June 3, 2025 • 19 mins
Labs and Tom talk about upcoming Mini Camp and then get into this weeks questions.
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Speaker 1 (00:02):
This is asked and answered questions with Tom Upferman and
Steelers Digest editor Bob Labriola.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
We now start our second week of OTAs for the Steelers.
Mandatory mini camp is right on the horizon that'll start
next Tuesday, And Labs, they started the second week of
OTAs off the proper way with maybe the most important
portion of this phase of the offseason the trip to
Kennywood yesterday by the entire team.
Speaker 1 (00:27):
Yeah. They've done different things, you know, in different years,
from many camp you know, sometimes bowling, you know, sometimes
one time I remember, I don't remember when it was,
but Dave and Buster's, you know, video game kind of gathering.
You know, it's just a team building guys get to
(00:48):
know each other, you know, away from maybe the football field.
Bill Cower used to do it, Mike Tolman does it.
They've done different things. But I you know, I have
to know, are you a roller coaster guy or what?
Let's pretend I do.
Speaker 3 (01:03):
But I gotta be honest with you, Labs. I'm worried.
I'm a little washed up.
Speaker 2 (01:06):
I went to the beach last year and wrote a
pretty wicked roller coaster on the Ocean City Boardwalk and
I was pretty white like a ghost afterwards. So I
don't know if I'm past my prime or not, but
I'm gonna keep pushing the envelope because I love him
so much.
Speaker 1 (01:18):
Okay, well, you couldn't get me on a roller coaster
with a cord order. I'm just telling you, I'd rather
go to jail. I think jail might kill me. The
roller coaster definitely would. I mean, that's just scared of heights.
Always had not even like the jack Rabbit.
Speaker 3 (01:34):
We can't even get you on that, just a little
one like that.
Speaker 1 (01:36):
Nothing, nothing, No, never been a thrill right kind of person,
you know. Doing these podcasts with he was as thrilling
as I care to get.
Speaker 2 (01:45):
Of course, Yes, and there's a lot of perks being
an NFL player, But one that I'm really jealous of
is having an entire amusement park like Kenny would close
down and you just get carte blanche of the entire thing.
Speaker 3 (01:57):
That's pretty cool.
Speaker 1 (01:59):
Yeah, if if I had to go, you'd see me
in the ski ball thing playing.
Speaker 3 (02:04):
There is nothing wrong with that. Rack up a lot
of tickets, get a nice prize.
Speaker 2 (02:07):
But OT's Week two starts today and then it becomes
mandatory next week. So if you aren't there this week,
you got to show up next week or else things
can what happens that you get a little subject to
fines something like that, or you can be.
Speaker 1 (02:20):
And it's not cheap. It's not cheap if you miss
all three. I mean, it's it's a six figure fine easy.
Speaker 3 (02:30):
Some players might be more than others.
Speaker 1 (02:34):
Yeah, like you, but not me. Yeah right, oh yeah,
that's why they you know, that's why it is like that.
You know, they figured that the number is high enough
that you know it's it's a it's a deterrence, let's
put it that way.
Speaker 2 (02:52):
Well, the students will continue to work their way through
this phase of the off season and then take a
little bit of a break with training camp towards the
end of July. Let's get into our batch of questions
for this week, and our first one comes from Darryl
Saunders from Miami Beach, Florida. Do you anticipate Will Howard
and Skyler Thompson playing most of the preseason snaps if
Mason Rudolph Rudolph is our starting quarterback? Also, will Rock
(03:16):
Taylor have a fair shot at being our wide receiver too?
If he doesn't make the fifty three man roster, that
would be a travesty. He is a great wide receiver.
Speaker 1 (03:25):
Okay, as of today, you know, we talked about the
you know where we are in the calendar. It's June third.
The Steelers have three quarterbacks on their ninety man roster.
General manager ol Mark Conna has said more than once
the team is going to take Ford to training camp
(03:45):
at Saint Vincent College, which will open sometime in late July.
