HR1: In the Locker Room Live from Training Camp

King and Starks chat about Friday Night Lights and the importance of training

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:02):
Iheartradios live coverage of about twenty twenty five Steelers training camp.

Speaker 2 (00:07):
He is presented by FedEx where Now.

Speaker 1 (00:10):
Meets Next and also brought to you by bud Light,
Independence Health System, by Pennsylvania One Call System, by Live Casino,
Caliente Pizza and Drafthouse by Tom's Appliances, South Hills Auto,
Laurel Highlands Visitors Bureau, We Max Select, Real Team, the
Pittsburgh Steelers Pro Shop, and by us Steel.

Speaker 3 (00:36):
Hello and welcome inside the Locker Room with King and Starks,
presented by your neighborhood Ford Store here on the Steelers
Audio Network alongside Max Starks.

Speaker 4 (00:44):
I'm Rob King, West Juler.

Speaker 3 (00:45):
I think will probably be joining us from moment to
moment Justin Miller at the controls and our Heart iHeart Studios.

Speaker 4 (00:54):
Late night, last night, late night.

Speaker 3 (00:55):
For Friday Night Lights and for those of us unlucky
enough not to be it Friday Night Lights, that would
be me a late night watching a pirate baseball game
and doing a postgame show on that Max Starks, was
it Friday Night Lights?

Speaker 5 (01:10):
Max?

Speaker 3 (01:11):
I would love to hear your overall impressions. First of all,
before we drilled down a little bit about what you
saw on Friday night. Lights take me through the atmosphere
with thirteen over thirteen thousand.

Speaker 4 (01:23):
People on hand, which is just absolutely incredible.

Speaker 3 (01:28):
What was the atmosphere like? What was the excitement level like?
You know, what was the experience like? No, it was
a great experience.

Speaker 5 (01:36):
I mean we got there probably about an hour before
practice started, and I mean the lines were just massive.
There was a huge zigzag going around the stadium as
we were trying to make our way into the parking lot.
Then of course when you got in there packed you know. Also,
I did not realize they do like a show beforehand

(01:56):
to get fans kind of invigorated. They have a band
that plays in the stadium ahead of time. But it
was packed to the hilt. The fans, the Steeler nation
were you know, was out in full force. A couple
of friends texting me pictures throughout the evening. It was
almost like a Where's Waldo for me apparently, But it

(02:18):
was just it was awesome. I mean the fans were engaged,
they were they were rowdy, and they were excited to
see some Steeler football there in Latrobe Memorial Stadium. Uh.
Fun time, Missy, And I you know, did our show live,
and we had a lot of interaction pans walking through
the camera and everything else because everybody's just like, you know,
it's one of those things like when you're walking through

(02:39):
like a mall and you might see somebody like window
shopping or somebody I take a picture of that person
just walks through obliviously. That's kind of what happened, and
like you're just like at it's riding night lights, like
you know, just kind of chalk it up to the
moment in the atmosphere. But the weather was great, and
then of course, you know none better than after that
evening knowing that the fireworks are coming here. You get

(03:00):
up up top here at Saint Vincent, you watch the
fireworks kind of come over the basilica, over the church,
and it's just a cool scene to kind of end
the night. Practice ran a little bit long. We didn't
get out of there un till like nine thirty, which
normally they usually try and end it right around nine,
but it went a little bit longer, had some long drills,
but a very good night. I felt like a very

(03:22):
productive night for the Steelers for their second padded practice.

Speaker 3 (03:26):
It is such a cool annual event. I mean, it's
just it's just incredible. You know, you know, the whole
sort of training camp scene Max, you know, being out
Latrobe and the players getting together. You know, I think
probably from the outside, I don't know, I'm guessing maybe

(03:46):
from the outside that doesn't sound, you know.

Speaker 4 (03:49):
Like an appealing thing. You're living in a.

Speaker 3 (03:51):
Dorm room and you know, you're going back to your
college days, and you know, guys are who are making
a lot of money and can afford you know, the
very best five star hotels you know on the planet.

Speaker 4 (04:04):
Are you know, are bunking with another.

Speaker 3 (04:06):
Man in in a dorm room and then you're going
to play on a high school football field. I mean,
I think if you kind of described to somebody, hey,
this is what it's going to be like, there might
be an eyebrow raised, like really that's but it is
phenomenal all of it. You know, you talk to an
Aaron Rodgers, He's like, man, this is great Russ Wilson

(04:27):
last year, you know, veteran guy, and they're talking about
you know, Russ Wilson's got to have his homorage and
he's flying people around and he's got his own floor
in this office building.

Speaker 5 (04:36):
Loved it.

Speaker 3 (04:36):
You know, it's just it's it's becoming more and more
unique with every passing year. And I just think, you know,
it's the Steerer Way and it's just fabulous.

Speaker 5 (04:48):
Well, and I think also like when you come here,
it literally takes you through a historical perspective of your
football journey because you get to revert back to college.
You get to revert back to the dorm days. You know,
you get a roommate. You know, I still remember my
freshman year at University of Florida. Carlos Perez from Hoboken,
New Jersey, wide receiver was my roommate my freshman year

(05:13):
in the Springs Complex. We used call it Hall ninety five.
What they call it Springs now they give it really
fancy names at UF and just that whole like interaction
and trying to figure out different cultures, right, you know,
because he comes he's strong Puerto Rican like New Jersey background,
and I'm like a Southern, you know, offensive lineman. General.

