June 5, 2025 • 29 mins
Rob and Kelvin debate whether the Aaron Rodgers Era in Pittsburgh will wind up being a success or a failure, and make their official NBA Finals picks. Plus, ‘The Shek Show’ host Dave Dameshek swings by to discuss his expectations for Rodgers in Pittsburgh, why the Steelers felt compelled to put all their eggs in the Rodgers basket, what’s on the line for Mike Tomlin going forward, and much more!
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
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Speaker 2 (00:22):
You're listening to the Best of the Odd Couple.
Speaker 3 (00:28):
He did the right thing, and guess what.
Speaker 1 (00:30):
So did the Pittsburgh freaking Steelers.
Speaker 3 (00:35):
They did the right thing.
Speaker 1 (00:38):
They looked at what they've had quarterback wise and say,
guess what, We'll take a future Hall of Famer.
Speaker 3 (00:45):
This has been done in the NFL for eons.
Speaker 1 (00:49):
Joe Montana finished his career with guests who the Kansas
City Cheese Aaron Rodgers will be Brett Farv two point zero.
Speaker 3 (01:04):
Brett Farv had one bad year with the Jets.
Speaker 1 (01:07):
They were eighting three and didn't make the playoffs because
he played poorly in the second half, and then he
went to Minnesota finished stronger. Right, he played well for them.
I'm expecting this same exact thing. I'm not into gambling.
I'm not telling you the over under is eight and
a half. Take the over take the over, because if
(01:31):
I gave you a stats, they would sound very very
close to somebody else, and that quarterback was Patrick Mahomes.
Aaron Rodgers actually had more touchdowns than Patrick Mahomes last year.
It's a big difference in wins because the Chiefs were
lucky last year, probably won four games they had no
(01:52):
business winning, but they won them. I'm looking at this
and I'm saying, not only will the Steelers win eleven games,
the Steelers will finally win a playoff game, and Aaron
Rodgers will be a big reason why they have not
(02:14):
had a really good quarterback in a while.
Speaker 3 (02:18):
And here you're having a future Hall of Famer. You
saw it. Tom Brady went to Tampa Bay.
Speaker 4 (02:24):
Want to win the Super Bowl? Peyton Manning went to
where do you go? I just got and he didn't
play great, but guess what he got out of it?
Got a Super Bowl. This is NFL for veteran quarterbacks.
(02:44):
Hall of Fame quarterbacks. All the great quarterbacks finished their
career elsewhere. It is no surprise that Mike Tomlin has
said Russell Wilson, Uh okay, Justin Fields, nah okay? Do
I want to go to anybody out if you talk
to players, players who played.
Speaker 3 (03:06):
With him, Get Greg Jennings on the phone.
Speaker 4 (03:10):
Him and Aaron Rodgers had a blowout after they stopped playing.
But ain't nobody talking about Aaron Rodgers better as a quarterback,
given protection, given an opportunity to play. I think this
is a home run. I think the Steelers were smart
to wait for him.
Speaker 1 (03:24):
If he was gonna play, why not get this guy's
very best and a chance to go out with a
blaze of glory. Aaron Rodgers has something to play for,
which is his name, and if he could go out
on a better record, nobody wants to leave the way
to Jets. That whole situation, first with the injury his
first year, and then last year where everything came apart.
Speaker 5 (03:46):
This makes total sense to me. I'm in, I'm out,
and it's actually not be so much because of Aaron Rodgers.
I don't think Aaron Rodgers is a horrible quarterback all
of a sudden. I don't think Aaron Rodgers is a
bad quarterback. Aaron Rodgers is still a very serviceable to
pretty good quarterback. My issue is what they've done to
bring in Aaron Rodgers. So you're in a division with
(04:08):
Lamar Jackson, I gotta play twice. I gotta play Joe
Burrow twice, and in a Cleveland team that should be
on the up. With if nothing else, we know they
have a good defense. They got rid of their best receiver.
They bring in d Kep Metcalf who has been struggling
with drops. They lose their running back and the defense,
as you talked about all last season, the defense ain't
been defensing like he's supposed to. So to me, when
(04:31):
you bring up to Tom Brady, when you bring up
the Peyton Manning, Peyton Manning and Tom Brady walked into
perfect tailor made situations where they had receivers galore, especially
Tom Brady, and they had defenses that were top notch.
The Steeler defense is getting old. It's not what it
used to be. They've again, they don't have the same
offensive schemes. They have not been good at handling the
(04:52):
quarterback and managing the quarterback position. So I just think
it's just not enough grade from Russell Wilson to me,
if they were gonna run this back, this kind of
version of a quarterback, then Ry not russ Up run out.
Russell Wilson to me, is pretty much the same quarterback
as Aaron Rodgers at this point in their career. Aaron
Rodgers had the great terr career, but they're pretty much
(05:13):
the same quarterback who would be second year in the system.
Now you've got a star new receiver who's learning the system.
You have a new quarterback who ain't even in yet,
but he will be learning a new system. He's forty
one going on forty two, and he also again is
losing receiver. It's not like he added DK. They lost
pickings and now they have DK. They don't have a
(05:34):
bunch of weapons. I just don't think the offensive line
isn't great. He's not mobile, and he's coming off an
Achilles injury from two years ago. So I don't think
Aaron Rodgers is a horrible quarterback. I don't think this
is a Taylor made as it may have felt like
it was. This isn't him going to the Buccaneers for
Tom Brady. They just needed a quarterback. They finished eight
to eight with Jamis Wistonson going Jamis Winston doing the
(05:55):
thirty for thirty, and that's why Tom Brady was like,
you know, I'm not gonna give it thirty for thirty
and that's why they were so good and that defense
was incredible. So to me, I just look at this again.
Ass the division is tight, and I think Mike Tomlin
is for the first time, at least in my mind,
being very desperate with this because the last point Rob
Aaron Rodgers. He might be solid. I don't think they're
(06:18):
making the postseason. I think this is the first time
Mike Tomlin is under five hundred. You can book that
for me. What are we betting on that? Let's bet
something on that. Let's bet you want to get your
Jordans back. No, I don't put some wings on. No,
let's get Jordans. Are you don't want to win your
Jordans back?
Speaker 6 (06:31):
No?
Speaker 3 (06:31):
No, no, no. Don't you want to get your Jorins on that?
You put some wings on it. You don't want to
get your Jordans back.
Speaker 5 (06:37):
Now, we'll put some wings on it. Have plenty of
I have plenty. We have no A good one.
Speaker 2 (06:41):
I love.
Speaker 3 (06:41):
This is the one. I would love the time. This
is the one I want to do.
Speaker 5 (06:44):
You said save five hundred time they will not make
the postcase.
Speaker 3 (06:47):
No, you said sub five hundred. That's what Mike Tomlin
will be let's bet that. If you got that, let's
why not I am betting. I'm not betting Jorans.
Speaker 1 (06:57):
Let's bet Jordan's. Don't you want to get your Jordans back?
I will get the Jordans back. He doesn't want to
get his Jordan's back?
Speaker 3 (07:04):
What seven and ten?
Speaker 1 (07:08):
He has no no conviction dollars on Jordans and not
a chance to get him back. And I'm so sure.
Let me let me, let me even make sure he
even signs. He might back out of this.
Speaker 3 (07:20):
Well, if he's not in, then then that's different. I'm saying,
let me let me be him sign. I just I
don't get the Steelers in this.
