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Well, Hello, welcome to the Point After on the Steelers Audio Network alongside Craig Wolfley and Matt Williamson. I'm Rob King. Following the Steelers thirteen to six victory over the Denver Broncos, the first time since nineteen ninety nine, the Steelers have opened with two road games and won them both, So kind of nice first two and oh start since twenty twenty A lot of things to enjoy about this team. Let's get our first reaction, which is brought to you
by First National Bank. Let's get started member FDI Se and Wolf. Let's get started with your first reactions about this year. There's thirteen to six win.
You know, it was a tremendous win in mile height, altitude, that's what it was. I mean. TJ. Watt said it best after the game was over and he was being interviewed by Missy Matthews and he said, altitude is a real thing. Well, you could tell because they wore down. Look, in the first half he had the Steelers offense, they were four to six on third down conversions. They were zero for seven in the second half. You know, that was a killer that allowed Denver to keep hanging around.
Denver getting mini school yards in the first half and then was able to pile on yards in the second half and string drives together. So I really believe, and having experienced it myself in real time on a couple occasions, that the altitude is a real factor and does play into that one hundred percent agree.
And I remember, you know, everyone knows what teams you're going to play for a long time. And then the schedule release show comes out, there's that big date, and immediately the first thing I looked at is, boy, I hope they're not going to then for the first couple of weeks of the year, and there was week two.
I mean, because their record in September at home is tremendous over the course of their whole franchise, and I thought the Steelers were a pretty dominant group on both sides of the ball in the first half and kind of held on for dear life in the second half. And this defense is still really, really good.
A seventy win total in September in the history of the Denver Broncos, which goes back to some lousy teams that they had. Obviously some great teams as well, So all in all, that's a pretty darn good winning percentage at home in the month of September. Well, if one of the themes that we had going into this game was pick up the blitz and harass Bownicks right right almost ry.
Ryan, and then they came with chess pieces and everything else, talking about we got you, you know, the King and Queen, pat Queen and so forth. The fact matter exactly in the mirror, and we got through Jedi edge Rushers. You know, they're Knights, right, you know, and Smith and and DJ WHT. But the fact of the matter was Max, Missy and me,
we're the ponds. But you know again and going over the whole thing though, uh, this this was this was a hard fought battle, you know, and you had to make choices and whether or not you blitz or not to steal his blitz more than I thought they would blitz. I thought you might want to let let Bnick sit back and see can he beat us? Can he beat our front four? You know? And they came with a few more.
Couple but it wasn't many.
It wasn't many. But remember they more than we won, Yes, more than we one. Remember they were they were the lowest week one, So anything more than that is so you know, to me, it was just a nice example of what that front fours Front seven capabilities were. And then you had some great background stuff. Deshaun Elliott was just really good in situations. Man. I loved what he did. And then of course those outside ed rushers with you know, high Smith and wat my gosh, they gave them guys fits.
And I got to tell you, I can't believe how much they got away with holding. I wish I if I if they had the same rules, I'd have never gotten caught four times in one game. More flags would have been great. More flags. Oh yeah, she'll be there. Yeah, it does.
You know the formality and I kind of alluded to this, Uh well, we'll get back to Elliott. I want to bring a point I had about high Smith too. But you know the formality of you know, we have penalties on each team. You know, one is like encroachment. The other is the defender took off his helmet and flayed the offensive. Offsetting penalties like what? But you know they go on this formality and all I can think of is in the backyard. I don't care what you call it.
Offset You have an argument, and what does somebody say, do over? All? Right, let's do it over. These are do over you know, which is the silliest thing, but it is what it is. I mean, obviously, but it got to the point where like, oh, every time there was a play, there was a.
Flag, and a lot of big plays changed. Yes, no question about it. That's actually a flag happy crew. I don't know if you guys knew that.
Yeah, And I think the players recognized it, and defensive pass interference was part of the game plan almost And I mean, that's not the way you want to watch a game.
No, you know, I didn't go and I might have not gone in the game knowing it was a flag happy crew, But it didn't take me long to kind of figure that one out, figure it out pretty quick.
Yeah, So Deshaun Elliott and Wolf and I were talking about this with Max this morning. He is just a really good football player. Now we talked about Dante Jackson and Deshaun Elliott. I've seen less of Dante Jackson because Deshaun Elliott was in the division, and I just think he's I've always thought he's a really good football player. He's done nothing to make me think not only is he a really good football player, but he might even be better than I thought he was coming into Sean Elliott.
