December 26, 2025 • 31 mins
Mark and Tim chat on the state of the Steelers. Audio of Reggie Miller saying there might be a 4-point shot in the NBA someday, Mark discusses.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:08):
Get your calls in now for calls on the fifteens
eight three three four one two WXDX. I'd love to
hear people attack this guy in Detroit and defend DK
Metcalf because I think that's on the.
Speaker 2 (00:23):
Wrong side of being right.
Speaker 1 (00:25):
So dial now a three three four one two WXDX,
And here's something.
Speaker 2 (00:29):
You goofs don't get.
Speaker 1 (00:32):
The Detroit Lions rightly and absolutely loved that guy with
the blue hair, that beta DK you know, say oh
he's an embarrassment, Oh kick him out of the games forever,
blah blah blah. But like I said before, he's not
any different than Steelers Jesus, or the Steelers Pope, or
(00:55):
the face painted black and gold morons, any of those
idiots at Akershu look around the parking lot on game day. Heck,
go all the way back to Franco's Italian Army, same thing,
same thing, and you love all of them. The Steelers
love them, your organization, and they should. Well, the Lions
(01:16):
love that guy and absolutely should one hundred percent.
Speaker 2 (01:21):
He's a loyal fan. He's had season tickets in the
front row for fifteen years. Those ain't cheap. He rallies
the fans sending around him.
Speaker 1 (01:31):
I mean, seriously, what's not the love from the Detroit standpoint?
Speaker 2 (01:35):
Why would the Lions want to kick that guy out?
Speaker 1 (01:38):
In particular because he apparently did nothing wrong at Detroit
on Sunday. De Kaylin Zacharias metcap is one hundred percent
at fall. The blue haired guy is not the villain
in this drama. And DK gonna have to pay him.
Oh yeah, DK gonna have to pay him.
Speaker 2 (02:00):
This is the mark Man show.
Speaker 1 (02:02):
That number to call again for calls on the fifteens
eighty three three four one two WXDX. I always say
the Steelers have no accountability, and this DK thing is
the proof.
Speaker 2 (02:15):
And I get to his teammates, you're gonna support him.
That's being a good teammate.
Speaker 1 (02:19):
But DK's bad conduct voided his contract guarantees, and the
Steelers have already reportedly told DK that, hey, don't worry
about it. We're gonna make good. They're still guaranteed as
far as we're concerned. Like I said, zero accountability. And
I bet Baltimore loses tomorrow, well maybe not green Bay.
(02:42):
They clinched. I'm sure Love won't play. Then again, Lamar
might not play for Baltimore Uh, but what if these
Steeler games mean something starting with at Cleveland on Sunday
and DK can't play and Deland's the number one why not?
And the receiving court and passing game are crippled? How
(03:05):
do you feel about all this? Then again, get your
calls in a three three four one two wxdx. Very
interesting story in the Baltimore paper. There was a column
written that says Lamar Jackson what what did it call?
Speaker 2 (03:24):
Him?
Speaker 1 (03:24):
A little kid in a grow man's body. Said he
plays video games all night, and the reason the Ravens
practice in the afternoon is because if they practice early,
they know Lamar will oversleep and be late because he's
playing video games all night. And it also said that
he and John Harbaugh, the coach, don't have a good relationship,
(03:45):
which Harbaugh denies, but nonetheless an interesting story.
Speaker 2 (03:49):
Given that.
Speaker 1 (03:52):
Lamar and the Ravens are not having a good year,
maybe the Steelers f up, bail him out, give them
a chance to win the division on the last day
at Akreasure. But that doesn't seem to me to be
the way this is heading. I mean, Baltimore gonna win tomorrow.
The Steelers gotta lose at Cleveland. Now that Week eighteen
(04:14):
game against Baltimore and could have been bupkis.
Speaker 2 (04:20):
Come watch the.
Speaker 1 (04:21):
Game with me Sunday at the school host Taverney Claradge
out near Export out now Murraysville out Route twenty two.
Always a great time at the schoolas Tavern with my
buddy Sully and the great crew. They are all the
old guys from the softball teams. So come to the
schoolas Tavern and Clarridge on Sunday and watch the game
(04:41):
with the super genius.
Speaker 2 (04:42):
We've had a lot of great watch parties.
Speaker 1 (04:44):
This year Steelers and Penguins, so that the beat goes
on Sunday at the schoolhouse.
Speaker 3 (04:51):
Uh.
Speaker 1 (04:51):
I find this game against the Bronze on Sunday to
be very intriguing in a boring way. I want to
see how Shadoor plays at quarterback for Cleve. He's been
up and down. I do see potential there. I just
I just don't see enough of it, not yet. And
Miles Garrett can break these single season sack record with
(05:12):
one sack. That's TJ Watts single season sack record. With
Watt there and maybe playing and after getting stabbed in
the lung by his own team and stealing all that
money he got with the new contract. And he's not
that good no more. Still pretty good, doesn't stink. Ain't
(05:34):
worth forty one meal per year? Though, as I suggested
to Jerry dou Like, maybe the Steelers should not drop
back to pass the whole game.
Speaker 2 (05:43):
No dropbacks, no sacks.
Speaker 1 (05:46):
You feel me run on every play, and especially so
if the game is meaningless. Otherwise it's all up to
Dylan Cook, who's been very good.
Speaker 2 (05:57):
Ain't a starter.
Speaker 1 (06:00):
I have earned a niche as a fill in moving forward,
playing pretty good right now. If Baltimore loses at green
Bay tomorrow night, the game's meaningless for the Steelers at Cleveland,
but green Bay has clinched a playoff spot. Jordan Love
is dinged up. He's not gonna play. Lamar Jackson, doptfel
(06:21):
Snoop hunt Ley might get in there. Has anybody talked
to Lamorrow? Oh here's that direct quote, A little kid
in a grown man's body about Lamar Jackson. You know
that pretty much describes the entire National Football League four
one two.
Speaker 2 (06:37):
Three three three WXDX.
Speaker 1 (06:39):
I want to go over some of the stuff that
I've found out about Ryan Kennedy the guy with the
blue hair that engaged to Kaylin Zacharias Metcalf, and apparently
that's what irritated DK. Metcalf is calling him by his
full name. What the fan, Ryan Kennedy calls his government name.
(07:03):
I don't know why would that get you perturbed?
Speaker 2 (07:06):
It's your name. But here's some of the things being tweeted.
Speaker 1 (07:10):
We talked a moment ago in the Trifecta about the
lies being told about what happened at Detroit between the
fan and DK. Injurre and Ohio tweets there should be
a fan standard of conduct too. You can't sit in
the stands in her racial or other slurs at players unquote. Yeah, okay,
(07:31):
there is a fan standard of contact. This guy has
met that standard at Forbes Field, and you talk about
racial or other slurs.
Speaker 2 (07:39):
This guy didn't do that.
Speaker 1 (07:41):
That's just being assumed because there's no way our hero,
the Steeler Dekaelin Zacharice Metcalf could have screwed up. But
obviously he's a low IQ, low attention span nitwit who's
easily perturbed.
Speaker 2 (07:57):
Another guy tweets, I wonder if you'd.
Speaker 1 (08:00):
Feel the same way if DK was having the greatest
season of any wide receiver ever. Well, he just isn't.
Then he says, I wonder what actually was said to DK.
Just because a fan chooses to pay a lot of
money for season tickets doesn't give them a haul pass
to say whatever they want the players on the field. Yeah,
but this guy didn't use a racial slurer. Nobody around
(08:22):
there is reporting that. Security is not reporting that that
was Harrison and o Cho Senko saying they talked to
DK when.
Speaker 2 (08:29):
I bet they did, and I bet they made it up.
I bet they lied. And DK's not commenting because gonna
be a lawsuit. He gonna have to pay DK.
Speaker 1 (08:40):
He's not had his career ruined, but he's gonna have
his bank account lightened.
Speaker 2 (08:44):
He screwed up in just a big way.
