HR1: Around the League

With the third week of the season officially over, Rob and Wes discuss the happenings and results from around the league as well as looking ahead to Dublin.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:08):
This is in the Locker Room with King and Starks
on Steelers Nation Radio, presented by your neighborhood Forward Store.
The F one fifty is the official truck of the
Pittsburgh Steelers and by Steelers Pro Shop. Get it direct
from the team at the Steelers Pro Shop at shop
dot Steelers dot com.

Speaker 2 (00:28):
And thank you very much for being with us inside
the locker room with west Euler filling in for Max
starks On, Rob King coming up, Alvaro Martine, the great
play by play man and the Spanish speaking Steelers Network
is going to be joining us at ten twenty.

Speaker 3 (00:44):
Bob Labriola at eleven o'clock.

Speaker 2 (00:46):
We are quickly turning from our normal week of you know,
continuing to break down the game Sunday in Foxborough to yes,
we're gonna do that a little bit, but mostly we're
gonna spend our attention looking forward to the game against
the Vikings, because this.

Speaker 3 (01:04):
Is it last show in the locker room this week.

Speaker 2 (01:07):
So wes Uler, let's start with Are Around the NFL,
presented by your neighborhood Ford Stow. The F one fifty
is the official truck of the Pittsburgh Steelers and your
thoughts on what you saw last night or the fallout
from what happened last night on Monday Night Football, in which,
of course, the Baltimore Ravens lost to the Detroit Lions.

Speaker 4 (01:30):
You know, Rob King, I'll get to you that answer
in just a second, but first I got to hop
on this fumble. Is Derek Henry just coughed up another one?

Speaker 3 (01:36):
Oh wow, I'm all right.

Speaker 4 (01:38):
I'm sorry, King Henry, I'm sorry. But another outstanding game
involving the Baltimore Ravens where the Baltimore Ravens ended up
on the losing end.

Speaker 5 (01:49):
We've seen that here twice in three weeks.

Speaker 4 (01:52):
Listen. I know there's a lot of angst in Baltimore
right now. They're starting the season one and two with
you know, super Bowl or bust expectations. They have, you know,
not been able to stop a nosebleed. They've been a
Swiss cheese defense against both Buffalo and Detroit. But you
know what, this is kind of similar to what Baltimore
did last year before they settled down on defense, figured

(02:14):
it out, and rattled off like nine wins in ten games.
So as much as I am very pleased that the
Ravens are one and two. From a Steelers perspective, you've
got an early kind of division lead here, and you're
two to zero in the AFC as well, while they've
already dropped an AFC game to Buffalo. That is all good,

(02:35):
but it's a nice place to be in early on
in the season here to have that kind of game
bumper on Baltimore already, and then just kind of the
other side, Kinger, I think a lot of the burying
of the Detroit Lions after that Week one performance in
Green Bay was a little premature. Hey, I certainly don't

(02:55):
know if their super Bowl window is quite as wide
open as it was the past couple of years. And
Detroit they lost a lot on that offensive line. They
lost a really good offensive and defensive coordinator. But I
still think the last two weeks have shown with them,
you know, putting up fifty plus and blowing out the
Bears by four scores, and then you know, going into
Baltimore and winning a game like that that the Lions, Hey,

(03:18):
they might not be on the same tier quite as
you know the Eagles, but I think they are certainly
still in the super Bowl conversation.

Speaker 2 (03:24):
Well, you mentioned four scores. I think it was four
scores and seven years ago that we were talking about
the Bills being finished, right, a similar situation just continuing.
I mean, basically hemorrhaging Pro Bowl. Theer's a year after
year after year, which is what happens when you become
really good. Suddenly, you know, other teams want some of

(03:46):
the secret sauce. They start pilfering your coordinators, they want
to take your all pros, and so they signed them
to offseason you know, massive contracts and that sort of thing.
And the Bills have been able to maintain that level. Frankly,
I couldn't have possibly have been more wrong. I thought

(04:07):
last year the Bills were going to struggle. You know, man,
enough's enough, They've just lost too many good players. Well
that proved to be a sort of a heinous prediction
as they were just fine, you know, and I look
at the Lions that I wonder the same thing. You know,
like you said, you lose your coordinators, you're gonna lose
some key players on both sides of the ball. That's

(04:29):
part of what happens. And when it happens to a
good team, those are usually Pro Bowlers that are going
out the door because you can't keep all those guys either.
And yet you're right the Lions, you know, the story
of their death may be greatly exaggerated. As Mark Twain
once said about his own obituary. After reading his own obituary,
I'm still alive, but so you know, I was, I

(04:54):
have to tell you. And again, we're not looking at
what does Mike Tomlins say. We're not looking for comfort,
seeking comfort. We're not seeking comfort. And yet when you
you know, when you think about the first couple weeks
of the Steelers defense and what are teams doing to it,
and those teams are not the Lions. We understand that.

(05:15):
But the Lions just took it to the Ravens. Running
the ball. I mean you got into the second half
and every time a Lion running back got the ball
they ran for eight yards. It's crazy. Yeah, I mean,
they were just they were it was like easy and
easy eight nine yards. You know, they're making eight to
nine yards look like a three yard gain.

Speaker 3 (05:35):
It was. It was incredible, It sure was.