I think he's had two really good.
Games and real quick, I think Jackson has established himself as a really solid number two corner. He was in out of the lineup a little bit, got banged up, and I thought Trice came in and played really well. In addition to the interception. You know, so you didn't even notice he was out there in.
A negative way. But you're right.
Elliott is like the perfect compliment to Mika. And you can tell that he's entrenched in film study, like he has a really good understanding of what the offense is trying to do.
Reid's plays really really quickly. He's versatile.
He can play the slot, he could play in the box, he can play too high. He's played some single high in his career. So he's a really nice addition.
And when you put him on one truck like a big get blitz, when he blows it up right that tackle in the second half one, he practically took the handoff. You thought, man, he was in the huddle with them guys. Yeah, yeah, I timed it perfectly.
That was the play I was going to ask him, you know, because you could tell the huddle clock was going on. I think I may have even called it as such. They took so long to get out of the huddle. You're looking up three seconds, two seconds. Well did Deshaun Elliott know that too? Because him he jumped and sure jumped the snap gun. They those huge numbers in the end zone right like you could see the play clock counting down.
I wonder.
I wonder if he just said, hey, listen, they're either going to snap it or they're gonna get a penalty, so I might as well go, which would be a you know, true and also be able to look up and see the clock and all those other things. Like every once in a while when you see somebody running down the field and they look up at the they look up and see if there's somebody chased him.
I love that modern technology. I saw that in Green Bay with Troy Paulamala for the first time. It was amazing because he took that ball and he's running down the field looking at the giant jumbo tron looking to see if anybody's gaining on him. I mean, he was all by himself, running for about eighty yards. It was amazing.
Yeah, you know, I wanted to bring up Matt I'll start with you in this one. I wanted to bring up Alex Heismith because in sports there's always the you know, the notion and it can go either way. Like I remember, I always bring up the example of like Michael Jordan, and Michael Jordan retired, everyone was like, well, now Scottie Pippen is just going to dominate like he was gonna put up Michael Jordan type of numbers because the offense is going to flow through him. Right now, he's gonna
be the guy. Well, with that comes the fact that you are now the focal point of the other team's defense. You're getting the team's best defender, not Michael Jordan. You're getting the double teams, not Michael Jordan. You're getting everybody sort of flowing in your direction.
And not Michael Jordan to help you right exactly things.
So I would preface this by saying it's not Alex Highsmith's fault that TJ. Watt doesn't want to share sacks, you know, I mean TJ Watt just gets there first because he's t J Watt. But but Alex high Smith I think has been very disruptive through two weeks. I mean, I don't know. I'm not trying to short tript TJ Watt because he's the obvious. We know how great TJ.
Why He's been unbelievable and should have had. You know, he had three sacks last week, two strip sacks, and two of them are called back on right one a penalty he didn't commit that was called on him and the other a face mask that really had nothing to do with the play. But when given the opportunity, when when what was out, he proved he could step up. He had fourteen and a half sacks. Not every guy who's the next guy up can be the guy when called upon. Some guys are just you know, hey, eight
sacks and you're gonna be your guy. Like I remember Leonard Marshall playing in front of Lawrence Taylor, you know, getting his ten sacks a year. Well, you know, everybody's double teaming Lawrence Taylor. They're not double teaming Leonard Marshall. Well, when the attention went on Alex Highsmith, he rose to the challenge. And I just think, I just think he's another one. He's just a really good player.
Yeah, And in a way it reminds me of little of Steelers' backfield, Like I think jayalen Orn's tremendous, but if you asked him to do nausey Harris stuff, his yards per Kerry would drop. You know what I mean, You would think, I mean first and ten against eight man boxes and things like that, right, not less draws on third down or whatever. And many people, including myself, have used the batman Robin comparison with Watt and high Smith,
and people think that's a negative, you know. I'm like, yeah, but Robin's a superhero too. He's just not Batman. I mean, Batman's you know, the greatest of them all or whatever. I mean, he's still a superhero. He's still a phenomenal player that every team in the league would love to have. And I staid going into that game, Garrett Bowles, a left tackle, is a highly overrated player. I don't think he's one of the top at his position. He struggled in Week one, but I thought they beat up on
the left side of that line repeatedly. And I also thought Benton in the middle was really really good too.
