: will go with, hmm, Matthew Golden's been hot for the
• 41:10
  Speaker 3: Packers off the top of my head. And Drake London
• 41:12
  Speaker 3: just had a huge game for the Falcons. But the Steelers,
• 41:15
  Speaker 3: they packed them up in a suitcase and sent them
• 41:17
  Speaker 3: to Atlanta in week one. So I'll say Chris Olave,
• 41:19
  Speaker 3: number one.
• 41:20
  Speaker 1: Chris Olave is number two at 375. Jackson Smith and
• 41:24
  Speaker 1: Jigba is your leading receiver at 405 so far this season.
• 41:30
  Speaker 1: Devontae Adams is number three at 358.
• 41:32
  Speaker 3: C.D.
• 41:32
  Speaker 1: Lamb from the Cowboys is number four at 309. And
• 41:35
  Speaker 1: Christian Watson is two 84 at number five. So double
• 41:39
  Speaker 1: B no Carolina Panthers in the top five. So your
• 41:43
  Speaker 1: guess on that being a more balanced offense is correct.
• 41:47
  Speaker 3: And the Packers somewhat balanced too, because Watson's up there
• 41:50
  Speaker 3: at number five, but Matthew Golden, I think has been
• 41:52
  Speaker 3: pretty good too. I'm not sure how far down the
• 41:54
  Speaker 3: list he is. Well, I guess it's not that balanced.
• 41:55
  Speaker 3: It might be a top heavy two man attack there.
• 41:58
  Speaker 3: I know Tucker craft hasn't done a ton thus far. Yeah.
• 42:01
  Speaker 3: How about the Vontae Adams turning back the clock? Super
• 42:03
  Speaker 3: impressive what he's been doing. with no Puka Nakua in LA,
• 42:06
  Speaker 3: but super impressive, too, for a Pitt guy. I'm going
• 42:08
  Speaker 3: to give a shout-out to Kanate Mumpfield. Started his college
• 42:13
  Speaker 3: career at Akron, transferred to Pitt, was really good for
• 42:17
  Speaker 3: the Panthers, seventh-round pick of the Rams. He was mostly
• 42:21
  Speaker 3: just a role player last year. I think he caught
• 42:23
  Speaker 3: one touchdown, but when he did, he did the Cristiano
• 42:26
  Speaker 3: Ronaldo Sui celebration, which Cristiano Ronaldo is the absolute favorite
• 42:31
  Speaker 3: athlete of young Dawson Batko in this house. He liked
• 42:34
  Speaker 3: seeing Tyler Lupa, the Ravens, hit the Sui celebration when
• 42:37
  Speaker 3: he made that game-winning field goal. Granted, that was in
• 42:40
  Speaker 3: Brazil and not Portugal, but either way, both those countries,
• 42:43
  Speaker 3: the other football is pretty big. So, yeah, shout out
• 42:47
  Speaker 3: to Kanate Mumfield rising to the occasion on Monday Night
• 42:50
  Speaker 3: Football last week with no puka. And obviously, the Broncos,
• 42:56
  Speaker 3: Patrick Sertan, trying to take Devontae Adams out of that game.
• 42:59
  Speaker 1: Your NFL tackle leader after the first three weeks is
• 43:03
  Speaker 1: Anthony Hill Jr. of Tennessee with 34. Alex Singleton of
• 43:06
  Speaker 1: Denver is second with 33. And Fred Warner, familiar name
• 43:09
  Speaker 1: there with the Niners, also with 33 tackles so far
• 43:13
  Speaker 1: this season. Your sack leader is your guy from Buffalo.
• 43:15
  Speaker 1: He's still number one there, Double B.
• 43:18
  Speaker 3: Gregory Rousseau. I think I mentioned last week when we
• 43:21
  Speaker 3: did this rundown that he's navigating his way to the quarterback.
• 43:24
  Speaker 3: And I got to admit, I didn't realize Rousseau was
• 43:27
  Speaker 3: a French philosopher. I thought he was like one of
• 43:29
  Speaker 3: those guys who was on a boat back in the
• 43:31
  Speaker 3: 14 and 1500s. So that was just a really badly executed,
• 43:37
  Speaker 3: ill-informed pun there on Rousseau.
• 43:40
  Speaker 1: Well, he leads the NFL. Great, great take there by you,
• 43:43
  Speaker 1: my friend. Six sacks so far this season. Will Anderson Jr.
• 43:47
  Speaker 1: from the Texans is second with four, tied with Mason Graham,
• 43:50
  Speaker 1: who the Steelers will see this evening. He has four
• 43:53
  Speaker 1: sacks on the year, tied for number two. And then T.J.