Speaker 4 (05:38):
And again I think you know, particularly on the back
of this Lions team lost i mean one of the
best interior offensive lines in football last year due to
some injuries and some retirements, there, they lost their offensive coordinator,
who is of course now the head coach of the
Chicago Bears, and they still kinger. I mean, credit to

(05:59):
Dan Campbell, credit to Jamiir Gibbs, who is just certainly
one of the best running backs in the NFL. I
know that conversation usually kind of begins and ends with
Saquon Barkley, Bjeon Robinson, maybe Dereck Henry as well too,
but Jamiir Gibbs deserves to be in that conversation with
all those guys as well. It's a real testament to

(06:19):
what they've built in Detroit. That again, despite losing so
much of what we all thought, okay, their identity has
been this ground and pound team that has some nice
playmakers that Jared Goff can find in the right moments
as well too. But you lose a couple of key
offensive linemen, you lose your offensive coordinator, one of the
more respected ocs in the league, you're gonna take a

(06:40):
step back. No, they continue to grow and they continue
to just be one of I think one of the
more difficult offenses to game plan for in the National
Football League.

Speaker 2 (06:52):
Yeah, testament to them and man oh Man, that decision
for Dan Campbell to go for it and then a
wheel route you know where in which I think it
was a wheel. It was certainly along the sidelines in
which you know, you got to feather the ball over
the shoulder. I mean, not the easiest throw in the world.

(07:14):
Believe me, that's not that easy of a throw. And
to come up with that on fourth and too and
just be like, hey man, you're not getting you're not
getting the ball back, and I trust my defense and
all those things. You know, I was among those who
who criticized him a couple of years ago for you know,
the bravado of going forward in the playoffs when you know,

(07:37):
I thought, I think six situations dictate things. And it's
always a good conversation to have between what is your
identity and being true to your identity and what is
playing situational football? You know, And and look we saw
this last week Mike Vrabel go for it on fourth
down from you know, fourth and a foot from his

(07:59):
own fifteen our line. That's a risky play. You know,
that is a risky play, and you want to stay
true to your nature. You don't want in a big game,
I don't think your team looking around and saying, wait
a minute, this isn't how we play.

Speaker 3 (08:13):
What are we doing over here?

Speaker 2 (08:14):
You know, questioning and that sort of thing by the
same token, you know, I thought he should have kicked
some field goals a couple of years ago, and they
might have gone to the super Bowl.

Speaker 3 (08:21):
They might have a super Bowl championship.

Speaker 2 (08:23):
Regardless, he plays the way he plays, and it was man,
oh man, was that a gutsy call last night?

Speaker 5 (08:30):
It sure was?

Speaker 4 (08:32):
And I think that's part of why again there, I
think you have to and everybody does, give Dan Campbell
a ton of credit for just the turnaround they had
in Detroit, right, I mean, the the perception and the
reality of that franchise right now is vastly different to
what it was, you know, five years ago. And obviously

(08:53):
there are a lot of people that deserve credit in that.
That's never a one man operation, but it's just a
you know, the the best marriages and sports kinger, right
are the ones that have a coach and a team
that reflects the persona of the city and the fan
base that they're representing.

Speaker 5 (09:13):
Right.

Speaker 4 (09:14):
I Mean, there's those instances where you have a team,
you have a coach that just so well fits what
you're doing and where you're located, and relates to your
fan base and relates to the branding of your organization.
You know, you think of like someone like Sean McVay
in LA. You know, it's a perfect match. To me,

(09:34):
Dan Campbell is a perfect match for the Detroit Lions.
That kind of Michigan Detroit rough around the edges, attitude, disrespected,
been kicked around, been down for a couple decades, and
he has turned that now into a group that is
confident that they can get it done in any situation.
They have belief in their head coach, He has belief

(09:57):
in his guys. I think that just kind of bleeds through.
Anytime you see him interviewed, you listen to him talk,
you can tell just how deeply invested he is in
that team and in the relationships that he has with
those players, and again, the city and the fan base
that has waited so long for this. It is it's
pretty cool to see it is. You know, I think

(10:18):
you and I both like we talk about this with
Buffalo sometimes and you know, like there's a there's a
soft spot in our heart for some of these franchises
that have just had decades and decades of futility other
than the Cleveland Browns obviously long may day suffer. But
everybody else, you know, you think about like the Jets,
in the in the in the Bills and the Lions

(10:39):
and some of these fan bases that are good fan
bases that show up every single week and have just
not reaped much reward over the decades. I think for
Detroit now, man, you could not ask. Obviously, same with Buffalo.
It's it's got to culminate in a super Bowl, in
the Lombardi Trophy at some point, but you could not
ask for a head coach, for a roster for a
team that I think better in bodies, the city and

(11:01):
the fan base at large.

Speaker 2 (11:02):
Yeah, well put and you know I agree that it's
it's fun too. Now now having said that, right, you
have to be careful because you know, as a kid,
I grew up hating the Yankees, and so even though
the Boston Red Sox weren't my team, I had a
Boston Red Sox hat and kind of rooted for him
because I couldn't stand the Yankees and anybody. You know,

(11:24):
it's like, you know, if you're a if you're an
enemy of my let's see a friend of my enemy.

Speaker 3 (11:31):
I can't remember.

Speaker 5 (11:32):
Yes, anyway, I'm picking up what you're putting down.

