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HR2: Headlines with Wex · In the Locker Room presented by Neighborhood Ford Store (Pittsburgh Steelers)

• 0:03
  Speaker 1: This is In the Locker Room with Rob King, Max Starks,
• 0:07
  Speaker 1: and Willie Colon on Steelers Nation Radio. Brought to you
• 0:11
  Speaker 1: in part by the Steelers Pro Shop. Get it direct
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: from the team at the Steelers Pro Shop at shop.steelers.com.
• 0:19
  Speaker 1: And by your neighborhood Ford store. The F-150 is the
• 0:23
  Speaker 1: official truck of the Pittsburgh Steelers.
• 0:32
  Speaker 2: All right, back inside the locker room here.
• 0:35
  Speaker 3: Optimus is powering us up into the second hour. Hump
• 0:39
  Speaker 3: Day headlines, of course, coming up with Jim Wexel next segment. But,
• 0:44
  Speaker 3: you know, when is Hump Day? It's Power Rankings Day,
• 0:47
  Speaker 3: so let's keep on. You said there's a rash.
• 0:51
  Speaker 4: A rash.
• 0:51
  Speaker 2: A cluster. A cluster.
• 0:53
  Speaker 4: A veritable cluster. A clash.
• 0:56
  Speaker 2: A ruster.
• 0:57
  Speaker 4: Okay, so let's recap.
• 0:59
  Speaker 5: Ready?
• 0:59
  Speaker 4: Ready?
• 1:00
  Speaker 6: Buffalo Bills number one. By the way, they take on
• 1:02
  Speaker 6: the Ravens on Sunday. San Francisco number two going into
• 1:05
  Speaker 6: a bye. Kansas City number three. They're at the Broncos.
• 1:09
  Speaker 6: Number four is the Vikings. Five is the Bears. They're
• 1:12
  Speaker 6: at the Seahawks. The Vikings, by the way, at the Lions.
• 1:16
  Speaker 6: The Broncos are six. Seattle is seven. Jacksonville taking on
• 1:22
  Speaker 6: the Colts is eight. Talk about getting a team at
• 1:24
  Speaker 6: the right time. Detroit just mentioned that they'll be playing
• 1:27
  Speaker 6: a big game this week. They're number nine. Number 10,
• 1:31
  Speaker 6: your first AFC North team in the rankings. I have
• 1:36
  Speaker 6: a question for you. Do you think it's the first
• 1:38
  Speaker 6: place Browns or the second place Steelers that are that team?
• 1:45
  Speaker 4: Negative. It is your Cincinnati Bengals.
• 1:50
  Speaker 7: Oh, wow. Yeah.
• 1:51
  Speaker 4: Number 10.
• 1:53
  Speaker 5: Now.
• 1:54
  Speaker 3: They didn't even play a game though, Rob.
• 1:57
  Speaker 4: No, they beat the Ravens.
• 1:58
  Speaker 2: How'd they move up?
• 1:59
  Speaker 7: Oh.
• 2:00
  Speaker 5: That's right.
• 2:00
  Speaker 4: That was a week before they had to buy. They
• 2:02
  Speaker 4: came back. They beat the Ravens. Fell behind 13-0.
• 2:06
  Speaker 6: We were crossing date lines.
• 2:09
  Speaker 4: We moved back.
• 2:11
  Speaker 5: While we were over there. I have no clue.
• 2:13
  Speaker 6: We had all kinds of stuff going on. Okay, so
• 2:15
  Speaker 6: they trounced the Ravens.
• 2:17
  Speaker 5: Grace.
• 2:18
  Speaker 4: You got to worry. The Ravens defense.
• 2:20
  Speaker 6: Why is it every year the Ravens defense does this?
• 2:23
  Speaker 6: Terrible at the beginning of the year. Absolutely terrible. They
• 2:26
  Speaker 6: got steamrolled by the Bengals.
• 2:28
  Speaker 4: So. Bengals taking on the Titans this year.
• 2:31
  Speaker 6: Now, just for curiosity's sake, just for the teams in
• 2:37
  Speaker 6: the AFC North, I looked at other power rankings and
• 2:42
  Speaker 6: tried to figure out where they were. Unfortunately, I can't
• 2:46
  Speaker 6: read my handwriting on one of them, so I have
• 2:47
  Speaker 6: to go back and check. NFL.com has the Bengals ranked ninth? No,
• 2:55
  Speaker 6: the Bengals ranked fifth, and ESPN has them ranked ninth.
• 2:58
  Speaker 5: Fifth!
• 2:59
  Speaker 4: Fifth.
• 2:59
  Speaker 5: Fifth.
• 3:00
  Speaker 4: Fifth. Fifth.
• 3:02
  Speaker 2: God.
• 3:04
  Speaker 5: They love them so much. One, two, three, four. Fifth.
• 3:07
  Speaker 4: Fifth.
• 3:08
  Speaker 5: Yep.
• 3:09
  Speaker 4: Is that amazing?
• 3:09
  Speaker 5: It has to be.
• 3:11
  Speaker 2: That is crazy.
• 3:12
  Speaker 5: I mean, I'm speechless. I can't even process how a
• 3:15
  Speaker 5: team that was losing that game 13-0 going into halftime
• 3:19
  Speaker 5: and Valet coming out of halftime, they were able to
• 3:22
  Speaker 5: score and Fox the second of the drives to beat.
• 3:25
  Speaker 5: the Baltimore Ravens, but the said Baltimore Ravens was without
• 3:29
  Speaker 5: Lamar Jackson and still got credit for it. So I
• 3:33
  Speaker 5: don't know. It is what it is. People love Burrow.
• 3:35
  Speaker 5: People want the Bengals to be better than what they are. Defensively,
• 3:38
  Speaker 5: they're still struggling. I mean, they're still not the defense
• 3:41
  Speaker 5: that everybody imagined they would be. But it is what
• 3:45
  Speaker 5: it is.
• 3:47
  Speaker 4: All right.
• 3:48
  Speaker 6: So I just, by the way, I just amended something. Okay,
• 3:52
  Speaker 6: so they're taking on the Titans. Now, number 11, the
• 3:59
  Speaker 6: New England Patriots. They were 5. They were 5th, and
• 4:03
  Speaker 6: they fell all the way to 11th by losing to
• 4:06
  Speaker 6: the Bears 30-24. That's a tumble.
• 4:11
  Speaker 2: That is a good game, too.
• 4:14
  Speaker 3: It was a good game, but to tumble that far,
• 4:19
  Speaker 3: I mean, I still don't think the Patriots are that good.
• 4:22
  Speaker 3: I mean, yes, they caught us on a perfect day,
• 4:24
  Speaker 3: and listen, they beat us, so I have to give
• 4:26
  Speaker 3: them respect, right, to a degree. But still, I don't
• 4:31
  Speaker 3: see the Patriots really making any long-term noise. They still
• 4:35
  Speaker 3: got to figure out their Drake May issue, and the
• 4:39
  Speaker 3: run game is still inconsistent. Obviously, you know, Stevenson being out.
• 4:44
  Speaker 3: It's just they're okay, but, I mean, number 11 okay?
• 4:48
  Speaker 3: I don't think so.
• 4:50
  Speaker 5: Yeah, I mean, the game against the Bears, man, their
• 4:52
  Speaker 5: biggest problem was penalties and they couldn't tackle. They tackled
• 4:54
  Speaker 5: like poop, if you will, against the Bears. Which is
• 4:59
  Speaker 5: crazy because that's not something you see with Mike Rabel's team.
• 5:05
  Speaker 5: They use a lot more discipline, a lot more polished
• 5:07
  Speaker 5: up in that category. But listen, Caleb Williams was on
• 5:12
  Speaker 5: the terror that night. And the Bears' offense was just
• 5:15
  Speaker 5: humming at a high level. It is what it is,
• 5:17
  Speaker 5: but They got a lot more in-house problems than Patriots
• 5:20
  Speaker 5: do than I guess they would like to put on.
