HR1: Around the League

King and Starks discuss some of the latest headlines from around the league as week one approaches.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:06):
Hello, everybody, Welcome inside the locker room at King and Starks,
presented by Neighborhood for Stour. Here on the Steel, there's
Audio Network alongside Max Starks. I'm Rob King Max. Before
we jump into it, how is your day going today? Well,
it just started for me, Kinger.

Speaker 2 (00:21):
I mean it's literally you know, seven am, so the
entire days in front of me. I have a travel
I'm getting ready for uh the game this weekend I'll
be I'll be in in Morgantwan, that's right.

Speaker 3 (00:38):
For that is Robert.

Speaker 2 (00:39):
Morris versus versus West Virginia. So the returner Rich Rod
down there and uh see if Bernard Clark's boys can
go down there and and and call and make some noise.

Speaker 3 (00:53):
When is your flight? Uh?

Speaker 4 (00:56):
Well noon my time?

Speaker 1 (00:57):
So okay, all right, now you must when it comes
to this show and probably the season, you must love
when the clocks fall back here and don't move there, right,
because then the show is eight o'clock.

Speaker 2 (01:12):
Yeah, an eight am show allows me to take my
kids to school, so that is something I'll look forward to.

Speaker 4 (01:18):
You know, that's one thing I do I do miss,
you know, is that.

Speaker 3 (01:22):
Morning car ride.

Speaker 2 (01:23):
Right, you know, that's kind of set the expectations for
the day for your kids, see what they're excited about, what,
you know, what their challenges might potentially be. You know,
what are they worried about going into the day, and
you know, just kind of alleviating that type of time.
Plus you know, it gives me a chance to kind
of get in tap and in tune to whatever it

(01:44):
is they're listening to music wise, which is always a
mixed bag there, you know, because you always just want
to know kind of you know, the pulse of your
kids and kind of their friends. And you know, I
get to do the scan at school, you know, drop
off line like okay, okay, what what what's what's the
friend groups, what are the what are the issues? And
I mean in the school that they go to is

(02:05):
small enough that I mean, I know most of the
kids and their parents that are that are in her
that are in each girl's grade because they've been together,
you know, for a lot of them really since like kindergarten,
second grade. So you know, to get here now to
middle school and see kind of these kids grown up
a little bit more, uh there, developing into their own

(02:29):
it was pretty crazy.

Speaker 4 (02:30):
To uh to see that, but I know a lot
of them.

Speaker 2 (02:32):
But it's still good to see and you know, the
mix of new kids, right because this is only my
kids second week of school, so you know, and there's
a ton of new kids and a ton of new
teachers because I've already been up to that.

Speaker 4 (02:43):
School three times.

Speaker 3 (02:43):
So I don't, I don't.

Speaker 4 (02:45):
I don't want to make that happen of mine.

Speaker 1 (02:47):
So just quickly before we get onto some major news
in the NFL.

Speaker 3 (02:53):
What what are what are kids listening to? It? Do they? Do?
They listen to similar music? Are they?

Speaker 1 (02:58):
I don't even I don't know what you listen to?
Are you an R and B guy? Are you a
country guy? Or you a rock guy? You a hip
hop guy? What do you listen to?

Speaker 3 (03:06):
I'm all over the board.

Speaker 2 (03:08):
I mean definitely steeped in R and B and hip hop,
But I mean I have my I have my fair
share of you know, alternative, you know, indie rock, you
know obviously pop and classical country.

Speaker 4 (03:26):
I mean, are the kids in the top to country
is different?

Speaker 3 (03:29):
Yeah?

Speaker 2 (03:30):
Top, they're they're definitely top forty pop range Tate McCrae.
So bring a carpenter really big with them right now?
You know, of course, of course, Taylor Swift is one
that not. But but the funny thing is, my my
oldest daughter is like an old school nineties hip hop head.

(03:51):
Like it's hilarious. It is hilarious, Like.

Speaker 4 (03:54):
Like she's like, you turned on Trick Daddy Dollars.

Speaker 2 (03:57):
I'm like what, I'm like, uh uh okay, yeah, can
I hear that t I I'm like, oh my goodness, Okay.
I was like, so yeah, So I mean, so there's
a good I would say they have a good balanced
mix of taste. Now they can ride in the car
with me, which I call it, but yeah, every once
in a while it gets and then you know, they

(04:17):
put it on you know whatever the pop station is
that has that play that plays that Top forty, Billboard
Top one hundred music. So, I mean it's a little
bit of everything. It was David Church, I think it
was another guy.

Speaker 4 (04:32):
They listened to.

Speaker 2 (04:33):
Uh, you know, Justin Bieber is still popular for whatever reason. Okay,
So I was like, so yeah, So I mean they're
they're pretty, they're pretty eclectic. But yeah, definitely Tate McCrae,
Sabrina Carpenter are definitely kind of I feel like the
tops in their rotation right now. And my daughter for

(04:54):
her birthday wants to go to a Tate McCray concert.
She's coming out here, so so yeah, so she's been
she's been beating me up about.

Speaker 3 (05:03):
Dude, is can we go?

Speaker 4 (05:04):
I can't bring a friend.

Speaker 2 (05:05):
I'm like, oh gosh, okay, okay, my birthday party.

Speaker 4 (05:10):
I'm like, all right, okay, all right, I got it.

Speaker 3 (05:12):
I got okay, that works.

Speaker 4 (05:13):
I can't name I can't name that one Taate McCray
song by.

Speaker 3 (05:16):
The way, Yeah, yeah, I don't.

Speaker 1 (05:18):
I do not want to mind the the depths of
my lack of knowledge of pop culture because we'd be
here all day. So I'm just gonna let it pass.
I just it just was curious because my wife was
very good at that. I would ride with the kids
in the car, but we had a we had a
much shorter ride. It wasn't a music ride, you know.
And then obviously after school, I was at work, so

(05:38):
I missed the Uh, I missed the whatever they were
listening to. Uh, who are the two? It was Biaber
part of the brothers.

Speaker 3 (05:46):
Who are the who?

Speaker 4 (05:47):
Oh no, the Jonas Jonas Jonas brothers.