Speaker 2 (11:35):
You know, the Red Sox finally won a World Series
and they're moping around, Oh, the Curse of the Bambino.
And then it was like it felt like the minute
they won a World Series, they'd invented baseball.

Speaker 3 (11:46):
Yeah, the Double Days.

Speaker 5 (11:47):
They turned into the Yankees.

Speaker 4 (11:48):
Red Sox is the most insufferable fan base and all
the sports.

Speaker 3 (11:51):
They really are.

Speaker 2 (11:52):
Yeah, and the Double Day came from update to that chick.
You went down there and invented that baseball, you know.
I mean it's like, oh my god, it became everything
they hated they did they did. That's what it felt
like to me. So we have to be careful what
we root for. But again, now, if you're the Baltimore Ravens,
you were one and two, look the competition levels hard
to you know, hard to beat. You know, they they've

(12:14):
played some tough teams. They got the Chiefs coming up
in a couple of weeks. It's going to be a
desperate Chiefs team they're facing. And they can able to
afford to stumble now against the team that they're quote
unquote supposed to beat one and two is not a
good place to be in the NFL clearly.

Speaker 4 (12:30):
Uh.

Speaker 3 (12:30):
Oh and three is even worse, which is where the
Texans are it is.

Speaker 2 (12:34):
Uh, you know, we're a couple of weeks into the season,
and you know, I think the the feeling was that,
you know, in all the divisions in football, probably the
AFC South, maybe the AFC East, the easiest divisions to pick, right,
it's Houston and it's Buffalo, right. Well, Houston's ohing three. Man,

(12:56):
you know, uh, that's that's a tough one. I think
they said last time in the broadcast, only one team
in what X amount of years has made the playoffs
after starting ohing three.

Speaker 4 (13:07):
Yeah, and that includes you know, in this expanded extra
seventeenth game, extra wild card spot in each conference as
well too. It's still as close to a death sentence
as you can get starting h and three. You know,
it's like one foot in the grave type thing. And
if you if you look for Houston kinger, Okay, you're
back home against the Titans this weekend to lick your wounds.

(13:27):
You better win that one and get that first win.
But then Houston has to go to Baltimore to Seattle
host the Niners host the Broncos.

Speaker 5 (13:38):
It's insane.

Speaker 4 (13:39):
I think how quickly this has spiraled in a way
for them for a team that I think you're right.
If you would have said, okay, you know, rank in
terms of your confidence of who's going to win the
divisions in the AFC, I think everybody would have put
Buffalo number one. The rest of that division is just
a lot of teams that are rebuilding or about to
blow the whole thing up. In Myami's case, I think

(14:01):
Buffalo would have been the clear cut. You know, yeah,
they've run that division now for a few years. That's
going to continue. But everybody's like second most confident pick
to win the division would have probably been Houston.

Speaker 5 (14:10):
They've won it the last two years.

Speaker 4 (14:12):
Really good defense, young ascending quarterback, you know, all these things,
some nice playmakers on that offense. But man, zero to
three start and you look at their next handful of
games and there's really only one against the Titans that
you can kind of okay, you can pencil that in
as a win. As long as they take care of business.
It all gets back to me, and you know what,

(14:33):
same kind of conversation for Baltimore as well too. They
have to go to a Kansas City team that's ticked off,
and then they have to host a desperate Texans team,
and then they have to host an LA Rams team
that is one of the best in the National Football League.
It's not getting any easier for those guys. All that
matters in the start of the season is one obviously,

(14:53):
avoiding any backbreaking, long term season altering injuries. You know,
if you lose your franchise arter back, if you lose
your stud edge rusher or something like that. For a
Joe Burrow type situation, a Nick Bosa type situation, the
Aiden Hutchinson last year with the Lions, those are almost
impossible to overcome. That's the biggest thing you want to

(15:15):
avoid in September and early October. But the second thing
is to just keep your head above water, keep a
winning record, have all your goals in front of you,
be right in the thick of it for your division race.
Don't fall too far behind. That is what matters in September. Yeah,
the Chargers are playing great football right now. Yeah, the
Colts are playing great football right now. It's a long

(15:35):
time till we're going to hoist that Lombardi. I mean October, November, December, January,
we're like four and a half five months away from
the Super Bowl. Still, you don't need to be playing
your best football right now. You need to keep your
head above water. You need to stay healthy, and you
need to be improving week by week. And I think
all you gotta do Listen, the Steelers situation is not perfect.
I'm not telling everybody they should be sitting around all

(15:57):
fat and happy and thrilled. But all you got to
do is kind of look around at some of these
other teams as well too, and realize, hey, just breathe,
We're still in a fine spot. Everything is in front
of us, and let's let's hopefully start to see some
improvements here at the end of September, and of course
obviously post bye week.

Speaker 3 (16:15):
Yep.

Speaker 2 (16:15):
And I totally just stack wins. It doesn't really matter
how ugly they are. And the Steelers haven't you know,
I don't know if they've been pretty, but they are
two and one.

Speaker 3 (16:26):
Man.

Speaker 2 (16:27):
We're gonna get a closer look at the Steelers in
this upcoming trip to Ireland. When, by the way, that
was the AFC recap. I should mention that again that
was the around the NFL. I beg your pardon, presented
by your neighborhood Fords, or the F one fifties, the
official truck of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Alvalo Martin's going to
join us next inside the locker room with King and Starks,

(16:47):
presented by our neighborhood Forts. Or here on this Steelers
Audio network.

