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

• 0:07
  Speaker 1: This is In the Locker Room with Rob King, Max Starks,
• 0:11
  Speaker 1: and Willie Colon on Steelers Nation Radio. Brought to you
• 0:15
  Speaker 1: in part by a Steelers Pro Shop. Get it direct
• 0:18
  Speaker 1: from the team at the Steelers Pro Shop at shop.steelers.com.
• 0:23
  Speaker 1: And by your neighborhood Ford store. The F-150 is the
• 0:27
  Speaker 1: official truck of the Pittsburgh Steelers.
• 0:34
  Speaker 2: All right.
• 0:35
  Speaker 3: We know what it is. Hour number two here inside
• 0:37
  Speaker 3: the locker room. Optimus on a victory donut Monday. Probably
• 0:41
  Speaker 3: bringing some Krispy Kreme somewhere.
• 0:43
  Speaker 4: I'm just going to go and be optimistic that he's
• 0:46
  Speaker 4: delivering some delicious donuts to some people somewhere over there.
• 0:50
  Speaker 4: But yeah, no. Steelers, I would say victors over the Saints.
• 0:56
  Speaker 4: And good start to the season especially. And I am
• 1:01
  Speaker 4: excited about where this team is and how well they
• 1:06
  Speaker 4: played on Sunday. And, you know, we're kind of going
• 1:10
  Speaker 4: through the tail of the tape, so to speak. And Rob,
• 1:15
  Speaker 4: you know, I think another thing that I look at
• 1:17
  Speaker 4: is as we soon get ready to turn the page
• 1:21
  Speaker 4: to the defensive side of the ball. I thought for
• 1:25
  Speaker 4: what special teams was, I felt like it didn't really
• 1:29
  Speaker 4: hurt us now.
• 1:30
  Speaker 3: I was a little miffed about.
• 1:34
  Speaker 4: That whole having the placeholder for the kickoffs on the
• 1:39
  Speaker 4: kicking team.
• 1:40
  Speaker 3: That kind of bothered me a little bit. I kind
• 1:41
  Speaker 3: of talked about that.
• 1:43
  Speaker 4: And then when he messed it up royally, that's when
• 1:45
  Speaker 4: they stopped doing it. But it took that because there
• 1:49
  Speaker 4: was just some crazy balls that were kicked that weren't
• 1:53
  Speaker 4: able to be cleanly fielded. And I felt like that
• 1:55
  Speaker 4: was an advantage for them. They were kind of manipulating
• 1:57
  Speaker 4: the ball angle. that the kicker could hold it so
• 2:00
  Speaker 4: that he could make that type of kick. So that,
• 2:03
  Speaker 4: you know, that bothered me a little bit. I will
• 2:05
  Speaker 4: say that. That's my little special teams. I don't know
• 2:07
  Speaker 4: how deep we're going to get into the special teams,
• 2:10
  Speaker 4: but that was one that bothered me.
• 2:12
  Speaker 5: All right, we're going to get there. By the way,
• 2:13
  Speaker 5: he's been really good at that, Schrader, even without the holder. But, yeah,
• 2:17
  Speaker 5: that's something that came up a couple of weeks ago
• 2:20
  Speaker 5: because the Eagles doing that routinely and whether that was just,
• 2:24
  Speaker 5: you know, sort of bending the rules or– or bending
• 2:28
  Speaker 5: the spear to the rules. So it is a Monday,
• 2:32
  Speaker 5: and I did neglect to bring this up that we
• 2:35
  Speaker 5: take your phone calls on Mondays at 412-919-1316. We'll get
• 2:40
  Speaker 5: to the defense. We'll get to the special teams. But first,
• 2:42
  Speaker 5: we're going to get to Juan in South Carolina. Juan,
• 2:45
  Speaker 5: thanks very much for being with.
• 2:46
  Speaker 2: Us in the locker room.
• 2:48
  Speaker 6: Hey, good afternoon, guys.
• 2:49
  Speaker 7: How y'all doing?
• 2:50
  Speaker 6: Good.
• 2:51
  Speaker 2: What's up, Juan?
• 2:51
  Speaker 6: Doing all right, Juan. Yeah, I just wanted to say it.
• 2:56
  Speaker 3: As a group, we are 0-5.
• 2:57
  Speaker 7: I picked those dirty birds to beat those filthy rat birds.
• 3:01
  Speaker 8: Oh, bummer.
• 3:03
  Speaker 6: Yeah. Yeah.
• 3:04
  Speaker 3: You know our pain.
• 3:05
  Speaker 2: That was a bummer.
• 3:07
  Speaker 9: Yeah.
• 3:08
  Speaker 6: So, yeah.
• 3:08
  Speaker 3: So, as a crew, we are 0-5.
• 3:12
  Speaker 6: And, Max, I'm like you.
• 3:13
  Speaker 3: I'm about to go get a double dope of donuts today.
• 3:18
  Speaker 3: Got to.
• 3:18
  Speaker 2: Got to.
• 3:19
  Speaker 6: Oh, nice.
• 3:20
  Speaker 4: And listen, Juan, don't be scared. A maple bacon long john,
• 3:26
  Speaker 4: if you see one, don't be scared. If you see
• 3:28
  Speaker 4: the custard-filled one, I'm not a big jelly-filled guy, but
• 3:31
  Speaker 4: a custard-filled is just as acceptable. So, you know, I
• 3:35
  Speaker 4: hope that you enjoy because there's no calories on Victory
• 3:39
  Speaker 4: Donut Monday, as we've learned over the years. So please
• 3:43
  Speaker 4: enjoy heartily. Now, if you eat any other foods, that
• 3:45
  Speaker 4: counts as calories, but donuts are calorie-free today on this day.
• 3:48
  Speaker 5: Now, I don't know if you guys wear an ugly
• 3:51
  Speaker 5: sweater around Christmas time. Like, you go to an ugly
• 3:53
  Speaker 5: sweater party. And I have no idea how I acquired
• 3:56
  Speaker 5: this sweater. But it says on the sweater, Max, Christmas
• 4:01
  Speaker 5: cookie calories don't count.
• 4:03
  Speaker 3: See, there it is.
• 4:04
  Speaker 2: Victory Monday donut. I have no idea where I got
• 4:07
  Speaker 2: that sweater, man. Anyway, they don't count.
• 4:11
  Speaker 6: It's a victory Monday. Nothing don't count on a victory Monday.
• 4:14
  Speaker 6: That's right.
• 4:16
  Speaker 7: You know how me, you, and Wolf used to do
• 4:17
  Speaker 7: back in the day.
• 4:18
  Speaker 6: Nothing count on a victory Monday.
• 4:20
  Speaker 2: That's right.
• 4:21
  Speaker 3: Hey, no looking at the scale on Mondays. You know,
• 4:25
  Speaker 3: we had the scale challenge.
• 4:27
  Speaker 4: We don't look at the scale on Mondays because the
• 4:29
  Speaker 4: donuts don't count regardless.
• 4:31
  Speaker 3: So, yeah, we save that for Tuesday.
• 4:33
  Speaker 4: That's when you start being all responsible and stuff.
• 4:38
  Speaker 6: Yep.
• 4:39
  Speaker 2: Anything else in your mind, Juan?
• 4:41
  Speaker 6: Yeah, so about the game, it was a good game.
• 4:45
  Speaker 7: Our guy, Jalen, when I saw that first play, when
• 4:49
  Speaker 7: he got that 80 yard, I said, oh, yeah, he's
• 4:50
  Speaker 7: going to have a big game. And, um, And about
• 4:54
  Speaker 7: the defense, I was just reading this now before I
• 4:56
  Speaker 7: got it with you guys. Did you hear anything about
• 4:58
  Speaker 7: us signing Landon Roberts?
• 5:00
  Speaker 3: Yes.
• 5:01
  Speaker 2: Yep, we have not gotten to that.
• 5:03
  Speaker 5: That is a bit of news that we were going
• 5:05
  Speaker 5: to get to. We talked about the defense, but yeah,
• 5:10
  Speaker 5: there's reports that Roman Wilson is going to be out
• 5:13
  Speaker 5: for a couple of weeks, I think, with a finger injury.
• 5:17
  Speaker 5: And then the reports are, and again, these are just reports.
• 5:20
  Speaker 5: I haven't seen anything verified yet. but several local outlets
• 5:24
  Speaker 5: reporting that a Landon Roberts is in town. One reporting
• 5:27
  Speaker 5: that he is going to sign the other saying that
• 5:30
  Speaker 5: he doesn't know about whether that's going to be, uh,
• 5:33
  Speaker 5: a Landon Roberts signing yet, but yes, that is one.
• 5:36
  Speaker 5: Thank you for bringing that up. That is a bit
• 5:37
  Speaker 5: of news we wanted to get to.
• 5:38
  Speaker 6: In the locker room.
• 5:40
  Speaker 3: Okay.
