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

• 0:10
  Speaker 1: This is In the Locker Room with Rob King, Max Starks,
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: and Willie Colon on Steelers Nation Radio. Brought to you
• 0:17
  Speaker 1: in part by the Steelers Pro Shop.
• 0:20
  Speaker 2: Get it direct from the team at the Steelers Pro
• 0:22
  Speaker 2: Shop at shop.steelers.com. And by your neighborhood Ford store. The
• 0:28
  Speaker 2: F-150 is the official truck of the Pittsburgh Steelers.
• 0:31
  Speaker 3: Uh-oh.
• 0:35
  Speaker 4: Guess what day it is. Guess what day it is.
• 0:41
  Speaker 5: Anybody?
• 0:42
  Speaker 4: Julie, hey, guess what day it is.
• 0:44
  Speaker 5: Oh, come on.
• 0:45
  Speaker 4: I know you can hear me. Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike.
• 0:47
  Speaker 4: What day is it, Mike? Leslie, guess what today is.
• 0:52
  Speaker 6: It's hump day.
• 0:56
  Speaker 5: Oh, that brings me so much joy every time I
• 0:58
  Speaker 5: hear that. It is a hump day. And of course,
• 1:02
  Speaker 5: with that, we are in the middle of the week.
• 1:04
  Speaker 5: But most importantly, this is day one. for Bengals week
• 1:09
  Speaker 5: for the Steelers. Bungles. Yeah, the Bungles. Thank you. Thank
• 1:13
  Speaker 5: you for reminding me. And you say Houshmandzadeh. I say Houshmandzadeh.
• 1:18
  Speaker 5: I say I don't give a crap. It just always
• 1:21
  Speaker 5: reminds me of T.J. Houshmandzadeh and the wiping of the
• 1:24
  Speaker 5: terrible towel with his cleats after they beat us. But,
• 1:28
  Speaker 5: you know, as we kind of just turn that page,
• 1:30
  Speaker 5: you know, we've taken stock of where the Steelers are, right?
• 1:34
  Speaker 5: as it's viewed by the public. And, Rob, we're going
• 1:37
  Speaker 5: with these power rankings. We have an AFC North opponent,
• 1:41
  Speaker 5: I believe you teased, that is making his first intro at, what,
• 1:45
  Speaker 5: the number seven spot.
• 1:46
  Speaker 7: Yes, in case you're just joining us here, here's your
• 1:48
  Speaker 7: top six. San Francisco 49ers, one. Buffalo Bills, two. Seattle Seahawks, three.
• 1:53
  Speaker 7: Kansas City, four. The Rams, five at one and one.
• 1:58
  Speaker 7: The Patriots, six at one and one.
• 2:00
  Speaker 4: Number seven.
• 2:02
  Speaker 7: Cincinnati Bengals coming off a 20-6 defeat.
• 2:06
  Speaker 4: Of the Texans. You know, this is two things, I think,
• 2:13
  Speaker 4: for me. First of all, it is.
• 2:17
  Speaker 7: Sort of a manifestation of what people thought about the Bengals,
• 2:20
  Speaker 7: that they're the AFC North contenders. If everybody's healthy, maybe
• 2:24
  Speaker 7: even a Super Bowl contender. And the fact, Willie, they
• 2:26
  Speaker 7: beat two good teams, or two perceived good teams, They
• 2:30
  Speaker 7: beat the Bucs in week one, and they beat the
• 2:32
  Speaker 7: Texans in week two. So, to me, they're very deserving
• 2:35
  Speaker 7: of this number seven ranking.
• 2:39
  Speaker 6: Well, I think as much as we kind of love
• 2:43
  Speaker 6: the offense and we love what Joe Burrow, Jamar Chase,
• 2:48
  Speaker 6: and everything they're able to produce offensively, man, I think
• 2:51
  Speaker 6: right now you just have to be– you have to
• 2:54
  Speaker 6: understand what that defense is now becoming. They now have
• 2:57
  Speaker 6: a face of the defense led by Dexter Lawrence, They've
• 3:00
  Speaker 6: added some more pieces. And collectively, along with Jonathan Allen,
• 3:04
  Speaker 6: you know, they look like a legit outfit.
• 3:06
  Speaker 3: And, you know, I.
• 3:08
  Speaker 6: Remember having this conversation with you guys before the start
• 3:11
  Speaker 6: of the season. It was amazing that Zach Taylor was
• 3:15
  Speaker 6: constantly getting kind of this buy because Joe Burrow would be,
• 3:20
  Speaker 6: you know, he would be on the shelf early in
• 3:22
  Speaker 6: the season. And the defense, because they didn't have any
• 3:24
  Speaker 6: quality players and it was just poor defense, all the
• 3:27
  Speaker 6: way around that.
• 3:30
  Speaker 3: He survived.
• 3:31
  Speaker 6: With all that said, the offense is right on par.
• 3:35
  Speaker 6: The defense has now arrived. Zach Taylor now has an
• 3:39
  Speaker 6: outfit he feels like he can go in any stadium
• 3:41
  Speaker 6: and win games with. When you're looking at the Bengals
• 3:43
  Speaker 6: right now, they just seem really confident. It's almost like
• 3:46
  Speaker 6: they're telling the world, we've been waiting for this time,
• 3:49
  Speaker 6: and here we are.
• 3:50
  Speaker 3: Now come see us. We'll see.
• 3:52
  Speaker 6: We'll see if they're legit and how kick-ass this defense is.
• 3:57
  Speaker 6: but the Steelers are going to see in real time
• 3:58
  Speaker 6: coming up soon.
• 4:01
  Speaker 3: Yeah.
• 4:02
  Speaker 5: And, and I think the biggest thing that, you know,
• 4:05
  Speaker 5: we kind of look at is this team is always
• 4:08
  Speaker 5: given this kind of credence, right? Because more so Joe
• 4:12
  Speaker 5: Burrow than Zach Taylor, but at the same time, they
• 4:16
  Speaker 5: grossly underperformed, you know, and a lot of that's due
• 4:20
  Speaker 5: to the defense. I think we kind of put them
• 4:22
  Speaker 5: in that Dallas Cowboys kind of category where offense is
• 4:24
  Speaker 5: always their defense. Just, has not been there. And the
• 4:28
  Speaker 5: perceived perception is they've always had slow starts right to
• 4:31
  Speaker 5: the season. And this year they're not. So people have
• 4:35
  Speaker 5: a different expectation and, you know, Joe Burrow making his statement.
• 4:39
  Speaker 5: I'm talking about this feels like the Superbowl year and
• 4:41
  Speaker 5: all this kind of stuff. It's like, Joe, pump your brakes,
• 4:44
  Speaker 5: try and get through eight straight weeks. Okay. But, but,
• 4:47
  Speaker 5: you know, but right now they're on a two game
• 4:49
  Speaker 5: win streak. So, you know, you kind of have to
• 4:51
  Speaker 5: give them a little bit of credence and credit for
• 4:52
  Speaker 5: what they've done and how they've changed. And, You know,
• 4:55
  Speaker 5: but for us, the Bungles are always the Bungles. And
• 4:59
  Speaker 5: I think, you know, this power ranking, I believe, is
• 5:03
  Speaker 5: appropriate for them as it stands right now as a
• 5:06
  Speaker 5: 2-0 team. Now, the funny thing is, is that you
• 5:07
  Speaker 5: put a 1-1 Patriots team in front of them, and
• 5:09
  Speaker 5: you put a 1-1 Rams team in front of them,
• 5:11
  Speaker 5: and they're 2-0.
• 5:12
  Speaker 3: Right.
• 5:12
  Speaker 5: And I would argue that, yes, they have quality. Yes,
• 5:15
  Speaker 5: the Rams lost to the now number one team, but
• 5:17
  Speaker 5: the reason they got the number one crown is because
• 5:19
  Speaker 5: they stole it from the Rams, right? They went and
• 5:21
  Speaker 5: snatched it off their head. And so... That's something that
• 5:25
  Speaker 5: I think we don't, people still don't quite believe that
• 5:29
  Speaker 5: a lot of these 2-0 teams are legit because you
• 5:31
  Speaker 5: put two 1-1 teams in front of them. But I
• 5:34
  Speaker 5: would say this, it's going to be hell in a handbasket,
• 5:38
  Speaker 5: you know, come Sunday at 1 o'clock when we got
• 5:41
  Speaker 5: to play. But they also know they're having to battle
• 5:43
  Speaker 5: the mystique because they haven't had success coming into Acroshore.
