September 30, 2025 • 20 mins
Labs and Tom recap the Steelers win over the Vikings and get into this weeks questions.
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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):
A really special moment in Steelers history over this past
weekend as they and the Vikings participated in the first
ever regular season NFL game in Dublin, Ireland, and it
was extra suite for the Steelers because they walked away
with the win twenty four to twenty one. Labs. The
Steelers are now three and one heading into their bye week,
and the only thing that's better to me than being
(00:31):
three and one heading into your bye week is being
three and one and sitting solo in first place in
the AFC North heading into your bye week.
Speaker 1 (00:40):
I thought you were going with the Ravens are one
and three.
Speaker 2 (00:43):
That's kind of part of that last part.
Speaker 1 (00:44):
Yeah, yeah, no, I mean it's and it is an
early buye. We've kind of gotten spoiled a little bit lately.
I think, you know, we were kind of in the
middle of the schedule the last couple of years. Yeah. Yeah,
but you know, when you look at some of the
(01:05):
potential injury situations Jalen Ramsey, Calvin Austin, Uh, you know,
maybe this is coming at the right time. Maybe you
get Joey Porter Junior back because you know they're at
the end of that of the game against the Vikings,
the Steelers were pretty much out of cornerbacks. You know,
(01:26):
all of this moaning about from some fans and media
about you know, not continuing to play the kind of
defense they were playing earlier. They couldn't play man demand anymore.
Who you gonna lie? You know, are you gonna do?
You think? Just if? Again, It's I say this all
the time, It's not a video game. Just because you
(01:49):
put the Chuck Clark couldn't think of his name Chuck
Clark avatar on the justin Jefferson avatar doesn't mean it's
gonna work. So yeah, the Steelers were severely limited by
(02:10):
some of the things that happened, and as you said, though,
they still came out with the win, which is the
most important thing. It seemed like the people in Croke
Park certainly had some fun. And you know, the one
thing about the telecast too, that you know, I was
wondering about was how was the telecast going to handle
(02:36):
renegade because I kind of knew that, you know, that
would be worked in because you know, a lot of
the Steelers people who performed jobs on game day at
Akrashuer Stadium. We're going to be in Dublin doing it
at Croke Park as the because the Steelers with a
(02:56):
you know, designated home team. Larry Richard was on the PA.
Chris Burns was, you know, doing the music on this.
You know, I say on the scoreboard, but that's not
what I mean, you know what I mean music? And
so I figured, you know, Renegade was going to be
part of it. But would they show it on TV?
Because a lot of times, you know, that might be
(03:17):
in a break during the telecast of a regular home game.
But you did get to see a little bit here,
a little bit of the end of it. NFL Network
did come back and get back to the you know,
to Croke Park in enough time. So yeah, it seemed
like everybody had a lot of fun, and you know,
(03:39):
I really think the players appreciated the kind of atmosphere
that it turned out to be. And you know, Jacksonville
has that thing where they get to play a game
in London every year. I don't know that the Steelers
would be opposed to that if that would become the well,
(04:02):
I won't say every year because that would be a
little bit much, but you.
Speaker 2 (04:07):
Could see them making a return trip on the horizon.
Let's say that.
Speaker 1 (04:10):
Yeah, you know, that's the thing. And I do believe
you know that based on Roger Goodell's comments to Missy
Matthews and the during the pregame show, that going back
to Ireland is is a lock.
Speaker 2 (04:27):
Uh.
Speaker 1 (04:28):
But what he did not say and would not commit to,
was which teams were gonna get. You know, he never
said the Steelers will be back in Ireland.
Speaker 2 (04:36):
But how could you not think the league would be
after that? What you witnessed that week, I mean it
was a slam dunk as far as the NFL is concerned.
Speaker 1 (04:43):
Absolutely, But I mean I could also see the people
in the league office thinking, you know, the Steelers are
a really good attraction and a lot of these outposts
overseas that we're trying to, you know, gain a foothold
with NFL football. You know, let's throw the Steelers at
Brennett Buenos Aires. I'm just picking things out. Yeah, maybe
(05:07):
that'll help there, get that started there. But whatever, So
you know, who knows how it's going to be in
the future. But there's no question that this most recent
one was arousing success in a lot of different ways.