(05:33):
I brought everything except for like the boombox. I was like,
hey man, the one thing you gotta do is just
bring the boombox, right because I brought the telephone, the voicemail.
When you had the actual external voicemail machine. I brought
the television. I brought the DVDVCR combo and the PlayStation one.
So the only thing you got to do. CP get

(05:56):
the radio. He gets the radio, and then he's like, well,
we can only play certain music. You know, I can't
have curse words in it. I was like, first of all,
I was like, I'm cool with that, but at the
same time, like, you can't put stipulations on what I
listened to. And so the second you walked out of
the room, I definitely put on the BABCD. But but

(06:16):
it gives you that interaction, right, You get people that
you're not used to being with and figuring out how
could you work together? Right, that's the first fusion process.
But then in the middle of that, you then get
this this high school flashback. Right getting on the yellow buses, right,
getting on the cheeseway. Your pads are separate with your helmet,
like you're getting ready to go play an away game.

(06:37):
You go to the high school stadium. It's frenzied, it's small,
it's intimate. Now, granted, I don't think anybody in high
school unless you were from a school in Texas, played
in front of thirteen thousand. But you know, you get
that environment, you get the fan the fandom of it,
and you're playing in this in this tight quartered space.
So I mean it's pretty cool because most places you
go to your facility, you leave, you go home, or

(06:58):
you go to your hotel and everything's taking care of you.
But you get to literally go through the kind of
journey of football every offseason. It kind of reminds you
and resets your focus on why you love this game,
why this game means so much to you. And that's
the one thing I do appreciate. And like you said,
the Steelers being a team built on tradition, Creating these

(07:19):
type of traditions can only be experienced. You can talk
about it. I mean, just watch you know Pat McAfee,
how in awe he was. And this is a guy
who's seen it all, done it all, and been everywhere,
but he was like a little kid the entire time
on his show and then the entire time he was
on the field because he knew that this was something special. So,
you know, being able to put keep that tradition going

(07:42):
is a pretty awesome sight. And and you know, and
last night was a lot of fun because you got
to relive that, and then the team they get a
quote unquote half get right. Day to day, they'll be
in helmets recovering from the late night. But it's one
of those things you just you appreciate it, you look
forward to it, and the fans Steeler Nation does not disappoint.
I mean, I want thirteen thousand people bought tickets to

(08:03):
go see that event and they were entertained and treated
to a really good show last night.

Speaker 3 (08:08):
You know, and we'll talk about the show in a moment,
but I just wanted to make one more observation, Max,
which is that last year was my first year in
quite some time traveling with the team. It was a
long time ago that I would travel as a reporter
and go to games and then I became a studio
host for I don't know, seven eight years or whatever

(08:29):
before before, you know, very gratefully being you know, back
on the road last year as to play by play guy,
and I was just I'm just in awe of Steelers Nation,
right Like you go into doesn't matter what city you're in,
the hotel lobby and Steelers fans are just everywhere you

(08:50):
go out for dinner, Steelers fans are everywhere. They're they're happy,
they're talking to you, they're excited you have an event,
They're showing up.

Speaker 5 (08:59):
You know.

Speaker 3 (09:00):
Uh we did. We did a number of event of
you know event for Steelers Nation Radio and the places
were packed. But this is the epicenter. You know, it's
amazing what happens in every city you travel around the
world amazing, but it is even more amazing. This is
the center Western PA. You know, this is the middle

(09:23):
of it. And to see all those people showing up
for let's face it, practice, uh is yeah, it's it's incredible.
I mean you just have to shake your head in
awe at you know how Steelers Nation brings it all
the time.

Speaker 5 (09:39):
Well and the and and you know, this is what
also bleeds over into the season. Right, It's like I
saw this before it became a team. This is what
drives the enthusiasm, this is what drives the fervor for
your team. When you could have these up close and
personal moments, you can have, you know, in the players
as soon as they got in, had the autograph session

(10:00):
and went around the field to make sure that everybody
could at least get autographed, like at least one I
definitely filled in. I felt like I signed Like I'm
not gonna say I signed thirteen thousand autographs, but I
definitely signed my fair share of people just just you know, excited,
and you know they know the players and you saw
the history. Had a lot of alumni there last night
walking around the field, and it was just it's a

(10:22):
great nostalgic moment that even all these years later, you know,
you can come back and really and there's a tradition
that from I mean, for me, you know, I stepped
I stepped on that field twenty one years ago. Amazing,
and guys twenty one years later are still playing on
that same field, still doing the same activities, and it
just it brings you back to a sense of like, man,

(10:44):
I remember this. I remember when this was fun and
we would have a good time. And and it's still
the same nostalgia. You know, I see a seventy eight
running around looking lost, just like I was in Rookie
and Gareth Warren and just like trying to figure it out,
like man, what what I do here? Like there's so
much stimuli around and it just it's a special moment,

(11:05):
a special tradition at a very special place. So I'm
very appreciative that the Steelers have not given into the
norms of current society and let's save money, let's stay
at our facility, Let's not move. I mean, because you're
essentially moving your entire operation and relocating in an hour
outside the city. You know, training room, weight room, field conditions,