So once the Steelers get to that stage, the training
camp stage, practice pecking order is going to be established
and repetitions and those practices will be allotted to the
four players who are there. I don't think it's gonna
be the same, you know, same rotation all the time,
(04:09):
you know, or what it's gonna be. But you know,
everything that Daryl is asking is based on hypotheticals. So
I'm gonna quote former coach Bill Kauer. I don't play
the what if game because there's just too much, you know,
too much guessing involved in that. Okay, On to Rock
(04:30):
Taylor six three, two hundred and fifteen pounds, signed with
the Steelers as an undrafted rookie after the draft. Played
his college football at Memphis UH. He's currently one of
eleven wide receivers on the on the nine to me roster.
I've been to a lot of training camps. I am
that old young wide receivers the best thing for them
(04:55):
is that they would be wise to find a way
to make themselves valuable on special teams. I have no
idea if Rock Taylor is a returner, but you just
look at his height and weight. He has the physical
numbers in those categories to maybe be a pretty good
(05:17):
gunner on punting. So you know, I don't know if
he's ever done it. I'm sure he'll get a chance
to try it. And you know, Miles Boykin made himself
a pretty nice career in the NFL as a special
teams guy. He was a wide receiver and one of
the things he did well was a gunner on the
(05:39):
punt team. So you know, the expectation of you know,
Daryl that he should be the number two wide receiver
I think is a little bit aggressive at this point,
because you know, there has to be a reason he
wasn't drafted. I mean, I don't know what it was,
(06:00):
but a lot of teams passed on him. A lot
of times. So what I would say is, you know,
if Danny Smith likes you a lot by the end
of training camp in the preseason, that's not a bad
That's not a bad friend to have come cut down day.
Speaker 3 (06:20):
Joe Werner from West Henrietta, New York.
Speaker 2 (06:22):
Have the Steelers ever come out and stated in opposition
to letting a player wear number zero? Or is it
just a coincidence that no one has worn that number
for the Steelers since the NFL made it legal again
a few years ago.
Speaker 1 (06:36):
Yeah, I mean, I don't know. What I can tell you.
That I know is the Steelers have never come out
and stated in opposition to a player wearing the number zero.
So that's all I can tell you. That's all I
can say on that.
Speaker 2 (06:51):
Brooks Dirkowski from Cleveland, Ohio. Will Jalen Warren and Caleb
Johnson share the starter spot.
Speaker 1 (07:00):
Again? This is one of those really early questions from
someone who's looking for a definitive answer before and it's
before mini camp. You know, I don't understand why these answers.
You know, these questions need to be definitively answered now,
you know, I think the Steelers will be going to
(07:20):
training camp with a nice group of running backs on
the depth chart, and then what Brooks is asking is
going to work itself out from July through August, pack
practices and pads, training, preseason games, and we should have
an answer and plenty of time for Brooks and other
fantasy league players to figure out who they want to draft.
Speaker 2 (07:43):
And I'll just say this because it is way too early.
I think what the Steelers would like to happen after
Mini camp and training camp is for Caleb Johnson to
kind of slide into a role that Naji Harris served
in the previous years, and you can continue to have
Jalen Warren in the role that he has.
Speaker 3 (07:56):
Been doing so well at for the past couple of years.
Speaker 2 (07:58):
But again, we won't know that until we actually start
to play football.
Speaker 1 (08:02):
Right And again I've said this a bunch of times,
I'll say it again, Caleb Johnson, whenever they do backs
on backers, uh, he better distinguish himself. I mean, I
remember last year last summer, you and I were talking
on the training camp report about how you know, Jalen
(08:24):
Warren was going against t J. Watt and and and
and getting a draw in backs on backers, which is
pretty darn good in that situation. So again we know
that Iowa was not a passing offense in college well
(08:47):
and and again you know so I'm sure Caleb Johnson
just doesn't have a lot of experience with it. And
it's more than just having a mindset and the wills
to do it. You have to understand it because defenses,
opposing defenses will try and trick you. If you're the
(09:07):
only back in the backfield and an otherwise you know, uh,
spread formation on third and long or you know, whatever
the situation happens to be. Defenses will disguise and try
and trick you with where the pass rush is coming from.