Speaker 2 (05:21):
Including on the field for your Pittsburgh Steelers getting that win.
And there were so many things that we could touch
on LABS. The pass rush was dominant. I mean, fourteen
quarterback hits, six sacks. Carson Wentz has got to still
be feeling it today now that they're in London because
they play the Browns this week. I mean, he was
getting abused. But I want to focus in LABS on
(05:42):
the running game for the Steelers. Finally saw some progress
in that area. Kenneth Gainwell nineteen carries, ninety nine yards,
two touchdowns. I can't believe he was a yard shive
of one hundred yards. That would have just been such
a perfect little cherry on top of his great performance.
He did great. I'm not trying to take anything away
from him, but it was the hogs up front to me, LABS.
(06:03):
I mean, they were moving bodies for the first time
this year consistently.
Speaker 1 (06:08):
Yeah, you know, and I really liked what, you know,
some of the schematics that were used to help that, Yes,
you know. As an example, Darnell Washington played forty eight
to fifty three offensive snaps. Spencer Anderson played nineteen snaps
(06:32):
as a as an extra as a sixth offensive lineman.
So you know, if that's what it takes, that's fine
with me. You know, if if putting Spencer Anderson out
there as an extra blocker makes it easier to run
the football, great, I'm all for it. You know, Ben
(06:53):
Scornick is another example. He played more snaps a wide
receiver than anybody not dk metcal Or in Calvin, Austin.
So you know Scronic is out there even though he's
a receiver. You know he was. He was knocking some
people around. Darnell Washington. We all know, you know that
(07:14):
he can do that, and who knows, maybe you know,
in the future, if teams start to lean heavily towards
run defense, when Darnell Washington is on the field from
the ball, he can catch it. So I think that
there are things that can be done off that, you know, uh,
(07:35):
to kind of counter what what might be perceived as
a tendency. But yes, you're right, the Hogs up front,
Darnell Washington and Scronic and Spencer Anderson helped out a
lot too. And hey, kudos to gain well because Jalen
Warren was a late scratch I thought he was gonna play.
I mean I I you know, I just did. And
(07:59):
they work him out on the field before the game,
and the decision was made, you know, to to rest
him or that his knee wasn't in good enough shape
or however you want to verbalize it. And so game well,
I mean, that was a last minute kind of thing.
And I thought once, you know, as we were talking
about in the pregame show, when Jalen Warren was made
(08:24):
a game days inactive, I thought it was going to
be Trey Sermon. I thought he was the guy who
was going to end up with a lot of the carries,
and that game well would remain as you know, kind
of a third down back, yes, stay in his role,
but he has shown that he is more of that,
more than that, and hey, great kudos to him. So yeah,
(08:50):
there was a lot of things to like in my
opinion about the Steelers' performance. The running game was good,
the run defense was good, and the run defense was good,
which meant that the third down situation, you know, was
more one dimensional for the Vikings than maybe in some
(09:10):
of the previous games for the other opponents. And so
they got after him and Keanu Benton one and a
half sacks. He was definitely a fact. And I don't know, Man,
I like Alex Heismith, but when he gets well, I
don't know that I'm taking a whole lot of Nick
(09:30):
Herbick snaps away from him because he is looking like
you know, he's He is a force as getting after
the quarterback, always has been. But he did not look
like a liability against the run at all. No, he's not.
Speaker 2 (09:47):
Man, he's so fast, labs. I mean, these tackles just
don't know what to do with his speed. And he's
not James Harrison, no one is. But he does get
that leverage like James used to, you know what, I mean,
that bend around the edge.
Speaker 1 (10:00):
He's so good at that. And speaking of fast, don't
ever race Peyton Wilson for money.
Speaker 2 (10:07):
DK Metcalf for that matter.
Speaker 1 (10:09):
Well DK Metcalf is a wide receiver, but you would
think an inside linebacker. You would think a wide receiver
or it would be faster, but an inside linebacker you
might not think. But Jordan Addison, I wonder if he's
if he was getting any abuse from teammates for getting
caught from behind by an inside linebacker who was well
(10:32):
behind the play when he caught the ball, and Addison
was not taking it for granted that he was going
to score. He was running hard.