Speaker 1 (16:56):
This is in the locker room with King and Starkstals
Nation Radio presented by your neighborhood Ford Store. The F
one fifty is the official truck of the Pittsburgh Steelers
and by Steelers Pro Shop. Get it direct from the
team at the Steelers Pro Shop at shop dot Steelers
dot com.

Speaker 2 (17:16):
And thanks very much for being with us alongside Wes Euler.
I'm Rob King, and Wes Euler is here. We always
love having west Elier here, but Wes Uler's here because
Max Starks is in Ireland. And I know Wes, being
the kind of guy you are, you have your finger
on the pull.

Speaker 3 (17:34):
What's going on with Max?

Speaker 2 (17:35):
I know he got a picture Dublin with what your
your cousins and your aunt.

Speaker 5 (17:40):
How hilarious is that?

Speaker 4 (17:42):
I am, you know, having a dinner with my wife
and kids, and you know, king Er, I've got a
three year old and two year old, So dinner times
a little bit earlier in our house than it, you know,
than it typically is because they get home from from school,
from daycare and they're starving, right, So we typically eat
like five thirty most days. That gives us plenty of
time to you know, after dinner, burn some energy off

(18:04):
and get them ready for bed.

Speaker 5 (18:05):
And all that stuff too.

Speaker 4 (18:06):
So I'm sitting there eating dinner with my you know,
with my family last last night, and it's what about
ten ten thirty Dublin time or I guess Killarney time,
because that's where they were. And I get a picture
from Greg Greg Johnson, of course, who's a Steeler's content
employee if you will. We met Greg a few times

(18:28):
back at training camp. He's a great guy. He's from
Dublin now works for the Steelers. I get a picture
from Greg on my phone. I'm like, what's this and
it is Max Starks with my aunt Kathy and my
two cousins, Hannah and Amelia. Just hilarious. They all live
in Tennessee, so they are they're the Nashville contingent of
my family. But Yeah, my mom's sister and two of

(18:50):
my younger cousins, Hannah and Amelia, ran into Max in
Killarney and we're like hey, like we're We're Wes's cousin
and I'm Wes's aunt and you know, talked with Max
and said hello. And my cousins actually met Max at
a WVU game a couple of years ago when Max
was doing one of his college football broadcasts in Morgantown
and swung by our tailgate, So pretty cool. I'm sitting

(19:12):
there and all of a sudden on my phone, I
get a picture, you know, a thousand miles away of
Max with three of my family members, so he's certainly
seeing it all.

Speaker 5 (19:21):
Kinger, no doubt.

Speaker 4 (19:22):
On now day two of the Terrible Tal tour University
of Limerick, Cliffs of More and Gort, I believe is
how it is pronounced. Is on the agenda for today,
and then I think they end up in Galway tonight.
But just Kinger, if you're following along for all the
people out there. Obviously, the Steelers on their social media

(19:44):
are posting content from Ireland, but there is the official
Steelers Ireland social media pages as well. Anywhere you get
your social media you know, Instagram, ex, Twitter, all those
places Steelers Ireland and you will be getting like almost
hourly content from Max on his Terrible Tale tour, you know,

(20:05):
meeting with different kids and fans and all this stuff
around the country of Ireland. Like I said today, they're
at the University of Limerick and Cliffs some more and
some other places.

Speaker 5 (20:17):
So it's been really cool.

Speaker 4 (20:18):
They just posted a video like a half an hour
ago of of Max on the University of Limerick campus
asking you know, stealers and NFL trivia questions to the
students there and handing out Terrible towels. Pretty pretty awesome
stuff here, just so early in the week already, Kinger,
It's only Tuesday, and and so much cool stuff going
on already.

Speaker 2 (20:38):
Yeah, and again we talked about this a little yesterday,
but you could not ask for a better representative for
this Steelers going around the island whipping up some enthusiasm
than Max Starks, who is, you know, obviously a great
person and uh and a great representative for this Steelers,
you know. So you know, I'm happy for him because

(21:03):
I don't think he's been to Ireland before, and I
just I just would love to be a fly on
the wall and see Max rumbling out of that van.
By the way, I'd like to have I'd like to
have some people, you know, what they think of seeing
him rambling.

Speaker 4 (21:19):
All that out of the van, King or the the
you know, as you can imagine, a lot of the
content is like Max saying hello to people and chatting
with people, and fifty percent of the people either say
to Max, wow, you're really tall, or they say, wow,
look how big your hands are. It's like everything is
about how tall he is, how big his hands are.

Speaker 5 (21:38):
One little kid is like, oh my goodness, your heads
are so big. It's hysterical, it is.

Speaker 2 (21:43):
And I have to say, you know, look, my whole
professional career has been spent basically around men that are
larger than I am. You know, like I'm standing next
to Jay Coffeel except for.

Speaker 5 (21:57):
The hockey players, right, King, they're tiny guys.

Speaker 3 (22:00):
Who's that?

Speaker 5 (22:00):
I said? Except for the hockey players, they're.

Speaker 3 (22:02):
My height, you know.

Speaker 2 (22:04):
But Jay's not right. I used I used to try
to I used to try to like cheat toward the
camera a little bit so I look taller. Then it
looked like Jay's little mini me. But then he'd move
up with me, and so it was all you'd be like, oh,
I guess I better move up a little bit, you know,
stand on your tippy toes. He stands on his tippy toes.

