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HR1: Power Rankings · In the Locker Room presented by Neighborhood Ford Store (Pittsburgh Steelers)

• 0:07
  Speaker 1: This is In the Locker Room with Rob King, Max Starks,
• 0:11
  Speaker 1: and Willie Colon on Steelers Nation Radio. Brought to you
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: in part by the Steelers Pro Shop. Get it direct
• 0:18
  Speaker 1: from the team at the Steelers Pro Shop at shop.steelers.com.
• 0:22
  Speaker 1: And by your neighborhood Ford store. The F-150 is the
• 0:26
  Speaker 1: official truck of the Pittsburgh Steelers.
• 0:31
  Speaker 2: Thanks very much for being with us in the locker
• 0:32
  Speaker 2: room here on the Steelers Audio Network. alongside Max Starks
• 0:36
  Speaker 2: and Willie Colon. Shazam. Shazam, Willie. I'm Rob King. Looking
• 0:42
  Speaker 2: right next to Max's head. Shazam.
• 0:47
  Speaker 3: Yeah.
• 0:47
  Speaker 2: Uh-huh. We got you, Max. Willie, how you doing today,
• 0:50
  Speaker 2: my friend?
• 0:50
  Speaker 4: What?
• 0:54
  Speaker 3: What's that?
• 0:56
  Speaker 2: Can you hear me? Yeah, I got you now. Sorry.
• 0:59
  Speaker 3: I was saying happy Wednesday to the good folks, and
• 1:01
  Speaker 3: happy Wednesday to everybody out there still in the nation.
• 1:03
  Speaker 3: It is officially game week. I'm jacked up, man. I
• 1:07
  Speaker 3: don't know about anybody else, but this is the game.
• 1:10
  Speaker 3: I've talked about it yesterday. You highlighted how enthused and
• 1:15
  Speaker 3: how cranked up I was about the game, this game
• 1:19
  Speaker 3: coming up against the Browns. I just feel like, man,
• 1:22
  Speaker 3: this is the game that is one of those pivotal moments,
• 1:25
  Speaker 3: pivotal games within the season that when the Steelers hopefully
• 1:30
  Speaker 3: and eventually land in the playoffs, they go back to
• 1:32
  Speaker 3: this game and They say this is the game that
• 1:34
  Speaker 3: springboarded us where we were able to separate ourselves. Because
• 1:37
  Speaker 3: the division is, no matter how much you feel about
• 1:39
  Speaker 3: the current records with every team in the division, this
• 1:41
  Speaker 3: thing is still wide open. So this is a signature
• 1:44
  Speaker 3: game for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
• 1:46
  Speaker 2: It is indeed. And Max, I'm sure you're getting fired
• 1:49
  Speaker 2: up as well as we're getting close to really turning
• 1:53
  Speaker 2: our attention here in the locker room to that game
• 1:56
  Speaker 2: coming up on Sunday.
• 1:59
  Speaker 4: I'm exactly where Willie is. Especially after the press conferences yesterday.
• 2:04
  Speaker 4: I don't know if y'all heard your versus comments. They're
• 2:09
  Speaker 4: the big brothers now in the division.
• 2:11
  Speaker 3: Oh, wow.
• 2:13
  Speaker 2: I did not.
• 2:14
  Speaker 4: That already put a little vinegar in my Cheerios this morning.
• 2:18
  Speaker 2: Justin Miller might have to find that for us. He
• 2:23
  Speaker 2: might have to find that quote that's got our man
• 2:26
  Speaker 2: fired up.
• 2:28
  Speaker 3: So can I throw something in it? Yeah. Jack Burst
• 2:31
  Speaker 3: just landed in Cleveland. He doesn't have the data or
• 2:35
  Speaker 3: the equity to make that comment. Only person that, if
• 2:38
  Speaker 3: Mason Graham was to say something like that, or even, hell,
• 2:42
  Speaker 3: even Deshaun Walker. I mean, he's been there long enough
• 2:44
  Speaker 3: to have a take. You just, you were an implant. Like,
• 2:48
  Speaker 3: you just landed there. You haven't even embraced the rivalry. Like,
• 2:52
  Speaker 3: this is your first game against the Pittsburgh Steelers. And
• 2:56
  Speaker 3: by the way, Troy Furtado had your number all game.
• 2:58
  Speaker 3: So it wasn't like you wrecked house. So that just
• 3:02
  Speaker 3: fires me up more. You know what? Let's play the
• 3:04
  Speaker 3: game now. Play the game now. Right.
• 3:10
  Speaker 2: Well, we'll get that quote for you. Justin Miller, nod
• 3:12
  Speaker 2: your head if we're going to get that quote. He's
• 3:14
  Speaker 2: going to get that quote. He's looking for it right now.
• 3:17
  Speaker 2: I like it. That's good. This morning, guys, I watched
• 3:20
  Speaker 2: the game back. Steelers versus Browns. First game With that
• 3:27
  Speaker 2: offensive line configuration together, or I guess I take it back,
• 3:33
  Speaker 2: you're second and the first, I believe, on the road, right?
• 3:35
  Speaker 2: With that group put on the road together for the
• 3:37
  Speaker 2: first time. Good in the run game. Not that good
• 3:41
  Speaker 2: in the pass game. Aaron Rodgers is under duress a lot.
• 3:43
  Speaker 2: I see you nodding. Willie, that's something that's got to
• 3:45
  Speaker 2: improve on Sunday. That's a big factor in this game.
• 3:48
  Speaker 2: That offensive line's got to protect Aaron Rodgers.
• 3:51
  Speaker 3: And this is why you go into this game understanding
• 3:54
  Speaker 3: that the Browns feel like how they were able to
• 3:57
  Speaker 3: handle and manage the line of scrimmage. The last time
• 3:59
  Speaker 3: you played them, they feel like they can do the
• 4:01
  Speaker 3: same thing going into this game. And when I talked
• 4:03
  Speaker 3: about our tackles having a little bit of, they struggle, right?
• 4:06
  Speaker 3: And I said, listen, Max is expected. He's, he's learning
• 4:10
  Speaker 3: what life in NFL is, what it looks like week
• 4:12
  Speaker 3: after week in real time. And Troy continues to have,
• 4:16
  Speaker 3: you know, a little bit of up and down season
• 4:18
  Speaker 3: from a pass protection standpoint and finding his footing. Nevertheless,
• 4:22
  Speaker 3: the interior outline did play better to a certain degree, but,
• 4:25
  Speaker 3: We haven't necessarily been able to handle games and movement
• 4:28
  Speaker 3: as cleanly as you would like. That's going to happen.
• 4:31
  Speaker 3: But this is a Browns defensive line who is effective
• 4:36
  Speaker 3: at stunts and twists and doing things and causing confusion
• 4:39
  Speaker 3: with their line. And it's going to be imperative that
• 4:42
  Speaker 3: our Steeler officer line, this five up front, really, if
• 4:46
  Speaker 3: you hone into anything this week, it's focused on how
• 4:49
  Speaker 3: do you handle the blitz offensively. And how do you get,
• 4:52
  Speaker 3: you know, being on the same page as far as
• 4:54
  Speaker 3: identifying your keys. So this is a big week for
• 4:57
  Speaker 3: the Steelers, man. This is a big week for that
• 4:58
  Speaker 3: office line, because if they can't have some of the
• 5:01
  Speaker 3: tournament issues they dealt with last game, and they can't
• 5:04
  Speaker 3: let that roll into this game.
• 5:07
  Speaker 5: Max. Yeah.
• 5:09
  Speaker 4: And I think, and this is the second week of
• 5:12
  Speaker 4: this line, right, Rob? Because Tampa Bay technically was the
• 5:14
  Speaker 4: first away game for them. So, you know, granted, First
• 5:19
  Speaker 4: international away game, I guess, for this group.
• 5:22
  Speaker 2: No, no, I'm talking– I'm sorry, Max. I was talking
• 5:24
  Speaker 2: about the Cleveland game. The Cleveland game was the first
• 5:27
  Speaker 2: road game for the way this offensive line is together,
• 5:30
  Speaker 2: and they did not– Aaron Rodgers is under a lot
• 5:33
  Speaker 2: of pressure. You know, you think about– Yeah, no, and
• 5:36
  Speaker 2: I think.
• 5:36
  Speaker 4: It hasn't really alleviated since that game, right? And we've
• 5:41
  Speaker 4: expected them to kind of raise it as occasion. Now,
• 5:43
  Speaker 4: last week it was tough. I mean, you had Chase Young,
• 5:47
  Speaker 4: who was number three in the league in sacks. Carl
• 5:50
  Speaker 4: Granderson was number six in the league in sacks, right?
• 5:52
  Speaker 5: You know what I'm saying?
• 5:52
  Speaker 4: So you had two top ten sackers that got a
• 5:55
  Speaker 4: sack and a half apiece.