• 5:41
  Speaker 7: And what the receivers, um, I know we kind of
• 5:44
  Speaker 7: done at receivers, but, um, I'm kind of liking what
• 5:47
  Speaker 7: we got with Jeremy Bernal. And then yesterday we used
• 5:51
  Speaker 7: Moof like how we should have been using them. So
• 5:54
  Speaker 7: that was pretty good. And then we got that man
• 5:56
  Speaker 7: Mount Washington. So I'm pretty all right with the receivers
• 6:00
  Speaker 7: right now.
• 6:01
  Speaker 3: Yep. Yep.
• 6:02
  Speaker 2: Hey, Juan, thank you very much. Appreciate it as always.
• 6:05
  Speaker 2: Enjoy those donuts.
• 6:07
  Speaker 5: As Max says, get a maple glazed bacon custard filled donut.
• 6:11
  Speaker 3: Maple bacon long john. Maple bacon long john.
• 6:14
  Speaker 9: Or.
• 6:17
  Speaker 3: Or you get the custard filled.
• 6:19
  Speaker 5: Perhaps Juan will mix them both. I have not found
• 6:21
  Speaker 5: a double one like that. That would be amazing. Maybe
• 6:24
  Speaker 5: you could mix them. A little mixing. Kind of mix
• 6:26
  Speaker 5: them together.
• 6:26
  Speaker 6: That's true.
• 6:27
  Speaker 3: Squish them together like a donut sandwich.
• 6:29
  Speaker 6: That would be great.
• 6:30
  Speaker 2: Thank you, Juan. Appreciate it, my friend.
• 6:31
  Speaker 6: Thank you, guys.
• 6:33
  Speaker 7: I'm going to look out for that doing. Appreciate it.
• 6:36
  Speaker 6: All right. Let's get to it.
• 6:38
  Speaker 5: By the way, the phone number is 412-919-1316. Let's get
• 6:40
  Speaker 5: to Ricky in Georgia. Ricky, thanks very much for being
• 6:45
  Speaker 5: with us in the locker room.
• 6:47
  Speaker 6: Good afternoon, fella.
• 6:48
  Speaker 2: How y'all doing today? What's happening, Ricky? I can't call you, man. Hey, man.
• 6:53
  Speaker 6: I was going to say it was a great win. Team,
• 6:56
  Speaker 6: that's a man.
• 6:57
  Speaker 2: And I do have two questions for y'all on the.
• 6:59
  Speaker 10: Show today concerning the team and the decision that we made.
• 7:03
  Speaker 10: My first question is, Okay, so.
• 7:20
  Speaker 2: Ricky's breaking up. Ricky, try to call us back.
• 7:22
  Speaker 5: I guess the question, Willie, for Ricky is, if the
• 7:27
  Speaker 5: reports are true on Roman Wilson, you know he's going
• 7:30
  Speaker 5: to be out a couple weeks. You know that Michael
• 7:32
  Speaker 5: Pittman's going to be out. for at least three more weeks. And, again,
• 7:36
  Speaker 5: they probably know more about the seriousness of that plantar,
• 7:40
  Speaker 5: the reported plantar fasciitis injury than we do, more about
• 7:44
  Speaker 5: Roman Wilson and his status than we do. Maybe we'll
• 7:46
  Speaker 5: know more from Mike McCarthy coming up. But, you know,
• 7:49
  Speaker 5: Ben Skoranek got hurt in the game. We don't know
• 7:51
  Speaker 5: what his status is. Do the Steelers need to be
• 7:54
  Speaker 5: in a market for a wide receiver, in your opinion?
• 7:58
  Speaker 6: Uh, I do. I just think from a depth standpoint,
• 8:01
  Speaker 6: it helps. I do think right now, DK is going
• 8:03
  Speaker 6: to be our number one. I would love to see
• 8:04
  Speaker 6: Jeremy Bernard step into the number two hole, um, and
• 8:08
  Speaker 6: be the guy for us just because I think he's
• 8:09
  Speaker 6: ready for the, for the moment. Um, it's from a
• 8:12
  Speaker 6: depth standpoint, it would help, um, go out and get
• 8:15
  Speaker 6: somebody who, you know, who can, you know, who comes
• 8:18
  Speaker 6: from that McCarthy tree, maybe, um, as somebody who, you know,
• 8:22
  Speaker 6: I don't know, I don't have a name off the
• 8:23
  Speaker 6: top of my head. So excuse me, Rob, but, uh,
• 8:26
  Speaker 6: how can you, right.
• 8:28
  Speaker 5: I mean, listen, man, you know, and that's the thing
• 8:30
  Speaker 5: about signing a Landon Roberts, right?
• 8:33
  Speaker 2: And I hope he comes in and does a great job.
• 8:35
  Speaker 2: He's available, right?
• 8:37
  Speaker 5: That means, you know, 30 other teams have an opportunity
• 8:42
  Speaker 5: to go– 31 other teams have an opportunity to go
• 8:44
  Speaker 5: get him and have him.
• 8:46
  Speaker 2: And now you have.
• 8:46
  Speaker 5: So that doesn't mean for sure that the guy can't play.
• 8:50
  Speaker 5: It just means that, you know, that's where we're standing
• 8:54
  Speaker 5: right now.
• 8:55
  Speaker 6: I mean, they could also elevate guys, right? They can
• 8:57
  Speaker 6: also elevate Isaiah Hodgins. They could bring up Brandon Johnson.
• 9:01
  Speaker 6: We talked about Brandon Smith. I mean, they could all
• 9:03
  Speaker 6: be candidates to add more depth. So that can, you know,
• 9:06
  Speaker 6: it's always good to shop in-house before you hit the street. So,
• 9:11
  Speaker 6: you know, maybe that's something that Steelers do. But, you know,
• 9:13
  Speaker 6: they're talking about Pittman being out maybe four weeks, right?
• 9:17
  Speaker 6: And so it looks like this foot thing he tried
• 9:19
  Speaker 6: to muscle through but just can't get right and he can't.
• 9:22
  Speaker 6: get to do what he needs to do out there
• 9:23
  Speaker 6: to be effective for the Steelers offensively. Um, but if
• 9:27
  Speaker 6: they don't elevate any of the guys I just mentioned,
• 9:29
  Speaker 6: then I think it's safe to say, uh, you go
• 9:32
  Speaker 6: get a guy off the street or pull somebody off
• 9:34
  Speaker 6: the roster. You feel like you can have an immediate impact.
• 9:36
  Speaker 6: Cause I think if, if we're going to continue to
• 9:40
  Speaker 6: exploit the run game and live in heavy personnel without
• 9:42
  Speaker 6: tight ends, which that seems like the direction we're heading
• 9:45
  Speaker 6: and I'm happy, I think it'd be good to add
• 9:47
  Speaker 6: another big piece who can stretch the seams. Um, like
• 9:51
  Speaker 6: Pittman was supposed to do. So we'll see what happens,
• 9:54
  Speaker 6: but I will shop in-house before we go out-house route.
• 9:58
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I agree with you wholeheartedly.
• 10:02
  Speaker 5: And, I mean, again, you know, the Marvin Harrison trade
• 10:06
  Speaker 5: to Houston, I'm sure some fans are saying, boy, it's
• 10:09
  Speaker 5: too bad the Steelers.
• 10:09
  Speaker 2: Weren't in on it.
• 10:10
  Speaker 5: I don't know whether they were in on it or not.
• 10:11
  Speaker 5: I don't know if they were part of the discussions
• 10:13
  Speaker 5: or rumors that they had some interest. But, you know,
• 10:16
  Speaker 5: short of making a trade like that, in-house might and
• 10:20
  Speaker 5: again there's always the possibility we saw when they were
• 10:23
  Speaker 5: filling holes the defensive back as ricky uh joining us
• 10:25
  Speaker 5: back on the locker room you know they went to
• 10:28
  Speaker 5: other teams practice squads rather than elevating their own so
• 10:31
  Speaker 5: you never know what a team's going to do as
• 10:33
  Speaker 5: far as filling the hole but what was your second
• 10:35
  Speaker 5: question ricky.
• 10:36
  Speaker 8: Okay okay i hear me now ma'am yes okay uh
• 10:40
  Speaker 8: my second question is uh it is real just made
• 10:43
  Speaker 8: it for like max and uh willie um As a
• 10:46
  Speaker 8: former offensive lineman myself, I do have a question for
• 10:49
  Speaker 8: y'all and one particular offensive lineman on our team, and
• 10:52
  Speaker 8: that's Mr. Troy Fartano. That play where Aaron Rodgers had
• 10:56
  Speaker 8: to scramble out to the side and throw that ball,
• 11:01
  Speaker 8: what do y'all think that can make Fartano better in
• 11:04
  Speaker 8: the midseason, or do you think it's going to take
• 11:06
  Speaker 8: time to finesse his craft? I just feel like he
• 11:09
  Speaker 8: was on skates and he lost leverage in his lead,
• 11:12
  Speaker 8: and that's why he kind of got pushed backwards like that.
