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HR 1: Steelers (3-2) at Buccaneers (1-4) Week 6 Game Preview · The Steelers Report

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Thank you.
• 0:09
  Speaker 2: They're back.
• 0:12
  Speaker 3: He throws the pass up. It's going to be picked off.
• 0:15
  Speaker 3: James Harrison has it. He's running up the sideline.
• 0:18
  Speaker 1: 25, 30, 35, 40.
• 0:19
  Speaker 3: Still on his feet at the 45 and down. No,
• 0:21
  Speaker 3: he's still on his feet.
• 0:23
  Speaker 2: Here comes Harrison jumping over people to the 20, the 15,
• 0:27
  Speaker 2: the 10, the 5.
• 0:27
  Speaker 1: And that's a touchdown for Pittsburgh. An amazing play by
• 0:33
  Speaker 1: James Harrison. This is the Steelers Report with Brian Batko
• 0:38
  Speaker 1: and Ed Troop on Steelers Nation Radio, a part of
• 0:42
  Speaker 1: the Steelers Audio Network.
• 0:44
  Speaker 2: Look, if that doesn't get your blood flowing on a
• 0:47
  Speaker 2: Friday afternoon, then I'm not sure if you have any
• 0:51
  Speaker 2: Steeler blood in you.
• 0:53
  Speaker 4: That will get you going.
• 0:54
  Speaker 2: That will get you set for this upcoming weekend. That
• 0:57
  Speaker 2: will get you set for week six. Steelers 3-2 at
• 1:01
  Speaker 2: Bucs 1-4. The great Bill Hillgrove with the call from
• 1:04
  Speaker 2: Super Bowl XLIII. We play that not because the Steelers
• 1:08
  Speaker 2: are playing the Cardinals. They're playing the Bucs, but they'll
• 1:10
  Speaker 2: be in the same stadium where that historic play happened.
• 1:13
  Speaker 4: In Double B, we played.
• 1:15
  Speaker 2: The Centennial Homes touchdown reception yesterday. Today's show, we start
• 1:19
  Speaker 2: off with the James Harrison 100-yard touchdown. interception return for
• 1:23
  Speaker 2: a touchdown at the end of the first half in
• 1:25
  Speaker 2: Super Bowl 43. Both of them happened right there in
• 1:28
  Speaker 2: Tampa Bay, where you'll be this Sunday for Steelers, Bucs,
• 1:31
  Speaker 2: and like I said, it gets the blood flowing. If
• 1:34
  Speaker 2: it doesn't, then you're probably listening to the wrong channel
• 1:36
  Speaker 2: right now.
• 1:38
  Speaker 3: Yeah, I'm totally with you there, Ed, and the Buccaneers-Steelers
• 1:43
  Speaker 3: matchups over the years, as we mentioned earlier in the week,
• 1:46
  Speaker 3: not a ton of memorable ones, so that is kind
• 1:49
  Speaker 3: of a a weird or ironic thing that most memorable
• 1:52
  Speaker 3: game for the Steelers at that stadium was not against
• 1:54
  Speaker 3: the team that they're going to be playing on Sunday.
• 1:58
  Speaker 3: But yeah, I mean, last time they came to Pittsburgh,
• 2:00
  Speaker 3: they got a win over Tom Brady. We mentioned the
• 2:02
  Speaker 3: Vance McDonald stiff arm. You mentioned Jerome Bettis a little
• 2:06
  Speaker 3: bit earlier in this century and Matt Williamson and Matt
• 2:09
  Speaker 3: stats mentioned when the bucks finally got their first win
• 2:13
  Speaker 3: against the Steelers back in the Tony Dungy era, as
• 2:16
  Speaker 3: he started turning them around. So it was a former Steeler,
• 2:19
  Speaker 3: a player and coach who brought the Bucs up from
• 2:23
  Speaker 3: kind of anonymity or I guess irrelevance, I would say. Because,
• 2:27
  Speaker 3: I mean, back in the day, they were really just
• 2:30
  Speaker 3: circling the drain of the league when they first started out, right?
• 2:33
  Speaker 2: Yeah, all the Bucs were bad early on for a long,
• 2:36
  Speaker 2: long time. They had their struggles in Tampa Bay. It
• 2:40
  Speaker 2: wasn't really until, Brian, that Tony Dungy arrived on the scene,
• 2:45
  Speaker 2: as you just referenced, Tony Dungy, that they really started
• 2:47
  Speaker 2: to turn that franchise around. won a Super Bowl, you know,
• 2:51
  Speaker 2: and then won a second Super Bowl most recently here
• 2:53
  Speaker 2: in the 2000s as well with Tom Brady. So but
• 2:56
  Speaker 2: in the last 25 years, yes, way more successful, but
• 3:00
  Speaker 2: almost the laughingstock of the NFL prior, as was the
• 3:02
  Speaker 2: New England Patriots, too. We always, you know, the Patriots
• 3:04
  Speaker 2: did that one Super Bowl run in the 80s. But
• 3:06
  Speaker 2: outside of that, until Drew Bledsoe and eventually Tom Brady arrived,
• 3:10
  Speaker 2: that's when the Patriots got hot. So it was the
• 3:11
  Speaker 2: Patriots and in the AFC and really Tampa Bay was
• 3:15
  Speaker 2: one of those NFC teams that if it showed up
• 3:17
  Speaker 2: on your schedule, you pretty much marked down an automatic W.
• 3:21
  Speaker 3: And I guess in the early years, the morbid years
• 3:23
  Speaker 3: for the Bucks, that's when they were wearing those creamsicle get-ups, right?
• 3:27
  Speaker 3: And last night, Thursday, or yeah, Thursday night football, we
• 3:30
  Speaker 3: had one of your favorite jerseys, I think, the Broncos
• 3:32
  Speaker 3: against one of my favorite throwback jerseys, the Seahawks in
• 3:36
  Speaker 3: those silver helmets. Not the most aesthetically pleasing football was played.
• 3:41
  Speaker 3: I honestly kind of tuned out of that game and
• 3:43
  Speaker 3: that was a, that was a night where I didn't
• 3:45
  Speaker 3: necessarily lose to sleep. I kind of just forfeited cause
• 3:48
  Speaker 3: I didn't even really care to see the end of
• 3:50
  Speaker 3: that game. That was a, that was a bit of
• 3:51
  Speaker 3: a slog.
• 3:52
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 3:53
  Speaker 4: I missed most of it last night too, but how
• 3:54
  Speaker 4: about this?
• 3:55
  Speaker 2: The last three NFL football games have been played, have
• 3:58
  Speaker 2: all gone to overtime.
• 3:59
  Speaker 4: They've all been, uh, Prime time games.
• 4:01
  Speaker 2: You look at last Sunday night, that was what the
• 4:04
  Speaker 2: Ravens and the Falcons that went to overtime. Ravens win
• 4:07
  Speaker 2: that one Monday night. It was what the Rams game
• 4:10
  Speaker 2: that went to overtime. And then last night, that game
• 4:12
  Speaker 2: goes to overtime as well. So three really good nationally
• 4:15
  Speaker 2: televised games that come down to the end. The interception
• 4:18
  Speaker 2: last night thrown by Sam Darnold. That's now twice that's
• 4:21
  Speaker 2: happened this season happened in week one at the end
• 4:23
  Speaker 2: of the game. which Sam Darnold kind of fell apart, Brian. So,
• 4:27
  Speaker 2: you know, we're not on Seattle Seahawks Nation Radio, but
• 4:30
  Speaker 2: I would guess in the Pacific Northwest this morning, there's
• 4:32
  Speaker 2: probably a lot of conversation in and around Sam Darnold
• 4:34
  Speaker 2: and now two football games this year that he has
• 4:37
  Speaker 2: cost them.
• 4:39
  Speaker 3: And yeah, maybe he's turning back into a pumpkin after
• 4:42
  Speaker 3: that Super Bowl run. Maybe. I don't know, but I'll
• 4:44
  Speaker 3: say this much, Ed. He had a heck of a
• 4:46
  Speaker 3: lot better numbers than the guy on the other sideline,
• 4:49
  Speaker 3: at least in terms of, you know, throwing the ball downfield.
• 4:51
  Speaker 3: Bo Nix, obviously he did enough to get the win
• 4:54
  Speaker 3: for the Broncos, but 17 of 27 for 107 yards,
• 4:59
  Speaker 3: zero touchdowns, zero picks, sacked twice. It goes back to
• 5:03
  Speaker 3: what I just said. That was a defensive slugfest, to
• 5:07
  Speaker 3: put it mildly. And you know what? I don't want
• 5:10
  Speaker 3: to be that guy who's like, oh, football's only good
• 5:12
  Speaker 3: if the offenses are rolling. I mean, hey, these are
• 5:15
  Speaker 3: two good defenses, and both started out probably a little
• 5:18
  Speaker 3: slower than we would have expected after their postseason runs,
• 5:22
  Speaker 3: but That was a good reminder last night that Vance
• 5:24
  Speaker 3: Joseph and the Broncos, Mike McDonald and the Seahawks, those
• 5:28
  Speaker 3: are two smash mouth defenses and they will hit you.
• 5:33
  Speaker 3: They'll get to the quarterback. They'll shut down the run.