Speaker 1 (08:46):
But as I've been saying, if this was a local
yokl getting Jamar Chase to take a swing getting him suspended,
you'd be.
Speaker 2 (08:56):
Handling that guy as a hero. You would, you would.
Speaker 1 (09:00):
But this guy, oh, he should be bank from games forever.
Let me tell you what I bet in secret, somebody
from the Lions goes up to mister Blue here and says, hey,
off the record, nice job.
Speaker 2 (09:17):
You'd done good, Like I said.
Speaker 1 (09:20):
Fifteen years of season ticket holder in the first row,
expensive seats, and people sitting around him said he never
goes too far, never says anything out of line. God
didn't do nothing wrong. DK Metcalf's the idiot here and
it's not debatable.
Speaker 2 (09:39):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (09:39):
I know that other people doing this in this time
are saying, well, there's two sides to every story. No,
in this case, there isn't. DK Metcalf one wrong, blue
haired dope, obnoxious, nothing worse. Get your calls in out
for calls on the fifteenes. But you won't call because
you know I'm right about this. You don't want me
to be right. You don't want to.
Speaker 2 (10:01):
Sound stupid being wrong, So don't call.
Speaker 1 (10:03):
But if you do want to call, the numbers eight
three three four one two wxdx. We got Tim Ben's
at the bottom of the hour, Charlie Batch at the
top of the hour at one oh five nine.
Speaker 2 (10:17):
Time for calls on the fifteens unless we don't get any.
But that's okay if we don't. But A three three
four one two WXDX. I told you that I was right.
Speaker 1 (10:27):
You guys all know the DKs, the dink, the guy
in Detroit might be an idiot, like but he's crazy
like a fox. He played the Kaylin Zachariz Metcalf like
a fiddle. And you just don't want to admit that
one of your beloved Black and Gold is a Putts
and that the blue haired guy in Detroit is clearly
(10:49):
much smarter by the way you hear these, Will Farrell
ads on on on the show. Well, he's not funny
at all anymore? Is he not even remotely funny? You
got Pitt playing a bowl game tomorrow against East Carolina.
What a great match up that is, pit against the
(11:11):
team from the American Athletic Conference.
Speaker 2 (11:15):
Holstein's gonna dress for the game. I'm surprised.
Speaker 1 (11:17):
I thought he would be sitting and then transferring, although
I'm sure he's gonna enter the window the portal.
Speaker 2 (11:25):
A couple hockey notes.
Speaker 1 (11:27):
Here's a scary note about the Penguins who don't resume
played till Sunday night in Chicago. The Penguins have lost
eight times this season when leading in the third period.
You just ain't going nowhere if you do that. And
how about the East Coast Hockey League players double a
hockey wheeling Nailers, etc.
Speaker 2 (11:47):
They went on strike.
Speaker 1 (11:49):
Double A hockey players have gone on strike, and all
it means for like half a Wheelings roster is they
get called up to Wilkeson become practice dummies. It's just
insane the double A hockey players would go and strike,
Go play beer league? What the frigg of your options?
(12:11):
Let's go to the egypsum magician. Hello, my friend, how.
Speaker 3 (12:14):
Are you.
Speaker 4 (12:17):
Hey?
Speaker 3 (12:17):
Mark A feel things about the Steelers that really really
made me happy. You know, they took you to their
weak points.
Speaker 4 (12:27):
Being very repetitive and uh, you know everybody knew what
they're going to do.
Speaker 1 (12:34):
Now they find more of a formula on offense, Bob,
I think that's fair to say, yes.
Speaker 4 (12:40):
And you know, specially in the middle and all that
and not being predictable and one the biggest thing that
I'd really enjoyed, and I watched it a couple of times.
Speaker 3 (12:52):
Offensive runs, especially with this guy Cook. I guess number
sixty right, He basically had you know, he's taking care
of the blind side of and I.
Speaker 4 (13:05):
Don't see Rogers jumping off and down having a happy feet.
Speaker 3 (13:11):
Now. He stays in the pocket because he trusts them,
and that is excellent because they the whole offensive line
are doing fantastic job. And I really really like that.
Speaker 1 (13:23):
Well, like Jerry Duma's pointed out, Bob, the offensive lines
doing a great job despite being really dinged up. They
played great at Detroit with no Ciamalvu and obviously no
Broderick Jones. Dylan Cook is their four string left tackle,
so yeah, you're right on.
Speaker 3 (13:38):
And then the last thing that I wanted to say
is that when okay, so Green Bay Packers, they have
pinched the playoff spots right, so they don't have any
motivation to come. You know, they're not desperate.
Speaker 2 (13:57):
Now, correct, correct?
Speaker 1 (13:58):
I mean even of the games Green Bay, I would
say that gives Baltimore an edge, but Lamar might not
be played. Then again, if Lamar's nottful, he should, you know,
spin on it, tape it up, shoot it up. If
you got to beget out there because it's it's steward
die Bob, great call, Thank you for calling up. Next
talk to Tim bens one oh five nine Join out
by Tim Benz in the trip Tim up, I'm amazed
(14:19):
at the reaction to what happened with DK Metcalf. How
many Pittsburgh people are a painting Metcalf as the victim
when he's the idiot and b pretending to f a
Steelers fan. Like say the Steelers pope had baited Jamar
Chase into punching him and being suspended, he would be
thought of as a folk hero in Pittsburgh.
Speaker 5 (14:41):
Well, you can't punch a pope, So I think that's
the difference. But aside from that, it's not that different.
It's on DK Metcalf, and I get it. If you
had problems with this guy before, or you know, if
some if something was said of a racial nature or
some did it just wasn't.
Speaker 1 (15:01):
Tim, It just wasn't. I won't even let that be
thrown out there. All the ifs have been said, and
everybody says, no, Well.
Speaker 5 (15:08):
It doesn't matter if it was or wasn't. He can't
do it. He just can't do it. You can't go
over and make contact with the fan. And just because
Shack lost and happened to get away with it before,
that doesn't mean that the NFL isn't right to, or
at the very least within its rights to make the
punishment more severe than perhaps it should have lost in
(15:30):
a couple of years ago.
Speaker 2 (15:32):
Well, yeah, and that, of course was refresh my memory.
Speaker 1 (15:35):
Tim lost in a Buffalo player that smacked the Philly fan.
You're right, I mean one wrong doesn't mean everything done
after that should be treated in the same wrong fashion.
I just think it's moronic to the guy with everything
to lose lost some of it, maybe more of it
moving forward, you know, trying to be obsessed with the
(15:55):
guy who has nothing to lose. It may no mistake, Tim,
This obsession goes both ways. Between the blue haired guy
and DK Metcalf. If I didn't know better, I'd say
they were in love.
Speaker 6 (16:06):
Well, I do you know, did you see the press conference?
Speaker 2 (16:08):
Find a chance I saw enough of it to know
how great it was.
Speaker 5 (16:11):
Yes, you know, him begging DK to say he was sorry,
was you know, pretty obvious what he was doing. He's
trying to get DK to admit that nothing happened, or
state that nothing happened, and then, by extension, he can
sue two guys for.
Speaker 6 (16:28):
Defamation instead of just one, because.
Speaker 5 (16:30):
Now he can go after Harrison, go after Johnson, as
opposed to just going after DK for saying what don't you.
Speaker 1 (16:37):
Think Harrison and O Joe Sinko made that up that
they never communicated with DK, because that's what I think.
Speaker 2 (16:43):
I don't know.
Speaker 6 (16:43):
I mean, what's why do you assume that?
Speaker 4 (16:46):
Why?
Speaker 5 (16:46):
Why can't why couldn't he have those two have just
texted him and said what happened?
Speaker 6 (16:50):
And DK sent backwards Because.
Speaker 2 (16:51):
I don't think.
Speaker 1 (16:52):
I don't think X DOOCS would podcast feel any need
to play by the same rules we do.