Speaker 3 (22:19):
Man.

Speaker 2 (22:20):
But I'm doing you know, I'm doing gay you know,
doing games with Wolf. And then I would do West
Virginia games, uh, you know college basketball games with Warren Baker.

Speaker 3 (22:28):
We gave the intro and you know, Warren six six
sixty seven. I'm like, oh my goodness, gracious, but I
don't think.

Speaker 2 (22:34):
And so for people that that that that don't know,
I'm you know, probably somewhere between six feet six one.

Speaker 3 (22:42):
I was listed myself at sixty one, but I was
probably six.

Speaker 2 (22:44):
Feet and a half two hundred pounds, right, So a
good sized guy, not little guy.

Speaker 5 (22:49):
You're not tiny. That's that's standing.

Speaker 2 (22:52):
Between There's somebody took a picture and posted it on
x Twitter or whatever you want to call it of
of a preseason gave of me standing between Max and
Ramon Foster. I mean, I I just I can't even
tell you how. I just look like a pipsqueak. I

(23:12):
look like I might possibly be lunch for the two guys.

Speaker 3 (23:15):
You know.

Speaker 2 (23:17):
It is, uh, they are just big, big humans, and
you know, you go around Ireland, you might run into
a big human or two. You ain't gonna run into
too many. Mac You're not gonna run into too many.
Max Starks is just walking around our our side of
the planet, but over there not much, not much chance
of that. So I'm glad that that's. Uh, I'm glad
that that's the case, because you know that they're odd,

(23:40):
because they should be odd, because what these guys do
and how they can move around for guys who are
just so massive land mammals, as a wolf used to
call them, is awesome.

Speaker 3 (23:50):
I mean it is awesome.

Speaker 2 (23:51):
And and you know, but then first they see his
size and they see what a great guy is. It's
just gotta be I would love to just be peering
outside of the van and watch the reactions.

Speaker 3 (24:00):
I think it'd be great.

Speaker 5 (24:01):
That's it.

Speaker 4 (24:01):
That's what we should have tried to do, King, and
we should have we should have tried to get our
our Irish driver's licenses or whatever they call them there,
and we should have been the ones driving the terrible
tailgate or the terrible tal pardon me van around the
whole time over Ireland. There that could have been our
ticket to get to get there early.

Speaker 3 (24:18):
Right, Yeah, Well, uh, we're not.

Speaker 2 (24:21):
We're here and we're doing the show and we're getting
ready for uh, we're getting ready for the game coming
up on Sunday. And you know, uh, I think probably
the way the Vikings just completely dismantled the Bengals has
got fans concerned. You know, when you look at the

(24:44):
opponents for the Steelers and who they've played so far,
this is a different kind of test. So you had
the Jets. The Jets want to play running, physical football.
The Steelers you know, obviously didn't end the season well
against teams like that, didn't begin this year, and well
against a team like that, then you play a Seattle
team that you know, on yesterday with Matt Williamson and

(25:06):
he said he thought they might wind up being the
number one defense in the NFL before the season's over.
So we might look back at that and think, okay, well,
hey man, you almost you.

Speaker 3 (25:17):
Know, you had every opportunity to win that game.

Speaker 2 (25:20):
It's an interception in the end zone that takes seven
points off of your scoreboard. There's the kickoff that you
know that should have been covered that gives them a
gift seven points. Maybe that's a completely different game. Then
you take on a New England team that's that's scrappy,
but probably I would guess a year away from from

(25:41):
really being, you know, a contender, And now you get
a Minnesota team that we know, you know, they look
they they didn't look great against the Bears. They played
three quarters of not very good football and then one
quarter of football that pulled the rabbit out of a
hat and and defeated Chicago. Then they did not look
good at all in Week two, and then they looked

(26:02):
like the Minnesota team that we saw last year that
was one of the elite teams in the NFL in
Week three. So I'm not really sure what to expect
other than to expect. My expectation is that this is
going to be a very good football team that the
Steelers are facing on Sunday.

Speaker 5 (26:21):
They certainly are.

Speaker 4 (26:23):
I mean, they were one of the better teams in
the NFL last year.

Speaker 5 (26:27):
Kinger won fourteen games.

Speaker 3 (26:28):
You know.

Speaker 4 (26:29):
Of course, they had that final Week eighteen showdown with
the Lions that determined who was going to win the
division and they came out on the losing end, But
they won fourteen games. Last year and one of the
best teams in the NFL and bring a large portion
of that production back. They obviously lost Sam Darnold, who
you know, we just saw a little over a week ago.

(26:52):
But other than that, they they bring back the lion's
share of their production. They have got a loaded offense,
they have got a loaded defense, and in a weird way,
I think you almost would rather see JJ McCarthy than
Carson Wentz. I think we can all, you know, I
think that makes sense to everybody, is what I'm trying

(27:12):
to say. You know, JJ McCarthy, his ceiling is still unknown,
whereas Carson Wentz, everyone kind of knows what he is.
But I think Carson Wentz his floor is much higher
at this point than JJ McCarthy.

Speaker 5 (27:22):
I think you saw that.