Speaker 2 (10:42):
So yeah, if he's getting it from his teammates, I'd
be like he was running twenty four miles per hour.
What do you want? He's basically in a car coming
to chase me. What do you want from me? Let's
get into this week's patch of questions. Our first one
comes from Brian Henderson from merles Inlet, South Carolina. Did TJ.
Watt receive a penalty for kicking the ball after his
interception against the Vikings?
Speaker 1 (11:06):
You know, after the game, TJ. Watt was asked about
it and asked about the purpose of the celebration, and
he just explained that he wanted to get the ball
into the stands. You know. And Croke Park isn't laid
out like your typical NFL football stadium in that the
(11:29):
stands are not very close to the playing surface. You know,
in America for NFL games, you know, you want the
people to be close, you know, for the luxury boxes
and club seats and all that stuff. But Croke Park
is used very very rarely for American football, and so
(11:51):
it's a whole different you know, soccer and all that
other stuff hurling and you know, I don't know that
specific layout of the field, but.
Speaker 2 (11:58):
It's like a catch all for Ireland, like they do
everything there everything.
Speaker 1 (12:03):
Yes, so TJ. Watts said, you know, I was trying
to get it into the stands, but the stands were
so far away and if I threw it, I would
injure my shoulder. I was just trying to get the
get the ball to the fans and keep them involved
as much as possible. So okay, that's the reasoning behind it.
(12:24):
My experience is that throwing the ball into the stands
or punning the ball into the stands as part of
a celebration is not penalized, but there could be a
fine attach to this. I don't know how the NFL
is going to react, you know, whether they're going to
be the typical no fun, wet blanket people that they
(12:45):
usually are, or because of the situation in Ireland and
the electricity and you know, the stands, I don't think
we're filled with your normal Americans there for football, so anyway,
but the reason that they find if you kick the
ball or throw the ball into the stands is that
(13:07):
they don't The league doesn't want any injuries resulting from
fans competing for the ball. You know, you don't want
any fights or you know, knocking people over, or one
guy gets it and another guy tries to take it
from him, and there's a scrummer, you know, with that
kind of stuff. So that's why that kind of behavior
(13:27):
is fine, as opposed to in America, if you hand
the ball to a fan in the stands, that's nothing,
no fine, no penalty. So we'll see how it's how
it's how it ends up. But there was no flag
thrown on the play, and so the answer is there
(13:49):
was no penalty.
Speaker 2 (13:50):
Our next question comes from John Curley from Chaptico, Maryland,
with how unique the game was in Dublin and the
bye week immediately following. If a player, coach, or any
other Steelers employee wish to bring their family to Dublin
traveling and staying with family rather than with the team
and extending their stay to have something of a mini
vacation with their family, is this permissible.
Speaker 1 (14:12):
Not for the players and coaches, because even though this
is a bye week, and you know, I certainly hope
that everyone appreciates me and you doing this, guys, But
otherwise we could be at your summer home, you know,
laying on the beach.
Speaker 2 (14:28):
Well you're at the private airport right now, connecting and
to do this.
Speaker 1 (14:33):
Yeah right, your jet right. But you know, the team
is not off this whole week, and they're off, but
that's always at the end. The way the usual bye
week schedule is, you know, the players, the CBA mandates
that players be given four days in a row off
(14:56):
during the bye week, so the way to one has
always done it, and I'm just assuming that that's going
to be the case this week too. You give them Thursday, Friday, Saturday,
and Sunday off. That's your four days in a row,
nice long weekend, and then they come back and Monday
is kind of a bonus day for the start of
(15:18):
the week of preparation for the next game, which for
the Steelers is the Browns at Akroshuer Stadium. So yeah,
that what John is suggesting is it just doesn't work
with the schedule. And you know, I don't know that
players would want to have free time to stay in
(15:41):
Ireland as opposed to getting the free time at the
end of the week to you know, if they want
to go home to visit family, or they want whatever
they want to do. I think that that's more likely
what they would vote for if there was a vote,
which there is not. But it's not permissible. It wouldn't happen.