• 5:24
  Speaker 6: Patriots are at the Dolphins on Sunday. Number 12, your
• 5:31
  Speaker 6: AFC North leading Cleveland Browns, who moved from 14 to 12.
• 5:37
  Speaker 4: They beat the Titans 27 to 24.
• 5:39
  Speaker 6: So, Mike Sando, who's a very good guy with looking
• 5:47
  Speaker 6: up statistics, that sort of thing, noted that the Browns
• 5:53
  Speaker 6: plus 16-point differential in their five wins, not their seven games,
• 5:59
  Speaker 6: their five wins, is tied for the lowest of any
• 6:02
  Speaker 6: 5-2 team since 2000. So in their wins, they're winning
• 6:08
  Speaker 6: by an average of three points per game, essentially. Is
• 6:14
  Speaker 6: that sustainable? Now, it was sustainable for Mike Tomlin. Mike
• 6:21
  Speaker 6: Tomlin made a living doing that, right? Mike Tomlin made
• 6:25
  Speaker 6: a living of keeping it close. Maybe even some would
• 6:29
  Speaker 6: suggest over the last several years coaching it close, coaching
• 6:32
  Speaker 6: it away that he wasn't going to try to blow
• 6:35
  Speaker 6: a team out because he didn't want to take the
• 6:36
  Speaker 6: chances because he wanted to rely on special teams and defense.
• 6:40
  Speaker 6: But I think until you can prove you're that type
• 6:43
  Speaker 6: of team, It's one of those things like sometimes you
• 6:46
  Speaker 6: prove you're a good turnover team. That's going back to
• 6:49
  Speaker 6: my argument with the Bears. The Steelers have always been
• 6:52
  Speaker 6: a good turnover team. They're very good in turnover margin
• 6:56
  Speaker 6: year in and year out. They're very good at winning
• 6:58
  Speaker 6: close games year in and year out. A lot of
• 7:00
  Speaker 6: those things, if a team suddenly surges in that category,
• 7:05
  Speaker 6: those things come back to the mean either within the
• 7:08
  Speaker 6: confines of that season or in the following season. One
• 7:11
  Speaker 6: of the reasons that, again, I thought the Bears might
• 7:13
  Speaker 6: come back. I don't know if that's sustainable for the Browns.
• 7:16
  Speaker 6: All five of their wins, Deshaun Watson has led fourth
• 7:19
  Speaker 6: quarter comebacks, fourth quarter scores.
• 7:22
  Speaker 4: All five of their wins. It's a tough way to
• 7:24
  Speaker 4: make a living, but they're 5-2.
• 7:25
  Speaker 5: Well, I think a lot of people just don't know
• 7:30
  Speaker 5: how to... Look, for instance, if you go back to
• 7:33
  Speaker 5: the game against the Tennessee Titans for the Browns, Deshaun
• 7:37
  Speaker 5: Watson is a he's pretty solid against the Blitz. Where
• 7:42
  Speaker 5: he struggles is where he has to dissect and really
• 7:45
  Speaker 5: kind of weed his vision through the zones. That's what
• 7:47
  Speaker 5: he struggles with. And so that's why you've got to
• 7:50
  Speaker 5: go into this game against the Browns or the Steelers,
• 7:52
  Speaker 5: realizing that because he's a slow processor, and if we're
• 7:56
  Speaker 5: able to disguise and do the things we're able to do,
• 7:59
  Speaker 5: we can subdue some of those things he likes to do,
• 8:02
  Speaker 5: especially in the fourth quarter, which is trust his legs,
• 8:04
  Speaker 5: throw on the run, have some improv throws, lean on
• 8:08
  Speaker 5: the screen game, lean on the run game, you know,
• 8:11
  Speaker 5: and that's when he starts to kind of pick up
• 8:12
  Speaker 5: and get some wind in his sails. He still doesn't
• 8:14
  Speaker 5: have to pick and choose when to go after him
• 8:16
  Speaker 5: or when to lay off him. What happened, we heard
• 8:18
  Speaker 5: the Tennessee Titans late in that game this past weekend,
• 8:21
  Speaker 5: they tried to go after him, thinking they were going
• 8:23
  Speaker 5: to speed up his clock and force him to get
• 8:25
  Speaker 5: the ball out of his hand, and it didn't happen.
• 8:28
  Speaker 5: If anything, he was able to get the ball to
• 8:30
  Speaker 5: his playmakers like Harold Fannin Jr. and obviously Casey Concepcion,
• 8:35
  Speaker 5: and it didn't really do work that way. So, It's
• 8:38
  Speaker 5: going to be an interesting game on what Patrick Graham,
• 8:40
  Speaker 5: the defense coordinator, has lined up for the Browns this week.
• 8:45
  Speaker 6: Yeah, I mean, I think there's ways. You always want
• 8:47
  Speaker 6: to upset a quarterback's timing, right, Willie? And either that's
• 8:52
  Speaker 6: bringing pressure that gets him antsy and moving him around,
• 8:56
  Speaker 6: or it's playing up tight in coverage, and now all
• 9:00
  Speaker 6: of a sudden that first or second read isn't there,
• 9:03
  Speaker 6: and now he's looking around a little bit and patting
• 9:04
  Speaker 6: the ball. So they– In watching that game, it felt
• 9:10
  Speaker 6: like they were trying to do more of the latter.
• 9:13
  Speaker 6: So this last week, it felt like the Steelers were
• 9:16
  Speaker 6: playing soft and off and saying, we don't think Shuck
• 9:19
  Speaker 6: can go the whole game and not turn it over
• 9:22
  Speaker 6: and beat us that way. And they were right. Peyton
• 9:24
  Speaker 6: Wilson had the big turnover. Patrick Queen almost had one.
• 9:27
  Speaker 6: I think the plan was to roll up tight on
• 9:31
  Speaker 6: these guys, but you've got to give it to Deshaun Watson.
• 9:33
  Speaker 4: He had a heck of a game that first time
• 9:35
  Speaker 4: around against the Steelers. He really played well.
• 9:39
  Speaker 5: Yeah, and they ran the ball well, too, to help him. Yeah.
• 9:41
  Speaker 4: Yep.
• 9:42
  Speaker 7: Max?
• 9:43
  Speaker 3: Yeah, Runge and then, you know, defense really stepped up
• 9:47
  Speaker 3: big and really frustrated the Steelers after that first drive. So,
• 9:51
  Speaker 3: you know, this is a team that's playing complimentary football
• 9:53
  Speaker 3: right now. So you got to tip your cap to them.
• 9:56
  Speaker 3: Until you beat them, you got to respect them, and
• 9:59
  Speaker 3: that's why. I can't wait until Sunday because I don't
• 10:03
  Speaker 3: want to respect them.
• 10:05
  Speaker 6: The Browns ranked 12th by NFL.com and 16th by ESPN.
• 10:14
  Speaker 6: The division leaders are ranked 12th as well by ESPN.
• 10:18
  Speaker 6: The athletic, which is the power ranking we're using. Number 13,
• 10:24
  Speaker 6: Justin Miller. Are you ready? Your Pittsburgh Steelers coming off
• 10:30
  Speaker 6: the victory over the Saints to improve to 5-2. I'm
• 10:36
  Speaker 6: going to give you the read. I'm going to give
• 10:38
  Speaker 6: you the write-up here. After a horrendous start, the Steelers
• 10:43
  Speaker 6: ranked 10th in EPA per play since week three. Rodgers
• 10:48
  Speaker 6: made some impressive throws in the win over the Saints,
• 10:51
  Speaker 6: and the offense converted 10 of 16 third downs.