They'd beat on that line like they were all human pinatas. I mean, I kid you not. I was watching Garrett Bowles and at one point I thought, is he really just trying to He's gonna take some holding calls just so maybe he gets sympathy from the referees. Doug Dacon used to tell me he did this back in the old Cleveland Tackle. He'd said, yeah, I take a couple holding calls early on because then the reps leave me alone the rest of the they you know, I'm like
going somehow that never worked for me. I never you know, but looking at it, well, I.
Mean early in Bowl's career, he like led the league in holding h three years in a row.
Yeah, I remember that, you know. I mean this guy here, you watch him, he spreads his arms like big bird waiting for the for the guy to pass rush and then he engulfs him. One on one play when I was watching Alex specifically, he spun and he was literally engulfed by Garrett Boles. I mean like it was a bear hug. And I'm sitting there going, how does that not get called? Right?
It's so obvious when we when we watched James Harrison. Of course, James Harrison, you know, had that set low center of gravity and came around the edge and it just felt like, you know, an offensive lineman would put his arm around his neck and kind of hang on and but it feels like, you know, if you got that arm extended. Now I'm on the radio here, but I'm still extending my arm studio, just just to just
to kind of get the idea here. It would seem to be like if that bent back past your torso that should be a hold, you know what I mean, Like you are no longer like using it to keep the guy in front of me by you if.
Yours are covering the back number, I think that you hold. Yeah.
I mean, I don't want to sound too homeless, but it just feels like both tackles in both weeks got away with holding on what and high staff And I don't want to sound like I know that comes across like a homer. I don't mean to, but it felt like some things, especially this last week when so many things were being called.
Well.
It makes me wonder too, because at the top of the league, one of their biggest concerns is scoring keeps going down and down and down since the COVID year, and all the fantasy football players and all the you know, fans that are sort of into it, not like us. They want to see, they want to hear, you know, points and big plays and those things are down.
So I wonder are.
They telling them that, you know, let's let's ease up on the holding calls, which doesn't help the Steelers at all. Yeah, I mean, when you have a dominant front that hurts do more than most teams, they just I just hope it's on a theme this year.
But they still dominated, which is all.
They still dominate, right, Yeah, there's no doubt.
Which is a lot of fun. Stealers win by the final score of thirteen to six. Still to come, we have our play the game. We have much more to discuss about this game. We're going to take a peek ahead to a Chargers team that suddenly seems very very formidable after their two and oh start for the first time in over a decade. When we continue on the point After on the Steelers Audio Network.
Back to the point After on DVD.
This back looking looking over the middle of the field that's intercepted, and there's Corey Trice in the back of the end zone with his first career interception. Play the game is brought to you by S and T Bank, proudly serving our community since nineteen oh two stBank dot Com S and T Bank member fdic. So we're now going to discuss the playing game. I just discussed it. So what did you what did you have to play the game?
There? Let's give Cam Heyward a little credit too.
I mean, he's coming down downhill with a little bit of anger and Nix is definitely eyeball on him and dropping his eyes and forcing things. And I mentioned earlier, I just sawt Trice played a really good game top to bottom. Porter did a number on Sutton for the majority of the day as well. Defensive front was strong and Nix is very much a work in progress.
Oh yeah, he's exactly right, you know what I mean. He under pressure, he just folded threw it up there. Corey Trice played beautifully, played over the top of underneath the coverage of his cover three. You ran a bunch off the left side, Corey's on the far side, and
it was a nice combination of Sutton and Elliott. No, what was it Reynolds coming off and one snuck behind That would be Sutton snuck behind Maka in the middle of it, and he was right along the back of the end zone and you had Corey playing the outer third on that side, and he was a little bit forward. And then they tried to get make his attention by Reynolds going on the other side. So you got you got set into one side of Mica, you got Reynolds to the other side. It's kind of like, now you
got him in jeopardy, where does he play? And it was a beautiful job of Corey to sink back and then picked that ball man. It was a nice job.
Yep Uh praised for his avatar like skills and intelligence on the football field. I mean it's a nice combination. That's really nice combination.
Especially for a guy that's what this is a second pro game. Ye you know what I mean exactly.
It's amazing missed all of the preseason last year, well the whole season obviously with you.