(16:02):
It's so no, I guess.
Speaker 2 (16:06):
Craig Dumnich from Avondale, Pennsylvania. I recognize that the defense
created five turnovers against New England, but I'm still critical
of the defense because the Patriots looked like they had
their way with us. They completed all fourth down attempts
except one. They simply were not afraid of us. Where
is our mojo?
Speaker 1 (16:25):
Let me just start with this. So the Patriots completed
all fourth down except attempts except for one. Yeah, that
one was with the game on the line, one game.
So anyway, let me just say, Craig, there's no more free,
fearsome defense in the NFL. Those days are over.
Speaker 2 (16:44):
You hear those days, labs.
Speaker 1 (16:47):
Well, the player safety a lot of you're not a
lot of You're not allowed to beat people up anymore,
you know. Uh, players get penalized now and fined and
fined for just falling on the quarterback while making a
legal sack. Yep. You know, a defensive player can use
textbook technique hit with his shoulder, avoid the player's head
(17:10):
neck area, and I've seen penalties then assessed for unnecessary roughness.
In other words, you hit him too hard. Okay. So
I'm not saying that the league should go back to
the seventies in the eighties, because safety is a worthwhile
and necessary initiative. I get it. But what good defense
(17:30):
in the NFL has changed? You know, it's it's not
about punishing the opponent or stifling the opponent, stuffing the
opponent and playing physical and aggressive all the time. It's
you know, making a play during an opposing possession to
either you know, force a field goal instead of allowing
(17:51):
a touchdown, or you give up yards and then take
the ball away and they get nothing. That's what good
defense is now, That's what mojo is now. So I
get it that you want to say that a defense
cannot rely totally on takeaways, but the ability to take
(18:11):
the ball away is a significant weapon for a team.
And you know, we saw that in London, London and
Dublin too. You know, a couple of takeaways supplemented the
sacks and the hits on the quarterback and you win again.
So that's mojo defensive mojo.
Speaker 2 (18:30):
Now, Bill Glenn from Lawrenceville, Georgia. When the quarterback spikes
the ball to stop the clock, does it affect his
passing statistics?
Speaker 1 (18:39):
Yes, a spike is recorded as an incomplete pass.
Speaker 2 (18:43):
And our final question today comes from Scott Clements from Chesapeake, Virginia,
who calls for the snap on an extra point or
field goal. How does the long snapper know when to
snap the ball?
Speaker 1 (18:54):
Okay, the process begins. Chris Boswell picks out the spot
on the where he wants a holder, in this instance
cordless weightman to place the ball, and Boswell will designate
that spot, usually with his toe or that, you know,
the end of his kicking foot. So then weightman, okay,
that's the spot, all right. So then everybody lines up,
(19:17):
Boswell gets his distance, his steps, you know, all that stuff,
and then there will be weightman will look at Boswell
and see that he's ready, and then there are some
kind of there a variety of indicators to Christian Koontz,
and they change them all the time so that the
(19:39):
kick blocking unit doesn't get a chance to time it.
And sometimes it's an open fist. Sometimes it's a closed fist.
Sometimes it might be some kind of slight head movement whatever.
You know, because Coons is looking between his legs back
towards O words to snap the ball, and you know
that that that start. What's the process? And you know,
(20:01):
as Danny Smith as always said, I think it's like
one point two seconds is perfect, one point four seconds
is okay, one point six seconds and everybody's going to
work at seven to eleven instead of doing what they do.
Speaker 2 (20:18):
All right, Labs, that's it. You can get on the
jet now. Your undisclosed destination awaits for your trial.
Speaker 1 (20:27):
A lot of waiting for you when you get there.
Speaker 2 (20:29):
Thank you so much. That's why you're the best. Enjoy
the bye week, Stealers Nation. You're three and one and
you're atop the AFC North. It cannot get much better
than that. Hopefully the Ravens lose, Hopefully the Bengals lose,
then it could probably get a little better than that.
For Labs, I'm Tom. We'll talk to you next week.
This has been the ASKT and Answer Podcast.