• 5:48
  Speaker 5: And Joe Burrow doesn't have a great record beating us
• 5:51
  Speaker 5: in Acroshore. So, you know, as good as that sounds
• 5:54
  Speaker 5: at the end of the day, at the end of
• 5:55
  Speaker 5: the day, you still got to come see me because
• 5:57
  Speaker 5: we're still the reigning AFC North champs, right? They haven't
• 6:00
  Speaker 5: even had a winning record. The reason why they were
• 6:02
  Speaker 5: able to get all the pieces they got was because
• 6:03
  Speaker 5: they were drafted in the top ten. So this is
• 6:05
  Speaker 5: not a team that's known success. How are they going
• 6:08
  Speaker 5: to handle success is going to be my question.
• 6:11
  Speaker 7: So after picking every team as either overrated or underrated,
• 6:17
  Speaker 7: I'm actually going to get to my overrated team right here.
• 6:21
  Speaker 4: Number eight.
• 6:22
  Speaker 7: Detroit Lions, 1-1. They didn't make the playoffs a year ago.
• 6:29
  Speaker 7: They're 1-1. They're lucky to be 1-1, in my opinion.
• 6:34
  Speaker 7: They really probably should be 0-2. Now, they have an easier,
• 6:38
  Speaker 7: a little bit easier schedule coming up. They have the Jets,
• 6:40
  Speaker 7: the Panthers, the Cardinals, the Packers. You know, if they're
• 6:43
  Speaker 7: 5-1 at the end of that, I'll admit I'm wrong.
• 6:46
  Speaker 7: But I don't... I mean, I'm not saying I don't
• 6:49
  Speaker 7: think they're a good football team. I do think they're
• 6:51
  Speaker 7: a good football team. But I think we're remembering what
• 6:54
  Speaker 7: they did a couple years ago. And to me, they're
• 6:56
  Speaker 7: more middle class than they are upper echelon.
• 7:02
  Speaker 6: Yeah, the issue with the Detroit Lions right now, their
• 7:04
  Speaker 6: biggest factor is they are defensively led by Calvin Shepard,
• 7:09
  Speaker 6: who's the defensive coordinator. They seem they're struggling to communicate
• 7:13
  Speaker 6: and they struggle to get in line. And outside of
• 7:16
  Speaker 6: Ada Hutchinson, they don't have a consistent enough pass rush
• 7:20
  Speaker 6: that can take the bricks off of that secondary shoulder.
• 7:23
  Speaker 6: There's a couple of key guys that they were really
• 7:25
  Speaker 6: dependent on to show up, and it just hasn't happened
• 7:28
  Speaker 6: for them.
• 7:28
  Speaker 3: You talk about when you lose the DB, was it
• 7:32
  Speaker 3: Tyron Arnstead? No, not him. Tyron, whatever his name was.
• 7:35
  Speaker 5: Oh, Tyron Arnold.
• 7:37
  Speaker 3: Tyron Arnold, excuse me. Thank you. They lose him.
• 7:40
  Speaker 6: DJ Reed, who they really thought was going to be
• 7:43
  Speaker 6: a stand-up corner for him. I had an opportunity to
• 7:44
  Speaker 6: watch DJ while he was in New York. As a Jet,
• 7:47
  Speaker 6: I loved him a lot because I thought he was sticky,
• 7:49
  Speaker 6: he was strong, he was tough. He's a little undersized,
• 7:51
  Speaker 6: but he's just a very good corner. He's been struggling
• 7:55
  Speaker 6: as of late out there. And defensively, they haven't really
• 7:59
  Speaker 6: been able to bow up and play better against the run.
• 8:03
  Speaker 6: The issue with the Detroit Lions offensively is, you know,
• 8:08
  Speaker 6: they have so many weapons. that right now it just
• 8:11
  Speaker 6: seems like they just feed the ball to St. Brown
• 8:13
  Speaker 6: and Jameer Gibbs, and you don't really see the full
• 8:16
  Speaker 6: arsenal at times. I think solely because they've had to narrow,
• 8:21
  Speaker 6: they have to shrink their playbook because they don't have
• 8:23
  Speaker 6: Ben Johnson no more. One thing Ben Johnson was able
• 8:25
  Speaker 6: to do, man, everybody ate. Everybody ate, and everybody was effective.
• 8:29
  Speaker 6: So you start to see guys like Isaiah Tesla, Sam LaPorter,
• 8:34
  Speaker 6: those guys don't pop up to take because they're just
• 8:35
  Speaker 6: not getting the opportunities.
• 8:36
  Speaker 3: Jameis Williamson, who I love, he's not even popping off
• 8:40
  Speaker 3: the tape.
• 8:41
  Speaker 6: And I think when you lose a quality offense coordinator
• 8:44
  Speaker 6: like Ben Johnson, and you lose a high-quality defense coordinator
• 8:48
  Speaker 6: like Aaron Glenn, you start to lose the identity and
• 8:51
  Speaker 6: instruction which they built over the years. You know, it
• 8:55
  Speaker 6: starts to fall apart. And they lost three out of
• 8:58
  Speaker 6: the five of their offensive linemen are injured, too. Penae
• 9:01
  Speaker 6: Sewell actually played left tackle a while against the Buffalo Bills.
• 9:05
  Speaker 6: So there's just a lot of injuries. There's a lot
• 9:09
  Speaker 6: of issues from an identity standpoint of who they want
• 9:13
  Speaker 6: to be, and they're trying to have to figure that
• 9:15
  Speaker 6: out in real time.
• 9:17
  Speaker 7: Taking on the Jets on Sunday, I think that's well put.
• 9:19
  Speaker 7: So that is my overrated team right there, Detroit Lions.
• 9:24
  Speaker 7: We'll circle back to these selections in a bit. Number nine,
• 9:27
  Speaker 7: Philadelphia Eagles, up two spots from 11. They beat the
• 9:30
  Speaker 7: Titans 24-20. Didn't play great, but they won and they're
• 9:38
  Speaker 7: taking on the bears on monday night of course we're
• 9:40
  Speaker 7: expecting no caleb williams so the eagles at number nine
• 9:44
  Speaker 7: i've got no problem with that guys anybody uh want
• 9:46
  Speaker 7: to raise a hand one way or the other.
• 9:48
  Speaker 6: No that's that's about right for me yeah yeah i agree.
• 9:51
  Speaker 7: Minnesota vikings have moved from 15 to 10 they beat
• 9:56
  Speaker 7: the bears 9 to 3. Bit of a rock fight
• 9:59
  Speaker 7: in that game. They're taking on a really desperate Buccaneers team.
• 10:04
  Speaker 7: Another one of these intriguing matchups to me this week
• 10:07
  Speaker 7: because the Bucs, I say their season's on the line, man,
• 10:11
  Speaker 7: but it's getting close. They're 0-2 right now and the
• 10:14
  Speaker 7: Vikings are 2-0 and you know It's funny, there were
• 10:19
  Speaker 7: some questions about Kevin O'Connell, the coach, after being lauded, hey,
• 10:24
  Speaker 7: what have you done for me lately kind of thing.
• 10:26
  Speaker 4: Well, he's come out and gone 2-0.
• 10:29
  Speaker 7: I think that they're, to me, they're probably in that
• 10:32
  Speaker 7: Lions category. I think they're in that 12 to 15
• 10:37
  Speaker 7: kind of range, but at 10 and 2-0, I'm okay
• 10:40
  Speaker 7: with them being right where they are.
• 10:44
  Speaker 3: Yeah, I'm fine with it.
• 10:46
  Speaker 6: I think the problem with the Bucs is they're living
• 10:49
  Speaker 6: life without Mike Evans, and they haven't been in that
• 10:52
  Speaker 6: position for quite a while. So you're talking about Bacon Mayfield.
• 10:55
  Speaker 6: You may have signed him to a lot of money,
• 10:57
  Speaker 6: but he doesn't have that kind of end-all, be-all. The
• 11:00
  Speaker 6: guy that you need to play in a clutch, they
• 11:02
  Speaker 6: don't have that option because Mike Evans is not wearing
• 11:05
  Speaker 6: a Niner uniform. And defensively, there's a lot of reason.
• 11:09
  Speaker 6: Secondary is not as strong as it used to be.
• 11:13
  Speaker 6: But overall, man, Bacon Mayfield is forced to make do with.
• 11:17
  Speaker 5: What he has.