Speaker 1 (07:28):
Steelers won ten games ready with no quarterback the last
few they won ten games two years ago.
Speaker 3 (07:34):
I don't know who was a quarterback. Ten games?
Speaker 5 (07:37):
Their defensive ten games with no quarter running game ten games.
Speaker 4 (07:41):
You think the Steelers are going to have nobody to
run the football and their defense will be as bad
as it was a year ago?
Speaker 3 (07:45):
Is that what you're saying? Why not? Okay? I don't
why not? At I think that's what they do.
Speaker 5 (07:52):
Would you agree that the Jets had a better offensive
team than the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Speaker 2 (07:57):
No.
Speaker 5 (07:58):
Last year, yes, they did, look at those receivers. The
Jets had no.
Speaker 4 (08:02):
The Jets had a dad issues last year defensively, that
wasn't the same defense that they had two years.
Speaker 5 (08:07):
He went five to twelve with more offensive weapons than
he'll have with the Steelers. And again, I'm not saying
Aaron Rodgers gonna throw only ten touchdowns and twenty interceptions.
I don't think the team is as good as they
think they are in a division that is going to
be very good to competitive.
Speaker 4 (08:24):
They won ten games last year, and two years ago
they won ten games in that very.
Speaker 5 (08:28):
Same six straight games, but in that same, very the
very same division, and I think they're going down. They're
trending downwards.
Speaker 2 (08:37):
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Speaker 4 (08:49):
Let's talk about it. We got it kind of got
a little preview with Mark Stein. We do man, you
and him, Well, I just again, and I'll say this too.
I'm known Mark for a long time and he's fine.
But you can't tell me that the ratings don't matter.
And he was saying that the only sport that's maligned
how many times people bring up baseball ratings, Come on beyond.
Speaker 3 (09:11):
Has been smacked two years on and all right, and
now all the ratings are rock. Last year was a
big year, that's right.
Speaker 4 (09:19):
And this year you saw all the numbers are off.
Rob g and I had it on the podcast. They're
doing really well with the changes in the game and
people are watching and young people too. So ratings are
You could say, well, they got a big con fact contract.
Speaker 3 (09:31):
That's fine, But.
Speaker 4 (09:33):
You can't tell me that if after game one the
overnight ratings are good, that they're not going to put
them out there.
Speaker 3 (09:39):
They won't. They're gonna be tonight ratings.
Speaker 1 (09:41):
Right, Adam Silver will call a press coy.
Speaker 3 (09:44):
They're gonna sit down. We're supposed to be SGA.
Speaker 5 (09:46):
He goes on the way move by the way, Hey
tell everybody at the ratings were great on if you
saw those, we got those numbers in right now, come bad, SGA,
go ahead, no.
Speaker 3 (09:53):
Doubt about it, all right, you got done?
Speaker 4 (09:57):
Okay? See yeah, and I just saw the picks on
ESPN game. Everybody on the path they all.
Speaker 1 (10:05):
Have the thunder and six, even Steven A and you
know the records not that good, right, all right.
Speaker 5 (10:11):
But I don't think see the brother on TV, I
don't even know what he's doing. Who is that brother
right there? That the baseball Yeah, however he was Pops.
Pops was looking a little distraught. That's how I feel
right now that you just told me everybody.
Speaker 3 (10:25):
Just picked everybody? Now, No, I got the thunder a
couple of reasons.
Speaker 5 (10:29):
Number One, I think we've all just ignored greatness as
far as the season. And I'm not saying a great
team all time, but it's been in our face, including
the individual player s GA and including the team. I've
said here now for weeks talking about their point differential,
how the historic rate, and now including the playoffs, they
have surpassed the Bulls with the the I'm sorry, the
(10:51):
Warriors with the most wins by double digits, sixty one
wins this season including the postseason by double did that
means it's just blowing out everybody night in night out.
We know what they've done defensively as well. They have
so many different ways to come at you. We can
come individually, man up. We have schemes where we can
put guys in the middle Caruso can guard any position
(11:13):
including Yolkis, which is crazy. And then they have a
guy who is doing other historic things on the offensive end, SGA,
scoring thirty plus points on fifty percent shooting for a
couple of two three years now, and the only other
guy done that is Jordan and so it's just remarkable
what he's done. He goes right into the playoffs, done
the same thing Eastern Conference Finals, I mean the MVP
(11:34):
Eastern Conference Finals MVP, and now he's trying to be
the finals MVP, and I just think they're going to
be too much. And it's kind of been a storm
coming Rob forty wins a couple of years ago, fifty
seven last year, and disappointing exit in the playoffs last season,
and now this one. They get to the finals, they
won sixty eight games, and I just think they're sitting
there like, duh, this was ours from the beginning. Why
(11:56):
did you think we didn't have a chance to win
this thing? So I think you put thirty thirty five
points on the board immediately when he's gonna be playing,
and what's gonna be interesting to see Tyres Halliburton. My
only concern for him is does he understand you and
I talked about it.
Speaker 3 (12:13):
He needs to be aggressive at all times. Now.
Speaker 5 (12:16):
This isn't a normal game midweek in the middle of
the season, this isn't a first round. This is the finals,
and his team is gonna need him every night to
be aggressive. And it doesn't mean taking a bunch of shots.
It just means trying to create for himself for others
every single play. And uh, but I ultimately I just
think the thunder are too much. I have it in five,
wouldn't be shocked if maybe it goes to six. But
(12:36):
I think it's just thunder. I think they're too much.
And it's just kind of been sitting there. We've all
just ignored it. Here's something that Rob just came down.
You got a little breaking news, Rob ghot know if
it's breaking news, but this conversation is breaking news. Oka
just announced their starters for tonight's game. One. Isaiah Hartenstein
has already been benched, Like.
Speaker 4 (12:56):
Like, you're all year, you've been doing this and you
were talking about all the numbers.
Speaker 3 (13:01):
There's no reason to change you.
Speaker 4 (13:03):
Remember when what's his name, Avery Avery Johnson was coaching,
do you remember, and they lost? They were eight seed
against the one and he changed his life.
Speaker 1 (13:14):
It was against the Warriors, we believe Warriors Warriors against
the Dallas Mavericks, right, you remember that it was the
one seed against Yeah, he changes lineup to accommodate them,
and I'm a and stan Van Gundy did the same thing.
You remember, that was the big thing about stan not
being and when the moment came that that's when they
(13:34):
went to the finals with skipped to Malou and then
and then Jamiir.
Speaker 5 (13:38):
Nelson that was at was playing well.
Speaker 3 (13:41):
He was playing well and there was no reason.
Speaker 4 (13:44):
Remember that he should be Yeah, because Jamiir Nelson and.
Speaker 3 (13:47):
Played like it was. And then they changed the line
up to get Jamir in there.
Speaker 1 (13:52):
And I know he was like their franchise guy.
Speaker 4 (13:55):
But now you can't change. And I'm just gonna say this.
You know, I know I'm the underdog.
Speaker 1 (14:01):
Everybody I saw has picked the thunder and I get it,
and that's fine.
Speaker 4 (14:06):
I'm gonna give the Pacers a chance at winning this.
And my reasoning is simple.
Speaker 3 (14:12):
Two things.
Speaker 1 (14:12):
Okay, they have something going seriously, in all three series
they were not supposed to win, and they've come up
with unbelievable wins along the way.
Speaker 3 (14:25):
To do that, which is incredible.