This is asked and answered questions with Tom Upperman and
Steelers Digest editor Bob Labriola.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
A really special moment in Steelers history over this past
weekend as they and the Vikings participated in the first
ever regular season NFL game in Dublin, Ireland, and it
was extra suite for the Steelers because they walked away
with the win twenty four to twenty one. Labs. The
Steelers are now three and one heading into their bye week,
and the only thing that's better to me than being
(00:31):
three and one heading into your bye week is being
three and one and sitting solo in first place in
the AFC North heading into your bye week.
Speaker 1 (00:40):
I thought you were going with the Ravens are one
and three.
Speaker 2 (00:43):
That's kind of part of that last part.
Speaker 1 (00:44):
Yeah, yeah, no, I mean it's and it is an
early buye. We've kind of gotten spoiled a little bit lately.
I think, you know, we were kind of in the
middle of the schedule the last couple of years. Yeah. Yeah,
but you know, when you look at some of the
(01:05):
potential injury situations Jalen Ramsey, Calvin Austin, Uh, you know,
maybe this is coming at the right time. Maybe you
get Joey Porter Junior back because you know they're at
the end of that of the game against the Vikings,
the Steelers were pretty much out of cornerbacks. You know,
(01:26):
all of this moaning about from some fans and media
about you know, not continuing to play the kind of
defense they were playing earlier. They couldn't play man demand anymore.
Who you gonna lie? You know, are you gonna do?
You think? Just if? Again, It's I say this all
the time, It's not a video game. Just because you
(01:49):
put the Chuck Clark couldn't think of his name Chuck
Clark avatar on the justin Jefferson avatar doesn't mean it's
gonna work. So yeah, the Steelers were severely limited by
(02:10):
some of the things that happened, and as you said, though,
they still came out with the win, which is the
most important thing. It seemed like the people in Croke
Park certainly had some fun. And you know, the one
thing about the telecast too, that you know, I was
wondering about was how was the telecast going to handle
(02:36):
renegade because I kind of knew that, you know, that
would be worked in because you know, a lot of
the Steelers people who performed jobs on game day at
Akrashuer Stadium. We're going to be in Dublin doing it
at Croke Park as the because the Steelers with a
(02:56):
you know, designated home team. Larry Richard was on the PA.
Chris Burns was, you know, doing the music on this.
You know, I say on the scoreboard, but that's not
what I mean, you know what I mean music? And
so I figured, you know, Renegade was going to be
part of it. But would they show it on TV?
Because a lot of times, you know, that might be
(03:17):
in a break during the telecast of a regular home game.
But you did get to see a little bit here,
a little bit of the end of it. NFL Network
did come back and get back to the you know,
to Croke Park in enough time. So yeah, it seemed
like everybody had a lot of fun, and you know,
(03:39):
I really think the players appreciated the kind of atmosphere
that it turned out to be. And you know, Jacksonville
has that thing where they get to play a game
in London every year. I don't know that the Steelers
would be opposed to that if that would become the well,
(04:02):
I won't say every year because that would be a
little bit much, but you.
Speaker 2 (04:07):
Could see them making a return trip on the horizon.
Let's say that.
Speaker 1 (04:10):
Yeah, you know, that's the thing. And I do believe
you know that based on Roger Goodell's comments to Missy
Matthews and the during the pregame show, that going back
to Ireland is is a lock.
Speaker 2 (04:27):
Uh.
Speaker 1 (04:28):
But what he did not say and would not commit to,
was which teams were gonna get. You know, he never
said the Steelers will be back in Ireland.
Speaker 2 (04:36):
But how could you not think the league would be
after that? What you witnessed that week, I mean it
was a slam dunk as far as the NFL is concerned.
Speaker 1 (04:43):
Absolutely, But I mean I could also see the people
in the league office thinking, you know, the Steelers are
a really good attraction and a lot of these outposts
overseas that we're trying to, you know, gain a foothold
with NFL football. You know, let's throw the Steelers at
Brennett Buenos Aires. I'm just picking things out. Yeah, maybe
(05:07):
that'll help there, get that started there. But whatever, So
you know, who knows how it's going to be in
the future. But there's no question that this most recent
one was arousing success in a lot of different ways.