Speaker 2 (05:49):
Yeah, yeah, they're still Hey, they're still around they're still kicking,
all right, Let's do a little bit of their stuff
that they're not really that big Jonah's Brothers fans.

Speaker 3 (05:58):
So Max.

Speaker 1 (06:00):
October twenty sixth, the Pittsburgh Steelers on a Sunday night
game are hosting the green Bay Packers, and that game
got a little more interesting yesterday with the trade that
really kind of shook up the NFL. I think everyone
was waiting. My expectation was that they were gonna come
on Thursday Night football, Dallas Cowboys, and the big talk

(06:22):
was going to be how Jerry Jones and Michael Parsons
had come doing a deal and how much is Parson's
going to play in this game? And what does this
mean for the Cowboys? And then all of a sudden yesterday, bang,
He's a green Bay Packer, Parsons, not Jerry Jones.

Speaker 3 (06:39):
Amazing trade.

Speaker 1 (06:41):
And I wanted to get your thoughts on that because
obviously this Steelers has got to play the green Bay Packers,
and you know, everybody's looking to get to that next level.
And you know, we can talk about green Bay and
whereas Jordan Love as a quarterback, is he elite company?

Speaker 3 (07:00):
Is he next level?

Speaker 4 (07:01):
Down?

Speaker 3 (07:01):
Is he? Is he third tier.

Speaker 1 (07:04):
Uh, you know kind of guy that can that's still
good enough with a good enough team around him.

Speaker 3 (07:09):
That's my own third tier by the way, in case
people are wondering, you.

Speaker 1 (07:12):
Know, good third tier for me is good enough to
win a super Bowl, but and good enough to rise
up to the big moments, but not the guy that
you expect to carry you week in and week out.
Tier two is better than tier one. Is like Mahomes
and Allen and maybe maybe Burrow, maybe Lamar. Anyway, Uh,

(07:34):
your thoughts, uh, Jalen Jalen hurts, Yeah, you know what
I think?

Speaker 4 (07:40):
Did Yeah, that's a question. That's a good question to have.

Speaker 1 (07:42):
Yeah, he's an interesting guy because I think a lot
of people would have had him probably in that third tier.
And I'm describing you know, like, Okay, so he won
because he was a good quarterback. You have to be
a good quarterback to win a Super Bowl. You can't
be I don't think you can be an average quarterback
and win a Super Bowl anymore. You have to be
a good quarterback. He's definitely a good quarterback. He had

(08:04):
a great team around him that was playing great football.

Speaker 3 (08:07):
So where was he? You know? It kind of reminds
me of.

Speaker 1 (08:11):
Like the bart Starr argument, right, you know, and bart
Starr was the quarterback of the Green Bay Packers. I
think he chafed a little bit because everybody was saying, well,
the real best quarterback is Johnny and idis bart Starr
just manages the game and and makes plays when he
has to. And bart Starr was, well, that's what it
takes to win. You know, I'm here to win, not
you know, I could do I could do what Unitas

(08:32):
is doing if you gave me the chance. So I
think that's an interesting discussion and maybe one will you know,
we as people get ready for their fantasy football drafts,
maybe we can look at quarterbacks and and and do
our own sort of evaluation of them. But I do
know this, Jordan Love is good. You know, how good
remains to be seen. He was really good two years ago,

(08:52):
not quite as good last year. I think he had
some injury issues right that maybe set him back a
little bit. But uh, you know, that's that's a team
that is that needs some defensive presence and Mike Parsons, man,
that guy's going to bring you a defensive presence.

Speaker 3 (09:11):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (09:12):
No, I mean this was a huge mongous deal. Yesterday,
I was driving to go watch my knees player first
volleyball game. She's on JV as a freshman in high school.
Nice and and I was listening to the the USF
Boise State game, which really was USF just beating the

(09:35):
brakes off of Boise State anyways, and there was there
was like that, there was like that breaking news type
of sounder that came in, and it was that Micah
Pars's had been traded to the Green Bay Packers. It's
not ink that four year, one hundred and eighty eight
million dollar deals, Like, oh my gosh. And it was

(10:00):
just like, oh wow, you know, just when you thought
Jerry may Or may not, you know, do it, he
did not.

Speaker 4 (10:10):
He stuck to his guns, his stubbornness.

Speaker 2 (10:12):
I think he was still feeling the effects of his
Cowboys documentary, yeah exactly, and and and like oh yeah,
well I need to. The problem is like for them,
they've already spent money elsewhere and they're not gonna be
good this year.

Speaker 4 (10:32):
So that's just me.

Speaker 2 (10:34):
Their defense already struggled, and you lost the best piece
of your defense. Cool, you got Kenny Clark, which wasn't
a bad a bad trade for that, right, he got
two picks, So I mean, Kenny Clark will help with
your run defense, you know, you know, back in the
day was a pro bowler. But I mean, you know,

(10:56):
and is where everybody lives today.

Speaker 3 (10:58):
Now.

Speaker 2 (10:58):
Granted, you know, will you flip those two picks in
consecutive years because remember they're not getting all those picks
in one year like they did with the herschel Walker trade, right,
Like the herschel Walker trade was immediate picks and they
got five, you know, with the five with the five players,
so they did they did some fleecing. No fleecing here,

(11:19):
these are consecutive year picks. Uh. So it's going to
be very interesting to see how the Cowboys do and
if those two teams see each other. But for us,
now he is an immediate threat. We thought he was,
we thought he was bad. Last year. We had to
see him, you know, in primetime a year ago for

(11:41):
Sunday Night Football and in afro Shure. Now we get
to see him Sunday Night Football again in Akershure in
a different jersey. So that is going to be an
interesting matchup.

Speaker 4 (11:54):
Uh.

Speaker 2 (11:54):
But the good thing is boys got time to grow
project gots time to settle down. Troy has as an
opportunity to sett Lenn and let's see how they do.
I mean, I don't think Micah presents a unique problem.
He's just he's just very good. You have to be
on your p's and q's. You cannot give him anything.