• 5:56
  Speaker 5: In this game.
• 5:57
  Speaker 4: But some of the scheme stuff, that's where Aaron and
• 6:01
  Speaker 4: Mike McCarthy had to kind of get in the bag
• 6:03
  Speaker 4: and say, hey, if we're going to get in this early,
• 6:05
  Speaker 4: some quick five, right? Not a long five, quick five,
• 6:09
  Speaker 4: quick three straps. You've got to throw your way out
• 6:13
  Speaker 4: of some of these situations. Or the biggest thing, just
• 6:18
  Speaker 4: run the football. just run the football was too high box. Right.
• 6:22
  Speaker 4: And you eliminate some of the zone questions you have.
• 6:26
  Speaker 4: And of course, against the Browns, they're going to be
• 6:28
  Speaker 4: a match man team. So you're going to have to
• 6:31
  Speaker 4: create some separation at the receiver position, which I think
• 6:34
  Speaker 4: Jeremy has now come along to where you feel comfortable
• 6:37
  Speaker 4: that you could throw some stuff to him. DK obviously
• 6:39
  Speaker 4: was a lot more frustrated in that game, but you
• 6:42
  Speaker 4: can throw them out of the match zone and plan
• 6:44
  Speaker 4: an eight man box and And then when it is
• 6:46
  Speaker 4: too high, when you do get the too high look,
• 6:48
  Speaker 4: you've got to hit it.
• 6:50
  Speaker 5: And if you're going to run it in an eight-man box,
• 6:53
  Speaker 5: I remember this. Willie, you do too. Russ Griff said, hey,
• 6:56
  Speaker 5: running back, you've got to make one miss.
• 6:58
  Speaker 3: Got to make one miss.
• 7:00
  Speaker 5: That's your guy. That's your guy.
• 7:02
  Speaker 3: So, you know, I look at this.
• 7:04
  Speaker 5: I think they've learned a lot.
• 7:05
  Speaker 4: But the easiest way to do that, if you control
• 7:08
  Speaker 4: the roster, like that first drive of the Cleveland game
• 7:10
  Speaker 4: was awesome, right?
• 7:12
  Speaker 5: But you had nothing left in the tank afterwards.
• 7:15
  Speaker 4: And you've got to be able to sustain that same mentality,
• 7:17
  Speaker 4: that first drive throughout four quarters and realize they got
• 7:22
  Speaker 4: your number.
• 7:23
  Speaker 5: You're down one. So it should be nothing but buttholes
• 7:26
  Speaker 5: and elbows for 60 minutes.
• 7:28
  Speaker 3: And I think that's the key to the game going
• 7:34
  Speaker 3: into Sunday's game. It's going to be the ability to counterpunch.
• 7:38
  Speaker 3: I think you're right, Max. I think they understand the
• 7:41
  Speaker 3: first 15 in any team is always going to be
• 7:43
  Speaker 3: solid because that's the week. you prepare the most for
• 7:46
  Speaker 3: your first team going into the game. So it's always
• 7:49
  Speaker 3: going to be a substantial one. And you expect it
• 7:51
  Speaker 3: to look clean and explosive and all that other stuff.
• 7:54
  Speaker 3: The goal for the Steelers is how they counterpunch. Listen,
• 7:57
  Speaker 3: there's no doubt that Browns are saying, hey, if we
• 8:00
  Speaker 3: stop Jalen Warren, everything else will be fine. If we
• 8:03
  Speaker 3: somehow neutralize him, we can't let Aaron Rodgers feel like
• 8:06
  Speaker 3: he can pepper the tight ends, get the ball down
• 8:10
  Speaker 3: the field to D.K., let Jeremy Bernardi hit up the
• 8:14
  Speaker 3: intermediate routes and then lean on Jalen Warren to kind
• 8:16
  Speaker 3: of be the go-to guy in third and manageable downs.
• 8:21
  Speaker 3: So their main focus, if we stop the run, everything
• 8:25
  Speaker 3: else will kind of be a downgrade for them because
• 8:27
  Speaker 3: that's what the Steelers like to do. They like to
• 8:29
  Speaker 3: marry everything off the run and open up the play-action game.
• 8:33
  Speaker 3: So the Steelers have to be prepared for that. They
• 8:37
  Speaker 3: have to be willing to counterpunch, not only offensively, defensively.
• 8:40
  Speaker 3: I think this is a game where You know Deshaun Watson,
• 8:44
  Speaker 3: it takes him a lot to process things in the pocket.
• 8:48
  Speaker 3: I think you're going to have to play a great–
• 8:49
  Speaker 3: Patrick Graham, that is. He's going to have to do
• 8:51
  Speaker 3: a great job of knowing when to pressure him and
• 8:54
  Speaker 3: when to get after him. Because go back to the
• 8:55
  Speaker 3: Cleveland game versus Tennessee. One of the big plays that
• 8:58
  Speaker 3: hurt them late in that game was Deshaun Watson getting
• 9:01
  Speaker 3: blitzed and he found Harold Fannin Jr. And Harold Fannin Jr.
• 9:05
  Speaker 3: ran that big– had that big play and they was
• 9:07
  Speaker 3: able to get in the field goal position and hit
• 9:10
  Speaker 3: the game-winning field goal. For the Steelers right now, defensively,
• 9:14
  Speaker 3: they're going to have to take calculated shots of when
• 9:16
  Speaker 3: to attack them and when to lay off them. Because
• 9:19
  Speaker 3: you know Deshaun Watson's greatest weapon is his legs. They
• 9:22
  Speaker 3: can somehow keep him in the box and don't let him.
• 9:24
  Speaker 3: And this is the thing. When we ask... Our defensive
• 9:27
  Speaker 3: line to rush, we want them to rush collectively, not
• 9:32
  Speaker 3: just one guy off level where you leave a hole
• 9:35
  Speaker 3: for Deshaun Watson to escape. You want to collapse them collectively,
• 9:39
  Speaker 3: stay disciplined in your rush lane. So if he's throwing
• 9:42
  Speaker 3: the ball, he's running to a tipped hand, he's throwing
• 9:44
  Speaker 3: the ball to a hand, or if he's trying to run,
• 9:47
  Speaker 3: he's running into somebody's arm. So it's going to be
• 9:49
  Speaker 3: a big– this is another big week for the defensive
• 9:52
  Speaker 3: line and the offensive line collectively to How can they
• 9:54
  Speaker 3: get to Deshaun Watson only using our edge rushes and
• 9:57
  Speaker 3: using the rush we have from our interior and from
• 9:59
  Speaker 3: our offense?
• 10:00
  Speaker 2: Line?
• 10:00
  Speaker 3: How do we handle the movement and the stunts from
• 10:02
  Speaker 3: the Browns defensive line? It's one of them knuckle up weeks, man,
• 10:06
  Speaker 3: but there's a lot of homework to do.
• 10:08
  Speaker 2: One of the things in looking back at that first
• 10:10
  Speaker 2: game was that the Steelers were the ones that made
• 10:14
  Speaker 2: the mistakes. I can point to a couple of mistakes
• 10:17
  Speaker 2: that dearly cost the Steelers in this game. The first interception,
• 10:21
  Speaker 2: Aaron Rodgers had his elbow hit, I believe it was
• 10:24
  Speaker 2: Sam Williams rushing on Max Ahanachor, hit his elbow. At
• 10:28
  Speaker 2: that point, remember, three and out, long drive by the Steelers,
• 10:33
  Speaker 2: drive of the year at that point that results in
• 10:36
  Speaker 2: a touchdown. You come back, you get a stop, you
• 10:39
  Speaker 2: get the ball back. I mean, Browns fans, they're looking
• 10:42
  Speaker 2: over their shoulder for the exit. They're wondering if they're
• 10:44
  Speaker 2: coming back after halftime, you know? And then you throw
• 10:47
  Speaker 2: that interception. That hurt. Chris Boswell missed a field goal.
• 10:50
  Speaker 2: He lost by three points. And then in the third quarter,
• 10:55
  Speaker 2: you marched it into Boswell field goal range. Aaron Rodgers
• 10:58
  Speaker 2: took a sack. Those, you know, you hate to say
• 11:01
  Speaker 2: it because this Cleveland team took advantage of those mistakes.
• 11:04
  Speaker 2: You have to be good enough to take advantage of mistakes.
• 11:07
  Speaker 2: And the Browns, this is not the Browns team of
• 11:11
  Speaker 2: years past. They're good enough to take advantage of those mistakes.
• 11:15
  Speaker 2: You can't make those kind of mistakes and expect to win,
• 11:17
  Speaker 2: I don't believe, on Sunday.
