October 31, 2025 • 33 mins
Mark continues to talk Steelers and Colts matchup this Sunday, Tim Benz joins for his weekly segment to do the same.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
All your music radio and podcasts.
Speaker 2 (00:02):
Free never sounded so good.
Speaker 3 (00:08):
It is the springtime of my loving Robert plan as
the line and winner and magnificently so. But the Steelers
are a nuclear winner and that's not good. On other shows,
they're trying to formulate ways for the Steelers to win
this game.
Speaker 1 (00:27):
But even Cronkite is saying the war is now unwinnable.
Speaker 3 (00:32):
I can't invent anything besides luck and hope, and luck
and hope are not strategies. Maybe desperation could be a strategy.
Maybe that's the motivator, should be the motivator. Maybe that
gets the Steelers to dig deep and try something different,
because there's never been a better.
Speaker 1 (00:51):
Time to not be the Steelers.
Speaker 3 (00:54):
And if they lose this game, if they lose a
third straight and then they're heading to La to play
the Chargers, who are beatable but they're better than the Steelers,
the season could really go to crap. Remember was it
a week ago? Pete Prisco a CBS said they could
lose eight or nine in a row, and we all
poop pooed that hate me too. Guess what they lose Sunday?
(01:15):
They could lose eight or nine in a row and
it will be more glorious than deed day I would
dance like. Well, never mind, I made my suggestions. I'm
doing my part. I'm lending my super genes to the cause.
Have Ramsey cover the tight end, Todler Warren, that's a
big ben idea. Actually come out throwing with three wide outs,
(01:38):
not that they have three legit wide outs. Maybe go
no huddle to put Rogers more in control. Above all,
do not force a rock fight.
Speaker 1 (01:49):
You can't. You gotta play basketball like the.
Speaker 3 (01:53):
Course he said, try and win thirty five thirty three
because your defense quite frankly blows goats.
Speaker 1 (02:00):
This is the Mark Madden Show.
Speaker 3 (02:03):
But I know that I love you, so boy planted
better with the rain song than I am doing this segment.
Dial eight three three four one two w xdx. That's
eight three three four one two w xdx, or follow
me on Twitter at Mark madden X. Let me try
that once more. But I know that I it's not
(02:27):
working that number again eight three three four one two
w xdx. Here's a prediction, not for the game, And
again I want your advice on this. Actually the number
is eight three three four one two wxdx. Steelers are
only three point hunderdogs, and now it's at akershure. But
(02:47):
Indy is a juggernaut and they are averaging covering this
year by over eleven points per game. Should I bet
a couple of dimes on Danny dimes and by that
I mean two two thousand dollars? Or should I chick
it out and bet less? Tell you what, if I
want two grand, I'd have to bet twenty two hundred
(03:09):
to win too grandit I'd go to party toime. That's
where they party down. You know they love the ball.
They do it in the halls right there in party time.
How do I segue from Robert Plant to Glenn Fry solo? Okay,
but here's my prediction the NFL trade deadline. That's how
you can tell it's bad radio. You just keep coming
(03:29):
back to teasing but never delivering. Now here's my prediction.
The NFL trade deadline is Tuesday, and what I'm predicting
is if the Steelers lose on Sunday, especially if they
lose by a convincing score, here's my prediction. The Steelers
(03:51):
will make a stupid desperation move at the deadline. That
is my prediction, because they are locked into winning a
playoff game this year. Art the Second talked about how
that was important. It's a low bar, but what if
it's a low bar you don't even reach. What if
you don't even make the playoffs? So they lose on Sunday.
(04:15):
The trade deadline is Tuesday, and my prediction is this,
they will make a really desperate trade eight three three
four one two WXDX. But I know that I love you,
so maybe that's just not the right song for me.
How about Plant did for the encore gallows Poll, which
(04:38):
is like kind of an old fashioned folks he bluesy
number and his band was like, you know, mostly acoustics,
slightly electric, like stand up based stuff like that.
Speaker 1 (04:47):
It was great.
Speaker 3 (04:50):
And in the middle of gallows Pool he did like
about eight lines from Black Dog. He didn't scream, didn't wail,
didn't go full out electric like like on the fourth album,
but the crowd went insane, insane. He just and he
didn't like like I said, didn't scream, didn't squeeze the
(05:11):
lemons like, hey, MoMA, with the way you move, gonna
make you sweat, gonna make you groove, and the crowd
went bonkers. I went bonkers, I gotta admit. And here's
how much I love Zeppelin to love Robert Plant. The
Rain song was so magnificent I cried just a little bit.
(05:33):
It took me way back to a simpler time. I
might go see Plant in Chicago on the twelfth. Now
that would break up a week of radio, but I
do have vacation days remaining, and even though it wouldn't
be professional to take off in the middle of a
Steelers week, I intend to probably do exactly that. Uh, Okay,
(05:54):
Colts defense, I promise you'd talk about it, but I
know I did better with black Dog.
Speaker 1 (06:03):
What else?
Speaker 3 (06:04):
Yeah, he cut loose on Ramble and that was the one,
So I can't do that. Okay, Colts defense. People are
saying the Colts defense is vulnerable, and guess what it is,
thirtieth and third done defense, twenty fourth in yardage, seventh
in scoring defense. But that's kind of luck of the
draw that's been But don't break, and when you do that,
(06:26):
you eventually break. Now they've played a lot of bummy quarterbacks,
you know, Aaron Rodgers ain't that. But to exploit the
Colts perhaps having a defense that's vulnerable, you gotta go
out there and play basketball, which is the great turn
of a phrase by de course, force a high scoring game,
(06:48):
don't angle for rock fight.
Speaker 1 (06:52):
And I know, I know, I know way down inside.
Didn't do a whole lot of love woman. No anyway,
bam boom no, I know, and you know two.
Speaker 3 (07:10):
That they're gonna try to force a rock fight because
it's what they do. This is the Steelers and this
is how we play. And it sucks and hasn't won
a playoff game in seven years going on eight. But
that coach defense, it is vulnerable, no question about that,
all right. Eight three three four one two WSDX. I
(07:31):
watched Ridiculousness once, that MTV show they got canceled, and
I watched and it was the worst show ever. And
I concluded that right away. It was on the air
for fourteen years, and like it was on the air
year round, technically they did forty two seasons of Ridiculousness.
Just I mean, I'm ass the days when MTV actually
(07:53):
played music videos. I know that this doesn't happen anymore.
There are a lot of bands that broke big own
because of MTV. Only maybe our buddy Red Beach could
attested that winger Winger the video for for seventeen. What's
that one line in there? Daddy says she's too young,
(08:16):
but she's young enough for me, old enough for me.
Daddy says she's too young, but she's old enough for me.
Speaker 4 (08:21):
Uh.
Speaker 1 (08:22):
Writing credits to Kip Winger, Red Beach, and Jeffrey Epstein
one nine X.
Speaker 3 (08:26):
People are freaking out over this year, so tell us
no matter what we do, so we might as well
have a good time.
Speaker 1 (08:32):
Told got hold got.
Speaker 3 (08:40):
I'm perversely excited about this Steeler game Sunday. I think
they probably get killed, But what if they don't. I
think they're gonna go for a rock fight. But what
if they do open enough? What if Rogers prods Tom
would to do what's sensible and they wind up winning?
You know, thirty five thirty three, like the course he
(09:01):
talked about yesterday, and like they did last year when
they wanted Cincinnati.
Speaker 1 (09:09):
They can win playing that way.
Speaker 3 (09:10):
They just don't like to, and maybe not that the
defense sucks, Maybe it's the only way they can winner.
Their best path to winning that defense it'll play decent
against bad teams, and they will still continue to beat.
Speaker 1 (09:22):
Bad teams, but they really need to win this game.
Speaker 3 (09:28):
To keep things even remotely on track, to get them
even back remotely on track. They need to win this game,
and they need to do it by any means necessary,
not their preferred method. They can't hold out for that.
We got Tim Benz joining us at three o'clock. The
national media is turning on the Steelers some and I'm
(09:49):
here for it. Here's Bart Scott on ESPN with a
really insulting label.
