This is the Steelers Preview Show on WDVE Pittsburgh, presented by Unibet. The only thing better than a Steelers win is a Steelers win that pays double down on your team. With Unibet, proud partner of the Pittsburgh Steelers, here are your hosts, Mike Persuda, Matt Williamson, and Merril Hodge.
Good evening and welcome to another edition of Steelers Preview right here on your Steelers flagship one of two point five DVE and SNR. Mike Pursuda, along with Matt Williamson, our factor back Meryl Hodge will be along directly as we do our best to get you ready for the Steelers and the Bengals Saturday at Actorshuer Stadium. Although Matt, it's Christmas week and the three day losing streak has cast a grinch like oh may on Stealervasion.
Very grinchy. Yes, it's been a rough week. Do chat about this team. To be honest with you.
Let's catch up with the particulars from today's practice participation reports, as we always do to lead things off. Kenny Pickett is not gonna play. He has listed as out after being a limited participant in practice Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. I think Pickett's got a shot to play in Seattle a week from Sunday.
But he's moving around pretty decently throughout the week, but just not quite.
It'll be Mason Rudolf in the rematch against Cincinnati on Saturday. Trent and Thompson's safety is out he hasn't practiced all week because of a neck injury. Elijah Riley who is still on the reserve injured list but could be activated,
he is questionable, and safety Mika Fitzpatrick is out. Madam thinking, with Trent and Thompson down and Fitzpatrick down, we're probably gonna see Eric Rowe get activated off the practice squad, and well you might see Miles Jack also getting activated off the practice squad at a at inside linebacker Riley maybe from the reserve injured list. They're running out of guys.
Say you just flat out running out of guys. He took the words out of my Mouth's safety Eric.
Rose an interesting guy, thirty one, decent career. Yeah, this is his ninth NFL season, assuming he gets in the NFL maybe Saturday. Saturday's Today started the year with Carolina but got released. He has got experience with Philadelphia and New England. He was in three straight Super Bowls. Yeah.
Oh, he's had a decent career. I mean, like when he came out, people weren't sure is he a corner? Is he a safety? Didn't run corner forty times? But he's got good size, physical and the fact you mentioned in New England, I think is all you need to know, because Beelichick asked him to do a lot of different stuff.
Actually had an interception in that AFC Championship game when the Patriots beat the Steelers in New England, played in the Patriots Super Bowl against Atlanta, played in the Super Bowl the Patriots lost to Philadelphia, and then he was on the reserve injured list when New England beat the Rams. OK.
I can't comment what he has left, but he's had a good career.
He's got a couple of rings, and he was I said a moment ago. He played in three Super Bowls, played in two straight Super Bowls, and was on teams that reached three straight Super Bowls. Cincinnati, No Jamar Chase shoulder. He's out of course the Bengals. All we already have on the reserve injured list quarterback Joe Burrow, defensive tackle Dj Reader, who tore up a knee against the Vikings huge last Sunday, and cornerback cam Taylor Britt. So Cincinnati's
going to be depleted. But the Bengals have been cruising ever since the Steelers beat Jake Browning in Cincinnati.
I mean, these teams couldn't have gone any different directions since their Week twelve matchup, which was probably the Steelers' best outing of the year. But I do think those injuries are important. I mean, I don't think you need to listen to us to know that Jamar Chase is an elite player and this team's really struggled to stop the run. And now without Dj Reider, a big, mobile nose tackle, it's probably gonna get harder for them.
Yeah. Cincinnati thirty first in rushing offense and twenty eighth in rush defense. Yeah, and yet despite not having the quarterback. Yeah, the Bengals are competing. They are contesting for a playoff spot.
It's amazing, and it amazes me that the defense, I mean, statistically is bad at everything. I mean, it really isn't all that much different than previous years. They have a lot of the same guys. I mean, tight ends are tearing them up. As we saw with Friarmouth in Week twelve. You can really attack them outside the numbers, and their run defense is poor.
Of course, George Pickens the headline story with the Steelers this week, even as they wondered, at least until today, whether it would be Mason Rudolph or Kenny Pickett at quarterback. And I wanted to take a minute here, Matt as we kick things off, to just go back to it two a couple of years ago when Pickens was drafted by the Steelers on the second round. Of course he's put on tape what he put on tape in Indianapolis.