• 11:18
  Speaker 6: And if you know anything about the Saints right now,
• 11:20
  Speaker 6: they're a totally different team. They're a lot scrappier, a
• 11:22
  Speaker 6: lot tougher. Turn on that tape, the Saints versus the Ravens,
• 11:27
  Speaker 6: the second half of that game, especially the fourth quarter,
• 11:29
  Speaker 6: and look what Tyler Shook looked like.
• 11:31
  Speaker 3: He looked damn good. And he carried that team.
• 11:35
  Speaker 6: So I don't even think it's going to be that close, honestly,
• 11:39
  Speaker 6: with you, King.
• 11:39
  Speaker 3: I think the Saints walk away with this. walk away
• 11:42
  Speaker 3: with the win, you know, convincingly.
• 11:47
  Speaker 5: Max? I mean, I think they're proving people wrong. I
• 11:55
  Speaker 5: think they're somewhere in the region. I don't think they're
• 11:57
  Speaker 5: necessarily overrated or underrated. I think they're kind of right
• 12:02
  Speaker 5: in that zone, whether you can shift it to the left,
• 12:05
  Speaker 5: to the right, but I think it's a fair assessment.
• 12:09
  Speaker 7: Boy, I'm really tempted to go underrated here with the
• 12:13
  Speaker 7: Broncos at number 11 taking on the Rams. I know
• 12:17
  Speaker 7: they got smoked in week one against the Chiefs, but
• 12:20
  Speaker 7: an impressive win against the Jaguars team at home 20-13.
• 12:23
  Speaker 7: They made it to the AFC Championship game a year ago.
• 12:27
  Speaker 7: I think if I was more inclined to pick a
• 12:33
  Speaker 7: team that I thought was going to fall off in
• 12:38
  Speaker 7: year two, like again, I thought that team might be
• 12:41
  Speaker 7: the Bears this year.
• 12:44
  Speaker 4: I could very well be wrong about that.
• 12:47
  Speaker 7: My assessment of that does not look good at this stage.
• 12:50
  Speaker 7: But I would have said that the Patriots were more
• 12:53
  Speaker 7: liable to be a team that would fall back than
• 12:56
  Speaker 7: the Broncos. Those two young teams that kind of evolved
• 12:59
  Speaker 7: last year and got to the AFC Championship game. I'm
• 13:02
  Speaker 7: going to say I think the Broncos are a better
• 13:05
  Speaker 7: team than the Patriots, should be ranked higher than the Patriots.
• 13:08
  Speaker 4: And therefore... based on that sort of thin thing.
• 13:13
  Speaker 7: I'm not saying they're the top five, but I'm saying
• 13:15
  Speaker 7: the Broncos are a little underrated. So they're my underrated team,
• 13:19
  Speaker 7: the Denver Broncos.
• 13:21
  Speaker 3: All right.
• 13:22
  Speaker 5: Here's a question for you, Rob.
• 13:23
  Speaker 2: Yep.
• 13:24
  Speaker 5: I'm going to pose to you. If the Broncos win
• 13:30
  Speaker 5: against the Rams on Sunday, the game you'll be watching
• 13:33
  Speaker 5: in the background as you're prepping for our Thursday night
• 13:36
  Speaker 5: football game against the Cleveland Browns. Um, Would you be
• 13:41
  Speaker 5: more inclined to say the Broncos are better than we
• 13:47
  Speaker 5: thought or the Rams are worse than we thought? Because
• 13:50
  Speaker 5: I would say if you took the Rams and the
• 13:52
  Speaker 5: Patriots and moved them behind the Broncos and the Rangers
• 13:54
  Speaker 5: and slid everybody forward, would you still have the same
• 13:57
  Speaker 5: type of mindset? Like, is there any 2-0 team that's
• 14:01
  Speaker 5: up there that you think the Broncos are better than
• 14:04
  Speaker 5: for the over- or underrated value? Just from my line
• 14:08
  Speaker 5: of thinking. Yeah.
• 14:09
  Speaker 7: That's a good question. I mean, you know, I would
• 14:11
  Speaker 7: put them ahead of the Vikings. I think they're a
• 14:13
  Speaker 7: better team than the Vikings. Trying to think of.
• 14:17
  Speaker 4: Who else we had here that was 2-0.
• 14:21
  Speaker 7: I mean, I'd put them ahead of the Lions, you know.
• 14:24
  Speaker 7: I actually think they're– and I could be wrong about this–
• 14:27
  Speaker 7: I think they're a better team than the Bengals.
• 14:29
  Speaker 6: I do.
• 14:30
  Speaker 4: I think the Broncos are good.
• 14:32
  Speaker 7: Now, look– As far as I'm concerned when it comes
• 14:37
  Speaker 7: to the Broncos and the Rams, the Rams I've lauded
• 14:39
  Speaker 7: the way they do business because it's different and it's
• 14:42
  Speaker 7: fun what they're doing. They're not going down this road
• 14:45
  Speaker 7: of we've got to rebuild, so let's get really lousy
• 14:47
  Speaker 7: and let's get high draft choices. They're like, okay, we'll
• 14:50
  Speaker 7: just sign guys, trade for guys, and we'll draft who
• 14:52
  Speaker 7: we draft.
• 14:53
  Speaker 4: I like it.
• 14:54
  Speaker 5: I envy it.
• 14:55
  Speaker 7: But sorry, Willie, and I used this earlier. It's like
• 14:59
  Speaker 7: rooting for the Yankees for me. It's like rooting for
• 15:01
  Speaker 7: Microsoft for me right now. I mean, I'm having a
• 15:04
  Speaker 7: hard time. rooting for the Rams. I can't root for
• 15:07
  Speaker 7: the Broncos. I'm kind of rooting for a 2-2 tie.
• 15:11
  Speaker 7: That's kind of what I hope happens on Sunday night. Like,
• 15:13
  Speaker 7: neither team wins. That's probably the only outcome that would
• 15:17
  Speaker 7: truly make me happy. I guess I'd probably be rooting
• 15:21
  Speaker 7: for the Rams under that circumstance. But, yeah, I think
• 15:23
  Speaker 7: there's three or four teams that are ahead of the
• 15:25
  Speaker 7: Broncos that the Broncos are better than, and I think
• 15:27
  Speaker 7: this is a really intriguing matchup this week.
• 15:31
  Speaker 3: Yeah, I agree.
• 15:33
  Speaker 5: 2-0 team. Okay, 1-2-0 team, but the rest, you say
• 15:35
  Speaker 5: they're the class of the 1-1s?
• 15:38
  Speaker 4: The class of the 1-1s, I'd put them ahead of Minnesota.
• 15:41
  Speaker 4: I'd put them ahead of the Bengals.
• 15:43
  Speaker 2: Okay.
• 15:43
  Speaker 5: I'm sorry, yeah, I forgot.
• 15:44
  Speaker 4: I'd probably have them right around 6th, where the Patriots were.
• 15:50
  Speaker 2: Okay. All right.
• 15:52
  Speaker 6: Cool.
• 15:53
  Speaker 7: Let's take a break. We've got more football to talk about.
• 15:56
  Speaker 7: I got my licks in. I got my overrated, underrated.
• 15:59
  Speaker 7: I'm already in. I'm waiting on Willie and Max. You're
• 16:02
  Speaker 7: waiting on him too, but we'll get the answer for
• 16:04
  Speaker 7: you when we continue in the locker room here on
• 16:06
  Speaker 7: the Steelers Audio Network.
• 16:16
  Speaker 1: In the locker room with Rob King, Max Starks, and
• 16:20
  Speaker 1: Willie Colon on Steelers Nation Radio.
• 16:22
  Speaker 2: Brought to you in part by the Steelers Pro Shop.
• 16:26
  Speaker 2: Get it direct from the team at the Steelers Pro
• 16:28
  Speaker 2: Shop at shop.steelers.com. And by your neighborhood Ford store. The
• 16:34
  Speaker 2: F-150 is the official truck of the Pittsburgh Steelers.
• 16:39
  Speaker 7: And we're going to our power rankings and teams we
• 16:41
  Speaker 7: think are underrated and overrated.
• 16:44
  Speaker 5: Here in the locker room.
• 16:46
  Speaker 4: Hi, Rob King. That's me. I've made a stand. Max Starks, Willie. Willie,
• 16:51
  Speaker 4: they haven't made a stand yet. You guys haven't made
• 16:53
  Speaker 4: a stand yet, have.
• 16:56
  Speaker 6: You?