• 5:35
  Speaker 3: And that's how you get a 17-14 overtime game. And
• 5:39
  Speaker 3: there were some long field goals in there too at
• 5:41
  Speaker 3: a 55 yarder for the Seahawks and a 53 yarder
• 5:44
  Speaker 3: for the win for the Broncos. So they were not
• 5:48
  Speaker 3: allowing the opponent to generate much offense. I guess that
• 5:52
  Speaker 3: put a bow on it by saying, I hope nobody
• 5:53
  Speaker 3: from your fantasy team was playing in that game on
• 5:56
  Speaker 3: either side.
• 5:57
  Speaker 2: I'm not sure if I had anyone going last night
• 5:59
  Speaker 2: or not. I did check my lineup the last couple
• 6:01
  Speaker 2: of days because you tipped me off with the Rams
• 6:03
  Speaker 2: kicker being cut earlier in the week. Thank you for
• 6:05
  Speaker 2: that once again, my friend, because I had them on
• 6:07
  Speaker 2: like three or four of my fantasy football teams, but
• 6:09
  Speaker 2: lots of good kickers out there. It's when you get
• 6:11
  Speaker 2: into the running backs and receivers at this point in
• 6:13
  Speaker 2: the season, if you need to go pick somebody up
• 6:14
  Speaker 2: that you really have to dig the waiver wire.
• 6:18
  Speaker 3: You know what? I did kind of misspeak though, because
• 6:20
  Speaker 3: if you have Jackson Smith and Jigba you're still counting
• 6:23
  Speaker 3: your lucky stars every morning when you wake up. Another
• 6:26
  Speaker 3: 16 targets, 12 catches, 134 yards. Can opposing defensive coordinators
• 6:34
  Speaker 3: just follow him with two guys at all times? Just
• 6:37
  Speaker 3: play 10 on, or I guess it would be 9
• 6:41
  Speaker 3: on 10. Who cares? He's just cooking everybody again, and
• 6:45
  Speaker 3: he won an OPOY last year.
• 6:48
  Speaker 2: He's going to win another one this year, Double B,
• 6:49
  Speaker 2: if he continues to play like he has these.
• 6:51
  Speaker 4: Last few weeks.
• 6:53
  Speaker 2: Speaking of players that have played the last few weeks,
• 6:55
  Speaker 2: Jalen Warren, we've talked about it all week long, has
• 6:57
  Speaker 2: averaged 163 yards from scrimmage per game over these last
• 7:02
  Speaker 2: three contests. Aaron Rodgers has thrown for three touchdown passes
• 7:05
  Speaker 2: in three consecutive games. This offense averaging 29.3 points during
• 7:11
  Speaker 2: that span and an average of 375 yards per game
• 7:14
  Speaker 2: as well. The Steelers' offense very hot going into Tampa Bay.
• 7:18
  Speaker 2: Even in that loss against Cleveland, Brian, we know the
• 7:20
  Speaker 2: second and third quarter was a disaster, but the first
• 7:22
  Speaker 2: and fourth quarter, the Cincinnati game, the Colts game last week,
• 7:25
  Speaker 2: this offense seems to finally be clicking with Mike McCarthy.
• 7:29
  Speaker 2: They got the run game established. They've made adjustments on
• 7:31
  Speaker 2: the offensive line. Hopefully that'll continue this weekend in Tampa
• 7:35
  Speaker 2: Bay against a defense that has a few superstars here
• 7:38
  Speaker 2: and there, as we did talk to Casey Phillips, the
• 7:41
  Speaker 2: Tampa Bay Bucs team reporter yesterday. We're going to air
• 7:44
  Speaker 2: that here today at 3 o'clock on the show. And
• 7:47
  Speaker 2: Casey talked about a few of those defenders. But it's
• 7:49
  Speaker 2: a defense I think the Steelers offense can exploit and
• 7:52
  Speaker 2: really get after come this Sunday.
• 7:55
  Speaker 3: Yeah, the Steelers offense, we heard from DK Metcalf yesterday
• 8:02
  Speaker 3: as far as what to expect from them, but also
• 8:07
  Speaker 3: what he's been seeing out of Jeremy Bernard. And DK
• 8:10
  Speaker 3: doesn't really get too out over his skis or too
• 8:14
  Speaker 3: outlandish with his praise usually, but he had a lot
• 8:16
  Speaker 3: of nice things to say about the rookie in his
• 8:19
  Speaker 3: wide receiver room. A guy that, you know, DK is...
• 8:23
  Speaker 3: I'm sure certainly willing to help mentor and, you know,
• 8:26
  Speaker 3: bring up that next generation of receivers, much like Tyler
• 8:30
  Speaker 3: Lockett did for him in Seattle. So I think that's
• 8:32
  Speaker 3: a cool report to see develop. You know, he didn't
• 8:36
  Speaker 3: really have that last year, right, Ed? I mean, there
• 8:39
  Speaker 3: was Calvin Austin had, you know, they had been here
• 8:41
  Speaker 3: longer than him. Roman Wilson wasn't a rookie anymore, but
• 8:44
  Speaker 3: I'm sure he's poured into Roman too, to some extent.
• 8:47
  Speaker 3: But that I think is a really nice sort of
• 8:49
  Speaker 3: relationship for the Steelers to cultivate off the field. And
• 8:52
  Speaker 3: you hope that it translates, into a dynamic duo at
• 8:55
  Speaker 3: receiver on the field. And we're seeing some signs of that.
• 8:58
  Speaker 3: Like you said, at the end of the Cleveland game,
• 9:00
  Speaker 3: DK got hot. Throughout the Colts game, Jeremy Bernard really
• 9:05
  Speaker 3: took a step forward. I'd love to see a game,
• 9:08
  Speaker 3: maybe it happens this week down in Tampa Bay, where
• 9:11
  Speaker 3: both of those guys are in the 75 to 125
• 9:16
  Speaker 3: receiving yardage range. And whatever you get from Darnell Washington
• 9:20
  Speaker 3: and Pat Fryermuth will probably make Aaron Rodgers' stat line
• 9:22
  Speaker 3: look pretty healthy. at the end of this. So I,
• 9:26
  Speaker 3: even though this offense is in a sense, losing options,
• 9:29
  Speaker 3: I think they're also gaining confidence in some of these,
• 9:33
  Speaker 3: I don't want to call them auxiliary pieces, but Jeremy
• 9:36
  Speaker 3: Bernard is someone who, you know, he was pretty low
• 9:38
  Speaker 3: on the totem pole target wise coming into this season,
• 9:41
  Speaker 3: but now it's only week six and he's in a
• 9:44
  Speaker 3: premier spot to really help this team. So, and we haven't,
• 9:47
  Speaker 3: and I haven't even mentioned the name Jalen Warren, you know,
• 9:50
  Speaker 3: that this offense is going to be able to jump
• 9:53
  Speaker 3: on his back and get carried to the promised land
• 9:56
  Speaker 3: more often than not. And that all adds up to
• 9:58
  Speaker 3: a lot of fire. to go against, like you said, Ed,
• 10:02
  Speaker 3: I mean, a Bucs defense that's probably better than the
• 10:05
  Speaker 3: statistics would indicate.
• 10:06
  Speaker 2: Yeah, and one thing they have done well, Brian, is
• 10:08
  Speaker 2: stop the run through the first handful of games this season.
• 10:12
  Speaker 2: They are allowing just 59 rushing yards per game. That's
• 10:16
  Speaker 2: the second fewest in the NFL. So, The Steelers will
• 10:19
  Speaker 2: try to establish that run with Warren, I'm sure, as
• 10:21
  Speaker 2: they do each and every game. But it might, to
• 10:23
  Speaker 2: your point, might be more of Aaron Rodgers in this
• 10:26
  Speaker 2: passing attack where they're going to have to try to
• 10:27
  Speaker 2: move the ball that way against a Bucs defense, at
• 10:31
  Speaker 2: least when you look at that statistic, 59 rushing yards
• 10:33
  Speaker 2: per game given up second in the NFL.
• 10:35
  Speaker 4: That is a bit stingy against the run.
• 10:37
  Speaker 2: But Jalen Warren is also a stingy running back, as
• 10:40
  Speaker 2: we've seen the last few weeks. He can make things
• 10:43
  Speaker 2: happen even if the blocks aren't quite there.
• 10:47
  Speaker 3: Yes, he can. He he's his own blocker oftentimes. And
• 10:51
  Speaker 3: he gets those, those hidden yards where you just don't
• 10:54
  Speaker 3: think there's any way he can move the ball forward anymore,
• 10:57
  Speaker 3: but he keeps those little legs churning. And I don't
• 10:59
  Speaker 3: know if you saw, he got the Nickelodeon award MVPs
• 11:03
  Speaker 3: at Nickelodeon's valuable player. And he had the slime hat
• 11:06
  Speaker 3: on with Bill Cowher. I saw him walk into the
• 11:09
  Speaker 3: locker room with that. And the way that NFL locker room,
• 11:12
  Speaker 3: like policies and procedures work is you can't just like
• 11:14
  Speaker 3: whip your phone out and start filming. anybody because it's
• 11:18
  Speaker 3: it's a locker room I mean it's it's one thing
• 11:19
  Speaker 3: to take video of someone in an interview scrum with
• 11:22
  Speaker 3: their locker behind him you see that all the time
• 11:24
  Speaker 3: across the league but that was a time where I
• 11:26
  Speaker 3: was like man I really wish I could just pull
• 11:27
  Speaker 3: my phone out right now and get video of Jalen
• 11:30
  Speaker 3: Warren walking around with a slime hat on happiest any
• 11:33
  Speaker 3: guy could ever be you know he's pretty stoic like
• 11:37
  Speaker 3: he's he's not really one for the glitz and glamour
• 11:39
  Speaker 3: and the fame and the spotlight so it's uh it's
• 11:42
  Speaker 3: fun to see him get the the Nickelodeon shine and slime.