And then he said a couple of days ago he didn't block for Jalen Lorn on that goal line run because he didn't want to get hurt. And you know, my best look, Mike Tomlin has said he's gonna still play, and Pickens obviously has some growing up to do, some
maturing to do. But I've heard some reports that this was something that Steelers shouldn't have seen coming, that that Pickens was a known problem, that there were red flags, and yeah, there were some, but you and I both do a lot of draft work for a lot of outlets, and I recall hearing that, Yeah, there were some things that you wanted to see Pickens clean up in terms of his presentation, but it was described to me as
what they say in football terms, knucklehead stuff. Yeah, nothing that threatened you know, oh this is a bad seed or this guy's a bad dude or.
Anything like that.
Yeah, And you know the problem, the reason he went in the second round was he had that knee injury that cost him almost the entire season before. But if you think back to that, he came back from a spring acl and played the last four games just because he wanted to help his team win the National Chair Championship. And when he was in college he was a devastating blocker, a wide receiver.
And it was last year too, and he was he was a history of the NFL doing it.
I'll pick that we all thought at the time, great value, right.
Yes, I'm still on board with that. I mean, going back to that part of it, A lot of these ultra talented players, you see the defensive tackle a lot, you see it wide receiver a lot. They don't have to become diverse craftsman you know, the big defensive tackle can just throw guys out of his way for years until you get to the league. And Pickens got away with that for much of his career, and then that
last season at Georgia he gets hurt. As you mentioned, I think he ran under twenty routes the entire year and they were a on the National Championship game, So of course he's gonna go. Ye played in the Semis too, Okay, okay, yeah, but I mean he wasn't even a full time player the.
Board games at the end of the year at the end of the including the playoffs.
So that was a great receiver draft, you know, a lave Wilson. I mean, a lot of guys went really high. So the fact that he fell wasn't shocking at all. I mean, considering he hadn't put much on tape, he's recovering from an injury, and frankly that those four games of referenced, he didn't even look like himself. I mean, he was out there gutting it out and as a part time dude he did.
I recall against Michigan, he knocked a cornerback on his backside blocking. Yeah, he had a great catch down the seam where he dove for the ball, caught it, and then spun so that when he hit the ground, the ball wouldn't hit first body control And yeah, he showed me enough. Oh yeah, at the end.
And we've seen that every step of the way here, both training camps and lately. The blocking hasn't been there, of course, but he has blocked as an a Steeler uniform well and aggressively. And as for his personality, I don't know him obviously, I don't hang out with him. But what I was told then and I think reflects now is knuckleheadedness as you mentioned, but more so or at least as much immaturity and extreme competitiveness. He wants
to win. And you know, I'll tell I can work with that, you know what I mean.
Yeah, and Mike Tomlin has said he's going to keep working with them. Hey, it's not a good look. No, he couldn't have said anything worse than he did the other day, but it's a it's a young guy that needs to mature and there's a lot of talent there. And you know, what else are you going to do?
At this point? You are still in contention for the playoffs, probably a lot of people have written his team off three wins to get to ten and seven still might not get him there, but they're going to try to get there.
And see what roll over on Saturday. Yeah right, So, I mean I know people are, well, you got to suspend him to play Calvin Austin and Alan Robinson and Miles Boykin. I mean, your your job is to win here, and if you were, if you were out of contention mathematically eliminated, that's a different story. But now you got
to light a fire under him. And hey, I don't know how that locker room operates, but if there was a Pounce or a the Castro or a Villanueva, maybe they would police it themselves, you know.
And I think that's so much turnover and so much youth on that offense, and I think that's shining a light on the leadership that they maybe don't have on that side of the ball.
And if Mason Cole is a leader, Alan Robinson's a leader, well they're not good enough, you know what I mean. I mean, it's not Pouncy, it's not the Castro. I mean, you need your your best players to be leaders, and that's something they need to worry about soft season.
That's one thing's for sure. All eyes are going to be on George Pickens Saturday. Yes, at act for sure, Staaten Bonds. Steelers Preview on DV is brought to you by a Uni Bet. The only thing better than the Steelers win is a Steelers win. To pay double down on your team with Uni Bet, a proud partner of the Pittsburgh Steelers. We're just getting warmed up tonight, so keep it here. When we come back, we're gonna give
the ball to the factor back Meryl Hunt. You know, he never has to whind about not getting the ball on our show because we feed him. We hand it to him, we toss it to him, we throw it.
To He blocks when he's not getting the ball, and he blots.
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Welcome back to the review. Mike Pursuda and Matt Williamson with you till eight o'clock tonight, getting you ready for the Steelers and the Bengals Saturday at Aktresher. The Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank reminds you to sack hunger, get food, volunteer or donate at Pittsburgh Foodbank dot org. Time now to welcome the star of our show to the show, Our Factor back, Merril Hodge and Merrill A lot to
unpack a three game losing streak and the George Pickens saga. Uh, he put on tape what he put on tape in Indianapolis and has put on tape what he's put on tape this year. He said what he said the other day. Let's start with this. How does that impact Pickens on Saturday? And how do you think that impacts the Steelers?