(12:15):
He has a lot of DeMarcus where ability in the
past rush game, meaning he can get low he had
he had, He has power, he has wiggle, he has
he has a full attire tool box at his disposal.
So if you are Troy or Broderick going up against him,

(12:38):
the biggest thing that I would say is, you know,
build your book and dictate the fight to him. If
you sit back and you're just going to react, you're
gonna be wrong every time. Sometimes you got to be
proactive and you got to take it to him. Obviously,
a measured situations you figure out where those moments are. Right,

(12:59):
you have a tied end to your side. He squeezed
into seven. You can jump him, but he's playing that.
If he's playing that, that that nine personnel person you
know outside the tight end, and you know the tight
end has to release. Now now now you can jump
him as well, because you can't go inside of you
because the tight end has to clear his body. You know,

(13:19):
those are times where you can kind of go there.
But if you just set back on a forty five,
not pretty, not pretty to say the least. That's that's
that's how I'm gonna say. It would be a very
tough day. So, you know, very big news today or
yesterday around the league. But I think, you know, you
kind of look at it. I feel good about our

(13:40):
guys and I think you know, they'll they'll be prepared
and ready by that time, and they will have had
some good challenges before that.

Speaker 3 (13:47):
You know.

Speaker 1 (13:47):
I just wanted to look at this quickly from the
Cowboys perspective. I was talking to a friend of mine
who's a Cowboys fan, Jordi Mercer, who was who was
in doing the baseball stuff, and we're talking about the
trade and talking about the NFL season coming up as
we were getting ready for our Pirates responsibilities yesterday. And

(14:10):
Oklahoma State guy, another Cowboys right, don't do.

Speaker 3 (14:13):
You have any Oklahoma steak games?

Speaker 1 (14:15):
Uh?

Speaker 3 (14:16):
Not yet.

Speaker 2 (14:16):
I don't have the you know, the new college schedule
you find out at max ten days in advance, if
not seven days, except for September. September is the only
time that I actually get my schedule in advance for
an entire month. After that, it's like you live almost
like week to week starting starting like the end of September.

Speaker 1 (14:35):
Yeah, one of these days, I'm gonna have to get
your favorite places to go, which are probably probably a
lot of them in the SEC. I would imagine as
a as a as an SEC guy. But I was,
you know, I was talking about the Cowboys and thinking, man,
if you were the Cowboys and could have made this
trade earlier, right, if you could have made this like

(14:55):
before the draft and gotten another first round pick. And
when you think about how you know, when I look
at the Cowboys offense, like if you had an offense
like a Bengals type of offense, right you you at
least the Bengals, for as much as we talked about
last year, you know, setting the record for most games

(15:17):
lost when scoring thirty three or more points in an
NFL season, at least you had a chance, right, you know,
at least you had a puncher's chance. And we were
talking about this getting ready for the season finale last year.
You know, if Cincinnati could have found a way to
slip into the playoffs. Nobody wanted to play the Bengals.
Nobody wanted to play that team. And I look at
the Cowboys team and I'm not an expert on the

(15:39):
Cowboys roster. We had him last year. There's been some turnover.
They obviously picked up George Pickens, but you could at
least look at that team. You know, they took Tyler
Booker in the first round, and look at three first
round picks on the offensive line. A sixty million dollar quarterback,
I think Dak is still the highest paid quarterback in
the NFL. They for George Pickens obviously, so you have

(16:01):
Pickens and Cede Lamb, Jalen Tolbert. It's a nice third
wide receiver. Jake Ferguson, your tight end was a Pro bowler.
The one thing they kind of lack is a running back.
And and this was a year loaded with running backs
in the draft, and if you could have plucked one
of them. But you listen, I'm sure they thought they
were gonna get Mike ca Prson signed. As what Jerry

(16:22):
Jones said, he thought they had a deal in place.

Speaker 3 (16:25):
You know.

Speaker 1 (16:26):
There there it's you mentioned that they're probably not gonna
be a good team this year, and they probably won't,
but I think they're at least gonna be an interesting
team if they just unleashed that offense and say let's go.

Speaker 3 (16:38):
You know.

Speaker 1 (16:38):
But again, they picked Jayden Blue in the fifth round.
Can you really expect the fifth rounder to come in
and be your guy? They have Javonte Williams, Miles Sanders,
local guy here, Woodland Hills guy. Does he have anything
left in the tank? But looking at it from their perspective,
they've been getting they've largely been getting panned by the
national media, and it does it does look like a

(17:01):
wait till next year thing, right where you you don't
pay mica, so that gives you some cap space, you
pick up an extra first round pick. Maybe you use
that cap space and free agency. You have a couple
of first round picks. I'm assuming they have their own
next year to try to address some of your other deficiencies.
So I guess that's probably looking at it from their perspective,

(17:23):
I guess that's probably you know, it's a probably a
wait till next year proposition with a chance to still
upset some people because they should be able to score
some points.

Speaker 2 (17:35):
Yeah, I mean they should be able to score some points.
I mean, you know, like you said, you still got
George picks, you still got cdee lamb over there. You know,
you have a potent tight end. So I mean, you
got three aerial options, and that's probably what you're going
to be because you're going to be behind in games,
so because your defense isn't gonna be able to stop anybody.
But you know, listen, am I the first one to

(17:58):
want to get out here and say, oh man, you
know because a lot of people have been slaying this,
like the Cowboys won this situation, and I'm like, howeah, Like, no, listen,
just because you get a first round pick doesn't mean
that you're gonna turn that guy into an all pro
ten year guy. You just let one walk that you drafted, right,
So I don't I don't doubt the scouting. I doubt

(18:18):
the retention level of a team like the Cowboys. And
we've been talking about wait and see next year for
since nineteen ninety three. Yeah, I mean, come right, you know,
so it's like it comes to a certain point where
thirty years, you guys can't do this.

Speaker 4 (18:35):
It's like, why am I going to believe that next year.

Speaker 2 (18:37):
Is going to be that year, right, I mean, and
for all the I'm sure not a lot of Cowboys
fans on here. I'm sure a lot of Steeler fans
that love the fact that we're that we're dishing down
on the Cowboys.

Speaker 4 (18:47):
But you know, I just I look at.