• 11:46
  Speaker 3: And some of his teammates were razzing him about it
• 11:48
  Speaker 3: that day too, when he walked in.
• 11:50
  Speaker 2: And Brian, is it true that the NFL doesn't give
• 11:52
  Speaker 2: you a plaque or a certificate for AFC player of
• 11:55
  Speaker 2: the week?
• 11:57
  Speaker 3: Not that I know of. I mean, did he say that?
• 11:59
  Speaker 3: Did someone mention that?
• 12:01
  Speaker 4: Yeah, we had Chris Adamski.
• 12:03
  Speaker 2: We did the Sirius XM show with Chris, you know,
• 12:05
  Speaker 2: that I do on the other side when I cheat
• 12:06
  Speaker 2: on you as my partner here on SNR, right? Uh,
• 12:10
  Speaker 2: but Chris had mentioned that to me yesterday that, uh,
• 12:12
  Speaker 2: you know, the Nickelodeon award was really cool. Cause he
• 12:14
  Speaker 2: actually got a physical award, but the NFL, uh, doesn't give, uh,
• 12:18
  Speaker 2: any type of plaque or certificate or anything for, for AFC, uh,
• 12:22
  Speaker 2: player of the week, which Jalen Warren was, was honored
• 12:24
  Speaker 2: this week. I was a bit surprised to see that.
• 12:26
  Speaker 2: I don't know if Chris got his information, correct. I
• 12:27
  Speaker 2: would think you at least get a certificate, maybe get
• 12:29
  Speaker 2: an email. And it's one of those like email certificates.
• 12:33
  Speaker 3: They're like, yeah, print it out at home. No, I mean,
• 12:35
  Speaker 3: I don't know what gets sent behind the scenes at,
• 12:38
  Speaker 3: these guys have boxes of stuff at their lockers usually,
• 12:41
  Speaker 3: but I, yeah, I don't, I guess I never recall
• 12:44
  Speaker 3: specifically a player like getting handed it by whoever. I
• 12:49
  Speaker 3: don't know. I think those weekly awards are certainly cool
• 12:51
  Speaker 3: for the fans and there's something that you can put
• 12:53
  Speaker 3: on a resume for a player and his biography, but
• 12:56
  Speaker 3: I don't know that the players are get too hung
• 12:58
  Speaker 3: up on that. It's probably like, yeah, right. We're trying
• 13:00
  Speaker 3: to win a game week in and week out. Like
• 13:02
  Speaker 3: I'm onto the next opponent. That's cool that I got recognized, but,
• 13:06
  Speaker 3: and you know, you stack those up and, I think
• 13:08
  Speaker 3: the stuff players care a lot more about is end
• 13:10
  Speaker 3: of the season, Pro Bowl, especially all pro nods, because
• 13:14
  Speaker 3: that absolutely helps out your NFL legacy.
• 13:17
  Speaker 4: Yeah, I completely agree with you.
• 13:18
  Speaker 2: I just had to chuckle when I heard that there
• 13:20
  Speaker 2: was no plaque or even a certificate given out for
• 13:22
  Speaker 2: the player of the week. The Steelers defense will not
• 13:26
  Speaker 2: see Baker Mayfield this weekend. They will see Jalen Daniels,
• 13:30
  Speaker 2: the undrafted free agent who has played in three games
• 13:32
  Speaker 2: so far this season for the Bucs. He has completed 69%
• 13:36
  Speaker 2: of his passes for 337 yards. That's an average of
• 13:40
  Speaker 2: 112 yards per game passing, so not much there. Two touchdowns,
• 13:44
  Speaker 2: three interceptions. He's been sacked four times. And then rushing
• 13:48
  Speaker 2: the football, he's very mobile. In those three games, he's
• 13:50
  Speaker 2: carried the ball 16 times for 87 yards. That's an
• 13:53
  Speaker 2: average of 5.4 yards every time he takes off. He
• 13:56
  Speaker 2: has no touchdowns so far this season. Brian, what's your
• 13:59
  Speaker 2: thoughts on the undrafted free agent Jalen Daniels? It's a
• 14:02
  Speaker 2: great story from the undrafted free agent part of this,
• 14:06
  Speaker 2: but I don't want it to be a good story,
• 14:07
  Speaker 2: at least for this weekend, against the Steelers.
• 14:11
  Speaker 3: Yeah, you certainly don't. And, you know, my initial impression
• 14:15
  Speaker 3: of Jalen Daniels is I was in a college fantasy
• 14:18
  Speaker 3: football league for a while for fun with some buddies,
• 14:20
  Speaker 3: and he would pop up from time to time. I
• 14:23
  Speaker 3: probably started him from time to time because he did
• 14:25
  Speaker 3: put up some big numbers in at Kansas. And, you know,
• 14:28
  Speaker 3: part of that too, is he's an older guy, you know,
• 14:31
  Speaker 3: he's about to turn 24 in a couple of weeks here.
• 14:34
  Speaker 3: So he has played and seen a lot of football,
• 14:36
  Speaker 3: obviously at the college level, we talked so much about
• 14:39
  Speaker 3: the QBs in this 2026 draft class from Carson Beck
• 14:44
  Speaker 3: and Drew Aller and Talon Green, Cole Payton, who else was,
• 14:50
  Speaker 3: was on that list. A lot of guys were cycling
• 14:52
  Speaker 3: through the minds of Steelers fans in that realm of, hey,
• 14:56
  Speaker 3: will they take one? It's not like Jalen Daniels was
• 14:59
  Speaker 3: getting mentioned by many, if any, draft analysts, and yet
• 15:04
  Speaker 3: he latches on with the Bucs, sort of Jalen Warren-esque.
• 15:08
  Speaker 3: How many Jalens are in this game? Jalen Daniels, Jalen Warren,
• 15:11
  Speaker 3: Jalen Ramsey. Jalen McMillan is injured for the Buccaneers, so
• 15:14
  Speaker 3: I feel sorry for their number three wide receiver, but
• 15:17
  Speaker 3: we were in danger of reaching Jalen overload. But yeah,
• 15:21
  Speaker 3: Jalen Daniels did enough for the Bucs in training camp
• 15:23
  Speaker 3: in the preseason that they keep him on as the
• 15:25
  Speaker 3: backup to Baker Mayfield and you know he's kind of
• 15:29
  Speaker 3: just he's got nothing to lose right now which can
• 15:32
  Speaker 3: make a player dangerous so I say if you're the
• 15:35
  Speaker 3: Steelers do what you can game plan and schematic wise
• 15:38
  Speaker 3: to force him to show that he can throw the
• 15:41
  Speaker 3: ball downfield and complete passes deeper from what I saw
• 15:44
  Speaker 3: against the Cowboys accuracy was pretty solid over the middle
• 15:47
  Speaker 3: you know that he was seeing the field well when
• 15:49
  Speaker 3: it came to intermediate throws and check downs but I
• 15:52
  Speaker 3: think One thing that probably holds you back in the
• 15:54
  Speaker 3: draft and why he didn't hear his name called in
• 15:56
  Speaker 3: the seven rounds, the overall arm talent and arm strength.
• 16:00
  Speaker 4: Yeah, I'm with you there on Jalen Daniels.
• 16:03
  Speaker 2: Don't let him break out and beat you with his
• 16:05
  Speaker 2: legs or his arm this upcoming weekend because he has
• 16:07
  Speaker 2: shown signs, glimpses along the way. But facts are facts.
• 16:10
  Speaker 2: He's an undrafted free agent quarterback for a reason, Brian.
• 16:14
  Speaker 2: There's a reason why he wasn't taken in the draft,
• 16:16
  Speaker 2: and you pointed to a few of those. Whenever we
• 16:19
  Speaker 2: come back, we're going to get into our five keys
• 16:21
  Speaker 2: on offense, and then coming up in and around 2.45 today,
• 16:23
  Speaker 2: we'll do our five keys on defense. 3 o'clock, Casey Phillips,
• 16:26
  Speaker 2: who is the Tampa Bay Bucs team reporter for Tampa Bay,
• 16:30
  Speaker 2: will be joining Brian and I here on the show.
• 16:33
  Speaker 2: And we'll have an injury report in and around 3.20 today,
• 16:36
  Speaker 2: and then we'll finish up the show at 3.40, 3.45
• 16:39
  Speaker 2: with our Renegade preview. We'll look around the AFC North, AFC,
• 16:43
  Speaker 2: and NFL games. for week number six.
• 16:45
  Speaker 4: I'm Troop. He's Backo.
• 16:46
  Speaker 2: It's the Steelers Report right here on Steelers Nation Radio,
• 16:49
  Speaker 2: part of the Steelers Audio Network.
• 16:56
  Speaker 1: This is the Steelers Report with Brian Backo and Ed
• 17:00
  Speaker 1: Troop on Steelers Nation Radio, a part of the Steelers
• 17:04
  Speaker 1: Audio Network.
• 17:06
  Speaker 2: Week six in across the NFL, already underway after Thursday
• 17:11
  Speaker 2: night football.