• 16:56
  Speaker 5: No, we haven't.
• 16:57
  Speaker 3: No. Okay.
• 16:59
  Speaker 5: All right.
• 16:59
  Speaker 3: Yeah. I hear little echoes. Where's the echo coming from?
• 17:04
  Speaker 5: Rob did not turn off his microphone. Hang on.
• 17:06
  Speaker 4: Hang on.
• 17:07
  Speaker 5: Even though Gino told him to turn it off, and
• 17:11
  Speaker 5: he said yes. There we go.
• 17:13
  Speaker 3: Nobody help Rob.
• 17:16
  Speaker 5: You know what?
• 17:17
  Speaker 7: The only thing better than hearing me once is hearing
• 17:19
  Speaker 7: me twice, guys.
• 17:19
  Speaker 4: Let me just do it.
• 17:20
  Speaker 5: Were you getting me on the echo? There's never enough.
• 17:23
  Speaker 5: There's never enough, Rob.
• 17:25
  Speaker 4: Oh, man. I'm sorry about that, guys. I appreciate your patience. Okay,
• 17:29
  Speaker 4: number 12.
• 17:30
  Speaker 7: Number 12. This was my overrated team from the jump,
• 17:33
  Speaker 7: the Chicago Bears. They fall from 4 to 12. And,
• 17:37
  Speaker 7: of course, Caleb Williams and week to week, and he's
• 17:41
  Speaker 7: not going to play this week against the Eagles. on
• 17:43
  Speaker 7: Monday night, which is too bad, because that would have
• 17:44
  Speaker 7: been a fun Monday night football game. Max, why are
• 17:47
  Speaker 7: you pumping your left fist.
• 17:48
  Speaker 3: In the air?
• 17:50
  Speaker 5: He had a hamstring injury, and he was acting like
• 17:51
  Speaker 5: he was Kobe with an ACL. You know what I'm saying?
• 17:56
  Speaker 6: It's not good for Caleb right now. The way that
• 17:59
  Speaker 6: man was thriving in pain on the field, my heart
• 18:04
  Speaker 6: broke for him.
• 18:04
  Speaker 3: I'm like, man.
• 18:07
  Speaker 5: He gets a machete to the kneecap?
• 18:09
  Speaker 3: I'm like, you know what I'm saying?
• 18:12
  Speaker 5: I felt like he was about to get his leg amputated.
• 18:15
  Speaker 6: Think about this for a second. Rob, you're from the
• 18:19
  Speaker 6: old school. I know you come from German blood, so
• 18:22
  Speaker 6: tough culture.
• 18:24
  Speaker 3: Pride themselves in being a manly man. Could you imagine?
• 18:28
  Speaker 6: Could you imagine you acting that fallen and thriving in
• 18:31
  Speaker 6: pain in front of your dad?
• 18:33
  Speaker 3: Can you imagine that? I know if I.
• 18:37
  Speaker 6: I know if I would have acted like that in
• 18:39
  Speaker 6: front of my father, he would have looked at me like, oh,
• 18:42
  Speaker 6: I'm going to break it for you.
• 18:44
  Speaker 3: I'm going to break.
• 18:47
  Speaker 5: It for you. Almost like disowning on sight. Yeah.
• 18:52
  Speaker 6: Remember Paul Pierce a couple years ago with the wheelchair
• 18:56
  Speaker 6: when he was crying? Everybody was like, man, Paul Pierce, man,
• 18:58
  Speaker 6: he's such a great ball player. His career is over.
• 19:02
  Speaker 6: And then he tried it back and on to the court,
• 19:04
  Speaker 6: and everybody was like, What the hell was that?
• 19:07
  Speaker 5: It was a body injury, and he needed a wheelchair.
• 19:15
  Speaker 4: For an arm. Well, the two sports that are bad
• 19:17
  Speaker 4: that way are soccer and the NBA. They're bad.
• 19:20
  Speaker 7: LeBron had one in the championship. He limped to the
• 19:23
  Speaker 7: free throw line with a finger injury.
• 19:26
  Speaker 3: But that's expected. We've grown to understand that.
• 19:29
  Speaker 5: We understand he's a PhD flopper.
• 19:32
  Speaker 6: You understand, like you win over your team when you
• 19:34
  Speaker 6: have a significant injury and you play through it, right?
• 19:37
  Speaker 6: It's something about seeing your fearless leader step up or
• 19:40
  Speaker 6: get hurt. He's like, look at Jackson Dart. Jackson Dart,
• 19:43
  Speaker 6: there's reports that he didn't blow his ACL, but there's
• 19:46
  Speaker 6: other significant damage.
• 19:48
  Speaker 3: That he may be doing. for a season. He pushed
• 19:51
  Speaker 3: the cart away. He was like, Jackson, let's just get
• 19:53
  Speaker 3: you the cart. He said, no, no cart. I'm going
• 19:55
  Speaker 3: to walk it out. And walked off.
• 19:58
  Speaker 6: And I'm saying, even Jada Davis, even though his office
• 20:00
  Speaker 6: line didn't help him up, which is wild. The man's
• 20:03
  Speaker 6: arm is dangling from his body. His office line walked
• 20:05
  Speaker 6: by him like they didn't even know he existed. He
• 20:09
  Speaker 6: even walked, like if I'm Kayla Williams, man, do you use, it's,
• 20:12
  Speaker 6: I felt, I was embarrassed for him once I found
• 20:14
  Speaker 6: out it was just a hamstring strain.
• 20:17
  Speaker 3: Oh my God.
• 20:17
  Speaker 5: A strain, a strain, nothing got torn. Like nothing, like
• 20:23
  Speaker 5: I remember when, you remember the preseason game. You remember
• 20:27
  Speaker 5: Will in the preseason game and our dear big brother,
• 20:31
  Speaker 5: Barrett Brooks.
• 20:32
  Speaker 3: Yep.
• 20:34
  Speaker 5: B Brooks got chop blocked, right? And his entire quadricep
• 20:41
  Speaker 5: folded up into his leg. It was like one of
• 20:44
  Speaker 5: those cartoons. Like his whole muscle was sitting up in
• 20:49
  Speaker 5: the top part of his thigh. And he still tried
• 20:53
  Speaker 5: to stand. And they were like, no, no, no, no, no.
• 20:55
  Speaker 5: This is bad. We got to take you straight to
• 20:57
  Speaker 5: the hospital. Like, do not pass. Go do not collect $ 200.
• 20:59
  Speaker 5: You're going straight to the hospital. And even then, he
• 21:03
  Speaker 5: still tried to stand up with a completely separated quadricep.
• 21:09
  Speaker 5: This dude tweaked. This is a tweak, right? You know
• 21:12
  Speaker 5: what I'm saying? Like a hamstring strain is a tweak.
• 21:14
  Speaker 3: I thought it was his Achilles. I thought it was
• 21:17
  Speaker 3: his Achilles.
• 21:18
  Speaker 6: And I was like, and then it was, and then
• 21:19
  Speaker 6: the way he was grabbing his helmet and go rolling
• 21:21
  Speaker 6: on the floor. I'm like, man, it may, maybe like every,
• 21:25
  Speaker 6: everybody that was watching that assumed the worst of the worst.
• 21:28
  Speaker 6: There was nobody that, that watched him thrive in pain.
• 21:31
  Speaker 6: I said, it felt, it was just a hamstring and
• 21:34
  Speaker 6: the towel over the head, tears coming down his face.
• 21:37
  Speaker 6: The thumbs up is as to say to the whole team.
• 21:41
  Speaker 6: I said, if you don't get your ass up off
• 21:43
  Speaker 6: that damn car and take your ass.
• 21:45
  Speaker 5: Treat him like EZL on Friday. Ain't he wet over.
• 21:52
  Speaker 3: There?
• 21:53
  Speaker 6: Right.
• 21:54
  Speaker 5: Okay.
• 21:55
  Speaker 4: So we're going to, we're just going to roll by
• 21:57
  Speaker 4: the bears then.
• 21:58
  Speaker 5: Number 12.
• 21:59
  Speaker 2: 13.
• 22:00
  Speaker 5: We understand where we feel.
• 22:01
  Speaker 7: 13, Baltimore Ravens coming off a 24-17 loss to the Saints.
• 22:06
  Speaker 7: They are at the Cowboys on Sunday. Intriguing matchup for sure.
• 22:12
  Speaker 7: They've dropped from 5 to 13 with that loss to
• 22:15
  Speaker 7: the Saints.