• 11:14
  Speaker 8: and the man got his hand in his chest as
• 11:16
  Speaker 8: an offensive lineman, you cannot not let a defensive lineman
• 11:19
  Speaker 8: get their hand in your chest, or else you're going
• 11:21
  Speaker 8: to lose that battle all day.
• 11:25
  Speaker 3: Well, go ahead, Max.
• 11:26
  Speaker 6: Go on, Max.
• 11:28
  Speaker 4: I was just going to say, you know, it's something
• 11:31
  Speaker 4: where leverage and hands have to work kind of hand-in-hand
• 11:34
  Speaker 4: with each other. And, you know, for Troy, sometimes the
• 11:38
  Speaker 4: feet are faster than the hands.
• 11:40
  Speaker 6: Yes.
• 11:40
  Speaker 3: With him.
• 11:41
  Speaker 4: And so it's about having that kind of patience, you know,
• 11:44
  Speaker 4: that that's really the biggest thing is finding the patience
• 11:47
  Speaker 4: and it's the independent hand punching. You can't be a
• 11:50
  Speaker 4: two hand puncher in a lot of those situations. And
• 11:54
  Speaker 4: you can't kind of, you know, kind of come over
• 11:56
  Speaker 4: your shoulders as we talk about that overhand type of movement.
• 11:59
  Speaker 3: Um, you have to be quick and lighter with, with.
• 12:02
  Speaker 4: The hands, but you know, it's something like he's still
• 12:04
  Speaker 4: learning the left foot tack left tackle footwork. Um, at
• 12:08
  Speaker 4: this particular juncture, he's still not fully comfortable with it.
• 12:12
  Speaker 4: I mean, he was a right tackle last year. It's
• 12:14
  Speaker 4: going to take some time to kind of get settled
• 12:16
  Speaker 4: into that position, but I feel like for what he's
• 12:19
  Speaker 4: been offering as of now, it's been good enough, you know?
• 12:24
  Speaker 4: So that's where I know that he's going to get better.
• 12:28
  Speaker 4: I mean, just put it that way, but he's just
• 12:29
  Speaker 4: not right now.
• 12:31
  Speaker 6: Yeah, I think we also got to understand styles and
• 12:34
  Speaker 6: make fights, right? So different guys are going to present
• 12:37
  Speaker 6: different issues um i think with troy right now to
• 12:41
  Speaker 6: max's point he's he's still dealing with a lot of
• 12:44
  Speaker 6: raw talent right he's not as polished as most some
• 12:47
  Speaker 6: of the left tackles we've been playing a long time
• 12:50
  Speaker 6: you know like a trent williams like that you know
• 12:52
  Speaker 6: troy is still a pup and i think because he's
• 12:54
  Speaker 6: he's played a lot in the expectation that he's delivered
• 12:57
  Speaker 6: time after time he's starting to set a standard but
• 13:00
  Speaker 6: i think there's still elements to his game that he
• 13:02
  Speaker 6: has to refine and that's part of being an office
• 13:04
  Speaker 6: lineman and NFL player. I think with him right now,
• 13:08
  Speaker 6: you know, he's such a big puncher. You know, he is,
• 13:11
  Speaker 6: he doesn't throw jabs, he throw haymakers. And so that
• 13:16
  Speaker 6: has to be something that he has to not get
• 13:18
  Speaker 6: rid of, but find balance. You know, me and Max
• 13:21
  Speaker 6: during our time as tackles, we were taught to throw haymakers,
• 13:23
  Speaker 6: but we were also independent hand fighters, right? We were
• 13:26
  Speaker 6: able to use stabs and, not stabs, I mean stabs
• 13:30
  Speaker 6: and like jabs and, and different arm angles where we
• 13:33
  Speaker 6: can attack the defender. We were always taught hit what
• 13:36
  Speaker 6: we see. And sometimes what you see doesn't require two
• 13:39
  Speaker 6: hands to punch. Sometimes it's just a quick jab on
• 13:41
  Speaker 6: a guy's edge to kind of slow him down or
• 13:43
  Speaker 6: make him reroute himself, bother you time. And then to
• 13:46
  Speaker 6: Max's point, when your feet are moving faster than your hands,
• 13:50
  Speaker 6: that means you're seeing too much, right? You've got to
• 13:53
  Speaker 6: somehow focus his target. And if he can do that,
• 13:55
  Speaker 6: he'll be a lot better. But Troy, he's a special
• 13:58
  Speaker 6: talent because of his strength and athleticism. I just– sometimes
• 14:01
  Speaker 6: I worry about him opening the gate too fast. Yeah.
• 14:05
  Speaker 6: And I think that's him wanting to get out. All
• 14:07
  Speaker 6: tackles go through it. I've went through it. Max has
• 14:09
  Speaker 6: gone through it. So he's going to have to– the
• 14:12
  Speaker 6: only way to combat that is to change up his sets.
• 14:15
  Speaker 6: Maybe not focus on going 45 so much. Maybe vertical.
• 14:18
  Speaker 6: Maybe 45. Maybe jump set. So there's different things he's
• 14:21
  Speaker 6: just going to have to add to his bag. Because
• 14:24
  Speaker 6: my biggest fear with Troy right now, he's going to
• 14:27
  Speaker 6: end up straining that groin and hurting himself. the way
• 14:30
  Speaker 6: he pulls out of there so fast. So he's going
• 14:33
  Speaker 6: to have to collectively figure out different sets he can
• 14:37
  Speaker 6: use at different situations. And then once he's able to
• 14:40
  Speaker 6: do that, he'll be a lot more in the balance
• 14:42
  Speaker 6: and a lot more control. So I worry about Troy
• 14:45
  Speaker 6: right now from a health standpoint, not so much the
• 14:47
  Speaker 6: mechanics because that comes with confidence. But he puts himself
• 14:52
  Speaker 6: in tough situations sometimes just because he's just trying to
• 14:56
  Speaker 6: get the job done. All right.
• 14:59
  Speaker 8: Well, hey, man, I'm 100% a supporter of Trafford Town.
• 15:03
  Speaker 8: I love his style. I love his body. I want
• 15:05
  Speaker 8: to see the best of him. So that's why I
• 15:06
  Speaker 8: just wanted to look inside what y'all think of him.
• 15:08
  Speaker 8: You know, I'm just sit back and let God do
• 15:10
  Speaker 8: the work. And they, hey, we're going to get better.
• 15:13
  Speaker 8: He'll get better each game. So, you know, to him.
• 15:17
  Speaker 8: One other thing, shout out to you, Max, for the
• 15:18
  Speaker 8: maple baby donut. A lot of people don't eat that
• 15:21
  Speaker 8: stuff now. They don't eat it, but it's good, though.
• 15:24
  Speaker 8: You get your one. He was eating it when.
• 15:27
  Speaker 5: We got it went on the air. I'll speak for
• 15:29
  Speaker 5: him here. Ricky, thank you very much. Appreciate it. So, yeah, again,
• 15:34
  Speaker 5: it is a Monday, a victory donut Monday. We're taking
• 15:36
  Speaker 5: your phone calls at 412-919-1316. Going to dive into the defense. And, yeah,
• 15:43
  Speaker 5: Max alluded to it. I do want to get to it.
• 15:45
  Speaker 5: Special teams. One area in particular that I find quite
• 15:49
  Speaker 5: worrisome that I do believe needs to be fixed. We'll
• 15:52
  Speaker 5: get to that when we continue in the locker room
• 15:53
  Speaker 5: here on the Steelers Audio Network.
• 15:59
  Speaker 1: This is In the Locker Room with Rob King, Max Starks,
• 16:03
  Speaker 1: and Willie Colon on Steelers Nation Radio. Brought to you
• 16:06
  Speaker 1: in part by the Steelers Pro Shop. Get it direct
• 16:09
  Speaker 1: from the team at the Steelers Pro Shop at shop.steelers.com.
• 16:14
  Speaker 1: And by your neighborhood Ford store. The F-150 is the
• 16:18
  Speaker 1: official truck of the Pittsburgh Steelers.
• 16:22
  Speaker 2: Thanks very much for being with us in the locker room.
• 16:25
  Speaker 2: We have not gotten to defense yet. And we have
• 16:29
  Speaker 2: not gotten to the special teams.
• 16:32
  Speaker 5: And I'm going to start with the special teams, guys, because,
• 16:37
  Speaker 5: you know, Willie, when Max and I were talking about
• 16:40
  Speaker 5: this before the game, it was a statistic that I
• 16:43
  Speaker 5: looked up prior to the game, and the Colts were
• 16:47
  Speaker 5: averaging 37 more yards per return game. And I'm talking
• 16:52
  Speaker 5: about the same amount of returns, okay? So, obviously... If
• 16:56
  Speaker 5: a team averages 50 more rushing yards and they run
• 16:59
  Speaker 5: it 70 more times, you have to take those statistics
• 17:02
  Speaker 5: with a grain of salt. Same amount of returns, 37
• 17:08
  Speaker 5: more yards in the return game.