• 17:13
  Speaker 4: Big win for the Broncos in the AFC. Defeating the defending.
• 17:18
  Speaker 2: Super Bowl champs, the Seattle Seahawks, who are now 3-3
• 17:22
  Speaker 2: on the season. And the Steelers, who are 3-2, will
• 17:25
  Speaker 2: visit the 1-4 Tampa Bay Bucs this upcoming Sunday at
• 17:28
  Speaker 2: 1 o'clock before they turn around quickly within just a
• 17:33
  Speaker 2: few days after that and head to Paris, France, for
• 17:37
  Speaker 2: the international game against the New Orleans Saints. the following
• 17:41
  Speaker 2: Sunday at 9.30 a.m. Pittsburgh time. Brian, it's not a
• 17:45
  Speaker 2: quick turnaround from a game standpoint. It's Sunday to Sunday,
• 17:49
  Speaker 2: but it's a quick turnaround for traveling with the team,
• 17:53
  Speaker 2: media members such as yourself, just a few days, and
• 17:55
  Speaker 2: then you'll head internationally, but that should be a fun trip.
• 17:59
  Speaker 3: Yep, next week will be a whirlwind for the Steelers,
• 18:02
  Speaker 3: so it'll feel a lot better if they're coming off
• 18:04
  Speaker 3: of a victory in Tampa Bay to send them into
• 18:07
  Speaker 3: their preparations tomorrow. for Paris week. And you mentioned that
• 18:10
  Speaker 3: the last three games played in the NFL, all standalone
• 18:13
  Speaker 3: games went to overtime. We could have a fourth straight
• 18:16
  Speaker 3: standalone game because there's another London game this weekend, Sunday morning,
• 18:20
  Speaker 3: 9 30 AM Marvin Harrison jr. Will make his Texans debut,
• 18:24
  Speaker 3: or I should say slated to make his Texans debut
• 18:27
  Speaker 3: at Wembley stadium at, or well, yeah, at the Jaguars.
• 18:32
  Speaker 3: Cause they play so often in London and, uh, they
• 18:34
  Speaker 3: are the home team, but, uh, yeah, they're, they're going
• 18:37
  Speaker 3: to face, uh, Face off in the AFC South down there.
• 18:41
  Speaker 3: Maybe we'll get another overtime game for a fourth straight
• 18:44
  Speaker 3: standalone game here in the NFL this weekend. A couple
• 18:49
  Speaker 3: things I wanted to note, Ed. It's October 16th, which
• 18:51
  Speaker 3: means a happy birthday to Bill Priatko. Bill Priatko is
• 18:56
  Speaker 3: the oldest living Steeler alumni. He turns 95 today, Ed.
• 19:03
  Speaker 3: What an incredible life and journey for someone. You know,
• 19:08
  Speaker 3: he only played in a couple games for the Steelers
• 19:11
  Speaker 3: way back when, obviously, but born and raised in Braddock, PA.
• 19:16
  Speaker 3: Pitt alum who went on to serve in the Air Force.
• 19:20
  Speaker 3: And shout out to Bill Priatko here on his 95th birthday. Again,
• 19:26
  Speaker 3: oldest living Steelers award, number 64. Back in the day,
• 19:29
  Speaker 3: went to Scott Township High School, which doesn't even exist anymore,
• 19:33
  Speaker 3: but played linebacker for a couple games in 1957. What
• 19:37
  Speaker 3: a living legend.
• 19:38
  Speaker 2: Scott Township, which is now part of the, I think,
• 19:41
  Speaker 2: Chartiers Valley School District, or Keystone Oaks, one or the other.
• 19:45
  Speaker 2: Scott Township might be in both. Half the township might
• 19:47
  Speaker 2: be in one or the other. I'm not sure how
• 19:48
  Speaker 2: that works. but either chartiers valley uh or keystone oaks
• 19:52
  Speaker 2: anyhow yeah shout out the bill hey listen 95 happy
• 19:55
  Speaker 2: birthday to him for sure listen i'm a i'm a
• 19:58
  Speaker 2: mon valley guy so braddock pennsylvania awesome there played a
• 20:02
  Speaker 2: pit as you said.
• 20:03
  Speaker 4: And uh more importantly most importantly uh, for bill.
• 20:06
  Speaker 2: Thank you for your service, uh, an air force veteran
• 20:09
  Speaker 2: there too.
• 20:09
  Speaker 4: So in veterans days, right around the corner, Brian, just
• 20:11
  Speaker 4: a few weeks away.
• 20:12
  Speaker 2: So, uh, definitely shout out to him and Hey, you
• 20:15
  Speaker 2: don't turn, you don't turn 90 plus every day, right?
• 20:19
  Speaker 2: It happens once in a while. And for a lot
• 20:21
  Speaker 2: of us, it doesn't happen at all. So you got
• 20:22
  Speaker 2: to celebrate each and every one of those.
• 20:24
  Speaker 4: That's for sure.
• 20:26
  Speaker 3: No doubt. No doubt. Um, Oh, it's actually, it looked
• 20:29
  Speaker 3: like this Scott high school that he went to was
• 20:31
  Speaker 3: in North Braddock. So I think I misspoke there. I
• 20:33
  Speaker 3: may have misidentified, uh, scott township versus other scotts you
• 20:37
  Speaker 3: know like this the street right around the corner from
• 20:39
  Speaker 3: me and shaylor here in pittsburgh is scott avenue and
• 20:42
  Speaker 3: there's a scott primary school so obviously it's a pretty
• 20:45
  Speaker 3: common uh name around here but uh forgive me there
• 20:49
  Speaker 3: yes braddock native went to high school and braddock too
• 20:51
  Speaker 3: obviously that braddock uh high school doesn't exist anymore it's
• 20:54
  Speaker 3: probably been uh scooped up into the woodland hills school
• 20:58
  Speaker 3: district right where rob gronkowski attended for a year and
• 21:02
  Speaker 3: many other legends from the WPIAL.
• 21:06
  Speaker 4: Listen, I'm a Mon Valley guy.
• 21:07
  Speaker 2: Not that I'm more mid-Mon Valley, where I grew up
• 21:10
  Speaker 2: down the Monongahela River a bit in the other direction.
• 21:13
  Speaker 2: But I didn't know there was a Scott out in
• 21:15
  Speaker 2: the Braddock area either, Brian. So that's news to me
• 21:18
  Speaker 2: as well. Or as folks that are from there, they
• 21:21
  Speaker 2: say Braddock. So it's the same as Latrobe, Latrobe, Washington, Washington, Braddock, Braddock.
• 21:28
  Speaker 2: So a lot of folks out there say Braddock. But
• 21:30
  Speaker 2: Great area of Pittsburgh. That's for sure not far from
• 21:33
  Speaker 2: the Pitt campus. And again, happy birthday to Bill. Brian,
• 21:36
  Speaker 2: let's get into our five keys on offense for the
• 21:39
  Speaker 2: Pittsburgh Steelers this upcoming weekend. And we're going to start
• 21:42
  Speaker 2: with probably the most obvious one. Ride that hot hand
• 21:45
  Speaker 2: in Jalen Warren. Warren has rushed, as we said, for
• 21:48
  Speaker 2: that big number of 163 yards over the last three games.
• 21:51
  Speaker 2: Tampa Bay allows just 59 yards rushing. We were talking
• 21:54
  Speaker 2: about that during our opening segment today, the second fewest
• 21:57
  Speaker 2: in the NFL offense. Steelers need to establish the run
• 22:00
  Speaker 2: while finding ways to get Warren involved as a receiver.
• 22:03
  Speaker 2: So if Tampa is stingy against the run early on
• 22:06
  Speaker 2: in this game, then start popping it out of the
• 22:07
  Speaker 2: backfield to No.
• 22:09
  Speaker 3: 30. Yeah, but the Bucs are really good against the run.
• 22:13
  Speaker 3: At least they have the pieces to be with. We
• 22:15
  Speaker 3: talked about Nick Faribault on the show yesterday, Vita Vea,
• 22:18
  Speaker 3: just an aircraft carrier of a man up front and
• 22:23
  Speaker 3: more nimble than a lot of people give him credit for.
• 22:25
  Speaker 3: I was talking to right guard Brock Hoffman about that
• 22:27
  Speaker 3: in the locker room. Thursday after practice, he played VEA
• 22:30
  Speaker 3: when he was with the Cowboys, you know, NFC matchup
• 22:32
  Speaker 3: there and said that, you know, he can, he's actually
• 22:35
  Speaker 3: pretty light on his feet. Like he can move around
• 22:37
  Speaker 3: even in, in coverage or go tackle after a pass
• 22:40
  Speaker 3: and things of that nature. That's why he's, he's been
• 22:43
  Speaker 3: an all pro in his career. A. Sean Robinson, also
• 22:45
  Speaker 3: a big body against the run for the Bucs. And
• 22:49
  Speaker 3: then that linebacker tandem, Alex Anzalone and the rookie Josiah
• 22:53
  Speaker 3: Trotter is, Dad, Jeremiah Trotter, played for the Eagles back
• 22:57
  Speaker 3: in the day. I think he actually played with Asante
• 22:58
  Speaker 3: Samuel Jr. 's dad at one point in Philly. So
• 23:03
  Speaker 3: two former Eagles kids going to be on opposite sidelines
• 23:07
  Speaker 3: on Sunday in Tampa. Yeah, I'd love to see this
• 23:10
  Speaker 3: offensive line get into a rhythm where they're really pounding
• 23:13
  Speaker 3: the rock and controlling a game on the ground. And
• 23:18
  Speaker 3: that would not only... help out Jalen Warren, but it
• 23:21
  Speaker 3: would probably make for some good opportunities for Rico Dowdle
• 23:24
  Speaker 3: if he returns in this game or anybody else who
• 23:26
  Speaker 3: Aaron Rodgers hands the football off to.
