March 18, 2025 • 20 mins
Labs and Tom talk about the acquisition of Mason Rudolph then get into this weeks questions
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:02):
This is asked and answered questions with Tom Upperman and
Steelers Digest editor Bob Labriola.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
It's an easy decision where to start today's podcast. The
Steelers have signed a quarterback and it is an old
familiar face. Mason Rudolph is back in Pittsburgh and labs
another shoe might drop between now and the start of
training camp, but as it currently stands, Mason Rudolph QB
one right now. I don't hate it. I gotta be
(00:30):
honest with you. I feel a sense of comfortability with this.
Speaker 1 (00:35):
Yeah, I can't disagree with that. I do believe though,
that you know, the Steelers added Mason Rudolph, not with
the hope that he's their opening day starter in twenty
twenty five. I think that you know, he is a
he's a consummate pro. He's a good team guy. I
(01:00):
mean a lot of good things about him. Knows the team,
The team knows him, and not only the team and
the coaches. Not only the coaches in the organization, but
also the locker room. A lot of the guys in
the locker room have some familiarity with Mason Rudolph. But
I do believe that what his recent career has shown
(01:23):
us is that he's a backup in the NFL. I mean,
he was an unrestricted free agent after both the twenty
twenty two and twenty twenty three seasons, and he didn't
get any kind of sniffs from other teams for a
starting caliber contract or a starting opportunity. And you know,
(01:48):
that's okay. I mean there's a lot of guys who
have made a lot of money and built long NFL
careers on being a backup quarterback. That is a role
that is very important really to every team. And so
you know, I do believe that, you know, I don't know,
(02:09):
plan A or whatever it is is to have someone
at the top of the depth chart with you know,
who's kind of a proven NFL starter, you know, at
some part of their career, and have Mason as a
veteran backup, and then you know, maybe you add a
young guy. Maybe it's you draft one, maybe it's what's
(02:34):
Skylar Thompson. You know, I don't know. And I think
that Mason Rudolph can be a good, uh a role
player in the sense that should whoever is the starter
either get injured or play poorly, you know, going to
your number two guy, is, you know, not that big
(02:57):
of a drop off, and so there's there's value in
him in that way. I also believe that if the
Steelers do add a young guy a draft pick, someone
with no enough previous NFL experience, Mason Rudolph can serve
as a mentor, and I think he would be willing
(03:20):
to do that. So there's a lot of positives in this.
But I think that expecting him to be the starter
and you know, win nine or ten games, it is
a little bit, you know, over the top. I don't
(03:40):
think I've putting too much pressure on him. He has
not shown to be that kind of a quarterback. Oh
maybe it changes. I usually at this stage of a
guy's career it does not. But again, all in favor
of this move. I think it's a good addition on
(04:00):
the field and in the locker room.
Speaker 2 (04:02):
Are you as surprised as I am that Aaron Rodgers
is leaning into the attention and taking super long to decide?
And of course I'm being totally sarcastic when I say
I'm surprised by that.
Speaker 1 (04:12):
Okay, yeah, because I was gonna say what about him
lately would lead you to believe that, I mean, I
don't know. You know, I don't know if he wants
to play anymore. I just don't. I mean, because if
he did, you make a choice, you only have his
(04:36):
options or his options at this point, you know, as
a forty one, forty two year old guy, whatever he's
going to be when the season starts. You know, I
don't think that. I can't even think of a team
that would come out of nowhere and say, you know what,
let's jump in on this guy, you know, and throw
a bunch of money at him and you know, make
(05:00):
more starter. Because I also don't think Aaron Rodgers has
any interest in either competing for a starting job or
being anything but the starter. Again at this you know,
he's a Hall of Fame guy, he won a super Bowl.
You know, we can think about him what we want,
and I have my own thoughts, but I mean, this
(05:21):
is not a guy who needs to prove anything for
his career to end up, you know, in Canton, Ohio. Now.
The one thing I do think though, is that Aaron
Rodgers I don't think he needs a successful I don't
(05:44):
know whatever last act of his career to use an analogy,
but it would probably be a sav for his ego
to put together a decent season, maybe help a team
get in the playoffs and win a playoff game, and
then he could retire and say, Okay, I'm done, so
(06:07):
we'll have to see. But you know, no, it doesn't
surprise me that he's drawing this out because it certainly
shines the spotlight on him just about every day.