Speaker 4 (14:27):
And sometimes teams have something going and I alluded to
the two thousand and four Pistons, which was the team
that was, you know, star studed and won all the
games compared to the team that was a team like
the Pistons to be the last team really like team
team rob G? Is that fair, Kevin?
Speaker 3 (14:47):
You know the team.
Speaker 4 (14:47):
I'm not asking Rob G as an outsider, as somebody
who was a Laker fan, who didn't you expect to
win that championship?
Speaker 3 (14:54):
Seriously? I expected it to be a sweet.
Speaker 1 (14:56):
Seriously, like you looked at it and you went, the
Pistons are good. They had a nice season of y'all
really thought that. I'm not saying they picked the Lakers.
Speaker 3 (15:04):
People were one of the biggest favorites in the NBA Finals.
Speaker 5 (15:07):
But I feel like we're people watching. You were there
that Pistons team was having teams not score seventy.
Speaker 3 (15:11):
But they didn't care because they looked at where the
Lakers were.
Speaker 4 (15:14):
And remember when the Lakers came into that finals in
two thousand and four, they had won three in a
row and then didn't win the year, but then they
were back right back, so they had one looking at
three championships in four years, even.
Speaker 3 (15:27):
Though it was three in a row. You know, it's
kind of weird to scution me.
Speaker 1 (15:30):
Right, and people win four in five years and people
fully expected.
Speaker 3 (15:35):
I told you the story before.
Speaker 4 (15:37):
J Donde, who was the comments at the LA Times
at the time, And when the Pistons won game one,
you know, we're just eating in the press room and
he's like, Okay, this is over. Now they'll win the
next four and will be over, so all right, you know,
And then.
Speaker 1 (15:52):
The Pistons lost game two, so they was like, yeah,
this will be over now now they got that one win. Okay,
so we're not even coming back to winning three games.
And when to Detroit after the Pens is one game three,
well not a Lakers will winning next not?
Speaker 3 (16:06):
I was like, Jay, can you stop, like seriously? And
all I'm.
Speaker 4 (16:10):
Gonna say is Pacers have something going sometimes overwhelming and
the first time where you don't know if they get
behind or lose a game, how that can change. Here
you are, you're already making a lineup change where it
might feel different or why are we doing this?
Speaker 3 (16:27):
We've been so good? Why change?
Speaker 5 (16:30):
You know what I'm trying to dissect, like like a
little smaller, little faster.
Speaker 4 (16:34):
But but it's it's just a bad thing because what
is why what are you doing here?
Speaker 3 (16:40):
This has worked.
Speaker 1 (16:41):
There's no reason to tinker with something that has been
rolling all year long. And they and it was a blink.
And we've seen some teams do that, and I don't
think it's good. It's in their best interest. Just go
with what you want. You can still start them.
Speaker 4 (16:53):
And if you just want to get somebody extra minutes,
but don't all of a sudden, because then you're gonna
have people second guess, you just dding up the second guest.
Speaker 5 (17:01):
But I think to their credit, the way this is
Rob's both of y'all. This is why the thunder can
do this is because all year they have been united
almost to fun, meaning they take away from the star
moments because Jaylen Williams at a great gut and everybody's there. Sga,
you had another forty, but everybody's there and they're so
(17:23):
united that I agree. If this were the Knicks and
you said, carlthy Towns isn't starting, and we're gonna throw
in Mitchell Robinson, We're gonna throw in you know, another
guard or something right or something or Sammit, then I
could see you losing him. This Thunder team is built
so much like a college just frat house. They're all
friends and all of that. I don't see this bothering him.
(17:43):
I think he probably would go this actually makes sense, coach.
I'm still gonna get some minutes. I'm cool with that.
Let's just win a championship.
Speaker 4 (17:49):
So I'm gonna say Pacers in six in six yep.
Speaker 3 (17:57):
I Thunder and five.
Speaker 2 (17:59):
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Speaker 5 (18:11):
It is the odd couple Rob Parker covin Washington on
a TV things so on Thursday, he's got the NBA
Finals kicking off here in just a little bit. But
your big news also was Aaron Rodgers Uh looking to
be signing with the Steelers coming up here at some point.
Dave Damashek, host of the Set show on YouTube, joins
us now to talk a little bit about that.
Speaker 6 (18:30):
Dave, how are you, hey, fellas? What's happening? Calvin and Rob?
Good to yap with you once again. And my reaction
is that apparently I tried to keep saying that Tomlin
and the Omar Khan and the Steelers at large, you
guys gotta go and see Sinners. They didn't listen to me.
(18:50):
They missed the message. The central message of that movie
is you don't invite the vampire into your building on purpose.
He's gonna suck the soul out of you, just like
he tried to with the Packers, just like he did
do with the Jets. This is the guy you're bringing in.
He's not even good anymore. He's a forty two year
old man at this point. What is the upside of
all this? I don't see it, Dave.
Speaker 1 (19:11):
He had the same numbers as Patrick Mahomes last year,
same exact numbers.
Speaker 4 (19:15):
I'm just I'm just telling you. They didn't have the
win totals. And I get it. He's not a likable guy.
But Dave, I think.
Speaker 3 (19:21):
You're over dramatic.
Speaker 1 (19:23):
I really do. I think Aaron Rodgers is still a
good quote. He had twenty eight touchdowns. Guess what Patrick
Mahomes had twenty six. Aaron Rodgers had eleven interceptions. Patrick
Mahomes had eleven interceptions. I mean, so, Patrick, so Patrick
Mahomes can't play either.
Speaker 3 (19:37):
Is that what you're saying.
Speaker 6 (19:39):
No, listen here, here's what I'm.
Speaker 3 (19:42):
Just asking you. The numbers are the numbers.
Speaker 6 (19:45):
I mean a raw touchdown number, and I am certainly
not gonna try and come back at you with advanced
day analytics or anything like that. Underlying numbers. The underlying
numbers do suggest he's more in the the third tier
quarterbacks at this point, more like the twenty first, twenty
second best quarterback going in pro football at this point.
(20:08):
And like you say, I mean there are other you know,
people keep saying what else should they have done? What
else was out there? Keeping justin Fields was possibly.
Speaker 1 (20:17):
They watched justin Fields all season. Okay, he started out
four and two and they still made a change, And
that tells you where no, and the Jets got him
for a bag of balls. I mean, it says something, Dave,
that you're watching the guy in practice.
Speaker 3 (20:34):
He has a four and two record and still plays downfield.
Speaker 1 (20:38):
All these other statistics that they looked at, and as
soon as Russell Wilson showed up, they were putting up
thirty eight and forty two points with the same offense
that couldn't get anything going. Now I get it they
ended the season poorly, but Dave, don't tell me when
they were rolling the first five or six weeks where
Russell and scoring thirty eight points, you were like, wow,
true or fouls?
Speaker 3 (20:59):
True or foul?
Speaker 1 (21:00):
Thanks.
Speaker 6 (21:00):
Thank goodness for social media and podcasts, both of which
are recorded for posterity. I said, when everybody was celebrating
Russell Wilson, where do you think this leads? Do you
think this leads to postseason success? Mike Tomlins thought in
mid December, when I think most of the rest of
the world had come around on Okay waterfind this level.
(21:23):
Russell Wilson at age thirty six is starting to play
like Russell Wilson at age thirty six. There was no
real hope that the Steelers are going to make a
playoff run, except in Mike Tomlins's mind. He does not
have a great handle on the QB room. He is remarkable.