Speaker 5 (16:58):
Oh, I don't think they know the rules. I don't
think they understand the rules. So it's possible. I'm not
going to assume that, but it's possible. Like they don't
know about slander, they don't know about those kind of things.
They just think that they can shoot from the hip
and if it catches up to them, it catches up
to them. But now it might catch up to him,
So you know, I think they do feel like that
they can do what they want to do in a vacuum,
as opposed to people who do this for a living
(17:19):
that know that vacuum doesn't exist.
Speaker 1 (17:22):
Tim, Where does the past game go without the Kaitlin
in these two games, especially if these games turn out
to mean something, because I think Green Bay's probably gonna
lose to Baltimore Saturday night now that Green Bays clinched.
Speaker 5 (17:40):
See, I still think Baltimore is such a mess that
they could very easily lose that game. I think there's
an undercurrent of, you know, things going negatively emotionally with
that greame right now. You know, you talked about the
negativity surrounding that article, the alleged rift between.
Speaker 6 (17:58):
Jackson and Horrorball.
Speaker 5 (17:59):
I can't I'm imagine people are okay with how Harball
handled Henry.
Speaker 6 (18:02):
At the end of that game last week.
Speaker 5 (18:04):
So I think they very well could still lose to
Green Bay. It's gonna be sounds like a battle of
the backups, potentially at quarterback.
Speaker 3 (18:13):
We'll see.
Speaker 6 (18:14):
I don't have a great feel for that game.
Speaker 5 (18:16):
I have a better field that the Steelers should win
against Cleveland, but they rarely do up there the past
game specifically your point where it goes. It has to
go to the tight ends now, I don't think they
have any other choice. They've started to get John hu
Smith involved in ways that we were led to believe.
Speaker 6 (18:32):
That they would.
Speaker 5 (18:33):
It's more like that tricky stuff out of the backfield
and the jet sweeps and things like that. But just conventionally,
it's gonna have to come down to I think Rogers
throwing the ball to the tight ends more because if
the greatest strength of feeling and MBS is being at
the right place at the right time to get DK open, well,
the last part of that equation isn't in the sentence anymore. So,
(18:57):
all right, you can get to the right spot, but
if you're covered, you're still covered, and then Rogers isn't
gonna throw it to you, so he's gonna have to
throw it somewhere else.
Speaker 1 (19:04):
We're talking to Tim Benz of the Trip here on
the Mark Mannen Show. Tim uh is Kenneth Gainwell, now
officially the new Ladanian Tomlinson. I mean, where where did
this come from? And I mean that catch, My god.
I mean, I'm not sure he knows to this moment
that he caught it.
Speaker 5 (19:22):
I'm still not sure, but every angle suggests that he did.
Speaker 6 (19:25):
And it was a whale of a player.
Speaker 5 (19:27):
You.
Speaker 2 (19:27):
No, he definitely did, but it almost seemed like he
caught it by.
Speaker 6 (19:29):
Accident, by surprise, by accident.
Speaker 3 (19:33):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (19:34):
Why, he's a really good player.
Speaker 5 (19:37):
I think he was properly cast behind Barkley. Maybe he
was a better backup to Barkley than the Eagles gave
him credit for. Than the rest of the league gave
him credit for based on how easily he came here
to Pittsburgh. So yeah, they're getting the most out of him.
He's a quality, good dollar signing for sure. I don't
(19:57):
know if he's ever going to be a turnaround at
hand to him thirty times a game back like Ladanian
Tomlinson was, But for what they're using him to do,
they're getting more and then some. And I think Mark
that's helped Warren. Warren stayed fresher longer than I expected
him to at this stage of the season. Given that
Gainwell has been able to handle so much of the
(20:19):
carry load and target share. That's helped Warren too. I
think still be a good back here in December.
Speaker 2 (20:26):
Tim Up, what do you making Dylan Cook?
Speaker 1 (20:29):
Is he staking a claim to letting Roderick Jones go
not taking his fifth year option, or is he just
a backup on a good run.
Speaker 6 (20:39):
It's probably more the latter, but I don't know.
Speaker 5 (20:43):
Regardless of Dylan Cook and how well he's playing, I
still wouldn't give that fifth year option to Broderi Jones.
I'd take it to the end and if you got
to pay well, then you got to pay. At some point,
you're gonna have to pay for a free agent tackle,
I would think, or you're gonna.
Speaker 1 (20:58):
Have to go back into the draft, or maybe you
could have a draft pick that turns out good.
Speaker 2 (21:02):
How about that idea, right exactly?
Speaker 5 (21:05):
Yeah, that's that's part of it too. I just I
don't I don't think that his play in particular has
to dictate whether or not they make that decision pro
or con.
Speaker 4 (21:15):
No.
Speaker 2 (21:15):
No, but I'm talking more like just in a vacuum.
Speaker 1 (21:18):
I mean, he's playing pretty good obviously, and even even
considering I mean, I mean, see him all who didn't
play and he still did okay at Detroit, and.
Speaker 5 (21:26):
I thought it was, you know, it was unfortunate timing
that he had Romo and Nance singing his praises about
how well he was playing, and the one time they
talked about it, Hutchinson beat him in Gainwell.
Speaker 6 (21:36):
I think it's the first time I've seen Gamewell screw.
Speaker 3 (21:37):
Up on a chip.
Speaker 5 (21:39):
That's another aspect of his game that's good, but that
was just, you know, bad luck. Aside from that, I
think he's been quite good, and I'm wondering how much
help they'll give him. I hope they don't outthink themselves
and put him on an island too much against Garrett.
Speaker 6 (21:52):
Or he's going to get that record in the first drive.
It's very interesting to see how this goes Mark based.
Speaker 5 (21:57):
On who they play, how long they play, if Baltimore
or loses. I think maybe you treat both of these
games almost as preseason games for the guys you can sit.
Now Rogers would be one of those that you could
sit for. Rudolph, I wouldn't do it for two weeks
in a row. I might shield how much playing time
he gets against Garrett. You know, I might have a
(22:18):
quick Cook there if it looks like Garrett is winning
against Cook or whoever repeatedly, because you.
Speaker 6 (22:22):
Don't want him to be hurt going into playoffs. As
you're building this momentum.
Speaker 1 (22:28):
I think it's much more important to rest the old
guys than it is to make sure they maintain momentum
or rhythm or whatever.
Speaker 2 (22:34):
Phraseology you want to use.
Speaker 1 (22:37):
I mean, rest is better than rhythm for somebody who's
forty two, especially, and I think for Cam as well.
Speaker 5 (22:43):
And it's an excuse to look at Howard. If you
want to look at Howard, you can start in on.
Speaker 6 (22:49):
You don't they might.
Speaker 5 (22:51):
But the the other positions like receiver, offensive line, defensive
back at this point, outside linebacker, they're so thin at
those positions.
Speaker 6 (23:02):
People like rest everybody.
Speaker 5 (23:04):
I don't know who everybody is at this point. A
lot of guys are gonna have.
Speaker 2 (23:07):
To because they're gonna and somebody has to play. Well,
that's more like.
Speaker 5 (23:12):
That's the everybody, Like everybody might have to play because
the rest of the roster is too hurt to do so,
so they might not be able to play that game
when it comes to resting guys and inactive guys, considering
how many guys are banged up to begin with, Well,
I think.
Speaker 1 (23:26):
TJ should play a little bit, assuming he's okay, don't you.
I would hate to have him going to the playoffs
having not played for over a month.
Speaker 5 (23:34):
Yeah, well that would have to come down to next
week because if you saw they got the injury re
poored out, I think that might have happened during your
commercial break. But he's been ruled out, Austin's been ruled out,
Ecchos has.
Speaker 6 (23:45):
Been ruled out, Pierre has been ruled out.
Speaker 5 (23:47):
And real, Yeah, Ramsey's questionable and Ciamalo is questionable. So
what did I just say three defensive backs? They're questionable
or out already. And yeah, so I think they probably
want to get what a few reps against the Ravens,
whether the game matters or not.