• 43:55
  Speaker 1: Watt with three and a half, and Chase Young with
• 43:58
  Speaker 1: three and a half. So two of the top five
• 44:01
  Speaker 1: sack leaders so far through the first three weeks will
• 44:03
  Speaker 1: be on full display on national TV this evening with
• 44:06
  Speaker 1: Mason Graham from Cleveland and T.J. Watt from your Steelers.
• 44:11
  Speaker 3: And then, yeah, you mentioned Chase Young. He's had a
• 44:14
  Speaker 3: later career resurgence. I think he was the number two
• 44:16
  Speaker 3: overall pick in 2018. 20 maybe in that draft, somewhere
• 44:22
  Speaker 3: about there. Yeah, so I mean, he's someone the Steelers
• 44:25
  Speaker 3: will see later this season from the Saints. Let's cut
• 44:28
  Speaker 3: to the chase. Ed, who you got winning tonight?
• 44:31
  Speaker 1: Well, Double B, you're reading my mind here in the
• 44:34
  Speaker 1: closing few minutes before we get to our countdown to
• 44:37
  Speaker 1: kickoff show with Tom Offerman and Matt Williamson just a
• 44:39
  Speaker 1: few minutes away. So let's end with our picks. And
• 44:42
  Speaker 1: to start the season, I had the Pittsburgh Steelers at
• 44:46
  Speaker 1: 3-1 at this point, and I had them losing to
• 44:49
  Speaker 1: New England, but beating Atlanta and beating the Bengals, and
• 44:53
  Speaker 1: I also had them beating the Browns tonight on Thursday
• 44:55
  Speaker 1: Night Football. Now, that was before the Browns are who
• 44:59
  Speaker 1: they are, where they are, however you want to phrase it.
• 45:01
  Speaker 1: That was before the season started, and the Browns are
• 45:03
  Speaker 1: who they are here tonight, which are 2-1. I didn't
• 45:05
  Speaker 1: think they'd be 2-1 after three weeks, but I'm going
• 45:08
  Speaker 1: to stay with my pick from the beginning of the season.
• 45:11
  Speaker 1: Steelers win tonight. They expose Deshaun Watson, and I say
• 45:16
  Speaker 1: they win by... I'll say three touchdowns tonight. I think
• 45:20
  Speaker 1: Pittsburgh rolls in Cleveland, and I will say this. They're due.
• 45:23
  Speaker 1: They are due to win on Thursday night in Cleveland.
• 45:26
  Speaker 1: Long overdue. It is time tonight to get rid of
• 45:29
  Speaker 1: that and win on a Thursday night by the mistake
• 45:33
  Speaker 1: by the league.
• 45:35
  Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean, the Browns showed a pulse, essentially, is
• 45:38
  Speaker 3: really what they've done here early in the season. And
• 45:41
  Speaker 3: I agree with you, Ed. I think this game is tougher. Well,
• 45:44
  Speaker 3: maybe you didn't really say that. So maybe I disagree
• 45:46
  Speaker 3: with you. I think it's more likely that the Steelers
• 45:49
  Speaker 3: win by three points than three touchdowns because I do
• 45:51
  Speaker 3: think this game's a lot tougher than I believed it
• 45:54
  Speaker 3: was on paper and certainly thought it was after week
• 45:56
  Speaker 3: one when the Browns went to Jacksonville and just got handled.
• 46:01
  Speaker 3: But no, they've got back up off the mat. They've
• 46:05
  Speaker 3: come back out swinging. So I think it's going to
• 46:07
  Speaker 3: be a slobber knocker. RIP Craig Wolfley. The Steelers got
• 46:12
  Speaker 3: a win for him on Hall of Honor. weekend last week,
• 46:15
  Speaker 3: which was tremendous, as well as Kevin Colbert and JT Thomas.
• 46:18
  Speaker 3: I think another grinded out barn burner, but points at
• 46:22
  Speaker 3: a premium tough to come by. I'm going to stick
• 46:25
  Speaker 3: with my original preseason prediction to those Steelers when a
• 46:28
  Speaker 3: close one in Cleveland. That's the way I see it.
• 46:30
  Speaker 1: You had them two and two at this point of
• 46:32
  Speaker 1: the season ahead of time, beating the Falcons, losing to
• 46:36
  Speaker 1: the Patriots. and then losing to the Bengals last week
• 46:39
  Speaker 1: but beating Cleveland. So we both stay with our original
• 46:41
  Speaker 1: picks with wins tonight in Cleveland. We shall see. Up next,
• 46:46
  Speaker 1: it is countdown to kickoff with Tom Offerman and Matt Williamson.
• 46:50
  Speaker 1: I'm Ed Troop with Brian Bacco. Thanks for listening to
• 46:52
  Speaker 1: the Steelers Report. Go Steelers! Right here on Steelers Nation Radio,
• 46:56
  Speaker 1: part of the Steelers Audio Network.