You know, these are the when Mike Tomlin points out, you know that this is expected. He's a second year guy. He went through the program with us last year, and this is what Mike's talking about. He'd make He's making a jump even though he wasn't any part of the program as far as on the field, but he still partok in practice, you know, being mentally ready and everything else. Film sessions. It's amazing what you can do if you are mentally engaged and you know how to do visualization
and be able to study and stuff like that. It's great.
And Matt, I think this is again something that Wolf and I were talking about earlier with Max is that I really liked the depth and I think most of us did of the front seven. Yes, you know, you've got a guy like herbig who really can't get on the field much. Demarvin Leal was tremendous in camp, and in camp and in the preseason. He's having hard time getting on the field. Your defensive line depth is tremendous, so you know, guys are having trouble maybe getting as
many snaps as they might normally get. The middle linebacker, inside linebacker, off the ball, linebacker, whatever you want to call. Peyton Wilson is now in there splitting reps and so you've got enviable depth. But I think the question mark was where would that depth come from in the secondary? And Corey Trice is looking like he can be the answer to be that next cornerback that you can.
Utilize and real quick on the depth.
I was a little shocked and a little critical considering the altitude that they didn't have more of a rotation with the big people early, you know, I mean, really jump into it. But it was a close game and TJ didn't come off the field, so you don't put somebody on for him, you know what I mean. And that being said, I do think Trice is now clearly
the number three corner, the outside corner, you know. And I know that was something they were worried about going into camp, and it took a while for it the surface, but he's kind of grabbed that role and excelled with it yesterday. I still think slot corner is a little hairy at the moment, but they have three safeties and three outside corners that are all deserving a playing time, right and three linebackers.
You have Beanie Bishop, and then you're kind of waiting around for camp Sutton.
Yeah, I think they're just kind of kind of come back hoping for you know, dear life, or maybe even somebody gets cut around the league you grab or I don't know.
I just think corner he develops more. That's another you know, being y.
Yeah, I thought he had a really good week, one really good week in Atlanta.
He's and he's a young guy, you know. I mean that's that's what you get with the young guys. You get the yo yo at times, right, And it's one of those things. And hopefully he builds and starts stacking some good victories and personal combat up. Well.
And here's the thing too, and you always see your team's own wards the closest and we're gonna get into some of those wards here at a moment. But nobody has fifty three great players, nobody. Nobody has nine All Pro offensive lineman, you know what I mean. And so when you look at the Steelers with the O line, that is envable depth. Now it's been tested with the injuries that they've had, but they get Faltano. Back your thoughts, Wolf on what you saw from Platano, and for Broderick
Jones frustrating. He just has to regroup. Look, he had a really fine season a year ago. I think he's clearly still part of the Steelers' plans, but that was you know, that's a game he's gonna have to learn, you know, learn from and then forget, not forget and then learn from, but learn from and then probably just put in the rear view mirror.
Huh. Well, first of all, I'm going to say, I think back in the seventies, had one year when everybody on the Steelers defense went to the Pro Bowl. It could be might be something, it was something ridiculous like that, but certainly you're never gonna be able to afford that. It would sail Or cap Era right anymore, but talking specifically about Roderick Jones. Look, I understand what that young man went through. I've went through some tough times like
that myself. You know, you get out there first of all. I don't think he's probably not faced a whole lot of adversity in his career. You know, he didn't have that many starts at Georgia, didn't play all the way through in games. You know, this whole thing with ten games last year and so forth. You know, it's a situation where you're learning on the fly and you're developing, and you know you expect to grow and so forth, but you got to learn. You learn the most from
the most adverse situations. You know, it's not like great success is always like the best teaching tool. You learn a lot about yourself and what you're made of and how to get stronger through those adverse times. And I think this is a situation where he's just got to learn to chill and I got no problems. Look at this young guys has got so much. He's got physical attributes out of the wazoo. He's gonna be a very good player. He's just got to hunker down and focus
on cleaning up what he needs to clean up. He's got that at those attributes, he's got to use them. And I just don't let the outside noise get to you because when you start hearing those things, that really hurts your confidence. I think all it was was a matter of confidence. And by the way, one of those two holding calls that was that was holding, had nothing to do with the splat he put on Zach Allen. He flattened Zach Allen on his back, showed him the sky.
And let me tell you the holding call that was thrown, there was nothing about holding that that that created that splat. It was just a great block on his part.