Speaker 2 (18:49):
It from just a very pragmatic view and looking at
the rest of your division. You're not better than Washington
and you're definitely not better than Philly. So you're already
fighting for third place, if not fourth place with the
Giants and Brian Dabolds on the hot seat there because
of their success, and they've actually had more recent playoff
success than the Cowboys. So you know, that just goes

(19:11):
to show you kind of what the culture is. You know, Shot,
he's gon gonna have an issue, Brian Schottenheimer trying trying
to get everything together. But you know, that's why, that's
why you pay them the big bucks, and that's why
you know, we sit here on radio because we don't
have to live or work through those type of processes.
But I mean, it's definitely it was an ego thing
driven by the owner, and that's what happens when your

(19:33):
owners also your GM. You know, there's a lot of
you know that crossover that list.

Speaker 4 (19:38):
Back in the day, it worked, But Jerry's out of touch.

Speaker 2 (19:42):
He doesn't understand this generation of players, so he doesn't
see how that can be very off putting for potential
free agents that want to come there, because that's also
you goan to breed a place. Yes, you have, you know,
all this money that you throw at the facilities and
everything else, but culture also matters to guys. You know
what type of person I'm walking into? You know, is
it a toxic environment?

Speaker 4 (20:03):
Is it?

Speaker 2 (20:04):
Is it something where I have to walk on eggshows
because if the owner didn't like me, he's gonna go
talk to me in his weekly media press conference.

Speaker 4 (20:10):
By far, by the way.

Speaker 2 (20:11):
Only owner to have his own weekly like right hits
and press conference. Right yeah, So you know that already
just tells you what you need to know. And and
you know, yeah, people are gonna feel nostalgic about that documentary,
but that documentary was just to show you how long
ago it really was that you actually had a really
good team that people enjoyed. And you know, let's face it,

(20:34):
we all know Steeler Nation, who was the original choice
for America's team.

Speaker 4 (20:38):
So that's right, don't fret, don't worry.

Speaker 1 (20:41):
And by the way, I through episode two of that,
it is a very self congratulatory uh, but very interesting.
It's still very it's still interesting if you're a football fan,
uh and love the game, it's still an interesting dolugmentary.

Speaker 4 (20:55):
Great nostalgia, great nostalgia.

Speaker 2 (20:59):
You know, a lot of it, and a lot of
it is it captures for me, it captures childhood memories,
you know what I'm saying, Like it's one of those things.
I'm sorry since ninety five, ninety six. I apologize, I
forgot you know, super Bowl thirty anyways, but but yeah,
I mean it's definitely yeah, yeah, let's forget that. But

(21:22):
I just realized for journalistic integrity, I had to bring that.
I had to bring that up, Kinger. You know, it's
there's still a team that's had issues and they still
continue to have issues, and it just shows you how
deep those issues run because of the fact that it's
taken this.

Speaker 4 (21:40):
Long for you to really have this type of glory again.
So you know, I'm not I'm not going.

Speaker 2 (21:46):
To sit here and say that we'll let a year
from now or two years from now dictate who is
a real winner and loser of this trade. But considering
what green Bay needed and what they got instant upgrade instantly.
You know, I heard I heard my buddy John cohon
for former Steelers fullback as well, John Kuhn, you know

(22:08):
because he works with He's on the Packers radio broadcast.
He said, this takes Green Bay from just a playoff
contender to a potential Super Bowl contender with the addition
of him, And you know, and I completely agree with
him as well. And I'm like, and that that's what
you want if you're gonna swing for the fences. You
have a young enough team, you have enough talent, and

(22:31):
you were in a very tough division a year ago.
I don't think that division is going to be as
tough as it was a year ago.

Speaker 3 (22:38):
Are going to.

Speaker 2 (22:39):
Go fourteen wins, But you know, this now puts you
squarely in the conversation, Like, man, the NFC North is
going is going to be a gauntlet, just like the
AFC North is and just like the AFC West is.

Speaker 3 (22:50):
Right.

Speaker 2 (22:51):
I mean, now you've got really three prominent divisions out
of the eight that are going to be must see
appointment watching football. And I think that's all you're trying
to create, and the NFC East got a little bit
less exciting, even though you still got Washington, you still
got Philly in there. But now it looks like Dallas
and New York, you know, become kind of like duds

(23:11):
in that division. So not as much was a two
team race. You want to see that three and potentially
four team race to really get you go, get the
juices going.

Speaker 1 (23:20):
I think this makes the Packers a team to beat
in the division. I think it steps them above the
other teams in my opinion. I'm not trying to be
too knee jerk about this. You know, there's an old
adage that rarely do you want to be the team
trading the best player in a deal. Now I was thinking,
as you know, we're getting ready for the show. There's
a couple things in Pittsburgh sports history. You know, in

(23:44):
nineteen seventy nine, talking about baseball, the Pirates traded Frank
Taveras for Tim Foley. Nobody would have ever said Tim
Foley was a superior player, but he was a superior
fit on a team that already had so much talent.
They just needed a guy to play a particular way.
And I think the same thing would be true in
ninety two with the Penguins.

Speaker 3 (24:04):
They traded.

Speaker 1 (24:05):
You know, they had a move in which both Mark Reki,
who's a Hall of Famer, and Paul Coffee, who's a
Hall of Famer, went out. Rick Tockett, who in my
opinion should be a Hall of Famer, came ins. But
was he was what that team needed. Still a great player,
but what that team needed. But most of the rest
of sports history is filled with you want the best

(24:28):
player back in the trade. And you know, we don't
know yet whether whether the first round picks the Cowboys
that have are going to turn into a better player
than Micah Parsons.

Speaker 3 (24:39):
But I highly highly doubt it.

Speaker 1 (24:42):
I mean, you're talking about a premiere, top of the
scale player in Micah Parsons, and I agree with you, Max,
I think this. I think this puts them in another
caliber of a football team.

Speaker 3 (24:55):
I think this.

Speaker 1 (24:56):
You know, if you're a Green Bay fan and you're
trying to be honest about your team, you see the
shortcomings and you think, okay, you know, maybe we can
get into the playoffs and maybe win a game.

Speaker 3 (25:05):
I think this.

Speaker 1 (25:06):
You know, you start talking about winning divisions and getting
buyes and getting home games and that sort of thing.
It puts you much closer to being a Super Bowl contender.
And I think this is what that does for them.

Speaker 4 (25:19):
No, I completely agree.