Well, it's it's not going to propel them to a win. Let's put it that way. He's to propel him and eliminate all of the major issues they had. You know, it's it's unfortunate that a guy, you know, unfortunately see it all time. You see a guy who's who's got great talent and I say this all all the time, actually getting ready for the draft. If somebody doesn't have
a passion for being a real pro. And they don't have a high IQ and they're smart, then whatever their god given talents are is going to be cut in half. And I say that because George Dickens is gifted, but he uses about half of these gifts about half of the time. And you can't play in our league and be consistent in our league or even be enough threat in our league when you do that. You know the play he chooses not to not to keep blocking to help his teammate out who blocks for him all the time.
By the way, you know that pick that Mitchell through the Mitch through That was one of the most horrific routes. Now, Mitchell should never have You never reward somebody for doing something wrong. But the route that he ran was about his bad route. I mean, this is not Georgia where you throw it up to this, you know, to George Pickens and the safety and George is gonna come down with the U ninety percent at the time. You have
to run the correct route. It is one of the I mean the route he ran there, I actually shake my head, just like I didn't even know why Mitcheude even choose to throw the football to it was. It was a pathetic rowd. You have a single high saving one safety in the middlefield, you don't try to run over the top of him, and you don't run two him. And that's exactly what he did. That route was designed to come underneath.
He took an angle that Pickens took an angle that Trubisky wasn't expecting, and he tried to kind of guess. He tried to kind of where he was going to end up.
Well, that's my point. Don't reward it, don't you don't. First of all, he was supposed to come flat. It's clear that that if that cannot be guess worked Okay, if it's a single high safety, it's very clear we run over the top of him and we're not running to him. We got to run flat and across the field.
Because keep mind, they put this playing in. You know, actually this is one of This is the play if you remember against Cincinnati Bengals when they came, you know that they threw that they got one of their big plays early in the game, sixaxt sing play and and it was run right. I mean, that's his inconsistency is disturbing. You know, Now he gets away with it. That's because leadership lets it happen. I mean, that's on Mike Tomlin, that's on the position coaches, and that's on everybody. You
can sit there and say what you want. You can have a silver tongue and you come pontificate in front of the media and say a bunch of garbage. At the end of the day, it's on you. You allow that, and all your other players are watching that, and it's okay.
So your your standard is not a standard. I mean, if that's your standing that, I'm not a championship not gonna win championship doing that and having that inconsistency in what you demand your players to do, what you allow your players to do, I mean they're they're in the spot there are because of.
That, Meryl, do you see an underdeveloped route runner overall, not just you know here and there, I mean they all are. I meant to me, he's open way more than Pickings, at least over the last two years.
Yeah, Deontay is a better in and out of breaks. Yeah, that's what gets him open. Okay, he's still not you know you you don't look at him going, Man, that's a real pro there, it's a real pro. That's pro man. Every play you better be there's not one guy, not one guy on that offense that you could throw the football to that you would say, Okay, that's a pro that right there is a professional NFL player and that is one as a guy who works his tail off at his craft and his profession, not one guy one.
Do you think Deontay's regretting that is.
Uh, it hasn't gotten better? Yeah, since I would say yes, yeah, he hasn't gotten many better. The same guy, the same guy who was coming out of college. Everbody liked him coming out of college too because of his you know, at the end of the day, we're out running is about separation. You know, it's not about you know, speed like if you have speed like Randy Moss, you know,
really didn't get in and out of break. He got better at it actually, you know, after he went to the Raiders and he thought his career was over, he woke up when he got to New England and then he really started to become a pro. You know, his pure speed. There's just not many guys like that were here. Just you know, you're six five and you just got enormous speed and you had he had had a lot of talent around him too, so it wasn't just like
he was the only guy. But the avaendability, the ability to get in and out of breaks is the most important thing, you know, Listen, I can argue it's the most important aspect. If you want. If there's two lines, I don't care what your position is, even quarterback. Often you wine and deep as one and you could pick speed, or you could pick agility, and you can only pick one. I would you would stand in that line with agility,
the ability to start, stop and read it. That is where I would stand, and you got a much better chance of playing football and being really good at whatever position you select than if you just have speed. And you know, none of these guys are developed. You know, I still think that's some of the biggest problems that that they have across the board. On offense, you got coaches that just you watch some of the drills and you just take your head like, what are we done?