Speaker 4 (27:23):
Like with a roster like that, Carson Wentz will be
able to do exactly what you would want from a
backup quarterback. He'll be able to manage the game, He'll
be able to facilitate the ball, He'll minimize any negativity
with his experience, and that's all that Minnesota needs with
what they've got around him in their running game. I mean,
where Jordan Mason was going for seven point three yards

(27:45):
per clip against the Cincinnati Bengals. I know, not a
great defense, but still the weapons that they have and
Justin Jefferson and TJ. Hockinson and Jalen Naylor and now
getting Jordan Addison back as well too. I mean, this
is a team that doesn't have many weaknesses. I mean
they are strong from top to bottom. Their defense has

(28:07):
been incredible against the run Kinger, which is certainly a
concern heading into Sunday for the Steelers. I mean Chase Brown,
the Bengals number one running back rob on Sunday, had
ten carries for three yards, ten carries for three yards.
Just as a team, they had twenty one carries for
just fifty three yards the Bengals did. This is again

(28:31):
a Minnesota team that, like, if you're listing their weakness
on paper, it's that they don't have an elite quarterback.

Speaker 5 (28:39):
I mean that's it.

Speaker 4 (28:40):
But every other box they check, from the offense to
the defense, the trenches, the playmakers, the secondary, the coaching staff.
They check every box except for having that surefire, you know,
top ten franchise quarterback. And they're getting Jordan Addison back
this week. Some reinforcements as well to they're getting a
little healthier on the offensive line. This is a dangerous

(29:03):
Vikings team that you know, again, I don't think they're
in the same breath as the Eagles and the Lions
and the Rams in the NFC, but they're just about
as good as anybody else. This is a this is
a real, real test for the Steelers on Sunday.

Speaker 2 (29:18):
Well, I let me let me take a half step
back about that, about that comment about not being among
the elite, and I think.

Speaker 5 (29:28):
Maybe they are.

Speaker 2 (29:29):
Well, yeah, well, here's here's where I would go with that,
is that they clearly thought, I mean, when they moved
on from Sam Donald, that's an interesting decision.

Speaker 3 (29:41):
I mean, Donald helped you in fourteen games last year.
Fourteen games. Yeah, a former top pick.

Speaker 2 (29:48):
A lot of people thought he should have been the
number one quarterback taken, not Baker Mayfield in that draft.
I think PFF had him rated as the highest quarterback
they'd ever had rated coming out of college, something along
those lines. I mean, he was, he was an elite,
elite sort of can't miss quarterback prospect. And of course
yet the Cleveland still took Baker right, which winds up

(30:10):
looking like a better and better decision.

Speaker 3 (30:12):
As we go on.

Speaker 2 (30:13):
But they moved on from him, you know, they Okay,
they drafted McCarthy before that, right before they knew Donald
was gonna have the kind of year he had. So
was it you know, and again when we talk about
subtleties with decision making, was it partially financial? Was it

(30:35):
the fact that they had already invested in JJ McCarthy
or did they simply look at Sam Donald and think
there's a ceiling and we cannot burst through that ceiling
with him at quarterback. My guess is Wes did it
was that was at least partially the latter, Like they

(30:56):
think JJ McCarthy gives them a chance for greater ups
and I agree with you. I think, you know, I
would probably, if given a choice, rather face JJ McCarthy.

Speaker 3 (31:09):
At this point.

Speaker 2 (31:10):
Yes, maybe not in week fourteen, correct, correct, But at
this point I would rather face him because he's still
a young quarterback. We know what Mike Tomlin can do
against young quarterbacks, scheming up his defenses. He's always had
great success against young quarterbacks that have him. Been said,
I think that, you know, I don't know if they're

(31:30):
not outside of the quarterback position among the elite teams.

Speaker 3 (31:34):
So, like you said, they do check every box.

Speaker 2 (31:37):
And I'm you know, I'm sure you were incorporating that
into your statement about them being sure to the elite teams.
But you know, if JJ McCarthy becomes maybe what their
decision making from the outside looks like it.

Speaker 3 (31:49):
Yeah, they think he could becomes.

Speaker 4 (31:51):
If he becomes Baker Mayfield, I mean, they are they
are a super Bowl you know, if he becomes the
eighth to twelfth best quarterback in the NFL, they are
going to be a super Bowl can for a while.

Speaker 2 (32:01):
Yeah, And and you know, a part of what makes
the NFL and decision making so fascinating a lot of
it obviously is team oriented. I've told the story a
thousand times about Jerome Bettis, you know, being in Saint
Louis and they kind of thought he was washed up
and had taken a beating in college and that was

(32:22):
part of the reason that they moved him to the
Steelers where he became a Hall of Famer. Right, So,
you know, I wonder what is Steve Young's career to
look like if he's not traded from Tampa Bay to
San Francisco. I don't know totally is he another BYU
quarterback that didn't quite fulfill his potential.

Speaker 5 (32:40):
What if?

Speaker 4 (32:40):
What if Patrick Mahomes gets drafted by the Bears instead
of Mitch Trubisky.