• 10:54
  Speaker 4: Things are looking up in the Steel City.
• 11:02
  Speaker 5: Now, I mean, I don't know.
• 11:07
  Speaker 4: They jumped three spots, 16 to 13.
• 11:13
  Speaker 5: Yeah, I honestly don't know how to respond to that.
• 11:15
  Speaker 5: As much as I want to applaud Aaron Rodgers for
• 11:17
  Speaker 5: using his legs on crucial situations in the offense, was
• 11:21
  Speaker 5: able to run the ball on manageable third downs, I'm
• 11:23
  Speaker 5: still not happy about their production in the red zone.
• 11:26
  Speaker 5: We've got to show our pass protection. Jalen Warren continues
• 11:30
  Speaker 5: to be the bright spot on this offense. But I
• 11:32
  Speaker 5: think if you look from a bird's-eye view, man, one
• 11:36
  Speaker 5: thing about the Steelers, one of the things they have
• 11:39
  Speaker 5: been able to master is win ugly. I want to
• 11:41
  Speaker 5: see us win in a more dominant fashion. And so
• 11:43
  Speaker 5: if we can somehow figure that way out, where we
• 11:46
  Speaker 5: beat a team of worthy opposition, and we say, no,
• 11:49
  Speaker 5: this is who we are from now on, I think
• 11:51
  Speaker 5: that ranking goes up a little bit more. You can
• 11:53
  Speaker 5: see us crack the top ten.
• 11:57
  Speaker 2: I'm with Willie. There's still a couple of things we
• 11:59
  Speaker 2: need to clean up.
• 12:00
  Speaker 3: But overall, I feel like we're finally in the place
• 12:04
  Speaker 3: that we should be based on our record. It's like
• 12:08
  Speaker 3: we should be here in this I want to say
• 12:11
  Speaker 3: top 14, which is a playoff contending team. I feel
• 12:13
  Speaker 3: like we're playing playoff contention style football. Not asking to
• 12:16
  Speaker 3: be in the top five or anything, but when we
• 12:19
  Speaker 3: were all the way back at 20, I get it
• 12:20
  Speaker 3: week two, it looked bad, but I was like, we
• 12:24
  Speaker 3: should have been right in this middle area, kind of
• 12:26
  Speaker 3: middle class cusp playoff team a lot sooner. So I'm
• 12:31
  Speaker 3: happy that we're finally there right now.
• 12:32
  Speaker 4: Okay.
• 12:33
  Speaker 6: And the Steelers are ranked 14th by both the NFL.com,
• 12:39
  Speaker 6: and by ESPN, which is where the Baltimore Ravens are ranked.
• 12:44
  Speaker 6: According to The Athletic, after their loss 35-13, they drop
• 12:49
  Speaker 6: 11 spots. Now, I have to say, I am mystified
• 12:57
  Speaker 6: by this. Maybe they don't have Lamar. Maybe teams are
• 13:02
  Speaker 6: still giving them votes, or voters are still giving them votes.
• 13:06
  Speaker 6: They are ranked 10th. the Ravens, by NFL.com, and 13th
• 13:12
  Speaker 6: by ESPN. So in two of the three polls, they
• 13:17
  Speaker 6: are ranked ahead of the Steelers, the Ravens. The last
• 13:21
  Speaker 6: place Ravens.
• 13:24
  Speaker 7: Yeah.
• 13:25
  Speaker 2: I find that's a respect factor. I mean, it's a
• 13:27
  Speaker 2: respect factor.
• 13:28
  Speaker 3: Once again, I feel like Lou Riddick is definitely on
• 13:32
  Speaker 3: the ESPN poll voting.
• 13:36
  Speaker 2: Lou is like, I'll put anybody in front of them.
• 13:39
  Speaker 3: So it's just, but it is crazy that we're in
• 13:41
  Speaker 3: second place there in fourth place and they've had like
• 13:44
  Speaker 3: embarrassing losses. And still we, we, we have gutsy victories
• 13:50
  Speaker 3: and it just, it doesn't matter.
• 13:52
  Speaker 2: They just, they don't want to.
• 13:53
  Speaker 3: Give this defense Aaron Rogers on office. They don't want
• 13:58
  Speaker 3: to give credit to the old guard guys like TJ,
• 14:02
  Speaker 3: what Kim Hayward and Aaron Rogers, they really just want
• 14:05
  Speaker 3: to just hate on it. And like, Oh, They're just
• 14:07
  Speaker 3: waiting for the skies to fall. Like Chicken Little, I
• 14:09
  Speaker 3: feel like, in these votings every week.
• 14:11
  Speaker 6: But just real quick, we're going to fast forward all
• 14:14
  Speaker 6: the way to the end. Can you guys have envisioned
• 14:18
  Speaker 6: that after this stage of the season, the Chargers would
• 14:22
  Speaker 6: be the lowest ranked team in the NFL and be 0-6?
• 14:26
  Speaker 4: No way did I see that coming. Mike McDonald was going.
• 14:29
  Speaker 6: To go in there and he was going to get
• 14:30
  Speaker 6: that offense going and they were going to pick it up.
• 14:33
  Speaker 4: That is just shocking to me that they're 0-6.
• 14:38
  Speaker 5: I mean, Rob, I had him as a Super Bowl contender.
• 14:44
  Speaker 5: What are we doing?
• 14:45
  Speaker 8: If anybody's shocked, you can tell me Justin Herbert wasn't
• 14:50
  Speaker 8: going to be in the MVP conversation or leading that conversation,
• 14:54
  Speaker 8: considering the health of the offensive line was going to
• 14:56
  Speaker 8: be a lot better.
• 14:56
  Speaker 5: You know, even with mediocre receivers, I still think they
• 15:00
  Speaker 5: were going to be fine. Once they had David Njoku,
• 15:03
  Speaker 5: I was like, oh, he finally has a weapon. And
• 15:06
  Speaker 5: they already had a good tight end. But now, David Njoku,
• 15:09
  Speaker 5: I just thought, like, man, this thing is really about
• 15:11
  Speaker 5: to pop. And I was just a big fan of
• 15:13
  Speaker 5: Mike McDaniel. Just was. Everything that he was able to
• 15:16
  Speaker 5: do in Miami with that receiving core and that run game.
• 15:19
  Speaker 5: And for Christ's sakes, he had Tua. If he can
• 15:24
  Speaker 5: make hay with Tua, you can tell me he can
• 15:26
  Speaker 5: make maddy with Justin Herbert. I'm like, ugh. So, yeah,
• 15:31
  Speaker 5: I'm speechless when it comes to the Chargers, man. And Harbaugh,
• 15:34
  Speaker 5: poor him. He doesn't have no answers. Every time we
• 15:36
  Speaker 5: see him at Prescott, he just puts his hands up like,
• 15:40
  Speaker 5: I stayed out of Holiday Inn last night. I don't
• 15:41
  Speaker 5: know what you want me to say.
• 15:45
  Speaker 2: Max?
• 15:46
  Speaker 5: Yeah.
• 15:47
  Speaker 3: Yeah, no, I mean, it's unfathomable. And, you know, I'm
• 15:52
  Speaker 3: going to go see that show during our bye week.
• 15:54
  Speaker 3: I mean, I got Texans Chargers in L.A.
• 15:56
  Speaker 2: And it's like, well, I'm just going to look at
• 15:58
  Speaker 2: it like, what do we got? Because, you know, Surrett's
• 16:00
  Speaker 2: still over there as an old line coach, Will.
• 16:03
  Speaker 4: Oh, wow.
• 16:04
  Speaker 2: I would be like, hey, Sean, what's going on, bro? Yeah,
• 16:09
  Speaker 2: it's bad.
• 16:10
  Speaker 6: And by the way, Texas Chargers, when you first got that,
• 16:13
  Speaker 6: you're like, oh, man, this is going to be a
• 16:14
  Speaker 6: great game.