He is the greatest floor raizer in pro football this millennium.
(21:44):
And that is in spite of the fact that he
is not a great QB whisper. He doesn't have a
great understanding of it. To yank Justin Fields at four
and two resulted in exactly what I predicted it was.
Speaker 4 (21:56):
You have predicted that they were going to win five
of six when he got janked. That's what your prediction was,
that the Stellers were gonna win five of six.
Speaker 6 (22:05):
I predicted that by yanking Justin Fields, it was going
to result in them losing their bridge quarterback for twenty
twenty five who could have and should have been Justin Fields.
The baggage of Aaron Rodgers is not worth it under
any circumstances. And you don't have to ask me about that.
Go ask Gouden Koots and everybody up in Green Bay,
and go ask Bob Salah and Joe Douglas who no
(22:28):
longer live in New York or in New Jersey because
Aaron Rodgers saw it to it that he burned down
that franchise.
Speaker 3 (22:34):
Did he burn it down?
Speaker 4 (22:36):
Or did the defense that was supposedly top five defense
also fail? I could go on and on, and if
you want to give if you want to give the
Jets a pass, because they've been bad for a very
long time. I grew up going to Jets games at
Chase Stadium. It's a bad organization. If you want to
say it was Aaron Rodgers, fine, they.
Speaker 1 (22:56):
Also had Brett Farby started eight and three, didn't make
the playoffs that with the Jets, and he went on
the Minnesota No, but I mean, but he can hurt.
Speaker 3 (23:04):
He played, He played the entire season. He played.
Speaker 6 (23:07):
Here here, here, Here's a semi nuanced point that is
I think valid, and you could see it if you
watch the Jets play last year, which is that you know,
for all the talk about happy feet, this guy who's
coming into the league sometimes gets a little skittish when
the big bodies get around him. In fact, you see
that playout. As guys get older, they become more mortal,
(23:30):
they understand their own mortality. Aaron Rodgers looked like a
guy last year who did not want to take shots.
He is going to get hit. He understands that now
and he doesn't want anything to do with that. This
is about burnishing or rebuilding his legacy that was diminished
by his own actions and his terrible play at the
(23:50):
back end in Green Bay and then with the Jets
last year. He wants to rebuild these He has no interest.
He's there to play mercenary for himself. He has no
interest in the Steelers brand or building anything with the Steelers.
This is a sequel to a movie that no one
enjoyed the first time for Mike Tomlin with Russell Wilson.
(24:13):
Now they're running it back despite the fact that no
one wanted to see it happen.
Speaker 3 (24:16):
It might be Peyton Manning.
Speaker 4 (24:18):
Peyton Manning didn't play well and guess what, Denver did
They want a Superman.
Speaker 3 (24:21):
Now they're not built like that.
Speaker 5 (24:22):
Rob Dave Devinshuck our guest host of The Check Show
on YouTube. It was amazing to listen to you, Dave,
because you sounded like me for the last six months
going back and forth Rob about this stuff. I was
team Justin Fields. Give him a shot. Nobody was saying
he was Lamar Jackson. But let's see, he's on his
star team in three years. And I was also Russell
Wilson teams in three years and twenty five. And if
you were gonna even stay with an Aaron Rodgers, then
(24:43):
go stay with Russell Wilson. To me, just if you
just run that back and this is what you're gonna do,
I'm sean. Let me ask you this. Even if Aaron Rodgers,
who I do believe can still play the quarterback position,
I don't think he's terrible where I don't see the
longevity of this. So is this simply that Mike tom
can say in his mind, Ooh, I made it to
the postseason, Ooh, ooh, maybe I won a game. Because
(25:06):
it's not sustainable, it's not long term. So I'm looking
at it as other teams have their guy for the future,
the Jayden Daniels, the Lamar Jackson's and Josh Allens, the
Joe Burrows, the Justin Herbert. You're going down the line,
what's this for the Steelers? Meaning okay, we got them
for a year?
Speaker 3 (25:20):
What was the point of that, it's.
Speaker 6 (25:23):
One and done. It gets them no clerk closer to
what the ultimate goal is, which is landing the answer
at quarterback long term. In fact, this is schizophrenic. If
you think Aaron Rodgers is a game or three better
than Mason Rudolph, then why would you bring him into
the building when it seems pretty clear that a Super
Bowl is not going to be the end results He Devin.
Speaker 1 (25:45):
Wont a playoff game in nine years, you're talking about
a super Bowl. Dave Devin won a playoff game since
Moby Dickon was a guppy.
Speaker 4 (25:53):
I mean, come on, exactly at some point, at some point,
Mike Tomlin needs to win. The don't image you need
to win. The organization needs to win a playoff game.
Can we start there before you talk about a Super.
Speaker 6 (26:07):
Bowl rob we park our cars in the same garage
on that Mike Tomlin stands at the podium all the
time and declares he doesn't seek comfort. That's exactly what
this move is about. It is seeking comfort in the
short term to try to get a playoff win, to
get that stink off of him. But at the same time,
they're trying to pull off the Indianapolis Colts failed approach,
(26:31):
which is, let's just bring in a mercenary quarterback one
year at a time, whether it was Carson Wentz or
Phil rivers Any or Joe Blacko or Matt Ryan, whoever
they brought in. The Steelers are now going that exact
same method, and maybe, if they're lucky, they'll get the
same result that the Colts got Anthony Richardson. Maybe that's
(26:53):
what they can pine for. Maybe that's what this is
all a big build up to. In the short term,
this is not any so of a solution. This is
a one year attempt to fix things in sort of
an intermediate level. I don't think anybody brightly thinks in
this AFC. Mike Tomlin may be holding on to distant
(27:15):
memories when he was an assistant with the Tampa Bay
Buccaneers in the early part of this century, when he
saw Brad Johnson get carried to a Super Bowl by
a defense. The difference is the rules can't changing and
his marginalized defense. More and more over the last couple
of decades, the attempts to pull the inside straight of
(27:35):
playing a bum QB and still making hay in the
playoffs is just about non existent. Whereas it was a
little more plausible a decade ago, it no longer exists.
Look at the teams that made the playoffs last year,
to go all the way back where Kelvin was on
justin fields, You know, I agree? Is he Is he
(27:57):
a Hall of Famer? No, he's not. But if you
look at what the Philadelphia Eagles have done over the
last couple of years in building up the line of scrimmage,
very clearly that is what the Steelers have been trying
to do, which is follow the Eagles plan of loading
up with the line of scrimmage both sides and then
putting a quarterback in here who you can limit the
(28:19):
decision making, just like Jalen Hurts. If that path was
available to the Eagles, it was semi available to the
Pittsburgh Steelers except for the fact back to the schizophrenia,
which is they just traded away George Pickens, who was
also on his last year. So by trading him away,
you get yourself a little further away from the Super Bowl.
What the goal is this year is hard to divine
(28:42):
based on bringing in Aaron Rodgers, but trading away George Pickens.
Speaker 5 (28:46):
All right, well, Dave, we will soon see you and
I seem to be on the same page. We'll talk
to you a little bit later on about this and
some other NFL topics as well. Dave Debisheck, we appreciate
you as always, brother, Thank you, good times fellaws.
Speaker 6 (28:58):
Let's just see if Rogers brings out America can flag
out when he runs back out onto the Jets field
in the week one like he did a couple of
years ago.
Speaker 3 (29:04):
We'll have to wait and see.
Thanks for listening to the Best of the Odd Couple podcasts.