(11:29):
support staff. Everybody has to move in concert. You're bringing
in trucks and trucks of waters and beverages to fill
to make sure everybody has a feeling of home. But
the Steelers do it gladly you're in in Europe because
they know it's bigger than just a bottom line profit,
right like this is you're doing this for the entire

(11:52):
Western Pa, all of Steeler Nation, and you know, the
city of La Trobe, you know in Greensburg and the
surrounding city benefit from the Steelers relocating for you know,
three and a half weeks over here, and just the
pilgrimage that happens, right, the pilgrimage up to Latro becomes
an annual tradition. And even when you move far away,

(12:13):
you figure out how to get in here, whether you're
flying into Arnold Palmer Airport or flying in the Pittsburgh
and renting a car and driving up. You know, families
have these traditions that carry on for generations. It's just
a beautiful thing. Man. So it was a great time
last night. We missed your rob. We're hoping that you
you know, you were going to have the winning fifty
fifty tickets, so you could have taken your broadcast crew

(12:35):
out afterwards. Yeah, somebody got like, I was thirty three
hundred bucks nice in the fifty fifties. I was like, man,
I was like, man, it's too bad I'm an employee
and was on the field or else I might have
snatched a couple of raffle tickets and take a shot
at that.

Speaker 3 (12:47):
Two things Pittsburgh loves as much or more than anywhere
I've ever been. I mean, of course the Steelers, right,
but fifty to fifty raffles and fireworks. Man, oh man,
you go to any high school game, you know, years
you're doing high school football games, the fifty to fifty
raffle was always a huge deal. It is it the
Penguins games and the and other events. Steelers, you know

(13:08):
what I mean.

Speaker 5 (13:09):
Yeah, we have a good fifty raffle too.

Speaker 4 (13:12):
Yeah, yeah, I mean it's good stuff. I hope to
never miss another one, Max.

Speaker 3 (13:16):
That's my goal, you know, try to maneuver the schedule
around and and see if I can get to that.

Speaker 5 (13:23):
Because you did have a high scoring as fair last night.
So it was a good game if you're gonna miss
one and watch a baseball game. I mean, that was
that was high flying up there in Colorada.

Speaker 4 (13:32):
Yeah, all except for the outcome.

Speaker 5 (13:34):
Yeah, I know. It was like you looked at him
like fifteen runs, I mean, and I was like, I
was like, and to have that advanced fifteen to six.

Speaker 4 (13:42):
Three hours and forty minutes swindled away. I was watching
nothing in the first inning.

Speaker 5 (13:47):
I was watching when I eating dinner. When I got back,
and I was just like, holy crowd. I was like,
they're running away. Oh no, they're not running away.

Speaker 1 (13:53):
Imagine if you would have thrown ten or twenty bucks
on the Rockies when they were down, not live bet
down game in the first.

Speaker 3 (14:01):
I'll say this money when you have a game in
which what they they probably took the lead maybe three
to four minutes into the game because there's a lot
of first pitch swinging and and you know, and then
they led for like three hours and thirty seven minutes
and the only time they trailed was on the last
swing of the game.

Speaker 4 (14:21):
That's a tough loss, Man, that's tough.

Speaker 5 (14:24):
That's tough lots, but that ball flies in Colorado.

Speaker 3 (14:27):
Yeah, I mean thirty three runs, that's yes, Jesus's that's
a lot of runs.

Speaker 5 (14:32):
That's a long night. That's a lot that's that's a
lot of contact.

Speaker 3 (14:34):
So and we'll dive into this more and we'll dive
into the specifics, but it it sounds like from reports
like the defense and I think this has probably been
true of what we've seen in camp. There's been some
knicks and some injuries on the offense, particularly along the
offensive line. You're acclimating new guys, but it sure sounds

(14:57):
like the defense is maybe a little ahead of the
offense the stage. Is that fair to say, Max?

Speaker 5 (15:02):
Yeah, I think it's a fair comment. And I think
we kind of laid it out earlier this week. Yeah,
just talking about the number of returners on one side
of the ball versus the other side of the ball,
and so that's gonna breed early success. And you know
the biggest thing is how do you continue to shrink
that gap and become more balanced where it's just it's

(15:24):
a tug of war back and forth affair. And I
think we're getting closer. I think you saw some good
strides last night, but defense is definitely still in the
driver's seat as far as controlling the outcomes in the
in these competitive drills.

Speaker 4 (15:40):
How did it feel for you, Max as a player?

Speaker 3 (15:44):
Was I mean, obviously the Steelers had a great defense,
but you al said Ben roethlisberground offense, although not right
away right year two, three four, he became more and
more the guy. Obviously by year two, by the end
of year he was the guy with the injury to
Tommy Maddox. But was there ebb and flowed between the

(16:07):
offense and defense. Did it feel like one unit was
always ahead of the other and the other caught up.
Did it feel like one unit maybe got ahead and
stayed ahead.

Speaker 4 (16:16):
No, it changed every year.