Speaker 2 (24:03):
Well, Tim, this is assuming they don't stab him in
the other lung.
Speaker 5 (24:08):
Well, you know, if they want to get out of
that contract, that was a creative way to do it.
Speaker 6 (24:13):
And Metcalf almost gave them an.
Speaker 5 (24:14):
Opportunity to get out what technically he did give him
a contract, the ability to get out of that contract.
Speaker 6 (24:19):
But you know, like you said earlier in your show,
they're never going to play that hand.
Speaker 1 (24:23):
Tim, do you think Garrett gets the sack record? I
find this game, even if it's meaningless, even if the
Steelers have clinched, I find it intriguing because the Garrett
sack record thing, and because Shador I mean, he is
a story and I hate to admit it. He plays
just good enough, just often enough that I'm intrigued.
Speaker 5 (24:44):
I'm with you, And because they were so obviously linked
to him during pre draft conversations, there's an undercurrent of
talk there that you want to see followed up. It's
an intrigue, intriguing interesting, curious game regardles of if there
are playoff implications or not. If it's strictly just from
a Pittsburgh perspective, it's do you slow down?
Speaker 2 (25:07):
Garrett?
Speaker 6 (25:08):
Who do you protect?
Speaker 3 (25:09):
Who do you sit?
Speaker 2 (25:10):
How do you get.
Speaker 6 (25:10):
Around the metcalf problem?
Speaker 5 (25:12):
You know, all these things are interesting and intriguing to me.
And you know one thing we haven't gotten to mark,
and it's a whole nother layer of the conversation.
Speaker 6 (25:20):
You probably get into more next week. We'll have to.
Speaker 5 (25:23):
But you know, do you play the game of how
hard do you want to play to avoid a team?
Speaker 6 (25:27):
Depending on the permutation?
Speaker 2 (25:28):
No, you can't. You can't. You can't do that. You can't.
Speaker 1 (25:31):
The minute you try to finagle it, it goes the
other way, even if you don't mean it to. Even
if you do what you want, something else you didn't
content happens been in that vein Tim, Who would you
most prefer to play? I keep coming back to the
LA Chargers, and by far not that it would be
an easy game, but her but Harbaugh cannot coach himself,
and Herbert's stinged up and has been all year.
Speaker 5 (25:52):
Really, yeah, the harball out coaching himself is part of
the bloodline of the family Herbert.
Speaker 6 (25:59):
Yeah, he's a different guy.
Speaker 5 (26:00):
It seems like when it comes to winning playoff games.
You know, it's the uniform, it's the helmet. Everybody's spooked
because it's Jacksonville. We've seen that fish before here. But
still that might be the best option, even though they're
playing well right now.
Speaker 6 (26:19):
It's either them or the Chargers.
Speaker 5 (26:21):
I know there are two constants with the Bills and
Houston that I want no part of. I want no
part of seeing that pass rush against a banged up
Steelers offensive line. And I want no part of the
Steelers trying to defend that run game from Buffalo. If
they can avoid either those two, great flip a coin
between LA and Jacksonville. But I think the most important
(26:41):
thing to advance, Mark, I think you'd agree with me
on this. Don't you think the Steelers are a home
dog against any of those four teams in the playoffs.
Speaker 6 (26:48):
Wouldn't any of those four teams come in as a favorite.
Speaker 1 (26:53):
I think it might be pick him against the Chargers
and maybe Jacksonville.
Speaker 2 (26:57):
But I think you're right.
Speaker 1 (26:58):
I think I think and Jacksonville would be slight favorites.
Houston a little bit more than slight Buffalo, I think
probably five or six points.
Speaker 5 (27:08):
Yeah, that would kind of go in that same range too.
I'd probably make it in a field goal realm for
Houston five to six, maybe for Buffalo, and then uh yeah,
maybe a point pick them something like that. But even
if it's a pick them, that's saying something because then
you're suggesting you're getting rid of the three point home
field advantage. There's just by making that assumption that you know,
(27:29):
then the Chargers are what if it's a neutral field
a three point favorite, then by extension or Jacksonville for
that matter.
Speaker 2 (27:36):
Tim great stuff. Will do it again next week.
Speaker 6 (27:37):
Enjoy the game, all right, you got it?
Speaker 2 (27:39):
Mark?
Speaker 3 (27:39):
Thanks.
Speaker 1 (27:40):
That's Tim Ben's Charlie bats at the top of the
IRA one oh five to nine, double him on the ax.
This segment brought to us by the Steelers Pro Shop.
Get it direct from the team at shop dot Steelers
dot com. Here's philosophizer Aaron Rodgers, the Steelers quarterback, getting
deep about the DK metcalf situation.
Speaker 7 (28:00):
Now, at the same time, as you see in parts
of society a road, shall we say, maybe the conduct
has changed a little bit over the years. Now I'm
all for a good trash talk. And you know, the
Brown's got the dog pound, they got a great fan base.
I love the banter with the fans. I was bantering
(28:20):
with the fan in the in the stands uh the
other day. It was it was yelling a bunch of
stuff at me and then his voice cracked. I steazing
about that. But there's a line. I think there's a
line that they shouldn't be crossed.
Speaker 1 (28:33):
Society is eroding, that's true, and NFL locker rooms aren't ground.
Speaker 2 (28:38):
Zero for that.
Speaker 1 (28:40):
Talk about men behaving badly and as far as a
line that should not be crossed, that's true. But that
fan in Detroit did not cross that line. The guy
who crossed the line was to Kaylin Zacharias Metcalf. Should
the Steeler sit Aaron Rodgers on Sunday at Cleveland if
(29:00):
Baltimore loses on Saturday Night.
Speaker 2 (29:02):
Here's what Lewis Reddick said on ESPN. I think about it.
Speaker 8 (29:07):
I don't necessarily believe in that. I do believe that
this offense right now has found kind of a sweet
spot and found kind of a rhythm that comes with repetition,
and so I wouldn't want to break that up. And
in particular, look, you saw this over the past couple
of weeks, especially his rhythm that he has found with
the running backs in the passing game. I think that's
the kind of thing you don't want to disrupt, and
you probably want to keep playing him.
Speaker 2 (29:28):
I would just so.
Speaker 8 (29:29):
I would hate to see this football team without Aaron
Rodgers because I think he is a catalyst.
Speaker 2 (29:34):
Right now.
Speaker 1 (29:37):
It's a mixed bag, and it's a tough call because
the offense has found a sweet spot, even if it's
not all that sweet, but there is rhythm, there is repetition.
Speaker 2 (29:49):
They have found things they can do well.
Speaker 1 (29:52):
Rogers has looked good, and Riddick is right about Rogers's
rhythm thrown to the running backs especially, but Rogers is
forty two and Miles Garrett could kill him. And for
an old man like Rogers, rest is more important than rhythm.
So if the Steelers have clinched by kickoff on Sunday
(30:13):
at Cleveland, I might play Rogers at half at Cleveland,
at most, maybe just a quarter. Here's Reggie Miller on
the Dan Patrick Show talking about ways to ruin basketball
even more.
Speaker 2 (30:27):
Dare I say there may be a four point shot
the game.
Speaker 9 (30:33):
Everything evolves, live e balls. I have no problem with that. Now,
it's gonna mess up the records. If I'm Stephen Curry,
I would be upset with that, But in ten years
I wouldn't be surprised if there's a four point.
Speaker 2 (30:48):
Line a four point shot.
Speaker 1 (30:54):
That's not basketball evolving, that's basketball becoming even more Carnie,
the three point shot has ruined basketball. There's no pick
and roll anymore, there's no mid range jumper anymore. The
Boston Celtics jack up fifty three pointers a game.
Speaker 2 (31:11):
Basketball has no fun to watch.
Speaker 1 (31:14):
Evolving can also mean recognizing that the three pointers served
its purpose, but sucks.
Speaker 2 (31:20):
Now and they ought to get rid of it.