Be sure to catch us live every weekday from seven
pm to ten pm Eastern four to seventh Pacific on
Fox Sports Radio. Find your local station for the Odd
Couple at Foxsports Radio dot com, or stream us live
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Speaker 2 (00:22):
You're listening to the Best of the Odd Couple.
Speaker 3 (00:28):
He did the right thing, and guess what.
Speaker 1 (00:30):
So did the Pittsburgh freaking Steelers.
Speaker 3 (00:35):
They did the right thing.
Speaker 1 (00:38):
They looked at what they've had quarterback wise and say,
guess what, We'll take a future Hall of Famer.
Speaker 3 (00:45):
This has been done in the NFL for eons.
Speaker 1 (00:49):
Joe Montana finished his career with guests who the Kansas
City Cheese Aaron Rodgers will be Brett Farv two point zero.
Speaker 3 (01:04):
Brett Farv had one bad year with the Jets.
Speaker 1 (01:07):
They were eighting three and didn't make the playoffs because
he played poorly in the second half, and then he
went to Minnesota finished stronger. Right, he played well for them.
I'm expecting this same exact thing. I'm not into gambling.
I'm not telling you the over under is eight and
a half. Take the over take the over, because if
(01:31):
I gave you a stats, they would sound very very
close to somebody else, and that quarterback was Patrick Mahomes.
Aaron Rodgers actually had more touchdowns than Patrick Mahomes last year.
It's a big difference in wins because the Chiefs were
lucky last year, probably won four games they had no
(01:52):
business winning, but they won them. I'm looking at this
and I'm saying, not only will the Steelers win eleven games,
the Steelers will finally win a playoff game, and Aaron
Rodgers will be a big reason why they have not
(02:14):
had a really good quarterback in a while.
Speaker 3 (02:18):
And here you're having a future Hall of Famer. You
saw it. Tom Brady went to Tampa Bay.
Speaker 4 (02:24):
Want to win the Super Bowl? Peyton Manning went to
where do you go? I just got and he didn't
play great, but guess what he got out of it?
Got a Super Bowl. This is NFL for veteran quarterbacks.
(02:44):
Hall of Fame quarterbacks. All the great quarterbacks finished their
career elsewhere. It is no surprise that Mike Tomlin has
said Russell Wilson, Uh okay, Justin Fields, nah okay? Do
I want to go to anybody out if you talk
to players, players who played.
Speaker 3 (03:06):
With him, Get Greg Jennings on the phone.
Speaker 4 (03:10):
Him and Aaron Rodgers had a blowout after they stopped playing.
But ain't nobody talking about Aaron Rodgers better as a quarterback,
given protection, given an opportunity to play. I think this
is a home run. I think the Steelers were smart
to wait for him.
Speaker 1 (03:24):
If he was gonna play, why not get this guy's
very best and a chance to go out with a
blaze of glory. Aaron Rodgers has something to play for,
which is his name, and if he could go out
on a better record, nobody wants to leave the way
to Jets. That whole situation, first with the injury his
first year, and then last year where everything came apart.
Speaker 5 (03:46):
This makes total sense to me. I'm in, I'm out,
and it's actually not be so much because of Aaron Rodgers.
I don't think Aaron Rodgers is a horrible quarterback all
of a sudden. I don't think Aaron Rodgers is a
bad quarterback. Aaron Rodgers is still a very serviceable to
pretty good quarterback. My issue is what they've done to
bring in Aaron Rodgers. So you're in a division with
(04:08):
Lamar Jackson, I gotta play twice. I gotta play Joe
Burrow twice, and in a Cleveland team that should be
on the up. With if nothing else, we know they
have a good defense. They got rid of their best receiver.
They bring in d Kep Metcalf who has been struggling
with drops. They lose their running back and the defense,
as you talked about all last season, the defense ain't
been defensing like he's supposed to. So to me, when
(04:31):
you bring up to Tom Brady, when you bring up
the Peyton Manning, Peyton Manning and Tom Brady walked into
perfect tailor made situations where they had receivers galore, especially
Tom Brady, and they had defenses that were top notch.
The Steeler defense is getting old. It's not what it
used to be. They've again, they don't have the same
offensive schemes. They have not been good at handling the
(04:52):
quarterback and managing the quarterback position. So I just think
it's just not enough grade from Russell Wilson to me,
if they were gonna run this back, this kind of
version of a quarterback, then Ry not russ Up run out.
Russell Wilson to me, is pretty much the same quarterback
as Aaron Rodgers at this point in their career. Aaron
Rodgers had the great terr career, but they're pretty much
(05:13):
the same quarterback who would be second year in the system.
Now you've got a star new receiver who's learning the system.
You have a new quarterback who ain't even in yet,
but he will be learning a new system. He's forty
one going on forty two, and he also again is
losing receiver. It's not like he added DK. They lost
pickings and now they have DK. They don't have a
(05:34):
bunch of weapons. I just don't think the offensive line
isn't great. He's not mobile, and he's coming off an
Achilles injury from two years ago. So I don't think
Aaron Rodgers is a horrible quarterback. I don't think this
is a Taylor made as it may have felt like
it was. This isn't him going to the Buccaneers for
Tom Brady. They just needed a quarterback. They finished eight
to eight with Jamis Wistonson going Jamis Winston doing the
(05:55):
thirty for thirty, and that's why Tom Brady was like,
you know, I'm not gonna give it thirty for thirty
and that's why they were so good and that defense
was incredible. So to me, I just look at this again.
Ass the division is tight, and I think Mike Tomlin
is for the first time, at least in my mind,
being very desperate with this because the last point Rob
Aaron Rodgers. He might be solid. I don't think they're
(06:18):
making the postseason. I think this is the first time
Mike Tomlin is under five hundred. You can book that
for me. What are we betting on that? Let's bet
something on that. Let's bet you want to get your
Jordans back. No, I don't put some wings on. No,
let's get Jordans. Are you don't want to win your
Jordans back?
Speaker 6 (06:31):
No?
Speaker 3 (06:31):
No, no, no. Don't you want to get your Jorins on that?
You put some wings on it. You don't want to
get your Jordans back.
Speaker 5 (06:37):
Now, we'll put some wings on it. Have plenty of
I have plenty. We have no A good one.
Speaker 2 (06:41):
I love.
Speaker 3 (06:41):
This is the one. I would love the time. This
is the one I want to do.
Speaker 5 (06:44):
You said save five hundred time they will not make
the postcase.
Speaker 3 (06:47):
No, you said sub five hundred. That's what Mike Tomlin
will be let's bet that. If you got that, let's
why not I am betting. I'm not betting Jorans.
Speaker 1 (06:57):
Let's bet Jordan's. Don't you want to get your Jordans back?
I will get the Jordans back. He doesn't want to
get his Jordan's back?
Speaker 3 (07:04):
What seven and ten?
Speaker 1 (07:08):
He has no no conviction dollars on Jordans and not
a chance to get him back. And I'm so sure.
Let me let me, let me even make sure he
even signs. He might back out of this.
Speaker 3 (07:20):
Well, if he's not in, then then that's different. I'm saying,
let me let me be him sign. I just I
don't get the Steelers in this.
Speaker 1 (07:28):
Steelers won ten games ready with no quarterback the last
few they won ten games two years ago.
Speaker 3 (07:34):
I don't know who was a quarterback. Ten games?
Speaker 5 (07:37):
Their defensive ten games with no quarter running game ten games.