Speaker 5 (16:18):
It changed every year because I think because the good
thing is when I came in as a rookie alongside Ben,
like we had a very veteran group, right you know,
you think about Alan Fanica, it was already six years
in the league. At left guard. You know, you had
Jeff Hardings who had been in the league and came
from Detroit along with Charlie Batch, and they were in there,

(16:39):
I want to say, second year by the time we
came here, but yet they were still like six years
in the league. Veterans, you know, Marvel Smith had been
here three years, and you know, you have some older
guys Keetrick Vincent and Oliver Ross. And then in the backfield,
I mean Jerome Jerome was a tried, tested, true veteran,

(17:00):
and Duce Staley came over another veteran, even though he
came from Philly. And then you had plex Hines, Anchwine
Randelel so you had like the experience. And then defensively,
you know, Joey Porter was the unequivocal leader at that point,
but Casey Hampton had been here a little while, Aaron Smith,
Travis Kirshki, Kimo von Olhoffen. Like we had a good

(17:22):
mix of young and old on both sides. You know,
my first year, Ike Taylor, second year, you know, in
that time you had Chad Scott, he had Deshae Townsend
who who are at the corners, and Ike was was
coming on as a main guy. And then of course
Troy second year as well, very young at the safety
position along with Chris Hope. So I mean it was

(17:42):
a good mix. When you look back and forth, your
first and your second units were pretty competitive and pretty comparable.
It wasn't as swayed as it is right now, where yes,
you have a veteran and Aaron, but this is first
training camp here. You know, you have a new number
one receiver at training camp in dk Metcalf who wasn't
here a year ago. And your offensive line is super

(18:04):
young and is shuffled. Your backfield is super is pretty young.
Jalen Warren is your oldest guy back there that's been
on the team. And then you know you have Pat,
you have Darnell and Connor, but then you added John
new Smith. So it's like there's a lot of newness
on the offense versus the defense. And yeah, you added
to Jalen Ramsey and you know you add add a

(18:27):
wan Thornhill in those moments, but you know Deshaun had
been here, your d line, you know, the second unit
is young, but the but the starting unit is older.
So it's it's fun to see the differences in how
they mesh, and the coaches did a good job of
really trying to change up the alignments. But but the
defense definitely has way more experience than the offensive side

(18:50):
of the ball. So that's why you're seeing kind of
the shift. But I feel like it got it got
a little bit closer, the gap got narrowed a little
bit last night. And of course it's all leading to
when we get down to Jacksonville next weekend. That's what
it is. A week from today being in Jacksonville playing
that first preseason game, to see how it looks when

(19:10):
they're all on the same side of the ball, competing
against another team on the other side of the ball,
and how they play off of each other. That's gonna
be the biggest thing.

Speaker 4 (19:19):
You know.

Speaker 3 (19:19):
I have a question I really want to ask you
about team dynamics that I think is really important. And
it's a fine line, as Bill Cower used to say,
to draw. But I'm gonna wait till after the break
to ask that question.

Speaker 5 (19:32):
Max.

Speaker 3 (19:32):
It's something I'm really it's a pressing question that you
can answer, and I want to hear the answer, but
I want to wait, and we're gonna hear the answer.
Next you're listening to the locker Room with King and
Stark's presented by our Neighborhood Ford Store here on the
Steelers Audio Network.

Speaker 2 (19:53):
Iheartradios live coverage.

Speaker 1 (19:55):
I'm about twenty twenty five Steelers training Camp. He's presented
by X where Now meets Next and also brought to
you by CGR Wholesale Roofing and Siding Supply Center, by
Tom's Appliances, by Always Safe Flagging and Traffic Control, by
Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank, by Schneider Downs, by Hassa's

(20:17):
Steak and Seahouse, by your Neighborhood Forward Store, by Castle Rock,
by clear View Federal Credit View, and by us steel.

Speaker 5 (20:30):
Well.

Speaker 3 (20:30):
Welcome back inside the locker room in King and Stark
with anybody. Neighborhood Ford Store on the Steelers Audio Network.
So Max, I had I told you before the break
out a question for you.

Speaker 5 (20:41):
Te's had a really good tease.

Speaker 3 (20:43):
Rob, thank you, and it's it's I think it's really important.
And I don't know how this has worked out in
other teams, but the dynamic of offense versus defense, how
do you not.

Speaker 4 (20:58):
Make it it's.

Speaker 3 (20:59):
Us first them to some degree, but it has to
be us versus them within the team concept, you know.
So for example, I felt like, you know, Buddy Ryan,
to use an example back in the day when he
was the defensive coordinator for the Chicago Bears, that incredible

(21:19):
defense they had in eighty five. It felt like he
was making it about this the Bears defense versus the
Bears offense as much as as much as it was
about the Bears versus their opponent this week. Now, that
may be a mischaracterization, but that's the way I recall it.
And I'm sure that exists in other teams.

Speaker 5 (21:41):
You know.

Speaker 3 (21:41):
I think if people have played high school footballor college football,
maybe you've been on one of those teams where one
side is lopsided over the other and now it becomes, hey,
you guys need to start carrying your weight man, you know,
and it becomes offense versus defense. And in some ways
that is nurtured when you have the winner of offense
and defense. You know, in Latrobe gets stakes or shrimp

(22:06):
or lobster or whatever, and the losers get, you know,
hamburgers and and you know, chicken tacos. So how do
you and and you know, I think what the Steelers
have done is they have kept it, certainly under Mike
tom when I can't speak before that, but they seem
to have kept this as a healthy rivalry that still

(22:28):
falls within the team concept that the biggest us versus
them is not internal our offense versus our defense, but
it is external. It's still who do we have coming
up this week? How do we win this football game together?
Do you understand kind of the question I'm asking, like,
does that happen in other teams where there's a rift,

(22:49):
a rift that's not good for team? And how do
the Steelers make sure that they they keep that cohesion
even while they're battling amongst each other.