• 23:28
  Speaker 2: Our second key for the Pittsburgh Steelers offense on Sunday
• 23:31
  Speaker 2: against the Tampa Bay defense is take advantage of Tampa's
• 23:34
  Speaker 2: aggressive blitz.
• 23:36
  Speaker 4: That they bring.
• 23:37
  Speaker 2: They blitzed the NFL's third highest rate, but have just
• 23:40
  Speaker 2: six sacks to go along with that, and none, zero,
• 23:43
  Speaker 2: in their last two games. Rodgers, look, he's been hot, too,
• 23:46
  Speaker 2: just like Jalen Warren. He's thrown three touchdown passes in
• 23:49
  Speaker 2: three consecutive games. He uses quick throws, screens. If the
• 23:53
  Speaker 2: protection is there against this Tampa Bay blitz, well... he
• 23:56
  Speaker 2: can get some players open in the flats, such as
• 23:59
  Speaker 2: DK Metcalf or Jeremy Bernard, guys that like to get
• 24:02
  Speaker 2: that big yak after the catch. We'll see if that
• 24:06
  Speaker 2: is one of the game plans this weekend on offense.
• 24:08
  Speaker 2: I would think it would be, especially if Tampa Bay
• 24:10
  Speaker 2: starts blitzing quite a bit.
• 24:13
  Speaker 3: Right. But that's the cat and mouse game in any
• 24:15
  Speaker 3: NFL matchup. Maybe the Steelers are sitting on that and saying, hey,
• 24:18
  Speaker 3: Todd Bowles is going to bring a lot of pressure
• 24:20
  Speaker 3: and then they don't blitz you. And then you're kind
• 24:22
  Speaker 3: of like, all right, we got to tweak our game plan.
• 24:25
  Speaker 3: That'll be the the game within the game between two
• 24:28
  Speaker 3: play calling head coaches, Mike McCarthy on the offensive side
• 24:31
  Speaker 3: and Todd Bowles on the defensive side for the Bucs. And,
• 24:35
  Speaker 3: you know, it's, it's kind of a chicken or the
• 24:36
  Speaker 3: egg thing too, Ed, because, you know, the Steelers have
• 24:39
  Speaker 3: seen a ton of man coverage to this point in
• 24:41
  Speaker 3: the season. Is that because they've played teams that want
• 24:43
  Speaker 3: to live in that world? Or is that because those
• 24:45
  Speaker 3: teams brought that game plan to the table against the
• 24:48
  Speaker 3: Steelers and will the Bucs do the same? The Bucs
• 24:51
  Speaker 3: are kind of middle of the pack themselves in terms
• 24:54
  Speaker 3: of playing a lot of man. So you would assume that,
• 24:56
  Speaker 3: That's going to be the case, but that's always the
• 25:00
  Speaker 3: ebb and flow of it, right? Because that means the
• 25:02
  Speaker 3: Steelers are preparing for that. If you don't do that
• 25:05
  Speaker 3: as the opposition, then the Steelers are going to have
• 25:07
  Speaker 3: to throw out at least a little bit of what
• 25:09
  Speaker 3: they would have been preparing for. So that always makes
• 25:12
  Speaker 3: it fun. And ultimately, it's going to come down to
• 25:14
  Speaker 3: execution from the players on the field. I mean, all
• 25:17
  Speaker 3: the coaches have said that in the history of the world,
• 25:20
  Speaker 3: I think. But Mike McCarthy mentioned Thursday, there are some
• 25:23
  Speaker 3: things you can do schematically, you know, bunches. stacks to
• 25:27
  Speaker 3: try to throw off the defensive coverage no matter.
• 25:29
  Speaker 2: What they're in our third key on offense is to
• 25:31
  Speaker 2: get DK Metcalf more involved he's been held under 40
• 25:35
  Speaker 2: yards receiving in four of his first five games this
• 25:39
  Speaker 2: season incredible including just 12 yards last season. He was
• 25:42
  Speaker 2: starting to heat up, Brian, after that Thursday night in Cleveland.
• 25:46
  Speaker 2: And even prior to that, the game against the Cincinnati Bengals, right?
• 25:50
  Speaker 2: Things were starting to click. Took a step back last
• 25:52
  Speaker 2: week against the Colts. A lot of that had to
• 25:54
  Speaker 2: do probably with Sauce Gardner going one-on-one with him quite
• 25:57
  Speaker 2: a bit throughout the day. He did get some good blocks, though,
• 25:59
  Speaker 2: so it wasn't all negative for DK last week. He
• 26:01
  Speaker 2: had some nice blocks downfield in particular today. the big
• 26:04
  Speaker 2: Warren touchdown. But look, DK isn't here to block. He's
• 26:07
  Speaker 2: here to make big catches and put up big numbers.
• 26:09
  Speaker 2: So we'll see if he can get back on track
• 26:11
  Speaker 2: this weekend against the Bucs.
• 26:13
  Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean, that's the odd thing about it, Ed.
• 26:15
  Speaker 3: You know, you say it's a key to the game,
• 26:17
  Speaker 3: and I think everybody would say that when you have
• 26:19
  Speaker 3: somebody the caliber of DK Metcalf on your roster. But,
• 26:23
  Speaker 3: I mean, they've found a way to move the ball
• 26:25
  Speaker 3: and be successful offensively without DK Metcalf doing a whole
• 26:29
  Speaker 3: lot in the box score. And the downfield blocking is
• 26:33
  Speaker 3: Really good to see, of course. But, you know, looking
• 26:36
  Speaker 3: at the Bucs, I mean, I think that they just
• 26:38
  Speaker 3: completely play sides in terms of their corners. Jacob Parrish
• 26:41
  Speaker 3: on the left side, Zion McCollum on the right side.
• 26:45
  Speaker 3: DK switches around, or at least he has to this
• 26:48
  Speaker 3: point in the season. So he'll probably see some of
• 26:50
  Speaker 3: both of those guys. He mentioned both of those guys yesterday.
• 26:53
  Speaker 3: I asked him about that joint practice last year with
• 26:56
  Speaker 3: the Bucs. It's kind of a funny thing. know the
• 26:59
  Speaker 3: Steelers didn't play the Bucks last year obviously in the
• 27:01
  Speaker 3: regular season but it kind of feels like they did
• 27:03
  Speaker 3: because they did have so many of those individual matchups
• 27:06
  Speaker 3: the one-on-ones the scrimmage type scenarios when they were out
• 27:10
  Speaker 3: there so he mentioned 25 and 27 which are Jacob
• 27:13
  Speaker 3: Parrish and Zion McCollum respectively different style of corners McCollum
• 27:19
  Speaker 3: 6-2 200 Parrish is 5-10 200 so it's it's going
• 27:24
  Speaker 3: to be two different looks there and I wonder where
• 27:27
  Speaker 3: Mike McCarthy and Brian Angelico will want to line up
• 27:29
  Speaker 3: DK the most to try to get some mismatches if
• 27:32
  Speaker 3: he can. But both those corners are up for the task.
• 27:35
  Speaker 3: And like I said, DK had nice things to say
• 27:37
  Speaker 3: about both of them.
• 27:40
  Speaker 2: Our fourth key on offense is to win the battle
• 27:43
  Speaker 2: on third down. Boy, we talk about third down every
• 27:45
  Speaker 2: single week, and we probably will continue to do that
• 27:48
  Speaker 2: until it improves right now. The Steelers are just converting 32.8%
• 27:52
  Speaker 2: of their third downs, a rate better than only four
• 27:56
  Speaker 2: NFL offenses right now. Tampa Bay, meanwhile, they allow their
• 27:59
  Speaker 2: opponents to convert third downs just 38% of the time.
• 28:03
  Speaker 2: The Steelers have to stay ahead of the chains on Sunday.
• 28:06
  Speaker 4: For sure, Brian.
• 28:07
  Speaker 2: It'll be a key in this game to try to
• 28:09
  Speaker 2: avoid predicting passing situations such as going to DK, as
• 28:13
  Speaker 2: we just talked about a bit ago. But third downs,
• 28:16
  Speaker 2: I mean, this has plagued this team up to this
• 28:17
  Speaker 2: point in the season. It doesn't seem like it's going
• 28:20
  Speaker 2: to get much easier for the black and gold considering
• 28:23
  Speaker 2: that stat I just gave you. The Bucs give it
• 28:25
  Speaker 2: up on third down just 38% of the time.
• 28:27
  Speaker 4: But we'll see.
• 28:28
  Speaker 2: If you get big gains on first and second down,
• 28:30
  Speaker 2: you don't have to worry about third down.