Speaker 2 (06:23):
Our first question today comes from Laurie Stollmanes from Feasterville, Pennsylvania,
in reference to the Steelers situation at quarterback and now
that the combine is over, do you think the team
is considering drafting one. If so, how do you feel
about Notre Dames Riley Leonard. He seems to have the
talent and values that might possibly make him a good
(06:44):
fit in Pittsburgh.
Speaker 1 (06:47):
Okay, when it comes to the Steelers quarterback situation, you
know today is Tuesday, March eighteenth, as we're taping this,
I think pretty much everything's still on the table. And
as far as the draft, I would be stunned if
the Steelers committed multiple number one picks. That would be
(07:09):
that would be required to trade up high enough in
the first round to be able to pick one of
the top guys at the position. And I'll just you know,
cam Ward I think is pretty much consensus the best
quarterback in this draft class. Shadoor Sanders. You know, my
(07:30):
experience with a lot of these guys is just catching
college football on Saturdays when they're on TV. Colorado played
a lot of late games, so you know that's past
my bedtime. But I think that he is the next guy.
As for Riley Leonard, I mean, he played for a
obviously a blue blood football program. I just don't know that,
(07:56):
you know, watching him in the playoff college football playoff.
He's a nice college quarterback, but he runs his his
thing is running the ball, and I don't know that
a guy like him would be able to stand up
to the kind of punishment that would be coming his
(08:16):
way if he played in the NFL the way he
played for Notre Dame in the college football playoffs.
Speaker 2 (08:24):
So I just think a running game for a quarterback with.
Speaker 1 (08:31):
And if if if, you know, Josh Allen gets away
with a lot of that. But Josh Allen also can
hurt you throwing the ball, and so you know, defenses
have to respect that. I don't think Riley Leonard has
that kind of arm talent, and so I don't believe
it would take very long for NFL defenses to suss
(08:53):
out that this guy is a runner and just you know,
lay back and wait for him and lay the wood
on him.
Speaker 2 (09:00):
Sean Delaney from Gardner, Massachusetts. The quarterbacks in this year's
draft are ify at best, and the available free agents
aren't much better. I know the team would never publicly
admit this, but if circumstances force the Steelers to peek
ahead to the supposedly strong quarterback class for the twenty
twenty six NFL.
Speaker 1 (09:19):
Draft, this is a you know, a pretty popular opinion.
But let me just say this, it's way too much
of a crapshoot at this point to have any reasonable
idea of which college quarterbacks might even declare themselves eligible
for the twenty twenty six NFL Draft. I know that,
(09:41):
you know, arch Manning is supposed to be the crown jewel.
Excuse me, but he might. You know, he'll have more
college eligibility available to him after this college season, and
with nil money. It's not like he needs the ca
It's not like he's making twenty five dollars a month
(10:03):
laundry money from the NCAA. He's playing at the University
of Texas, and you know, their facilities, their amenities are
probably nicer than most NFL teams. And he's making it up,
but she's making over a million dollars this year. So again,
(10:25):
I just I think it's way too iffy to even
think about which college quarterbacks are going to be declare
themselves eligible for the next draft, and so you know
when it comes to that, certainly you do some advanced
scouting in terms of your due diligence. Every NFL team
does that, But in terms of particulars who is going
(10:49):
to be available at the top of the first round
or through the first round at a certain position, I
think is way too iffy at this point.
Speaker 2 (11:00):
As you mentioned, the nil era makes it even if here.
Drew Aller is an example. In this year's draft class,
he was pretty much across the board considered to be
a first round prospect. Maybe falls in the first round
towards the end, but a lot of people think he'd
be drafted on Day one. Decides to go back to
Penn State, gets a nice paycheck there, gets to play
for a college football playoff contender for another year. Very
(11:20):
happy at happy. Really, it's just a changing landscape.
Speaker 1 (11:24):
You know a lot of you know a lot of
guys like being in college, and I would imagine if you're,
you know, a quality starting quarterback at a big time
college program, it's pretty fun getting an IL money. Yeah,
you know, there's worse. There's worse ways to spend your
early twenties. Let's put it that way.