Speaker 5 (23:00):
Well, I think it's all it's a mutual respect, right,
I mean that you have to have at the end
of the day, you know, we are all one. And
I think that's where you see that kind of quote
unquote line drawn, is that we're all together and it
is competitive, but like you see guys picking each other

(23:21):
up after plays. And one of the things I thought
Mike Tomlin did a really good job of in the
competitive one on one periods was even as he did,
is a guy and there and there was a couple
of couple of dust ups that happened last night, because
you know, when you get thirteen thousand fans oohing and
on at every little thing that get that gets the
blood pumping a little bit for your team and individual

(23:43):
players because they feel the intensity of the night right
like you can cut a knife through it with all
that people. But what what he what he made them do?
And I think this is what makes this unique. Each
guy after after the end of each individual one on
one drill, they had to go shake hands with each
other and they had to go love it and and

(24:05):
and and say at the end of the day, we're
still teammates, right or buying to be teammates. And that's
where I feel like it separates kind of the the
triteness that could come out of it, but it gets
kind of dissipated really quickly. And that was one of
the things I saw, you know, from backs on backers

(24:26):
drill last night, Like it got heated. I mean, dudes
was throwing guys around. Everybody's in each other's face, talking
mess face mask get grabbed and even at one point
like Caleb Johnson and uh, I want to say it
was Peyton Wilson. We're getting into it and it got
real frenzied, and you know, they they they they had
they had to go handle some things and talk about

(24:47):
it in a very public group fashion.

Speaker 4 (24:50):
I would say, but did the report say that that
was Mark Robinson?

Speaker 5 (24:55):
Mark rob Well, No, he had it with both, all right,
he had it with both Mark rob and him had
a moment as well. But Peyton Wilson got got in
the mix up too, So there was there was that moment.
But then at the end it was like, hey, you know, Mike,
Mike t came out and they had a rubber match

(25:16):
for the third one for the third rep, and he
looked at it like, hey, are you good? Are you good?
Almost almost like UFC, you know, He's like, you're ready,
You're ready, let's get it on, you know, type of deal.
But he wanted to check to make sure the temperature
wasn't too hot as they do this next as they
went and did the third rep, and then at the
end of it, everybody went shook a man's hand, patted

(25:36):
each other on the helmet and the shoulder pads and
it was done like it did. It didn't bleed over
into the next team drill right and then one on
one pass rush. It got heated in those moments. You know,
Mason McCormick, you know, and I think it was, uh,
daniel Lequaley, We're getting into a very heated, you know, exchange,

(25:59):
and you know, they had to make sure. But at
the end, everybody went over tapped you other on the helmet. Hey,
good job, bro. Hey, you know it's intense, you know,
And I think that was what really separates it, rob
and that's what makes it constructive and not destructive, right,
because that's the biggest thing you're talking about, was how
does it not break down, how does it not become personal?
How does it not become you know, a a me

(26:23):
versus you type of situation. And it's those type of moments, right,
You've got to be able to diffuse the tension, and
that just a simple handshake going across. Hey, go shake
a man's hand, you know, go tell him good job.
And let's move on from this. This was in the silo,
and now we go back and we're back with a group.

(26:45):
Let's not let those individual type of moments really really
percolate throughout the practice. I thought they did a really
good job of that, and I think that's what the
biggest difference is. What I saw was that coach Amman
knows how to defuse those like he doesn't want fights,
but he's not totally against him, right, because you've got
to show emotion. You got to take pride in yourself
and what you're learning and what you're doing and what

(27:05):
you're putting out there. At the end of the day,
it's all about team building and roster construction. Like you're
all trying to buy for a spot. Everybody's working hard
here and it's going to bleed out every once in
a while. You can't help it. When you have that
many like top athletes working in a very confined space,
in the very combative nature, it's going to bleed out.
But that's what I felt like was the biggest difference.

Speaker 3 (27:27):
Do you have you seen that happen? Have you ever
been in a team where that happened? Have you heard
stories of where that's happened. You know, we hear about
teams becoming dysfunctional, and that can happen in a number
of ways.

Speaker 4 (27:39):
Personalities get too.

Speaker 3 (27:41):
Big or what have you, or it couldn't be that
offense defense rift. Have you heard of that happening with
other teams? I mean, I think that the Steers cohesion
with Mike Tomlin probably stands above other teams and the
team camaraderie. But have you heard those kind of rifts happening.
Does that still exist in foot fall where that us

(28:01):
versus them can kind of tear a team apart a
little bit?