• 11:19
  Speaker 3: And I think you're right, Rob, from this standpoint. And
• 11:22
  Speaker 3: when you talk about Chris Boswell, go back to that
• 11:24
  Speaker 3: game against the Saints, it still is a one for
• 11:27
  Speaker 3: four in the red zone. It can't happen. I mean,
• 11:30
  Speaker 3: as much as we love Boswell and his ability to
• 11:32
  Speaker 3: punch it to the upright, man, we've got to score touchdowns.
• 11:34
  Speaker 3: If you're in the red zone four times with the
• 11:37
  Speaker 3: offense we have, with the tight ends we have, and
• 11:39
  Speaker 3: the running backs we have, there's no reason why we
• 11:42
  Speaker 3: should go one for four in the red zone. It
• 11:43
  Speaker 3: just can't happen against a team. But the Browns are
• 11:45
  Speaker 3: going to be juiced up. And that's what we have
• 11:47
  Speaker 3: to understand. And I've said this before. When you play
• 11:50
  Speaker 3: divisional games, and especially when two teams are kind of
• 11:53
  Speaker 3: thick of the season where this is kind of a
• 11:55
  Speaker 3: fork in the road of where do you go and
• 11:58
  Speaker 3: how do you survive and where you need to be,
• 12:00
  Speaker 3: this is a game where you get to the red zone,
• 12:02
  Speaker 3: you've got to score, and you have to be able
• 12:03
  Speaker 3: to match your opponent's intensity. The Browns are going to
• 12:06
  Speaker 3: be fired up because, one, they feel like they have
• 12:07
  Speaker 3: a defense that can match our defense. Two, they have
• 12:10
  Speaker 3: an office line that they believe in. And three, they
• 12:12
  Speaker 3: feel like as much as people are sitting here talking
• 12:15
  Speaker 3: about Jalen Warren, people are looking at Junkins as a
• 12:18
  Speaker 3: guy too. So they feel like they're not only on
• 12:21
  Speaker 3: the same level as the Pittsburgh Steelers, but they're already
• 12:24
  Speaker 3: proving they can beat the Pittsburgh Steelers. But to your point, Rob,
• 12:27
  Speaker 3: a lot of our losses, that loss Thursday night was
• 12:30
  Speaker 3: more self-inflicted. And it wasn't just self-inflicted. We looked unhinged
• 12:35
  Speaker 3: through four quarters. So the Browns are like, man, we
• 12:37
  Speaker 3: got them right where we want them. So they're going
• 12:39
  Speaker 3: to be– they are going into this game feeling like
• 12:42
  Speaker 3: they don't want to make– the last time they played
• 12:45
  Speaker 3: the Steelers on Thursday night football as an anomaly. Like
• 12:48
  Speaker 3: it's never going to happen again. For them, they want
• 12:50
  Speaker 3: to prove that this is where they're at and what
• 12:52
  Speaker 3: they need to do as long as they play the
• 12:54
  Speaker 3: Pittsburgh Steelers for here or now. And when you got
• 12:56
  Speaker 3: Jarrett Burns yapping his mouth, I'm like, oh, man. That
• 13:01
  Speaker 3: just cooks my corner to burn. I just– man, I'd
• 13:05
  Speaker 3: be looking for him in the stretch line. Right.
• 13:08
  Speaker 6: Yeah.
• 13:09
  Speaker 2: Justin, you got that for us? They were talking crazy.
• 13:13
  Speaker 2: I'm like, y'all double-teaming, y'all sliding, y'all garbage. I was
• 13:15
  Speaker 2: talking crazy to them. I don't got no respect for
• 13:18
  Speaker 2: anybody that plays too dirty and that does too much
• 13:20
  Speaker 2: extra s * * * after the game. Excuse my French.
• 13:21
  Speaker 2: So I can't wait to see them again. It's going
• 13:23
  Speaker 2: to be a good time when I see them again.
• 13:26
  Speaker 2: You know, I have to say that just having returned
• 13:30
  Speaker 2: from France... I don't remember that word being spoken by
• 13:33
  Speaker 2: the French people, the one that was bleeped out.
• 13:35
  Speaker 3: There, Max.
• 13:38
  Speaker 2: Your thoughts on those comments by Jared Verse.
• 13:43
  Speaker 3: Come on.
• 13:44
  Speaker 4: Dirty.
• 13:45
  Speaker 5: Dirty. Once again, when I look at this, I'm like, bro,
• 13:52
  Speaker 5: you just got here.
• 13:53
  Speaker 3: Like, you've been here.
• 13:55
  Speaker 5: Like, don't come late to the cookout asking where all
• 13:57
  Speaker 5: the food at.
• 13:59
  Speaker 3: You know what I'm saying?
• 14:00
  Speaker 5: Like, don't be that guy. Don't be that guy.
• 14:02
  Speaker 4: Like, just sit in the corner, take the plate that
• 14:06
  Speaker 4: they give you.
• 14:06
  Speaker 3: Okay, bro?
• 14:07
  Speaker 5: You new here. You ain't even, you ain't really in
• 14:09
  Speaker 5: the family.
• 14:09
  Speaker 4: You that boyfriend that's been there a couple months is
• 14:12
  Speaker 4: the first time we've seen you.
• 14:13
  Speaker 3: You know what I'm saying?
• 14:14
  Speaker 4: But this cookout been out for 30 years. So, just
• 14:17
  Speaker 4: sit over in the corner, enjoy it, play with the kids.
• 14:20
  Speaker 4: They come over and talk to you, play with the kids.
• 14:22
  Speaker 4: But don't sit at the Chrome Folks table, bro.
• 14:27
  Speaker 2: Okay, so, We're going to get into our power rankings.
• 14:31
  Speaker 2: Maybe some respect finally being shown grudgingly for your Pittsburgh Steelers.
• 14:35
  Speaker 2: We'll get to that. But before we do, guys, DeForest Buckner,
• 14:39
  Speaker 2: we had the news of the Quentin Nelson trade, thanks
• 14:43
  Speaker 2: to Cub reporter Schaefer King, who brought that to my
• 14:47
  Speaker 2: attention yesterday during the show. And then after we left
• 14:50
  Speaker 2: the air, DeForest Buckner. So the Colts are like, they're done, right?
• 14:54
  Speaker 2: They're throwing in the towel. And it's too bad. Miami.
• 14:58
  Speaker 2: What's that?
• 15:00
  Speaker 5: They went Miami on us.
• 15:01
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean, DeForest Buckner has been described to me
• 15:05
  Speaker 2: as kind of a little bit like the Cam Hayward
• 15:10
  Speaker 2: of Indianapolis. Not as good a player, but a very,
• 15:14
  Speaker 2: very good player. You know, known for being a really
• 15:17
  Speaker 2: good guy and a leader and that sort of thing.
• 15:19
  Speaker 2: That's what I was told when I was talking to
• 15:21
  Speaker 2: some people in Indianapolis. You know, the kind of guy
• 15:24
  Speaker 2: you want on your team. Quentin Nelson's the kind of
• 15:27
  Speaker 2: guy you want on your team. Quentin Nelson's going to
• 15:29
  Speaker 2: the Hall of Fame, I think. So the Colts have
• 15:32
  Speaker 2: clearly thrown up the white flag. As far as the
• 15:37
  Speaker 2: 49ers are concerned, they're getting a guy that's not maybe
• 15:39
  Speaker 2: the same DeForest Buckner. He's got four sacks, I believe,
• 15:42
  Speaker 2: in the season. But he's still a guy that can
• 15:44
  Speaker 2: help a lot, I would think. And, man, how about that?
• 15:47
  Speaker 2: One of those guys goes to the Seahawks, and one
• 15:50
  Speaker 2: of those guys goes to the 49ers as those two
• 15:53
  Speaker 2: teams continue to try to improve.
• 15:56
  Speaker 3: Yeah, I think we talked yesterday about Quentin Nelson and
• 16:00
  Speaker 3: the impact we expect him to have with Seattle, considering
• 16:05
  Speaker 3: that their run game has been stagnant without K-9, who's now–
• 16:09
  Speaker 3: Kenneth Walker III, excuse me, who's now with the Kansas
• 16:11
  Speaker 3: City Chiefs, and how much as they want to get
• 16:15
  Speaker 3: this run game to be a stabilizer, the biggest concern
• 16:18
  Speaker 3: with them is trying to get Aaron Donald to not
• 16:21
  Speaker 3: turn over the ball– Aaron Donald, excuse me, without– What's
• 16:25
  Speaker 3: his name?
• 16:26
  Speaker 2: Sam Darnold.
• 16:27
  Speaker 3: Thank you. Without him turning over the board, so they
• 16:30
  Speaker 3: wouldn't lean more on the running game. Nevertheless, man, I'm
• 16:33
  Speaker 3: just surprised Brooklyn went back to the 49ers, which is
• 16:35
  Speaker 3: a blessing in disguise because that's where he started from.