Speaker 2 (32:44):
Yeah, right, So you just don't know, because there's there's
It's the ultimate team sport, you know. I think in
in basketball, I mean, yes, it becomes more difficult when
everybody puts their defenses toward you if you're the lone
great player and the team, but you'll find your way
to score your points. I think in baseball, your era
is your era. I mean you might have other factors. Hey,

(33:06):
I gotta I mean we're up one nothing I got,
you know, runners on second and third and nobody out.
I can't afford to give up any runs because we
might not score. So maybe that puts a pressure on you.
Maybe as a hitter you don't have better hitters surrounding
you in the lineup. But but by and large, I
think in those sports you're gonna get yours. I mean,
baseball is an individual sport in a team setting. I
think there's some of that in basketball too. There's some

(33:27):
of that in every sport, clearly, but I think that
in football it is it is so much a product
of your environment. You're coaching the players around you. I
will be fascinated to see what Sam Donald can accomplish
in Seattle. Can he be you know, everyone points to
Ryan Tannehill. Boy, here was a guy that bad situation

(33:49):
and look like a bust and then yeah, but he
didn't maintain it for a long time. You know, can
Donald maintain it? Can Donald? Is was last year the
first step in a progression for Donald? And if it was,
is Minnesota going to be kicking themselves for letting him
go that?

Speaker 3 (34:06):
Well?

Speaker 2 (34:07):
Part of that depends upon JJ McCarthy. I just have
to believe that you know, a coaching staff like that,
and I think he's I think Kevin O'Connell's a great coach,
you know, I think he is one of the great
young coaches in the NFL. Now we'll see you still
have to stand the test of time. There might have
been a time when people thought that way about Brendan

(34:27):
Staley out out in out in uh, you know, with
the Chargers.

Speaker 5 (34:31):
Yep.

Speaker 3 (34:32):
I do think though that he's got all.

Speaker 2 (34:34):
The hallmarks of a of a of a great coach
for years and years to come. I just think when
a when a staff that's that good. Makes a decision
like that. They have to be telling us without telling
us that there's a ceiling there and they need to
find a way to break through that ceiling.

Speaker 3 (34:53):
And JJ McCarthy's that guy.

Speaker 4 (34:55):
Yeah, And you know, maybe there's always kind of like
the chicken or the the egg type thing too, right.
I'm sure that when they drafted, when they signed Sam
Donald and drafted JJ McCarthy, you know, a year ago, well,
I guess what now, two years ago, yes, two years
ago now, I'm sure in their mind there was kind
of a you know, hey, we think Sam is better

(35:15):
than he showed in his NFL career in his previous stops.
We think JJ McCarthy's gonna need some time. It'll be
a good veteran guy to kind of man the ship,
stabilize things for us, you know, tutor and mentor JJ McCarthy,
and then when the time is right, we'll make the switch,
you know, maybe kind of like the Alex Smith and
Patrick Mahomes with the Kansas City Chiefs type thing. Although

(35:35):
to be fair, I think Alex Smith had a much
better career than Sam Donald did to that point. But
you get what I'm saying, And then maybe it just
became as simple as they didn't expect that from Sam Donald.
He played himself into a big money contract. They have
a first round, what eleventh overall pick. I think that
JJ McCarthy was something like that that we just can't,

(35:56):
you know, bury behind a highly paid quarterback. I wouldn't
be interested if you know, that's one of those if
you could give some some coaching staffs in front offices
truth serum and just ask them any questions and get
and get the answer to I would love to know
what their plan originally was when they when they you know,
got Donald and JJ McCarthy at the same time. But yeah,
it's it's certainly for Minnesota a good place to be. Listen,

(36:19):
they're not the only team in the league that I
think feels really good about their roster. Albeit with some
questions at the quarterback position. Still, I think it's clearly
working out for Sam Darnald and Seattle. I think Seattle
still early, only three games into this thing, but I
think they're gonna have one of the best defenses in
the NFL. I think, you know, we're gonna look back
in January and February when we're kind of doing the

(36:39):
season in review stuff, and we're gonna say, you know,
Seattle was one of those teams that really exceeded expectations
from what everybody thought that they were going to be.
Maybe the Colts will be in that conversation as well too,
but it is it's always fun to kind of follow those,
you know, those those strings, those ties across the the
NFL with some foster decisions and some free agency movement

(37:02):
and all that stuff.

Speaker 2 (37:03):
You know, you look at Seattle and it's interesting to
say that because I do think that they were very
much under the radar team. Remember it came down to
them or the Rams, right, and the Rams ten and
seven got them in the playoffs, and we saw what
they did scaring Philadelphia. Seattle's ten and seven didn't get
him in the playoffs. That was a ten and seven
team last year. They're a ten and seven team who

(37:25):
I think, you know, they believe. Okay, second year coach
Mike McDonald, we're starting to lay a foundation. We've got
a really good defense, and we've just upgraded a quarterback.
They have to think they upgraded a quarterback. Very similar
situation that Gino Smith Bird in hand. They decided Sam
Donald was the better bird, and so they went out
and got him and they let Geno Smith go. So

(37:47):
I mean, I think in Seattle they're thinking, hey, man,
we're a ten and seven football team.

Speaker 3 (37:51):
That's better than we were a year ago.

Speaker 2 (37:53):
So I understand what you're saying about better than people think,
because I do think there's a perception because they didn't
make the playoffs, that they weren't a good team last year.

Speaker 3 (38:02):
They were a good team last year.

Speaker 5 (38:05):
Yeah, No, they certainly were.