• 22:18
  Speaker 5: Yeah, I mean, listen, the Ratbirds, you know, Lamar trying
• 22:24
  Speaker 5: to be a professional quarterback. What does that mean? He's
• 22:30
  Speaker 5: a running quarterback. I get you want to try and
• 22:32
  Speaker 5: You know, you want to try and paint stripes on
• 22:35
  Speaker 5: a horse and call it a zebra. But, bro, at
• 22:39
  Speaker 5: some point, I get you trying to be a good
• 22:41
  Speaker 5: company man, but it ain't working. I'm glad they're having
• 22:45
  Speaker 5: these issues, but I don't think they're there yet. And
• 22:49
  Speaker 5: the defense, I don't trust as much. The only thing
• 22:50
  Speaker 5: I can trust is Derrick Henry. That's the only person
• 22:54
  Speaker 5: I can feel like I can trust on that offense
• 22:55
  Speaker 5: to do what he did. And he struggled because that
• 22:57
  Speaker 5: offensive line is not really up to snuff as well.
• 22:59
  Speaker 5: So I think for this team, They got a lot
• 23:03
  Speaker 5: of questions. I think that 5 was overrated. I think
• 23:06
  Speaker 5: 13 is probably where they fall. If not, probably a
• 23:08
  Speaker 5: couple of spaces behind.
• 23:10
  Speaker 7: That's an interesting spot. They have a big game against
• 23:13
  Speaker 7: the Cowboys. Jaguars, we mentioned them. They went from 13
• 23:17
  Speaker 7: to 14.
• 23:18
  Speaker 4: They're 1-1.
• 23:19
  Speaker 7: They lost to the Broncos 20-13. They've got the Patriots. Willie,
• 23:24
  Speaker 7: that's a fun game. I mentioned it earlier. That is
• 23:26
  Speaker 7: a fun game. Jacksonville versus the Patriots. Two teams that
• 23:30
  Speaker 7: You know, division champs, they consider themselves Super Bowl contenders,
• 23:34
  Speaker 7: and one of them is going to be one and two.
• 23:37
  Speaker 3: Yeah, there's nothing fun about that game.
• 23:38
  Speaker 6: I mean, what do you want to– why do you
• 23:42
  Speaker 6: want us to cheer that game on, Rob?
• 23:44
  Speaker 7: Because it's a fun game because someone's going to be
• 23:47
  Speaker 7: one and two.
• 23:48
  Speaker 6: You just mentioned three games before this game that you
• 23:51
  Speaker 6: could have said, I can't wait to watch and I
• 23:53
  Speaker 6: would agree with you. Nobody's looking for the Patriots versus Jaguars.
• 23:55
  Speaker 3: I promise you that.
• 23:57
  Speaker 6: I think people are looking for– Division champs. I think
• 24:00
  Speaker 6: people are looking for Lamar Jackson versus Dak Prescott. That's
• 24:03
  Speaker 6: an interesting game. Agreed.
• 24:07
  Speaker 5: Great game.
• 24:09
  Speaker 6: Right. I think just tell America that they should watch
• 24:13
  Speaker 6: out for, you know, I guess not even struggling Drake May,
• 24:18
  Speaker 6: but a Patriots team that's trying to, you know, get
• 24:20
  Speaker 6: some sailing that wins and a Jacksonville team who right
• 24:23
  Speaker 6: now should have beat the Broncos, but lost.
• 24:26
  Speaker 3: I mean, it's just, it's, it's okay.
• 24:29
  Speaker 4: You know, For.
• 24:32
  Speaker 5: Ranking 16 games, yes, in the top third. Okay.
• 24:37
  Speaker 4: All right.
• 24:37
  Speaker 5: Okay.
• 24:38
  Speaker 2: All right.
• 24:38
  Speaker 4: Let me off the mat. Let me off the mat here, guys.
• 24:41
  Speaker 4: I'm struggling back to my microphone. I don't need any help.
• 24:44
  Speaker 7: I'll get there myself under my own power. Number 15, Saints.
• 24:49
  Speaker 7: They're taking on the Raiders this week. That could be
• 24:51
  Speaker 7: an underrated team right there.
• 24:53
  Speaker 3: That game is actually better than the game before.
• 24:56
  Speaker 5: Yeah, exactly. That's one I want to see. Yeah. Well,
• 24:59
  Speaker 5: think about it.
• 24:59
  Speaker 6: You have Clint Kubiak in his first year with Kirk Cousins.
• 25:04
  Speaker 6: They look like a competent, competitive team. Now, the issue
• 25:07
  Speaker 6: with the Raiders right now, the charge was so bad.
• 25:10
  Speaker 6: You don't know if the charges were that bad or
• 25:11
  Speaker 6: if the Raiders did that good.
• 25:13
  Speaker 3: But to see.
• 25:16
  Speaker 6: Clint Kubiak have that offense playing and Kirk Cousins pretty
• 25:19
  Speaker 6: much acts to be an adult.
• 25:21
  Speaker 3: We're going to trust you with the football in your hands.
• 25:23
  Speaker 3: Don't throw it away.
• 25:24
  Speaker 6: And to see that defense led by Max Crosby play
• 25:26
  Speaker 6: at a high level collectively. And then, by the way,
• 25:29
  Speaker 6: they beat the Chargers without Brock Bowers, right? And then
• 25:31
  Speaker 6: Jack Beach played well. Ashton Genting. They even got plays
• 25:35
  Speaker 6: from some no-name receiver named Colby White who had two
• 25:37
  Speaker 6: touchdowns in a game. So this is a team, man,
• 25:42
  Speaker 6: where I'm really interested in because the narrative going into
• 25:45
  Speaker 6: the season was when will Fernando Mendoza play? And now
• 25:49
  Speaker 6: because of the way Kirk Cousins is playing, they look
• 25:53
  Speaker 6: at the team. the operation, you can say, listen, young man,
• 25:57
  Speaker 6: sit back and watch. And I think people are now
• 25:59
  Speaker 6: okay with it by the way they are playing on tape.
• 26:01
  Speaker 6: So I'm of the mindset, yeah, I'm more interested in
• 26:06
  Speaker 6: this game than the Patriots and Jaguars.
• 26:09
  Speaker 4: So the Saints are 15.
• 26:11
  Speaker 7: They're a candidate to me to be underrated. But, again,
• 26:16
  Speaker 7: I've already made my– I've made a stand. I don't
• 26:18
  Speaker 7: know if the guys haven't made a stand yet. Number 16,
• 26:20
  Speaker 7: Dallas Cowboys.
• 26:22
  Speaker 4: Oh, don't, don't, sir.
• 26:23
  Speaker 7: Against the Ravens. You know, I got to tell you something, Willie.
• 26:25
  Speaker 7: I am super intrigued with this game. Cowboys-Ravens. Cowboys beat
• 26:33
  Speaker 7: the Commanders 37-20. Commanders lost Jaden Daniels in that game.
• 26:38
  Speaker 7: That's a bummer for them. Number 17, Max, the Houston
• 26:43
  Speaker 7: Texans 0-2 taking on the Colts on Sunday.
• 26:47
  Speaker 4: I got no comment on that game.
• 26:50
  Speaker 5: Oh you have oh now you have no comment now
• 26:51
  Speaker 5: you want to be quiet about.
• 26:52
  Speaker 7: It might be interesting this is the one might be
• 26:54
  Speaker 7: interesting but i'm afraid now i'm afraid to say anything.
• 26:57
  Speaker 5: I i i think texas are probably overrated even though
• 27:01
  Speaker 5: they're going to i think you expected them to be
• 27:04
  Speaker 5: this team that was going to be so great because
• 27:09
  Speaker 5: now they have an offensive line, and now the defense
• 27:13
  Speaker 5: has got a compliment, but they haven't played like a
• 27:16
  Speaker 5: team that looks like they've gotten an offensive line, and,
• 27:19
  Speaker 5: you know, C.J. Stroud is still C.J. Stroud. I don't
• 27:23
  Speaker 5: know how I feel about that, but I think when
• 27:27
  Speaker 5: I look at them, they're a team that I just,
• 27:29
  Speaker 5: I don't know what they're going to do, and I
• 27:31
  Speaker 5: don't know if they have, and their schedule's not going
• 27:33
  Speaker 5: to get any easier, so that's where I kind of
• 27:36
  Speaker 5: feel like This team is not where we're expecting them.
• 27:39
  Speaker 5: I would say they're my first overrated team that I
• 27:43
  Speaker 5: would pick.