• 16:40
  Speaker 3: And most guys don't have a chance to go back
• 16:43
  Speaker 3: to a team that's, one, playing really well at 6-1, and, two,
• 16:48
  Speaker 3: you get back to kind of tap back into your roots.
• 16:50
  Speaker 3: So I'm pretty sure somebody in the front office is like, hey, man,
• 16:52
  Speaker 3: you've been a model citizen since, we want to do
• 16:55
  Speaker 3: right by you in this trade. Where would you want
• 16:56
  Speaker 3: to go? And he said, listen, send me back to
• 16:58
  Speaker 3: San Fran, where I know I can play, two, have
• 17:00
  Speaker 3: an opportunity to win, and three, if I decide to
• 17:03
  Speaker 3: hang it up, because I don't know how long he's
• 17:05
  Speaker 3: been in the league, but I think he's been in
• 17:06
  Speaker 3: the league for some time now, he'll be able to
• 17:08
  Speaker 3: retire a niner and put a cap on his career.
• 17:11
  Speaker 3: So good for him. Now everybody's just waiting for one person.
• 17:14
  Speaker 3: Where does Jonathan Taylor go? Yeah, that's the last one.
• 17:19
  Speaker 3: That's the last shoe to drop.
• 17:21
  Speaker 4: And, like you said, Willie, I mean, being able to
• 17:23
  Speaker 4: return back to the place that you started your career
• 17:26
  Speaker 4: and John Lynch and company saying, Red Rover, Red Rover,
• 17:29
  Speaker 4: send DeForest.
• 17:30
  Speaker 3: Back on over.
• 17:33
  Speaker 4: It was a pretty cool thing in anybody's career.
• 17:37
  Speaker 5: But, yeah, I think DeForest has been playing 11 years.
• 17:39
  Speaker 5: I think he's 11th year in the league.
• 17:40
  Speaker 3: I know he's been in the league a while. He's
• 17:41
  Speaker 3: been in the league for some time now.
• 17:44
  Speaker 5: Yeah. And, once again, had two stellar stops, right?
• 17:47
  Speaker 4: You know, he was a force and– Sam Fran then
• 17:51
  Speaker 4: goes to Indy and makes a new name for himself
• 17:54
  Speaker 4: he's one of those guys that when it comes up
• 17:56
  Speaker 4: he might be a double ring of honor guy potentially
• 18:00
  Speaker 4: just by his play.
• 18:01
  Speaker 5: Because you think about the numbers that he's.
• 18:02
  Speaker 4: Amassed over his career so yeah good for them and
• 18:07
  Speaker 4: of course once again when things happen against the Steelers
• 18:12
  Speaker 4: everything starts to go haywire like ah we gotta blow
• 18:13
  Speaker 4: this up we thought we had a shot we ain't
• 18:15
  Speaker 4: as good as we thought we were.
• 18:19
  Speaker 2: Yeah, not anymore. So we're going to– we have Jim
• 18:22
  Speaker 2: Wexler coming up in about 40 minutes, I think. And
• 18:25
  Speaker 2: then we have our– what did you say?
• 18:29
  Speaker 3: 120?
• 18:30
  Speaker 2: 120 Jim Wexler coming up. So, you know, we'll get
• 18:32
  Speaker 2: our power rankings done between now and then. Maybe finally
• 18:36
  Speaker 2: a little bit of respect for your Steelers. We'll have
• 18:37
  Speaker 2: that when we continue in the locker room here on
• 18:39
  Speaker 2: the Steelers Audio Network.
• 18:47
  Speaker 1: This is In the Locker Room with Rob King, Max Starks,
• 18:51
  Speaker 1: and Willie Colon on Steelers Nation Radio. Brought to you
• 18:55
  Speaker 1: in part by the Steelers Pro Shop. Get it direct
• 18:58
  Speaker 1: from the team at the Steelers Pro Shop at shop.steelers.com.
• 19:03
  Speaker 1: And by your neighborhood Ford store. The F-150 is the
• 19:07
  Speaker 1: official truck of the Pittsburgh Steelers.
• 19:11
  Speaker 2: Man, Willie and Max had me totally fired up. You
• 19:16
  Speaker 2: know what would have been really great?
• 19:18
  Speaker 3: Willie, you know what would have been.
• 19:19
  Speaker 2: Really great was having you and Max blocking for me against, say,
• 19:24
  Speaker 2: Carnegie Mellon. That would have been really nice. That would
• 19:27
  Speaker 2: have been really, really nice. That would have been good.
• 19:30
  Speaker 3: I would have liked that. We probably would have left
• 19:33
  Speaker 3: the field in handcuffs going against those white-collar workers.
• 19:38
  Speaker 2: I don't know if I told you that I played
• 19:41
  Speaker 2: against Hofstra twice. My junior year we got out. Actually,
• 19:47
  Speaker 2: I think I was out that game because I got
• 19:48
  Speaker 2: in a motorcycle accident. and messed up my knee. I
• 19:51
  Speaker 2: think I missed that game. My junior year, they just
• 19:54
  Speaker 2: destroyed us. Then we went there. I think they were
• 19:57
  Speaker 2: making the transition from Division III to 1AA. We played
• 20:03
  Speaker 2: them on the road the next year. I think they
• 20:04
  Speaker 2: beat us 28-7. I just remember I got They had
• 20:10
  Speaker 2: an AstroTurf field. They still have that when you're there, Willie?
• 20:13
  Speaker 2: AstroTurf field? Yeah, they had it for the longest.
• 20:15
  Speaker 3: It was blowing guys' ACLs out every year.
• 20:18
  Speaker 2: I got tackled so hard. I got hit in the
• 20:21
  Speaker 2: backside so hard. It was like one of those cartoons
• 20:27
  Speaker 2: where you feel like when you get up, there's going
• 20:29
  Speaker 2: to be an indentation of you three inches into the ground.
• 20:32
  Speaker 2: So you're not You're not injured, but it really, really hurt.
• 20:36
  Speaker 2: What are you going to do? You got to get
• 20:38
  Speaker 2: up and go back to the huddle. I just remember
• 20:41
  Speaker 2: that turf was not good turf either, was it, man?
• 20:44
  Speaker 3: No. I mean, the problem was once you hit that
• 20:48
  Speaker 3: turf and you skid or it literally took a piece
• 20:53
  Speaker 3: from you. It took it right off your body. And
• 20:55
  Speaker 3: when you got in the shower, you just screamed. Because,
• 20:58
  Speaker 3: you know, your elbow is pretty much slapped onto the
• 21:01
  Speaker 3: turf and you just have raw skin going into the
• 21:03
  Speaker 3: shower after the game.
• 21:05
  Speaker 2: That's the beauty of being really slow, is that I
• 21:07
  Speaker 2: wasn't fast enough to get any of those burn marks
• 21:09
  Speaker 2: on me. Okay, are you guys ready for the power
• 21:12
  Speaker 2: rankings this week? Number one, new number one up from
• 21:16
  Speaker 2: number three. Who was on the Buffalo Bills early? Was
• 21:20
  Speaker 2: that you, Willie, or was that Max? Who's going to
• 21:22
  Speaker 2: take credit for that? I think one of you guys
• 21:24
  Speaker 2: was on the Bills early, weren't you? Max, Max is
• 21:27
  Speaker 2: taking credit. All right, Max got a finger in the air.
• 21:31
  Speaker 2: Number one, and by the way, an early candidate for
• 21:34
  Speaker 2: game of the week, they are hosting the Ravens on Sunday.
• 21:40
  Speaker 2: I like it. I like that matchup. Number two, down
• 21:44
  Speaker 2: a spot, and I did not see any of this
• 21:47
  Speaker 2: game having been, you know, in France and then flying back.
• 21:54
  Speaker 2: San Francisco lost to the Falcons. They were without their
• 21:57
  Speaker 2: top five wide receivers, the 49ers. That might play a role,
• 22:03
  Speaker 2: you know. But the fact that the Falcons put up
• 22:06
  Speaker 2: 29 of them. And the week before, was it last
• 22:10
  Speaker 2: week or two weeks ago where the Falcons didn't look good?
• 22:13
  Speaker 2: But by and large, the Falcons are playing much better
• 22:15
  Speaker 2: football since the Steelers saw. Well, yeah.
• 22:18
  Speaker 3: I mean, if you pay attention to that game, 13
• 22:20
  Speaker 3: of those points came off turnovers. The Niners turned off
• 22:22
  Speaker 3: the ball.
• 22:23
  Speaker 2: Yeah, two interceptions by Purdy, yeah.
• 22:25
  Speaker 3: Right, and it was a big one that was picked
• 22:27
  Speaker 3: off by Kendall Daniels, one of their rookies who's been
• 22:31
  Speaker 3: having a solid season thus far. But, yeah, as much
• 22:36
  Speaker 3: as you want to applaud the Falcons for winning that game,
• 22:39
  Speaker 3: I think anybody that paid attention to that game recognized
• 22:41
  Speaker 3: it was the Niners beating the Niners that was why
• 22:44
  Speaker 3: they lost that game. If the Niners had their boys
• 22:47
  Speaker 3: and took care of the football, that game was out
• 22:49
  Speaker 3: of the water early. So it was what it was.