• 28:33
  Speaker 3: Got to protect. Got to protect on third down. Mike
• 28:35
  Speaker 3: McCarthy mentioned that as well Thursday before practice. Especially if
• 28:40
  Speaker 3: there's a lot of man coverage on the other side,
• 28:42
  Speaker 3: that means that guys are going to be trying to
• 28:44
  Speaker 3: get home or at least get pressure on Aaron Rodgers
• 28:47
  Speaker 3: and try to make them dirt it or throw the
• 28:50
  Speaker 3: ball away protection's got to hold up and you know
• 28:53
  Speaker 3: this bucks pass rush hasn't really impressed thus far but
• 28:59
  Speaker 3: david walker's a shorter kind of sawed-off guy um who
• 29:03
  Speaker 3: i think was kind of compared to like a poor
• 29:05
  Speaker 3: man's james harrison when he was coming out of central
• 29:07
  Speaker 3: arkansas a couple years ago in the draft ruben bain
• 29:11
  Speaker 3: hasn't had a sack yet in his nfl career First-round
• 29:15
  Speaker 3: pick out of Miami. He was a very divisive prospect
• 29:18
  Speaker 3: because he was super productive in college, but very short arms.
• 29:22
  Speaker 3: The arm length was kind of unprecedented for someone picked
• 29:26
  Speaker 3: that high. A lot of people wondering, could that translate
• 29:29
  Speaker 3: to the NFL level? Maxi Honachor will try to get
• 29:32
  Speaker 3: his big arms on Bain and guard against the power
• 29:36
  Speaker 3: that Bain rushes with. Because that was really the the
• 29:39
  Speaker 3: conversation around bane coming into the draft was he's so
• 29:43
  Speaker 3: powerful that that'll mitigate the lack of length for him
• 29:46
  Speaker 3: well he's five games into his career and he doesn't
• 29:49
  Speaker 3: have a sack yet at the nfl level so maybe
• 29:51
  Speaker 3: he's gonna figure it out at some point but Right now,
• 29:54
  Speaker 3: there are a lot of draft analysts taking a victory
• 29:57
  Speaker 3: lap on Bain, while David Bailey, who is the other
• 29:59
  Speaker 3: guy who, by the way, Maxi Honachor fared really well
• 30:03
  Speaker 3: against when Arizona State played Texas Tech. But Bailey, the
• 30:06
  Speaker 3: number two pick overall to the Jets, had three sacks
• 30:08
  Speaker 3: last week against the Browns. So he's cooking. Ruben Bain
• 30:14
  Speaker 3: is slow out of the gate. Hopefully this won't be
• 30:16
  Speaker 3: the week that he gets off and starts making an
• 30:19
  Speaker 3: impact and does it on third downs. Also, the other
• 30:22
  Speaker 3: guy in that edge rusher group, Yaya Diaby, not to
• 30:25
  Speaker 3: be confused with Y.A. Black. I know people like to
• 30:27
  Speaker 3: say Yaya Black. I hope that you've been paying enough
• 30:31
  Speaker 3: attention thus far to say his name correctly. But Yaya
• 30:35
  Speaker 3: Diaby for the Bucs actually is pronounced the way that
• 30:38
  Speaker 3: my grandkids or the way my kids pronounce the name
• 30:42
  Speaker 3: for my mother-in-law.
• 30:44
  Speaker 4: Yeah, no grandkids yet for you, Double B. That's for sure.
• 30:48
  Speaker 2: Listen, don't plant that seed. That's where I was going
• 30:51
  Speaker 2: to go with this because it has taken me two
• 30:53
  Speaker 2: years to say why you're black and not the other thing.
• 30:55
  Speaker 2: I'm not even going to say the other thing, so
• 30:57
  Speaker 2: don't get me back on that path. It's taken me
• 30:58
  Speaker 2: a long time to get there with why you're black. Okay,
• 31:01
  Speaker 2: attack the middle of the football field is our final
• 31:04
  Speaker 2: fifth key on offense for this Sunday, and do it
• 31:06
  Speaker 2: with Pat Fryermuth. He's been hot at the tight end spot.
• 31:09
  Speaker 2: He has four of the Steelers' ten receiving touchdowns so
• 31:12
  Speaker 2: far this season. and he's recorded at least 30 yards
• 31:15
  Speaker 2: receiving in four of the last five games. A good
• 31:19
  Speaker 2: way to attack the middle of the football field is
• 31:21
  Speaker 2: hitting guys like Pat Friermuth, Darnell Washington.
• 31:25
  Speaker 4: Use the tight ends.
• 31:25
  Speaker 2: Maybe they go two tight ends more this week against
• 31:28
  Speaker 2: this Tampa defense to try to attack that middle of
• 31:30
  Speaker 2: the football field.
• 31:32
  Speaker 3: Maybe they even go three tight ends, Ed. Maybe we
• 31:34
  Speaker 3: get Bobby Tunyon involved this week. Maybe he'd be one
• 31:37
  Speaker 3: of those guys where it's like, hey, who's a surprise
• 31:41
  Speaker 3: touchdown scorer Sunday? in Tampa. Wouldn't mind throwing a possibility
• 31:48
  Speaker 3: Bobby Tunyon's way. He hasn't been used much so far.
• 31:52
  Speaker 3: One catch for two yards on the season, but you're
• 31:54
  Speaker 3: down some receivers. You like your tight ends. Mike McCarthy's
• 31:58
  Speaker 3: talked a lot about, hey, I don't worry about whether
• 32:00
  Speaker 3: it's 11 or 12 personnel. To me, it's either one back,
• 32:03
  Speaker 3: two back, or no back offense. That means when you've
• 32:07
  Speaker 3: got one back in there, maybe you've got two receivers,
• 32:10
  Speaker 3: two tight ends, or you've got three receivers, one tight end,
• 32:12
  Speaker 3: or One receiver, three tight ends. Either way, those are
• 32:15
  Speaker 3: eligibles that Aaron Rodgers can throw the ball to.
• 32:18
  Speaker 2: Those are our five keys on offense. How about our
• 32:20
  Speaker 2: five keys on defense? We'll get into that whenever we
• 32:22
  Speaker 2: come back. It is Troop and Backo on the Steelers
• 32:26
  Speaker 2: Report here on Steelers Nation Radio, part of the Steelers
• 32:29
  Speaker 2: Audio Network.
• 32:38
  Speaker 1: This is the Steelers Report with Brian Bacco and Ed
• 32:41
  Speaker 1: Troup on Steelers Nation Radio, a part of the Steelers
• 32:45
  Speaker 1: Audio Network.
• 32:47
  Speaker 2: Wrapping up hour number one, week six, Steelers 3-2 at
• 32:51
  Speaker 2: the Bucs 1-4. Double B, we've got to pick our
• 32:54
  Speaker 2: team captains for this week. We missed that last week,
• 32:59
  Speaker 2: so I had it here at the top of my
• 33:00
  Speaker 2: list to get to.
• 33:02
  Speaker 4: I'm going to yield to you.
• 33:04
  Speaker 2: I'll give you my guesses, but I'm probably going to
• 33:06
  Speaker 2: have to say, hey, has this player been a captain yet?
• 33:07
  Speaker 2: Because I don't have the running list in front of me,
• 33:09
  Speaker 2: but I'm going to throw some.
• 33:10
  Speaker 4: Names at you. We're going to pick, what, one offense,
• 33:12
  Speaker 4: one defense, one special teamer?
• 33:15
  Speaker 3: Yeah, that's pretty much what they've been doing thus far. And,
• 33:17
  Speaker 3: you know, last week was a good example of kind
• 33:20
  Speaker 3: of like who is the special teams between Y.A. Black
• 33:23
  Speaker 3: and Peyton Wilson. They both do some of it. But
• 33:25
  Speaker 3: here's the running list for you. Offensively so far, it's
• 33:28
  Speaker 3: been Aaron Rodgers, Pat Fryermuth, Zach Frazier, Jalen Warren, Mason McCormick. defensively,
• 33:33
  Speaker 3: it's been Cam Hayward, Alex Highsmith, TJ Watt, Jaquan Brisker, Y.A. Black.
• 33:37
  Speaker 3: And then special teams-wise, it's been Carson Bruner, Brandon Echols,
• 33:40
  Speaker 3: Ben Skoranek, Cole Holcomb, Peyton Wilson. So for week six,
• 33:44
  Speaker 3: I would have said Jamel Dean on defense because he's
• 33:47
  Speaker 3: going back to Tampa.
• 33:48
  Speaker 4: That'd be a good one.
• 33:49
  Speaker 3: But I don't know if he's going to play. He
• 33:51
  Speaker 3: was limited again Thursday in practice. Mike McCarthy, very noncommittal,
• 33:56
  Speaker 3: cards close to the vest when asked about Dean's status.
• 34:00
  Speaker 3: So I don't want to, like, score an own goal
• 34:02
  Speaker 3: there by picking someone who's not even active. Although I
• 34:05
  Speaker 3: guess you, I guess you could send out someone who's
• 34:07
  Speaker 3: an active for the game as a captain, but that,
• 34:10
  Speaker 3: that doesn't seem like a good idea. So this way
• 34:12
  Speaker 3: I can cover my bases. And if he is one,
• 34:14
  Speaker 3: I'll say I would have been right, but he's not
• 34:16
  Speaker 3: my official pick. I'm going to go with DK Metcalf
• 34:19
  Speaker 3: on offense, Jalen Ramsey on defense. How about Chris Boswell
• 34:24
  Speaker 3: for the special teams coming off of his big 54
• 34:27
  Speaker 3: yard made field goal a week ago. I'm going to
• 34:30
  Speaker 3: go with those three.