• 17:10
  Speaker 2: That's significant.
• 17:12
  Speaker 5: If you gave 37 yards to the Steelers' offense, for example,
• 17:17
  Speaker 5: they would have gone from 17th in the NFL in
• 17:19
  Speaker 5: yards per game to 11th. 37 yards is a lot
• 17:22
  Speaker 5: of yards. It's a field goal. You get the ball,
• 17:26
  Speaker 5: you move 37 yards, you kick a field goal. There's
• 17:28
  Speaker 5: a lot of different ways to look at it, but
• 17:29
  Speaker 5: it's significant. And most of that was the kick return game.
• 17:35
  Speaker 5: There was some edge in the punt return game because
• 17:37
  Speaker 5: Gould's a really good returner. Weijin was averaging almost 10
• 17:41
  Speaker 5: yards per return, still is, 9.9. That's acceptable. They're good
• 17:46
  Speaker 5: at it. I get the Colts are good at it.
• 17:47
  Speaker 5: But in five kick returns for each team, each team
• 17:52
  Speaker 5: had five kick returns. The Colts got 55 more yards
• 17:58
  Speaker 5: than the Steelers in those five returns. 55 yards, Willie,
• 18:01
  Speaker 5: on five returns. That speaks to the kick coverage, which
• 18:05
  Speaker 5: has not been good for the Steelers. And by the way,
• 18:07
  Speaker 5: kickoff coverage was not good for the Colts either going
• 18:10
  Speaker 5: into this game. But that speaks to you need more
• 18:13
  Speaker 5: out of your return game in the kicking game. I'm
• 18:16
  Speaker 5: talking about kickoffs here in specific. More to your kickoff returns,
• 18:21
  Speaker 5: better kickoff coverage. This is something that now– We're starting
• 18:25
  Speaker 5: to linger here and it's been, it hasn't been like
• 18:27
  Speaker 5: the offense or the defense up this week, down that week,
• 18:30
  Speaker 5: and let's see if we can elevate it.
• 18:32
  Speaker 2: It pretty much hasn't been good all season or good enough.
• 18:36
  Speaker 6: Yeah, and I think you talked about yesterday after, you know,
• 18:39
  Speaker 6: Jalen Warren was able to rip off that 80-yard touchdown reception.
• 18:42
  Speaker 6: You know, they were able to combat with that, with
• 18:45
  Speaker 6: getting back into their own territory. It's tough because I
• 18:50
  Speaker 6: think right now Mike McCarthy has addressed it. We've all
• 18:53
  Speaker 6: addressed it, that even within the process of while, excuse me,
• 18:57
  Speaker 6: while cleaning up their house, if you will, they emphasize
• 19:00
  Speaker 6: the fundamentals, right? Tackling, lane standing, staying in your lanes,
• 19:03
  Speaker 6: being able to be disciplined with your hands and getting
• 19:08
  Speaker 6: off blocks, you know, and even retaining your blocks. All
• 19:11
  Speaker 6: those things they said they practiced last week. I think
• 19:14
  Speaker 6: right now, you know, a lot of things what we're
• 19:16
  Speaker 6: seeing is sometimes operational too. And so I think overall, man,
• 19:20
  Speaker 6: it's something they're going to continue to work on. The
• 19:23
  Speaker 6: issue with it right now is we continue to build
• 19:25
  Speaker 6: upon the season, and the Steelers, the offense seems to
• 19:29
  Speaker 6: be coming to form. The defense, especially with Patrick Graham
• 19:32
  Speaker 6: being on the sideline now, seemed like there was better
• 19:35
  Speaker 6: chemistry and communication. The special teams is another aspect of
• 19:39
  Speaker 6: this team that has to be better and seems to
• 19:41
  Speaker 6: be lagging. You never want to feel like, you know,
• 19:44
  Speaker 6: obviously Danny Smith is no longer with the team, but
• 19:46
  Speaker 6: when he was there, that was one of the strong,
• 19:49
  Speaker 6: that was one of the bright spots for the Steelers.
• 19:52
  Speaker 6: So now that we've seen a sense of regression, it's troubling.
• 19:56
  Speaker 6: But nevertheless, man, I think it's something you continue to
• 19:57
  Speaker 6: work on. I think as the games get tighter and tighter,
• 20:01
  Speaker 6: you have to understand that there has to be a
• 20:02
  Speaker 6: more sense of emphasis of getting guys on the field
• 20:05
  Speaker 6: who you know can impact, can help you impact, you know,
• 20:08
  Speaker 6: the special teams. So we'll see what happens. But I'm
• 20:11
  Speaker 6: with you, Rob. It's a sore spot. I'm glad McCarthy
• 20:14
  Speaker 6: talked about it in his presser. It's just a matter
• 20:17
  Speaker 6: of just continue to work at it and chip at it.
• 20:18
  Speaker 6: But you don't want to lose games because it's special
• 20:21
  Speaker 6: teams for sure. Yep.
• 20:23
  Speaker 2: Metton in Houston is joining us now.
• 20:25
  Speaker 5: Metton, thanks very much for being with us in the
• 20:27
  Speaker 5: locker room here on this Victory Donut Monday.
• 20:31
  Speaker 9: I've been a Steelers fan for over 50 years. And
• 20:37
  Speaker 9: I've seen football. go from the old days to the
• 20:40
  Speaker 9: present days. I'm just a little bit disturbed on why
• 20:44
  Speaker 9: the Steelers are not consistent like they were in the
• 20:49
  Speaker 9: 70s and early 80s when Chuck.
• 20:53
  Speaker 6: Knoll was in charge.
• 20:55
  Speaker 9: I mean, I know coaches change, philosophies change.
• 20:57
  Speaker 6: I know all that.
• 20:58
  Speaker 9: And rules and everything changes. But in the same process,
• 21:01
  Speaker 9: there used to be a time When anybody played the Steelers,
• 21:04
  Speaker 9: it was like it was a fear factor. There is
• 21:06
  Speaker 9: no more fear factor for the Steelers. When Pittsburgh goes
• 21:09
  Speaker 9: into most cities, it's like, okay, it's just Pittsburgh. Why
• 21:14
  Speaker 9: do we not have that fear factor anymore? Why do
• 21:16
  Speaker 9: we not have that dominant factor anymore?
• 21:18
  Speaker 1: Why is there no heart?
• 21:20
  Speaker 9: I mean, everybody, it used to be when Pittsburgh came around,
• 21:25
  Speaker 9: it was dominance. Oilers, they were scared. Every team that
• 21:29
  Speaker 9: we played back in the days was a fear factor. Today,
• 21:33
  Speaker 9: it's just a regular game. What's the factors in changing
• 21:38
  Speaker 9: the philosophies and mental state as far as athletes today
• 21:42
  Speaker 9: versus athletes in the past? Like Joe Green, everybody feared him.
• 21:47
  Speaker 9: So I just don't get the understanding. I mean, the
• 21:49
  Speaker 9: Steelers used to be a very dominant team. Even in
• 21:53
  Speaker 9: the 90s, they were dominant. So my question is, I mean,
• 21:58
  Speaker 9: we used to have a great offensive line. We used
• 22:00
  Speaker 9: to have great defensive lines. They changed rules because of
• 22:05
  Speaker 9: Mel Blunt, the Mel Blunt rule. I don't understand why
• 22:10
  Speaker 9: we don't have those same athletes today, even though I
• 22:14
  Speaker 9: know athletes change and everything like that. But the issue
• 22:17
  Speaker 9: is I'm just looking at why we're not the team
• 22:21
  Speaker 9: that we go anywhere. We're not the dominant team anymore.
• 22:23
  Speaker 3: All right, I'll take this one. Yeah, I'm going to
• 22:28
  Speaker 3: take the first crack at it.
• 22:30
  Speaker 4: The NFL has legislated a lot of that part of
• 22:33
  Speaker 4: the game out of it. Even Willie and I, right,
• 22:36
  Speaker 4: we were in that era where there was a certain
• 22:39
  Speaker 4: physicality that you brought to each stadium. Well, that's no
• 22:43
  Speaker 4: longer it. Like, jacked up on ESPN is no longer
• 22:46
  Speaker 4: a thing, right? The helmet-to-helmet contacts, the Willis McGahee, Ryan
• 22:50
  Speaker 4: Clark-type hits, right?
• 22:52
  Speaker 3: The Mel Blunt clothesline, like, those are no.
• 22:55
  Speaker 4: Longer a thing that's, That has an appetite or a
• 22:58
  Speaker 4: place in this league. So when the rules start changing,
• 23:02
  Speaker 4: you start getting penalized more and more and more. And
• 23:05
  Speaker 4: I think our 08-09 defense was the epitome of that.