Speaker 2 (25:21):
I think I think that's what's that. That's what you
when you're looking at, hey, how can I get better?
How can I figure out a way? This is that
guy that kind of gives you that instant upgrade of tenacity,
you know, ferocity, and it creates a different mindset that
you think of when you think of the Green Bay Packers.

(25:42):
I think he gives you an instant, an instant identity boost,
and that's what they're gonna need, right, You're gonna need
guys to be able to rush jar at Golf in Detroit,
to be able to, you know, put pressure and make
JJ McCarthy feel uneasy, make Caleb Williams kind of take
a step back. That's the type of guy that's gonna
be the dog chasing the rabbit. You know, you know,

(26:05):
if you're in the if you're in the dog racing, right,
you know, it's a little mechanical rabbit. He's the mechanical
rabbit that's gonna be chasing, but in a different way
because the dogs are definitely the quarterbacks, and he's gonna
be chasing them. So I guess you'd say the dog
is him and the mechanical rabbits are each quarterback every week.

Speaker 3 (26:24):
But but I digress.

Speaker 2 (26:26):
You know, analogies and metaphors kind of get kind of
get a little wonky this early in the morning. So
but uh, but no, it's gonna be. It's gonna be
very interesting. And you know, I'm gonna I can't wait
for that Sunday night matchup. I mean it's gonna be.
It's gonna be some appointment television for sure.

Speaker 3 (26:42):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (26:42):
Uh at his October twenty sixth Sunday night at Akersher Stadium,
the students will welcome and now, uh, in our opinion,
much improved Green Bay Packers team and which is already
a pretty formidable matchup to begin with.

Speaker 3 (26:55):
Uh, that will be an interesting one.

Speaker 1 (26:56):
We're gonna take a look back at the Steelers again
and something about their roster construction that struck me over
the last couple days that we're gonna get Max's opinion
on when we continue inside the locker room with King
and Starks, presented by our neighborhood Ford Store here on
the Steelers Audio Network. Welcome back inside the locker Room

(27:24):
with King and Starks, presented by our neighborhood Fords Store.
Here on the Steelers Audio Network, we are turning the
corner from preseason and trades and signings, which will all continue,
of course, we know that, but into a game week.
Cannot wait, cannot wait for the New York Jets. Can't
wait to break down this team. I know, I'm sure

(27:45):
Max and I have both been stealing looks ahead. I
know I have, and I'm sure Max has two about
what this Jets team is all about. But before we
get too far ahead, Max, you know, we're talking about
roster construction. And I think one of the things that
has really caught people's at under Omar Khan is that
the move for the bigger name free agent or trade acquisition. So,

(28:12):
you know, in the in the past, I think a
guy like Deshaun Elliott would have been the type of
move that the Steelers would have made many times over.
Juan Thornhill the kind of pick up the Steelers would
have made many times over. I'm not so sure about,
you know, Darius Slay and Patrick Queen and trading for

(28:33):
Jalen Ramsey, although of course Kevin Colbert did trade for
Minka Fitzpatrick as well. They've made a lot of big
ticket item deals and signings Aaron Rodgers, you know that
have that have that's caught the attention of people, and
rightly so Johnny Smith, DK Metcalf, I mean, he's you know,
these are big time acquisitions.

Speaker 3 (28:53):
But underneath all that.

Speaker 1 (28:56):
Is the fact that the Steelers have not cut a
single draft choice from win Omar Khan took over, not one,
which amazes.

Speaker 4 (29:06):
Me that that, I mean that that's pretty phenomenal.

Speaker 2 (29:10):
And you know, to think about it, you know, you
you go into that not only not cutting a draft pick,
but your entire practice squad as of right now is
comprised of the guys in camp. Right you know, that
just goes to show you we talked about the quality
of depth.

Speaker 4 (29:29):
This is it showing up in reality. Now.

Speaker 2 (29:32):
Who's to say there might not be one piece here
or there on one side of the ball each that
you might be like, WHOA, what happened here? But for
all intents and purposes, Steelers rock with their own guys
in the in this whole process cut down to retention,

(29:53):
the ir moves and who you brought in with those
ir moves and of course the practice squad, so so
I kind of I look at it, I'm just like, wow, okay, okay,
they really like what they saw, and listen, let's let's
be frank.

Speaker 3 (30:08):
It did look pretty good.

Speaker 2 (30:09):
I mean, now, the one thing we want to see
running the ball more effectively this preseason.

Speaker 4 (30:12):
Guys are still getting used to each other.

Speaker 3 (30:14):
I get it.

Speaker 2 (30:16):
But every other phase, you know, had had a lot
of bright shining moments, and even in the run game
there were some bright shining moments. A guy on your
practice squad, Lou Nichols, definitely provided that as well.

Speaker 3 (30:27):
You know. So it is very.

Speaker 2 (30:31):
Interesting, especially that because I think when you go back
to the Cobt era at the end, right before Omar
took over, you would say, man, I was like, almost
none of your guys.

Speaker 4 (30:43):
Are still here. You know, where is Kenny Pickett?

Speaker 2 (30:45):
Oh that's right, He's on his fourth NFL team and
you know, in his and essentially going into his fifth
year of football.

Speaker 4 (30:55):
That is crazy.

Speaker 2 (30:56):
He spent two years here and everywhere else has been
a one year or a couple of months.

Speaker 1 (31:01):
So although you have to take you have to take
a swing at the quarterback position. I mean we just
kind of mentioned, you know, and I truly believe you
cannot win a super Bowl with an average quarterback.

Speaker 3 (31:12):
I just don't think you can. I think you.

Speaker 1 (31:14):
Could if the if you know, in the past, if
things were right around a team. You know, Trent Dilfer
comes to mind, but he's about the only one that
comes to mind. I mean, maybe Nick Foles winning it
with Green Bay, you know, uh, more talented than an
average quarterback and played up at the at the right time.

(31:36):
But I mean, it is just so difficult, and so
you gotta if you if you see a guy who
you think could be above average, and hey, if we
have a team around him, he can win a super Bowl,
that gives you shot at winning to the Super Bowl.
You got to take a swing at those. You have
to take a swing at guys. Now, that's why everyone's
talking about next year. Well this too, there's a trade

(31:57):
up and grab their quarterback. Okay, So you know, let's
just go down that road for a minute before we
talk about the draft. Let's just say that's the scenario
that happens. Steelers have a good year again, they want
to draft their franchise quarterback in a year in which
is supposed to be a lot of good quarterbacks, So
what do you have to do? You have to trade
up to get them. Well, we saw the Chiefs do that,
we saw the Bills do that. Maybe some team knows

(32:17):
that the Steelers have to do that, and so they're like, Okay.