• 34:32
  Speaker 4: I like it. So I was going to go DK.
• 34:34
  Speaker 2: Well, I actually, I was going to go Jalen Warren
• 34:36
  Speaker 2: until you said that Warren was already a captain this
• 34:38
  Speaker 2: year coming off these, this hot streak that he's on.
• 34:41
  Speaker 4: And you mentioned Rogers already too.
• 34:43
  Speaker 2: So I liked the DK spot only because Jeremy Bernard's
• 34:46
  Speaker 2: a rookie. So we've had this discussion before, probably not
• 34:49
  Speaker 2: going to give that nod to a rookie quite yet
• 34:51
  Speaker 2: in the season, maybe late season. We'll see how that
• 34:53
  Speaker 2: plays out. But I'm going to go DK with you
• 34:56
  Speaker 2: on defense. The Ramsey's a good pick too. He's been
• 34:58
  Speaker 2: playing well, right? I think Jamel Dean's the obvious choice.
• 35:01
  Speaker 2: If he's a, a go against his old team.
• 35:05
  Speaker 4: Let me ask you this. Has Peyton Wilson been a
• 35:07
  Speaker 4: captain yet?
• 35:09
  Speaker 3: Yes, last week.
• 35:10
  Speaker 1: Oh, boy.
• 35:10
  Speaker 2: Now I'm stretching my legs here for a minute. How
• 35:13
  Speaker 2: about let's look here. How about Sebastian Joseph Day?
• 35:18
  Speaker 3: No, he has not been yet.
• 35:19
  Speaker 4: All right, that'll.
• 35:20
  Speaker 2: Be my pick there for defense. And then, yeah, I
• 35:23
  Speaker 2: like Boz on offense or special teams. You know, he
• 35:25
  Speaker 2: had the big 50-plus yard field goal last week. So, yeah,
• 35:29
  Speaker 2: let's give it up for Boz this week.
• 35:32
  Speaker 3: I like it. I like it. Boz is talking about
• 35:34
  Speaker 3: someone who doesn't really like being in the spotlight. I
• 35:36
  Speaker 3: would say he is very much fits that to a T.
• 35:40
  Speaker 3: But yeah, Jamel Dean going back to Tampa, that would
• 35:44
  Speaker 3: be cool if he can play from a schematic standpoint. Obviously,
• 35:47
  Speaker 3: that would help the secondary tremendously. But I would also
• 35:50
  Speaker 3: say on that point, I mean, the coaches and the
• 35:52
  Speaker 3: trainers and Jamel himself know best here. You can't rush
• 35:55
  Speaker 3: back just because it's a game that you really want
• 35:57
  Speaker 3: to play in either. You got to be smart. You
• 35:59
  Speaker 3: got to be safe. This is a long season. He's
• 36:01
  Speaker 3: been dealing with that ankle for a while, I think.
• 36:04
  Speaker 3: So don't push it. You've got Asante Samuel Jr. and
• 36:07
  Speaker 3: Daylon Everett coming off of a nice finish to that
• 36:10
  Speaker 3: game against the Colts. Turn it over to them and
• 36:13
  Speaker 3: even Brandon Echols if you have to. Would hate to
• 36:17
  Speaker 3: see a minor thing become a major thing if Jamel
• 36:20
  Speaker 3: Dean tries to return too early. But obviously, if he
• 36:23
  Speaker 3: does end up being active and getting out there, that
• 36:26
  Speaker 3: would mean that all involved thought that that was a prudent,
• 36:31
  Speaker 3: prudent decision for him to return to play.
• 36:34
  Speaker 4: I'm with you there.
• 36:35
  Speaker 2: Brian, let's quickly get into our five keys on defense.
• 36:39
  Speaker 2: Speaking of defense, number one is stop Bucky Irving, right?
• 36:42
  Speaker 2: He's had a big game and forced Tampa Bay into
• 36:44
  Speaker 2: these passing situations. Irving last week, 165 yards. On the ground,
• 36:50
  Speaker 2: Tampa Bay at 241 total rushing yards while averaging 6.2
• 36:55
  Speaker 2: yards per carry. Now look, this Cowboys defense is not
• 36:57
  Speaker 2: the Steelers defense that they faced last week.
• 36:59
  Speaker 4: So I'll just start with that right there.
• 37:01
  Speaker 2: And the Steelers have been excellent against the run so
• 37:04
  Speaker 2: far this season against some really good running backs.
• 37:07
  Speaker 4: So I think that'll be the difference this week.
• 37:08
  Speaker 2: But first and foremost, you got to stop that running game,
• 37:11
  Speaker 2: especially with an undrafted rookie quarterback.
• 37:13
  Speaker 4: I'm sure they're going to want to establish the run
• 37:15
  Speaker 4: early in this game.
• 37:17
  Speaker 3: Got to tackle. That's the big thing to me is
• 37:19
  Speaker 3: And Bucky Irving can elude tackles. And we know that
• 37:23
  Speaker 3: that's been a bit of a bugaboo for the Steelers
• 37:25
  Speaker 3: so far this season, at least in the games that
• 37:27
  Speaker 3: they've struggled defensively. Got to make sure you get a
• 37:30
  Speaker 3: bunch of hats to the football, as they say. That
• 37:33
  Speaker 3: was the game plan last week against Jonathan Taylor. Irving,
• 37:36
  Speaker 3: a very different kind of runner, but effective nonetheless. Can't
• 37:40
  Speaker 3: let your guard down. Got to have a similar performance
• 37:44
  Speaker 3: against him as you did last week, where they really
• 37:46
  Speaker 3: improved in the tackling game. area of things, but also
• 37:50
  Speaker 3: even just, you know, knowing what they were seeing there
• 37:53
  Speaker 3: and swarming on Jonathan Taylor when he got the ball.
• 37:58
  Speaker 2: Our key, our second key, I was going to say
• 38:00
  Speaker 2: key number three, but we're only on number two here
• 38:02
  Speaker 2: is keep Jalen Daniels in the pocket. Daniels has rushed
• 38:06
  Speaker 2: for 78 yards on 15 attempts in his two starts
• 38:10
  Speaker 2: with a 16.4% scramble rate. That's the highest in the
• 38:14
  Speaker 2: NFL right now. during that span of two games. Look,
• 38:17
  Speaker 2: TJ Watt, Alex Highsmith, they've combined for seven and a
• 38:19
  Speaker 2: half sacks, but that was early on in the season.
• 38:22
  Speaker 2: We know that that has disappeared a bit the last
• 38:24
  Speaker 2: few weeks. This seems like the game that they can
• 38:26
  Speaker 2: get right again with getting home and increasing those sack numbers.
• 38:30
  Speaker 2: The pass rush must maintain its lanes to contain Daniels.
• 38:34
  Speaker 2: I think that's how Daniels can beat the Steelers this weekend.
• 38:37
  Speaker 2: Not so much with his arm, but more with his legs, Brian,
• 38:39
  Speaker 2: based on those numbers. So, you know, watch that. One
• 38:41
  Speaker 2: thing I will say, though, Steelers have been pretty good
• 38:43
  Speaker 2: against mobile quarterbacks.
• 38:45
  Speaker 4: Over the course of the last handful of season. In particular,
• 38:48
  Speaker 4: Lamar Jackson.
• 38:49
  Speaker 2: They have a lot of experience facing a quarterback like
• 38:51
  Speaker 2: Jalen Daniels.
• 38:53
  Speaker 3: For sure, and they didn't let Daniel Jones get up
• 38:56
  Speaker 3: to any of his tomfoolery on the ground last week,
• 38:59
  Speaker 3: which was nice. But he's a different kind of runner.
• 39:02
  Speaker 3: He's more of a build-up speed sort of guy. A
• 39:04
  Speaker 3: lot of players will tell you that. Drake May, quicker
• 39:08
  Speaker 3: than he seems, potentially, when you play him in person
• 39:12
  Speaker 3: versus on film. He took off for one 13-yard gain
• 39:16
  Speaker 3: in Foxborough in Week 2, but would hardly say he
• 39:19
  Speaker 3: killed them. Deshaun Watson was troublesome in that way. He
• 39:24
  Speaker 3: had that 21-yarder against the Steelers. I'm with you, Ed.
• 39:28
  Speaker 3: This is going to be probably the most. mobile or
• 39:31
  Speaker 3: maybe at least most willing to run quarterback because he's
• 39:34
  Speaker 3: an undrafted rookie who's he's just trying to get the
• 39:37
  Speaker 3: bucks to some some victories here in place of baker
• 39:40
  Speaker 3: mayfield however that needs to get done it doesn't need
• 39:42
  Speaker 3: to be pretty but uh with daniels you know i
• 39:45
  Speaker 3: think he is going to be under some pressure from T.J. Watt,
• 39:48
  Speaker 3: Alex Highsmith, and Nick Herbig. And then it's a matter
• 39:51
  Speaker 3: of making sure he doesn't exploit that pressure by, like
• 39:54
  Speaker 3: you said, using his feet, taking off through some rushing lanes.