• 23:11
  Speaker 6: Right?
• 23:11
  Speaker 3: I think, you know, we were getting FedEx envelopes weekly shipped.
• 23:17
  Speaker 4: To our locker room. And that was... So that's kind
• 23:21
  Speaker 4: of a part of this game. They don't want that
• 23:23
  Speaker 4: part of the game anymore. So therefore... something that was
• 23:26
  Speaker 4: a perceived strength for us and, right, an intimidation factor.
• 23:29
  Speaker 4: I mean, Steelers-Ravens in the early 2000s was must-see TV, right?
• 23:34
  Speaker 4: It got Sunday night top billing. It got Monday night
• 23:36
  Speaker 4: football field. We had an AFC championship game that was
• 23:39
  Speaker 4: a primetime night game. That's no longer what this league is.
• 23:43
  Speaker 4: This league is protect the quarterbacks, put them in a bubble. Hell,
• 23:47
  Speaker 4: you can't even fall on the quarterback fully if you
• 23:50
  Speaker 4: sack him without getting a penalty.
• 23:52
  Speaker 6: So.
• 23:54
  Speaker 4: I think that aspect of it, you can't do it anymore.
• 23:58
  Speaker 4: There's no place for it. And then I think also,
• 24:03
  Speaker 4: athletes change over time. Like you said, athletes have a
• 24:06
  Speaker 4: different mindset when you're thinking about preservation. Now it's 17
• 24:11
  Speaker 4: games instead of 16 games. And with 18 games looming
• 24:14
  Speaker 4: on the horizon, longevity is now what every guy's looking at.
• 24:20
  Speaker 3: And guess what?
• 24:20
  Speaker 4: There's not a lot of longevity when You have middle
• 24:24
  Speaker 4: linebackers and fullbacks cracking an A-gap.
• 24:27
  Speaker 3: That's just not allowed. So I think it's an adjustment
• 24:32
  Speaker 3: to get used to that style of game. But, yeah,
• 24:34
  Speaker 3: I mean, I hearken to the old days.
• 24:36
  Speaker 4: I miss the old days. But I know that it's
• 24:40
  Speaker 4: a different mindset. It's a different way the NFL wants
• 24:42
  Speaker 4: their game perceived and consumed from a viewer's standpoint. That's
• 24:48
  Speaker 4: friendly to everybody now. You know, you hate to say
• 24:50
  Speaker 4: we're in the era of participation trophies, but that's kind
• 24:52
  Speaker 4: of what we've led to.
• 24:53
  Speaker 3: And that's the athletes that are now coming in as adults.
• 24:56
  Speaker 3: We're the ones who got those trophies.
• 24:58
  Speaker 4: So it's a different mentality that that's coming into this
• 25:01
  Speaker 4: game that has not that that does not carry over
• 25:05
  Speaker 4: because that's more of the golden age or the barbaric
• 25:08
  Speaker 4: era of football has kind of been legislated out.
• 25:14
  Speaker 9: I understand that part, but then when you look at
• 25:16
  Speaker 9: Aaron Rodgers gets hit like crazy and no flags roll out,
• 25:20
  Speaker 9: but other quarterbacks, they get barely touched, flags fly out.
• 25:24
  Speaker 9: Is there a reason why we don't get the flags
• 25:26
  Speaker 9: like other teams are getting, or people are just more
• 25:30
  Speaker 9: biased and saying, hey, that's okay, it's.
• 25:35
  Speaker 6: Just a hit?
• 25:36
  Speaker 9: I know what you're saying on that end.
• 25:39
  Speaker 6: Yeah, to say that's not even Aaron Rodgers. You know,
• 25:42
  Speaker 6: we both protected Big Ben, and there was times where
• 25:45
  Speaker 6: people were slamming Ben, grabbing Ben, throwing him around. Because
• 25:48
  Speaker 6: he was a big-body quarterback who had, you know, Superman
• 25:52
  Speaker 6: aspects to his game, the league wouldn't give him the
• 25:55
  Speaker 6: calls that he deserved. So I think that's just kind of–
• 25:59
  Speaker 6: we've seen that through the Steelers football over time. And
• 26:02
  Speaker 6: I also think, you know, from a fear factor standpoint,
• 26:05
  Speaker 6: Max alluded to, you know, we're– the Steelers– promoted a
• 26:08
  Speaker 6: brand of football that was violent, hostile, and chaotic. Now
• 26:12
  Speaker 6: the game has tempered some of that, so now we
• 26:13
  Speaker 6: don't kind of get that. As far as fear, I
• 26:15
  Speaker 6: think a lot of teams do fear the Steelers. They
• 26:18
  Speaker 6: may not come out and say, oh, we're afraid of
• 26:20
  Speaker 6: Aaron Rodgers and him being at 43 years old. But
• 26:24
  Speaker 6: I think we still have a defense that at times,
• 26:26
  Speaker 6: when they're on par, they make people tap. And I
• 26:33
  Speaker 6: was a part of those teams. Max was a part
• 26:34
  Speaker 6: of those teams. Sure, that may be not where we're
• 26:37
  Speaker 6: at right now. But they're still, when teams play the Steelers,
• 26:40
  Speaker 6: they expect mentally and physically a physical brand of football.
• 26:46
  Speaker 6: It's the Steelers to live up to that, too. But
• 26:48
  Speaker 6: I think when you play a lot of teams, they
• 26:50
  Speaker 6: understand that this won't be a game they can just
• 26:53
  Speaker 6: walk on the field and feel their way through. That's
• 26:56
  Speaker 6: why you see a lot of Steelers, a lot of
• 26:57
  Speaker 6: oppositions against Steelers. They start a lot faster because they
• 27:01
  Speaker 6: feel like, man, we got to get to, we got
• 27:02
  Speaker 6: to throw the first punch before they punch first. And
• 27:04
  Speaker 6: they got to be able to survive it. So, I
• 27:06
  Speaker 6: think it's a mixed bag. I don't think– the fear
• 27:09
  Speaker 6: factor may not be there because of some of the
• 27:11
  Speaker 6: names that we are accustomed to seeing, but I do
• 27:14
  Speaker 6: think teams do fear the Steelers to some regard.
• 27:17
  Speaker 8: Okay.
• 27:19
  Speaker 9: Well, thank you for your insight on that because, like
• 27:21
  Speaker 9: I said, I'm the old school version. I love the
• 27:25
  Speaker 9: old Steelers a little. Like, I know the Steelers are
• 27:28
  Speaker 9: good today, but, I mean, I love the old factor
• 27:31
  Speaker 9: where the Steelers used to be the dominant.
• 27:33
  Speaker 6: Strong team.
• 27:33
  Speaker 9: And I know you're saying the physicality and athletes have
• 27:36
  Speaker 9: changed and all that and rules and everything have changed,
• 27:39
  Speaker 9: but I kind of missed that a little bit. And
• 27:43
  Speaker 9: I guess that's part of my issue with today's football
• 27:45
  Speaker 9: is like, okay, I'm more on the defensive side of saying, well,
• 27:52
  Speaker 9: I don't know if we're going to win today. I
• 27:53
  Speaker 9: used to be a time I'd say, oh, we're definitely
• 27:55
  Speaker 9: going to win. But now it's like, I don't know.
• 27:58
  Speaker 9: And I'm like, I hate to be in those aspects
• 28:01
  Speaker 9: where I'm thinking, I don't know if we're going to win.
• 28:02
  Speaker 9: But I mean, I'm like, we have the team to win.
• 28:06
  Speaker 9: That's the thing I say in my heart, that we
• 28:10
  Speaker 9: got a dominant team that can do it. It's just
• 28:12
  Speaker 9: them really performing and showing their performance as their skills
• 28:18
  Speaker 9: and stuff like that. Because I know, like I say,
• 28:20
  Speaker 9: the skills are there and the talent is there. I
• 28:24
  Speaker 9: have faith in us doing it. It's just us putting
• 28:27
  Speaker 9: it out and doing it.
• 28:28
  Speaker 3: Thank you for.
• 28:29
  Speaker 6: Your insight and your time.
• 28:31
  Speaker 2: Appreciate it.
• 28:32
  Speaker 5: You're welcome back in the locker room anytime. Don't forget
• 28:34
  Speaker 5: to have your Victory Donut Monday. Your Victory Donut as
• 28:37
  Speaker 5: the Steelers improved to 3-2. We want to talk more
• 28:40
  Speaker 5: about the Steelers defense because we haven't really dived into it.
• 28:42
  Speaker 5: It was an interesting game defensively. That's where I'm going
• 28:47
  Speaker 5: to leave it before we go to break. And a
• 28:48
  Speaker 5: lot to dive into. And we continue in the locker
• 28:50
  Speaker 5: room here on the Steelers Audio Network.