• 16:15
  Speaker 4: You know? Amazing.
• 16:17
  Speaker 2: Now you're like, oh, God.
• 16:18
  Speaker 6: All right, our buddy Jim Wex is going to join us,
• 16:21
  Speaker 6: and he will do that when we continue here in
• 16:23
  Speaker 6: the locker room on the Steelers Audio Network.
• 16:31
  Speaker 1: This is In the Locker Room with Rob King, Max Starks,
• 16:35
  Speaker 1: and Willie Colon on Steelers Nation Radio. Brought to you
• 16:39
  Speaker 1: in part by the Steelers Pro Shop. Get it direct
• 16:42
  Speaker 1: from the team at the Steelers Pro Shop at shop.steelers.com.
• 16:46
  Speaker 1: And by your neighborhood Ford store. The F-150 is the
• 16:51
  Speaker 1: official truck of the Pittsburgh Steelers.
• 16:54
  Speaker 5: Uh-oh, guess what day it is. Guess what day it is.
• 16:58
  Speaker 4: Huh?
• 16:59
  Speaker 2: Anybody?
• 17:00
  Speaker 4: Julie, hey, guess what day it is.
• 17:02
  Speaker 7: Oh, come on.
• 17:03
  Speaker 2: I know you can hear me.
• 17:04
  Speaker 5: Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike.
• 17:05
  Speaker 4: What day is it, Mike?
• 17:08
  Speaker 5: Leslie, guess what today is.
• 17:10
  Speaker 3: It's hump day.
• 17:11
  Speaker 5: Woo-woo!
• 17:14
  Speaker 2: Woo-woo! Yep, exactly. And you know what that means.
• 17:18
  Speaker 3: That means that our good friend Jim Wexel is joining
• 17:21
  Speaker 3: us on a hump day Wednesday for hump day headlines and,
• 17:24
  Speaker 3: of course... You can catch Jim all the time with
• 17:28
  Speaker 3: his breathtaking commentary on Steel City Insider, as he's the editor-in-chief. Also,
• 17:34
  Speaker 3: if you want to catch more of his legacy perusings,
• 17:38
  Speaker 3: you can see him at pretty much any bookstore, right?
• 17:43
  Speaker 2: Or you can go on Amazon, you can get it.
• 17:44
  Speaker 3: I mean, we've got If These Walls Could Talk, obviously
• 17:47
  Speaker 3: the Craig Wolfley biography, Palomalu, which is a great tabletop book.
• 17:53
  Speaker 3: On the Clock, I mean, we could go on and
• 17:55
  Speaker 3: on talking about the bibliographies of Jim Wexel, but we
• 17:59
  Speaker 3: are more important and more imparted to want to speak
• 18:02
  Speaker 3: with him. So how are you doing today, Jim?
• 18:06
  Speaker 7: I'm doing great, Max. You really, you top yourself every week.
• 18:10
  Speaker 7: Did you ever take Toastmasters classes by any chance?
• 18:16
  Speaker 5: You talking about Max or me?
• 18:18
  Speaker 7: Max, yeah.
• 18:20
  Speaker 5: Max probably did take a Toastmasters class. He is... Hey, we're,
• 18:25
  Speaker 5: we're trying to get Mike's, uh, uh, Max, are you,
• 18:28
  Speaker 5: are you ready to roll now? Your head said you're fine.
• 18:31
  Speaker 2: Yeah. I'm ready. I'm ready. I'm ready to roll now.
• 18:33
  Speaker 5: Yes.
• 18:34
  Speaker 2: I mean, Willie, listen, we've celebrated a lot in Vegas.
• 18:36
  Speaker 3: I learned a lot in Vegas when we were back
• 18:38
  Speaker 3: in the day. So we had a lot to, we
• 18:39
  Speaker 3: had a lot to celebrate. So it's like that practice
• 18:43
  Speaker 3: when you're, when you're, when you're popping bottles, you know,
• 18:45
  Speaker 3: I feel like that's my toast masters, uh, education.
• 18:47
  Speaker 5: So I want to ask you a question.
• 18:48
  Speaker 9: Um, Because we're just talking about, first of all, thanks
• 18:58
  Speaker 9: for being with us.
• 18:59
  Speaker 4: Always good to have you here.
• 19:00
  Speaker 6: So we're just talking about the Steelers, and we go
• 19:03
  Speaker 6: through the power rankings on Wednesday, in part to be
• 19:07
  Speaker 6: able to talk about other teams around the NFL and
• 19:09
  Speaker 6: big matchups coming up, and in part to talk about
• 19:12
  Speaker 6: how the Pittsburgh Steelers are perceived around the nation. And
• 19:16
  Speaker 6: just so you know, they're ranked 13th, 14th, and 14th
• 19:20
  Speaker 6: in the power rankings, up considerably since being way down
• 19:25
  Speaker 6: in the 20s by a lot of these rankings. But
• 19:27
  Speaker 6: one of the things that I like about the Steelers
• 19:31
  Speaker 6: is that I believe there is still upside there. I
• 19:37
  Speaker 6: think Aaron Rodgers has been mostly very solid, but I
• 19:39
  Speaker 6: think there's been a deep throw or two that he
• 19:42
  Speaker 6: would like to have back. I think that maybe even
• 19:44
  Speaker 6: a sack or two he'd like to have back. Chris
• 19:47
  Speaker 6: Boswell has uncharacteristically missed a couple of kicks. I think
• 19:50
  Speaker 6: the offensive line can get better. They've got key guys
• 19:53
  Speaker 6: who are injured who hopefully will be coming back. Roman Wilson,
• 19:58
  Speaker 6: Derek Harmon, perhaps Michael Pittman. I just think that compared
• 20:02
  Speaker 6: to maybe some Steelers teams in the past where you
• 20:05
  Speaker 6: were just in the past couple years, you're kind of
• 20:07
  Speaker 6: wondering how they're going to win the game and And
• 20:09
  Speaker 6: where are they? I do think there's more upside on
• 20:13
  Speaker 6: the Steelers team than even their 5-2 record would indicate.
• 20:17
  Speaker 4: I'd like to get your feelings on that.
• 20:20
  Speaker 7: I agree completely, Rob. You know, they've made that improvement.
• 20:26
  Speaker 7: And that's what you like to see in a coaching staff,
• 20:29
  Speaker 7: that they make the improvements. They made the improvements on
• 20:33
  Speaker 7: the O-line, got better. Their young guys stepped in on
• 20:37
  Speaker 7: the defensive line, got better. The defense as a whole
• 20:40
  Speaker 7: got better last week. It's not just the run defense,
• 20:43
  Speaker 7: although 18 yards on 17 carries should say something about
• 20:49
  Speaker 7: the run defense, but it was the entire defense that
• 20:52
  Speaker 7: played well, I thought. They keep the passing game in
• 20:58
  Speaker 7: front of them, and so people can get frustrated or
• 21:01
  Speaker 7: we can get frustrated by a lot of completions. I
• 21:05
  Speaker 7: thought Tyler Chuck was a good quarterback, so I'm not
• 21:09
  Speaker 7: going to denigrate the passing stats from last week because
• 21:13
  Speaker 7: overall they allowed what?
• 21:20
  Speaker 4: Chuck was 30 of 36. Yeah, he was very effective.
• 21:24
  Speaker 7: Okay, okay, 248 yards on 30 completions.
• 21:28
  Speaker 2: Right.
• 21:28
  Speaker 7: I mean, when you're less than 10 yards, and I
• 21:31
  Speaker 7: believe that's well less than 10 yards per completion. You're tackling.
• 21:35
  Speaker 7: You're not giving up big plays. So I agree. And
• 21:42
  Speaker 7: I'm going to take that last kickoff coverage by Mean
• 21:47
  Speaker 7: Joe Biddy or Kevin Joe Biddy, whatever we want to
• 21:51
  Speaker 7: call him. He covered that kickoff. It's a 14-yard return.