I think the view is still that, you know, if you're looking to play GM for the Steelers, it's likely Dan Moore is going to head into free agents, see, and so you drafted Broderick Jones to be a left tackle. So it's likely that if that is what happens, If that's what transpires, if Daniel Moore les versus Dan Moore, Lee's in free agency, that you know, Broderick Jones is your left tackle if Aton is your right tackle, which means that they still value him a great, great deal.
And what's the chances that everyone's just stay healthy for the next fifteen and games, right, I mean, you're going to be the opportunity, right, exactly, It's already been tested. Speaking of Dan Moore, I think he's strung two really good games together now. I mean I thought he played quite well in this one, and he's getting more and more expensive on the open market. Two when you look at big picture, more and more. Yeah, I didn't even try to. Yeah, and you know you mentioned Wolf too.
He had a good camp. I think he's getting better. I mean, you're allowed to get better in this league. I thought for Tanu did quite well in his debut too. I mean I thought he had a really good game. So these are good problems to have. You know, Broderick Jones will get his time, and I'm sure everyone's well, he's a buss. They should have picked, you know, shouldn't trade up for him. That's way too early.
But I'll say this about he had a good guy to open with because Cooper was going to be right in your grill. There's there's no there was nothing about it. He's just coming straight line. If you take a ruler and draw from where he starts to where he finishes pretty much on the same line.
Yeah, but he's pretty good at it.
Oh no, Yeah, he got sacks and four hits against Seattle, no doubt about it.
Pretty good at it, but not a lead at it, which is what they're gonna face.
Well, he's a one trick pony, throws the hypnotic guy chicks and tries to screw up your timing, that's all. But their edge guys pretty decent.
Because you gave me the hypnotic.
Guy that used to kill me all the time.
hYP not a guy I fed is the hypnotic guy at.
You, and then they'll hesitate. They're like, shake right, Well, what happens You sit back on your heels, you know, and you're like whoa, and you raise up a little bit and all of a sudden they explode into you. Think about the fact that, you know, you get slightly off balance with one of your good buddies, like Matt sitting over there, suddenly hits you right in the chest with a two hand shiver right boom. You know, as you're all exactly, oh, Matt's devious with that. Watch give
the hypnotic guy. It's all over.
Baby, based on just again, because we all love football, and football thoughts pop in your head. That's one of the things that I absolutely loved about lev Bells are running back is that you know he guys would come running up on him, and his ability to read what they were doing was spectacular if they were even First of all, you could break down and you could still literally not touch him. Think about that, your defensive back.
You're coming up to tack him, and he would shake you so bad, you would literally not you wouldn't touch him right and then and now if you settle like okay, he would just run over. He would read it. I love that about it.
What I loved was he he could he could shake and bacon a phone booth and three guys with him couldn't touch them. It's crazy.
He might have been like if tag was an Olympic sport, he might have been the greatest tag player of all time. Dotball, he'd be a great dodgeball player. Not a guy. I'm gonna avoid contact eye contact with wolves.
We can finish the show.
So uh. The other thing that I thought was was was worth noting was whatever George Pickens stats were, They're not very impressive, Matt right, But first of all, the Steelers. Again, you're going into an environment in which you have a quarterback who has a history of being sacked a lot and hanging on to the ball. With that has come some fumbling issues. You're playing against a team that need desperately needs a break probably to beat you. Well, why
would you play into their hands? So you're not gonna throw the ball down the field a ton. Pickens then had a I don't remember how long the pass was because it was called back, but it had to be close to fifty yard completely thought it was fifty one called back, call back, So let's add that to his total zone obviously, right, was it a thirty eight yard it was it was at his interference or was it
Jefferson's interference that went for thirty eight yards? But you could add that onto his total too, Like those are yards that don't So my point is that you're gonna look at his stats and be like, well, certain got and you know he got them. I don't know. I don't think that's.
The way I would look at it, like I think I wouldn't.
I think George Pickens had an impact on this game that's going to go beyond the statistics.
Yeah, and just looking at box scores, you'd be like, boy, Fields didn't throw the ball very well and certain shut down Pickens.
The tape doesn't show that.
Especially with Pickens, I thought he was one of the best players on the field. And frankly, you know, if you look at Denver, how they're constructed, certain their O line and their first round quarterback or like their greatest assets. And I wouldn't say they were liabilities, but I thought they lost their matchups those things, you know, the things I would be worried if I was right now, not worried about certained at all.