• 22:53
  Speaker 2: I'm going to stop right now because I've forgotten something.
• 22:58
  Speaker 2: I forgot it yesterday because yesterday was a Tuesday that
• 23:01
  Speaker 2: was kind of like a Monday. We never reviewed our
• 23:05
  Speaker 2: upset picks of the week. Justin Miller, you got those
• 23:08
  Speaker 2: picks in front of you? Justin Miller, okay, setting down
• 23:11
  Speaker 2: the headsets. This is me performing play, play, play on
• 23:15
  Speaker 2: the radio. Miller gets the headsets back on, leans forward,
• 23:19
  Speaker 2: turns on the microphone. With the left hand.
• 23:22
  Speaker 7: We had a winner. We had a winner over the weekend.
• 23:24
  Speaker 2: Okay, so who are the picks?
• 23:26
  Speaker 6: Well, I'll start with the three losses, and these are
• 23:30
  Speaker 6: our underdog picks.
• 23:32
  Speaker 3: Okay.
• 23:32
  Speaker 7: You know, I had to throw that in there.
• 23:34
  Speaker 2: I love the dog.
• 23:37
  Speaker 6: First off, I'll say that Max and I are both
• 23:40
  Speaker 6: winless still. Max had the Rams, or excuse me, the
• 23:44
  Speaker 6: Raiders over the Rams, and we all know how that ended.
• 23:48
  Speaker 6: I had The Packers going into Detroit and beating the Lions.
• 23:52
  Speaker 7: That did not happen.
• 23:53
  Speaker 2: That was a good game though, right? That was a
• 23:55
  Speaker 2: good game, right?
• 23:56
  Speaker 7: Not by the officials.
• 23:58
  Speaker 2: Oh, okay.
• 23:58
  Speaker 7: There was a lot of discrepancies.
• 24:00
  Speaker 6: I think I should have got like a half a
• 24:02
  Speaker 6: point because I think Green Bay should have won that game.
• 24:03
  Speaker 6: There were some different calls made. Nevertheless, we're not here
• 24:06
  Speaker 6: to blame the refs, okay? We can do that with
• 24:07
  Speaker 6: every game. And Willie had the Brownies, or excuse me,
• 24:12
  Speaker 6: I'm messing these up already. Tennessee over the Browns, and
• 24:17
  Speaker 6: they almost pulled that out.
• 24:18
  Speaker 2: Almost pulled that out. Almost got them.
• 24:22
  Speaker 6: But the only winner this past week was Kinger taking
• 24:26
  Speaker 6: the Bucs over the Carolina Panthers.
• 24:29
  Speaker 5: You know what?
• 24:29
  Speaker 2: You just cut out there, Justin. Can you repeat that again?
• 24:32
  Speaker 6: I'll repeat that. And I'll bark once again as well.
• 24:36
  Speaker 6: Tampa Bay Buccaneers over the Carolina Panthers. Who was the
• 24:39
  Speaker 6: winner this week? That was Rob King.
• 24:41
  Speaker 2: Okay.
• 24:42
  Speaker 5: All right.
• 24:42
  Speaker 2: Okay. I thought that was the case. Finally.
• 24:45
  Speaker 6: The current standings are Max and I, both at 0-3,
• 24:47
  Speaker 6: Willie and Rob at 1-2, heading into Week 8.
• 24:48
  Speaker 2: Okay. Now, are we ready to climb back in to
• 24:59
  Speaker 2: the power rankings? By the way, I'm looking at some
• 25:01
  Speaker 2: other power rankings.
• 25:03
  Speaker 5: Did you get enough back pats on that one? Are
• 25:06
  Speaker 5: you feeling satisfied?
• 25:07
  Speaker 2: Well, that's my two guys with the long arms. I
• 25:11
  Speaker 2: got my offensive linemen. I need some patting on the
• 25:14
  Speaker 2: back here, man. I need my back rubbed by my guys. Okay,
• 25:17
  Speaker 2: wait a minute. I got to go back to it now.
• 25:20
  Speaker 2: Hang on a second. I just lost it because I
• 25:22
  Speaker 2: got out of it. Now I got to get back
• 25:24
  Speaker 2: in it. We had the Bills number one, right?
• 25:27
  Speaker 3: Yeah, where have I gone here?
• 25:30
  Speaker 2: Okay.
• 25:30
  Speaker 3: Niners two.
• 25:31
  Speaker 2: Niners two. Chiefs number three. That was a Willie team
• 25:38
  Speaker 2: from early. That was a Willie team from early. So
• 25:40
  Speaker 2: I got total credit there, Willie. They lost to the Seahawks,
• 25:45
  Speaker 2: got thumped. Yeah, got thumped in that game, huh?
• 25:50
  Speaker 4: Yeah, I'm like, how do you get number three and
• 25:52
  Speaker 4: the team that beats you Walking off the dog is
• 25:55
  Speaker 4: not even in front of you.
• 25:58
  Speaker 2: So, by the way, the 49ers have a bye. The
• 26:02
  Speaker 2: Chiefs at the Broncos. That's another fun game, man. That
• 26:05
  Speaker 2: is a fun game. Minnesota number four. I mean, they're unbeaten, guys.
• 26:12
  Speaker 2: They're 6-0.
• 26:14
  Speaker 3: Right?
• 26:16
  Speaker 2: Didn't look great beating the Colts.
• 26:19
  Speaker 3: I mean, you can't say nothing about the Vikings, man. They're–
• 26:21
  Speaker 3: Now that they got Mason Jordan back and they have
• 26:23
  Speaker 3: that offensive line, they still continue to play well. The defense,
• 26:26
  Speaker 3: I mean, Dallas Turner, I don't know if anybody's saying
• 26:28
  Speaker 3: his name enough, but he may be up for defensive
• 26:31
  Speaker 3: player of the year. And Brian Flores is not only
• 26:34
  Speaker 3: in his bag, but he's putting on a master class
• 26:37
  Speaker 3: on how to call a defense. And he's doing things
• 26:40
  Speaker 3: we haven't seen in a long time. So the Vikings, actually,
• 26:46
  Speaker 3: until the Vikings play the Niners, they may be the
• 26:48
  Speaker 3: second best team in the league.
• 26:50
  Speaker 2: Is there any reason that Brian Flores wouldn't get another
• 26:54
  Speaker 2: shot at being a head coach soon?
• 26:59
  Speaker 3: Is the lawsuit still going? Yeah. You can't sue your
• 27:05
  Speaker 3: employer and be like, hey, by the way, hire me.
• 27:07
  Speaker 3: I just don't know where that works at.
• 27:11
  Speaker 5: I am that dude.
• 27:13
  Speaker 4: But if anybody could make a case for suing your
• 27:17
  Speaker 4: employer and getting a new job, Brian Flores has been
• 27:22
  Speaker 4: putting on a masterclass the last two years. I mean,
• 27:25
  Speaker 4: and I equated it to this, Willie, and tell me
• 27:27
  Speaker 4: if I'm right or wrong. It's like putting on the
• 27:29
  Speaker 4: ski mask and ringing the doorbell before you rob the house.
• 27:32
  Speaker 4: You know what I'm saying? You see it coming, and
• 27:36
  Speaker 4: they let you know they're coming, and you still can't
• 27:38
  Speaker 4: stop it.
• 27:40
  Speaker 2: This is starting to remind me a little bit of those,
• 27:45
  Speaker 2: you know, the great Chicago Bears teams in which Mike
• 27:48
  Speaker 2: Ditka was the head coach. Buddy Ryan was the defensive coordinator.
• 27:53
  Speaker 2: And Buddy Ryan started to get more and more and
• 27:56
  Speaker 2: more credit for the success of the Bears. The Vikings
• 28:00
  Speaker 2: have themselves a great head coach, but suddenly it's more
• 28:03
  Speaker 2: and more and more about Brian Flores. You know what
• 28:05
  Speaker 2: I mean? Except for the fact that I don't know
• 28:08
  Speaker 2: if those two get along as opposed to, I don't
• 28:10
  Speaker 2: think Ditka and Buddy Ryan always saw eye to eye.
• 28:13
  Speaker 2: I don't know if anybody ever saw eye to eye
• 28:15
  Speaker 2: with Buddy Ryan.
• 28:16
  Speaker 5: I don't recommend saw eye to eye.
• 28:21
  Speaker 3: Right, but I think Buddy Ryan was historically known for
• 28:26
  Speaker 3: causing a mutiny wherever he went.
• 28:28
  Speaker 2: Drawing attention to himself. Look what I've done.