Speaker 2 (11:47):
Terry Moseley from Watumpka, Alabama. Recently on snr's The Drive
with Dale Allie and Matt Williamson, they mentioned that the
Steelers would be receiving compensatory draft picks this year, but
when the NFL announced the compense story picks on March eleventh,
the Steelers didn't receive one.
Speaker 1 (12:03):
Who is wrong, I think Terry, you misunderstood what Dale
Lully and Matt Williamson were saying about compensatory picks. Because
compensatory picks are awarded by the NFL, and it's based
on the formula that considers signings and or losses of
unrestricted free agents. But the compensatory picks awarded in twenty
(12:27):
twenty five are based on those signings or losses in
the twenty twenty four off season. So based on the
Steelers signings and or losses of unrestricted free agents so
far this offseason. There are some projections of the kind
of compensatory draft picks the team might get, but those
(12:51):
wouldn't be until the twenty twenty six NFL Draft, and
so Matt and Dale were likely giving their listeners a
preview of what they leave could be in store. Not
this April, but the following April, when the draft is
in Pittsburgh.
Speaker 2 (13:07):
Jason Godfrey from Honori, South Carolina. With the new league
year approaching, I have a question on salaries. If a
player has guaranteed money in his contract, when does that
get paid. Is it a lump sum or is it
paid like weekly game checks in that the total is
divided up.
Speaker 1 (13:26):
You know, that's one of the details in a contract
that's usually included in the terms. You know, the sides
can agree to pay guaranteed money in one lump sum
at the time of that lumpsum could be paid at
the time of the signing or at some other time
again negotiated and stipulated in the language of the deal
(13:49):
or signing bonus can be paid in installments over the
life of the contract, or it could be something totally different.
You know, and as long as both sides agree to
it in the contract and it's fine. There's really no
one size fits all when it comes to.
Speaker 2 (14:07):
That Mark Rice from Las Vegas, Nevada. With the addition
of DK Metcalf, then at George Pickens, Pat Firemouth, Calvin
Austin the third and if Roman Wilson can contribute in
his second year, along with possibly drafting one more, the
Steelers wide receiver course should be pretty strong in twenty
twenty five. I don't know much about offensive coordinator Arthur
(14:31):
Smith's schemes, but it seems like what I hear most
about him is that he is a very run heavy coordinator.
Does he possess as good passing schemes as he does
for the run.
Speaker 1 (14:43):
Yeah, you know, this is the NFL. It's a players league.
If you have the players and you're a legitimate NFL
offensive coordinator, you can coordinate put together an efficient and
effective pass. I mean, let's look at twenty twenty Arthur
(15:03):
Smith was coordinating Mike Vrabels Tennessee Titans. That team finished
eleven and five. Okay that season. The quarterback was thirty
tier year old Ryan Tannehill, who I don't think he's
any threat to be inducted into the Hall of Fame.
All due respect to Ryan Tannehill, but he completed sixty
(15:25):
five point five percent passed for thirty eight hundred and
nineteen yards, thirty three touchdowns, seven interceptions. His passer rating
for the whole season was one oh six point five.
The running back on that team was a guy named
Derrick Henry. Might hurt him. He led the NFL in
attempts that season with three hundred and seventy eight. He
(15:47):
finished with twoenty twenty seven yards rushing. There was a
five point four average per carry seventeen touchdowns. Okay. On
the receivers Arthur Smith had to work with was that
guy ab Brown remember him wearing at Philadelphia Eagles helmet
this year. Ab Brown was targeted one hundred and six times.
(16:11):
He had seventy catches for one thousand and seventy five
yards and eleven touchdowns. The second wide receiver on that team,
Corey Davis, was targeted ninety two times. He finished with
sixty five catches for nine hundred and eighty four yards
and five touchdowns. The Titans scored twenty six rushing touchdowns
(16:31):
thirty three receiving touchdowns. They scored thirty plus points in
ten of their sixteen regular season games, and in five
of those ten they scored over forty points. Arthur Smith
can coordinate a productive offense, a passing offense, a balanced
passing running offense, but he's just like everyone else with
(16:54):
that job title. He needs talented players to make it work.
Speaker 2 (17:00):
David Barnhardt from Worthington, Pennsylvania. My question concerns the draft.