Speaker 2 (05:21):
Including on the field for your Pittsburgh Steelers getting that win.
And there were so many things that we could touch
on LABS. The pass rush was dominant. I mean, fourteen
quarterback hits, six sacks. Carson Wentz has got to still
be feeling it today now that they're in London because
they play the Browns this week. I mean, he was
getting abused. But I want to focus in LABS on
(05:42):
the running game for the Steelers. Finally saw some progress
in that area. Kenneth Gainwell nineteen carries, ninety nine yards,
two touchdowns. I can't believe he was a yard shive
of one hundred yards. That would have just been such
a perfect little cherry on top of his great performance.
He did great. I'm not trying to take anything away
from him, but it was the hogs up front to me, LABS.
(06:03):
I mean, they were moving bodies for the first time
this year consistently.
Speaker 1 (06:08):
Yeah, you know, and I really liked what, you know,
some of the schematics that were used to help that, Yes,
you know. As an example, Darnell Washington played forty eight
to fifty three offensive snaps. Spencer Anderson played nineteen snaps
(06:32):
as a as an extra as a sixth offensive lineman.
So you know, if that's what it takes, that's fine
with me. You know, if if putting Spencer Anderson out
there as an extra blocker makes it easier to run
the football, great, I'm all for it. You know, Ben
(06:53):
Scornick is another example. He played more snaps a wide
receiver than anybody not dk metcal Or in Calvin, Austin.
So you know Scronic is out there even though he's
a receiver. You know he was. He was knocking some
people around. Darnell Washington. We all know, you know that
(07:14):
he can do that, and who knows, maybe you know,
in the future, if teams start to lean heavily towards
run defense, when Darnell Washington is on the field from
the ball, he can catch it. So I think that
there are things that can be done off that, you know, uh,
(07:35):
to kind of counter what what might be perceived as
a tendency. But yes, you're right, the Hogs up front,
Darnell Washington and Scronic and Spencer Anderson helped out a
lot too. And hey, kudos to gain well because Jalen
Warren was a late scratch I thought he was gonna play.
I mean I I you know, I just did. And
(07:59):
they work him out on the field before the game,
and the decision was made, you know, to to rest
him or that his knee wasn't in good enough shape
or however you want to verbalize it. And so game well,
I mean, that was a last minute kind of thing.
And I thought once, you know, as we were talking
about in the pregame show, when Jalen Warren was made
(08:24):
a game days inactive, I thought it was going to
be Trey Sermon. I thought he was the guy who
was going to end up with a lot of the carries,
and that game well would remain as you know, kind
of a third down back, yes, stay in his role,
but he has shown that he is more of that,
more than that, and hey, great kudos to him. So yeah,
(08:50):
there was a lot of things to like in my
opinion about the Steelers' performance. The running game was good,
the run defense was good, and the run defense was good,
which meant that the third down situation, you know, was
more one dimensional for the Vikings than maybe in some
(09:10):
of the previous games for the other opponents. And so
they got after him and Keanu Benton one and a
half sacks. He was definitely a fact. And I don't know, Man,
I like Alex Heismith, but when he gets well, I
don't know that I'm taking a whole lot of Nick
(09:30):
Herbick snaps away from him because he is looking like
you know, he's He is a force as getting after
the quarterback, always has been. But he did not look
like a liability against the run at all. No, he's not.
Speaker 2 (09:47):
Man, he's so fast, labs. I mean, these tackles just
don't know what to do with his speed. And he's
not James Harrison, no one is. But he does get
that leverage like James used to, you know what, I mean,
that bend around the edge.
Speaker 1 (10:00):
He's so good at that. And speaking of fast, don't
ever race Peyton Wilson for money.
Speaker 2 (10:07):
DK Metcalf for that matter.
Speaker 1 (10:09):
Well DK Metcalf is a wide receiver, but you would
think an inside linebacker. You would think a wide receiver
or it would be faster, but an inside linebacker you
might not think. But Jordan Addison, I wonder if he's
if he was getting any abuse from teammates for getting
caught from behind by an inside linebacker who was well
(10:32):
behind the play when he caught the ball, and Addison
was not taking it for granted that he was going
to score. He was running hard.