And if you're standing to the just as an example,
(09:28):
to the left of the quarterback, and they can make
you think that that's the rush is coming into your
face on that side, but it's really coming to the
other side. That half a second second delay in recognition
could be the difference between the quarterback taking a big
hit or being able to you know, complete the pass
(09:50):
to whoever might be open. So it's a learning curve
and it's not something that is taken lightly by the
coaching staff.
Speaker 2 (10:00):
Vinnie Carcetti from Saqua, New York, do you happen to
know why the Steelers always open the season on the road.
Speaker 1 (10:07):
I question, Well, you know, I don't. I don't know
if for people who have never been to the North Shore.
Akroscher Stadium and PNC Park are close physically, and you know,
the land there is you know, there's rivers and stuff,
(10:27):
so it's somewhat limited. So the teams share parking areas,
and you know there's that. Plus also you don't want
to have too much stress placed on uh, the City
of Pittsburgh Police and City of Pittsburgh EMS, emergency services
(10:51):
and that kind of thing. So having two events there
at the same time would mess up the parking. You know,
fans wouldn't be able to park if one team's fans
coming in and going out and another team's fans coming
in or going out, and then the police situation in
the emergency situation. So the the effort, let me say,
(11:17):
is really made not to not to run into that.
And so Major League Baseball schedule comes out before the
NFL schedule comes out. I you know, that's so Baseball
gets first DIBs on the dates. You know, maybe the
Pirates could be a better partner in that respect, and
(11:40):
try and spread that around a little bit. But but
that hasn't been the case, and so that's where we are.
Speaker 2 (11:50):
I mean, you can honestly roll the dice at that
point and just have it happened simultaneously. Is there's gonna
be like, what five cars in the parking lot for
the Pirates game come September?
Speaker 1 (12:00):
You know, is Paul Skeen's pitching? Is he still on
the team. I mean, I don't know.
Speaker 3 (12:04):
They don't really draw that much when he's pitching either
this year.
Speaker 1 (12:07):
Well, who knows, maybe Livy Dunnell be in the in
a box or something. Hey, but that's the reason. Yeah,
that's the reason.
Speaker 2 (12:16):
Jason Godfrey from Noori, South Carolina. I remember an episode
of Football On with Ben Roethlisberger where he talked about
Heath Miller helping him get the correct play called. Is
that an expectation from a tight end to know the
offense that way?
Speaker 3 (12:30):
Or was he just that guy?
Speaker 1 (12:32):
Heath was just that guy. Heith Miller was just that
guy throughout his career with the Steelers. You know, he
his first season was two thousand and five. He was
a starter right away. That team went and won a
Super Bowl, became the first number six seed ever to
do that. Heath Miller had a huge game against the
(12:55):
Colts in the divisional round where the Steelers upset Thenumber
one seed on the road. You know, the guy missed
over eleven NFL seasons. He missed only eight regular season games,
and only five of those misses were because of injury.
(13:18):
You know, a lot of times when the playoff situations
were clinched or whatever. You know, heith Miller was one
of those guys who got the day off. So he
was that valuable. You know, Heith Miller. His stats weren't spectacular,
but that was because you know, he was on an
offense with you know, s Antonio Holmes and Hines Ward
(13:40):
and the Antonio Brown, Mike Wilson, Le'Veon Bell. So you know,
the tight end wasn't necessarily a primary option, but he
was very much a security blanket for Ben Roethlisberg, no
doubt about it. And then in twenty twelve, which was
eith Miller's eighth NFL season, it wasn't a particularly spectacular
(14:05):
statistical year for him, but his teammates voted him MVP.