What options does a college player have if he is
not selected to attend the Combine, but he does well
at the college's pro day and then he goes undrafted
in April? When can the team bring him in for
a visit? Can he be offered a deal to attend camp?
Just how does that work?
Speaker 1 (17:23):
Okay, given the chain of events that David describes, I
believe that player would get signed as an undrafted rookie
in the hours after the seventh round of the draft.
Draft eligible players who were not drafted become free agents
as soon as the seventh round ends, and so they're
(17:44):
able to sign with any team. There may have been
teams that included him as one of their thirty pre
draft visits based on his pro day workout to get
more information about him. So I think this guy would
be pretty highly sought after and would get signed pretty
(18:06):
quickly once the draft ended.
Speaker 2 (18:09):
And our final question today comes from Gierm Martenz from Florianapolis, Brazil.
I am from Brazil, a big fan of this feature
and I don't miss a single edition of Asked and Answered.
Thank you my question? Do you think it is possible
for the Steelers to be designated to play the Los
Angeles Chargers in the Brazil game and have two international games?
(18:31):
I would love to see that.
Speaker 1 (18:35):
Okay, the Chargers have been designated as the home team
and the game has been announced as being played on
September fifth in Salo Paulo. That's part of the NFL's
twenty twenty five international games schedule. Now, since the Steelers
are scheduled to play the Chargers in Los Angeles in
(18:56):
twenty twenty five, that makes it possible for them to
be the visiting team on September fifth. And you know,
when it comes what the NFL might decide to do
with its schedule. I never say never. I mean, who knows,
maybe another international edition of Hard Knocks will be dreamed
(19:18):
up and that'll have some impact. You just never know
how that might work. However, I would hope it's highly
unlikely that the NFL would send the Steelers to both
Ireland and Brazil during the twenty twenty five regular season.
There'll be a lot of frequent flyer miles. I'll tell
(19:40):
you that.
Speaker 2 (19:43):
That'll do it for us today on Aston answered, Thanks
has always for giving us a listen, no matter where
you're from, even if you're from Brazil. We really appreciate that.
Get your questions into Labs now. Maybe you will hear
them on a future edition, but until next time. He's
Bob Labrielle. I'm Tom Opferman. This is Aston Answered.
This is asked and answered questions with Tom Upperman and
Steelers Digest editor Bob Labriola.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
It's an easy decision where to start today's podcast. The
Steelers have signed a quarterback and it is an old
familiar face. Mason Rudolph is back in Pittsburgh and labs
another shoe might drop between now and the start of
training camp, but as it currently stands, Mason Rudolph QB
one right now. I don't hate it. I gotta be
(00:30):
honest with you. I feel a sense of comfortability with this.
Speaker 1 (00:35):
Yeah, I can't disagree with that. I do believe though,
that you know, the Steelers added Mason Rudolph, not with
the hope that he's their opening day starter in twenty
twenty five. I think that you know, he is a
he's a consummate pro. He's a good team guy. I
(01:00):
mean a lot of good things about him. Knows the team,
The team knows him, and not only the team and
the coaches. Not only the coaches in the organization, but
also the locker room. A lot of the guys in
the locker room have some familiarity with Mason Rudolph. But
I do believe that what his recent career has shown
(01:23):
us is that he's a backup in the NFL. I mean,
he was an unrestricted free agent after both the twenty
twenty two and twenty twenty three seasons, and he didn't
get any kind of sniffs from other teams for a
starting caliber contract or a starting opportunity. And you know,
(01:48):
that's okay. I mean there's a lot of guys who
have made a lot of money and built long NFL
careers on being a backup quarterback. That is a role
that is very important really to every team. And so
you know, I do believe that, you know, I don't know,
(02:09):
plan A or whatever it is is to have someone
at the top of the depth chart with you know,
who's kind of a proven NFL starter, you know, at
some part of their career, and have Mason as a
veteran backup, and then you know, maybe you add a
young guy. Maybe it's you draft one, maybe it's what's
(02:34):
Skylar Thompson. You know, I don't know. And I think
that Mason Rudolph can be a good, uh a role
player in the sense that should whoever is the starter
either get injured or play poorly, you know, going to
your number two guy, is, you know, not that big
(02:57):
of a drop off, and so there's there's value in
him in that way. I also believe that if the
Steelers do add a young guy a draft pick, someone
with no enough previous NFL experience, Mason Rudolph can serve
as a mentor, and I think he would be willing
(03:20):
to do that. So there's a lot of positives in this.