Speaker 1 (31:23):
Up Next, more football talk with former Steelers quarterback Charlie
Batch here on one oh five nine
Get your calls in now for calls on the fifteens
eight three three four one two WXDX. I'd love to
hear people attack this guy in Detroit and defend DK
Metcalf because I think that's on the.
Speaker 2 (00:23):
Wrong side of being right.
Speaker 1 (00:25):
So dial now a three three four one two WXDX,
And here's something.
Speaker 2 (00:29):
You goofs don't get.
Speaker 1 (00:32):
The Detroit Lions rightly and absolutely loved that guy with
the blue hair, that beta DK you know, say oh
he's an embarrassment, Oh kick him out of the games forever,
blah blah blah. But like I said before, he's not
any different than Steelers Jesus, or the Steelers Pope, or
(00:55):
the face painted black and gold morons, any of those
idiots at Akershu look around the parking lot on game day. Heck,
go all the way back to Franco's Italian Army, same thing,
same thing, and you love all of them. The Steelers
love them, your organization, and they should. Well, the Lions
(01:16):
love that guy and absolutely should one hundred percent.
Speaker 2 (01:21):
He's a loyal fan. He's had season tickets in the
front row for fifteen years. Those ain't cheap. He rallies
the fans sending around him.
Speaker 1 (01:31):
I mean, seriously, what's not the love from the Detroit standpoint?
Speaker 2 (01:35):
Why would the Lions want to kick that guy out?
Speaker 1 (01:38):
In particular because he apparently did nothing wrong at Detroit
on Sunday. De Kaylin Zacharias metcap is one hundred percent
at fall. The blue haired guy is not the villain
in this drama. And DK gonna have to pay him.
Oh yeah, DK gonna have to pay him.
Speaker 2 (02:00):
This is the mark Man show.
Speaker 1 (02:02):
That number to call again for calls on the fifteens
eighty three three four one two WXDX. I always say
the Steelers have no accountability, and this DK thing is
the proof.
Speaker 2 (02:15):
And I get to his teammates, you're gonna support him.
That's being a good teammate.
Speaker 1 (02:19):
But DK's bad conduct voided his contract guarantees, and the
Steelers have already reportedly told DK that, hey, don't worry
about it. We're gonna make good. They're still guaranteed as
far as we're concerned. Like I said, zero accountability. And
I bet Baltimore loses tomorrow, well maybe not green Bay.
(02:42):
They clinched. I'm sure Love won't play. Then again, Lamar
might not play for Baltimore Uh, but what if these
Steeler games mean something starting with at Cleveland on Sunday
and DK can't play and Deland's the number one why not?
And the receiving court and passing game are crippled? How
(03:05):
do you feel about all this? Then again, get your
calls in a three three four one two wxdx. Very
interesting story in the Baltimore paper. There was a column
written that says Lamar Jackson what what did it call?
Speaker 2 (03:24):
Him?
Speaker 1 (03:24):
A little kid in a grow man's body. Said he
plays video games all night, and the reason the Ravens
practice in the afternoon is because if they practice early,
they know Lamar will oversleep and be late because he's
playing video games all night. And it also said that
he and John Harbaugh, the coach, don't have a good relationship,
(03:45):
which Harbaugh denies, but nonetheless an interesting story.
Speaker 2 (03:49):
Given that.
Speaker 1 (03:52):
Lamar and the Ravens are not having a good year,
maybe the Steelers f up, bail him out, give them
a chance to win the division on the last day
at Akreasure. But that doesn't seem to me to be
the way this is heading. I mean, Baltimore gonna win tomorrow.
The Steelers gotta lose at Cleveland. Now that Week eighteen
(04:14):
game against Baltimore and could have been bupkis.
Speaker 2 (04:20):
Come watch the.
Speaker 1 (04:21):
Game with me Sunday at the school host Taverney Claradge
out near Export out now Murraysville out Route twenty two.
Always a great time at the schoolas Tavern with my
buddy Sully and the great crew. They are all the
old guys from the softball teams. So come to the
schoolas Tavern and Clarridge on Sunday and watch the game
(04:41):
with the super genius.
Speaker 2 (04:42):
We've had a lot of great watch parties.
Speaker 1 (04:44):
This year Steelers and Penguins, so that the beat goes
on Sunday at the schoolhouse.
Speaker 3 (04:51):
Uh.
Speaker 1 (04:51):
I find this game against the Bronze on Sunday to
be very intriguing in a boring way. I want to
see how Shadoor plays at quarterback for Cleve. He's been
up and down. I do see potential there. I just
I just don't see enough of it, not yet. And
Miles Garrett can break these single season sack record with
(05:12):
one sack. That's TJ Watts single season sack record. With
Watt there and maybe playing and after getting stabbed in
the lung by his own team and stealing all that
money he got with the new contract. And he's not
that good no more. Still pretty good, doesn't stink. Ain't
(05:34):
worth forty one meal per year? Though, as I suggested
to Jerry dou Like, maybe the Steelers should not drop
back to pass the whole game.
Speaker 2 (05:43):
No dropbacks, no sacks.
Speaker 1 (05:46):
You feel me run on every play, and especially so
if the game is meaningless. Otherwise it's all up to
Dylan Cook, who's been very good.
Speaker 2 (05:57):
Ain't a starter.
Speaker 1 (06:00):
I have earned a niche as a fill in moving forward,
playing pretty good right now. If Baltimore loses at green
Bay tomorrow night, the game's meaningless for the Steelers at Cleveland,
but green Bay has clinched a playoff spot. Jordan Love
is dinged up. He's not gonna play. Lamar Jackson, doptfel
(06:21):
Snoop hunt Ley might get in there. Has anybody talked
to Lamorrow? Oh here's that direct quote, A little kid
in a grown man's body about Lamar Jackson. You know
that pretty much describes the entire National Football League four
one two.
Speaker 2 (06:37):
Three three three WXDX.
Speaker 1 (06:39):
I want to go over some of the stuff that
I've found out about Ryan Kennedy the guy with the
blue hair that engaged to Kaylin Zacharias Metcalf, and apparently
that's what irritated DK. Metcalf is calling him by his
full name. What the fan, Ryan Kennedy calls his government name.
(07:03):
I don't know why would that get you perturbed?
Speaker 2 (07:06):
It's your name. But here's some of the things being tweeted.
Speaker 1 (07:10):
We talked a moment ago in the Trifecta about the
lies being told about what happened at Detroit between the
fan and DK. Injurre and Ohio tweets there should be
a fan standard of conduct too. You can't sit in
the stands in her racial or other slurs at players unquote. Yeah, okay,
(07:31):
there is a fan standard of contact. This guy has
met that standard at Forbes Field, and you talk about
racial or other slurs.
Speaker 2 (07:39):
This guy didn't do that.
Speaker 1 (07:41):
That's just being assumed because there's no way our hero,
the Steeler Dekaelin Zacharice Metcalf could have screwed up. But
obviously he's a low IQ, low attention span nitwit who's
easily perturbed.
Speaker 2 (07:57):
Another guy tweets, I wonder if you'd.
Speaker 1 (08:00):
Feel the same way if DK was having the greatest
season of any wide receiver ever. Well, he just isn't.
Then he says, I wonder what actually was said to DK.
Just because a fan chooses to pay a lot of
money for season tickets doesn't give them a haul pass
to say whatever they want the players on the field. Yeah,
but this guy didn't use a racial slurer. Nobody around
(08:22):
there is reporting that. Security is not reporting that that
was Harrison and o Cho Senko saying they talked to
DK when.
Speaker 2 (08:29):
I bet they did, and I bet they made it up.
I bet they lied. And DK's not commenting because gonna
be a lawsuit. He gonna have to pay DK.
Speaker 1 (08:40):
He's not had his career ruined, but he's gonna have
his bank account lightened.
Speaker 2 (08:44):
He screwed up in just a big way.
Speaker 1 (08:46):
But as I've been saying, if this was a local
yokl getting Jamar Chase to take a swing getting him suspended,
you'd be.