Speaker 3 (32:20):
You know this is what it's gonna cost you.

Speaker 1 (32:22):
So let's say it costs you, you know, next year's
first maybe another first down the line, maybe a third
round draft choice. Right now, you don't pick the right guy, well,
not only do you not have the right guy quarterback,
but you've just lost draft picks in the future to
help you try to get that guy. So there's just

(32:43):
a lot you got to get that guy, it is,
and you gotta be right when you pick him. It's
there's a lot of pressure on that. And it's why
you know when when a team drafts, when a GM
drafts a quarterback, either trading up for him or what
have you, that guy is pretty much locked to that

(33:06):
quarterback On most teams around the NFL.

Speaker 3 (33:09):
There are some exceptions. Steelers are an exception.

Speaker 1 (33:12):
You're pretty much if that guy doesn't pan out as
a general manager, you know, in four years, you're gone.
He's gone, and you're gone. I mean, it's it's just critical, Yeah, no,
it is.

Speaker 2 (33:24):
And and this could could set your franchise back or
propel it forward based on the decisions.

Speaker 4 (33:30):
That you make.

Speaker 2 (33:31):
And that's but that's also the gamble, right, that's the
gamble you take. And why there's a draft every single
year is to figure out who is that guy who
is going to be the one that changes and alters
the face of a franchise for the foreseeable future. You know,
you know, you look at you look at Let's just

(33:53):
go back, you know, in reverse order, Jayden Daniels, right,
instantly change the complexion of the commanders. Right, we take
the one year snapshot CJ. Stroud the year before that
absolutely instantly changed the perception of a franchise moving forward.
You know, and then you talk about the Patrick Mahomes
and Josh Allen's right. I mean that that just goes
to show you. But for every CJ. Stroud, there's a

(34:16):
Bryce Young and he's now turning the corner.

Speaker 4 (34:21):
But is he going to be that guy? You know,
Caleb Williams, is he going to be that guy?

Speaker 2 (34:28):
A lot of people believe it, but you know, he
didn't instantly change it like like both cj and and
uh and Jayden did in year one and Joe Burrow
did it in essentially year one and a half. You know,
so big second year for you know, for Caleb Williams
to see if he can do that. But you also

(34:49):
have for the Peyton manage, you have the Ryan Leaf, right,
I mean, you have these other ones. I think oh
four was probably that class where it was like, wow, okay,
all three of these guys changed their complexions, right. I
mean you look at Philip Rivers, what he did for
San Diego, even though they already had Drew Brees. You
look at you look at Eli going to New York

(35:09):
and that one, and then of course what Ben did
here for Pittsburgh. Right, that's something that doesn't happen. They
have kind of those you know, all your top guys
kind of hit. You know, that's something that's like, wow, okay,
this is this is a rarity. We need to enjoy that.
So it's going to be very interesting to see how

(35:30):
this all plays out for a lot of it, and
you hope for the better part of that scenario, but
you also realize there's a risk that you could be that.

Speaker 4 (35:37):
I mean, look at us draft.

Speaker 2 (35:39):
We only want to drafted Kenny Pickett in the first round,
and like we already said team four for him.

Speaker 3 (35:45):
Right.

Speaker 1 (35:48):
Boy, what if we had you know, the Stews have
been so good in those selections late in the first round.
You know what if what if you could have had
an All pro at another position, you'd be that much
closer to being good again. I mean, that's just the
way it goes. And I mean you look at just
quickly and again this is we're gonna get back to
this tootus. I want to talk about their drafts, but
you know, you look at what you draft Bryce Young,

(36:08):
You're Carolina and he doesn't have a great year, but
you know what, let's get him some weapons. So the
next year you draft him exavierly, get in the first round.
Let's get him some more weapons. So this year you
spend another first round pick on Ted McMillan. And so
if it doesn't, if it doesn't pan out, you're continuing
to pour your resources into that player, and the pressures

(36:32):
on that player, the pressure is enormous.

Speaker 3 (36:34):
Look at what Chicago.

Speaker 1 (36:35):
Did this offseason, making trades and signing offensive linemen, and
you know, when you have a guy and we saw
this with Kenny Pickett, right, when you have a guy
who is a first round quarterback, you see what you
want to see. If you think he's a bust, you're like, see,
look at he had.

Speaker 3 (36:54):
A terrible game. Look At that throat was an awful throw.

Speaker 1 (36:57):
If you think people could be watching the same game
and say, yeah, but did you see that out he threw?
Did you see that scramble? And he picked up the
third receiver and and so you see what you want
to see. And I think that's what's a little bit
with what's going on with Bryce Young. A lot of
people are thinking, hey, you really turned the corner. Well,
we're gonna find out, right, you know, and and you

(37:19):
know you're I know, there's some chicken and egg to it, right,
you got to have a team around him. Usually when
a team drafts a quarterback hides because they're not very good.
There are teams like Buffalo and Kansas City that have
traded up to get their guy, but usually you draft
a guy your team's not very good. That would be
an advantage for the Steelers, right, you go up and
trade up and get a guy, a young quarterback. Next year,

(37:41):
he's gonna be coming into a good team and a
good atmosphere. So anyway, I think it's a fascinating it's
a fascinating thing.

Speaker 3 (37:49):
But I do want to dive into these.

Speaker 1 (37:51):
Steelers draft classes because they have been so productive and
they are such a big part of this team moving forward.
Who's gonna start getting to play the New York Jets
next week. We're gonna get to some of that roster
construction again a visa via draft when we continue inside
the Locker Room with King and Starks presented by our
neighborhood Fords Tour here on the Steelers Audio Network. And

(38:21):
welcome back inside the Locker Room at the King and
Starks presented.

Speaker 3 (38:24):
By our Neighborhood Fords Tour here on this Teeler's Audio Network.