Speaker 4 (38:06):
And like I said, I think they don't have the
superstar names that everybody recognizes, but that defense, you know,
by the end of the year is I think certainly
gonna be top five, maybe even top three in the NFL.
And that's that's another one of those king Like, I
think it was good for the Steelers to get that
game early. I know typically we say that when you
catch a team early and you beat them before they

(38:27):
get better. But I think that Seahawks game was kind
of a good self reflection for the Steelers in a
way as well, too, honestly, And I just I think
they're only going to continue to get better. They I
think They're gonna get better. Played from Sam Darnold, I
think they're gonna continue to get big plays from their
wide receivers. I mean, Jackson Smith and Jigbas has been
phenomenal through three weeks of the season. And you know,

(38:50):
Kenneth Walker didn't have obviously the production against the Saints
that he did against the Steelers, but still found the
end zone twice like that. That's a Seattle team that
is good right now. But I think is only going
to get better. You know, hopefully in Minnesota's case, they're
still getting some reinforcements back first game for Jordan Addison,
first game for Kelly Back on the offensive line. Maybe

(39:13):
you are catching Minnesota at a little bit of the
right time. But that's always kind of one of the
interesting things too, with how the schedule. You know, like
last year, getting the Falcons week one when Kirk when
they had a complete overhaul of that roster and brought
in Kirk Cousins and he was coming off a major injury.

Speaker 5 (39:28):
It's the perfect time to get the Falcons. Week two
the Broncos.

Speaker 4 (39:31):
He got Bownicks making his second NFL start, Perfect time
to get the Broncos.

Speaker 5 (39:36):
I haven't seen as much of.

Speaker 4 (39:37):
That, I think from the Steelers schedule early on Maybe
you could say that about the Jets right new quarterback
and Justin Field's new coaching staff, but a lot of
that early season I think kind of optimism and pessimism
for fan bases can just relate to you know what
type of teams you're getting in September.

Speaker 3 (39:55):
For sure. He is Wes Euler.

Speaker 2 (39:57):
I'm Rob King, Max Starks over in Ireland on assignment,
getting ready for the game against the Vikings, which will
continue to break down. Bob Labriole going to be joining
us shortly, plenty more still to come. In the Locker
Room with King and Starks, presented by your neighborhood of
Ford Store here on the Steelers Audio Network.

Speaker 1 (40:21):
This is in the Locker Room with King and Starks
on Steelers Nation Radio, presented by.

Speaker 5 (40:28):
Your neighborhood Ford Store.

Speaker 1 (40:30):
The F one P fifty is the official truck of
the Pittsburgh Steelers and by Steelers Pro Shop. Get it
direct from the team at the Steelers Pro Shop at
Shop dot Steelers dot com.

Speaker 2 (40:42):
And welcome back inside the locker room. We have coming
up Bob Labriola at the top of the hour. It
is a Tuesday with Labs and we will dive into
this matchup against the Vikings for what it's worth, Wes,
and I'm not sure how much it is worth.

Speaker 3 (40:59):
The Athletic has come up with their power rankings.

Speaker 5 (41:02):
Oh yeah, and.

Speaker 2 (41:04):
Last week did the Vikings twenty second because they look
bad and McCarthy got hurt and all that stuff. And
now they've jumped up to fifteenth. Okay, so our I
beg your pardon. Fourteenth with a two and one record.
The Steelers are ranked fifteenth. They were seventeenth last week

(41:25):
after the loss of Seattle, and they had moved up
a couple of spots with their two and one record.
So they've got these two teams ranked right next to
each other. Vikings Steelers fourteen, fifteen.

Speaker 4 (41:39):
I am surprised the Vikings aren't a little bit higher
after that just beat down. I know everyone is not
high on the Cincinnati Bengals, particularly the burrow List Bengals,
but I would have thought that the Vikings would be
a little bit higher after you know, winning by thirty
points and all the different ways that they scored touchdowns
on offense and their defense and their special teams. But

(42:02):
I also, you know, I think that that's probably about
the general locally. Now the Vikings a couple spots higher.
But for the Steelers, I think that's about fair. I
think that's where you want to be. I think you
could certainly argue them a little bit closer to the
top ten as well too. But this is kind of
the time where I don't think you need to be

(42:23):
as worried about that. Right you're hoping that you're in
the top ten of these power rankings, you know, around
Thanksgiving and Christmas time. For now, like we said, just
keep that record above five hundred, keep all your goals
in front of you, hopefully avoid any long term, major
debilitating injuries. But I do think i'd probably have the
Vikings a few spots higher and the Steelers maybe one

(42:47):
or two spots higher.

Speaker 2 (42:49):
You know what, I think we're going to do, Wes.
We're gonna dash through those rankings. I want to do
that and get your thoughts on that.

Speaker 3 (42:57):
Again. We are, We're going to turn our attention out
to the Vikings.

Speaker 2 (43:00):
We're going to do that with Bob Labriola coming up
in just a little bit on a Tuesday with Labs,
I did want to point out that you can gear
up with the latest game day necessities at the official
Steelers Pro Shops get the latest sideline apparel, jerseys, terrible towels,
authentic memorabilia and custom exclusives you can only find directly
from the team. Visit one of the official Steelers Pro

(43:22):
shops located at Akrosher Stadium, Grove City Premium Outlets, or
tanger Outelets, or gear up online at shop dot steelers
dot com. Get it direct from the team at the
Steers Pro Shop at shop dot steelers dot com. Bob
Labriola is coming up next when we continue in the
Locker Room, presented by your Neighborhood Forward Stour and the

(43:43):
Steelers Pro Shop on the Steelers Radio Network, a part