• 28:30
  Speaker 3: Yeah, he was– when you paid attention to what he
• 28:34
  Speaker 3: did and how much he impacted the league, I mean,
• 28:37
  Speaker 3: the Bear defense wouldn't be– the 4-6 Bear defense wouldn't
• 28:40
  Speaker 3: exist if it wasn't for Buddy Ryan.
• 28:42
  Speaker 2: True.
• 28:42
  Speaker 3: So it's– he has a reason to kind of– if
• 28:46
  Speaker 3: he will step into the room and call himself king
• 28:48
  Speaker 3: when there's already a king at the throne.
• 28:50
  Speaker 5: Yeah.
• 28:51
  Speaker 3: Yeah.
• 28:52
  Speaker 2: The Vikings are at the Lions this week. It's another
• 28:56
  Speaker 2: really good game, man. The top three of the top
• 28:59
  Speaker 2: four teams, one of them's got to buy. They're going
• 29:00
  Speaker 2: to be tested. That's great. Chicago Bears, raise your hand
• 29:06
  Speaker 2: if you thought the Bears were going to take a
• 29:07
  Speaker 2: step back this year. Oh, that's me. Oh, did you
• 29:11
  Speaker 2: think so too, Max? Oh, yeah.
• 29:14
  Speaker 3: Yeah.
• 29:14
  Speaker 2: Okay.
• 29:14
  Speaker 5: It's a four-play schedule. How are they going to do
• 29:17
  Speaker 5: with a first-play schedule?
• 29:19
  Speaker 4: And I thought, oh, man, they'll take a step back
• 29:21
  Speaker 4: and Listen, Soglo is coming through.
• 29:27
  Speaker 3: Caleb Williams.
• 29:28
  Speaker 5: He's coming through.
• 29:30
  Speaker 2: Yeah. They beat the Patriots 30-24. And I just thought, again,
• 29:37
  Speaker 2: I'll repeat this again. I just thought with all the
• 29:40
  Speaker 2: turnovers they created, I just seemed like the soft schedule,
• 29:44
  Speaker 2: living on the turnover, I just thought they were, that
• 29:47
  Speaker 2: stuff doesn't usually go year to year, but here they are, man.
• 29:50
  Speaker 2: They're 5-2. They're the fifth-ranked team. And another great game,
• 29:55
  Speaker 2: they're at Seattle. Come on, man, Monday Night Football. Look
• 29:59
  Speaker 2: at these games this week, man. I'm getting fired up.
• 30:03
  Speaker 3: Well, this is the week, as my good friend, the enemy,
• 30:06
  Speaker 3: Bart Scott, would say, this is the week where you
• 30:08
  Speaker 3: hold them or fold them. I mean, it is what
• 30:10
  Speaker 3: it is. I mean, this is the game where a
• 30:12
  Speaker 3: lot of teams are going to have to say, man,
• 30:14
  Speaker 3: we either them or we thought you were them. Now
• 30:16
  Speaker 3: please step out of the line and head towards the exit. So,
• 30:20
  Speaker 3: you know, this is the time of year, man, especially
• 30:23
  Speaker 3: considering that we're in the halfway point where a team's
• 30:26
  Speaker 3: record is who they are. And at this point, your
• 30:30
  Speaker 3: identity is your identity. And there's nobody walking through that
• 30:33
  Speaker 3: door to save you or make you better. It's just
• 30:36
  Speaker 3: about how you continue to hold on and survive games
• 30:38
  Speaker 3: and win games with what you got. So this is it.
• 30:41
  Speaker 3: The trade deadline is November 10th. So ain't too many
• 30:44
  Speaker 3: people willing and dealing right now, unless you're absolutely in
• 30:48
  Speaker 3: the dumps like the Titans or the Colts or the Dolphins. But, hell,
• 30:51
  Speaker 3: the Dolphins even won. They beat the Jets, so they're
• 30:53
  Speaker 3: feeling better about themselves. They feel like they continue to
• 30:56
  Speaker 3: build and figure it out along the way.
• 30:58
  Speaker 2: Max, what do you think about all these games, man?
• 31:01
  Speaker 3: Man, I love it.
• 31:02
  Speaker 4: I mean, this is like rivalry week in the NFL, right?
• 31:05
  Speaker 4: You know, you just see it. It's a lot of
• 31:07
  Speaker 4: division games. It's a lot of intensity. And like Willie said,
• 31:10
  Speaker 4: put up or shut up. I mean, we're at that
• 31:12
  Speaker 4: midpoint of the season where we all we got and
• 31:16
  Speaker 4: we are who we thought we were.
• 31:18
  Speaker 3: And that's what I feel like is going to.
• 31:20
  Speaker 5: Prove for all these guys, you know, and for the Steelers.
• 31:23
  Speaker 5: Can you go six and two? Can you go exact revenge?
• 31:26
  Speaker 4: Because if you can't, then you are what the Browns
• 31:31
  Speaker 4: thought you were, that you were what Jared Burst said
• 31:34
  Speaker 4: in his press conference.
• 31:37
  Speaker 5: And I know we don't like bulletin board material, but, boy,
• 31:41
  Speaker 5: that still gets under my skin. I'm still pissed off.
• 31:45
  Speaker 2: So that leads me to my question for Willie. Willie,
• 31:49
  Speaker 2: with all the good teams who are underdogs this week,
• 31:53
  Speaker 2: You think it's possible maybe Max and Justin get one
• 31:56
  Speaker 2: right this week in their underdog prediction? Do you think
• 31:58
  Speaker 2: maybe this is the week they get one right?
• 32:01
  Speaker 3: I mean, Rob, with all due respect. I mean, you
• 32:05
  Speaker 3: literally just got off the snot. You literally.
• 32:10
  Speaker 2: We're one and one. Willie and I are one and one.
• 32:14
  Speaker 2: You're one and two.
• 32:15
  Speaker 7: You're one and two.
• 32:16
  Speaker 2: Oh, we're one and two?
• 32:17
  Speaker 3: Yeah. No, you're one and two.
• 32:18
  Speaker 7: That was our third week of dog picks.
• 32:21
  Speaker 2: Oh, okay.
• 32:22
  Speaker 3: Right.
• 32:23
  Speaker 2: All right. Who's leading? Are we all? Are Willie and
• 32:26
  Speaker 2: I 1-2?
• 32:26
  Speaker 7: You and Willie are 1-2. Max and I are 0-3.
• 32:29
  Speaker 2: Okay. All right.
• 32:31
  Speaker 3: Wow, man.
• 32:31
  Speaker 2: That went over like a lead.
• 32:32
  Speaker 7: And, you know, to be fair.
• 32:34
  Speaker 2: That joke didn't go too far.
• 32:36
  Speaker 7: We decided that we were all going to have different.
• 32:38
  Speaker 2: Games, too.
• 32:40
  Speaker 3: Okay.
• 32:40
  Speaker 2: That's true. That's true.
• 32:41
  Speaker 5: There's no overlap.
• 32:42
  Speaker 7: So it really is, you know, we might only get
• 32:44
  Speaker 7: one winner a week, which is the.
• 32:45
  Speaker 2: Beauty of it. Okay. We're going to continue our power rankings.
• 32:48
  Speaker 3: All right.
• 32:52
  Speaker 2: We're going to continue our look at the power rankings
• 32:54
  Speaker 2: when we continue here in the locker room on the
• 32:57
  Speaker 2: Steelers Audio Network.
• 33:02
  Speaker 1: This is In the Locker Room with Rob King, Max Starks,
• 33:06
  Speaker 1: and Willie Colon on Steelers Nation Radio, brought to you
• 33:10
  Speaker 1: in part by the Steelers Pro Shop. Get it direct
• 33:13
  Speaker 1: from the team at the Steelers Pro Shop at shop.steelers.com.
• 33:17
  Speaker 1: And by your neighborhood Ford store. The F-150 is the
• 33:22
  Speaker 1: official truck of the Pittsburgh Steelers.
• 33:25
  Speaker 2: And thanks very much for being with us here in
• 33:27
  Speaker 2: the locker room. On a Wednesday, as we are all
• 33:30
  Speaker 2: fired up about the Browns game. Cannot wait. Going through
• 33:33
  Speaker 2: our power rankings here. Bills 1, 49ers 2, Chiefs 3,
• 33:38
  Speaker 2: Vikings 4, Bears 5. Gets us to number 6, the Broncos.
• 33:43
  Speaker 2: They're taking on the Chiefs. They beat the Cardinals 30-16.
• 33:49
  Speaker 2: And they're 5-2, guys. I think it's a good Broncos team, huh?
• 33:56
  Speaker 3: I mean, yeah, you got Bo Nix. Bo, you want
• 33:59
  Speaker 3: me to go, Max? You go, Max.
• 34:01
  Speaker 2: Yeah, you got it. You got it.