• 29:00
  Speaker 1: This is In the Locker Room with Rob King, Max Starks,
• 29:04
  Speaker 1: and Willie Colon on Steelers Nation Radio. Brought to you
• 29:07
  Speaker 1: in part by the Steelers Pro Shop. Get it direct
• 29:11
  Speaker 1: from the team at the Steelers Pro Shop at shop.steelers.com.
• 29:15
  Speaker 1: And by your neighborhood Ford store. The F-150 is the
• 29:19
  Speaker 1: official truck of the Pittsburgh Steelers.
• 29:26
  Speaker 2: All right.
• 29:28
  Speaker 3: As we... Prepare for the final lap. It's time to
• 29:32
  Speaker 3: hear the king's decree. Don't say it. King Schaefer Robert.
• 29:43
  Speaker 4: I'm saying your name backwards, Rob, just in case you
• 29:46
  Speaker 4: were wondering.
• 29:49
  Speaker 3: Wanted to talk about the defense. So please talk about
• 29:54
  Speaker 3: the defense.
• 29:54
  Speaker 2: Defense.
• 29:56
  Speaker 3: Sir King Robert.
• 29:57
  Speaker 2: Yeah, thank you.
• 29:58
  Speaker 5: For that wonderful introduction by a royal decree. You know,
• 30:03
  Speaker 5: I'm mixed on the defensive performance. I thought, look, it
• 30:08
  Speaker 5: was good enough to hold a Colts offense that had
• 30:10
  Speaker 5: shown some signs of being explosive to 22 points. It
• 30:14
  Speaker 5: was good enough to severely limit Jonathan Taylor, who said
• 30:19
  Speaker 5: after the game, they got a really good front over there.
• 30:22
  Speaker 5: You don't see a front like that all the time.
• 30:24
  Speaker 5: We got to be better. but praising the Steelers' front.
• 30:27
  Speaker 5: So giving you a little bit of an insight as
• 30:30
  Speaker 5: to how others around the league view, as Minton was
• 30:34
  Speaker 5: just talking about, how do they view that? It's not
• 30:36
  Speaker 5: a Steel curtain, but what the Steelers have currently in
• 30:39
  Speaker 5: that top, that front five group, and it's well thought of,
• 30:43
  Speaker 5: certainly by Jonathan Taylor.
• 30:45
  Speaker 2: They limited that.
• 30:46
  Speaker 5: By the same token, Willie, they didn't force a single
• 30:50
  Speaker 5: three and out. I thought they were very good situationally.
• 30:53
  Speaker 5: I can't give them... the highest grade. I like the
• 30:56
  Speaker 5: fact that if you told me they were going to
• 30:58
  Speaker 5: hold the coach to 22, the weather wasn't going to
• 31:00
  Speaker 5: be that bad, right? I thought it was going to
• 31:02
  Speaker 5: be lower scoring because I thought the weather was going
• 31:04
  Speaker 5: to be bad. You tell me it's 22 points, pretty
• 31:06
  Speaker 5: good weather. I think, you know, Steelers are probably going
• 31:09
  Speaker 5: to win that game. So, you know, I think there
• 31:11
  Speaker 5: was some things to like, but when you don't force
• 31:15
  Speaker 5: a single three and out, I'm hard-pressed to say, you know,
• 31:18
  Speaker 5: incredible defensive effort by the Steelers in this game.
• 31:22
  Speaker 6: Well, yeah, I mean, that's fair. I think it's, it was,
• 31:25
  Speaker 6: it was up and downs. I think the Steelers played
• 31:27
  Speaker 6: a lot of zone. And I think, you know, as
• 31:30
  Speaker 6: far as their ability to get off the field on
• 31:33
  Speaker 6: third down struggle. And I think, you know, I think
• 31:35
  Speaker 6: this was one of Nick Herbig's games that he didn't
• 31:38
  Speaker 6: really pop off the tape enough for me. And I
• 31:41
  Speaker 6: also linebackers between him and Herbig, you know, for, you know,
• 31:47
  Speaker 6: not for them not to get a single pressure, man,
• 31:49
  Speaker 6: it's that, that can't happen in games like that. So, Um, it's, it's,
• 31:54
  Speaker 6: it's okay. You know, I think the main focus to
• 31:56
  Speaker 6: neutralize Jonathan Taylor, they do that. We knew that Ty
• 32:00
  Speaker 6: warm is going to be a factor for him because
• 32:01
  Speaker 6: of his ability to catch the ball in the middle
• 32:03
  Speaker 6: of the field. And he's a big body tight end. Um,
• 32:05
  Speaker 6: but I also credit, you know, Patrick Graham, I mentioned
• 32:09
  Speaker 6: it earlier, his ability to come from the booth, sit
• 32:12
  Speaker 6: on the sideline and see things in real time, um,
• 32:14
  Speaker 6: be able to evaluate the defense and give our guys, uh,
• 32:17
  Speaker 6: answers in real time and be able to adjust and, and, and,
• 32:20
  Speaker 6: and talk and kind of work out things in the fly.
• 32:23
  Speaker 6: So I think it was just a new, a new
• 32:24
  Speaker 6: nuance for the stills defense. And, but I also think
• 32:27
  Speaker 6: this is a defense that right now it's continued to
• 32:30
  Speaker 6: find who they are, especially in the back end. Cause
• 32:33
  Speaker 6: I like the fact that Asante Samuel Jr, you know,
• 32:36
  Speaker 6: on third down, he, you know, certain moments he stood
• 32:38
  Speaker 6: up cause I thought he was targeted in that game.
• 32:42
  Speaker 6: So I, I don't, I hear you, Rob, but I
• 32:45
  Speaker 6: don't go to sleep worrying about what the defense did yesterday.
• 32:49
  Speaker 6: I think, yeah, you would have loved to see us
• 32:50
  Speaker 6: be more consistent and more dominant. But at the end
• 32:53
  Speaker 6: of the day, we were missing guys. And the guys
• 32:56
  Speaker 6: that we had, I mentioned Gabriel Rubio playing the nose
• 32:58
  Speaker 6: tackle position. I thought he was strong. Y.A. stepping in
• 33:01
  Speaker 6: for Derek Harmon and playing where he was slotted. I
• 33:05
  Speaker 6: think a lot of guys stepped up in crucial situations,
• 33:07
  Speaker 6: and it helped. But was it the overall, like, oh,
• 33:10
  Speaker 6: there goes the Vons to steal his defense? Was it that? No.
• 33:14
  Speaker 6: But sometimes you're going to have sloppy days, man. We
• 33:17
  Speaker 6: were able to get away with one of those.
• 33:22
  Speaker 3: Yeah, looks can be deceiving, Robin.
• 33:25
  Speaker 4: We had about 21 minutes yesterday to perseverate about this
• 33:30
  Speaker 4: before the press conference. But like you said, it's a
• 33:37
  Speaker 4: deceiving performance because.
• 33:42
  Speaker 4: You held them to 22, and like I said, I
• 33:45
  Speaker 4: take six off of that, and that's really what the
• 33:48
  Speaker 4: defense did for the Steelers. So for them, they held
• 33:53
  Speaker 4: them to 16 points because those 56 and 57 yards,
• 33:56
  Speaker 4: I mean, just come on, dude. All you have to
• 33:57
  Speaker 4: do is step across the 50, and you're in the
• 34:00
  Speaker 4: guy's range, right?
• 34:01
  Speaker 2: Yep.
• 34:02
  Speaker 4: So limiting the offensive production and output– I thought they did,
• 34:10
  Speaker 4: but you're right. You didn't force a single three and out.
• 34:13
  Speaker 4: I think you only forced, what, one punt in the game?
• 34:17
  Speaker 6: Yeah.
• 34:18
  Speaker 3: Maybe two?
• 34:18
  Speaker 4: Yeah, okay, one punt. So, as far as getting off
• 34:23
  Speaker 4: the field, they won the time of possession game. So,
• 34:25
  Speaker 4: they did enough to keep it going. And, you know,
• 34:30
  Speaker 4: the defense can't play this game where they're on the
• 34:33
  Speaker 4: field longer than the offense. And expect to hold up
• 34:36
  Speaker 4: for the season. I mean, heck, we're struggling to hold
• 34:38
  Speaker 4: up right now. Like you said, you know, you get
• 34:42
  Speaker 4: Derek Harmon on the IR. Deshaun Elliott's been injured since
• 34:45
  Speaker 4: the beginning of the season. You traded Joey Porter Jr.
• 34:48
  Speaker 4: Jamel Dean is out. So, you know, you're taking some
• 34:54
  Speaker 4: blows on the defensive side of the ball. But once again,
• 35:00
  Speaker 4: kudos because you only held them to really 16 earned
• 35:02
  Speaker 4: points in that game. And you turned them away five times.