• 27:45
  Speaker 6: What I'm about to say, a lot of people are
• 27:47
  Speaker 6: going to be like, Willie, you need a nap, but
• 27:49
  Speaker 6: I'm going to say it anyway. The Indianapolis Colts are underrated.
• 27:57
  Speaker 6: People are saying, Willie, they're on a nine-game losing streak
• 28:00
  Speaker 6: considering that they ripped off seven straight losses to end
• 28:02
  Speaker 6: 2025 and they haven't won a game this season, which
• 28:05
  Speaker 6: totals nine, but What I saw what they did against
• 28:08
  Speaker 6: the Kansas City Chiefs, almost knocking off the Chiefs, taking
• 28:11
  Speaker 6: them to deep water, losing in overtime. I think the
• 28:14
  Speaker 6: run game is back for them. I think Daniel Jones
• 28:16
  Speaker 6: looks healthier than I anticipated. I think the defense is
• 28:19
  Speaker 6: a lot more scrappier than what they've been able to
• 28:20
  Speaker 6: put up the show thus far.
• 28:23
  Speaker 3: I think this is one.
• 28:24
  Speaker 6: Of them situations like, yeah, week one, Derrick Henry ran
• 28:27
  Speaker 6: for 144 yards and three touchdowns. They got beat up by,
• 28:29
  Speaker 6: I think, a more stronger and more bully-ready team. I
• 28:33
  Speaker 6: think week two, going against the Kansas City Chiefs, I
• 28:37
  Speaker 6: think it was more or less they just didn't know
• 28:39
  Speaker 6: how to finish, which a lot of teams are kind
• 28:41
  Speaker 6: of going through right now. I think week three is
• 28:43
  Speaker 6: going to be a different story. I see the Colts
• 28:47
  Speaker 6: playing big boy football. Their offensive line is a little
• 28:49
  Speaker 6: shady a little bit. They can be better. But I
• 28:52
  Speaker 6: just see the Colts right now playing. They're right to
• 28:55
  Speaker 6: shit with their first win of the season against the Texans.
• 28:57
  Speaker 3: Okay.
• 28:58
  Speaker 7: I don't think that's a bad call at all, Willie.
• 29:00
  Speaker 7: I was talking to somebody about the Colts game. They're like, ah,
• 29:03
  Speaker 7: it's going to be a blowout. I'm like, I don't know, man,
• 29:04
  Speaker 7: against the Chiefs. The Colts are– Colts were good when
• 29:07
  Speaker 7: they came into Pittsburgh last year, and they had some
• 29:08
  Speaker 7: injury issues. Okay, quickly before we get to– we've got
• 29:12
  Speaker 7: to knock out a couple quick ones. Green Bay's 18
• 29:15
  Speaker 7: from 17 to 18 after they beat the Jets in overtime.
• 29:18
  Speaker 7: They've got the Falcons coming up. Carolina is 19. They're 1-1.
• 29:22
  Speaker 7: They're at the Browns. There's 20. The Colts 0-2, but
• 29:27
  Speaker 7: I understand what Willie's saying. They've got the Texans coming
• 29:30
  Speaker 7: up on Sunday. We're going to pause there because a
• 29:32
  Speaker 7: very interesting team is coming up next. as we run
• 29:36
  Speaker 7: through the rest of our power rankings here in relatively
• 29:39
  Speaker 7: short order. when we continue in the locker room here
• 29:41
  Speaker 7: on the Steelers Audio Network.
• 29:49
  Speaker 1: This is In the Locker Room with Rob King, Max Starks,
• 29:53
  Speaker 1: and Willie Colon on Steelers Nation Radio. Brought to you
• 29:56
  Speaker 1: in part by the Steelers Pro Shop.
• 29:59
  Speaker 2: Get it direct from the team at the Steelers Pro
• 30:01
  Speaker 2: Shop at shop.steelers.com.
• 30:04
  Speaker 5: And by your.
• 30:05
  Speaker 2: Neighborhood Ford store. The F-150 is the official truck of
• 30:09
  Speaker 2: the Pittsburgh Steelers.
• 30:13
  Speaker 5: Hear ye, hear ye, all that will listen. We are
• 30:18
  Speaker 5: now officially inside the locker room. Final segment, sound the trumpets.
• 30:27
  Speaker 5: We're good to go.
• 30:28
  Speaker 4: We're good to go. Every time, Willie. Every time. Makes
• 30:33
  Speaker 4: me laugh every single time.
• 30:36
  Speaker 7: Okay, so we're– by the way, our thanks to Kevin
• 30:38
  Speaker 7: Colbert going into the Hall of Honor for being our
• 30:41
  Speaker 7: special guest today. We are going through the power rankings.
• 30:44
  Speaker 7: We're talking about our underrated, overrated teams. So here they
• 30:48
  Speaker 7: are just quickly in case you're, according to The Athletic,
• 30:50
  Speaker 7: in case you're just joining us, 49ers 1, Bills 2,
• 30:54
  Speaker 7: Seattle 3, Chiefs 4, Rams 5, Patriots 6, Bengals 7,
• 31:02
  Speaker 7: Lions 8, Eagles 9, Vikings 10, Broncos 11, my underrated team.
• 31:12
  Speaker 7: Then we have the Bears 12. Ravens 13, Jacksonville 14,
• 31:18
  Speaker 7: Saints 15, Cowboys 16, Texans 17, Packers 18, Panthers 19,
• 31:28
  Speaker 7: Colts 20, Steelers 21. They drop from 16 to 21.
• 31:32
  Speaker 7: I don't have any problem with this. The only question
• 31:37
  Speaker 7: I will have is what happens if they beat the Bengals,
• 31:40
  Speaker 7: who are way up there.
• 31:41
  Speaker 4: How far up will the Steelers go?
• 31:44
  Speaker 3: They'll be 18.
• 31:45
  Speaker 4: I get it.
• 31:46
  Speaker 7: I mean, I understand where they're ranked. I understand the
• 31:48
  Speaker 7: preconceived notions. Willie said this earlier in the week, Max.
• 31:53
  Speaker 7: He's okay with flying a little under the radar here
• 31:55
  Speaker 7: if you're a Pittsburgh Steelers fan.
• 31:59
  Speaker 5: And I think it's appropriate for right now just because
• 32:01
  Speaker 5: what we put on tape, right? I don't think that's
• 32:03
  Speaker 5: what this team is, but it is where they are.
• 32:06
  Speaker 5: And I think we have to kind of take stock
• 32:07
  Speaker 5: with that. And I like the backs against the wall mentality.
• 32:11
  Speaker 5: And that's how, I mean, and you think about it, Willie,
• 32:15
  Speaker 5: that's kind of how we preferred it. You know, we
• 32:17
  Speaker 5: didn't like being touted. You know, it was almost like,
• 32:19
  Speaker 5: prove us wrong. So, you know, I said, you know,
• 32:22
  Speaker 5: feel this way so we can prove you wrong. I
• 32:24
  Speaker 5: always loved doubt, and doubt was always something that kind
• 32:26
  Speaker 5: of fueled me in my career. I was like, yes,
• 32:29
  Speaker 5: please keep counting us out. Please keep counting us out,
• 32:31
  Speaker 5: and then we'll laugh all the way to the Super Bowl.
• 32:34
  Speaker 5: You know, and I think that's the mentality I want.
• 32:37
  Speaker 6: Yeah, I think that's why the Steelers sometimes are an enigma.
• 32:42
  Speaker 6: We can– We can look like underdogs, but we are
• 32:46
  Speaker 6: feared like contenders. And this is why this matchup Sunday
• 32:52
  Speaker 6: is going to be interesting because as much as Steeler
• 32:56
  Speaker 6: Nation and the Steelers and everybody that's a part of
• 32:59
  Speaker 6: the organization are kind of licking their wounds, the Bengals
• 33:02
  Speaker 6: are really looking at themselves like they're confident of what
• 33:06
  Speaker 6: they can do and winning this game against the Steelers.
• 33:10
  Speaker 3: And so... They're looking at this.