• 21:57
  Speaker 7: He tackled him at the 19th. I don't know if
• 22:00
  Speaker 7: he got credit for the tackle, but he blew it up.
• 22:03
  Speaker 7: And I thought of Brett Kiesel. I thought of Brett Kiesel,
• 22:06
  Speaker 7: the unknown seventh-round pick who was a wedge buster on
• 22:09
  Speaker 7: kick coverage, who started emerging probably about this time of
• 22:13
  Speaker 7: his rookie year. And I just wonder if players like
• 22:18
  Speaker 7: that field goal, the 47-yarder where they ran onto the
• 22:24
  Speaker 7: field after Aaron Rodgers could not take a sack here,
• 22:27
  Speaker 7: as the announcers always say. Oh, and he does. And
• 22:31
  Speaker 7: that field goal unit rushed on the field and got
• 22:33
  Speaker 7: the kickoff snap with two seconds and did through with zeros.
• 22:37
  Speaker 7: A couple of really big special teams plays. And Caden
• 22:43
  Speaker 7: Legion looks okay to me. I know he's the whipping
• 22:48
  Speaker 7: boy of the rookie class. But I like his courage
• 22:53
  Speaker 7: back there. I like his ball handling. I like his decision-making.
• 22:56
  Speaker 7: He's more of a punt returner than kickoff returner. I
• 22:59
  Speaker 7: think we're starting to see the coaching staff realize that,
• 23:02
  Speaker 7: and Nichols is getting more shots back there. But I'm
• 23:05
  Speaker 7: just saying I think the special teams is what's next.
• 23:09
  Speaker 7: They kind of gave in patience of that coming around
• 23:13
  Speaker 7: in the last game. So, yeah, Rob, to answer your question,
• 23:17
  Speaker 7: there is still room for improvement, and each week it
• 23:22
  Speaker 7: seems there's another facet of the team that does improve.
• 23:25
  Speaker 7: And so that's kudos to the coaching staff.
• 23:31
  Speaker 3: And, you know, Jim, as we kind of look at,
• 23:34
  Speaker 3: you know, we also take this time on Wednesdays where
• 23:37
  Speaker 3: we kind of look at power rankings.
• 23:41
  Speaker 2: Of the league and the Steelers.
• 23:43
  Speaker 3: You know, we've kind of been in the dredges for
• 23:45
  Speaker 3: a little bit back there in the 20s, you know,
• 23:47
  Speaker 3: right at 20 and late, you know, 19 and such.
• 23:49
  Speaker 3: And this is the first time we've kind of been
• 23:51
  Speaker 3: in that top 14 of the power rankings. But for
• 23:56
  Speaker 3: whatever reason, the Ravens just keep creeping in front of
• 23:58
  Speaker 3: us no matter how bad they get beat by people
• 24:01
  Speaker 3: that we beat. They still keep giving them credit. How
• 24:07
  Speaker 3: do you view that from your perspective when you see
• 24:10
  Speaker 3: these publications that they just want other teams to be
• 24:13
  Speaker 3: better than us in our own division?
• 24:18
  Speaker 7: I say let it happen, Max. You know what it's
• 24:22
  Speaker 7: like to be that underdog that nobody's really paying attention to.
• 24:29
  Speaker 7: I guess the point they're going to make is the
• 24:31
  Speaker 7: Steelers are facing a lot of backup quarterbacks and things
• 24:35
  Speaker 7: have went their way. They did beat Burrow. They didn't
• 24:42
  Speaker 7: beat Drake May, but his stats weren't that good. So
• 24:50
  Speaker 7: maybe it's that. Maybe it's the perception that they're really
• 24:54
  Speaker 7: not beating anybody. and that maybe that would continue if
• 24:58
  Speaker 7: they were to be fortunate enough to beat the Browns
• 25:00
  Speaker 7: this week. And fine. Six and two at the bye. Meanwhile,
• 25:06
  Speaker 7: your power ranking is only up to 12. Really, that's
• 25:12
  Speaker 7: just more on the bone for the coaching staff to
• 25:16
  Speaker 7: dig into and kind of utilize that lack of respect
• 25:22
  Speaker 7: with their troops.
• 25:25
  Speaker 5: Jim, let's talk about the offense for a second. It's
• 25:29
  Speaker 5: obvious that at one point D.K. Metcalf was our biggest
• 25:33
  Speaker 5: red zone threat. Now it's pretty much Mount Washington. He's
• 25:37
  Speaker 5: a shack in the paint. Just throw it up there.
• 25:38
  Speaker 5: The big fella can come down and give you an
• 25:40
  Speaker 5: easy six. Can you talk about that relationship between him
• 25:44
  Speaker 5: and Aaron Rodgers? I'm telling the guys one of the
• 25:47
  Speaker 5: sore spots I thought that jumped off the tape for
• 25:51
  Speaker 5: me in this game against the Saints was the fact
• 25:53
  Speaker 5: that the Steelers were one one for four in the
• 25:56
  Speaker 5: red zone. Now, as this season continues to get, you know,
• 26:00
  Speaker 5: continues to truck along and we're in a solid position,
• 26:03
  Speaker 5: obviously we want to get better and we want to
• 26:05
  Speaker 5: see this offense continue to try to be explosive. Mount
• 26:09
  Speaker 5: Washington seems to be the go-to guy for those in
• 26:12
  Speaker 5: the red zone. Is there any other options that we
• 26:15
  Speaker 5: can explore? And two, how do we get back to
• 26:17
  Speaker 5: being more explosive offensively? Considering at one point we're averaging
• 26:21
  Speaker 5: 26 points a game, now we're down to 17 points
• 26:23
  Speaker 5: a game. And the defense has thus far carried the
• 26:26
  Speaker 5: load for the Steelers, and we need the offense to
• 26:29
  Speaker 5: kind of pick it up a little bit more for
• 26:31
  Speaker 5: us to consider ourselves a legit contender.
• 26:34
  Speaker 7: Well, you know, I think Darnell Washington showed DK Metcalf.
• 26:41
  Speaker 7: I don't know that DK needed to be shown how
• 26:43
  Speaker 7: it's done, but Washington did make the catch that DK didn't.
• 26:48
  Speaker 7: And I'm not saying either one was a great pass.
• 26:51
  Speaker 7: I don't think neither was a great pass. I think
• 26:54
  Speaker 7: the one with DK was worse. But perhaps DK's challenged
• 26:58
  Speaker 7: by that because he can go up and grab that
• 27:00
  Speaker 7: thing just the same way Darnell did. They're both powerful.
• 27:04
  Speaker 7: They're great, strong hands. So I'm not going to rule
• 27:10
  Speaker 7: out DK yet. They were going at a pretty good
• 27:13
  Speaker 7: corner over there, too. I did think that Darnell was
• 27:20
  Speaker 7: developing a real rapport with Aaron And Aaron is amused
• 27:24
  Speaker 7: by Darnell's power in the open field when he starts
• 27:29
  Speaker 7: knocking people around. Aaron just loves that, and he loved
• 27:32
  Speaker 7: it in training camp. I tweeted something about, look out
• 27:37
  Speaker 7: for this connection fantasy players. And then, you know, Friar
• 27:41
  Speaker 7: Muth started showing a real greyhound body. He was really
• 27:47
  Speaker 7: ready for a season, and so... And then I started
• 27:51
  Speaker 7: seeing that rapport picking up. So both the tight ends.