• 34:03
  Speaker 3: I was just saying it's good when you see Boatnick
• 34:05
  Speaker 3: starting to come into true form. I think at this
• 34:07
  Speaker 3: point he realized if they're going to bury me, I
• 34:09
  Speaker 3: might as well go out the way I want, and
• 34:11
  Speaker 3: that's by running the football. He uses his legs. He's
• 34:15
  Speaker 3: way more of a dynamic passer because of his ability
• 34:20
  Speaker 3: to throw or tuck it. And I think also having
• 34:23
  Speaker 3: a run game. They had a kid, I think his
• 34:25
  Speaker 3: name was Coleman, Johanna Coleman, who played really well for
• 34:28
  Speaker 3: them in this game. And the defense just continues to
• 34:31
  Speaker 3: play at a high level. So Bo Nix realized, listen,
• 34:34
  Speaker 3: I can only do it one way, and that's the
• 34:35
  Speaker 3: only way I know how to play football is by
• 34:37
  Speaker 3: using my legs when need be. And he's a way
• 34:39
  Speaker 3: more explosive player when he does so.
• 34:44
  Speaker 4: Yeah, he takes a lot of time to kind of
• 34:46
  Speaker 4: warm up to defensive structures, right? You know, early in
• 34:50
  Speaker 4: the game, they throw some soft zone at him, and
• 34:52
  Speaker 4: he doesn't quite know how to do it. And it's
• 34:55
  Speaker 4: just like young Ben, right? Like, Ben, I need to
• 34:57
  Speaker 4: move the defense with my legs. And when he's on
• 35:00
  Speaker 4: the run, when he's able to move things and get
• 35:03
  Speaker 4: to where he wants.
• 35:04
  Speaker 2: That's when he starts to heat up.
• 35:06
  Speaker 4: And that's why, like, normally you see Bo Nix have
• 35:08
  Speaker 4: a better second half than first half of games. A
• 35:11
  Speaker 4: little slow to get into the rhythm of it. And
• 35:14
  Speaker 4: the defense keeps him in it. That allows him that luxury, right? Because,
• 35:17
  Speaker 4: I mean, if your defense wasn't good, you know, warming
• 35:19
  Speaker 4: up into a game, we could be seeing a different thing.
• 35:21
  Speaker 4: You know, he could turn easily. into a Zach Wilson.
• 35:25
  Speaker 4: But you have a defense that's married up with your
• 35:29
  Speaker 4: style of play. They understand, hey, we've got to hold
• 35:31
  Speaker 4: the fort down early and let him get into his bag.
• 35:34
  Speaker 4: And it's been working well, and Sean Payton understands that.
• 35:37
  Speaker 4: So they have a good synergy there in Denver. That's
• 35:40
  Speaker 4: going to be a hell of a Black Friday game.
• 35:42
  Speaker 4: I'll tell you that much, Rob, when it comes to
• 35:43
  Speaker 4: our turn to play.
• 35:44
  Speaker 3: Oh, yeah.
• 35:45
  Speaker 2: Oh, yeah, looking forward to that one. Seahawks number seven,
• 35:48
  Speaker 2: they're coming off that defeat of the Chiefs 20-3. They're good, man.
• 35:54
  Speaker 2: They're 4-3, and they just picked up Quentin Nelson. But
• 35:58
  Speaker 2: I don't get any sense that it's a struggling 4-3. Now,
• 36:02
  Speaker 2: it's still 4-3. You lose Darnold for a couple of games.
• 36:05
  Speaker 2: You get an upset loss, and now suddenly you're just
• 36:07
  Speaker 2: scrambling to make the playoffs. But I think there's some
• 36:11
  Speaker 2: teams that are faltering a little bit or their record
• 36:13
  Speaker 2: isn't great where I question how good they are. I
• 36:16
  Speaker 2: don't question how good Seattle is. I think Seattle is good.
• 36:18
  Speaker 2: They still have to figure out if Zach Charbon is
• 36:21
  Speaker 2: going to get in there and replace– Kenneth Walker, though, Willie,
• 36:24
  Speaker 2: I wonder if that's maybe their biggest question right now.
• 36:27
  Speaker 3: Well, I think it all comes down to that injury.
• 36:30
  Speaker 3: Him tanning his ACL last year really was a big
• 36:32
  Speaker 3: setback for them because that was the main reason why
• 36:34
  Speaker 3: they felt comfortable letting go of Kenneth Walker. I think
• 36:36
  Speaker 3: Judarian Price getting hurt as well, the rookie they drafted,
• 36:40
  Speaker 3: set them back. So with all that said, I think
• 36:42
  Speaker 3: they're in the mix of trying to figure out, from
• 36:44
  Speaker 3: a run game standpoint, how can they be efficient and
• 36:47
  Speaker 3: how can they, once again, help Sam Darnold. I think
• 36:50
  Speaker 3: the run game, if you talk about how this offense
• 36:54
  Speaker 3: is constructed, it's constructed to run the football. And JSN
• 36:59
  Speaker 3: has been solid up until this point. He continues to thrive.
• 37:02
  Speaker 3: But as you start to get, you know, when you
• 37:04
  Speaker 3: continue to move along, yeah, that defense is playing at
• 37:06
  Speaker 3: an elite level. But, you know, in playoff times, you're
• 37:10
  Speaker 3: going to have to put points on the board. And
• 37:12
  Speaker 3: as much as they would love to feel like they
• 37:14
  Speaker 3: trust Sam Darnold in those crucial situations, they don't trust
• 37:19
  Speaker 3: Sam Darnold. because he continues to turn over the ball
• 37:21
  Speaker 3: and throw some asinine balls that really get him in trouble.
• 37:26
  Speaker 3: So we'll see. Charbonnet has to be back. I don't
• 37:30
  Speaker 3: think it's when he comes back. He has to be
• 37:32
  Speaker 3: back and be ready to roll for the Seahawks chance,
• 37:35
  Speaker 3: to give the Seahawks the chance they want to be,
• 37:38
  Speaker 3: which is going back to the Super Bowl.
• 37:40
  Speaker 2: Against the Bears on Monday night. Jacksonville coming off a bye.
• 37:45
  Speaker 2: They are number eight. They're four and two. And they're
• 37:48
  Speaker 2: taking on the Colts. Colts, it's a team that has
• 37:52
  Speaker 2: obviously decided to look forward to next season. Detroit Lions
• 37:57
  Speaker 2: are number nine. As we said, they've got the Vikings. Man,
• 38:00
  Speaker 2: that is a fun game. They beat the Packers 20-17.
• 38:03
  Speaker 2: They're a team. I don't think I had any strong feelings, Max,
• 38:08
  Speaker 2: about them one way or the other going into the season. But,
• 38:11
  Speaker 2: you know, you do wonder if their window– is closing
• 38:16
  Speaker 2: a little bit. You know, they, they, they were really
• 38:19
  Speaker 2: good there for a couple of years. Then they lost
• 38:21
  Speaker 2: both their coordinators who've gone on to have success. Right.
• 38:25
  Speaker 2: And now you're trying to regroup a little bit as that,
• 38:28
  Speaker 2: you know, inevitably as you get, when you get good,
• 38:30
  Speaker 2: now people, you lose guys in free agency and that
• 38:32
  Speaker 2: kind of thing. I think this is an interesting year
• 38:35
  Speaker 2: for the lions because I, I don't, I don't know
• 38:38
  Speaker 2: which way they're going to go. And I don't think
• 38:40
  Speaker 2: I have a strong feeling about which way they're going
• 38:42
  Speaker 2: to go.
• 38:44
  Speaker 5: Yeah. I feel like their team is middling.
• 38:46
  Speaker 4: You know, it's just the seesaw can shake either way
• 38:52
  Speaker 4: with one or two games. And you're right. You know,
• 38:55
  Speaker 4: is this really a Super Bowl window? Is this a
• 38:57
  Speaker 4: team that can compete for a Super Bowl? This is
• 39:01
  Speaker 4: kind of that kind of make or break year for that.
• 39:03
  Speaker 4: Then if not, you know, just kind of assign yourself
• 39:05
  Speaker 4: that we are an above average team, but also in
• 39:10
  Speaker 4: a very tough division.
• 39:12
  Speaker 2: I mean, you tell me, Rob and Will. AFC North,
• 39:16
  Speaker 2: NFC North, right?
• 39:18
  Speaker 5: It's either one.
• 39:20
  Speaker 4: I feel like they're the two toughest divisions in football
• 39:22
  Speaker 4: right now, like with the teams that are the closest together.