And let me just put it in perspective here a
little bit the Steelers have voted for a team MVP
fifty six times. It started with Chuck Knowles inaugural season
of nineteen sixty nine. Guess how many tight ends have
been recognized. It would be one. Probably that would be
(14:28):
Eith Miller. Yeah, that would Yeah, so Heith Miller was
that guy?
Speaker 2 (14:35):
Steve Sammic from Saint Mary's, Pennsylvania. What is your opinion
on tanking? Some analysts suggest it would be in the Steelers'
best interest to do that in twenty twenty five.
Speaker 1 (14:46):
That's you know, I'm opposed to that. I just am.
I mean, it's professional sports. I think that you know,
from the team perspective, if you're not trying to win
every game, that kind of attitude definitely filters into the
locker room. And guys, if you're not trying to win
(15:08):
this game, well then are we trying to win next week?
Do I care if we try and win? If you
don't want to win, you know that kind of thing,
and then you don't want that attitude to seep into
the locker room. And the other thing is, you know,
NFL players' careers are limited and they're fleeting. You know,
(15:29):
they're short lived. So if you're pick a player in
twenty twenty five who's towards the end of his career,
or maybe who doesn't know it yet, might sustain a
career ending injury in twenty twenty five, and you're not
trying to win. I mean, that's that's just that's not
(15:50):
the way to operate. I'm sorry. And the NFL does
not look at that kindly. There's not specific rules against it,
but the NFL has something called an integrity rule or
something where you know, if you're known to have violated it,
it cost you draft picks and money. So, you know,
(16:13):
once again kind of touched on this a little bit.
If the NFL does not want to mess up the
fans perception of these games as being on the up
and up, and now with gambling legalized and the league
having some partnerships with that kind of thing, I think
that it's kind of really more under the spotlight maybe
(16:36):
than ever before. And you know, it's not a good idea.
I don't know, I find it distasteful personally.
Speaker 2 (16:47):
And our final question today comes from Steve George from Ohioville, Pennsylvania.
Since the Steelers traded George Pickens, would they consider looking
at the UFL for a receiver. How does an NFL
team sign up player from the UFL. I'm wondering if
the Steelers would consider getting Dion Kane of the Birmingham Stallions.
Speaker 1 (17:08):
Okay, the way it works is the UFL. If you're
a player in the UFL and you have an opportunity
to to be signed by a team and go to
a training camp, they'll release you from your contract because
the UFL wants players to understand that if they come
and play for them, that if there's an opportunity for
(17:29):
them to step up into the NFL, they're not going
to be held back because if UFL would start doing that,
then players wouldn't sign with them, and then the league
would fold because you don't have any players. So I
won't say it's a cooperative thing, but there's an understanding
certainly among the UFL teams and players that if an
(17:53):
NFL team is interested in them, they'll get released from
their contracts so they could sign and try out for
that team. Okay, that's the general rule. Now. Dion Kane specifically,
he's already he knows his way to Saint Vincent College.
Let me tell you that, because in November sixteenth, nineteen
(18:14):
sixty nine, Kine was signed off the Indianapolis practice squad
by the Steelers, so then there were six games left
that year. He got five passes for seventy two yards.
In twenty twenty, he was waived after training camp, signed
to the practice squad and he remained there for the
rest of that season. So not that I say that
(18:38):
since twenty twenty was a pandemic year. The Steelers didn't
go to camp that year. Their camp was at whatever
what it was was at three Rivers Stadium, So maybe
he doesn't know the way to Saint Vincent College. But anyway,
he was with the team, so the Steelers have some
understanding of him. He has some understanding of them. You know,
(19:00):
I don't know that anything is in the offing, but
there is some association there based on the past.
Speaker 3 (19:10):
That'll do it for us. Today.
Speaker 2 (19:13):
Final week of OTAs starts today, and then they go
tomorrow and Thursday, and then mini camp, which is mandatory,
starts next week on Tuesday, and then this phase of
the off season will end and we will look ahead
towards training camp. But you will continue to hear from
us on this podcast. Still get your questions in to
labs and hopefully you will hear them next week or
(19:33):
on a podcast in the not too distant future. For Labs,
I'm Tom, and thanks as always for listening to as
and answered
This is asked and answered questions with Tom Upferman and
Steelers Digest editor Bob Labriola.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
We now start our second week of OTAs for the Steelers.