Speaker 5 (28:05):
No? No, I mean, like you said, when you have
big personalities and you don't have a coach who can
control it, that's what can happen. And now the deterioration
doesn't happen as early as training camp, right, But things
from training camp do bleed into the regular season, and
then you get guys out for self, not necessarily playing
for team, playing for individual stats and trying to move
on to the next location. But I think you do

(28:27):
have when you had, When you do find those good coaches,
they can sense that and almost like a sixth sense,
predict how it's going to happen, and they understand what
they need to do and they corrected. Like you know,
I take my time with the Cardinals in training camp.
I remember, you know BA was a head coach at
the Cardinals at the time, and BA had a zero fighting,

(28:48):
zero tolerance policy for fighting. And what he used to
do is he used to make guys if they fought
and it was clear who it was who started, and everything.
He made them hold hands and run and run a
lap around the field. I think that you know what
I'm saying, Like it was like because I mean, you
had to hold another man's hand and run, you know,
three hundred yards around the field. Yeah, you you dissipate,

(29:12):
and you realize how insignificant that moment was by the
time you're done with it. And the fear of that
having to go hold another man's hand and run around
the field is it is one of those things where
it just it was one of the things that BA
just had that sense. And the same thing with Mike Tomlin, right,
He's like, go shake, go shake a man's hand at
the end of this drill. Like that's when you have

(29:33):
good coaching. The other one is when you get into
those fights and it's dust ups, and I think a
lot of joint practices kind of get those bench clearing
US versus you moments and you see those more in
those situations. But I mean, you know, practice is gonna happen.
But I fortunately have not been a part of that.
You know, I was in San Diego after I left Pittsburgh,
and you didn't really feel that, I mean, because you

(29:55):
also had veteran leadership there. I mean, Philip Rivers at
that point was ten years in into the league, right,
you know, Philip was in my draft class and the
team whatever whatever. You know, Philip was gonna say no
curse words, right, highly emotional, though highly emotional, he say
all piss and that was about as far as it
got with him. But he would get in guys' faces

(30:18):
if they weren't in and the players kind of policed
themselves in that moment. Mike McCoy was our head coach
at that time, and you didn't really see that. And
then I think in Saint Louis, another place that I
traveled to, you know, things that spilled over was very individually.
It was also the youngest team of the NFL. When
I went there, I was like, I was like, I'm sorry,
what year were you born? It was like like, oh

(30:38):
my god, you guys are young. You guys are you
guys are are pups? You still got milk on your breath?
Like I mean, it was it was like a super
young young squad and it was, but it was but
you know, Jeff Fisher couldn't figure out how to control
them because it was way too much, you know, intensity
and and he was a very laid back coach and

(30:59):
he tried to find and everything when I felt like
they might have needed a little bit more discipline. But
you know, it was something that you kind of felt
in and you didn't really feel the cohesion of a group,
like everybody hung with their own position groups. They didn't
like I mean here in Pittsburgh, Y.

Speaker 4 (31:14):
That's what I'm talking about, like.

Speaker 5 (31:17):
Team, that's not good for a team. You want everybody
hanging together. You want everybody being able to to to
blend and mesh together. And I think it's also a
thing because they they did training camp at their facility
and you stay in the hotel across the street. But
it was like guys didn't really kick it like that.
And I think that's what makes this unique is you know,

(31:38):
regardless of how Itticity gets, guess what, you still got
to go up and be in the dorm room with
this guy and that guy might be your roommate. You know, right,
are you gonna are you gonna sit on the bed
and just mean mug him across across the across the
way in his bed. You know, it's like no, you
got to learn how to, how to how to deal
with people in groups. And I think that that's also
why this is so beneficial to get away from your

(32:00):
normal routine. Your normal confines your normal comforts of life
and make it a little uneasy. Like you said, these
guys can afford to stay in the top five star
hotels anywhere around the world, but that to come slog
it out at a small college in a dorm room,
you know, and you got a roommate, or you got
a sweep mate and you got to share a bathroom
with another guy. You can learn a lot about a

(32:22):
guy in their personal habits when you watch their hygiene. Yeah,
So it's a very special place and I think that's
what makes it unique, and that's why teams can stay
together because you've gone through a very similar sucky situation
and you've overcome it. And that's a group experience that
now gets logged into the memory banks. So when it
does get mad, look across the room, like, man, you

(32:44):
know this dude, but he bought Poopoi for our room.
You know, I can't get that mad at him. He's
very thoughtful, you know.

Speaker 3 (32:52):
And Max, you know, to take it one half step
further back, you know, And we've talked about this, but
I'm trying to put all the elements together here. You know,
we talked about the Andy Widel press conference from the
beginning of last year when he spelled out what had
become pretty apparent if you watch these Omar Khan teams,
and became even more apparent with the moves they made

(33:13):
in the offseason. You know, Andy Widel said, what the
team's belief is, we want physical, tough football players. And
if you want physical, tough football players, you have to
draft physical and tough football players. You have to sign
physical and tough football players. So that adds another element

(33:33):
when you bring it into the mix, the fact that
the Steelers probably hit more than most teams. They have
tackling drills, which a lot of teams don't do. They
hit more than most teams. They set up these battles
for you know, you win, like we said earlier, you win,
you get the great meal.

Speaker 4 (33:50):
You lose, you're watching your teammates have the great meal.

Speaker 3 (33:54):
And to be able to forge all that, to have
those competitive players, to have those competitive practices, to add
a little spice on top of that with the competition
amongst each other, and still have it be about the team.
I just think it's I think it's something that certainly

(34:15):
I don't want to overlook. I don't know other fans
can feel how they want to feel about it, but
I think it's a pretty remarkable thing when you put
all those elements together and see the way this team
remains a team.