Speaker 1 (09:56):
Think they're payper champions, right.
Speaker 2 (09:58):
They haven't played a lot of hard opponents, and listen
the way their defense is playing. They can't beat anybody
that can punch back, right, and you look at it
last week giving up three hundred and sixty yards to
Jordan Love. They can't stop the run, they can't stop
the pass. This is supposed to be the most This
is the most expensive defense in the NFL.
Speaker 5 (10:14):
And you're with.
Speaker 1 (10:15):
Twenty eighth in the league.
Speaker 2 (10:16):
So I think that they still have to play the
Ravens twice later in the season, right, and they have
a real they have a real Bible opponent in front
of him this week.
Speaker 3 (10:26):
Wow, pay per Champions can't beat anybody that could punch back.
And the phrase that pays, or rather the phrase that
pays too much is the most expensive defense in the NFL.
We should never forget that that this defense sucks despite
getting the bag, despite being paid the most of any
(10:47):
defense in the National Football League. And yeah, Indianapolis is
a real viable opponent. This is the year.
Speaker 6 (10:56):
I bet.
Speaker 3 (10:59):
When we see this Deeler's cliches die. By year's end,
the Steelers cliches will all be dead. Like can they
pull off of tomlins special unquote this week? And they
always beat Baltimore at least once unquote, they got Lamar's
number unquote. Well, the Steelers better make those cliches come
(11:22):
to life, but I bet they don't.
Speaker 1 (11:25):
Let's go to the man on the road. Man on
the Road, you're on with double.
Speaker 5 (11:27):
M and Mark just calling about the Colts game this Sunday.
I think Paulin's just going to try to sell out
to stop Jonathan Taylor, throw everything at him to stack
up the box, shut him down, and the Colt swide
receiver personnel. We just don't have the guys to cover
the Antonio Pierce, their third guy is probably one of
the best deep ball guys in the last ten to
fifteen years. He's crazy fast, Michael Pittman's a sub top
(11:51):
ten guy and Josh Downs could burn us.
Speaker 3 (11:53):
I well, and don't don't forget Tyler Warren the tight
end and presumptive right day of the year. And I
would bet instead of doing what's what's what's logical and
putting Jalen Ramsey on Warren as Big Ben has suggested,
I bet they put like the greatest cover linebacker in
the league, Peyton Wilson, or a backer or god knows
(12:14):
who on Tyler Warren. But it won't work unless it
is Ramsey, and it might not even work.
Speaker 1 (12:19):
Then.
Speaker 3 (12:20):
The Steelers defense is so bad and deployed so stupidly.
I gotta tell you, man on the road, I just
don't have any confidence in the coaching staff to make
even one correct decision, and especially on the defensive side
of the football.
Speaker 5 (12:37):
Yeah, this is this defense that we have right now
is supposed to be the best we had over the
middle of years, and it's turning out to be the worst.
This tight on Tyler Warren is incredible. He might be
better than Tyler Kraft or anybody who've played this year,
and he's probably gonna shred us for one hundred plus.
This weekend.
Speaker 3 (12:52):
Yeah, I I I can't get away from thinking it's
going to be a slaughter.
Speaker 1 (12:58):
I mean.
Speaker 5 (12:58):
And then Jonathan Taylor in the second half. I think
he's just gonna take off after getting shut down the
first half, and it's just gonna get blown wide open.
Speaker 1 (13:04):
Yeah. But you know what the Colts do that that?
Speaker 3 (13:07):
I mean, the Steeler tradition is you get a lead
and run down hill behind the bus in the second half. Right,
And don't get me wrong, they do use Taylor often
and well, but they don't try to hold leads. They
try to extend leads. The Colts are exemplary of modern
day football. Shane Steiken coaches what's important, what wins today,
(13:29):
and the Steelers are anything but do anything but thank
you for the call. Next, going to talk to Tim
ben Zum Mark Madden trying to figure out how to
get the Robert plant in Chicago.
Speaker 1 (13:40):
On Wednesday the twelfth, one oh five ninety X.
Speaker 7 (13:43):
Tomorrow afternoon, the Pen's face off against the Jets.
Speaker 1 (13:47):
Game time is three.
Speaker 7 (13:49):
Our coverage starts at two. Listen to every game and
the best Pens coverage on your home and the Pittsburgh
Penguins one five nine d X.
Speaker 1 (13:58):
This is Doug Gottlieb. Here's it's trending from the Iheartsports
Network presented by Mercedes Benz.
Speaker 6 (14:03):
Let's start with football, where Steelers safety Deshaun Elliott and
defensive tackle Daniel like Walley replaced on IR today.
Speaker 1 (14:09):
They've got knee injuries. Qualley's injury is season ending.
Speaker 6 (14:13):
College Football's tenth week is here now and Peddle visit
Stanford tomorrow. Well West Virginia travels to number twenty two Houston,
Penn State meets top rank Ohile State, and iHeartMedia has
been named the exclusive audio partner for next year's Winter Olympics.
Speaker 1 (14:26):
I'm Scott David sat looking for a nick just say
this is stupid. You're stupid. Thanks for coffee. The exit
one oh five nine.
Speaker 3 (14:35):
Doublem on the X Steelers host Indianapolis Sunday. You can
watch the game with me at the Schoolhouse Tavern in
Claradge joining me not to talk about it from the trip.
Speaker 1 (14:45):
He is Tim Bens.
Speaker 3 (14:46):
Tim, what's the best bet for the Steelers to beat Indianapolis?
Because I can't see one that I would call best.
The culture really a juggernaut.
Speaker 1 (14:56):
Yeah, if you say best.
Speaker 4 (14:58):
My initial response is a replication of the Patriots game,
where they create a few turnovers, they get a few
turnovers handed them. I think there's basically a just due
element that Steeler fans would have to be banking on
to make this a reality, Like the Steelers are just
(15:18):
due to play way above their heads and the Colts
are just due for a bad game, because that's how
the NFL works. But there's nothing tactical, there's nothing statistical,
there's nothing X and O matchup wise that you look
at and you say, oh, well, the Steelers are gonna
benefit and exploit because of this. Maybe with a team
(15:40):
that had more wide receivers than just one, you could
say Rogers and the wide receivers could exploit the corners
of the Colts. But I don't even know if there's
a depth of weaponry enough for Rogers to bank on that.
Speaker 3 (15:55):
I will say there are those who say the Colts
defense is vulnerable, and if you look at their stats,
there are some cracks, like they're one of the very
worst defenses, ranked thirtieth in fact when it comes to
third don defense. But that feels like kind of grasping
its straws. Give it how many points they score.
Speaker 1 (16:13):
Well, maybe that's good for.
Speaker 4 (16:14):
The Steelers because of the way they performed on third
down against the Packers. They certainly got there enough and
did nothing with it, so maybe they can't exploit that.
But that's sort of where I was going with the
quarterback wide receivers versus the corner thing. I can squint
and see that for sure, Mark and I, you know,
I thought it was interesting how Arthur Smith talked about
(16:34):
this when I asked him about the pass rush of
the Colts. The Colts have I believe twenty three sacks,
tied for fit most with the Lions the National Football League,
And I asked him about how they do it, how
they gather it? Do they blitzy?
Speaker 5 (16:48):
You know?
Speaker 4 (16:48):
What is it about them that gets them the sacks
that they got? Through the process of being very complimentary,
the end result of what he said was, Look, they
play ahead a lot, and you know, they get a
lot of sacks because guys are throwing NonStop, because they
have huge leads, and you can talk about who they've
beaten to that factors into this.
Speaker 1 (17:07):
Yeah, not played a lot of great quarterbacks.
Speaker 3 (17:08):
But but again, it feels like grasping its straw's given
how many points they score, how bad the Steelers defense
has been, and where the Steelers are at right now?
What do you think is the Colt's biggest danger on offense?
How can the Steelers defense, I mean, you're not gonna
stop any How can they maybe narrow down Indy's weaponry?