He's awesome.
I just think Pickens is in the process of becoming a true star. I think he's really developing very very rapidly.
Well, let's not forget he had a touchdown brought back. Yeah, you know what I mean when he scratched it was a heck of a job of getting into the end zone with that length, right, you know. And the other thing about.
It too was I forgot about that any point.
And then the stats stats show the last three regular season games of last year and the first game of this year, he had seventeen receptions for a total of four hundred and eleven yards twenty four yards per catch. Yeah, right, I mean that's unbelievable.
He led the league in yards for receiving last year, right, and then when you think about how he started out this season, you're not going to get Look, every week we're going to talk about the ed rushers for the Chargers coming up every week. You're gonna get d rushers every single week. Every week, you're gonna get a good receiver. But there are probably more Courtland Sutton's than there are
you know, Justin Jefferson or Jamar Chase is out there. Right, You're going to get a good corner, but not every corners Patrick Sartan or Patrick Tann or Ajterrell. And he did a number on Ajterrell last week, again within the confines of how much they were throwing the ball and with a flag or two picked up from Cleete Blakeman's crew, we'd be saying the same thing about Pickens this week. That was my point.
And think about this too. They didn't even threaten the middle of the field last week, right, that's you know what I mean. So you're you're taking a huge chunk of yardage away from a guy like Pickens, you know, by not having them threatening anything on the inside, just you know.
Yep, Steelers win thirteen to six. They improved to two to zero. The point After continues on the Steelers audio network.
Back to the point After on dv E.
Nicks back to pass. Nick's under pressure and Nicks goes down. It is high Smith who is being held the entire way by Garrett Bowles, was able to reach out and swat him when he laid in the ground. Great pressure by alex Heide Smith. The Sack Hunger segment is brought to you by the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank. Get food, volunteer or donate at Pittsburgh Foodbank dot org. I just don't understand how that wasn't and they didn't throw a
flag on that. I mean he was he was like he had his arm around his waist and was like running after him. I don't understand how that's not call the hole. I don't get it.
You can't believe what I was feeling up in the booth that I'm sitting there watching this, going he's got a seat belt on him.
For crying out loud what he doing.
And again I go back to my era, going I need that apology from all the officials for every every single butt one. Again, as I've always said, there's one that I absolutely earned and it wasn't called. So I did get away with one, the worst one, the one in the plus. Yeah. So anyhow, I guess it evens out.
So you know, there's Matt there's gonna be criticism of this offense, and their fans already saying, well, it doesn't look that much different than the offense that Kenny Pickett was running. Right, they're not putting up a lot of points, they're not taking a lot of risks. I think at this point both those are true. They're not putting up a lot of points and a half games points per game, and they're not taking a lot of risks. But I would say two things. So I don't know what the
development plan is for fields. They talked about in the offseason, wanting to work about him, work with him on his footwork within the pocket, you know, climbing the pocket, some of these other things. And so you know, if you want to develop him with the right way, not the expensive winning a game, but also you know you don't want to bring up some bad habits under fire in game situations. The other thing is is that in both
of these games you did offensively what was required. Now I'd like to see more.
We'd all like to see.
The penalties undid the team. But think about this now, we talked about this all week. So if you go from second and one and then you get a penalty, and then you get a stall play, now you're third and eleven, Well, what benefit is it for you to if you're managing the game to win, which is what Mike Tomlin is trying to do. Obviously, what benefit do you have of slinging one down the field and giving
them the opportunity to come up with an interception? Giving them the opportunity with their high blitz pressure and a loud crowd at in Denver, which puts your offensive line at a disadvantage. You know, there're is stripsack away from getting some momentum in scoring. Now would you like to see more? Of course we want to see more offense. But I think that Dave Mike Tomlin has done what he's needed to do to come out with two road victories. Yeah, and go to two and zero in the season.
Yeah, you opened the show. I forget when it was, But when's the last time his team was two and zero without playing.
A home game yet nineteen ninety nine.
I mean, that's it's a major accomplishment. Doesn't happen around the league very often at all. And say what you want about Tomlin, he is a master of knowing what it takes to win that specific game with the hand he is dealt, and he knows he doesn't have lev, Bell, Nab and Ben anymore. So you have to win a certain way. And a ten point lead with this Steeler defense is massive.