Speaker 5 (34:29):
Yeah, Uniqueness, I think is what it is. It's that uniqueness.
And it's a very finite time as well, right, I
mean you're only getting what seventeen total practices up here
while they're here, so it's not like it's a big
swath of information. You know, it's not back in the
day where you had six week training camps. The guys

(34:50):
had to get into shape. So it looks sloppy and
you hope it gets better eventually. You don't have the
three cut down periods like we used to have. You know,
where you have early cuts than middle customs, differy cuts.
You know, you don't have that anymore. So guys stay
together a lot longer. You get a more more condensed
and truncated experience, but it's still a lot, vastly more

(35:13):
more I would say efficient, because you add the element
of being around each other on top of that, like
It's not like, oh, we leave, start over again, and
we're only here for whatever the NFLPA mandates. You know
what is it. I think an eight hour workday or
whatever that you have to have and every seventh day

(35:35):
you have to be off, you know. But the quality
is when you stay up here and when you have to.
You know, when you have to, you revert back to
your room, but you realize your room is not locked
and that somebody could have access to you. Aaron Rodgers
can walk into Alex Heismith's room at any point. Cam Heyward,
you know, we'll get people invading his room whenever. You know,

(35:56):
guys you know commune, you know, outside on the stoop,
right outside the dorms, just to hang out. They play cards,
they play checkers. I mean Corey Trice talked about it yesterday.
You know, when you have those moments and you get
a feel for a sense of the man, that's what
builds the team, That's what creates it. You know, you
can go back and talk about you know, a heated uno,
you know, affair or guy got you know, guy hit,

(36:20):
Guy hits you with a double reverse and a draw
four and you're just like, oh, I hate you right now,
you know. But it's like, but you but it's like,
but it's competition these micro moments. But you can also
look back and laugh about those moments and you know
things you tripped about that you shouldn't have been tripping about,
and and you have those kind of diffusion sessions, so
to speak. And guys can go play video games together,

(36:41):
go get a haircut. I mean I got one yesterday.
You know, I have a barber on't there. And you
see the guys just sitting in there and having the
kind of a barber shop talk as they're waiting in
line to get their haircut. Like all those little things
build a team. And that's the one thing I have
to give Mike, Mike Tomlin a lot of credit for
is that he creates these opportunities for guys to engage
so as opposed to finding reasons not to engage.

Speaker 3 (37:04):
And again, I'm gonna ask you this question without knowing
the answer, and so I don't know whether I'm stretching
this too far or whether what it appears you're describing
I'm interpreting it correctly. It reminds me a little bit
what you're describing the journey of a season and the

(37:24):
importance of training camp like the journey of a life.

Speaker 4 (37:27):
Like you know, look, most.

Speaker 3 (37:30):
People, let's say you're sixty years old, right, so you
you know those what we call the formative years are
you know, let's say zero to fifteen or sixteen, right,
that's just a quarter of the life you've lived, right,
it's not, but it looms over the rest of your life.
I think that's true for everybody. Like that becomes those

(37:53):
years are more significant than the time span, if you
know what I mean, Like they have a larger overarching
impact on your life than the amount of years that
should suggest. Because if you're sixty years old and those
formative years are says zero to sixteen, you have now

(38:14):
lived forty four more years than that, and yet those
years still loom is training camp at least a little
like that, Max No, I.

Speaker 5 (38:23):
Would say it's an accelerator, right, you know, it's an
incubator for that where you're going to put a lot
of different elements and the quality and I think the
potency of those experiences is what happens because think about this,
like trow a six year old and say you've worked
at a job thirty five years, right, you know, it's
Monday to Friday, nine to five. You pick up and

(38:46):
you let go, but you spend a significant amount of
waking hours with these people. Over the time with this company.
These guys are now getting twenty four hours a day,
so you're already you've already tripled the contact time. And
even though it doesn't have the necessarily span of years,
the concentrated quality of that time is what is what

(39:07):
builds that team, accelerates the chemistry. And when you do
it in a place like this, you know, you can't
run away from those moments. You don't get to hide,
you know, and you know, we can argue the semantics
of it, whether that's good or bad, but what you
do do is you open yourself up to be more engaging.
And that's why later in life, like I can sit up,

(39:27):
you know, at these practices when I'm here, but then
I can go look and see Ike. Taylor and Ike
and I We're both played two very different positions, right
you know, he was a cornerback, I was offensive tackle.
Our interaction on the field was very minimal. But yet
the time we spent together, you know, we eat dinner together,

(39:47):
you know, every time, and we've been friends for twenty
plus years. And then and James Ferrier, another guy played
middle linebacker. You know, you have these relationships. But then
I have Willie Cologne. I have Trey Essex was who
was up here last night signed an autograph, so they'll
be here today. You know. I have my brothers, like
my old line room was my those were all my

(40:07):
little brothers, and you know, and then I have my
big brother, you know, and and Alan Fanica, who I
could call it any moment, but yet you know, we
all had these different types, but we all got together.
We were all as one, and we had shared life experiences.
We talk about the FIFA tournament that was in there
when Troy would kick all of our butts in FIFA.
You know, we have those moments where we could talk

(40:28):
about the one time at the Calf when when when
the chef was out there sweating and and grilling burgers
and we thought he was gonna catch a heat stroke.
He was like he was you know, he was a
bigger gentleman and and and that that that flame was
was hot. You know, we have these shared experiences of
life and and it brings us together and even after
all these years later, we're still close in these moments.