Speaker 4 (17:30):
The easiest, most simple answer is they're a very good
running team. They run the outside zone well. Trey Sermon,
who used to play with them and actually had nearly
a career high game against the Steelers running for them
in twenty twenty three when the Colts beat the Steelers,
talked about, you know, how basic of a game play
and they had going into Steeler Week both times, and
(17:54):
it's largely just about how Taylor runs the outside zone.
And he said, that's the most questions he's been getting
from this defense this year is how to stop that?
What are the nuances of how he runs it? So
they know what to expect. But like everything else with
the Steelers' defense, identifying the problems has never been the problem.
It's fixing the problems. So I think that's really what's
(18:16):
crux here for them this week is seeing the obvious
things that the Colts do well, like giving the ball
to the best running back in football right now and
stopping it, and they are not particularly adept at doing that.
And the Colts are also quite good at showing you
X in the first quarter, then showing you why in
the second quarter, making it look exactly the same pre
snap and with the personnel, and then doing something completely
(18:37):
different with it. And the Steelers have had a problem
with that against Shane Steichen over the years, not just
the two with Indy, but the one with Philadelphia as
well when he was the offensive coordinator and they got
blown out across the state.
Speaker 3 (18:51):
Why is that Steelers secondary disintegrated? I mean, is it
because it was thrown together? Are the guys just not
that good? I got a feeling it's.
Speaker 4 (18:58):
Both the thrown together part of it. I don't know
if it's that big of a deal, because they aren't
very intricate in what they do, and those guys have
been around long enough to have seen a lot, so
I don't really think it's that. I just think that
they might have gotten some players who are not quite
past their prime, and maybe guys who will never really
(19:19):
have one of all that much significance. Joey Porter Junior
might fall into the latter category. One Thornhill is another
one that might fall into that category after he's bounced
around a couple times. Chuck Clark's same thing. Their best
guy's been hurt a couple times this year in Elliott
and Ramsey. You know, I just I think they completely
(19:39):
overrated Ramsey's worst attribute, which is his coverage ability. He
can do a lot of things, running with the guy
in coverage is probably the thing he does worst. And
they were talking and training at.
Speaker 3 (19:50):
Least in this point in his career, like I overestimated too,
I thought we were getting the old Jalen Ramsey because
I ain't seen enough of the new Jalen Ramsey, but
now I have, right.
Speaker 4 (20:00):
And then the last part that we haven't talked about
yet is what they got in Darius Slay, which is
a hell of a lot closer to what they got
in Patrick Peterson and what they got and Joe Hayden,
And I think they thought they were getting at least
one year of Joe Hayden or maybe Steven Nelson for
his first year here in Pittsburgh, and Slay is neither
of those things, you know, And then you got the
(20:21):
classic guys like Pierre and Eccles, who are playing above
their heads right now, so everybody thinks they should play more.
And what happens when those guys play more, Mark, Oh, no,
no question, And I think they get exposed, like you reached.
We love these guys in Pittsburgh. Get the guy off
the bench. He's showing more than we think he is. Okay,
well you get him out there for a long time,
(20:41):
and you realize why it was on the bench in
the first place.
Speaker 3 (20:43):
Well, that kind of ties into the Dugger's acquisition, because
New England is paying Dugger money on his contract now
to play for somebody else. And I liked the trade
of makeup for Ramsey and John who when it happened,
it's blown up because Ramsey ate what they thought he was,
John who isn't being targeted nearly like we thought he would.
(21:07):
And Mike, as mediocre as he was the last two seasons,
at least he was that.
Speaker 1 (21:12):
Guy in the back, which they now clearly don't have.
Speaker 4 (21:16):
They do miss that element. And you know they're not
getting enough of the big plays out of Ramsey. We've
seen them splash occasionally. They're not getting enough of those
because look at the lack of turnovers since what was
it four weeks ago? Now, I think it was the
last turnover three weeks ago. With something like that, I
(21:36):
mean even the sacks like those were the things that
Ramsey was bringing to the table, and they're not happening
enough to counterbalance the lack of coverage. And I'll be frank,
like Minka Fitzpatrick, that stuff wasn't here for the last
five weeks of his tenure here anyway, before the trade.
So if he's here, I don't know how much better
it is. It's just a different it would be a
(21:57):
different kind of bad.
Speaker 3 (21:58):
I think disappointing his walk bin because he's not getting
nearly the blame. I think he deserves it, getting paid
forty one mil.
Speaker 1 (22:06):
And why is he receded.
Speaker 4 (22:09):
I just you know, there are some data points that
suggest he's not getting off the ball quite as quick
if you look at some of the next gen stuff,
and you know that might be because he's trying to
figure out ways to get around ships and double teams.
For before, when he was, you know, five years younger,
he was just blowing through them on the way to
twenty one sacks or nineteen sacks or whatever. So you
(22:30):
know this is what we talked about, that you were
not getting a player that you were paying for at
the same level that he earned the contract. In their eyes,
you're you're paying for who he was, not who he's
going to be. And they're dealing with that right now.
And the evidence is TJ. Watt of four or five
years ago. He was shipped and double teamed all the time,
and he still was able to get through and get
(22:53):
sacks and create big plays. Now, one thing that I'll
say mark is not just for him, but for Hayward
and for a lot of those guys along the defensive line.
One way that they used to counter this, Hey, that
offense is getting rid of the ball in two point
two seconds is they were extremely adept at getting their
hands in passing lanes, getting their hands up and swatting
the ball down. Where's that been for three weeks because
(23:16):
we haven't seen much of that, aside from Dylan Gabriel
who's five foot eleven, we haven't seen much of that.
And that was always a good counter punch to what
offense has had to get rid of the ball quick
and what was great at that they're not even doing
that now.
Speaker 3 (23:31):
We're talking to Tim Benz of The Trib here on
the Mark Madden Show, brought to us by Calusy Chevrolet,
serving the Pittsburgh area for one hundred and seven years.
Tim staying with Watt for one more second, I think
what should do with Garrett and Parsons do and move
around the line of scrimmage.
Speaker 1 (23:46):
I think he's predictable, and when you're.
Speaker 3 (23:48):
Slowing down a bit like I think he is being
that predictable as death. I don't think you should fail,
but never change as you fail.
Speaker 4 (24:01):
Agreed. And the most mystifying part of it is they
talked about it more this offseason. There's more reason to
do it in season. They have more players who can
help make it happen, because you can put her big
in there with high Smith and Watt and have him
be another threat to draw eyes, or to run games
(24:23):
or twists with Watt or something like that, or just
put him on the edge and put Wat in the middle,
or move him down a gap or two and have
her Big outside of him.
Speaker 1 (24:32):
There's a myriad of.
Speaker 4 (24:33):
Different things they can do. And even you know, Wilson
rushed a little bit more in college than what they've
had him do here, and he's not extraordinarily foreign to
doing it off the edge, if he even wanted to
surprise an offense that way. It's like they think that
because the defense is struggling now, the worst thing in
the world to do is to confuse them more and
try more new things. But I think predictability is as
(24:56):
much of a reason for their failure defensively as his
can fusion. So you know how they are, Mark, You know,
they keep talking about and Tomlin has for decades now
not wanting to live in their fears, but they are
so fearful of trying anything new with failure is already
what they're trying to avoid.
Speaker 1 (25:12):
Why is Heismith playing more than herbig.
Speaker 4 (25:18):
Deference? And I think the other thing is either they
were full of it when they told us this, or
we were full of it for wanting to believe it.
But they obviously don't think Herbig can play against the
run like they're getting run on, and they still feel
like if he went in there it would be worse.
So I just think that they were pumping his tires
(25:39):
in their own analysis of what we should expect from
him in the run, because that was always the thing.
Should Herbig play more, I don't know he's not so
good against the run. On the series of struggle against
the run, well, they're still struggling. He might be their
best pass rusher right now, and they're scared to put
him in there because they think that encourages the opposition
to run more so, again, it's a self defeating premise,
(25:59):
but they're layered with these on the defense, and we've
just outlined two or three of them.
Speaker 3 (26:04):
I feel like the Steelers have to be prepared to
try and win thirty five thirty three, go toe to
toe and possession for possession. Mike the course, he called
it trying to play basketball, but I know Tomin will
try to force a rock fight and thus rely on
a defense that has proven all year it can't be
relied on.