But I think that expecting him to be the starter
and you know, win nine or ten games, it is
a little bit, you know, over the top. I don't
(03:40):
think I've putting too much pressure on him. He has
not shown to be that kind of a quarterback. Oh
maybe it changes. I usually at this stage of a
guy's career it does not. But again, all in favor
of this move. I think it's a good addition on
(04:00):
the field and in the locker room.
Speaker 2 (04:02):
Are you as surprised as I am that Aaron Rodgers
is leaning into the attention and taking super long to decide?
And of course I'm being totally sarcastic when I say
I'm surprised by that.
Speaker 1 (04:12):
Okay, yeah, because I was gonna say what about him
lately would lead you to believe that, I mean, I
don't know. You know, I don't know if he wants
to play anymore. I just don't. I mean, because if
he did, you make a choice, you only have his
(04:36):
options or his options at this point, you know, as
a forty one, forty two year old guy, whatever he's
going to be when the season starts. You know, I
don't think that. I can't even think of a team
that would come out of nowhere and say, you know what,
let's jump in on this guy, you know, and throw
a bunch of money at him and you know, make
(05:00):
more starter. Because I also don't think Aaron Rodgers has
any interest in either competing for a starting job or
being anything but the starter. Again at this you know,
he's a Hall of Fame guy, he won a super Bowl.
You know, we can think about him what we want,
and I have my own thoughts, but I mean, this
(05:21):
is not a guy who needs to prove anything for
his career to end up, you know, in Canton, Ohio. Now.
The one thing I do think though, is that Aaron
Rodgers I don't think he needs a successful I don't
(05:44):
know whatever last act of his career to use an analogy,
but it would probably be a sav for his ego
to put together a decent season, maybe help a team
get in the playoffs and win a playoff game, and
then he could retire and say, Okay, I'm done, so
(06:07):
we'll have to see. But you know, no, it doesn't
surprise me that he's drawing this out because it certainly
shines the spotlight on him just about every day.
Speaker 2 (06:23):
Our first question today comes from Laurie Stollmanes from Feasterville, Pennsylvania,
in reference to the Steelers situation at quarterback and now
that the combine is over, do you think the team
is considering drafting one. If so, how do you feel
about Notre Dames Riley Leonard. He seems to have the
talent and values that might possibly make him a good
(06:44):
fit in Pittsburgh.
Speaker 1 (06:47):
Okay, when it comes to the Steelers quarterback situation, you
know today is Tuesday, March eighteenth, as we're taping this,
I think pretty much everything's still on the table. And
as far as the draft, I would be stunned if
the Steelers committed multiple number one picks. That would be
(07:09):
that would be required to trade up high enough in
the first round to be able to pick one of
the top guys at the position. And I'll just you know,
cam Ward I think is pretty much consensus the best
quarterback in this draft class. Shadoor Sanders. You know, my
(07:30):
experience with a lot of these guys is just catching
college football on Saturdays when they're on TV. Colorado played
a lot of late games, so you know that's past
my bedtime. But I think that he is the next guy.
As for Riley Leonard, I mean, he played for a
obviously a blue blood football program. I just don't know that,
(07:56):
you know, watching him in the playoff college football playoff.
He's a nice college quarterback, but he runs his his
thing is running the ball, and I don't know that
a guy like him would be able to stand up
to the kind of punishment that would be coming his
(08:16):
way if he played in the NFL the way he
played for Notre Dame in the college football playoffs.
Speaker 2 (08:24):
So I just think a running game for a quarterback with.
Speaker 1 (08:31):
And if if if, you know, Josh Allen gets away
with a lot of that. But Josh Allen also can
hurt you throwing the ball, and so you know, defenses
have to respect that. I don't think Riley Leonard has
that kind of arm talent, and so I don't believe
it would take very long for NFL defenses to suss
(08:53):
out that this guy is a runner and just you know,
lay back and wait for him and lay the wood
on him.