Speaker 2 (10:42):
So yeah, if he's getting it from his teammates, I'd
be like he was running twenty four miles per hour.
What do you want? He's basically in a car coming
to chase me. What do you want from me? Let's
get into this week's patch of questions. Our first one
comes from Brian Henderson from merles Inlet, South Carolina. Did TJ.
Watt receive a penalty for kicking the ball after his
interception against the Vikings?
Speaker 1 (11:06):
You know, after the game, TJ. Watt was asked about
it and asked about the purpose of the celebration, and
he just explained that he wanted to get the ball
into the stands. You know. And Croke Park isn't laid
out like your typical NFL football stadium in that the
(11:29):
stands are not very close to the playing surface. You know,
in America for NFL games, you know, you want the
people to be close, you know, for the luxury boxes
and club seats and all that stuff. But Croke Park
is used very very rarely for American football, and so
(11:51):
it's a whole different you know, soccer and all that
other stuff hurling and you know, I don't know that
specific layout of the field, but.
Speaker 2 (11:58):
It's like a catch all for Ireland, like they do
everything there everything.
Speaker 1 (12:03):
Yes, so TJ. Watts said, you know, I was trying
to get it into the stands, but the stands were
so far away and if I threw it, I would
injure my shoulder. I was just trying to get the
get the ball to the fans and keep them involved
as much as possible. So okay, that's the reasoning behind it.
(12:24):
My experience is that throwing the ball into the stands
or punning the ball into the stands as part of
a celebration is not penalized, but there could be a
fine attach to this. I don't know how the NFL
is going to react, you know, whether they're going to
be the typical no fun, wet blanket people that they
(12:45):
usually are, or because of the situation in Ireland and
the electricity and you know, the stands, I don't think
we're filled with your normal Americans there for football, so anyway,
but the reason that they find if you kick the
ball or throw the ball into the stands is that
(13:07):
they don't The league doesn't want any injuries resulting from
fans competing for the ball. You know, you don't want
any fights or you know, knocking people over, or one
guy gets it and another guy tries to take it
from him, and there's a scrummer, you know, with that
kind of stuff. So that's why that kind of behavior
(13:27):
is fine, as opposed to in America, if you hand
the ball to a fan in the stands, that's nothing,
no fine, no penalty. So we'll see how it's how
it's how it ends up. But there was no flag
thrown on the play, and so the answer is there
(13:49):
was no penalty.
Speaker 2 (13:50):
Our next question comes from John Curley from Chaptico, Maryland,
with how unique the game was in Dublin and the
bye week immediately following. If a player, coach, or any
other Steelers employee wish to bring their family to Dublin
traveling and staying with family rather than with the team
and extending their stay to have something of a mini
vacation with their family, is this permissible.
Speaker 1 (14:12):
Not for the players and coaches, because even though this
is a bye week, and you know, I certainly hope
that everyone appreciates me and you doing this, guys, But
otherwise we could be at your summer home, you know,
laying on the beach.
Speaker 2 (14:28):
Well you're at the private airport right now, connecting and
to do this.
Speaker 1 (14:33):
Yeah right, your jet right. But you know, the team
is not off this whole week, and they're off, but
that's always at the end. The way the usual bye
week schedule is, you know, the players, the CBA mandates
that players be given four days in a row off
(14:56):
during the bye week, so the way to one has
always done it, and I'm just assuming that that's going
to be the case this week too. You give them Thursday, Friday, Saturday,
and Sunday off. That's your four days in a row,
nice long weekend, and then they come back and Monday
is kind of a bonus day for the start of
(15:18):
the week of preparation for the next game, which for
the Steelers is the Browns at Akroshuer Stadium. So yeah,
that what John is suggesting is it just doesn't work
with the schedule. And you know, I don't know that
players would want to have free time to stay in
(15:41):
Ireland as opposed to getting the free time at the
end of the week to you know, if they want
to go home to visit family, or they want whatever
they want to do. I think that that's more likely
what they would vote for if there was a vote,
which there is not. But it's not permissible. It wouldn't happen.