Speaker 4 (26:23):
It's one of two ways. You got to go to
an extreme here. You got to be ready to take
the gloves off and you know, go in the middle
of the ring from the first bell on like you're
talking about, and be prepared for thirty six thirty five.
Or you've got to do the exact opposite and run, run, run, run,
run until Jalen Warren runs out of gas and then
you put in game well until he gets tired, then
you bring in Caleb Johnson until he gets tired, make
(26:45):
the game last two and a half hours, and hope
it in seventeen to fourteen in your favor. But you know,
they've even shown a propensity to get away from that,
like the first possession coming out of the third quarter
last week, after they were run the ball effectively and
Ward looked great in the opportunities that he had, and
then you know, they went past past pass to start
and it turned into a punt and we didn't really
get much run game after that because of the circumstances
(27:08):
that transpired there after. So they never want to go
to extremes, but in this situation, they got to be
Billy Joel on this one. They got to go to
one extreme or the other. They got to turn this
into a real quick run game, or they got to
be ready to slug it out for three and a
half hours and you know, take it to overtime and
maybe see it get in the forties.
Speaker 3 (27:26):
Tim here's my list of Steelers that are doing okay.
It's a short list. Aaron Rodgers the old line's gotten better.
Jalen Warren also has gotten better. Derek Harmon the rookie
defensive line doesn't look like he stinks and that's it.
Speaker 1 (27:42):
That's the list.
Speaker 3 (27:43):
I think the vast majority of the Steelers was either
the players mediocre in the first place, or is disappointed
and played below his talent and.
Speaker 1 (27:51):
On defense, especially his paycheck level.
Speaker 4 (27:55):
Did you say her Big in that when he has
been allowed to play? Did you put him on there?
Speaker 1 (27:59):
But Herbie doesn't play enough? But yeah, I'll put him
on that list.
Speaker 3 (28:02):
Though.
Speaker 4 (28:03):
Yeah, I can't disagree with a lot with much of
that at all. And I do think that the offensive line,
for what it has been asked to do and how
it has been reconfigured to make it better, has been
better in recent weeks. Now, how does that change depending
on Cmalu's health and how they address that, Like do
they get away from the jingle package, Howie Anderson full
(28:24):
time inside at guard? And what do they do when
they want to go jumpo? After that? That could turn
into a problem. You might see some regression there. But yes,
I would say that collectively, we've had a lot more
things to complain about than the offensive line. Into the
first couple of weeks, I thought that might be the
biggest grousel point all year long.
Speaker 3 (28:41):
You know what I like is some of the Steeler
cliches that are dying this year. One's going to be
that they have Lamar's number and they always beat Baltimore
at least once.
Speaker 1 (28:50):
Yeah, we'll see how that works out.
Speaker 3 (28:52):
And also that this game against Indianapolis could be a
Tom Win Special unquote, and Tim I like that the
Tom Win Special can be referred to to a win
he shouldn't win and a loss he shouldn't lose.
Speaker 4 (29:05):
Well, that's why the Tomlin Special was last week and
it didn't happen. And right, exactly, Tom and Row, we've
had that because didn't that happen from India Dallas too, Like,
wasn't it exactly the same scenario prime time NFC team
coming in at home after a bad loss and they
didn't win that one either. And then if I'm remembering right,
Fields was bench straight after that and it was no
(29:26):
they won a game after that. I'm sorry they won
one more than Russ came back in because Russ wasn't
healthy yet.
Speaker 1 (29:30):
But yeah, that.
Speaker 4 (29:31):
Tomlin's Special part of the equation has now failed at
least once in each of the last two years. And
Shane Stikeen was a part of that equation last year,
and he feels to me like kryptonite for Tomlin. I
don't know if he's the greatest coach in the world,
but he does some things that Tomlin and his defense,
Oh Tim, Tim.
Speaker 1 (29:50):
He's the antithesis of Tomlin.
Speaker 3 (29:52):
Shane Steiken is all offense, modern day, go out there, score,
get a lead extended, whereas Tomlin is, to use the cliche,
a rock fight guy.
Speaker 4 (30:02):
And if your offense is good enough that it puts
opposing offenses in very hammered in positions where they have
to throw because your offense has got in front, you
don't have to be all that crazy and creative on defense.
I know that was a complaint in Indianapolis, that they
were one of the most predictable and basic defenses. But
(30:24):
you know, as you've seen in the evolution of who
Indya has become, if your offense is so good and
you're getting out to big leads, it doesn't matter that
the defensive players know. They just have to worry about
the pass. That makes so many things easier to execute.
From that point on, and the Steelers have had to
guess on defense run versus pass all the time because
(30:45):
They've never been in that position where they could just
pin their ears back and go except for Cleveland. And
what did that look like? That looked like the Steeler
defense that we were used to seeing, as was the
case for a good chunk of the game in Ireland
until Jordan Madison hit the big catch and then that
turned the calculus that game here too.
Speaker 1 (31:02):
Tim. I'll be blunt.
Speaker 3 (31:03):
I see this game as unwinnable for the Steelers, and
yet the culture only favored by three, and that does
give me pause.
Speaker 4 (31:11):
Yeah, that's a weird line, you know, that was I'm surprised.
Maybe there's just not enough Colt money coming in to
bake up the line, you know what I mean? You
know what I mean, Mark, Like, maybe there's just the
Packers have a huge national fan base, you know there
are teams.
Speaker 3 (31:25):
Oh yeah, that's a good point. We talked about that
a little bit earlier with Tom. The Colts don't have
the brand name to make them a heavy favorite.
Speaker 4 (31:33):
And I still think there's people nationally that look at
the Colts and say it's Daniel Jones, like this can't
last forever. It's the AFC South like they look at
it like they're playing from a small conference like Gonzaga
playing Duke in the end the only finals or something.
It's like they might be good there, but they're really
going to be able to blow out the Steelers by
more than a touchdown. I mean, every number suggests that
(31:54):
they can and that they will. But that line has
held steady. Maybe the late money coming in on Sunday,
but I've noticed that too, Mark, and it's just maybe
wonders they're not that much big money coming in on
the Colts that the gambling houses feel comfortable of building
up the line all the more and taking it on
the backside. Should Steelers be able to cover?
Speaker 1 (32:14):
And here's what kind that kind of ties into that.
Speaker 3 (32:17):
They said today on ESPN that the Colts have covered
on average this year by almost eleven points. But that
figures into Vegas holding back the line because of the
Colts brand name.
Speaker 4 (32:30):
Uh yeah, that too. And you know they've been covered
a lot against AFC teams. I noticed that the playing
conference they cover quite a bit too. And I was
looking at some other kind of numbers, like you know
what happens in the fourth quarter when you have a
chance to get a back door cover. The Steelers are
terrible in the fourth quarter and letting points allow. They're
(32:52):
the worst team in the NFL and allowing points in
the fourth quarter. And the Colts at the very least
are average, but their only average because they haven't had
to score. If they have to score, they'll score, especially
against the Steelers defense.
Speaker 1 (33:04):
Late, Tim, enjoy the game. We'll talk next week.
Speaker 4 (33:07):
All right, Thanks Mark.
Speaker 3 (33:09):
That's Tim Benz, brought to us by Calushi Chevrolet, serving
the Pittsburgh area for one hundred and seven years.
Speaker 1 (33:15):
Don't forget.
Speaker 3 (33:16):
You can watch the game with me Sunday at the
Schoolhouse Tavern in Clarridge. And then Monday night, I have
a mega Penguins viewing party. It's my bobblehead giveaway Banans,
a whole bunch of Penguins bibbleheads from two of the years.
Come in early, register to win. That's at the Pittsburgh
Brewing Company right off through twenty eight in Creighton, PA.
(33:36):
Biggest big screen TV there is. We had a packed
house for the Penguins opener. Let's do it again Monday
night at the Pittsburgh Brewing Company. Puck drops at seven
point thirty. Be there early because I'll be there early.