I mean, I gotta I don't know what that is, you know, I mean just you know, you throw a medicine ball to the right and then you run through the goblet. I Our league is about hitting, hitting, the getting the line of scrimmage as quick as you had you can get into the hole. Through the hole and
being decisive as a runner. So throwing a medicine ball to the left and delaying before we attack the gauntlet with our ball in our left hand, that's don't know what that does, test, I don't know what that does. It translates to developing players. You know, you got some of your guys that have fifteen minutes off in practice, didn't even have a drill or anywhere to go. Your
best running back, there's fifteen minutes off during practice. Walter Payton never took fifteen minutes off in practice, and there's a guy who could take fifteen minutes off in practice. There's always something you should be doing at practice and working.
But there was another play in that game, late second quarter, Mitch Trubisky threw a ball that looked like was behind Pat Fryarmoth. Friar Mouth subsequently said that he should have stopped and sat down against his own as opposed to continuing toward the middle of the field. Trubisky also had a couple of bad throws to the one he just threw away uh before they decided not to kick the fifty seven yard field goal and then the last interception. Uh,
he just sailed it over Picking's head. So now they turned the Mason Rudolph. Uh what uh? What do you think can change with Rudolph now becoming the third quarterback to get a shot at trying to jump start this offense here?
Is that a movie you would have made as well?
Uh? Well, you know what, more than likely, yes, just because there's the kid's been sitting there and now here I bring him into him. Listen, this change, is it gonna mean that you're gonna write the ship? Now? We've got way too many problems across his board to right the ship with one guy, you know. But to me Mason, you know, listen when when they went and got Mitch, you know which I never understood. I don't know who who talked the Steers into that. I don't know who
made that call. I don't know where they've got I just don't I'll never understand that one. But in training camp, Mason acid beat him out. If you watch practicing games, Mason will pick him out. Mason played better, practice, better everything.
But you know, obviously they got me retarter, and that's what that's Unfortunately, what happens sometimes, you know, they don't you know, it doesn't like it Russell Wilson Dill where your draft kid in the third round and you went and got somebody already and then all that kid beat him out. So you know what, we are going to play the guy who's better and beat him out because
that's why we compete. And that's why we say we're going to compete, and that's why we do training camps because we're going to play the best guy and the guy earned it. But I mean, they didn't do that, and so you know, who knows. I know, I don't. I liked some of the things that Mason Rudolphs does and I just I think that that there might be a spark with his energy and his confidence, and you know, he's an opportunity for him him to play. But you've
got so many deficiencies. You know, Shoot, we did some protection a little boot as we got five offensive linemen that bought three defensive linemen. When our quarterback gets throttled, we can't block three guys with five guys. You got route guys that are you know the fiarmw thing. Okay, that is a consistent issue across the board with this team not understanding where to sit down and where to feel and be in a zone concept is still mind boggling to me that you don't know that at this
point on the season. So all those things going to just clear up now. But you know, with you know, Mason does do some some job, good job with anticipating attacking down the field, so you know he might do some things that you know that the myths doesn't do very well and take some shots and get some players and energy going with this team, you know, but there's so many other issues that are they're plaguing this offense that unfortunately that one guy isn't going to solve them all.
I'll go back to that training camp for second, maryor I'm gonna I'm gonna disagree with you here for a second.
Uh.
You were talking about the first camp of Trubisky and Picket correct.
It was?
Yeah, I remember grading it this way. I thought Trubisky was the most splashy, the most spectacular, even though he was up and down a lot. I thought Rudolph was the steadiest, and I thought Pickett improved the most, but he had the furthest to come because he was a rookie, and when he started, he was really bad for the first three four days. I didn't look at it as they were all starting at the starting line and you know,
running a forty and who got there first. I think I think there was a way to interpret each particular guy how they were playing versus what they needed from them, and I thought they made the right call. But that's just my opinion.
Yeah, well that's well, that's why we don't. That's why I think coaching is a great you know, I love coaches coaching. That's why I've I've coached at every level I've I've been in those environments and you get all that feedback when you get done with a training camp or a position where you're battling, and you do get your coaches the way in to make sure you didn't see you miss something. You can't see it all. You don't know at all. I don't claim you can't ever
claim to know it all. That's probably the biggest demise as a coach. Then you wait, you know, you get people that you trust the way in on on it to shed light on things that you men not have thought of or you didn't see. I just thought when I watched him because I had I mean, I've watched mister Bisky from.