• 35:07
  Speaker 4: in their scoring position and you held them to field
• 35:10
  Speaker 4: goals versus touchdowns but pass rush was non-existent and the
• 35:16
  Speaker 4: idea was stop 28 do not let 28 hurt you
• 35:21
  Speaker 4: in this game he cannot be the star make everybody
• 35:24
  Speaker 4: else a star but 28 and i thought they mission
• 35:28
  Speaker 4: accomplished and to willie's point you run a lot of
• 35:30
  Speaker 4: zones so all that underneath stuff tyler warren you know,
• 35:34
  Speaker 4: was the number one receiver for that squad because guess
• 35:36
  Speaker 4: what a tight end does? A tight end covers the
• 35:38
  Speaker 4: underneath world. And when Daniel Jones had to throw some
• 35:41
  Speaker 4: deep balls, he was errant on those. You know, he
• 35:44
  Speaker 4: threw one, the one to, you know, especially late in
• 35:46
  Speaker 4: the game when they were trying to get a quick
• 35:48
  Speaker 4: touchdown score, you know, they were throwing those back shoulder
• 35:51
  Speaker 4: phase to the left side, the one to Treadwell and
• 35:53
  Speaker 4: then Downs.
• 35:55
  Speaker 3: And, you know, Chris Ballard lost his mind.
• 35:58
  Speaker 2: He had him, Willie, and he just overthrew him.
• 36:01
  Speaker 6: Yeah.
• 36:01
  Speaker 4: Yeah, just overthrew him both times. And so You know,
• 36:04
  Speaker 4: I see that aspect of it. But like you said,
• 36:08
  Speaker 4: I have to meet them where they're at. They did
• 36:10
  Speaker 4: the job. They turned them away. I just didn't like
• 36:14
  Speaker 4: what it looked like. Oh, and also, Peyton Wilson, out
• 36:16
  Speaker 4: of his mind, double-digit tackles.
• 36:18
  Speaker 3: He was everywhere. He hit everyone.
• 36:19
  Speaker 4: And he had a lot of one-on-one tackles. So he
• 36:23
  Speaker 4: was the one that had Tyler Warren. He was the
• 36:24
  Speaker 4: one that had Jonathan Taylor out of the backfield. He's carrying...
• 36:28
  Speaker 4: the tight ends at Mo Alleycox and company off the scene.
• 36:31
  Speaker 4: And he was making those tackles by himself. So I
• 36:34
  Speaker 4: have to give a ton of credit. I have a
• 36:36
  Speaker 4: ton of respect for Peyton Wilson and what he did.
• 36:38
  Speaker 4: I thought Jaquan Brisker had a very solid game as well.
• 36:41
  Speaker 4: Jalen Ramsey does Jalen Ramsey things. So I will give
• 36:45
  Speaker 4: him his flowers, but I'm sure he has plenty of
• 36:47
  Speaker 4: bouquets from us. that we've sent him because he is
• 36:50
  Speaker 4: an amazing player. So there were some great performances, but
• 36:54
  Speaker 4: it just, you know, just like our last caller, like
• 36:57
  Speaker 4: it didn't look like the defense that we're used to
• 36:59
  Speaker 4: seeing from back in the day. It's the defense we
• 37:01
  Speaker 4: kind of have to deal with for today. And I say, hey,
• 37:04
  Speaker 4: they checked the box, but I don't have to rubber
• 37:07
  Speaker 4: stamp the box. I just have to put a little,
• 37:09
  Speaker 4: that little red correction pin, right?
• 37:12
  Speaker 3: Just a little check mark, box checked, but I don't
• 37:15
  Speaker 3: get to stamp it. I don't get to put the
• 37:17
  Speaker 3: authoritative moment on it.
• 37:19
  Speaker 6: Well, like I said, look.
• 37:20
  Speaker 5: Yeah, go ahead. I don't want to be too critical
• 37:23
  Speaker 5: of the team. 22 points, like I said. I think
• 37:25
  Speaker 5: you win most games like that. I'm reluctant to say
• 37:28
  Speaker 5: it was a superlative defensive effort. You did the number
• 37:31
  Speaker 5: one thing you needed to do, and that's limit Jonathan Taylor.
• 37:33
  Speaker 5: So I don't want to be sounding like I'm speaking
• 37:36
  Speaker 5: out of both sides of my mouth. I just think
• 37:38
  Speaker 5: it was a good performance. It wasn't a great performance,
• 37:42
  Speaker 5: but it was a good performance, good enough to win.
• 37:45
  Speaker 6: Yeah, and I also think if we have to figure
• 37:47
  Speaker 6: out we as a– like I'm calling the defense with
• 37:50
  Speaker 6: a Pittsburgh Steelers, so I apologize.
• 37:52
  Speaker 4: Patrick Graham is– I mean, you got– I mean, you
• 37:54
  Speaker 4: used to have dreads like Patrick Graham, Willie.
• 37:56
  Speaker 6: You're right.
• 37:57
  Speaker 3: Yeah, so, yeah.
• 38:00
  Speaker 6: But I think Patrick Graham right now has to figure
• 38:02
  Speaker 6: out how to get more out of Nick Herbig. Right now,
• 38:06
  Speaker 6: especially with TJ getting dinged, I know he got poked
• 38:09
  Speaker 6: in his eye and he didn't really splash off the
• 38:12
  Speaker 6: tape like we usually see– we used to see in him.
• 38:15
  Speaker 6: they line him up over the guards and centers and
• 38:19
  Speaker 6: ask him to pass rush and kind of get on edges,
• 38:21
  Speaker 6: do that. When his skill set is coming off the
• 38:24
  Speaker 6: edge and using his speed and his ability to get
• 38:27
  Speaker 6: on top of tackles fast and dip and rip, they're
• 38:31
  Speaker 6: going to have to find ways where maybe they switch
• 38:34
  Speaker 6: that with him and Highsmith. Because Highsmith is a little
• 38:36
  Speaker 6: bit bigger and thicker where he can really penetrate and
• 38:39
  Speaker 6: rush against a guard or a center relative to where
• 38:44
  Speaker 6: Nick is at. Like, Nick is a little slender, a
• 38:46
  Speaker 6: little quicker, and does a better job of eating up
• 38:49
  Speaker 6: space in real time. So I think that's the adjustment
• 38:52
  Speaker 6: I would love to see because at times, you know,
• 38:55
  Speaker 6: Nick is able to get through there because of his tenacity,
• 38:58
  Speaker 6: but he has bigger guards, man. He gets swallowed up sometimes,
• 39:01
  Speaker 6: and it takes him a little longer to get to
• 39:03
  Speaker 6: the quarterback and get home. I think that's something they're
• 39:06
  Speaker 6: going to have to figure out, you know, how can
• 39:07
  Speaker 6: they maybe switch that role or put him in another
• 39:10
  Speaker 6: position where he's He's lined up against whoever, man. He's
• 39:13
  Speaker 6: attacking edges in a hostile manner. So we'll see what happens. Obviously,
• 39:19
  Speaker 6: you know, that's all adjustments they're going to figure out. But,
• 39:22
  Speaker 6: you know, the pressure is what you want to see.
• 39:25
  Speaker 6: You want to see Daniel Jones underneath constant duress. You
• 39:29
  Speaker 6: want to see him on the ground a couple times.
• 39:31
  Speaker 6: But the Colts also have a solid offensive line, too.
• 39:34
  Speaker 8: They do.
• 39:35
  Speaker 6: It is, you know, it is what it is. But
• 39:38
  Speaker 6: I think that if there was one spot, I think
• 39:40
  Speaker 6: I would say, hey, man. And outside of Patrick Queen,
• 39:44
  Speaker 6: I thought Patrick Queen had a tough day. But overall, man,
• 39:48
  Speaker 6: I would love to see Nick Kirby to just be
• 39:51
  Speaker 6: lined up on the outside and let him get off
• 39:53
  Speaker 6: the edge and go.
• 39:55
  Speaker 2: By the way, the guys in the interior, Y.A.
• 39:58
  Speaker 5: Black credited with four tackles, Benton Hayward, Sebastian Joseph Day, Rubio,
• 40:04
  Speaker 5: all those guys are credited with three tackles yesterday. Peyton
• 40:09
  Speaker 5: Wilson led the way. He also had two tackles for loss.
• 40:13
  Speaker 5: I find it astonishing still that that he gets some
• 40:18
  Speaker 5: criticism amongst Steelers fans and media for not, you know,
• 40:22
  Speaker 5: I guess they want him to hit Jonathan Taylor, lift
• 40:25
  Speaker 5: him up off the ground, and throw him on his back.
• 40:27
  Speaker 5: I guess that's the only way that some people are
• 40:30
  Speaker 5: going to be happy. Two tackles for losses. I mean,
• 40:33
  Speaker 5: he's among, you know, one of the leaders.
• 40:34
  Speaker 4: Almost had a sack and almost blocked a punt yesterday, too.