In just a little bit I'm gonna talk to former
Steelers quarterback Charlie Batch. I'm Mark Mann one oh five
ninety x
All your music radio and podcasts.
Speaker 2 (00:02):
Free never sounded so good.
Speaker 3 (00:08):
It is the springtime of my loving Robert plan as
the line and winner and magnificently so. But the Steelers
are a nuclear winner and that's not good. On other shows,
they're trying to formulate ways for the Steelers to win
this game.
Speaker 1 (00:27):
But even Cronkite is saying the war is now unwinnable.
Speaker 3 (00:32):
I can't invent anything besides luck and hope, and luck
and hope are not strategies. Maybe desperation could be a strategy.
Maybe that's the motivator, should be the motivator. Maybe that
gets the Steelers to dig deep and try something different,
because there's never been a better.
Speaker 1 (00:51):
Time to not be the Steelers.
Speaker 3 (00:54):
And if they lose this game, if they lose a
third straight and then they're heading to La to play
the Chargers, who are beatable but they're better than the Steelers,
the season could really go to crap. Remember was it
a week ago? Pete Prisco a CBS said they could
lose eight or nine in a row, and we all
poop pooed that hate me too. Guess what they lose Sunday?
(01:15):
They could lose eight or nine in a row and
it will be more glorious than deed day I would
dance like. Well, never mind, I made my suggestions. I'm
doing my part. I'm lending my super genes to the cause.
Have Ramsey cover the tight end, Todler Warren, that's a
big ben idea. Actually come out throwing with three wide outs,
(01:38):
not that they have three legit wide outs. Maybe go
no huddle to put Rogers more in control. Above all,
do not force a rock fight.
Speaker 1 (01:49):
You can't. You gotta play basketball like the.
Speaker 3 (01:53):
Course he said, try and win thirty five thirty three
because your defense quite frankly blows goats.
Speaker 1 (02:00):
This is the Mark Madden Show.
Speaker 3 (02:03):
But I know that I love you, so boy planted
better with the rain song than I am doing this segment.
Dial eight three three four one two w xdx. That's
eight three three four one two w xdx, or follow
me on Twitter at Mark madden X. Let me try
that once more. But I know that I it's not
(02:27):
working that number again eight three three four one two
w xdx. Here's a prediction, not for the game, And
again I want your advice on this. Actually the number
is eight three three four one two wxdx. Steelers are
only three point hunderdogs, and now it's at akershure. But
(02:47):
Indy is a juggernaut and they are averaging covering this
year by over eleven points per game. Should I bet
a couple of dimes on Danny dimes and by that
I mean two two thousand dollars? Or should I chick
it out and bet less? Tell you what, if I
want two grand, I'd have to bet twenty two hundred
(03:09):
to win too grandit I'd go to party toime. That's
where they party down. You know they love the ball.
They do it in the halls right there in party time.
How do I segue from Robert Plant to Glenn Fry solo? Okay,
but here's my prediction the NFL trade deadline. That's how
you can tell it's bad radio. You just keep coming
(03:29):
back to teasing but never delivering. Now here's my prediction.
The NFL trade deadline is Tuesday, and what I'm predicting
is if the Steelers lose on Sunday, especially if they
lose by a convincing score, here's my prediction. The Steelers
(03:51):
will make a stupid desperation move at the deadline. That
is my prediction, because they are locked into winning a
playoff game this year. Art the Second talked about how
that was important. It's a low bar, but what if
it's a low bar you don't even reach. What if
you don't even make the playoffs? So they lose on Sunday.
(04:15):
The trade deadline is Tuesday, and my prediction is this,
they will make a really desperate trade eight three three
four one two WXDX. But I know that I love you,
so maybe that's just not the right song for me.
How about Plant did for the encore gallows Poll, which
(04:38):
is like kind of an old fashioned folks he bluesy
number and his band was like, you know, mostly acoustics,
slightly electric, like stand up based stuff like that.
Speaker 1 (04:47):
It was great.
Speaker 3 (04:50):
And in the middle of gallows Pool he did like
about eight lines from Black Dog. He didn't scream, didn't wail,
didn't go full out electric like like on the fourth album,
but the crowd went insane, insane. He just and he
didn't like like I said, didn't scream, didn't squeeze the
(05:11):
lemons like, hey, MoMA, with the way you move, gonna
make you sweat, gonna make you groove, and the crowd
went bonkers. I went bonkers, I gotta admit. And here's
how much I love Zeppelin to love Robert Plant. The
Rain song was so magnificent I cried just a little bit.
(05:33):
It took me way back to a simpler time. I
might go see Plant in Chicago on the twelfth. Now
that would break up a week of radio, but I
do have vacation days remaining, and even though it wouldn't
be professional to take off in the middle of a
Steelers week, I intend to probably do exactly that. Uh, Okay,
(05:54):
Colts defense, I promise you'd talk about it, but I
know I did better with black Dog.
Speaker 1 (06:03):
What else?
Speaker 3 (06:04):
Yeah, he cut loose on Ramble and that was the one,
So I can't do that. Okay, Colts defense. People are
saying the Colts defense is vulnerable, and guess what it is,
thirtieth and third done defense, twenty fourth in yardage, seventh
in scoring defense. But that's kind of luck of the
draw that's been But don't break, and when you do that,
(06:26):
you eventually break. Now they've played a lot of bummy quarterbacks,
you know, Aaron Rodgers ain't that. But to exploit the
Colts perhaps having a defense that's vulnerable, you gotta go
out there and play basketball, which is the great turn
of a phrase by de course, force a high scoring game,
(06:48):
don't angle for rock fight.
Speaker 1 (06:52):
And I know, I know, I know way down inside.
Didn't do a whole lot of love woman. No anyway,
bam boom no, I know, and you know two.
Speaker 3 (07:10):
That they're gonna try to force a rock fight because
it's what they do. This is the Steelers and this
is how we play. And it sucks and hasn't won
a playoff game in seven years going on eight. But
that coach defense, it is vulnerable, no question about that,
all right. Eight three three four one two WSDX. I
(07:31):
watched Ridiculousness once, that MTV show they got canceled, and
I watched and it was the worst show ever. And
I concluded that right away. It was on the air
for fourteen years, and like it was on the air
year round, technically they did forty two seasons of Ridiculousness.
Just I mean, I'm ass the days when MTV actually
(07:53):
played music videos. I know that this doesn't happen anymore.
There are a lot of bands that broke big own
because of MTV. Only maybe our buddy Red Beach could
attested that winger Winger the video for for seventeen. What's
that one line in there? Daddy says she's too young,
(08:16):
but she's young enough for me, old enough for me.
Daddy says she's too young, but she's old enough for me.
Speaker 4 (08:21):
Uh.
Speaker 1 (08:22):
Writing credits to Kip Winger, Red Beach, and Jeffrey Epstein
one nine X.
Speaker 3 (08:26):
People are freaking out over this year, so tell us
no matter what we do, so we might as well
have a good time.
Speaker 1 (08:32):
Told got hold got.
Speaker 3 (08:40):
I'm perversely excited about this Steeler game Sunday. I think
they probably get killed, But what if they don't. I
think they're gonna go for a rock fight. But what
if they do open enough? What if Rogers prods Tom
would to do what's sensible and they wind up winning?
You know, thirty five thirty three, like the course he
(09:01):
talked about yesterday, and like they did last year when
they wanted Cincinnati.
Speaker 1 (09:09):
They can win playing that way.
Speaker 3 (09:10):
They just don't like to, and maybe not that the
defense sucks, Maybe it's the only way they can winner.
Their best path to winning that defense it'll play decent
against bad teams, and they will still continue to beat.
Speaker 1 (09:22):
Bad teams, but they really need to win this game.
Speaker 3 (09:28):
To keep things even remotely on track, to get them
even back remotely on track. They need to win this game,
and they need to do it by any means necessary,
not their preferred method. They can't hold out for that.
We got Tim Benz joining us at three o'clock. The
national media is turning on the Steelers some and I'm
(09:49):
here for it. Here's Bart Scott on ESPN with a
really insulting label.
Speaker 1 (09:56):
Think they're payper champions, right.