Mandatory mini camp is right on the horizon that'll start
next Tuesday, And Labs, they started the second week of
OTAs off the proper way with maybe the most important
portion of this phase of the offseason the trip to
Kennywood yesterday by the entire team.
Speaker 1 (00:27):
Yeah. They've done different things, you know, in different years,
from many camp you know, sometimes bowling, you know, sometimes
one time I remember, I don't remember when it was,
but Dave and Buster's, you know, video game kind of gathering.
You know, it's just a team building guys get to
(00:48):
know each other, you know, away from maybe the football field.
Bill Cower used to do it, Mike Tolman does it.
They've done different things. But I you know, I have
to know, are you a roller coaster guy or what?
Let's pretend I do.
Speaker 3 (01:03):
But I gotta be honest with you, Labs. I'm worried.
I'm a little washed up.
Speaker 2 (01:06):
I went to the beach last year and wrote a
pretty wicked roller coaster on the Ocean City Boardwalk and
I was pretty white like a ghost afterwards. So I
don't know if I'm past my prime or not, but
I'm gonna keep pushing the envelope because I love him
so much.
Speaker 1 (01:18):
Okay, well, you couldn't get me on a roller coaster
with a cord order. I'm just telling you, I'd rather
go to jail. I think jail might kill me. The
roller coaster definitely would. I mean, that's just scared of heights.
Always had not even like the jack Rabbit.
Speaker 3 (01:34):
We can't even get you on that, just a little
one like that.
Speaker 1 (01:36):
Nothing, nothing, No, never been a thrill right kind of person,
you know. Doing these podcasts with he was as thrilling
as I care to get.
Speaker 2 (01:45):
Of course, Yes, and there's a lot of perks being
an NFL player, But one that I'm really jealous of
is having an entire amusement park like Kenny would close
down and you just get carte blanche of the entire thing.
Speaker 3 (01:57):
That's pretty cool.
Speaker 1 (01:59):
Yeah, if if I had to go, you'd see me
in the ski ball thing playing.
Speaker 3 (02:04):
There is nothing wrong with that. Rack up a lot
of tickets, get a nice prize.
Speaker 2 (02:07):
But OT's Week two starts today and then it becomes
mandatory next week. So if you aren't there this week,
you got to show up next week or else things
can what happens that you get a little subject to
fines something like that, or you can be.
Speaker 1 (02:20):
And it's not cheap. It's not cheap if you miss
all three. I mean, it's it's a six figure fine easy.
Speaker 3 (02:30):
Some players might be more than others.
Speaker 1 (02:34):
Yeah, like you, but not me. Yeah right, oh yeah,
that's why they you know, that's why it is like that.
You know, they figured that the number is high enough
that you know it's it's a it's a deterrence, let's
put it that way.
Speaker 2 (02:52):
Well, the students will continue to work their way through
this phase of the off season and then take a
little bit of a break with training camp towards the
end of July. Let's get into our batch of questions
for this week, and our first one comes from Darryl
Saunders from Miami Beach, Florida. Do you anticipate Will Howard
and Skyler Thompson playing most of the preseason snaps if
Mason Rudolph Rudolph is our starting quarterback? Also, will Rock
(03:16):
Taylor have a fair shot at being our wide receiver too?
If he doesn't make the fifty three man roster, that
would be a travesty. He is a great wide receiver.
Speaker 1 (03:25):
Okay, as of today, you know, we talked about the
you know where we are in the calendar. It's June third.
The Steelers have three quarterbacks on their ninety man roster.
General manager ol Mark Conna has said more than once
the team is going to take Ford to training camp
(03:45):
at Saint Vincent College, which will open sometime in late July.