Speaker 2 (09:00):
Sean Delaney from Gardner, Massachusetts. The quarterbacks in this year's
draft are ify at best, and the available free agents
aren't much better. I know the team would never publicly
admit this, but if circumstances force the Steelers to peek
ahead to the supposedly strong quarterback class for the twenty
twenty six NFL.
Speaker 1 (09:19):
Draft, this is a you know, a pretty popular opinion.
But let me just say this, it's way too much
of a crapshoot at this point to have any reasonable
idea of which college quarterbacks might even declare themselves eligible
for the twenty twenty six NFL Draft. I know that,
(09:41):
you know, arch Manning is supposed to be the crown jewel.
Excuse me, but he might. You know, he'll have more
college eligibility available to him after this college season, and
with nil money. It's not like he needs the ca
It's not like he's making twenty five dollars a month
(10:03):
laundry money from the NCAA. He's playing at the University
of Texas, and you know, their facilities, their amenities are
probably nicer than most NFL teams. And he's making it up,
but she's making over a million dollars this year. So again,
(10:25):
I just I think it's way too iffy to even
think about which college quarterbacks are going to be declare
themselves eligible for the next draft, and so you know
when it comes to that, certainly you do some advanced
scouting in terms of your due diligence. Every NFL team
does that, But in terms of particulars who is going
(10:49):
to be available at the top of the first round
or through the first round at a certain position, I
think is way too iffy at this point.
Speaker 2 (11:00):
As you mentioned, the nil era makes it even if here.
Drew Aller is an example. In this year's draft class,
he was pretty much across the board considered to be
a first round prospect. Maybe falls in the first round
towards the end, but a lot of people think he'd
be drafted on Day one. Decides to go back to
Penn State, gets a nice paycheck there, gets to play
for a college football playoff contender for another year. Very
(11:20):
happy at happy. Really, it's just a changing landscape.
Speaker 1 (11:24):
You know a lot of you know a lot of
guys like being in college, and I would imagine if you're,
you know, a quality starting quarterback at a big time
college program, it's pretty fun getting an IL money. Yeah,
you know, there's worse. There's worse ways to spend your
early twenties. Let's put it that way.
Speaker 2 (11:47):
Terry Moseley from Watumpka, Alabama. Recently on snr's The Drive
with Dale Allie and Matt Williamson, they mentioned that the
Steelers would be receiving compensatory draft picks this year, but
when the NFL announced the compense story picks on March eleventh,
the Steelers didn't receive one.
Speaker 1 (12:03):
Who is wrong, I think Terry, you misunderstood what Dale
Lully and Matt Williamson were saying about compensatory picks. Because
compensatory picks are awarded by the NFL, and it's based
on the formula that considers signings and or losses of
unrestricted free agents. But the compensatory picks awarded in twenty
(12:27):
twenty five are based on those signings or losses in
the twenty twenty four off season. So based on the
Steelers signings and or losses of unrestricted free agents so
far this offseason. There are some projections of the kind
of compensatory draft picks the team might get, but those
(12:51):
wouldn't be until the twenty twenty six NFL Draft, and
so Matt and Dale were likely giving their listeners a
preview of what they leave could be in store. Not
this April, but the following April, when the draft is
in Pittsburgh.
Speaker 2 (13:07):
Jason Godfrey from Honori, South Carolina. With the new league
year approaching, I have a question on salaries. If a
player has guaranteed money in his contract, when does that
get paid. Is it a lump sum or is it
paid like weekly game checks in that the total is
divided up.
Speaker 1 (13:26):
You know, that's one of the details in a contract
that's usually included in the terms. You know, the sides
can agree to pay guaranteed money in one lump sum
at the time of that lumpsum could be paid at
the time of the signing or at some other time
again negotiated and stipulated in the language of the deal
(13:49):
or signing bonus can be paid in installments over the
life of the contract, or it could be something totally different.
You know, and as long as both sides agree to
it in the contract and it's fine. There's really no
one size fits all when it comes to.
Speaker 2 (14:07):
That Mark Rice from Las Vegas, Nevada. With the addition
of DK Metcalf, then at George Pickens, Pat Firemouth, Calvin
Austin the third and if Roman Wilson can contribute in
his second year, along with possibly drafting one more, the
Steelers wide receiver course should be pretty strong in twenty
twenty five. I don't know much about offensive coordinator Arthur
(14:31):
Smith's schemes, but it seems like what I hear most
about him is that he is a very run heavy coordinator.