• 27:55
  Speaker 7: And I think DK will be challenged. And I think
• 27:57
  Speaker 7: Jeremy Bernard, who we saw against Tampa, is a smart
• 28:02
  Speaker 7: player down there who Rodgers is going to utilize. He's
• 28:05
  Speaker 7: also good after the catch. But also, look at the
• 28:09
  Speaker 7: way the offensive line is developing. Zach Frazier, my understanding
• 28:14
  Speaker 7: is Zach Frazier is the number one center in the NFL,
• 28:16
  Speaker 7: according to Pro Football Focus. We will use them this
• 28:20
  Speaker 7: week because it benefits what we're trying to say.
• 28:22
  Speaker 4: Exactly. Well done.
• 28:25
  Speaker 7: And Zach laughed about it because I told Zach, I said,
• 28:30
  Speaker 7: he laughed about me telling him pro football focus had
• 28:33
  Speaker 7: him in the number one center. And I told him,
• 28:36
  Speaker 7: you know, they were always so rough on Pouncey that
• 28:39
  Speaker 7: this locker room hated pro football focus. You could never
• 28:43
  Speaker 7: bring them up around this offensive line group. And he
• 28:47
  Speaker 7: laughed about it. He says, yeah, I don't pay attention
• 28:49
  Speaker 7: to anything really anyone says. But I think the tape's
• 28:53
  Speaker 7: saying something else. And he and McCormick and all those
• 28:58
  Speaker 7: guys up there, they're going to want to start getting
• 29:00
  Speaker 7: Jalen Warren in there or Dowdle. They want to get
• 29:03
  Speaker 7: some running touch. I'm not down on the red zone.
• 29:07
  Speaker 7: I know Aaron. I don't know if he wants to
• 29:10
  Speaker 7: do it for the padding of stats purposes or the
• 29:13
  Speaker 7: fact that he loves football. He thinks that's the best
• 29:16
  Speaker 7: way to go down there. But I think they've got
• 29:20
  Speaker 7: something brewing there. I think it's going to get better there, too.
• 29:23
  Speaker 7: I think it's going to get better there, too.
• 29:26
  Speaker 6: You know, Jim Wexler, our guest today, one of the
• 29:29
  Speaker 6: things that I go back and forth about the importance
• 29:33
  Speaker 6: of is an identity for a football team. I think
• 29:37
  Speaker 6: that there are a lot of good things that can
• 29:39
  Speaker 6: come out.
• 29:40
  Speaker 5: Of it.
• 29:40
  Speaker 6: I understand that you also want to be adaptable and
• 29:43
  Speaker 6: be able to win in multiple ways. But if this
• 29:47
  Speaker 6: goes on much longer, that run defense that you alluded
• 29:49
  Speaker 6: to earlier, it is going to become part of the
• 29:53
  Speaker 6: identity the way it used to be. You can't run
• 29:56
  Speaker 6: the ball against the Steelers. And Teams will start trying
• 30:00
  Speaker 6: not to run the football against the Steelers. I mean,
• 30:02
  Speaker 6: it's been a few weeks now, but it's been fun
• 30:05
  Speaker 6: to watch them. Without Derek Harmon, who, again, you look
• 30:09
  Speaker 6: at some of the statistics and what the run defense
• 30:12
  Speaker 6: has done without him and with him, and it's been
• 30:15
  Speaker 6: way better with him. They have just rallied without him,
• 30:19
  Speaker 6: and they are shutting down the other team's run. They'll
• 30:21
  Speaker 6: get a running game. They'll get another big test with Judkins, who–
• 30:26
  Speaker 6: I think he's a better runner than its stats indicate.
• 30:29
  Speaker 6: But Cleveland really likes him. He's coming off a solid game.
• 30:33
  Speaker 6: But I just love the fact that this might be
• 30:35
  Speaker 6: an identity for this team, stopping the run on defense.
• 30:39
  Speaker 7: You know, the Steelers, I look at yards per carry.
• 30:43
  Speaker 7: Because total yards of rushing, I mean, that always doesn't
• 30:51
  Speaker 7: tell you the truth. I think yards per carry tells
• 30:54
  Speaker 7: you the truth. The last three years the Steelers led
• 30:57
  Speaker 7: the NFL in fewest yards per carry was 2010, 2008, 2005.
• 31:04
  Speaker 7: And I think there's something that, a thread, a common
• 31:11
  Speaker 7: thread that runs through all three of those years. They
• 31:13
  Speaker 7: played in Super Bowls. So, yeah, I don't know if Y.A.
• 31:19
  Speaker 7: Black has gotten that much better. I don't know if
• 31:22
  Speaker 7: Gabe Rubio is that great of a find as a
• 31:26
  Speaker 7: six-round pick, or Kevin Jobbity, an undrafted free agent who's
• 31:31
  Speaker 7: given me Brett Kiesel vibes. I don't know that it's
• 31:36
  Speaker 7: all that. Or Keanu Benton finally playing the right position.
• 31:41
  Speaker 7: So it's the same players pretty much. It has to
• 31:44
  Speaker 7: be the coaching. I have to look at Patrick Graham,
• 31:47
  Speaker 7: who was a defensive line linebacker coach. That's what his
• 31:51
  Speaker 7: specialty is. I've got to give him kudos. And, yeah,
• 31:56
  Speaker 7: it's exciting to me, Rob. I know everybody's worried about
• 32:00
  Speaker 7: the passing game, and that was Tomlin's big thing when
• 32:03
  Speaker 7: he took over the defense from LeBeau. He wanted inside
• 32:08
  Speaker 7: linebackers who could cover. He wanted nose tackles like Benton
• 32:12
  Speaker 7: who could rush the passer. The passing game, the modern game. But, man,
• 32:17
  Speaker 7: I don't know that you can ever take away the fundamentals.
• 32:21
  Speaker 7: I think running the ball and stopping the run. are
• 32:23
  Speaker 7: very key, and that seems to be back. And now
• 32:26
  Speaker 7: go from there. I really think they have a real
• 32:29
  Speaker 7: base here for something really good. Now just go from there.
• 32:33
  Speaker 7: I don't know if they need another playmaker or not.
• 32:35
  Speaker 7: I don't know if Michael Pittman will be that answer.
• 32:38
  Speaker 7: It just seems to be the one brick shot right now.
• 32:46
  Speaker 7: As Kurt Warner was saying as they were walking off
• 32:48
  Speaker 7: the field in France, I'm still not convinced about the
• 32:52
  Speaker 7: explosiveness of this offense to be a legit Super Bowl contender.
• 32:56
  Speaker 7: And maybe they're working on that one guy. Maybe it's
• 32:59
  Speaker 7: going to be Pittman. They do need another one. But, boy,
• 33:02
  Speaker 7: the foundations are there, running the ball and stopping the run.
• 33:06
  Speaker 7: Both lines, young lines, have me excited.
• 33:12
  Speaker 3: Then I got to ask, we posed this question earlier, right, Rob,
• 33:15
  Speaker 3: about Joshua Downs. before the Colts is asking for a trade,
• 33:21
  Speaker 3: do you think the Steelers are going to be buyers
• 33:24
  Speaker 3: before the trade deadline?
• 33:27
  Speaker 7: Boy, it sure sounds like it with all the noise
• 33:31
  Speaker 7: out there. Where there's smoke, there's fire. But I'm not
• 33:34
  Speaker 7: seeing anybody who has direct contact with the Steelers. I
• 33:39
  Speaker 7: see Jason Lockham, Flora, guys like that. Maybe it's agents
• 33:45
  Speaker 7: making noise. I don't know all that much about, uh, downs.
• 33:49
  Speaker 7: I think I don't know enough about Pittman, what, what
• 33:53
  Speaker 7: his outlook is for the rest of the season. That
• 33:56
  Speaker 7: could be an answer. Uh, Brian Thomas in Jacksonville is
• 33:59
  Speaker 7: another name that keeps coming up. So I don't, I
• 34:03
  Speaker 7: don't know. I really don't know. And I, I, anything
• 34:07
  Speaker 7: would just be a pure guess because I, I just
• 34:10
  Speaker 7: don't know about Pittman's situation. I, I wish I did, but, um,
• 34:17
  Speaker 7: I think that's the key to those trade rumors.