So once the Steelers get to that stage, the training
camp stage, practice pecking order is going to be established
and repetitions and those practices will be allotted to the
four players who are there. I don't think it's gonna
be the same, you know, same rotation all the time,
(04:09):
you know, or what it's gonna be. But you know,
everything that Daryl is asking is based on hypotheticals. So
I'm gonna quote former coach Bill Kauer. I don't play
the what if game because there's just too much, you know,
too much guessing involved in that. Okay, On to Rock
(04:30):
Taylor six three, two hundred and fifteen pounds, signed with
the Steelers as an undrafted rookie after the draft. Played
his college football at Memphis UH. He's currently one of
eleven wide receivers on the on the nine to me roster.
I've been to a lot of training camps. I am
that old young wide receivers the best thing for them
(04:55):
is that they would be wise to find a way
to make themselves valuable on special teams. I have no
idea if Rock Taylor is a returner, but you just
look at his height and weight. He has the physical
numbers in those categories to maybe be a pretty good
(05:17):
gunner on punting. So you know, I don't know if
he's ever done it. I'm sure he'll get a chance
to try it. And you know, Miles Boykin made himself
a pretty nice career in the NFL as a special
teams guy. He was a wide receiver and one of
the things he did well was a gunner on the
(05:39):
punt team. So you know, the expectation of you know,
Daryl that he should be the number two wide receiver
I think is a little bit aggressive at this point,
because you know, there has to be a reason he
wasn't drafted. I mean, I don't know what it was,
(06:00):
but a lot of teams passed on him. A lot
of times. So what I would say is, you know,
if Danny Smith likes you a lot by the end
of training camp in the preseason, that's not a bad
That's not a bad friend to have come cut down day.
Speaker 3 (06:20):
Joe Werner from West Henrietta, New York.
Speaker 2 (06:22):
Have the Steelers ever come out and stated in opposition
to letting a player wear number zero? Or is it
just a coincidence that no one has worn that number
for the Steelers since the NFL made it legal again
a few years ago.
Speaker 1 (06:36):
Yeah, I mean, I don't know. What I can tell you.
That I know is the Steelers have never come out
and stated in opposition to a player wearing the number zero.
So that's all I can tell you. That's all I
can say on that.
Speaker 2 (06:51):
Brooks Dirkowski from Cleveland, Ohio. Will Jalen Warren and Caleb
Johnson share the starter spot.
Speaker 1 (07:00):
Again? This is one of those really early questions from
someone who's looking for a definitive answer before and it's
before mini camp. You know, I don't understand why these answers.
You know, these questions need to be definitively answered now,
you know, I think the Steelers will be going to
(07:20):
training camp with a nice group of running backs on
the depth chart, and then what Brooks is asking is
going to work itself out from July through August, pack
practices and pads, training, preseason games, and we should have
an answer and plenty of time for Brooks and other
fantasy league players to figure out who they want to draft.
Speaker 2 (07:43):
And I'll just say this because it is way too early.
I think what the Steelers would like to happen after
Mini camp and training camp is for Caleb Johnson to
kind of slide into a role that Naji Harris served
in the previous years, and you can continue to have
Jalen Warren in the role that he has.
Speaker 3 (07:56):
Been doing so well at for the past couple of years.
Speaker 2 (07:58):
But again, we won't know that until we actually start
to play football.
Speaker 1 (08:02):
Right And again I've said this a bunch of times,
I'll say it again, Caleb Johnson, whenever they do backs
on backers, uh, he better distinguish himself. I mean, I
remember last year last summer, you and I were talking
on the training camp report about how you know, Jalen
(08:24):
Warren was going against t J. Watt and and and
and getting a draw in backs on backers, which is
pretty darn good in that situation. So again we know
that Iowa was not a passing offense in college well
(08:47):
and and again you know so I'm sure Caleb Johnson
just doesn't have a lot of experience with it. And
it's more than just having a mindset and the wills
to do it. You have to understand it because defenses,
opposing defenses will try and trick you. If you're the
(09:07):
only back in the backfield and an otherwise you know, uh,
spread formation on third and long or you know, whatever
the situation happens to be. Defenses will disguise and try
and trick you with where the pass rush is coming from.