I mean it really is.
And you know the feel of the game. You understand that there's probably going to be a fatigue factor in the fourth quarter, and I think there was on both sides of the ball for the Steelers. He's very good at not losing games. That's a difference than winning them. And how about this, I mean, there were five teams yesterday that one without throwing more than twenty passes. The Chargers were won, the Steelers are won. They both only
attempted twenty passes. The Saints were won. They won like forty five to seven or whatever it was, and Carr attempted like sixteen passes. When you have a team where you have you know, behind the eight ball, don't you know? Let things get in the way, right.
What are they?
Eleven and two? Now? In your last one score game? Thirteen one score games, It's something like something like that, right, right, continue to win one score games.
Yep. But think about this. You know, success begets success, and big play generally follow big plays. What would have happened had there not been the flag on it? On Picking's touchdown or the fifty yarder or the interference call. I mean you're talking about a fifty yard or a thirty what it was a thirty eight yard or something on the interference and then it touches. I mean you're
talking about a lot of yardage and points there. So when we say that they're not taking a lot of chance as well, the problem is when you took those chances, you did you know it could have been well, but it was flagged, you know what I mean. So it's hard to say that they're not doing enough. I think they're doing enough. I think they got to be cleaner, right, you got to be cleaner in your play.
Well, when you think so many new starters in a new system and a new quarterback, it's we knew growing pains were coming, right.
Yeah, And I don't want to compare this team yet to say Ben Roethlisberger's rookie season. But when you look back at Ben Roethlisberger's rookies reason when he ripped off, was it fourteen wins in a row that they sent him the last game? I can't remember was a fifteen or oh yeah, fifteen he was they were yeah, uh yeah when he came in. I think they were right whatever.
They were fifteen and one, they were fifteen. It was fifteen straight way.
I just didn't remember if he started that last week. Yeah, but the Steelers having a clinch anyway, it doesn't really matter, right. The point of the matter is the point is that they won playing a certain style with a quarterback. You know, you look back at it now.
And attempt played thirteen passes a game.
He's a Hall of famer. He's a Hall of Fame quarterback. He grew into the job right exactly where the shackles on him. Yes they were. There were shackles on What do you would the team have been just as successful or more successful taking the shackles off, I don't know. A couple of years later, he led the league in the in interceptions and then a couple years later, you know,
he's winning a super Bowl, you know. So I mean I think maybe they brought him along the proper way, right, so, but they pretty well, yeah, it worked out, I would exactly. I mean, you could always argue these nuances. The fact is that's what happened. That's the history of what happened and the Steelers in that season. If you're not making mistakes and you're not turning them all over, you know.
And this was where I thought this game was headed, which is that ten to nothing turns into thirteen to nothing, turns into sixteen to nothing, turns into sixteen to three, turns into twenty three to three, as you just wear them down and wear them down, and wear them down. And I think they were on pace to do that except for the penalties. The penalties they're not And again, now you go back to other nuances of the game, managing to make sure you're putting your team in the
best possible position to win. And a third and eleven strip sack does not help you win the football game. Your defense helps you win the football game. So I just think maybe cleaning it up, we're going to see more out of this offense.
Again, I go to possession downs four to six in the first half, oh for seven and the second right, you know, that's that's devastating to.
All because you're third and long almost all.
Not only that, think about what you're doing to your defense, right, Your defense is sitting there, get their tongues hanging out in high altitude, right, you know. I mean, so that's a problem. And that grew as the game went along, and I got to tell you that was blood and guts by the defense, you know at times, I mean you could see some of those guys getting really tired. And again, knowing myself having experienced it, it's a real thing. And when again again we go back to TJ. Altitude
it's a real thing. We need a T shirt says altitude. It's a real thing, you know.
So, uh, the way that interview went, I don't know if you heard the postgame interview, but I think, uh, Missy said something like TJ, what would you say about this defense?
You know?
And he said watch out? And I'm like, oh, is he delivering a message? And it was to watch out because there's a oh yeah, it was gonna drip. And then he answered the question, so I'm like, oh, it's just set a statement.
Look for h he's a chivalrous young man. Where you go.
Yeah, he picked up a safe, right, Yeah, it's like baseball. He got a sack, you know, two hurries of a save. He picked up the game.