• 39:59
  Speaker 3: The Steelers will need to be disciplined as far as
• 40:01
  Speaker 3: that goes. And if he does take off, make him
• 40:03
  Speaker 3: pay for it. Get the ball out. Maybe that results
• 40:06
  Speaker 3: in a takeaway for your defense. I think where it
• 40:08
  Speaker 3: could hurt you is third and four, third and five,
• 40:11
  Speaker 3: third and six, he's moving the chains with his feet,
• 40:14
  Speaker 3: stringing together long drives. shortening the game so that he
• 40:18
  Speaker 3: doesn't have to go out there as much on offense
• 40:21
  Speaker 3: and they can kind of control things on the ground
• 40:23
  Speaker 3: that way. That's where it could get a little bit dicey,
• 40:25
  Speaker 3: I think, for the Steelers in terms of Daniels' mobility.
• 40:29
  Speaker 2: Our third key is pretty much what you just talked about, Brian,
• 40:31
  Speaker 2: and it's taking advantage of this Tampa Bay quarterback situation
• 40:34
  Speaker 2: with an undrafted free agent in Jalen Daniels. Look, Baker
• 40:38
  Speaker 2: Mayfield has missed two straight games with that thumb injury.
• 40:42
  Speaker 2: Daniels now leading this offense. Last week against Dallas, he
• 40:44
  Speaker 2: attempted 25 passes, only six incompletions.
• 40:47
  Speaker 4: That's the good news there for Tampa.
• 40:49
  Speaker 2: But 28.8% of his attempts traveled at least 20 yards downfield.
• 40:54
  Speaker 2: That's the lowest among NFL quarterbacks currently. that are starting
• 40:59
  Speaker 2: in the NFL. So contain him, keep him in the pocket,
• 41:03
  Speaker 2: but also protect that early part of the football field, right? The,
• 41:07
  Speaker 2: you know, first five, six yards, he likes to dump
• 41:10
  Speaker 2: it off short, have those quick passes.
• 41:12
  Speaker 4: Steelers defense has to be ready for that.
• 41:15
  Speaker 2: For sure.
• 41:16
  Speaker 3: Mentioned that earlier in the show, it hasn't really been
• 41:18
  Speaker 3: pushing it downfield much, but I did go back and
• 41:21
  Speaker 3: pull up Jalen Daniels, NFL.com combine profile from this draft
• 41:26
  Speaker 3: from Lance Zierlein, who does a great job with those
• 41:29
  Speaker 3: and his main weaknesses for Daniels were, you know, forcing throws, footwork, shoddy,
• 41:37
  Speaker 3: you know, accuracy, not great on short and intermediate throws,
• 41:41
  Speaker 3: reading defenses. He said he actually has enough arm talent
• 41:44
  Speaker 3: to push the ball vertically when needed from what he
• 41:46
  Speaker 3: observed on film at Kansas. Maybe he does have that
• 41:50
  Speaker 3: in his bag. We just haven't seen it so far
• 41:51
  Speaker 3: at the NFL level. and maybe he's improved on some
• 41:54
  Speaker 3: of the mechanical things that has helped with his ball
• 41:57
  Speaker 3: placement and all of that. But yeah, I think anytime you're,
• 42:00
  Speaker 3: you're facing a rookie who, and also, I mean, let's
• 42:02
  Speaker 3: be honest, I don't think this Tampa Bay receiving core,
• 42:07
  Speaker 3: you know, now that it's doesn't have Mike Evans, Jalen
• 42:09
  Speaker 3: McMillan is out. They've gotten some contributions from Ted Hearst,
• 42:15
  Speaker 3: rookie out of Georgia state. He's somebody who can be
• 42:18
  Speaker 3: a game breaker, really good speed, take the top off
• 42:20
  Speaker 3: the defense, but, Chris Godwin's kind of a move-the-chains type
• 42:23
  Speaker 3: of guy right now, and Emeka Igbuka's off to a
• 42:25
  Speaker 3: bit of a slow start. So maybe the Steelers don't
• 42:28
  Speaker 3: have to worry too much about that deep ball, but
• 42:30
  Speaker 3: maybe they'll try to take advantage of it because the
• 42:32
  Speaker 3: Steelers are working through some injury-related stuff in the secondary.
• 42:36
  Speaker 2: Yeah, those receivers sure don't scare you very much based
• 42:40
  Speaker 2: on everything you just said there, Double B. Number four,
• 42:42
  Speaker 2: our fourth key on defense, is get pressure without giving
• 42:45
  Speaker 2: up the big play. Tampa Bay allows an 8% sack rate.
• 42:49
  Speaker 2: That's eighth highest in the NFL. The Bucs have 624
• 42:53
  Speaker 2: yards after the catch.
• 42:55
  Speaker 4: That's the fourth.
• 42:55
  Speaker 2: Most in the NFL, and they use motion on the
• 42:58
  Speaker 2: majority of their offensive plays. Over 80% of the time,
• 43:00
  Speaker 2: they go in motion. So don't give up the big plays.
• 43:04
  Speaker 2: We say that every week, but a way to do
• 43:06
  Speaker 2: that is, once again, get home and increase that sack number.
• 43:10
  Speaker 3: Bucs offensive line has some really good players on it.
• 43:13
  Speaker 3: Tristan Wirfs at left tackle is one of the best
• 43:16
  Speaker 3: in the league. There's no doubt about that. And then
• 43:19
  Speaker 3: on the right side, Cody Malk was one of the
• 43:22
  Speaker 3: better guards in the NFC, at least, you know, they've
• 43:25
  Speaker 3: got Luke Gadecki at right tackle and not guys at
• 43:29
  Speaker 3: Graham Barton at center, who I think the Steelers really
• 43:31
  Speaker 3: liked in the draft a couple of years ago. But
• 43:34
  Speaker 3: Troy Faltano was still on the board when they picked.
• 43:36
  Speaker 3: So they went with the left tackle of the future there,
• 43:39
  Speaker 3: but well, I guess he was the right tackle of
• 43:41
  Speaker 3: the future at that time. I digress, but the point
• 43:44
  Speaker 3: is the Bucks O-line is a pretty veteran, sturdy, solid
• 43:49
  Speaker 3: group in there. And, Maybe the Patrick Graham will have
• 43:53
  Speaker 3: to bring some different pressures and blitzes to help generate
• 43:57
  Speaker 3: some pass rush because it won't be an easy group
• 43:59
  Speaker 3: to win against necessarily one on one, at least not
• 44:03
  Speaker 3: on paper and not for the usual suspects there for
• 44:06
  Speaker 3: the Steelers. Cam Hayward, I think he could be in
• 44:09
  Speaker 3: for a breakout game this week coming off that sack
• 44:12
  Speaker 3: against the Colts.
• 44:13
  Speaker 4: Yeah, see if you can build on that from last week.
• 44:15
  Speaker 2: Our fifth and final key on defense is keep forcing
• 44:19
  Speaker 2: your opponent to field goals. Steelers did a good job
• 44:22
  Speaker 2: of that last week. They held Indianapolis also to four
• 44:25
  Speaker 2: of 15 on third downs and ranked sixth in the
• 44:29
  Speaker 2: NFL with that third down defense.
• 44:30
  Speaker 4: Tampa Bay, meanwhile, they convert.
• 44:31
  Speaker 2: 47.1% of their red zone opportunities into touchdowns, better than
• 44:37
  Speaker 2: only five other offenses. So this Tampa Bay offense, once
• 44:41
  Speaker 2: they do get in the red zone, double B, they
• 44:43
  Speaker 2: don't like to settle for field goals. They like touchdowns,
• 44:45
  Speaker 2: and they've done it almost half of the time they've
• 44:47
  Speaker 2: been there. Steelers, meanwhile, very good in the red zone.
• 44:49
  Speaker 2: They need to keep that up this weekend and force
• 44:51
  Speaker 2: field goals, not touchdowns, if their opponent is in the
• 44:54
  Speaker 2: red zone.
• 44:56
  Speaker 3: Bucs OC Zach Robinson was the OC for the Atlanta
• 44:59
  Speaker 3: Falcons in 2024. and they faced Patrick Graham's Las Vegas Raiders.
• 45:05
  Speaker 3: They only scored 15 points in that game, but it
• 45:07
  Speaker 3: was a 15 to nine win for the Falcons. So
• 45:10
  Speaker 3: Graham probably got the upper hand against Robinson in that
• 45:14
  Speaker 3: coordinator matchup a couple of years ago with Kirk Cousins, uh,
• 45:17
  Speaker 3: under center for Robinson, obviously a very different style of quarterback. Uh,
• 45:21
  Speaker 3: but they had Bajon Robinson, uh, who went crazy on
• 45:24
  Speaker 3: the ground that day. Uh, but overall, you know, the, uh,
• 45:28
  Speaker 3: The Patrick Graham coach defense has a little bit of
• 45:31
  Speaker 3: familiarity with Zach Robinson calling the Bucs offense. And yes,
• 45:35
  Speaker 3: all those bells and whistles and pre-snap motion and everything,
• 45:38
  Speaker 3: Steelers will need to be on their P's and Q's
• 45:40
  Speaker 3: to be ready for that.
• 45:41
  Speaker 2: Those are our five keys on defense. Earlier, we did
• 45:44
  Speaker 2: the five keys on offense. That's going to do it
• 45:47
  Speaker 2: for our hour number one. Hour number two kicks off
• 45:49
  Speaker 2: next with Casey Phillips. The Tampa Bay Bucks team reporter
• 45:53
  Speaker 2: will be joining Brian and myself.
• 45:55
  Speaker 4: This is the
• 45:55
  Speaker 2: Steelers report with Troop and Backo right here on Steelers
• 45:58
  Speaker 2: Nation Radio, part of the Steelers Audio Network.