And if you're standing to the just as an example,
(09:28):
to the left of the quarterback, and they can make
you think that that's the rush is coming into your
face on that side, but it's really coming to the
other side. That half a second second delay in recognition
could be the difference between the quarterback taking a big
hit or being able to you know, complete the pass
(09:50):
to whoever might be open. So it's a learning curve
and it's not something that is taken lightly by the
coaching staff.
Speaker 2 (10:00):
Vinnie Carcetti from Saqua, New York, do you happen to
know why the Steelers always open the season on the road.
Speaker 1 (10:07):
I question, Well, you know, I don't. I don't know
if for people who have never been to the North Shore.
Akroscher Stadium and PNC Park are close physically, and you know,
the land there is you know, there's rivers and stuff,
(10:27):
so it's somewhat limited. So the teams share parking areas,
and you know there's that. Plus also you don't want
to have too much stress placed on uh, the City
of Pittsburgh Police and City of Pittsburgh EMS, emergency services
(10:51):
and that kind of thing. So having two events there
at the same time would mess up the parking. You know,
fans wouldn't be able to park if one team's fans
coming in and going out and another team's fans coming
in or going out, and then the police situation in
the emergency situation. So the the effort, let me say,
(11:17):
is really made not to not to run into that.
And so Major League Baseball schedule comes out before the
NFL schedule comes out. I you know, that's so Baseball
gets first DIBs on the dates. You know, maybe the
Pirates could be a better partner in that respect, and
(11:40):
try and spread that around a little bit. But but
that hasn't been the case, and so that's where we are.
Speaker 2 (11:50):
I mean, you can honestly roll the dice at that
point and just have it happened simultaneously. Is there's gonna
be like, what five cars in the parking lot for
the Pirates game come September?
Speaker 1 (12:00):
You know, is Paul Skeen's pitching? Is he still on
the team. I mean, I don't know.
Speaker 3 (12:04):
They don't really draw that much when he's pitching either
this year.
Speaker 1 (12:07):
Well, who knows, maybe Livy Dunnell be in the in
a box or something. Hey, but that's the reason. Yeah,
that's the reason.
Speaker 2 (12:16):
Jason Godfrey from Noori, South Carolina. I remember an episode
of Football On with Ben Roethlisberger where he talked about
Heath Miller helping him get the correct play called. Is
that an expectation from a tight end to know the
offense that way?
Speaker 3 (12:30):
Or was he just that guy?
Speaker 1 (12:32):
Heath was just that guy. Heith Miller was just that
guy throughout his career with the Steelers. You know, he
his first season was two thousand and five. He was
a starter right away. That team went and won a
Super Bowl, became the first number six seed ever to
do that. Heath Miller had a huge game against the
(12:55):
Colts in the divisional round where the Steelers upset Thenumber
one seed on the road. You know, the guy missed
over eleven NFL seasons. He missed only eight regular season games,
and only five of those misses were because of injury.
(13:18):
You know, a lot of times when the playoff situations
were clinched or whatever. You know, heith Miller was one
of those guys who got the day off. So he
was that valuable. You know, Heith Miller. His stats weren't spectacular,
but that was because you know, he was on an
offense with you know, s Antonio Holmes and Hines Ward
(13:40):
and the Antonio Brown, Mike Wilson, Le'Veon Bell. So you know,
the tight end wasn't necessarily a primary option, but he
was very much a security blanket for Ben Roethlisberg, no
doubt about it. And then in twenty twelve, which was
eith Miller's eighth NFL season, it wasn't a particularly spectacular
(14:05):
statistical year for him, but his teammates voted him MVP.
And let me just put it in perspective here a
little bit the Steelers have voted for a team MVP
fifty six times. It started with Chuck Knowles inaugural season
of nineteen sixty nine. Guess how many tight ends have
been recognized. It would be one. Probably that would be
(14:28):
Eith Miller. Yeah, that would Yeah, so Heith Miller was
that guy?