• 39:26
  Speaker 3: See the thing so that question has been going around
• 39:30
  Speaker 3: a lot in the media and I think no I
• 39:32
  Speaker 3: got something I think I hate to say that so
• 39:34
  Speaker 3: much I feel the reason why the AFC North has
• 39:37
  Speaker 3: the ability it's probably the toughest ones because the AFC
• 39:41
  Speaker 3: North there's a run game in the AFC North there's
• 39:43
  Speaker 3: not a run game in the AFC North like you're
• 39:45
  Speaker 3: talking about the Eagles the Cowboys um I'm about to
• 39:50
  Speaker 3: say the Redskins, the Commanders, every team in that division
• 39:54
  Speaker 3: struggles to run the football. That's not the case in
• 39:56
  Speaker 3: the AFC North, right? Valid, we have the defense. Invalid,
• 39:59
  Speaker 3: we have– there's been some– you know, Lamar Jackson is out.
• 40:04
  Speaker 3: They have– the Steelers can run the football. The Browns,
• 40:07
  Speaker 3: damn sure, can run the football. The Ravens, when Derrick
• 40:10
  Speaker 3: Henry's coming, can run the football. Like, there's a run
• 40:12
  Speaker 3: game here. There's no run game in the NFC North,
• 40:14
  Speaker 3: so it's tougher– It's a tougher division on both sides, right?
• 40:18
  Speaker 3: We have a tough defense. You can run the ball,
• 40:20
  Speaker 3: and we have quarterbacks who can throw the ball. So
• 40:22
  Speaker 3: I just think overall, when you're talking about from a toughest,
• 40:25
  Speaker 3: I think all teams, one thing that each team in
• 40:28
  Speaker 3: our division has as an option is the ability to
• 40:30
  Speaker 3: run the ball. You can't say that at NFC North.
• 40:33
  Speaker 2: No. Well, I mean, you're looking at the NFC East.
• 40:37
  Speaker 2: You know, Jacobs coming back for the Packers. Oh, excuse me.
• 40:39
  Speaker 3: NFC East. I apologize.
• 40:41
  Speaker 2: Yeah, Jacobs coming back for the Packers gives them a
• 40:43
  Speaker 2: chance to have a running game. We know Jameer Gibbs
• 40:48
  Speaker 2: gives the Lions a running game. I think it is
• 40:53
  Speaker 2: an interesting debate as to which division is better. And,
• 40:55
  Speaker 2: I mean, I think that it would be hard for
• 40:59
  Speaker 2: me looking at it not to give– I mean, the
• 41:02
  Speaker 2: Vikings are 6-0. I mean, does that separate them out
• 41:05
  Speaker 2: a little bit? I don't know. It's a good debate.
• 41:10
  Speaker 2: It's a good debate because those are good divisions. It's
• 41:13
  Speaker 2: a good– Maybe that's a subject we can tackle. Here's
• 41:16
  Speaker 2: another one, too, that I was thinking about bringing up,
• 41:18
  Speaker 2: and I'll just bring it up now because I want
• 41:22
  Speaker 2: to wait because we're about to hit some AFC North
• 41:24
  Speaker 2: teams during this power ranking, so I don't want to
• 41:26
  Speaker 2: rush it. We'll get to it next hour. Josh Downs
• 41:30
  Speaker 2: has requested, you know, when a team starts making these moves, right,
• 41:35
  Speaker 2: the fans, like vultures, start circling. Like, is there anybody
• 41:39
  Speaker 2: we want, you know? I mean, I guarantee there's a
• 41:42
  Speaker 2: lot of fan bases out there saying, We need to
• 41:44
  Speaker 2: trade for Jonathan Taylor. The guy for the Colts who
• 41:48
  Speaker 2: just requested a trade, who I think is super intriguing,
• 41:53
  Speaker 2: is Josh Downs. I really like his game. Slot receiver, quick,
• 42:00
  Speaker 2: reminds me a little bit of the guy we're going
• 42:01
  Speaker 2: to see for Cleveland on Sunday, Casey Concepcion, who was
• 42:06
  Speaker 2: a guy that I was interested in coming out of
• 42:08
  Speaker 2: the draft. You know, I thought that Michael Pittman was
• 42:13
  Speaker 2: going to be a chain mover, a guy who could
• 42:15
  Speaker 2: get open with that big body, make a six-yard reception
• 42:19
  Speaker 2: on third and five, be that kind of reliable-handed guy.
• 42:22
  Speaker 2: Downs is a chain mover, but in a different way.
• 42:25
  Speaker 2: He creates separation. And separation's been an issue for this year.
• 42:28
  Speaker 2: There's receiving core. So that name was– he brought that up,
• 42:32
  Speaker 2: and then that name was– somebody asked me about that.
• 42:34
  Speaker 2: The only thing I would say is, like, I don't
• 42:35
  Speaker 2: know when– I don't know when Roman Wilson's coming back.
• 42:39
  Speaker 2: I don't know when Pittman's coming back. If those guys
• 42:43
  Speaker 2: come back with the emergence of Jeremy Bernard, I'm not
• 42:45
  Speaker 2: sure the Steelers need another wide receiver like to have
• 42:48
  Speaker 2: in years past. But that guy, every time I watch
• 42:51
  Speaker 2: him play, I'm like, hmm, I kind of like Josh Downs' game. Yeah,
• 42:58
  Speaker 2: I haven't seen.
• 42:59
  Speaker 3: Much of him. Sorry, Max. Yeah, I mean, everything you said,
• 43:03
  Speaker 3: I agree with Rob. I haven't seen much of him
• 43:05
  Speaker 3: because I've been focused on, obviously, the world we live in,
• 43:08
  Speaker 3: which is still a world. But I think one thing
• 43:11
  Speaker 3: that we do need I also thought Ladd-McCaulkey, if he
• 43:16
  Speaker 3: pops up, I wouldn't mind having him, I'll be honest
• 43:18
  Speaker 3: with you. If the Chargers get to Whelan and Dillon
• 43:21
  Speaker 3: and he lands, him and Aaron, I mean, that could
• 43:24
  Speaker 3: be deadly. So that's a name that I would pay
• 43:27
  Speaker 3: attention to as well.
• 43:29
  Speaker 2: Max?
• 43:31
  Speaker 4: Yeah, I mean, listen, yeah, Ladd-McCaulkey, listen, I watched him
• 43:34
  Speaker 4: terrorize my Florida Gators for four years. So I know
• 43:37
  Speaker 4: that kid very well. And, yeah, you're right, you need that.
• 43:41
  Speaker 4: Julian Edelman, Wes Welker, you know, type of Jordy Nelson,
• 43:45
  Speaker 4: which is what Aaron's used to having that slot. That's
• 43:49
  Speaker 4: a separator that takes those intermediate middle of the field
• 43:52
  Speaker 4: routes that guys get lost in the sauce on crossing routes.
• 43:56
  Speaker 2: It would be nice.
• 43:57
  Speaker 4: I mean, I thought Roman was going to be that guy.
• 43:59
  Speaker 4: But like you said, you don't know how long he's
• 44:00
  Speaker 4: going to be injured, how long he's going to be out.
• 44:03
  Speaker 4: So and downs kind of fits that.
• 44:05
  Speaker 2: Mold as well. Yeah, he's an Edelman Welker type, right?
• 44:09
  Speaker 2: That little or smaller, quicker type of guy. You know,
• 44:13
  Speaker 2: just give me a step, right? Give me a little
• 44:15
  Speaker 2: bit of separation. And let's face it, we've seen teams
• 44:19
  Speaker 2: roll up and play some man against the Steelers and
• 44:21
  Speaker 2: force them to try to get open. And it's been
• 44:25
  Speaker 2: a bit of an issue for the Steelers.
• 44:28
  Speaker 4: And the Browns are a heavy man-based team.
• 44:30
  Speaker 5: Yep.
• 44:31
  Speaker 4: So you're going to see the same thing rear its
• 44:34
  Speaker 4: ugly head. And I thought Caden Weegin might have been
• 44:37
  Speaker 4: that guy, right?
• 44:39
  Speaker 2: But he is literally.
• 44:40
  Speaker 4: Just a punt returner and kick returner for us. I
• 44:44
  Speaker 4: have not seen him line up in the formation and
• 44:47
  Speaker 4: take a tangible snap in a critical situation yet this season.
• 44:51
  Speaker 4: So I think he's just a specialist for us. So
• 44:56
  Speaker 4: until you get Roman Wilson back, we don't really have
• 44:59
  Speaker 4: that guy. I know we have Brandon Smith and Brandon
• 45:01
  Speaker 4: Johnson on the active roster. but they're not that slot-built
• 45:06
  Speaker 4: type of guy that's.
• 45:07
  Speaker 5: Quick as a hiccup.
• 45:09
  Speaker 2: All right, stick around. We're going to continue our power rankings,
• 45:12
  Speaker 2: and we are just about to hit a rash of
• 45:14
  Speaker 2: AFC North teams. Also, Jim Wexler is going to be
• 45:16
  Speaker 2: joining us next hour when we continue in the locker
• 45:19
  Speaker 2: room here on the Steelers Audio Network.