I called him batman before he saved.
The So, uh so you know we're looking now at a team that's two and oh I think it's interesting. Uh well, if I'm going to ask your perspective on travel before we get into the Chargers talk, because it has to do with the chargers. So the start the.
Charge fact that I'm jammed into the bulwark while you're lounging in the aisle seat.
Travel, So I get a little I get I don't want to use the c l A. I don't. I don't like to sit in the middle seat or the aisle.
We heard a little before you walked in the before me a little sweaty.
That's okay.
But but but now I'm going to wolf right, and I didn't know aisle seat man, I actually had to sit in the aisle. So that's about how much.
That's about how to overflow my sitting area. So well, so I just I just thought you were going to travel, so I no, no, but thank you for thank you for throwing me under the bus. I appreciate that.
So the Chargers are not going back west, They're staying east, right, How big of a factor? So they're going to practice in North Carolina, spend the week there, then they're gonna come up to Pittsburgh. How big of a factor can that be? Is to travel west to east? In your experience playing against teams that have done that against you, is that a difficult way to travel? Is this a good move by the trial think?
Is excellent move? I mean I really hated to do anything like that because we've gone out to the West Coast to prepare for a playoff game, and that was due to you know, weather and stuff like that going from the west eat. I mean, you think about it. You know, a one o'clock kickoff on the East coast is what ten o'clock? Right? Yeah? That many guys want
to hit somebody at ten o'clock, right. So it's good to get adjusted because then you get the kind of like the cobwebs out of your gourd, you know, I mean you feel when you wake up on game day because your time zone is correct. Right, you're ready to go, the clock is ticking. But when you're not, when you've just buzzed in and then you're sitting around and you're trying to fall asleep and it's three in the morning and stuff like that, like, eh, you know, it creates
some issues. No, it's not. It's not overwhelming, but it certainly is a step up in their preparation process. I would believe that they're more comfortable doing it. I mean, it's not like they're doing it for you know, to take a vacation, right exactly.
Yeah, So I wanted to ask you, Matt, I don't know how much you've looked forward to the Charger. I know you have great now of the league in general. So they bring in Jim Harbaugh, who instills already instantly because of the name and the credibility, instills them with a sense of belief that always makes a team dangerous
for me. Then you know, some things have happened, and I don't want to say anything about what he's done alread because they're two and zero, but some things have happened that have been beneficial to him in his short time as a coach. Joey bos Is healthy. That helps, right, that's a big aid. His left tackle, Rashawn Slater, who was a Pro Bowl or his rookie year. I missed
all of last year. He's now healthy. Yeah, And so now and then you draft Joe Alt who again they're giving the clever nickname Joe Alt delete for what he did in Week one against Max Crosby held him without a quarterback. I think hurry or anything really way. Yeah, So now all of a sudden, you have a monstro line JK Dobbins. Everybody's always talked about how talented he was. He put up great numbers in Baltimore before he got hurt, and he got hurt again. He is now stepped into
the running back position. So there's some fortune there for Jim Harbaugh, right, But there's also a style he brought in Greg Roman. This is a style. This is a big offensive line. They're really talented, and we talked about Atlanta offensive line being one of the better ones in the league, Denvers is being probably the most expensive in the league when you talk about contracts that are out there and have to be paid out. I think this line is better than either line they've faced. And I
think these edge rushers. It kind of eased in with it. Judan, in week one you have some eight eight and a half kind of sack guys. In week two, well, now you got Bosa and Mac with Bud Dupree backing them up. So this thought of their pass rush versus our pass rush. Are younger tackles versus their younger tackles. This is a They're running game versus the Steelers running game.
There's a lot of similarities there really is. There's two head coaches that know how to win this league.
They're building with an O line.
They both have first round tackles from recent years that are very promising, and the O lines are coming together more so in with the Chargers at the moment, he inherited a very very good quarterback, which I think is why he took the job to begin with. I mean, he knew that going in. They have excellent rushers, like the Steelers, they run the ball like crazy. I am very impressed with their O line thus far. All that
being said, they're very weak a pass catchers. They're very weak up the middle of the defense de tackle and linebacker. And they played a Panthers team this past week that you can't oh you can't. Breshtong got benched earlier today. I mean they officially said we're going to Andy Dalton. I mean it's that bad.
I mean this team is clearly thirty second in the league.
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