• 33:11
  Speaker 6: The Bengals, I'm pretty sure they're feeling like this is
• 33:14
  Speaker 6: an opportunity to get our knockback. Well, the Steelers really
• 33:17
  Speaker 6: have to take this opportunity and prove to themselves who
• 33:20
  Speaker 6: they want to be for the rest of their season
• 33:22
  Speaker 6: by writing a ship against the Bengals. And if you
• 33:25
  Speaker 6: beat Joe Burrow and you have a solid day against
• 33:28
  Speaker 6: that offense and defensively, our defense pretty much makes the Bengals'
• 33:33
  Speaker 6: offense look small. And then now people are saying, all right,
• 33:36
  Speaker 6: this division as a whole is wide open because we
• 33:39
  Speaker 6: just watched a team who a lot of people are
• 33:40
  Speaker 6: thinking is either going to be third or fourth, beat
• 33:43
  Speaker 6: the best team in that division. And sure, historically, everybody
• 33:46
  Speaker 6: kind of beats up on each other. But I think
• 33:48
  Speaker 6: in the fashion in which we play each other is
• 33:50
  Speaker 6: what makes for an interesting headline. So I'm really interested
• 33:54
  Speaker 6: to see what the game plan looks like for the
• 33:55
  Speaker 6: Steelers going into this game.
• 33:57
  Speaker 3: I'm interested to see who steps up. And I'm also interested,
• 34:00
  Speaker 3: and then Rob– you're, I know.
• 34:03
  Speaker 6: Your, your, your passion is all sports, but baseball is
• 34:06
  Speaker 6: where you kind of rest your feet. And I love
• 34:09
  Speaker 6: baseball as well. There's, there's times where we see batters
• 34:12
  Speaker 6: or ballplayers in baseball go through slumps, right?
• 34:15
  Speaker 3: And sometimes they don't look like themselves for whatever reason.
• 34:19
  Speaker 6: Uh, but there's usually a game or situation where they
• 34:23
  Speaker 6: rise to the moment.
• 34:24
  Speaker 3: They've start playing better.
• 34:25
  Speaker 6: They, you see batters going, you know, they go on
• 34:27
  Speaker 6: streets and they get cold all the time.
• 34:29
  Speaker 3: It's just the way major leagues is.
• 34:31
  Speaker 6: Uh, I think when we start talking about DK Metcalf
• 34:35
  Speaker 6: and the drops and everything that's kind of starting to
• 34:40
  Speaker 6: kind of cloud around him, I don't think we've seen
• 34:43
  Speaker 6: him handle adversity to this magnitude.
• 34:47
  Speaker 3: I'm interested to see him respond.
• 34:51
  Speaker 6: And I'm not talking about like having a big over-the-middle catch,
• 34:55
  Speaker 6: one-hand grab.
• 34:55
  Speaker 3: No, I'm not talking about that.
• 34:57
  Speaker 6: I want to see him put on four quarters of
• 34:59
  Speaker 6: where he's just the most dominant receiver on the field.
• 35:02
  Speaker 6: where you have two other high quality receivers along with
• 35:05
  Speaker 6: Jamar Chase and T Higgins. I want to see him
• 35:07
  Speaker 6: stand out amongst those two.
• 35:09
  Speaker 3: And I don't know. I just, I don't know if
• 35:12
  Speaker 3: we've seen him rise to the moment.
• 35:13
  Speaker 6: I don't know if we see, I don't want to
• 35:15
  Speaker 6: know if we see him pull himself out of a slump,
• 35:18
  Speaker 6: like other batters and baseball have been forced to pull
• 35:20
  Speaker 6: themselves out of the slump.
• 35:21
  Speaker 3: And I don't even know what that looks like for
• 35:23
  Speaker 3: a receiver. Um, I know what it looks like for
• 35:25
  Speaker 3: an office lineman.
• 35:26
  Speaker 6: And that's just after practice, working on your footwork, working
• 35:30
  Speaker 6: on different things. Um, And on top of that, just
• 35:34
  Speaker 6: really coming to the game with a pissed-off mindset and
• 35:38
  Speaker 6: forcing yourself to win your one-on-ones and be efficient in
• 35:40
  Speaker 6: that regard.
• 35:41
  Speaker 3: So I throw this question to you.
• 35:45
  Speaker 6: What do you need to see from DK going into
• 35:47
  Speaker 6: this game to feel like he's going to be okay?
• 35:49
  Speaker 4: Yeah, and I think it's a great topic.
• 35:52
  Speaker 7: And I think just talking about offensive linemen, no matter
• 35:55
  Speaker 7: where you are, Willie, you do that work and you
• 35:58
  Speaker 7: put the work in. And then you're the next thing
• 36:00
  Speaker 7: you need is feedback. You need feedback in the game.
• 36:03
  Speaker 2: Right.
• 36:03
  Speaker 7: Like if you put all that work in and the
• 36:05
  Speaker 7: first thing that happens is swim move to the inside
• 36:07
  Speaker 7: and Roethlisberger's on his back. Here comes everything you worked
• 36:11
  Speaker 7: on just comes tumbling down. People forget the mental part
• 36:14
  Speaker 7: of the game. And and one of the things that
• 36:17
  Speaker 7: I think is, you know, so you mentioned baseball and
• 36:20
  Speaker 7: I do love baseball.
• 36:21
  Speaker 4: I mean, you know.
• 36:23
  Speaker 7: Football is my favorite, but I do love the game
• 36:26
  Speaker 7: of baseball. I love it over the season. I love
• 36:28
  Speaker 7: the way the season unfolds. But everyone talks about the
• 36:31
  Speaker 7: five tools in baseball. You can hit, hit for power, run, throw,
• 36:37
  Speaker 7: all these different things, field. The sixth tool is the
• 36:42
  Speaker 7: one that makes the good ones great or the average
• 36:45
  Speaker 7: ones good, and that is the ability to do it
• 36:48
  Speaker 7: consistently again and again and again.
• 36:51
  Speaker 5: You know what?
• 36:52
  Speaker 7: In basketball– A guy can go out there, he can
• 36:54
  Speaker 7: hit a 35-footer, but guess what? Steph Curry can do
• 36:57
  Speaker 7: it 8 out of 10 times. That's why Steph Curry's
• 36:59
  Speaker 7: Steph Curry. I've heard people say, well, it's in there.
• 37:02
  Speaker 7: If I've seen you do it once, it's in there. Yeah, okay,
• 37:04
  Speaker 7: it's in there, but it's in there a lot more
• 37:06
  Speaker 7: often for Steph Curry or Greg Maddox or Ben Roethlisberger
• 37:10
  Speaker 7: than it is for the other guys, and that's a
• 37:12
  Speaker 7: big separator, that ability to do it again and again
• 37:15
  Speaker 7: and again. I think DK, I just think he needs,
• 37:19
  Speaker 7: and I would not be surprised if the Steelers came
• 37:22
  Speaker 7: out in this game and gave him a quick pass
• 37:24
  Speaker 7: in the flat, an easy catch, just to say, okay,
• 37:28
  Speaker 7: you worked on it all. We can practice. Here's an
• 37:30
  Speaker 7: easy one for you. Now you've got to catch it, right?
• 37:33
  Speaker 7: We're right back to getting beat. Make the catch, move on,
• 37:37
  Speaker 7: and then maybe that just takes a little bit of
• 37:39
  Speaker 7: a load off. And then all of a sudden you
• 37:40
  Speaker 7: look up and there's a ball and you catch it
• 37:42
  Speaker 7: and you're moving on and you're playing by instinct and
• 37:44
  Speaker 7: it might even pop in your mind.
• 37:45
  Speaker 4: Oh, yeah, I caught that one. Okay, that's behind me now.
• 37:48
  Speaker 7: But I do think you need, Willie, I think no
• 37:50
  Speaker 7: matter what sport, You do the work, yeah. You have to.
• 37:54
  Speaker 7: That's mandatory. And then you need that positive feedback. And
• 37:57
  Speaker 7: I think DK– that's what I.
• 37:59
  Speaker 4: Think might happen.
• 38:01
  Speaker 7: Early on, first few plays of the game, Pop went
• 38:03
  Speaker 7: out to DK right in the flat. I don't even
• 38:05
  Speaker 7: care if he doesn't gain any yards, you know. Just
• 38:08
  Speaker 7: get him going and get that confidence back up.
• 38:10
  Speaker 6: I just want him seeing, once again, you know, I
• 38:12
  Speaker 6: used this narrative before or this comparison, excuse me.
• 38:16
  Speaker 3: I just want him seeing him play Shaq-like football. You
• 38:18
  Speaker 3: know what I mean? Like he just– He's such a
• 38:20
  Speaker 3: presence on the field. Like, you've been on the field.
• 38:23
  Speaker 3: We've all seen him on the field.