I did think Rudolph looked better than I had seen him previously, if if that adds a little context to it, I thought he was making quicker decisions and throwing with more actors see then at any time before in his Steelers career.
Which I completely agree. And I just just from what I had, I know of Mitchell Trubisky and knew what to expect to I think that's part of it. You know that you're not going to change those things. They haven't changed. That's why they ran him out of Chicago. Okay. And people say got better in Buffalo, Well, he didn't play in Buffalo, so I don't know how that happened. But you know, yeah, I mean I maybe learned a
little something. But you know, we talked a couple of weeks ago about you know, I'm trying to be fair with you because listen that that's just the evidence. It's not me, you know, saying things that haven't already happened, and they're not a history for him. I would like it to be better for him, I would, but it's just be better for the Steelers. But they he just he was like that in college. I'm telling you the
exact same thing, Accountge, and he got done. You're just like, man, he just I would have never put my job on the line in the first round for that kid. So and that's why when they went and got him, I was I was really surprised. I was like, I don't know who was the evaluator on that. I don't know who would have made that call, but that was I don't know, I just that was. That was a headshot has shaper for me.
So Merrill both lines of scrimmage in Indianapolis, particularly the second half of the game. Is that a one out of ten a D minus a F plus. I mean, like, does it get much worse there?
You're you know, Matt your it's so funny you mentioned that. It's just so funny mentioned that now you know what I can see it on in the defense. They are they are beat down, Like I just see it in their body lanes. They're beat down. And I'm not gonna say any particular players because it'll come off wrong because being beat down it doesn't mean that they're quitting. Beat Down means they they've played too much to this point
and then you know which they have. You look at their stats, snaps and when they're how much they've been on the field, how much you know, how many injuries they've had in the back end, they just they're beat down unit. You know, they've they've they stood a lot, you know, and played i think sexually well based on all of the things that have happened to them. And they continue to fight. But you can tell it's taking its toll. And you can really see it nicole game.
You can see it, especially towards when it got to the fourth quarter. It was just body language was telling you everything. Man, you know, and that's why these are great games for evaluation how you want to build going forward and who you're going to build with.
Meryl Uh, I'm with you on that. And I hate to even bring up injuries because they're part of the game and everybody has them. But when you get as many at two positions as the Steelers have sustained at inside linebacker and now safety, I mean, yeah, you can only go so far calling up guys who are retired and saying hey, come play. I mean there is a saturation point, right. It's it's not an excuse, it's.
A fact right, I completely agree with you. But you can just you can see it now in the overall movement of the eleven guys that are on the field. Yeah, you can just see it. There's this they're wilting, you know. And it's it's not that they keep fighting, they keep playing hard, that's not it. It's just it's just they've it's taking a toll on them. You know, You're exactly right. You can only get you can only go so deep, so far, so many times. You know, I keep written
my rafter Cleveland game. You know, it was right. I mean, gosh, dang, all the people that had plugged in and filled in and in like a week's notice. It was ridiculous. Well, it's one of the most most enjoyable things I had watched all year, is that defense over those couple of weeks, with those players being plugged in and playing at such a high level. And you know, then a few more injuries came and it just was too much. It's just been too much, you know, And you can see it.
So it'll be it'll be interesting to see how they can handle Cincinnati. Yes, Cincinnati. You know, I was surprised Cincinnati didn't play as well, the first time they played him. That actually kind of took me by took me off guard. To be honest with you, I thought they'd played better. How they are playing now is what I was expecting.
But having played him them once, I think it'll be interesting to see how they handle their run, they're running game, in their screen game, and the stuff that they're doing offensively right now.
Yeah, I mean, the biggest problem. I'm not overly impressed with the Bengals. I think I think Browning hung in there in that Minnesota game, and he was better at the end of it than he was at the beginning that last drive, and then in overtime he really made some plays. But they're using the rookie running back out of Illinois, Chase Brown, Chase Brown on some screens and things of that nature, and they throw two tight ends
a lot. And you know, oh, by the way, the Steelers are having problems an inside linebacker and safety and those are the guys who cover the tight ends and the running backs, and that's been showing up the last couple of three games.
But they've really reinvented the passing game. I mean, that's not what Burrow did.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, no, no, no, you're right, you're right. Well listen like the Colts, listen when they got down scoring territory where who would touchdowns too? Tight ends and running backs, And that's exactly where Cincinnati will do. Now, I'll tell you this. The one thing to the Steelers. When twenty eight is in the backfield and there's a third down situation or chance to blitz, I blitz, I would witch. He ain't got a clue.