(16:02):
It's so no, I guess.
Speaker 2 (16:06):
Craig Dumnich from Avondale, Pennsylvania. I recognize that the defense
created five turnovers against New England, but I'm still critical
of the defense because the Patriots looked like they had
their way with us. They completed all fourth down attempts
except one. They simply were not afraid of us. Where
is our mojo?
Speaker 1 (16:25):
Let me just start with this. So the Patriots completed
all fourth down except attempts except for one. Yeah, that
one was with the game on the line, one game.
So anyway, let me just say, Craig, there's no more free,
fearsome defense in the NFL. Those days are over.
Speaker 2 (16:44):
You hear those days, labs.
Speaker 1 (16:47):
Well, the player safety a lot of you're not a
lot of You're not allowed to beat people up anymore,
you know. Uh, players get penalized now and fined and
fined for just falling on the quarterback while making a
legal sack. Yep. You know, a defensive player can use
textbook technique hit with his shoulder, avoid the player's head
(17:10):
neck area, and I've seen penalties then assessed for unnecessary roughness.
In other words, you hit him too hard. Okay. So
I'm not saying that the league should go back to
the seventies in the eighties, because safety is a worthwhile
and necessary initiative. I get it. But what good defense
(17:30):
in the NFL has changed? You know, it's it's not
about punishing the opponent or stifling the opponent, stuffing the
opponent and playing physical and aggressive all the time. It's
you know, making a play during an opposing possession to
either you know, force a field goal instead of allowing
(17:51):
a touchdown, or you give up yards and then take
the ball away and they get nothing. That's what good
defense is now, That's what mojo is now. So I
get it that you want to say that a defense
cannot rely totally on takeaways, but the ability to take
(18:11):
the ball away is a significant weapon for a team.
And you know, we saw that in London, London and
Dublin too. You know, a couple of takeaways supplemented the
sacks and the hits on the quarterback and you win again.
So that's mojo defensive mojo.
Speaker 2 (18:30):
Now, Bill Glenn from Lawrenceville, Georgia. When the quarterback spikes
the ball to stop the clock, does it affect his
passing statistics?
Speaker 1 (18:39):
Yes, a spike is recorded as an incomplete pass.
Speaker 2 (18:43):
And our final question today comes from Scott Clements from Chesapeake, Virginia,
who calls for the snap on an extra point or
field goal. How does the long snapper know when to
snap the ball?
Speaker 1 (18:54):
Okay, the process begins. Chris Boswell picks out the spot
on the where he wants a holder, in this instance
cordless weightman to place the ball, and Boswell will designate
that spot, usually with his toe or that, you know,
the end of his kicking foot. So then weightman, okay,
that's the spot, all right. So then everybody lines up,
(19:17):
Boswell gets his distance, his steps, you know, all that stuff,
and then there will be weightman will look at Boswell
and see that he's ready, and then there are some
kind of there a variety of indicators to Christian Koontz,
and they change them all the time so that the
(19:39):
kick blocking unit doesn't get a chance to time it.
And sometimes it's an open fist. Sometimes it's a closed fist.
Sometimes it might be some kind of slight head movement whatever.
You know, because Coons is looking between his legs back
towards O words to snap the ball, and you know
that that that start. What's the process? And you know,
(20:01):
as Danny Smith as always said, I think it's like
one point two seconds is perfect, one point four seconds
is okay, one point six seconds and everybody's going to
work at seven to eleven instead of doing what they do.
Speaker 2 (20:18):
All right, Labs, that's it. You can get on the
jet now. Your undisclosed destination awaits for your trial.
Speaker 1 (20:27):
A lot of waiting for you when you get there.
Speaker 2 (20:29):
Thank you so much. That's why you're the best. Enjoy
the bye week, Stealers Nation. You're three and one and
you're atop the AFC North. It cannot get much better
than that. Hopefully the Ravens lose, Hopefully the Bengals lose,
then it could probably get a little better than that.
For Labs, I'm Tom. We'll talk to you next week.
This has been the ASKT and Answer Podcast.
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