Speaker 4 (07:41):
You think the Steelers are going to have nobody to
run the football and their defense will be as bad
as it was a year ago?
Speaker 3 (07:45):
Is that what you're saying? Why not? Okay? I don't
why not? At I think that's what they do.
Speaker 5 (07:52):
Would you agree that the Jets had a better offensive
team than the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Speaker 2 (07:57):
No.
Speaker 5 (07:58):
Last year, yes, they did, look at those receivers. The
Jets had no.
Speaker 4 (08:02):
The Jets had a dad issues last year defensively, that
wasn't the same defense that they had two years.
Speaker 5 (08:07):
He went five to twelve with more offensive weapons than
he'll have with the Steelers. And again, I'm not saying
Aaron Rodgers gonna throw only ten touchdowns and twenty interceptions.
I don't think the team is as good as they
think they are in a division that is going to
be very good to competitive.
Speaker 4 (08:24):
They won ten games last year, and two years ago
they won ten games in that very.
Speaker 5 (08:28):
Same six straight games, but in that same, very the
very same division, and I think they're going down. They're
trending downwards.
Speaker 2 (08:37):
Fox Sports Radio has the best sports talk lineup in
the nation. Catch all of our shows at foxsports Radio
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listen live.
Speaker 4 (08:49):
Let's talk about it. We got it kind of got
a little preview with Mark Stein. We do man, you
and him, Well, I just again, and I'll say this too.
I'm known Mark for a long time and he's fine.
But you can't tell me that the ratings don't matter.
And he was saying that the only sport that's maligned
how many times people bring up baseball ratings, Come on beyond.
Speaker 3 (09:11):
Has been smacked two years on and all right, and
now all the ratings are rock. Last year was a
big year, that's right.
Speaker 4 (09:19):
And this year you saw all the numbers are off.
Rob g and I had it on the podcast. They're
doing really well with the changes in the game and
people are watching and young people too. So ratings are
You could say, well, they got a big con fact contract.
Speaker 3 (09:31):
That's fine, But.
Speaker 4 (09:33):
You can't tell me that if after game one the
overnight ratings are good, that they're not going to put
them out there.
Speaker 3 (09:39):
They won't. They're gonna be tonight ratings.
Speaker 1 (09:41):
Right, Adam Silver will call a press coy.
Speaker 3 (09:44):
They're gonna sit down. We're supposed to be SGA.
Speaker 5 (09:46):
He goes on the way move by the way, Hey
tell everybody at the ratings were great on if you
saw those, we got those numbers in right now, come bad, SGA,
go ahead, no.
Speaker 3 (09:53):
Doubt about it, all right, you got done?
Speaker 4 (09:57):
Okay? See yeah, and I just saw the picks on
ESPN game. Everybody on the path they all.
Speaker 1 (10:05):
Have the thunder and six, even Steven A and you
know the records not that good, right, all right.
Speaker 5 (10:11):
But I don't think see the brother on TV, I
don't even know what he's doing. Who is that brother
right there? That the baseball Yeah, however he was Pops.
Pops was looking a little distraught. That's how I feel
right now that you just told me everybody.
Speaker 3 (10:25):
Just picked everybody? Now, No, I got the thunder a
couple of reasons.
Speaker 5 (10:29):
Number One, I think we've all just ignored greatness as
far as the season. And I'm not saying a great
team all time, but it's been in our face, including
the individual player s GA and including the team. I've
said here now for weeks talking about their point differential,
how the historic rate, and now including the playoffs, they
have surpassed the Bulls with the the I'm sorry, the
(10:51):
Warriors with the most wins by double digits, sixty one
wins this season including the postseason by double did that
means it's just blowing out everybody night in night out.
We know what they've done defensively as well. They have
so many different ways to come at you. We can
come individually, man up. We have schemes where we can
put guys in the middle Caruso can guard any position
(11:13):
including Yolkis, which is crazy. And then they have a
guy who is doing other historic things on the offensive end, SGA,
scoring thirty plus points on fifty percent shooting for a
couple of two three years now, and the only other
guy done that is Jordan and so it's just remarkable
what he's done. He goes right into the playoffs, done
the same thing Eastern Conference Finals, I mean the MVP
(11:34):
Eastern Conference Finals MVP, and now he's trying to be
the finals MVP, and I just think they're going to
be too much. And it's kind of been a storm
coming Rob forty wins a couple of years ago, fifty
seven last year, and disappointing exit in the playoffs last season,
and now this one. They get to the finals, they
won sixty eight games, and I just think they're sitting
there like, duh, this was ours from the beginning. Why
(11:56):
did you think we didn't have a chance to win
this thing? So I think you put thirty thirty five
points on the board immediately when he's gonna be playing,
and what's gonna be interesting to see Tyres Halliburton. My
only concern for him is does he understand you and
I talked about it.
Speaker 3 (12:13):
He needs to be aggressive at all times. Now.
Speaker 5 (12:16):
This isn't a normal game midweek in the middle of
the season, this isn't a first round. This is the finals,
and his team is gonna need him every night to
be aggressive. And it doesn't mean taking a bunch of shots.
It just means trying to create for himself for others
every single play. And uh, but I ultimately I just
think the thunder are too much. I have it in five,
wouldn't be shocked if maybe it goes to six. But
(12:36):
I think it's just thunder. I think they're too much.
And it's just kind of been sitting there. We've all
just ignored it. Here's something that Rob just came down.
You got a little breaking news, Rob ghot know if
it's breaking news, but this conversation is breaking news. Oka
just announced their starters for tonight's game. One. Isaiah Hartenstein
has already been benched, Like.
Speaker 4 (12:56):
Like, you're all year, you've been doing this and you
were talking about all the numbers.
Speaker 3 (13:01):
There's no reason to change you.
Speaker 4 (13:03):
Remember when what's his name, Avery Avery Johnson was coaching,
do you remember, and they lost? They were eight seed
against the one and he changed his life.
Speaker 1 (13:14):
It was against the Warriors, we believe Warriors Warriors against
the Dallas Mavericks, right, you remember that it was the
one seed against Yeah, he changes lineup to accommodate them,
and I'm a and stan Van Gundy did the same thing.
You remember, that was the big thing about stan not
being and when the moment came that that's when they
(13:34):
went to the finals with skipped to Malou and then
and then Jamiir.
Speaker 5 (13:38):
Nelson that was at was playing well.
Speaker 3 (13:41):
He was playing well and there was no reason.
Speaker 4 (13:44):
Remember that he should be Yeah, because Jamiir Nelson and.
Speaker 3 (13:47):
Played like it was. And then they changed the line
up to get Jamir in there.
Speaker 1 (13:52):
And I know he was like their franchise guy.
Speaker 4 (13:55):
But now you can't change. And I'm just gonna say this.
You know, I know I'm the underdog.
Speaker 1 (14:01):
Everybody I saw has picked the thunder and I get it,
and that's fine.
Speaker 4 (14:06):
I'm gonna give the Pacers a chance at winning this.
And my reasoning is simple.
Speaker 3 (14:12):
Two things.
Speaker 1 (14:12):
Okay, they have something going seriously, in all three series
they were not supposed to win, and they've come up
with unbelievable wins along the way.
Speaker 3 (14:25):
To do that, which is incredible.
Speaker 4 (14:27):
And sometimes teams have something going and I alluded to
the two thousand and four Pistons, which was the team
that was, you know, star studed and won all the
games compared to the team that was a team like
the Pistons to be the last team really like team
team rob G? Is that fair, Kevin?