Speaker 2 (09:58):
They haven't played a lot of hard opponents, and listen
the way their defense is playing. They can't beat anybody
that can punch back, right, and you look at it
last week giving up three hundred and sixty yards to
Jordan Love. They can't stop the run, they can't stop
the pass. This is supposed to be the most This
is the most expensive defense in the NFL.
Speaker 5 (10:14):
And you're with.
Speaker 1 (10:15):
Twenty eighth in the league.
Speaker 2 (10:16):
So I think that they still have to play the
Ravens twice later in the season, right, and they have
a real they have a real Bible opponent in front
of him this week.
Speaker 3 (10:26):
Wow, pay per Champions can't beat anybody that could punch back.
And the phrase that pays, or rather the phrase that
pays too much is the most expensive defense in the NFL.
We should never forget that that this defense sucks despite
getting the bag, despite being paid the most of any
(10:47):
defense in the National Football League. And yeah, Indianapolis is
a real viable opponent. This is the year.
Speaker 6 (10:56):
I bet.
Speaker 3 (10:59):
When we see this Deeler's cliches die. By year's end,
the Steelers cliches will all be dead. Like can they
pull off of tomlins special unquote this week? And they
always beat Baltimore at least once unquote, they got Lamar's
number unquote. Well, the Steelers better make those cliches come
(11:22):
to life, but I bet they don't.
Speaker 1 (11:25):
Let's go to the man on the road. Man on
the Road, you're on with double.
Speaker 5 (11:27):
M and Mark just calling about the Colts game this Sunday.
I think Paulin's just going to try to sell out
to stop Jonathan Taylor, throw everything at him to stack
up the box, shut him down, and the Colt swide
receiver personnel. We just don't have the guys to cover
the Antonio Pierce, their third guy is probably one of
the best deep ball guys in the last ten to
fifteen years. He's crazy fast, Michael Pittman's a sub top
(11:51):
ten guy and Josh Downs could burn us.
Speaker 3 (11:53):
I well, and don't don't forget Tyler Warren the tight
end and presumptive right day of the year. And I
would bet instead of doing what's what's what's logical and
putting Jalen Ramsey on Warren as Big Ben has suggested,
I bet they put like the greatest cover linebacker in
the league, Peyton Wilson, or a backer or god knows
(12:14):
who on Tyler Warren. But it won't work unless it
is Ramsey, and it might not even work.
Speaker 1 (12:19):
Then.
Speaker 3 (12:20):
The Steelers defense is so bad and deployed so stupidly.
I gotta tell you, man on the road, I just
don't have any confidence in the coaching staff to make
even one correct decision, and especially on the defensive side
of the football.
Speaker 5 (12:37):
Yeah, this is this defense that we have right now
is supposed to be the best we had over the
middle of years, and it's turning out to be the worst.
This tight on Tyler Warren is incredible. He might be
better than Tyler Kraft or anybody who've played this year,
and he's probably gonna shred us for one hundred plus.
This weekend.
Speaker 3 (12:52):
Yeah, I I I can't get away from thinking it's
going to be a slaughter.
Speaker 1 (12:58):
I mean.
Speaker 5 (12:58):
And then Jonathan Taylor in the second half. I think
he's just gonna take off after getting shut down the
first half, and it's just gonna get blown wide open.
Speaker 1 (13:04):
Yeah. But you know what the Colts do that that?
Speaker 3 (13:07):
I mean, the Steeler tradition is you get a lead
and run down hill behind the bus in the second half. Right,
And don't get me wrong, they do use Taylor often
and well, but they don't try to hold leads. They
try to extend leads. The Colts are exemplary of modern
day football. Shane Steiken coaches what's important, what wins today,
(13:29):
and the Steelers are anything but do anything but thank
you for the call. Next, going to talk to Tim
ben Zum Mark Madden trying to figure out how to
get the Robert plant in Chicago.
Speaker 1 (13:40):
On Wednesday the twelfth, one oh five ninety X.
Speaker 7 (13:43):
Tomorrow afternoon, the Pen's face off against the Jets.
Speaker 1 (13:47):
Game time is three.
Speaker 7 (13:49):
Our coverage starts at two. Listen to every game and
the best Pens coverage on your home and the Pittsburgh
Penguins one five nine d X.
Speaker 1 (13:58):
This is Doug Gottlieb. Here's it's trending from the Iheartsports
Network presented by Mercedes Benz.
Speaker 6 (14:03):
Let's start with football, where Steelers safety Deshaun Elliott and
defensive tackle Daniel like Walley replaced on IR today.
Speaker 1 (14:09):
They've got knee injuries. Qualley's injury is season ending.
Speaker 6 (14:13):
College Football's tenth week is here now and Peddle visit
Stanford tomorrow. Well West Virginia travels to number twenty two Houston,
Penn State meets top rank Ohile State, and iHeartMedia has
been named the exclusive audio partner for next year's Winter Olympics.
Speaker 1 (14:26):
I'm Scott David sat looking for a nick just say
this is stupid. You're stupid. Thanks for coffee. The exit
one oh five nine.
Speaker 3 (14:35):
Doublem on the X Steelers host Indianapolis Sunday. You can
watch the game with me at the Schoolhouse Tavern in
Claradge joining me not to talk about it from the trip.
Speaker 1 (14:45):
He is Tim Bens.
Speaker 3 (14:46):
Tim, what's the best bet for the Steelers to beat Indianapolis?
Because I can't see one that I would call best.
The culture really a juggernaut.
Speaker 1 (14:56):
Yeah, if you say best.
Speaker 4 (14:58):
My initial response is a replication of the Patriots game,
where they create a few turnovers, they get a few
turnovers handed them. I think there's basically a just due
element that Steeler fans would have to be banking on
to make this a reality, Like the Steelers are just
(15:18):
due to play way above their heads and the Colts
are just due for a bad game, because that's how
the NFL works. But there's nothing tactical, there's nothing statistical,
there's nothing X and O matchup wise that you look
at and you say, oh, well, the Steelers are gonna
benefit and exploit because of this. Maybe with a team
(15:40):
that had more wide receivers than just one, you could
say Rogers and the wide receivers could exploit the corners
of the Colts. But I don't even know if there's
a depth of weaponry enough for Rogers to bank on that.
Speaker 3 (15:55):
I will say there are those who say the Colts
defense is vulnerable, and if you look at their stats,
there are some cracks, like they're one of the very
worst defenses, ranked thirtieth in fact when it comes to
third don defense. But that feels like kind of grasping
its straws. Give it how many points they score.
Speaker 1 (16:13):
Well, maybe that's good for.
Speaker 4 (16:14):
The Steelers because of the way they performed on third
down against the Packers. They certainly got there enough and
did nothing with it, so maybe they can't exploit that.
But that's sort of where I was going with the
quarterback wide receivers versus the corner thing. I can squint
and see that for sure, Mark and I, you know,
I thought it was interesting how Arthur Smith talked about
(16:34):
this when I asked him about the pass rush of
the Colts. The Colts have I believe twenty three sacks,
tied for fit most with the Lions the National Football League,
And I asked him about how they do it, how
they gather it? Do they blitzy?
Speaker 5 (16:48):
You know?
Speaker 4 (16:48):
What is it about them that gets them the sacks
that they got? Through the process of being very complimentary,
the end result of what he said was, Look, they
play ahead a lot, and you know, they get a
lot of sacks because guys are throwing NonStop, because they
have huge leads, and you can talk about who they've
beaten to that factors into this.
Speaker 1 (17:07):
Yeah, not played a lot of great quarterbacks.
Speaker 3 (17:08):
But but again, it feels like grasping its straw's given
how many points they score, how bad the Steelers defense
has been, and where the Steelers are at right now?
What do you think is the Colt's biggest danger on offense?
How can the Steelers defense, I mean, you're not gonna
stop any How can they maybe narrow down Indy's weaponry?
Speaker 4 (17:30):
The easiest, most simple answer is they're a very good
running team. They run the outside zone well. Trey Sermon,
who used to play with them and actually had nearly
a career high game against the Steelers running for them
in twenty twenty three when the Colts beat the Steelers,
talked about, you know, how basic of a game play
and they had going into Steeler Week both times, and
(17:54):
it's largely just about how Taylor runs the outside zone.