• 40:37
  Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean, he's among the leaders. He's playing on
• 40:39
  Speaker 3: special teams. He's a sideline guy.
• 40:41
  Speaker 2: You know, most of the tackle for loss leader guys
• 40:44
  Speaker 2: are edge guys. He's got six.
• 40:46
  Speaker 5: That's among the league leaders, and he's doing it from
• 40:49
  Speaker 5: an inside linebacker position.
• 40:51
  Speaker 6: Why?
• 40:51
  Speaker 2: Because he's fast. That's what he does.
• 40:53
  Speaker 5: He's a fast sideline-to-sideline guy. I'm a little befuddled by
• 40:57
  Speaker 5: some of the criticism of Peyton Wilson. I was asked
• 41:00
  Speaker 5: in the morning show on DBE who my defensive player
• 41:02
  Speaker 5: of the game was. I said Peyton Wilson, and that
• 41:04
  Speaker 5: didn't seem to meet with much enthusiasm. But I like
• 41:09
  Speaker 5: his game. I like the way he's been playing, and
• 41:11
  Speaker 5: I like the way he played in this one.
• 41:16
  Speaker 6: Yeah, he's a defender. I love him. Yeah. I apologize, Mike.
• 41:20
  Speaker 6: Just quickly, I love him. I think he's, you know,
• 41:23
  Speaker 6: the thing about him, he plays so fast, man, and
• 41:26
  Speaker 6: he gets a beat on you so quick that sometimes
• 41:27
  Speaker 6: he outruns the tackle. At times I think he needs
• 41:30
  Speaker 6: to be a little bit under control, but he's a
• 41:33
  Speaker 6: guy who just, he's a ball hawk. You know, he
• 41:35
  Speaker 6: sees ball, gets ball, does a great job of putting
• 41:39
  Speaker 6: himself in position to make those big type of plays.
• 41:42
  Speaker 6: I like him as a ball player from a character
• 41:44
  Speaker 6: standpoint and play style, man. I think he's the legit package.
• 41:47
  Speaker 6: They're going to need more of that, especially as we
• 41:49
  Speaker 6: continue to move on down the road, man, because his
• 41:53
  Speaker 6: ability to make plays in real time, especially because I
• 41:56
  Speaker 6: think the defense feeds off his ability to get those
• 41:59
  Speaker 6: type of plays, whether it's tackling in backfield or square
• 42:02
  Speaker 6: up in one-on-one in a hole. He does a lot
• 42:05
  Speaker 6: for that defense, and I think we were able to
• 42:07
  Speaker 6: see it yesterday.
• 42:08
  Speaker 2: This thought that Alandon Roberts might be joining That linebacker.
• 42:12
  Speaker 6: Love it.
• 42:12
  Speaker 2: Do you have a quick comment? Or Willie, go ahead,
• 42:13
  Speaker 2: quick comment on that?
• 42:14
  Speaker 6: Nothing to say.
• 42:17
  Speaker 2: Come on.
• 42:20
  Speaker 3: Home.
• 42:20
  Speaker 4: Listen, I'm with Willie. I mean, listen, just like that caller,
• 42:25
  Speaker 4: like you want old school? You don't get more old
• 42:28
  Speaker 4: school than that in a new body form. That is
• 42:32
  Speaker 4: a guy who lives for contact. And, in fact, you know,
• 42:38
  Speaker 4: I talked about the one like the Black Panther suit.
• 42:40
  Speaker 4: Like the more contact he gets, the more explosive he
• 42:42
  Speaker 4: gets later in the game. So I love the fact
• 42:46
  Speaker 4: that there is an opportunity. Listen, E-Rob has been one
• 42:49
  Speaker 4: of those young guys that I have always enjoyed watching
• 42:53
  Speaker 4: no matter where he's been. And, you know, he's one
• 42:59
  Speaker 4: of those guys that even though, you know, he was
• 43:03
  Speaker 4: not a stealer the last couple of years, I still
• 43:06
  Speaker 4: rooted for him.
• 43:07
  Speaker 6: You know what I'm saying?
• 43:08
  Speaker 4: Like that's just because he's that good of a person
• 43:11
  Speaker 4: and he's that, he's that good of a physical player
• 43:14
  Speaker 4: that you.
• 43:14
  Speaker 10: Root for him.
• 43:14
  Speaker 4: Just like, I mean, I root for Bobby Spillane. I
• 43:16
  Speaker 4: root for Robert Spillane as well, you know, and I
• 43:20
  Speaker 4: root for guys. And even when they're not on the
• 43:23
  Speaker 4: team anymore, because the character of a person that you
• 43:28
  Speaker 4: are in the leadership qualities that you bring, you're just
• 43:30
  Speaker 4: a good person. And E-Rob is a great person. and
• 43:36
  Speaker 4: a very good football player and in that order. And
• 43:40
  Speaker 4: so if we have a chance to add that type
• 43:42
  Speaker 4: of experience and also add that type of physicality, I mean,
• 43:46
  Speaker 4: he came in the first day of practice, Will, in
• 43:49
  Speaker 4: training camp and three fights happened. There hadn't been one fight.
• 43:53
  Speaker 2: That's true.
• 43:55
  Speaker 4: In 13 practices, Willie, the first day, we don't get
• 44:01
  Speaker 4: out of the second team period.
• 44:04
  Speaker 3: Two fights, and then we had three by the end
• 44:07
  Speaker 3: of the day.
• 44:09
  Speaker 4: That's the type of guy that he is.
• 44:11
  Speaker 3: That's what he brings us. And I think when we
• 44:13
  Speaker 3: talk about, hey, we need somebody, that's the.
• 44:16
  Speaker 4: Guy that you bring in to change that tempo, to
• 44:20
  Speaker 4: change that mentality.
• 44:23
  Speaker 6: I try to tell everybody the reason why you get
• 44:25
  Speaker 6: a guy like Landon Robbins is because you don't bring
• 44:27
  Speaker 6: him from home games. You bring him from travel games.
• 44:30
  Speaker 6: He's a guy you put on the bus and say, hey, man,
• 44:32
  Speaker 6: we got to go kill some. Are you down? And
• 44:34
  Speaker 6: he goes, just point me in the right direction. And
• 44:37
  Speaker 6: when you go into hostile territory and you got to
• 44:38
  Speaker 6: play in hostile environments like a Baltimore, Patriots or Kansas City, where,
• 44:43
  Speaker 6: you know, the opposition is really comfortable at home because
• 44:47
  Speaker 6: not only at home, they feel like they're probably more
• 44:49
  Speaker 6: dominant team. You need guys to combat all that, especially
• 44:52
  Speaker 6: that mindset. And so when you have somebody who's not
• 44:55
  Speaker 6: afraid to ruffle feathers, not afraid to put his head
• 44:58
  Speaker 6: in the fan, as me and Max like to say,
• 45:00
  Speaker 6: not afraid to kind of tell the guys, hey, it's
• 45:02
  Speaker 6: okay to be dangerous today. You need those type of
• 45:05
  Speaker 6: guys to get on the bus, especially when you're on
• 45:06
  Speaker 6: the road. So as the Steelers continue to grow and
• 45:09
  Speaker 6: morph into what we think they can be, it's imperative
• 45:14
  Speaker 6: that guys like Landon Robbins, man, not only show up
• 45:17
  Speaker 6: and show out, but other guys join the party. So
• 45:20
  Speaker 6: when we talk about this defense starting to perform and
• 45:23
  Speaker 6: these young guys starting to show up, man, they feed
• 45:25
  Speaker 6: off guys like that, right? Because they're not only looking
• 45:28
  Speaker 6: to be physical, but they're also looking to make a
• 45:30
  Speaker 6: statement every time they're on the field. So, you know,
• 45:34
  Speaker 6: I'm a big E-Rob fan. I've always admired him from afar.
• 45:38
  Speaker 6: We were all kind of hacked off that he was
• 45:41
  Speaker 6: released and kind of put on the shelf. But now
• 45:45
  Speaker 6: if he's back and I don't know if it's made official,
• 45:47
  Speaker 6: but it seems like it's close to that, man. I
• 45:51
  Speaker 6: think it's an awesome timing for that. So, Welcome home, E-Rob.
• 45:56
  Speaker 5: Yeah, we'll hear more from Mike McCarthy at 3 o'clock.
• 45:58
  Speaker 5: Don't know whether that'll be.
• 45:59
  Speaker 2: Part of it.
• 46:00
  Speaker 5: I would imagine that question will be on the docket
• 46:01
  Speaker 5: for him. Want to thank everybody for their phone calls
• 46:05
  Speaker 5: today on a Victory Donut Monday. For Justin Miller, our
• 46:09
  Speaker 5: esteemed producer. For Willie Colon, for Max Starks. I'm Rob King.
• 46:12
  Speaker 5: We thank you, as always, for being with us in
• 46:14
  Speaker 5: the locker room here on the Steelers Audio Network.