• 34:21
  Speaker 5: Jim, last out of me, is there anything that scares
• 34:23
  Speaker 5: you or worries you going into this matchup against the
• 34:25
  Speaker 5: Browns on Sunday? Such a big game for both teams.
• 34:28
  Speaker 7: Yeah, just really what worries me is whether there is
• 34:32
  Speaker 7: any fatigue left over from France. And I kind of
• 34:35
  Speaker 7: doubt that that's going to be an issue. Otherwise I
• 34:39
  Speaker 7: see a solid Steelers win. I, Just, I mean, they've played,
• 34:44
  Speaker 7: just look at the last five games. Everybody's looking at
• 34:47
  Speaker 7: the Browns. They might even be on top of the
• 34:49
  Speaker 7: Steelers in the power rankings.
• 34:50
  Speaker 5: Who knows?
• 34:51
  Speaker 7: But they played a five, they won four of five,
• 34:57
  Speaker 7: and they played the exact caliber of schedule the Steelers
• 35:01
  Speaker 7: have played. Four, four, one winning percentage last five games,
• 35:04
  Speaker 7: these teams. And the Steelers have a huge advantage on
• 35:10
  Speaker 7: both lines of scrimmage by my handicapping. And surprisingly, they
• 35:16
  Speaker 7: have allowed fewer yards per completion, which is my past defense,
• 35:20
  Speaker 7: the number I like to look at. And you would
• 35:22
  Speaker 7: think the Browns with Benzo Ward, they play more man,
• 35:25
  Speaker 7: so they do give up some big plays. And I
• 35:31
  Speaker 7: have the Steelers with a slightly better scoring efficiency number.
• 35:34
  Speaker 7: It's at home. it's a revenge game. I just see
• 35:41
  Speaker 7: the physical and the intangibles, the emotional aspect. Both parts
• 35:47
  Speaker 7: lie up on the Steeler side, and they're not going
• 35:49
  Speaker 7: to have a motivation problem. The only thing that bothers
• 35:53
  Speaker 7: me in my mind is maybe there's a France hangover.
• 35:57
  Speaker 7: I don't know. I think McCarthy did a good job
• 36:03
  Speaker 7: getting their sleep last week, keeping them hydrated. I think
• 36:06
  Speaker 7: He stressed that, and Cam Hayward even stressed that to
• 36:09
  Speaker 7: the young guys. So I think they handled it all well,
• 36:13
  Speaker 7: and I think they're in line for a solid win
• 36:15
  Speaker 7: this week.
• 36:17
  Speaker 6: Jim Wexel joining us every hump day to help us
• 36:20
  Speaker 6: get over the previous game and on to the next game.
• 36:24
  Speaker 6: Willie Colon doing a nice job finishing it up with
• 36:27
  Speaker 6: that look ahead.
• 36:28
  Speaker 4: That a boy, Willie.
• 36:30
  Speaker 5: Jim Wexel. There we go.
• 36:32
  Speaker 4: Thank you, my friend. Appreciate it. As always, look forward
• 36:35
  Speaker 4: to seeing you soon.
• 36:37
  Speaker 7: Take care, guys.
• 36:38
  Speaker 4: Jim Wexel giving us his insight.
• 36:40
  Speaker 6: I hope Jim is right that it's a good, solid
• 36:42
  Speaker 6: Steelers victory on Sunday. We're going to spend some time
• 36:45
  Speaker 6: looking forward to that game. Another bit of news I
• 36:47
  Speaker 6: wanted to run by the guys that you'll hear about
• 36:50
  Speaker 6: when we continue in the locker room here on the
• 36:52
  Speaker 6: Steelers Audio Network.
• 36:59
  Speaker 1: This is In the Locker Room with Rob King, Max Starks,
• 37:04
  Speaker 1: and Willie Colon on Steelers Nation Radio. Brought to you
• 37:07
  Speaker 1: in part by the Steelers Pro Shop. Get it direct
• 37:10
  Speaker 1: from the team at the Steelers Pro Shop at shop.steelers.com.
• 37:15
  Speaker 1: And by your neighborhood Ford store. The F-150 is the
• 37:19
  Speaker 1: official truck of the Pittsburgh Steelers.
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  Speaker 3: Man, this has been a fun Wednesday show inside the
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  Speaker 3: locker room here.
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  Speaker 2: We've had power rankings.
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  Speaker 3: We talked about wins and losses. Rob's lone victory that
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  Speaker 3: finally ties him with Willie has now exalted him to
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  Speaker 3: thinking he's like the Browns, the big brother, obviously, on
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  Speaker 3: this broadcast.
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  Speaker 5: Oh, careful.
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  Speaker 2: Come on.
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  Speaker 5: Come on.
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  Speaker 3: And, of course, we've had the acclaimed Jim Wexel on
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  Speaker 3: the show and Now it's time to round it all out, Rob.
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  Speaker 2: You have us intrigued. You teased it before the break.
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  Speaker 2: So let's go with the king's decree here as we
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  Speaker 2: finish up this last segment.
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  Speaker 4: Yeah, Justin Tucker just got signed by.
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  Speaker 5: The Kansas City Chiefs. Oh, wow. Well, Buckner missed a
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  Speaker 5: couple field goals in that game against Seattle.
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  Speaker 6: He's been struggling. Remember Justin Tucker? Tucker went from– he
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  Speaker 6: had a– A rapid decline. Rapid decline. Went from, you know,
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  Speaker 6: everybody's favorite national kicker. He sang opera and maybe the
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  Speaker 6: greatest field goal kicker of all time and all this
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  Speaker 6: other stuff to being the subject of numerous allegations from
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  Speaker 6: different women. Again, I don't know the intricacies of the case.
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  Speaker 6: It sounded a little bit to me like Deshaun Watson.
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  Speaker 6: It sounded like a very similar type of case.
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  Speaker 5: Yes, Max?
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  Speaker 4: What about Deshaun Watson?
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  Speaker 6: What Justin Tucker was charged with, it sounded to me,
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  Speaker 6: and I don't know the ins and outs of it,
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  Speaker 6: it sounded to me similar to what Justin Tucker, who
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  Speaker 6: received a 10-game suspension, is a former masseuse charging him
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  Speaker 6: or accusing him of improper behavior during massage sessions. He
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  Speaker 6: was eligible to come back late last year, was on
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  Speaker 6: a practice squad, didn't make an act of And now
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  Speaker 6: he's eligible. Anybody can sign him. And here are the
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  Speaker 6: Chiefs putting him on the practice squad. So we'll see, guys.
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  Speaker 6: I mean, again, this is a guy many have identified
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  Speaker 6: as the greatest kicker in NFL history. And he's trying
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  Speaker 6: to write a comeback story. Say what you want. Your
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  Speaker 6: opinions about that kind of thing. But an interesting signing.
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  Speaker 5: For sure.
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  Speaker 4: Newsworthy. for sure, I think, regardless of how you feel
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  Speaker 4: about it.
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  Speaker 5: Yeah, he was trying out for the Dolphins not too
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  Speaker 5: long ago. I thought the Dolphins, before the Jet game,
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  Speaker 5: were going to sign him. They obviously didn't, and now
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  Speaker 5: he's with the Chiefs. I think the Chiefs realize they
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  Speaker 5: can no longer put up with the Buccaneer issue. I mean,
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  Speaker 5: to your point, Rob, he's been spotty all season. If
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  Speaker 5: one thing we know about Justin Tucker, he's a pretty
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  Speaker 5: solid cold-weather kicker. He's having to spend time, obviously– in
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  Speaker 5: Baltimore where he made his career at. But overall, man,
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  Speaker 5: it just proves that the Chiefs are not in rebuild mode.