• 38:24
  Speaker 6: Like, I'm like, damn, if that dude just turns into, like,
• 38:28
  Speaker 6: give me the ball and the paint, it's an easy two,
• 38:31
  Speaker 6: and I'm cleaning everything up.
• 38:32
  Speaker 3: You know what I mean?
• 38:32
  Speaker 6: Like, I just want to see him get to that
• 38:35
  Speaker 6: level of football because he's more than capable. And I
• 38:40
  Speaker 6: think he just takes so much pressure off the rest
• 38:42
  Speaker 6: of the offense. When you know when– I just mentioned–
• 38:45
  Speaker 6: what Mike Evans meant to Baker Mayfield in Tampa. When
• 38:48
  Speaker 6: Baker's just like, man, I need somebody to just go
• 38:50
  Speaker 6: get this football for us so we can get momentum,
• 38:54
  Speaker 6: we can get in rhythm, where we can put fear
• 38:57
  Speaker 6: into the defense. And if DK can be that, to
• 39:00
  Speaker 6: your point, at a consistent level, that frees up a
• 39:03
  Speaker 6: lot of angst with this offense right now.
• 39:06
  Speaker 3: Because, yeah, teams are going to scheme you up, man.
• 39:11
  Speaker 3: They're just going to scheme you up. They're going to
• 39:12
  Speaker 3: have a beat. And they're just going to have your numbers.
• 39:16
  Speaker 3: But if you have that one guy on.
• 39:17
  Speaker 6: The field like Mike Evans or like, you know, Christian
• 39:22
  Speaker 6: McCaffrey or just whoever, one of those dominant forces that,
• 39:25
  Speaker 6: you know, that could just show up and be big
• 39:28
  Speaker 6: in those moments, man. We don't sit here and look
• 39:31
  Speaker 6: at the Steelers with this kind of like, uh-oh face, right?
• 39:34
  Speaker 6: Because we have our prize horse that can beat all odds.
• 39:37
  Speaker 6: And I think you're right. It starts off with him, one,
• 39:40
  Speaker 6: stop using his body to catch the football because I
• 39:42
  Speaker 6: think when you start using your body to catch the football,
• 39:44
  Speaker 6: it's in your head.
• 39:45
  Speaker 3: Trust his hands, see the ball in, and go be
• 39:48
  Speaker 3: a juggernaut.
• 39:49
  Speaker 2: And, I.
• 39:52
  Speaker 6: Just feel like if we can get him going, the
• 39:54
  Speaker 6: rest of the offense will settle down.
• 39:56
  Speaker 3: It'll calm down.
• 39:57
  Speaker 4: A little bit.
• 39:58
  Speaker 7: Yeah, and there's also the notion to me that having
• 40:02
  Speaker 7: said that, I wouldn't mind a few more targets for
• 40:04
  Speaker 7: Michael Pittman if he's healthy because I think you're wanting
• 40:08
  Speaker 7: to get your bell cow back.
• 40:11
  Speaker 4: I'm sure there's days.
• 40:11
  Speaker 7: Where Michael Jordan stepped on the court of LeBron and
• 40:14
  Speaker 7: they're like, hey, I'm not feeling the jump shot. They're
• 40:17
  Speaker 7: still going to get theirs, but they're going to get
• 40:19
  Speaker 7: it in a different way Maybe DK gets his in
• 40:21
  Speaker 7: a little bit different way, some slants, some quick crosses,
• 40:26
  Speaker 7: the different ways to feed him the ball. And then
• 40:28
  Speaker 7: who can be that Scotty Pippen? Who can be that
• 40:30
  Speaker 7: guy that, hey, I got you this game. I'll take
• 40:32
  Speaker 7: a little of that pressure off you. To me, that
• 40:33
  Speaker 7: guy could be Michael Pittman. Okay, hey, guys, we got
• 40:38
  Speaker 7: to do this quick.
• 40:39
  Speaker 5: Ready?
• 40:39
  Speaker 4: We got a couple minutes left. Thank you, Willie. We're
• 40:42
  Speaker 4: going to dive more into that topic in the next
• 40:43
  Speaker 4: couple days. It's a great topic. Yeah, no problem.
• 40:45
  Speaker 7: Willie's underrated because he's the 20th Colts. I don't think
• 40:48
  Speaker 7: we have Max's underrated. My overrated was the Lions. Max,
• 40:52
  Speaker 7: you had Houston, so you owe me an overrated, Willie.
• 40:53
  Speaker 7: I'm going to run them down real quick the rest
• 40:55
  Speaker 7: of the way. 22, the Vegas Raiders. That could be
• 40:58
  Speaker 7: your underrated. Is that your underrated, Willie?
• 41:00
  Speaker 3: 2-0? No, my underrated was– who did I say was underrated?
• 41:06
  Speaker 3: We just talked about them.
• 41:07
  Speaker 5: The Colts.
• 41:08
  Speaker 4: Oh, you had the Colts. You had the Colts. You
• 41:10
  Speaker 4: had the Colts. Max, I need an underrated out of Max.
• 41:13
  Speaker 4: I'll dash down these quickly. Browns.
• 41:15
  Speaker 5: I think I had in my head that my underrated
• 41:18
  Speaker 5: was going to be– the Bills, but then the Bills
• 41:23
  Speaker 5: actually got a good power ranking, so it kind of
• 41:25
  Speaker 5: nullified my underrated.
• 41:28
  Speaker 7: Browns, 23. Giants, 24. Jets, they're 1-1. They're 25. The Cardinals,
• 41:35
  Speaker 7: they're 1-1. They're 26. The Chargers are 27.
• 41:38
  Speaker 6: 0-2.
• 41:38
  Speaker 4: Yeah, they look bad.
• 41:42
  Speaker 5: They look bad.
• 41:42
  Speaker 4: And they're taking on the Bills.
• 41:44
  Speaker 5: Yikes.
• 41:44
  Speaker 7: The Buccaneers, 0-2, taking on the Vikings. I'm not going
• 41:49
  Speaker 7: to talk about how big a game that is because
• 41:51
  Speaker 7: I don't want to get swatted down. The Commanders, the Seahawks.
• 41:54
  Speaker 5: You know what? That's my underrated. I'll take the Bucs.
• 41:57
  Speaker 5: I think they're better than that.
• 41:59
  Speaker 4: I actually think they are, too. I think they are, too.
• 42:02
  Speaker 7: But I wouldn't be shocked if they were 0-3 after
• 42:07
  Speaker 7: the Vikings game. Commanders against the Seahawks. Titans at the Giants.
• 42:12
  Speaker 7: The Titans are the 30th-ranked team. The Falcons, 31-31. The Dolphins, 32.
• 42:18
  Speaker 7: They might be there all year. Okay, so my overrated
• 42:23
  Speaker 7: team was the Lions. My underrated team was Denver. Max,
• 42:28
  Speaker 7: your overrated team was Houston. Your underrated team is the Bucs. Willie,
• 42:33
  Speaker 7: what was your overrated team?
• 42:36
  Speaker 3: I think I said the Broncos.
• 42:37
  Speaker 7: The Broncos, okay. And then you have– oh, that was my–
• 42:43
  Speaker 7: That was my underrated. That's your overrated.
• 42:45
  Speaker 4: I like it.
• 42:46
  Speaker 7: Oh, I like it, man. We're going to be talking
• 42:48
  Speaker 7: about that next week, guarantee. And Indianapolis, you're underrated, too.
• 42:52
  Speaker 7: I think that's a great pick at number 20. Our
• 42:54
  Speaker 7: thanks to Kevin Colbert. Our thanks to you guys for
• 42:56
  Speaker 7: listening in. Jerry Dulac joins us tomorrow. AFC North preview
• 43:00
  Speaker 7: coming up as well. We're going to talk about a
• 43:03
  Speaker 7: game that intrigues us this weekend. We're also going to
• 43:05
  Speaker 7: have Dan Hoard of the Bengals, a play-by-play guy, to
• 43:08
  Speaker 7: help us break down the Bengals matchup. All that is
• 43:10
  Speaker 7: coming up tomorrow. Our thanks to you for listening to
• 43:13
  Speaker 7: us today. Thanks to Kevin Colbert. Thanks to Gino Annamarino,
• 43:18
  Speaker 7: our producer. Sorry, Gino, I got it the second time.
• 43:22
  Speaker 7: Max Starks, Willie Colon, I'm Rob King. Thanks for being
• 43:24
  Speaker 7: with us in the locker room here on the Steelers
• 43:26
  Speaker 7: Audio Network.