Speaker 2 (14:35):
Steve Sammic from Saint Mary's, Pennsylvania. What is your opinion
on tanking? Some analysts suggest it would be in the Steelers'
best interest to do that in twenty twenty five.
Speaker 1 (14:46):
That's you know, I'm opposed to that. I just am.
I mean, it's professional sports. I think that you know,
from the team perspective, if you're not trying to win
every game, that kind of attitude definitely filters into the
locker room. And guys, if you're not trying to win
(15:08):
this game, well then are we trying to win next week?
Do I care if we try and win? If you
don't want to win, you know that kind of thing,
and then you don't want that attitude to seep into
the locker room. And the other thing is, you know,
NFL players' careers are limited and they're fleeting. You know,
(15:29):
they're short lived. So if you're pick a player in
twenty twenty five who's towards the end of his career,
or maybe who doesn't know it yet, might sustain a
career ending injury in twenty twenty five, and you're not
trying to win. I mean, that's that's just that's not
(15:50):
the way to operate. I'm sorry. And the NFL does
not look at that kindly. There's not specific rules against it,
but the NFL has something called an integrity rule or
something where you know, if you're known to have violated it,
it cost you draft picks and money. So, you know,
(16:13):
once again kind of touched on this a little bit.
If the NFL does not want to mess up the
fans perception of these games as being on the up
and up, and now with gambling legalized and the league
having some partnerships with that kind of thing, I think
that it's kind of really more under the spotlight maybe
(16:36):
than ever before. And you know, it's not a good idea.
I don't know, I find it distasteful personally.
Speaker 2 (16:47):
And our final question today comes from Steve George from Ohioville, Pennsylvania.
Since the Steelers traded George Pickens, would they consider looking
at the UFL for a receiver. How does an NFL
team sign up player from the UFL. I'm wondering if
the Steelers would consider getting Dion Kane of the Birmingham Stallions.
Speaker 1 (17:08):
Okay, the way it works is the UFL. If you're
a player in the UFL and you have an opportunity
to to be signed by a team and go to
a training camp, they'll release you from your contract because
the UFL wants players to understand that if they come
and play for them, that if there's an opportunity for
(17:29):
them to step up into the NFL, they're not going
to be held back because if UFL would start doing that,
then players wouldn't sign with them, and then the league
would fold because you don't have any players. So I
won't say it's a cooperative thing, but there's an understanding
certainly among the UFL teams and players that if an
(17:53):
NFL team is interested in them, they'll get released from
their contracts so they could sign and try out for
that team. Okay, that's the general rule. Now. Dion Kane specifically,
he's already he knows his way to Saint Vincent College.
Let me tell you that, because in November sixteenth, nineteen
(18:14):
sixty nine, Kine was signed off the Indianapolis practice squad
by the Steelers, so then there were six games left
that year. He got five passes for seventy two yards.
In twenty twenty, he was waived after training camp, signed
to the practice squad and he remained there for the
rest of that season. So not that I say that
(18:38):
since twenty twenty was a pandemic year. The Steelers didn't
go to camp that year. Their camp was at whatever
what it was was at three Rivers Stadium, So maybe
he doesn't know the way to Saint Vincent College. But anyway,
he was with the team, so the Steelers have some
understanding of him. He has some understanding of them. You know,
(19:00):
I don't know that anything is in the offing, but
there is some association there based on the past.
Speaker 3 (19:10):
That'll do it for us. Today.
Speaker 2 (19:13):
Final week of OTAs starts today, and then they go
tomorrow and Thursday, and then mini camp, which is mandatory,
starts next week on Tuesday, and then this phase of
the off season will end and we will look ahead
towards training camp. But you will continue to hear from
us on this podcast. Still get your questions in to
labs and hopefully you will hear them next week or
(19:33):
on a podcast in the not too distant future. For Labs,
I'm Tom, and thanks as always for listening to as
and answered
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