That's why he has been wanting to place.
Yeah, but if he's in there, man, I'm telling you what I have it automatic. If twenty eighth there, we're coming, I'm saying we are coming. He ain't blocked the son he's You got to argue he did some of the worst damage in the Super Bowl when they played the Rams. How what he did, how pathetic he is at past protection.
You're talking about.
I don't know the numbers.
Yeah, mix mixing, No, I'm talking about mixing.
Yeah, that's why Ryan was always in there a third down thirty thirty is the rookie.
He's not good at blocking either, which I guess is whither throwing it to him?
That was try Yes, right, yes, Ron, that's why they hate to seem lead, you know, because that was you know, he he covered him, He covered him there that twenty eight Just I'm watching k yesterday and I was just like, how can he not see the linebacker standing right in front of him that he's responsible for and.
Run right hind and out like.
Yeah, no, kidd, and he's running the route like it ain't no big deal. I just like, guys, is like a wild several times in that game. This is like every game I watch. I'm just like, what is he doing? I'm like, hey, you put Yeah, I was like, no, wonder Joe Burrow and see that that. It's kind of stuff like that. I'll just tell you offensive line and get furious about because they get blamed for it. You know, the back didn't get blamed for it off just like
it's playing for it. Oh off. The line has gotten better by the way, you know. It's just that those backs, especially twenty eight man, they make some major major mistakes. Not challenging though why not.
I mean they fixed it, so there's no evidence they have blitz them. Hope you get a spark fromation Rudolph and maybe uh the special teams come up with another block. Kick or a big return or something timely to help change the momentum when you need to.
Yeah, you know they yes, unfortunately, that's this is this is who they are. You know, I think this is not it's gonna be hard to win the next three games. Oh, this is I felt the Colts matchup was probably the one where they had the best chance.
Yeah, we did do Yeah, I actually thought on paper they matched.
Okay, yeah, the way Cincinnati's playing, the way Seattle's playing, and the way Baltimore is playing. Now, Baltimore may have packed may be packing it up by then, you know, with who knows where they'll be sitting, you know, as far as playoff race goes. But if everybody plays this is, it's just gonna be hard. It's gonna be hard to win the next three. Get one of the three, it'll be very hard.
Well, it's not supposed to be easy, right, Meryl.
Well, it's never it's never easy. But this is extraordinarily hard. It's almost like you're fighting yourself. You know, it's like they're they're they're fighting themselves, you know, like they don't even look like they don't even look like a team, you know, watching this offense, they don't even look like an offense. There's like eleven players doing eleven different things.
Well, nonetheless, Meryl, nonetheless, Merry Christmas to you, and uh, we'll do this again next week before that Seattle game.
Hey, I like that. On a brighter note, Merry Christmas. Absolutely absolutely, guess what end of the day they got. They got a line up and play, so you know what, and that's why they play it, you know, they don't. They don't do talk shows for wins and losses.
They go play.
So let's pray they win it. Man. All right, Mary Christmas to everybody.
You too, Meryl, take care.
We'll talk to you next week, all right, guy, see you guys.
That was Meryl Hodge. You can gear up with the latest sideline apparel, hats or jerseys of your favorite players, authentic member Villa custom items and exclusives you can only find directly from the team at when the official Steelers pro shops. Those are located at Akroscher Stadium, the Grove City Premium Outlets, and the Tanger Outlets. You can visit us online at shop dot Steelers dot com. One more segment to go, so keep it here with Matt Williamson
on Mike Pursuda. This is Steelers Preview right here on your Steelers Flagship one or two point five d VE.
Back to the Steelers Preview Show presented by Uni bet on DVE.
Welcome back to Steelers Preview. Mike Pursuda and Matt Williamson with you until eight o'clock tonight. Merril Hodge fired up as as always.
Yeah, I think he's got good reason to be. At least we ended on a good note, you know, wishing each other a merry Christmas and everything swell and jingle bells all the way.
You know, what to expect is brought to you by Brian Patton and associates. It's all about the benefits.
Uh.
This has become more challenging inst the season. That's progress. Yeah, trying to figure out what to expect. Uh, I'm gonna change it to what I hope for.
Okay, it is the season.
Season. Yeah, on my Christmas list, if you will, there you go. I hope Mason Rudolph takes this as an opportunity.
Yeah.
And I know he's a teammate and he wants to be there for his guys and win for his team. But Mason, you.
Are in the spot, like, this is your chance.
Play the game aggressively, trust yourself, play to win, and see what you can put on tape, because who knows. Maybe he's back here next year, maybe he's somewhere else, but he's got an opportunity to start a critical game.