Speaker 2 (08:56):
Handling that guy as a hero. You would, you would.
Speaker 1 (09:00):
But this guy, oh, he should be bank from games forever.
Let me tell you what I bet in secret, somebody
from the Lions goes up to mister Blue here and says, hey,
off the record, nice job.
Speaker 2 (09:17):
You'd done good, Like I said.
Speaker 1 (09:20):
Fifteen years of season ticket holder in the first row,
expensive seats, and people sitting around him said he never
goes too far, never says anything out of line. God
didn't do nothing wrong. DK Metcalf's the idiot here and
it's not debatable.
Speaker 2 (09:39):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (09:39):
I know that other people doing this in this time
are saying, well, there's two sides to every story. No,
in this case, there isn't. DK Metcalf one wrong, blue
haired dope, obnoxious, nothing worse. Get your calls in out
for calls on the fifteenes. But you won't call because
you know I'm right about this. You don't want me
to be right. You don't want to.
Speaker 2 (10:01):
Sound stupid being wrong, So don't call.
Speaker 1 (10:03):
But if you do want to call, the numbers eight
three three four one two wxdx. We got Tim Ben's
at the bottom of the hour, Charlie Batch at the
top of the hour at one oh five nine.
Speaker 2 (10:17):
Time for calls on the fifteens unless we don't get any.
But that's okay if we don't. But A three three
four one two WXDX. I told you that I was right.
Speaker 1 (10:27):
You guys all know the DKs, the dink, the guy
in Detroit might be an idiot, like but he's crazy
like a fox. He played the Kaylin Zachariz Metcalf like
a fiddle. And you just don't want to admit that
one of your beloved Black and Gold is a Putts
and that the blue haired guy in Detroit is clearly
(10:49):
much smarter by the way you hear these, Will Farrell
ads on on on the show. Well, he's not funny
at all anymore? Is he not even remotely funny? You
got Pitt playing a bowl game tomorrow against East Carolina.
What a great match up that is, pit against the
(11:11):
team from the American Athletic Conference.
Speaker 2 (11:15):
Holstein's gonna dress for the game. I'm surprised.
Speaker 1 (11:17):
I thought he would be sitting and then transferring, although
I'm sure he's gonna enter the window the portal.
Speaker 2 (11:25):
A couple hockey notes.
Speaker 1 (11:27):
Here's a scary note about the Penguins who don't resume
played till Sunday night in Chicago. The Penguins have lost
eight times this season when leading in the third period.
You just ain't going nowhere if you do that. And
how about the East Coast Hockey League players double a
hockey wheeling Nailers, etc.
Speaker 2 (11:47):
They went on strike.
Speaker 1 (11:49):
Double A hockey players have gone on strike, and all
it means for like half a Wheelings roster is they
get called up to Wilkeson become practice dummies. It's just
insane the double A hockey players would go and strike,
Go play beer league? What the frigg of your options?
(12:11):
Let's go to the egypsum magician. Hello, my friend, how.
Speaker 3 (12:14):
Are you.
Speaker 4 (12:17):
Hey?
Speaker 3 (12:17):
Mark A feel things about the Steelers that really really
made me happy. You know, they took you to their
weak points.
Speaker 4 (12:27):
Being very repetitive and uh, you know everybody knew what
they're going to do.
Speaker 1 (12:34):
Now they find more of a formula on offense, Bob,
I think that's fair to say, yes.
Speaker 4 (12:40):
And you know, specially in the middle and all that
and not being predictable and one the biggest thing that
I'd really enjoyed, and I watched it a couple of times.
Speaker 3 (12:52):
Offensive runs, especially with this guy Cook. I guess number
sixty right, He basically had you know, he's taking care
of the blind side of and I.
Speaker 4 (13:05):
Don't see Rogers jumping off and down having a happy feet.
Speaker 3 (13:11):
Now. He stays in the pocket because he trusts them,
and that is excellent because they the whole offensive line
are doing fantastic job. And I really really like that.
Speaker 1 (13:23):
Well, like Jerry Duma's pointed out, Bob, the offensive lines
doing a great job despite being really dinged up. They
played great at Detroit with no Ciamalvu and obviously no
Broderick Jones. Dylan Cook is their four string left tackle,
so yeah, you're right on.
Speaker 3 (13:38):
And then the last thing that I wanted to say
is that when okay, so Green Bay Packers, they have
pinched the playoff spots right, so they don't have any
motivation to come. You know, they're not desperate.
Speaker 2 (13:57):
Now, correct, correct?
Speaker 1 (13:58):
I mean even of the games Green Bay, I would
say that gives Baltimore an edge, but Lamar might not
be played. Then again, if Lamar's nottful, he should, you know,
spin on it, tape it up, shoot it up. If
you got to beget out there because it's it's steward
die Bob, great call, Thank you for calling up. Next
talk to Tim bens one oh five nine Join out
by Tim Benz in the trip Tim up, I'm amazed
(14:19):
at the reaction to what happened with DK Metcalf. How
many Pittsburgh people are a painting Metcalf as the victim
when he's the idiot and b pretending to f a
Steelers fan. Like say the Steelers pope had baited Jamar
Chase into punching him and being suspended, he would be
thought of as a folk hero in Pittsburgh.
Speaker 5 (14:41):
Well, you can't punch a pope, So I think that's
the difference. But aside from that, it's not that different.
It's on DK Metcalf, and I get it. If you
had problems with this guy before, or you know, if
some if something was said of a racial nature or
some did it just wasn't.
Speaker 1 (15:01):
Tim, It just wasn't. I won't even let that be
thrown out there. All the ifs have been said, and
everybody says, no, Well.
Speaker 5 (15:08):
It doesn't matter if it was or wasn't. He can't
do it. He just can't do it. You can't go
over and make contact with the fan. And just because
Shack lost and happened to get away with it before,
that doesn't mean that the NFL isn't right to, or
at the very least within its rights to make the
punishment more severe than perhaps it should have lost in
(15:30):
a couple of years ago.
Speaker 2 (15:32):
Well, yeah, and that, of course was refresh my memory.
Speaker 1 (15:35):
Tim lost in a Buffalo player that smacked the Philly fan.
You're right, I mean one wrong doesn't mean everything done
after that should be treated in the same wrong fashion.
I just think it's moronic to the guy with everything
to lose lost some of it, maybe more of it
moving forward, you know, trying to be obsessed with the
(15:55):
guy who has nothing to lose. It may no mistake, Tim,
This obsession goes both ways. Between the blue haired guy
and DK Metcalf. If I didn't know better, I'd say
they were in love.
Speaker 6 (16:06):
Well, I do you know, did you see the press conference?
Speaker 2 (16:08):
Find a chance I saw enough of it to know
how great it was.
Speaker 5 (16:11):
Yes, you know, him begging DK to say he was sorry,
was you know, pretty obvious what he was doing. He's
trying to get DK to admit that nothing happened, or
state that nothing happened, and then, by extension, he can
sue two guys for.
Speaker 6 (16:28):
Defamation instead of just one, because.
Speaker 5 (16:30):
Now he can go after Harrison, go after Johnson, as
opposed to just going after DK for saying what don't you.
Speaker 1 (16:37):
Think Harrison and O Joe Sinko made that up that
they never communicated with DK, because that's what I think.
Speaker 2 (16:43):
I don't know.
Speaker 6 (16:43):
I mean, what's why do you assume that?
Speaker 4 (16:46):
Why?
Speaker 5 (16:46):
Why can't why couldn't he have those two have just
texted him and said what happened?
Speaker 6 (16:50):
And DK sent backwards Because.
Speaker 2 (16:51):
I don't think.
Speaker 1 (16:52):
I don't think X DOOCS would podcast feel any need
to play by the same rules we do.
Speaker 5 (16:58):
Oh, I don't think they know the rules. I don't
think they understand the rules. So it's possible. I'm not
going to assume that, but it's possible. Like they don't
know about slander, they don't know about those kind of things.