And he said, that's the most questions he's been getting
from this defense this year is how to stop that?
What are the nuances of how he runs it? So
they know what to expect. But like everything else with
the Steelers' defense, identifying the problems has never been the problem.
It's fixing the problems. So I think that's really what's
(18:16):
crux here for them this week is seeing the obvious
things that the Colts do well, like giving the ball
to the best running back in football right now and
stopping it, and they are not particularly adept at doing that.
And the Colts are also quite good at showing you
X in the first quarter, then showing you why in
the second quarter, making it look exactly the same pre
snap and with the personnel, and then doing something completely
(18:37):
different with it. And the Steelers have had a problem
with that against Shane Steichen over the years, not just
the two with Indy, but the one with Philadelphia as
well when he was the offensive coordinator and they got
blown out across the state.
Speaker 3 (18:51):
Why is that Steelers secondary disintegrated? I mean, is it
because it was thrown together? Are the guys just not
that good? I got a feeling it's.
Speaker 4 (18:58):
Both the thrown together part of it. I don't know
if it's that big of a deal, because they aren't
very intricate in what they do, and those guys have
been around long enough to have seen a lot, so
I don't really think it's that. I just think that
they might have gotten some players who are not quite
past their prime, and maybe guys who will never really
(19:19):
have one of all that much significance. Joey Porter Junior
might fall into the latter category. One Thornhill is another
one that might fall into that category after he's bounced
around a couple times. Chuck Clark's same thing. Their best
guy's been hurt a couple times this year in Elliott
and Ramsey. You know, I just I think they completely
(19:39):
overrated Ramsey's worst attribute, which is his coverage ability. He
can do a lot of things, running with the guy
in coverage is probably the thing he does worst. And
they were talking and training at.
Speaker 3 (19:50):
Least in this point in his career, like I overestimated too,
I thought we were getting the old Jalen Ramsey because
I ain't seen enough of the new Jalen Ramsey, but
now I have, right.
Speaker 4 (20:00):
And then the last part that we haven't talked about
yet is what they got in Darius Slay, which is
a hell of a lot closer to what they got
in Patrick Peterson and what they got and Joe Hayden,
And I think they thought they were getting at least
one year of Joe Hayden or maybe Steven Nelson for
his first year here in Pittsburgh, and Slay is neither
of those things, you know, And then you got the
(20:21):
classic guys like Pierre and Eccles, who are playing above
their heads right now, so everybody thinks they should play more.
And what happens when those guys play more, Mark, Oh, no,
no question, And I think they get exposed, like you reached.
We love these guys in Pittsburgh. Get the guy off
the bench. He's showing more than we think he is. Okay,
well you get him out there for a long time,
(20:41):
and you realize why it was on the bench in
the first place.
Speaker 3 (20:43):
Well, that kind of ties into the Dugger's acquisition, because
New England is paying Dugger money on his contract now
to play for somebody else. And I liked the trade
of makeup for Ramsey and John who when it happened,
it's blown up because Ramsey ate what they thought he was,
John who isn't being targeted nearly like we thought he would.
(21:07):
And Mike, as mediocre as he was the last two seasons,
at least he was that.
Speaker 1 (21:12):
Guy in the back, which they now clearly don't have.
Speaker 4 (21:16):
They do miss that element. And you know they're not
getting enough of the big plays out of Ramsey. We've
seen them splash occasionally. They're not getting enough of those
because look at the lack of turnovers since what was
it four weeks ago? Now, I think it was the
last turnover three weeks ago. With something like that, I
(21:36):
mean even the sacks like those were the things that
Ramsey was bringing to the table, and they're not happening
enough to counterbalance the lack of coverage. And I'll be frank,
like Minka Fitzpatrick, that stuff wasn't here for the last
five weeks of his tenure here anyway, before the trade.
So if he's here, I don't know how much better
it is. It's just a different it would be a
(21:57):
different kind of bad.
Speaker 3 (21:58):
I think disappointing his walk bin because he's not getting
nearly the blame. I think he deserves it, getting paid
forty one mil.
Speaker 1 (22:06):
And why is he receded.
Speaker 4 (22:09):
I just you know, there are some data points that
suggest he's not getting off the ball quite as quick
if you look at some of the next gen stuff,
and you know that might be because he's trying to
figure out ways to get around ships and double teams.
For before, when he was, you know, five years younger,
he was just blowing through them on the way to
twenty one sacks or nineteen sacks or whatever. So you
(22:30):
know this is what we talked about, that you were
not getting a player that you were paying for at
the same level that he earned the contract. In their eyes,
you're you're paying for who he was, not who he's
going to be. And they're dealing with that right now.
And the evidence is TJ. Watt of four or five
years ago. He was shipped and double teamed all the time,
and he still was able to get through and get
(22:53):
sacks and create big plays. Now, one thing that I'll
say mark is not just for him, but for Hayward
and for a lot of those guys along the defensive line.
One way that they used to counter this, Hey, that
offense is getting rid of the ball in two point
two seconds is they were extremely adept at getting their
hands in passing lanes, getting their hands up and swatting
the ball down. Where's that been for three weeks because
(23:16):
we haven't seen much of that, aside from Dylan Gabriel
who's five foot eleven, we haven't seen much of that.
And that was always a good counter punch to what
offense has had to get rid of the ball quick
and what was great at that they're not even doing
that now.
Speaker 3 (23:31):
We're talking to Tim Benz of The Trib here on
the Mark Madden Show, brought to us by Calusy Chevrolet,
serving the Pittsburgh area for one hundred and seven years.
Tim staying with Watt for one more second, I think
what should do with Garrett and Parsons do and move
around the line of scrimmage.
Speaker 1 (23:46):
I think he's predictable, and when you're.
Speaker 3 (23:48):
Slowing down a bit like I think he is being
that predictable as death. I don't think you should fail,
but never change as you fail.
Speaker 4 (24:01):
Agreed. And the most mystifying part of it is they
talked about it more this offseason. There's more reason to
do it in season. They have more players who can
help make it happen, because you can put her big
in there with high Smith and Watt and have him
be another threat to draw eyes, or to run games
(24:23):
or twists with Watt or something like that, or just
put him on the edge and put Wat in the middle,
or move him down a gap or two and have
her Big outside of him.
Speaker 1 (24:32):
There's a myriad of.
Speaker 4 (24:33):
Different things they can do. And even you know, Wilson
rushed a little bit more in college than what they've
had him do here, and he's not extraordinarily foreign to
doing it off the edge, if he even wanted to
surprise an offense that way. It's like they think that
because the defense is struggling now, the worst thing in
the world to do is to confuse them more and
try more new things. But I think predictability is as
(24:56):
much of a reason for their failure defensively as his
can fusion. So you know how they are, Mark, You know,
they keep talking about and Tomlin has for decades now
not wanting to live in their fears, but they are
so fearful of trying anything new with failure is already
what they're trying to avoid.
Speaker 1 (25:12):
Why is Heismith playing more than herbig.
Speaker 4 (25:18):
Deference? And I think the other thing is either they
were full of it when they told us this, or
we were full of it for wanting to believe it.
But they obviously don't think Herbig can play against the
run like they're getting run on, and they still feel
like if he went in there it would be worse.
So I just think that they were pumping his tires
(25:39):
in their own analysis of what we should expect from
him in the run, because that was always the thing.
Should Herbig play more, I don't know he's not so
good against the run. On the series of struggle against
the run, well, they're still struggling. He might be their
best pass rusher right now, and they're scared to put
him in there because they think that encourages the opposition
to run more so, again, it's a self defeating premise,
(25:59):
but they're layered with these on the defense, and we've
just outlined two or three of them.
Speaker 3 (26:04):
I feel like the Steelers have to be prepared to
try and win thirty five thirty three, go toe to
toe and possession for possession. Mike the course, he called
it trying to play basketball, but I know Tomin will
try to force a rock fight and thus rely on
a defense that has proven all year it can't be
relied on.