Speaker 1 (38:26):
So roster construction, right, We talked about the big moves
the Steelers have made everyone's a flutter with you know,
what is Aaron Rodgers going to do and all that.
But I want to get back to what I think
we can safely call kind of the backbone of this team,
and that is the last three drafts. And I wanted
to begin with the first draft in twenty twenty three,
because I think this is a really good draft, which

(38:49):
which still has a chance to be a spectacular draft.
And so here's the draft, Max, and I want you
to kind of run down this with me. I'm I'm
gonna run through the names and then do a deeper
dive into these guys. So first round pick Broderick Jones,
He's the one guy I think Max, that you know,
if he can get over to left tackle and be
that guy you think he can be, which is a

(39:10):
reason you picked him fourteenth overall, you'll trade up to
get him. Then you know that that's still kind of
that's still kind of out there.

Speaker 3 (39:19):
Joey Porter Jr.

Speaker 1 (39:20):
We've seen him, you know, well on his way it
appears to establishing himself as a very good NFL cornerback.
Keanu Benton also a second round pick. They love Keanu Benton.
I think the feeling is, you know that he and
Derek harm are gonna form a formidable one to two
punch for years to come. In the middle of that
Steelers defensive line, Darnel Washington at tight end a guy

(39:44):
I love and I think he's I think he's gonna
have a bit of a breakthrough season this year, Nick
Herbig in the fourth round. I mean, look what he's
doing coming off the bench for you, Corey Trice. So
I still believe the Steelers think is a I believe
they came out and said it. They still think he's
a starting caliber NFL cornerback. They're just waiting for him

(40:05):
to get healthy. And then Spencer Anderson, who started some
games for him in the seventh round. Those are two
seventh round picks, Trice and Spencer Anderson. So your thoughts
on that draft class and you know what it could
mean for this kider's moving forward, Max.

Speaker 2 (40:22):
I mean, all hands on deck, right, I mean, I
think that's how you kind of have to look at it.
And this is now the put up or shut up
year for all of those guys. And like you said,
we know who some known guys are, right. We've seen
the instant impact Nick Krbick has had. We've seen the
impact that Broderick has had. Right, these guys are drafted

(40:44):
and they're put in roles of prominence as starters. And
you know Joey, like you said, Joey's one that is
making a name for himself and you found somebody to
compliment him. Right to be able to aid in that progression.
We're bringing in Darius lay and h Jalen Ramsey. So

(41:05):
the fact that he didn't get bumped back because of
that lets you know he's on the right path, you know.
For for the for Broderick, going back to his natural
position is gonna be a big make or break year
for him to see can he do what they thought
when they drafted him assumed the left tackle position.

Speaker 4 (41:24):
And Nick, we know what Nick is.

Speaker 2 (41:26):
Nick is that rotational guy right behind Alex high Smith
and and t. J.

Speaker 3 (41:31):
Watt.

Speaker 2 (41:31):
He is He is the go to guy, He's the
he's the first guy off the bench and even in
some situations he's one of the three on the field
because they do have a three outside linebacker look that
they like to deploy and sub. So, you know, thinking
about that, that's how you hit in the draft. That's
how you have sustained success and you're always a competitive team.

(41:52):
You draft well, it's not about how many free agents
you can go get, right, it's not about how many
how much more you can go pay somebody. It's what
do you do in the draft to develop and then
have those guys ready to play. That is, you know,
one of those key things, and of course, like you said,
with Durnault Washington, a lot of promise there, and it's

(42:13):
nothing on his part. He's just made himself available. They
just haven't utilized him. That's really what it's been, because
he's been he's dressed every game. You know that, he's
been a Steeler, and he's been available, and when thrown
to him, he usually makes the catch and usually is
for a.

Speaker 4 (42:29):
Good play or something.

Speaker 2 (42:31):
Now, granted, obviously the touchdown and the dunking it through
the goalposts, it's preseason. I mean, listen, you know it
helped Ben Saws get a nice kicking leg and figure
out the distance. But that's a huge weapon when you're
thinking about that four tight end room, and he provides
a different dimension than what the other three offer. He

(42:52):
has a different body type, he has a different skill set,
but yet very effective. Like those are the things that
you look at and you just like wow, Like this
dude is ridiculous with the talent, and I think he
finally has a quarterback that knows how to unlock that
and tap into that. And then Spencer Anderson he's been
mister Swiss Army knife, right he he he is He

(43:15):
he's he's a piece of clay. You can mold him
whatever offensive line position you want him to play. You
want to play center, cool, want to play right guard?

Speaker 3 (43:22):
Cool?

Speaker 2 (43:22):
Left tackle cool? Okay, go to left guard, cool, right.
He can play it all. He can play it all.
So the value there of having these not only depth
rotational guys in Spencer Anderson and Nick Herbig, but the
starter capabilities that you that you got out of this draft,
I mean, is a huge bonus. And this year is

(43:44):
that year where it's really gonna tell you a lot
about you know, them and this team and what the
future projects to be based off of how their performances
are this year.

Speaker 1 (43:55):
Yeah, because you can't. You know, it's it's kind of
funny when people evaluate and I understand why you do it.
The draft is over, excuse me, and there's instant evaluations.
This team got an A, this team got to B minus.
This team got a C plus. This team got an
A plus. Those are based on projections and not based

(44:16):
on actual performance. And obviously performance, you know, can be
affected by what team you're on.

Speaker 3 (44:22):
It can be affected by injuries, that sort of thing.

Speaker 1 (44:25):
But you need some time and I think this, I
think your accurate, Max, very accurate in saying, this is
that year, third year in you know largely. Look, we
know rookies come in and make an impact. We know
some guys you know, mature, maybe even fourth fifth year
in the league. But but this is this is kind
of that year where you begin to really get the sense.

(44:47):
And I think that if you were to go around
and talk to general managers that they and by the way,
I always go back to the draft room thing, right,
They they never show that, you know they And let's
go to the uh, let's go to the you know,
Texans draft room and they draft you know whoever it is,
you know, Joe Schmoe from East Alcorn State, and everybody

(45:08):
gets up in cheers and high fives each other.

Speaker 3 (45:10):
Right. No one's throwing his hands up in the air.
People aren't whipping back, Oh.