They just think that they can shoot from the hip
and if it catches up to them, it catches up
to them. But now it might catch up to him,
So you know, I think they do feel like that
they can do what they want to do in a vacuum,
as opposed to people who do this for a living
(17:19):
that know that vacuum doesn't exist.
Speaker 1 (17:22):
Tim, Where does the past game go without the Kaitlin
in these two games, especially if these games turn out
to mean something, because I think Green Bay's probably gonna
lose to Baltimore Saturday night now that Green Bays clinched.
Speaker 5 (17:40):
See, I still think Baltimore is such a mess that
they could very easily lose that game. I think there's
an undercurrent of, you know, things going negatively emotionally with
that greame right now. You know, you talked about the
negativity surrounding that article, the alleged rift between.
Speaker 6 (17:58):
Jackson and Horrorball.
Speaker 5 (17:59):
I can't I'm imagine people are okay with how Harball
handled Henry.
Speaker 6 (18:02):
At the end of that game last week.
Speaker 5 (18:04):
So I think they very well could still lose to
Green Bay. It's gonna be sounds like a battle of
the backups, potentially at quarterback.
Speaker 3 (18:13):
We'll see.
Speaker 6 (18:14):
I don't have a great feel for that game.
Speaker 5 (18:16):
I have a better field that the Steelers should win
against Cleveland, but they rarely do up there the past
game specifically your point where it goes. It has to
go to the tight ends now, I don't think they
have any other choice. They've started to get John hu
Smith involved in ways that we were led to believe.
Speaker 6 (18:32):
That they would.
Speaker 5 (18:33):
It's more like that tricky stuff out of the backfield
and the jet sweeps and things like that. But just conventionally,
it's gonna have to come down to I think Rogers
throwing the ball to the tight ends more because if
the greatest strength of feeling and MBS is being at
the right place at the right time to get DK open, well,
the last part of that equation isn't in the sentence anymore. So,
(18:57):
all right, you can get to the right spot, but
if you're covered, you're still covered, and then Rogers isn't
gonna throw it to you, so he's gonna have to
throw it somewhere else.
Speaker 1 (19:04):
We're talking to Tim Benz of the Trip here on
the Mark Mannen Show. Tim uh is Kenneth Gainwell, now
officially the new Ladanian Tomlinson. I mean, where where did
this come from? And I mean that catch, My god.
I mean, I'm not sure he knows to this moment
that he caught it.
Speaker 5 (19:22):
I'm still not sure, but every angle suggests that he did.
Speaker 6 (19:25):
And it was a whale of a player.
Speaker 5 (19:27):
You.
Speaker 2 (19:27):
No, he definitely did, but it almost seemed like he
caught it by.
Speaker 6 (19:29):
Accident, by surprise, by accident.
Speaker 3 (19:33):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (19:34):
Why, he's a really good player.
Speaker 5 (19:37):
I think he was properly cast behind Barkley. Maybe he
was a better backup to Barkley than the Eagles gave
him credit for. Than the rest of the league gave
him credit for based on how easily he came here
to Pittsburgh. So yeah, they're getting the most out of him.
He's a quality, good dollar signing for sure. I don't
(19:57):
know if he's ever going to be a turnaround at
hand to him thirty times a game back like Ladanian
Tomlinson was, But for what they're using him to do,
they're getting more and then some. And I think Mark
that's helped Warren. Warren stayed fresher longer than I expected
him to at this stage of the season. Given that
Gainwell has been able to handle so much of the
(20:19):
carry load and target share. That's helped Warren too. I
think still be a good back here in December.
Speaker 2 (20:26):
Tim Up, what do you making Dylan Cook?
Speaker 1 (20:29):
Is he staking a claim to letting Roderick Jones go
not taking his fifth year option, or is he just
a backup on a good run.
Speaker 6 (20:39):
It's probably more the latter, but I don't know.
Speaker 5 (20:43):
Regardless of Dylan Cook and how well he's playing, I
still wouldn't give that fifth year option to Broderi Jones.
I'd take it to the end and if you got
to pay well, then you got to pay. At some point,
you're gonna have to pay for a free agent tackle,
I would think, or you're gonna.
Speaker 1 (20:58):
Have to go back into the draft, or maybe you
could have a draft pick that turns out good.
Speaker 2 (21:02):
How about that idea, right exactly?
Speaker 5 (21:05):
Yeah, that's that's part of it too. I just I
don't I don't think that his play in particular has
to dictate whether or not they make that decision pro
or con.
Speaker 4 (21:15):
No.
Speaker 2 (21:15):
No, but I'm talking more like just in a vacuum.
Speaker 1 (21:18):
I mean, he's playing pretty good obviously, and even even
considering I mean, I mean, see him all who didn't
play and he still did okay at Detroit, and.
Speaker 5 (21:26):
I thought it was, you know, it was unfortunate timing
that he had Romo and Nance singing his praises about
how well he was playing, and the one time they
talked about it, Hutchinson beat him in Gainwell.
Speaker 6 (21:36):
I think it's the first time I've seen Gamewell screw.
Speaker 3 (21:37):
Up on a chip.
Speaker 5 (21:39):
That's another aspect of his game that's good, but that
was just, you know, bad luck. Aside from that, I
think he's been quite good, and I'm wondering how much
help they'll give him. I hope they don't outthink themselves
and put him on an island too much against Garrett.
Speaker 6 (21:52):
Or he's going to get that record in the first drive.
It's very interesting to see how this goes Mark based.
Speaker 5 (21:57):
On who they play, how long they play, if Baltimore
or loses. I think maybe you treat both of these
games almost as preseason games for the guys you can sit.
Now Rogers would be one of those that you could
sit for. Rudolph, I wouldn't do it for two weeks
in a row. I might shield how much playing time
he gets against Garrett. You know, I might have a
(22:18):
quick Cook there if it looks like Garrett is winning
against Cook or whoever repeatedly, because you.
Speaker 6 (22:22):
Don't want him to be hurt going into playoffs. As
you're building this momentum.
Speaker 1 (22:28):
I think it's much more important to rest the old
guys than it is to make sure they maintain momentum
or rhythm or whatever.
Speaker 2 (22:34):
Phraseology you want to use.
Speaker 1 (22:37):
I mean, rest is better than rhythm for somebody who's
forty two, especially, and I think for Cam as well.
Speaker 5 (22:43):
And it's an excuse to look at Howard. If you
want to look at Howard, you can start in on.
Speaker 6 (22:49):
You don't they might.
Speaker 5 (22:51):
But the the other positions like receiver, offensive line, defensive
back at this point, outside linebacker, they're so thin at
those positions.
Speaker 6 (23:02):
People like rest everybody.
Speaker 5 (23:04):
I don't know who everybody is at this point. A
lot of guys are gonna have.
Speaker 2 (23:07):
To because they're gonna and somebody has to play. Well,
that's more like.
Speaker 5 (23:12):
That's the everybody, Like everybody might have to play because
the rest of the roster is too hurt to do so,
so they might not be able to play that game
when it comes to resting guys and inactive guys, considering
how many guys are banged up to begin with, Well,
I think.
Speaker 1 (23:26):
TJ should play a little bit, assuming he's okay, don't you.
I would hate to have him going to the playoffs
having not played for over a month.
Speaker 5 (23:34):
Yeah, well that would have to come down to next
week because if you saw they got the injury re
poored out, I think that might have happened during your
commercial break. But he's been ruled out, Austin's been ruled out,
Ecchos has.
Speaker 6 (23:45):
Been ruled out, Pierre has been ruled out.
Speaker 5 (23:47):
And real, Yeah, Ramsey's questionable and Ciamalo is questionable. So
what did I just say three defensive backs? They're questionable
or out already. And yeah, so I think they probably
want to get what a few reps against the Ravens,
whether the game matters or not.
Speaker 2 (24:03):
Well, Tim, this is assuming they don't stab him in
the other lung.