Speaker 3 (14:47):
You know the team.
Speaker 4 (14:47):
I'm not asking Rob G as an outsider, as somebody
who was a Laker fan, who didn't you expect to
win that championship?
Speaker 3 (14:54):
Seriously? I expected it to be a sweet.
Speaker 1 (14:56):
Seriously, like you looked at it and you went, the
Pistons are good. They had a nice season of y'all
really thought that. I'm not saying they picked the Lakers.
Speaker 3 (15:04):
People were one of the biggest favorites in the NBA Finals.
Speaker 5 (15:07):
But I feel like we're people watching. You were there
that Pistons team was having teams not score seventy.
Speaker 3 (15:11):
But they didn't care because they looked at where the
Lakers were.
Speaker 4 (15:14):
And remember when the Lakers came into that finals in
two thousand and four, they had won three in a
row and then didn't win the year, but then they
were back right back, so they had one looking at
three championships in four years, even.
Speaker 3 (15:27):
Though it was three in a row. You know, it's
kind of weird to scution me.
Speaker 1 (15:30):
Right, and people win four in five years and people
fully expected.
Speaker 3 (15:35):
I told you the story before.
Speaker 4 (15:37):
J Donde, who was the comments at the LA Times
at the time, And when the Pistons won game one,
you know, we're just eating in the press room and
he's like, Okay, this is over. Now they'll win the
next four and will be over, so all right, you know,
And then.
Speaker 1 (15:52):
The Pistons lost game two, so they was like, yeah,
this will be over now now they got that one win. Okay,
so we're not even coming back to winning three games.
And when to Detroit after the Pens is one game three,
well not a Lakers will winning next not?
Speaker 3 (16:06):
I was like, Jay, can you stop, like seriously? And
all I'm.
Speaker 4 (16:10):
Gonna say is Pacers have something going sometimes overwhelming and
the first time where you don't know if they get
behind or lose a game, how that can change. Here
you are, you're already making a lineup change where it
might feel different or why are we doing this?
Speaker 3 (16:27):
We've been so good? Why change?
Speaker 5 (16:30):
You know what I'm trying to dissect, like like a
little smaller, little faster.
Speaker 4 (16:34):
But but it's it's just a bad thing because what
is why what are you doing here?
Speaker 3 (16:40):
This has worked.
Speaker 1 (16:41):
There's no reason to tinker with something that has been
rolling all year long. And they and it was a blink.
And we've seen some teams do that, and I don't
think it's good. It's in their best interest. Just go
with what you want. You can still start them.
Speaker 4 (16:53):
And if you just want to get somebody extra minutes,
but don't all of a sudden, because then you're gonna
have people second guess, you just dding up the second guest.
Speaker 5 (17:01):
But I think to their credit, the way this is
Rob's both of y'all. This is why the thunder can
do this is because all year they have been united
almost to fun, meaning they take away from the star
moments because Jaylen Williams at a great gut and everybody's there. Sga,
you had another forty, but everybody's there and they're so
(17:23):
united that I agree. If this were the Knicks and
you said, carlthy Towns isn't starting, and we're gonna throw
in Mitchell Robinson, We're gonna throw in you know, another
guard or something right or something or Sammit, then I
could see you losing him. This Thunder team is built
so much like a college just frat house. They're all
friends and all of that. I don't see this bothering him.
(17:43):
I think he probably would go this actually makes sense, coach.
I'm still gonna get some minutes. I'm cool with that.
Let's just win a championship.
Speaker 4 (17:49):
So I'm gonna say Pacers in six in six yep.
Speaker 3 (17:57):
I Thunder and five.
Speaker 2 (17:59):
Fox Sports Radio has the best sports talk lineup in
the nation. Catch all of our shows at Foxsports Radio
dot com and within the iHeartRadio app search FSR to
listen live.
Speaker 5 (18:11):
It is the odd couple Rob Parker covin Washington on
a TV things so on Thursday, he's got the NBA
Finals kicking off here in just a little bit. But
your big news also was Aaron Rodgers Uh looking to
be signing with the Steelers coming up here at some point.
Dave Damashek, host of the Set show on YouTube, joins
us now to talk a little bit about that.
Speaker 6 (18:30):
Dave, how are you, hey, fellas? What's happening? Calvin and Rob?
Good to yap with you once again. And my reaction
is that apparently I tried to keep saying that Tomlin
and the Omar Khan and the Steelers at large, you
guys gotta go and see Sinners. They didn't listen to me.
(18:50):
They missed the message. The central message of that movie
is you don't invite the vampire into your building on purpose.
He's gonna suck the soul out of you, just like
he tried to with the Packers, just like he did
do with the Jets. This is the guy you're bringing in.
He's not even good anymore. He's a forty two year
old man at this point. What is the upside of
all this? I don't see it, Dave.
Speaker 1 (19:11):
He had the same numbers as Patrick Mahomes last year,
same exact numbers.
Speaker 4 (19:15):
I'm just I'm just telling you. They didn't have the
win totals. And I get it. He's not a likable guy.
But Dave, I think.
Speaker 3 (19:21):
You're over dramatic.
Speaker 1 (19:23):
I really do. I think Aaron Rodgers is still a
good quote. He had twenty eight touchdowns. Guess what Patrick
Mahomes had twenty six. Aaron Rodgers had eleven interceptions. Patrick
Mahomes had eleven interceptions. I mean, so, Patrick, so Patrick
Mahomes can't play either.
Speaker 3 (19:37):
Is that what you're saying.
Speaker 6 (19:39):
No, listen here, here's what I'm.
Speaker 3 (19:42):
Just asking you. The numbers are the numbers.
Speaker 6 (19:45):
I mean a raw touchdown number, and I am certainly
not gonna try and come back at you with advanced
day analytics or anything like that. Underlying numbers. The underlying
numbers do suggest he's more in the the third tier
quarterbacks at this point, more like the twenty first, twenty
second best quarterback going in pro football at this point.
(20:08):
And like you say, I mean there are other you know,
people keep saying what else should they have done? What
else was out there? Keeping justin Fields was possibly.
Speaker 1 (20:17):
They watched justin Fields all season. Okay, he started out
four and two and they still made a change, And
that tells you where no, and the Jets got him
for a bag of balls. I mean, it says something, Dave,
that you're watching the guy in practice.
Speaker 3 (20:34):
He has a four and two record and still plays downfield.
Speaker 1 (20:38):
All these other statistics that they looked at, and as
soon as Russell Wilson showed up, they were putting up
thirty eight and forty two points with the same offense
that couldn't get anything going. Now I get it they
ended the season poorly, but Dave, don't tell me when
they were rolling the first five or six weeks where
Russell and scoring thirty eight points, you were like, wow,
true or fouls?
Speaker 3 (20:59):
True or foul?
Speaker 1 (21:00):
Thanks.
Speaker 6 (21:00):
Thank goodness for social media and podcasts, both of which
are recorded for posterity. I said, when everybody was celebrating
Russell Wilson, where do you think this leads? Do you
think this leads to postseason success? Mike Tomlins thought in
mid December, when I think most of the rest of
the world had come around on Okay waterfind this level.
(21:23):
Russell Wilson at age thirty six is starting to play
like Russell Wilson at age thirty six. There was no
real hope that the Steelers are going to make a
playoff run, except in Mike Tomlins's mind. He does not
have a great handle on the QB room. He is remarkable.