The whole nation washingt go play it, Go play it. Yeah, I'm the same way.
Play fearlessly, play it confidently, and play to win.
And kind of have we touched on. I think considering where Trubisky is, I do believe Rudolph gives him a better chance to win how this team is constructed, just in terms of less harming yourself, you know. I mean, but I don't want him to create or into a show either. I mean, take shots. This defense is very vulnerable, and hey, it might be your last chance to start an NFL game, So make a count.
You know.
Maybe Mason Rudolf is the third bear Kenny Pickett was, I feel like a little too conservative, Okay, mister Bisky was a little too aggressive, right, Maybe Mason Rudolf can find that happy medium.
I think that's possible. I mean, I don't think he's gonna like the world on fire, but deep down I don't think he's going to be the reason the Steelers lose. If they lose, and as we've touched on, the problems are many and they're plentiful, you know. And if he can not put the ball on Harm's way, be show some aggression and try to get the ball down the fields. The defense it allows a lot of big plays, but
it all starts with the run game. I mean, how much of our conversations over the last fifteen weeks or whatever with Merrill has started with controlling the line scrimmage, running the football. I mean, that's where it starts with this offense.
And that's why we were starting to get encouraged exactly.
You know.
It was kind of an up and down start to the season. And then once they got Broderick Jones in the starting lineup, they started running the ball with distancy, They started running into heavy boxes, they started running when people were expecting them to run, and they were doing it man doing it, and they were winning football games.
I thought that was something that we could count on, you know. Yeah, there was a foundation board there and then we could start building on that start even going back to last year, I mean, post by last year, they were a formidable run team.
Yeah, and that kind of went away, and well, the three game losing streak has ensued, and here we are the Steelers at seven and seven and trying to get to ten and seven. I'm not gonna bore everybody with all the details, but I did a little checking of schedules and kind of how everything is shaking out in the AFC, and I could see a path to the
playoffs at ten and seven. They're probably gonna have to finish ahead of Buffalo and Houston, and for that to happen, Buffalo is going to have to lose to Miami on the last game of the regular season, and Houston's probably gonna have to lose to India on the last game
of the regular season. But beat the Bengals and you can get yourself ahead of them and then win the next two and you could probably get yourself against Buffalo and get yourself past Buffalo and Houston with a little help, and then your three wild cards might be Indianapolis, Cleveland, and Pittsburgh.
It doesn't look like CJ. Stroud's gonna play this week against the Browns, so maybe that's something that helps you. But I mean, I don't know if Seilers can beat anyway right now, I mean, let alone run the table.
It is a one time it is a week to week league, it is, and this week they have another opportunity. I wanted to go back to Jake Browning a little bit. Yeah, he's interesting because when we saw him the first time at Pey Course Stadium in Cincinnati, I thought, Okay, well, this is a guy that's been on practice squads for four or five years, and that's what those guys look like. And of course he's played a lot better since. The more time he gets in there, he's warming to the task.
But he wasn't great against Minnesota early in that game until three forty eight left in the fourth quarter. The
Bengals are down twenty four. They need a touchdown to tie and force overtime, and he completes seven of nine passes for seventy two yards on a drive that ends with a touchdown, a ridiculous catch by one of the best I've ever seen, where he catches it at the one yard, had to come out of the end zone back to the ball, and then he was able to win mill it around as he's falling out aboundin Yeah, but Matt Jake Browning hit six different receivers on his first six completions.
That's what they're doing.
I think Jamar Chase left the game on the second play, who's a superstar of what turned out to be the game time drive. So it wasn't like the Steelers won the super Bowl. They just threw it to Stantonio Holmes every time because nobody could cover him. He had to read it, he had to trust it, and he had to throw it, and he.
Did and that's been happening well. Spreading the ball around is definitely a theme over the last three games for the Bengals. I mean, I think in that Vikings game, twelve different Bengals caught the ball. I mean it's kind of like the Colts too. They don't have a star tight end, but there's four of them that coming in out of the game. Two backs are going to catch passes now, a bevy of receivers, especially with Chase not
there not there. One thing we haven't mentioned yet though, is kind of like we got rob to this a little last week, not that it mattered.
It was actually not the good interrupted. It was twelve guys targeted, eleven guys caught the ball. He threw it at twelve different players.