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  Speaker 5: They're going for it. And so they're going to cover
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  Speaker 5: up whatever pothole they see on the roster and continue
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  Speaker 5: to move forward.
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  Speaker 2: And I'll throw it in there.
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  Speaker 3: I mean, they're also not used to kickers with controversial things.
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  Speaker 3: Like Harrison Buckers had his media spats as well. So,
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  Speaker 3: you know, I'm sure they're well– insulated and well aware
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  Speaker 3: of everything that's going on with Justin Tucker. And at
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  Speaker 3: the end of the day, it doesn't matter what they've
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  Speaker 3: done in those moments as long as they've paid their
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  Speaker 3: due and they can still contribute and put their hand
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  Speaker 3: in the pile.
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  Speaker 2: And that's what they want to see. I imagine you
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  Speaker 2: kick the tires on him.
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  Speaker 3: To see if he can be a weapon for you,
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  Speaker 3: especially only putting up three points last week against the Seahawks.
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  Speaker 6: So I think that, you know, this is always fun.
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  Speaker 6: I enjoy Wednesdays. I love going to the power rankings
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  Speaker 6: and seeing how other teams are perceived. I'd love to
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  Speaker 6: hear what you guys think about the NFL teams and
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  Speaker 6: being able to weigh in a little myself about teams
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  Speaker 6: around the league.
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  Speaker 4: But this is Cleveland Browns week.
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  Speaker 6: I am eager, as Jerry Dulac joins us tomorrow, Missy
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  Speaker 6: Matthews joining us on Friday, eager to dive in and
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  Speaker 6: see what we got here. Now, having said that, Justin Miller,
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  Speaker 6: it is time to go full circle. It is time
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  Speaker 6: to recall the Jared Verse soundbite. And it is time
• 41:51
  Speaker 6: to hear one more time what Jared Verse had to say.
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  Speaker 6: So we all get a little bit of bile in
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  Speaker 6: our throat, a little bit of gravel in our belly
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  Speaker 6: as we get ready for the Steelers and the Browns.
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  Speaker 4: Justin Miller, you tell me when we're ready to go.
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  Speaker 4: Are we ready to go? I got the one finger up.
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  Speaker 4: Do it, Justin. Talking crazy. I'm like, y'all double teaming,
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  Speaker 4: y'all sliding, y'all garbage. I was talking crazy to him.
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  Speaker 6: I don't got no respect for anybody that plays too
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  Speaker 6: dirty and that does too much.
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  Speaker 4: Extra after the game. Excuse my French. So I can't
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  Speaker 4: wait to see them again. It's going to be a
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  Speaker 4: good time when I see them again. Y'all garbage. Y'all garbage.
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  Speaker 3: Y'all garbage and dirty for double teaming? What type of
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  Speaker 3: Mitchie behavior is that?
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  Speaker 5: Listen, man.
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  Speaker 2: They double teaming.
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  Speaker 5: I've always been a firm believer. When people want smoke,
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  Speaker 5: bring a box of matches, right? We can set this
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  Speaker 5: thing on fire. And if you're the Steelers right now,
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  Speaker 5: you have to understand momentum is on your side. There's
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  Speaker 5: momentum on their side. Not only because they beat you
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  Speaker 5: the last time, but they won their previous game. But
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  Speaker 5: they're coming into Pittsburgh, right? And they're coming in. Now
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  Speaker 5: they have to come see us in our stadium. And
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  Speaker 5: I think as dominant as we were against the run,
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  Speaker 5: The emphasis for the Steelers, that is, defensively is to
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  Speaker 5: make Deshaun Watson hurt. We didn't sack him nearly enough
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  Speaker 5: as we should have the first time around. We made,
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  Speaker 5: if anything, that was the game where it really changed
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  Speaker 5: the narrative of how the Cleveland Browns fan base and
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  Speaker 5: organization started to change that viewing Deshaun Watson as possibly
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  Speaker 5: being their quarterback for the future. Now you have a
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  Speaker 5: chance to change that narrative and make sure that you know,
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  Speaker 5: in the Steelers' mind that you put him in his place.
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  Speaker 5: So I think this is a big defensive game. This
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  Speaker 5: is a big game for the offense. You've got to
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  Speaker 5: score points. And I would love to see the Steelers
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  Speaker 5: win in a dominant fashion and really take it to
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  Speaker 5: the Browns. But be physical. That's what Jav Versus is
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  Speaker 5: talking about. You know, he just felt like we weren't
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  Speaker 5: man enough to give him the one-on-ones. And I'm saying, listen, man,
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  Speaker 5: feel how you feel. We're coming to get the job done.
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  Speaker 5: If we've got to double-team you, whatever we've got to
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  Speaker 5: do to get the dub, that's what we want to do.
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  Speaker 5: And this is a big game for our line, man,
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  Speaker 5: defensively and offensive. For us to kind of change the
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  Speaker 5: power rankings, to change the narrative, Aaron Rodgers is going
• 44:22
  Speaker 5: to be Aaron Rodgers. The weapons are the weapons. But
• 44:24
  Speaker 5: the interior, both lines have to show up and play
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  Speaker 5: big boy football for all four quarters.
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  Speaker 6: Real quick, Max, you know what else is– it just
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  Speaker 6: occurred to me with talking about this and culture versus
• 44:36
  Speaker 6: new to it. They got some free agents that are
• 44:39
  Speaker 6: new to it. You know, last year, I think the
• 44:42
  Speaker 6: reason that I think the Browns are improving is they
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  Speaker 6: had a really good draft last year. They got a
• 44:47
  Speaker 6: really good draft this year.
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  Speaker 4: Guess what?
• 44:48
  Speaker 6: Those guys that got drafted last year, Max, that part
• 44:51
  Speaker 6: of the new wave, they're 2-1 against the Steelers, right?
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  Speaker 6: They need to be told that that's not the way
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  Speaker 6: it goes in Cleveland or they're going to start thinking otherwise.
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  Speaker 6: I mean, this is an important game on a number
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  Speaker 6: of different levels, I think, for the Steelers and the Browns.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean, you know, hope springs eternal, right, every offseason.
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  Speaker 3: And they've managed to be competent the last couple of offseasons.
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  Speaker 3: So you have a right to feel good about yourself.
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  Speaker 3: But once again, to be the boss, you've got to
• 45:21
  Speaker 3: beat the boss.
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  Speaker 2: And you haven't won in Pittsburgh since 2003.
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  Speaker 4: 2003.
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  Speaker 3: Let me just reemphasize that. Since before Willie and I
• 45:32
  Speaker 3: got to the Steelers, that was the last chance they
• 45:35
  Speaker 3: had a shot.
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  Speaker 2: And they haven't done it for 23 years.
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  Speaker 4: I want you to repeat that year again for me.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah.
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  Speaker 3: For those in the slow section that can't count, I'm
• 45:48
  Speaker 3: going to go 2-0-0-3.
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  Speaker 4: Pardon my French.
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  Speaker 2: I wanted to give you that.
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  Speaker 5: Yeah.
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  Speaker 4: All right.
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  Speaker 5: Okay.
• 45:58
  Speaker 4: Let's keep that. Let's make sure we're going to keep
• 46:00
  Speaker 4: it that way. We're going to really dive into this. Obviously,
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  Speaker 4: we're all fired up. Can't wait.
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  Speaker 6: We're going to dive into it big time tomorrow. Jerry
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  Speaker 6: Dulac going to join us. Our thanks to Jim Wexel
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  Speaker 6: for Justin Miller, Max Starks, Willie Colon.
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  Speaker 4: I'm Rob King. We thank you for being with us
• 46:14
  Speaker 4: in the locker room here on the Steelers Audio Network.