Speaker 5 (24:08):
Well, you know, if they want to get out of
that contract, that was a creative way to do it.
Speaker 6 (24:13):
And Metcalf almost gave them an.
Speaker 5 (24:14):
Opportunity to get out what technically he did give him
a contract, the ability to get out of that contract.
Speaker 6 (24:19):
But you know, like you said earlier in your show,
they're never going to play that hand.
Speaker 1 (24:23):
Tim, do you think Garrett gets the sack record? I
find this game, even if it's meaningless, even if the
Steelers have clinched, I find it intriguing because the Garrett
sack record thing, and because Shador I mean, he is
a story and I hate to admit it. He plays
just good enough, just often enough that I'm intrigued.
Speaker 5 (24:44):
I'm with you, And because they were so obviously linked
to him during pre draft conversations, there's an undercurrent of
talk there that you want to see followed up. It's
an intrigue, intriguing interesting, curious game regardles of if there
are playoff implications or not. If it's strictly just from
a Pittsburgh perspective, it's do you slow down?
Speaker 2 (25:07):
Garrett?
Speaker 6 (25:08):
Who do you protect?
Speaker 3 (25:09):
Who do you sit?
Speaker 2 (25:10):
How do you get.
Speaker 6 (25:10):
Around the metcalf problem?
Speaker 5 (25:12):
You know, all these things are interesting and intriguing to me.
And you know one thing we haven't gotten to mark,
and it's a whole nother layer of the conversation.
Speaker 6 (25:20):
You probably get into more next week. We'll have to.
Speaker 5 (25:23):
But you know, do you play the game of how
hard do you want to play to avoid a team?
Speaker 6 (25:27):
Depending on the permutation?
Speaker 2 (25:28):
No, you can't. You can't. You can't do that. You can't.
Speaker 1 (25:31):
The minute you try to finagle it, it goes the
other way, even if you don't mean it to. Even
if you do what you want, something else you didn't
content happens been in that vein Tim, Who would you
most prefer to play? I keep coming back to the
LA Chargers, and by far not that it would be
an easy game, but her but Harbaugh cannot coach himself,
and Herbert's stinged up and has been all year.
Speaker 5 (25:52):
Really, yeah, the harball out coaching himself is part of
the bloodline of the family Herbert.
Speaker 6 (25:59):
Yeah, he's a different guy.
Speaker 5 (26:00):
It seems like when it comes to winning playoff games.
You know, it's the uniform, it's the helmet. Everybody's spooked
because it's Jacksonville. We've seen that fish before here. But
still that might be the best option, even though they're
playing well right now.
Speaker 6 (26:19):
It's either them or the Chargers.
Speaker 5 (26:21):
I know there are two constants with the Bills and
Houston that I want no part of. I want no
part of seeing that pass rush against a banged up
Steelers offensive line. And I want no part of the
Steelers trying to defend that run game from Buffalo. If
they can avoid either those two, great flip a coin
between LA and Jacksonville. But I think the most important
(26:41):
thing to advance, Mark, I think you'd agree with me
on this. Don't you think the Steelers are a home
dog against any of those four teams in the playoffs.
Speaker 6 (26:48):
Wouldn't any of those four teams come in as a favorite.
Speaker 1 (26:53):
I think it might be pick him against the Chargers
and maybe Jacksonville.
Speaker 2 (26:57):
But I think you're right.
Speaker 1 (26:58):
I think I think and Jacksonville would be slight favorites.
Houston a little bit more than slight Buffalo, I think
probably five or six points.
Speaker 5 (27:08):
Yeah, that would kind of go in that same range too.
I'd probably make it in a field goal realm for
Houston five to six, maybe for Buffalo, and then uh yeah,
maybe a point pick them something like that. But even
if it's a pick them, that's saying something because then
you're suggesting you're getting rid of the three point home
field advantage. There's just by making that assumption that you know,
(27:29):
then the Chargers are what if it's a neutral field
a three point favorite, then by extension or Jacksonville for
that matter.
Speaker 2 (27:36):
Tim great stuff. Will do it again next week.
Speaker 6 (27:37):
Enjoy the game, all right, you got it?
Speaker 2 (27:39):
Mark?
Speaker 3 (27:39):
Thanks.
Speaker 1 (27:40):
That's Tim Ben's Charlie bats at the top of the
IRA one oh five to nine, double him on the ax.
This segment brought to us by the Steelers Pro Shop.
Get it direct from the team at shop dot Steelers
dot com. Here's philosophizer Aaron Rodgers, the Steelers quarterback, getting
deep about the DK metcalf situation.
Speaker 7 (28:00):
Now, at the same time, as you see in parts
of society a road, shall we say, maybe the conduct
has changed a little bit over the years. Now I'm
all for a good trash talk. And you know, the
Brown's got the dog pound, they got a great fan base.
I love the banter with the fans. I was bantering
(28:20):
with the fan in the in the stands uh the
other day. It was it was yelling a bunch of
stuff at me and then his voice cracked. I steazing
about that. But there's a line. I think there's a
line that they shouldn't be crossed.
Speaker 1 (28:33):
Society is eroding, that's true, and NFL locker rooms aren't ground.
Speaker 2 (28:38):
Zero for that.
Speaker 1 (28:40):
Talk about men behaving badly and as far as a
line that should not be crossed, that's true. But that
fan in Detroit did not cross that line. The guy
who crossed the line was to Kaylin Zacharias Metcalf. Should
the Steeler sit Aaron Rodgers on Sunday at Cleveland if
(29:00):
Baltimore loses on Saturday Night.
Speaker 2 (29:02):
Here's what Lewis Reddick said on ESPN. I think about it.
Speaker 8 (29:07):
I don't necessarily believe in that. I do believe that
this offense right now has found kind of a sweet
spot and found kind of a rhythm that comes with repetition,
and so I wouldn't want to break that up. And
in particular, look, you saw this over the past couple
of weeks, especially his rhythm that he has found with
the running backs in the passing game. I think that's
the kind of thing you don't want to disrupt, and
you probably want to keep playing him.
Speaker 2 (29:28):
I would just so.
Speaker 8 (29:29):
I would hate to see this football team without Aaron
Rodgers because I think he is a catalyst.
Speaker 2 (29:34):
Right now.
Speaker 1 (29:37):
It's a mixed bag, and it's a tough call because
the offense has found a sweet spot, even if it's
not all that sweet, but there is rhythm, there is repetition.
Speaker 2 (29:49):
They have found things they can do well.
Speaker 1 (29:52):
Rogers has looked good, and Riddick is right about Rogers's
rhythm thrown to the running backs especially, but Rogers is
forty two and Miles Garrett could kill him. And for
an old man like Rogers, rest is more important than rhythm.
So if the Steelers have clinched by kickoff on Sunday
(30:13):
at Cleveland, I might play Rogers at half at Cleveland,
at most, maybe just a quarter. Here's Reggie Miller on
the Dan Patrick Show talking about ways to ruin basketball
even more.
Speaker 2 (30:27):
Dare I say there may be a four point shot
the game.
Speaker 9 (30:33):
Everything evolves, live e balls. I have no problem with that. Now,
it's gonna mess up the records. If I'm Stephen Curry,
I would be upset with that, But in ten years
I wouldn't be surprised if there's a four point.
Speaker 2 (30:48):
Line a four point shot.
Speaker 1 (30:54):
That's not basketball evolving, that's basketball becoming even more Carnie,
the three point shot has ruined basketball. There's no pick
and roll anymore, there's no mid range jumper anymore. The
Boston Celtics jack up fifty three pointers a game.
Speaker 2 (31:11):
Basketball has no fun to watch.
Speaker 1 (31:14):
Evolving can also mean recognizing that the three pointers served
its purpose, but sucks.
Speaker 2 (31:20):
Now and they ought to get rid of it.
Speaker 1 (31:23):
Up Next, more football talk with former Steelers quarterback Charlie
Batch here on one oh five nine
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