Yeah, yeah, and that's what they're doing. And frankly, if you trust twelve guys enough to throw them the football, hunch my hunches, the Steelers aren't going to have a safety or linebacker that can cover them all, you know what I mean, Like you're gonna find something you'd like time and time again pre snap or early into the into the snap. What I wanted to ask Meryl about we kind of ran out of time though, is on
a positive note, and it is the holidays. This Joey Porter junior dude's all right, and yes see, you know there's a maybe the brightest spot of the whole season. I can't wait to watch him against Higgins.
Yeah, and that's we talked the first meeting about, you know, the start of Joey Porter against Jamark Chase. But now and this again, maybe this is a way the Steelers find their way out of the woods.
Here.
Yeah, if you can shut down the run and the Bengals aren't a great running team, no they're not. And if Porter can take away Higgins.
No, I'll take my chances.
Well, you know is uh are are you going to get beat by Andre Yosei vash.
You might, I mean all the Andrea yashivashes they have compared to what your offense are one of the four tight ends. But I'm with you. That's to me is the path those guys Nickel and dime. You for two catches for twelve yards, so be it. But they I think Porter and Higgins can at least battle to a draw. And I think the Steelers can stop the run. But what if you lose another safety in the first quarter or anybody on defense, you know, I mean you're held together with duct tape as it is.
Yeah, And the other thing that really stood out watching the Bengals play the Vikings, and again I fall into this trap a lot. I watched the team's most recent game Steelers are about to play. You probably need to watch more games than that to get a better read, a more accurate read.
And the Vikings defense is very unique. I mean, like they lead the league in three man rushes and six man rushes, you know, like they blitzed like crazy.
But what I was gonna get to what they did to Cincinnati offensively With Nick Mullins a quarterback by yeah right right back run Ty Chandler had twenty three carries for one hundred and thirty two rushing yards. He average five to seven a carry, all right. Justin Jefferson seven catches for eighty four yards, Jordan Addison six for one hundred and eleven yards and two touchdowns.
I mean, they did whatever they want. They threw it, they move it up and down the field, and while four plays I think decided this game, maybe more than any other, Mullins threw an interception to Mike Hilton.
He was trying to hit Jefferson. It was a really bad throw. That was on third and nine from the Ben was fourteen with four or six left in the second quarter.
Then that way.
Then the next possession, they're third and seven from the Bengals twenty two, twenty five seconds left in the half, and he's getting sacked.
One of the worst places I've ever throw the ball.
And it hits the player in the.
Face of defensive line BJ Hill.
Yeah yeah, and it bounces around, it bounces off Moulins at Hill is sitting on the ground and grabs it for an interception. Yeah.
So here's there's at least one of the worst players I've ever seen this game. I mean, it really was because you threw three points away too, right, they gave.
Away six points there, if not more because maybe you get a touchdown, particularly on the previous possession. And then in overtime they've got third and one at the Bengals forty two and they try to sneak and don't get it. And now it's fourth and one and they try to run the ball and they don't get it.
They'll get it. Yeah, I thought they may have been the better team.
I think there's any doubt, but the points they left on the field there and crucial mistake in overtime the Bengals had already that's all they need to need. All they needed was a field goal. They were maybe one more first down away from being in field goal range. Yeah, and those are four plays you didn't make, and I think all three of them are turnovers. If you turn it over on downs, that's just like an interception or fumble. Bay Exactly, there's your ball game. So can the Steelers
exploit that defense and protect the ball. What's amazing score when they when they have a chance to score.
Exactly, don't screw it up. But I mean, if you look at the numbers, you know I'm a numbers, dorc, I mean they're their defense is remarkably bad. I mean it's horrific against the run. It allows big plays like crazy, as we saw with Friar moves. Tight ends are torturing this team. They allow so much production outside the numbers, Like, I don't know what they do well on defense, except for they're really good and turnover differential and they have
some good pass rushers. Hendrickson's a really good player.
Yeah, the Bengals, just since you are a numbers geek, twenty first in total offense, thirty first rushing, thirteenth, passing, thirtieth in total defense, tied twenty eighth rushing twenty seventh passing, Steelers.
Equally in both phases on defense, Steelers.
Numbers aren't good either, twenty seventh on total offense, sixteenth rushing, twenty eighth, passing, twentieth in total defense, twenty second rushing, twentieth passing. But both of these teams are very good in the turnover differential, Cincinnati plus eleven and Pittsburgh at plus seven after taking a little step back the last couple of games. So we shall see, Matt that's gonna
do it for us. Merry Christmas to you you as well, and we'll look forward to doing this again next Thursday, getting ready for the Steelers New Year's Eve trip to Seattle. Steelers preview on DVE is brought to you by Uni Bet. The only thing better than the Steelers win is a
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