He is the greatest floor raizer in pro football this millennium.
(21:44):
And that is in spite of the fact that he
is not a great QB whisper. He doesn't have a
great understanding of it. To yank Justin Fields at four
and two resulted in exactly what I predicted it was.
Speaker 4 (21:56):
You have predicted that they were going to win five
of six when he got janked. That's what your prediction was,
that the Stellers were gonna win five of six.
Speaker 6 (22:05):
I predicted that by yanking Justin Fields, it was going
to result in them losing their bridge quarterback for twenty
twenty five who could have and should have been Justin Fields.
The baggage of Aaron Rodgers is not worth it under
any circumstances. And you don't have to ask me about that.
Go ask Gouden Koots and everybody up in Green Bay,
and go ask Bob Salah and Joe Douglas who no
(22:28):
longer live in New York or in New Jersey because
Aaron Rodgers saw it to it that he burned down
that franchise.
Speaker 3 (22:34):
Did he burn it down?
Speaker 4 (22:36):
Or did the defense that was supposedly top five defense
also fail? I could go on and on, and if
you want to give if you want to give the
Jets a pass, because they've been bad for a very
long time. I grew up going to Jets games at
Chase Stadium. It's a bad organization. If you want to
say it was Aaron Rodgers, fine, they.
Speaker 1 (22:56):
Also had Brett Farby started eight and three, didn't make
the playoffs that with the Jets, and he went on
the Minnesota No, but I mean, but he can hurt.
Speaker 3 (23:04):
He played, He played the entire season. He played.
Speaker 6 (23:07):
Here here, here, Here's a semi nuanced point that is
I think valid, and you could see it if you
watch the Jets play last year, which is that you know,
for all the talk about happy feet, this guy who's
coming into the league sometimes gets a little skittish when
the big bodies get around him. In fact, you see
that playout. As guys get older, they become more mortal,
(23:30):
they understand their own mortality. Aaron Rodgers looked like a
guy last year who did not want to take shots.
He is going to get hit. He understands that now
and he doesn't want anything to do with that. This
is about burnishing or rebuilding his legacy that was diminished
by his own actions and his terrible play at the
(23:50):
back end in Green Bay and then with the Jets
last year. He wants to rebuild these He has no interest.
He's there to play mercenary for himself. He has no
interest in the Steelers brand or building anything with the Steelers.
This is a sequel to a movie that no one
enjoyed the first time for Mike Tomlin with Russell Wilson.
(24:13):
Now they're running it back despite the fact that no
one wanted to see it happen.
Speaker 3 (24:16):
It might be Peyton Manning.
Speaker 4 (24:18):
Peyton Manning didn't play well and guess what, Denver did
They want a Superman.
Speaker 3 (24:21):
Now they're not built like that.
Speaker 5 (24:22):
Rob Dave Devinshuck our guest host of The Check Show
on YouTube. It was amazing to listen to you, Dave,
because you sounded like me for the last six months
going back and forth Rob about this stuff. I was
team Justin Fields. Give him a shot. Nobody was saying
he was Lamar Jackson. But let's see, he's on his
star team in three years. And I was also Russell
Wilson teams in three years and twenty five. And if
you were gonna even stay with an Aaron Rodgers, then
(24:43):
go stay with Russell Wilson. To me, just if you
just run that back and this is what you're gonna do,
I'm sean. Let me ask you this. Even if Aaron Rodgers,
who I do believe can still play the quarterback position,
I don't think he's terrible where I don't see the
longevity of this. So is this simply that Mike tom
can say in his mind, Ooh, I made it to
the postseason, Ooh, ooh, maybe I won a game. Because
(25:06):
it's not sustainable, it's not long term. So I'm looking
at it as other teams have their guy for the future,
the Jayden Daniels, the Lamar Jackson's and Josh Allens, the
Joe Burrows, the Justin Herbert. You're going down the line,
what's this for the Steelers? Meaning okay, we got them
for a year?
Speaker 3 (25:20):
What was the point of that, it's.
Speaker 6 (25:23):
One and done. It gets them no clerk closer to
what the ultimate goal is, which is landing the answer
at quarterback long term. In fact, this is schizophrenic. If
you think Aaron Rodgers is a game or three better
than Mason Rudolph, then why would you bring him into
the building when it seems pretty clear that a Super
Bowl is not going to be the end results He Devin.
Speaker 1 (25:45):
Wont a playoff game in nine years, you're talking about
a super Bowl. Dave Devin won a playoff game since
Moby Dickon was a guppy.
Speaker 4 (25:53):
I mean, come on, exactly at some point, at some point,
Mike Tomlin needs to win. The don't image you need
to win. The organization needs to win a playoff game.
Can we start there before you talk about a Super.
Speaker 6 (26:07):
Bowl rob we park our cars in the same garage
on that Mike Tomlin stands at the podium all the
time and declares he doesn't seek comfort. That's exactly what
this move is about. It is seeking comfort in the
short term to try to get a playoff win, to
get that stink off of him. But at the same time,
they're trying to pull off the Indianapolis Colts failed approach,
(26:31):
which is, let's just bring in a mercenary quarterback one
year at a time, whether it was Carson Wentz or
Phil rivers Any or Joe Blacko or Matt Ryan, whoever
they brought in. The Steelers are now going that exact
same method, and maybe, if they're lucky, they'll get the
same result that the Colts got Anthony Richardson. Maybe that's
(26:53):
what they can pine for. Maybe that's what this is
all a big build up to. In the short term,
this is not any so of a solution. This is
a one year attempt to fix things in sort of
an intermediate level. I don't think anybody brightly thinks in
this AFC. Mike Tomlin may be holding on to distant
(27:15):
memories when he was an assistant with the Tampa Bay
Buccaneers in the early part of this century, when he
saw Brad Johnson get carried to a Super Bowl by
a defense. The difference is the rules can't changing and
his marginalized defense. More and more over the last couple
of decades, the attempts to pull the inside straight of
(27:35):
playing a bum QB and still making hay in the
playoffs is just about non existent. Whereas it was a
little more plausible a decade ago, it no longer exists.
Look at the teams that made the playoffs last year,
to go all the way back where Kelvin was on
justin fields, You know, I agree? Is he Is he
(27:57):
a Hall of Famer? No, he's not. But if you
look at what the Philadelphia Eagles have done over the
last couple of years in building up the line of scrimmage,
very clearly that is what the Steelers have been trying
to do, which is follow the Eagles plan of loading
up with the line of scrimmage both sides and then
putting a quarterback in here who you can limit the
(28:19):
decision making, just like Jalen Hurts. If that path was
available to the Eagles, it was semi available to the
Pittsburgh Steelers except for the fact back to the schizophrenia,
which is they just traded away George Pickens, who was
also on his last year. So by trading him away,
you get yourself a little further away from the Super Bowl.
What the goal is this year is hard to divine
(28:42):
based on bringing in Aaron Rodgers, but trading away George Pickens.
Speaker 5 (28:46):
All right, well, Dave, we will soon see you and
I seem to be on the same page. We'll talk
to you a little bit later on about this and
some other NFL topics as well. Dave Debisheck, we appreciate
you as always, brother, Thank you, good times fellaws.
Speaker 6 (28:58):
Let's just see if Rogers brings out America can flag
out when he runs back out onto the Jets field
in the week one like he did a couple of
years ago.
Speaker 3 (29:04):
We'll have to wait and see.
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