Does he possess as good passing schemes as he does
for the run.
Speaker 1 (14:43):
Yeah, you know, this is the NFL. It's a players league.
If you have the players and you're a legitimate NFL
offensive coordinator, you can coordinate put together an efficient and
effective pass. I mean, let's look at twenty twenty Arthur
(15:03):
Smith was coordinating Mike Vrabels Tennessee Titans. That team finished
eleven and five. Okay that season. The quarterback was thirty
tier year old Ryan Tannehill, who I don't think he's
any threat to be inducted into the Hall of Fame.
All due respect to Ryan Tannehill, but he completed sixty
(15:25):
five point five percent passed for thirty eight hundred and
nineteen yards, thirty three touchdowns, seven interceptions. His passer rating
for the whole season was one oh six point five.
The running back on that team was a guy named
Derrick Henry. Might hurt him. He led the NFL in
attempts that season with three hundred and seventy eight. He
(15:47):
finished with twoenty twenty seven yards rushing. There was a
five point four average per carry seventeen touchdowns. Okay. On
the receivers Arthur Smith had to work with was that
guy ab Brown remember him wearing at Philadelphia Eagles helmet
this year. Ab Brown was targeted one hundred and six times.
(16:11):
He had seventy catches for one thousand and seventy five
yards and eleven touchdowns. The second wide receiver on that team,
Corey Davis, was targeted ninety two times. He finished with
sixty five catches for nine hundred and eighty four yards
and five touchdowns. The Titans scored twenty six rushing touchdowns
(16:31):
thirty three receiving touchdowns. They scored thirty plus points in
ten of their sixteen regular season games, and in five
of those ten they scored over forty points. Arthur Smith
can coordinate a productive offense, a passing offense, a balanced
passing running offense, but he's just like everyone else with
(16:54):
that job title. He needs talented players to make it work.
Speaker 2 (17:00):
David Barnhardt from Worthington, Pennsylvania. My question concerns the draft.
What options does a college player have if he is
not selected to attend the Combine, but he does well
at the college's pro day and then he goes undrafted
in April? When can the team bring him in for
a visit? Can he be offered a deal to attend camp?
Just how does that work?
Speaker 1 (17:23):
Okay, given the chain of events that David describes, I
believe that player would get signed as an undrafted rookie
in the hours after the seventh round of the draft.
Draft eligible players who were not drafted become free agents
as soon as the seventh round ends, and so they're
(17:44):
able to sign with any team. There may have been
teams that included him as one of their thirty pre
draft visits based on his pro day workout to get
more information about him. So I think this guy would
be pretty highly sought after and would get signed pretty
(18:06):
quickly once the draft ended.
Speaker 2 (18:09):
And our final question today comes from Gierm Martenz from Florianapolis, Brazil.
I am from Brazil, a big fan of this feature
and I don't miss a single edition of Asked and Answered.
Thank you my question? Do you think it is possible
for the Steelers to be designated to play the Los
Angeles Chargers in the Brazil game and have two international games?
(18:31):
I would love to see that.
Speaker 1 (18:35):
Okay, the Chargers have been designated as the home team
and the game has been announced as being played on
September fifth in Salo Paulo. That's part of the NFL's
twenty twenty five international games schedule. Now, since the Steelers
are scheduled to play the Chargers in Los Angeles in
(18:56):
twenty twenty five, that makes it possible for them to
be the visiting team on September fifth. And you know,
when it comes what the NFL might decide to do
with its schedule. I never say never. I mean, who knows,
maybe another international edition of Hard Knocks will be dreamed
(19:18):
up and that'll have some impact. You just never know
how that might work. However, I would hope it's highly
unlikely that the NFL would send the Steelers to both
Ireland and Brazil during the twenty twenty five regular season.
There'll be a lot of frequent flyer miles. I'll tell
(19:40):
you that.
Speaker 2 (19:43):
That'll do it for us today on Aston answered, Thanks
has always for giving us a listen, no matter where
you're from, even if you're from Brazil. We really appreciate that.
Get your questions into Labs now. Maybe you will hear
them on a future edition, but until next time. He's
Bob Labrielle. I'm Tom Opferman. This is Aston Answered.
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