Speaker 4 (45:14):
My god, what happened here?

Speaker 3 (45:17):
No head, we have failed?

Speaker 4 (45:20):
Yeah, exactly. Nobody's like in the corner crying second thumb.

Speaker 3 (45:23):
You know what I'm saying.

Speaker 1 (45:24):
Like they always think it's they always think it's a
great draft, right always. So if you I think if
you went around and and talk to general managers, I
think it would go something like this, first round, you
are hoping to get a very good player, a Pro
Bowl caliber type of player. And by that I mean,

(45:47):
you know, maybe he doesn't go to a Pro Bowl
every year, but he makes Pro Bowls or he's you know,
he's considered for a Pro Bowl. He is a well
above average starter. In the NFL second round, I still
think you're looking for an above average player. You're looking
for a good player in round number two, round three.
If you get a solid starter, right, if you get
a good starter, I think most teams would take that.

(46:09):
And then after that, you know you might get a
starter to position. As you get later in a draft,
maybe you're hoping for special teams guys. You know, you
get into the seventh round, can this guy help us
on special teams? And anything above that is you know,
so if you hit on all that stuff, you've had
a good draft. If that's what comes to fruition, you

(46:30):
can look back and say this was a good draft.
Now you know you get into the fourth, fifth, sixth,
seventh rounds, probably teams will evaluate a little bit differently.
But if you can have and like you said, this
is a big year for Broderick Jones, So I'm gonna
play an if game, Broderick Jones, if he winds up
being that left tackle such a valuable position that you
think he's gonna be Second round Joey Porter, Keanu Benton

(46:53):
beginning to establish themselves and again in this third pivotal
year as guys who are you know, hopeful fully solidly
above average starting players for you, Darnell Washington and Nick
Herbig rounds three and four, you know, not starting just
because of the guys in front of them, really but

(47:13):
really good solid rotational pieces. And then in the seventh
round picking up potential starters. I mean, would it shock
me if Spencer Anderson was your starting left guard next year?

Speaker 3 (47:24):
Would it shock me if.

Speaker 1 (47:25):
Corey Trace as your starting corner opposite Joey Porter junior
next year? Those things wouldn't shock me. That story still
needs to be told. We obviously don't know the final
grade on this draft, but I think at the very least,
it's a good draft and it's got an opportunity. I
have a hard time thinking it's going to be less
than We'll look back at this three years from now

(47:47):
and have this as less than a solid draft, and
I think it's still got a chance to be a
great draft for the Steelers.

Speaker 4 (47:55):
No, I'm right there with you, k. I think this
is what it is. But these are the metrics and
that's why I hate.

Speaker 2 (48:01):
Like, you know, we talked about this earlier, and I
know hate is a strong word, so let me just
preface this. I strongly dislike and do not approve of
instant draft analysis grades because you don't know what the
makeup of this team is until.

Speaker 4 (48:23):
Three years after that draft.

Speaker 2 (48:25):
Yep, four years after that draft, right, three to four
years about that sweet spot where you know a guy's
a contributor, you know he has tangible stats, you can
weigh him against the field of other draftees. Everything like
when you're doing this is based off of true potential
and therefore there's no true metric except for Yes, he

(48:45):
threw seven hundred passes at Houston Baptist, you know what
I'm saying. But yeah, he's gonna project well to the
NFL because he's thrown.

Speaker 3 (48:54):
The ball a lot.

Speaker 4 (48:55):
Right, what what? What? No? I need to see him.

Speaker 2 (48:59):
I need to see this guy throw against Joey Porter,
Junior Patser Tan, you know Junior, Like, I need to
see him actually play and win against you know, top talent.
You know, I need to see how how well he
fares in the division of his peers. When you've got
Lamar Jackson in your division, you've got to Joe Burrow

(49:19):
your division. Where do you stack up? You know, how
do you help your team win and overcome those tough games.
That's what I need to see, And I don't see
that initially. I see what the potential is, but we
all know potential, you know, is only good when it's realized, right,
because a lot of guys have potential, but if you

(49:42):
never live up to that potential, it's a waste.

Speaker 4 (49:44):
And then you get that B word, the bust. And
so that's why I always like to look at it.

Speaker 2 (49:49):
That's why I also I don't like like grading quarterbacks
too soon, because I'm like, he needs to play, he
needs to fail, he needs to overcome, right, he needs
to come back from he needs to endure. You know,
there's a lot of things that that you know, characteristics
to know if this guy is good or not. Because
I'm sure you know, Cardinals at first were feel like, oh, yeah,

(50:10):
we got Josh Rosen, and then the very next year
they're like, now we can't win with this guy. All right,
we're taking the number one pick and we're going Kyler Murray.

Speaker 3 (50:17):
Right.

Speaker 2 (50:18):
I mean that that literally happened right right right? You know, so,
so it's not. I mean, and look at the Jets.
The Jets cannot draft a good quarterback to save their lives.

Speaker 3 (50:28):
Uh, you know.

Speaker 2 (50:29):
And now you look at Sam Donald. Sam Donald had
a better year with the Vikings and now he got
paid and now he's in Seattle. But you drafted them
New York Jets, right right. I mean there's all these examples.
We can look at miss Trubisky and Justin Fields for Chicago, right,
I mean, there are so many things. And that's why

(50:49):
you can't bank on a draft being your end all,
be all savior. You need to see what it looks
like three years later.

Speaker 3 (50:57):
Here's a guy at Yeah, you do.

Speaker 1 (51:00):
You're gonna have to put your hate aside because we're
gonna do exactly that.

Speaker 4 (51:03):
I'm gonna let I've let it fester.

Speaker 1 (51:07):
Well, we're gonna we're gonna go We're gonna go pre fester,
uh pre uncle Fester.

Speaker 3 (51:11):
We're gonna go Adams family here.

Speaker 1 (51:13):
So uh, but we're gonna do that next uh as
we get into uh not the Bell Lap, What is
it again, Max, No, this is Power Hour, Baby, Power
Hour coming up.

Speaker 3 (51:23):
Power Hours on the other side of the break. We
have to take that break. Now.

Speaker 1 (51:26):
You're listening to King and Starks inside the Locker Room,
presented by your neighborhood Ford store here on this Steelers
Audio Network.