Speaker 4 (26:23):
It's one of two ways. You got to go to
an extreme here. You got to be ready to take
the gloves off and you know, go in the middle
of the ring from the first bell on like you're
talking about, and be prepared for thirty six thirty five.
Or you've got to do the exact opposite and run, run, run, run,
run until Jalen Warren runs out of gas and then
you put in game well until he gets tired, then
you bring in Caleb Johnson until he gets tired, make
(26:45):
the game last two and a half hours, and hope
it in seventeen to fourteen in your favor. But you know,
they've even shown a propensity to get away from that,
like the first possession coming out of the third quarter
last week, after they were run the ball effectively and
Ward looked great in the opportunities that he had, and
then you know, they went past past pass to start
and it turned into a punt and we didn't really
get much run game after that because of the circumstances
(27:08):
that transpired there after. So they never want to go
to extremes, but in this situation, they got to be
Billy Joel on this one. They got to go to
one extreme or the other. They got to turn this
into a real quick run game, or they got to
be ready to slug it out for three and a
half hours and you know, take it to overtime and
maybe see it get in the forties.
Speaker 3 (27:26):
Tim here's my list of Steelers that are doing okay.
It's a short list. Aaron Rodgers the old line's gotten better.
Jalen Warren also has gotten better. Derek Harmon the rookie
defensive line doesn't look like he stinks and that's it.
Speaker 1 (27:42):
That's the list.
Speaker 3 (27:43):
I think the vast majority of the Steelers was either
the players mediocre in the first place, or is disappointed
and played below his talent and.
Speaker 1 (27:51):
On defense, especially his paycheck level.
Speaker 4 (27:55):
Did you say her Big in that when he has
been allowed to play? Did you put him on there?
Speaker 1 (27:59):
But Herbie doesn't play enough? But yeah, I'll put him
on that list.
Speaker 3 (28:02):
Though.
Speaker 4 (28:03):
Yeah, I can't disagree with a lot with much of
that at all. And I do think that the offensive line,
for what it has been asked to do and how
it has been reconfigured to make it better, has been
better in recent weeks. Now, how does that change depending
on Cmalu's health and how they address that, Like do
they get away from the jingle package, Howie Anderson full
(28:24):
time inside at guard? And what do they do when
they want to go jumpo? After that? That could turn
into a problem. You might see some regression there. But yes,
I would say that collectively, we've had a lot more
things to complain about than the offensive line. Into the
first couple of weeks, I thought that might be the
biggest grousel point all year long.
Speaker 3 (28:41):
You know what I like is some of the Steeler
cliches that are dying this year. One's going to be
that they have Lamar's number and they always beat Baltimore
at least once.
Speaker 1 (28:50):
Yeah, we'll see how that works out.
Speaker 3 (28:52):
And also that this game against Indianapolis could be a
Tom Win Special unquote, and Tim I like that the
Tom Win Special can be referred to to a win
he shouldn't win and a loss he shouldn't lose.
Speaker 4 (29:05):
Well, that's why the Tomlin Special was last week and
it didn't happen. And right, exactly, Tom and Row, we've
had that because didn't that happen from India Dallas too, Like,
wasn't it exactly the same scenario prime time NFC team
coming in at home after a bad loss and they
didn't win that one either. And then if I'm remembering right,
Fields was bench straight after that and it was no
(29:26):
they won a game after that. I'm sorry they won
one more than Russ came back in because Russ wasn't
healthy yet.
Speaker 1 (29:30):
But yeah, that.
Speaker 4 (29:31):
Tomlin's Special part of the equation has now failed at
least once in each of the last two years. And
Shane Stikeen was a part of that equation last year,
and he feels to me like kryptonite for Tomlin. I
don't know if he's the greatest coach in the world,
but he does some things that Tomlin and his defense,
Oh Tim, Tim.
Speaker 1 (29:50):
He's the antithesis of Tomlin.
Speaker 3 (29:52):
Shane Steiken is all offense, modern day, go out there, score,
get a lead extended, whereas Tomlin is, to use the cliche,
a rock fight guy.
Speaker 4 (30:02):
And if your offense is good enough that it puts
opposing offenses in very hammered in positions where they have
to throw because your offense has got in front, you
don't have to be all that crazy and creative on defense.
I know that was a complaint in Indianapolis, that they
were one of the most predictable and basic defenses. But
(30:24):
you know, as you've seen in the evolution of who
Indya has become, if your offense is so good and
you're getting out to big leads, it doesn't matter that
the defensive players know. They just have to worry about
the pass. That makes so many things easier to execute.
From that point on, and the Steelers have had to
guess on defense run versus pass all the time because
(30:45):
They've never been in that position where they could just
pin their ears back and go except for Cleveland. And
what did that look like? That looked like the Steeler
defense that we were used to seeing, as was the
case for a good chunk of the game in Ireland
until Jordan Madison hit the big catch and then that
turned the calculus that game here too.
Speaker 1 (31:02):
Tim. I'll be blunt.
Speaker 3 (31:03):
I see this game as unwinnable for the Steelers, and
yet the culture only favored by three, and that does
give me pause.
Speaker 4 (31:11):
Yeah, that's a weird line, you know, that was I'm surprised.
Maybe there's just not enough Colt money coming in to
bake up the line, you know what I mean? You
know what I mean, Mark, Like, maybe there's just the
Packers have a huge national fan base, you know there
are teams.
Speaker 3 (31:25):
Oh yeah, that's a good point. We talked about that
a little bit earlier with Tom. The Colts don't have
the brand name to make them a heavy favorite.
Speaker 4 (31:33):
And I still think there's people nationally that look at
the Colts and say it's Daniel Jones, like this can't
last forever. It's the AFC South like they look at
it like they're playing from a small conference like Gonzaga
playing Duke in the end the only finals or something.
It's like they might be good there, but they're really
going to be able to blow out the Steelers by
more than a touchdown. I mean, every number suggests that
(31:54):
they can and that they will. But that line has
held steady. Maybe the late money coming in on Sunday,
but I've noticed that too, Mark, and it's just maybe
wonders they're not that much big money coming in on
the Colts that the gambling houses feel comfortable of building
up the line all the more and taking it on
the backside. Should Steelers be able to cover?
Speaker 1 (32:14):
And here's what kind that kind of ties into that.
Speaker 3 (32:17):
They said today on ESPN that the Colts have covered
on average this year by almost eleven points. But that
figures into Vegas holding back the line because of the
Colts brand name.
Speaker 4 (32:30):
Uh yeah, that too. And you know they've been covered
a lot against AFC teams. I noticed that the playing
conference they cover quite a bit too. And I was
looking at some other kind of numbers, like you know
what happens in the fourth quarter when you have a
chance to get a back door cover. The Steelers are
terrible in the fourth quarter and letting points allow. They're
(32:52):
the worst team in the NFL and allowing points in
the fourth quarter. And the Colts at the very least
are average, but their only average because they haven't had
to score. If they have to score, they'll score, especially
against the Steelers defense.
Speaker 1 (33:04):
Late, Tim, enjoy the game. We'll talk next week.
Speaker 4 (33:07):
All right, Thanks Mark.
Speaker 3 (33:09):
That's Tim Benz, brought to us by Calushi Chevrolet, serving
the Pittsburgh area for one hundred and seven years.
Speaker 1 (33:15):
Don't forget.
Speaker 3 (33:16):
You can watch the game with me Sunday at the
Schoolhouse Tavern in Clarridge. And then Monday night, I have
a mega Penguins viewing party. It's my bobblehead giveaway Banans,
a whole bunch of Penguins bibbleheads from two of the years.
Come in early, register to win. That's at the Pittsburgh
Brewing Company right off through twenty eight in Creighton, PA.
(33:36):
Biggest big screen TV there is. We had a packed
house for the Penguins opener. Let's do it again Monday
night at the Pittsburgh Brewing Company. Puck drops at seven
point thirty. Be there early because I'll be there early.
In just a little bit I'm gonna talk to former
Steelers quarterback Charlie Batch. I'm Mark Mann one oh five
ninety x
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