(40:51):
I don't care how big, you know, Ryan Clark gets
with all of with all of his success on television
with ESPN and his podcast and everything. But if I
if I pick them up, I said, hey, man, just
check it in with you, seeing how you're doing. I
get a response back, you know, And that's what makes
us spect because we all went through the same stuff.
And like you said, in those formative years, you kind

(41:11):
of get to revert back from the zero to fifteen
phase when you get into this young man phase, because
most guys that come into this league, you know, are
young men. They're just becoming grown men, and it's a
shepherding process from that collegiate. I just got out of
my parents' house for a couple of years, so now
I'm in this professional world and now I got to
figure out human dynamics and interpersonal communication skills with these

(41:33):
other people that we may have similar backgrounds or they
might be completely diverse, but we all come together for
one purpose, right. The whole point of this is to
end the journey with the Super Bowl, is to win
a title, and we're all fixated on that goal for
about five to six months out of the year and
we come together. And that's why I think that quality

(41:54):
of interaction early on to really accelerate that, and then
you get the continuity built over the time. You just
continue to pile on and pile on and pile on
to where you get to that age where I'm forty three.
You know, most of my teammates you know, are right
in that same age and time, but we've also spent
what it felt like, you know about you know, I

(42:14):
spent nine years here, but it felt like eighteen eighteen
plus years in that time. And then you accelerate that
on top of you know, successes, coming back together and
seeing each other, and it just makes for a more
meaningful and these are the lasting relationships that you'll have,
right Like, you have a lot of work friends that
you consider, you know, close friends, but you know, sometimes

(42:35):
they become brothers, you know. You know, I always say
friends of the family. You get to choose right and
that and that's an opportunity that you get here. You
get to find that and build your extended family. I'm
the godfather of two of my teammates kids, and you know,
I have buddies who are considered family and the and
the kids play together. The second generation is now interacting

(42:57):
with each other and it just tightens those bonds because
of what we did here, and we're allowed to go
live life vacation and have fun, celebrate each other's achievements
later in life because of those moments, because we got
to spend that much time together. You know, I used
to kill with my wife. I'm like, I was like, huns,
like I'm married to you. But I realized, you know,
I got this extended family. You know, my teammates that

(43:21):
they they might know me a little bit better than
you right now because I spend so much time with them.
And even though you think in a relationship we spend
time and the courtship and everything else, but your teammates,
it was like a courtship with them, getting to know them,
getting to figure them out. Now you didn't have to
buy the meals to take them out and plan and
get them roses or anything. But I mean, but we
bought each other's gifts, you know, during holidays into the season,

(43:44):
you know, unit gifts that you would you would help.
I remember Alan Faniculd bought me my first MacBook and
now I'm addicted to Apple products now because because of him.
Because when he made his Pro bowl, he bought the
entire line MacBooks, He got us iPods and back and
that was still the thing. Now for the younger generation.
iPod is this device that holds songs in It had
a little had a little touch wheel and you'd wheel

(44:07):
through it in black and white screen. It wasn't color,
it wasn't in four K. We didn't even know what
four K was. I think it was like sixteen bit.
But we you know. And so you have these type
of exchanges and they're meaningful and they're thoughtful, and you know,
it becomes you know, you breed that family environment. And
the Steelers are one of those organizations where they care
about those relationships and they try and foster those. I mean,

(44:29):
never forget. We won division, you know, and mister Rooney's
coming around handing each man in their face one hundred
bucks as a division award. Now mind you, you're making
hundreds of thousands, if not millions of dollars, but that
one hundred dollars felt special when mister Rooney came around,
right because like, you wanted the division, you got the hat,
you got the T shirt, and then mister Rooney's handed
you one hundred bucks to your face, like he just

(44:50):
has a stack of going around the locker room, I
mean and to him. You know, that's what six grand.
You know with the practice squad back then, I'm like,
not a huge amount, but the gesture and the personability
of it, you know, creates a lasting memory in your mind.
And we can all share that and talk about remember
wins when you're old, and that's what it's all about.
It's about It's like the quality of the life experiences.

(45:11):
You know, when you get older in life and you
can regale yourself. I mean, think about the seventies teams
all this and they come back together for all these
all these anniversaries and everything, and it's like time never passed.
You know, they're still joking with each other. You're seventy
years old and still pulling pranks on your friend, right,
you know what I'm saying, Like like that's that's the
cool thing that and we get to see that because
we have an organization that also breeds that. They want

(45:33):
to have everybody come out, They want alumni involved, they
want them on the field. You know, Charlie Batch is
standing there with the quarterbacks last night during Friday night
lights and giving his advice, you know, I you know,
I'm back there, me and Willie and Trey talking to
the offensive line and cheering them on, you know. And
then we also have a little personal invested interests. We're
rooting for our numbers as well. You know, it's like, hey,
look what seventy eight did? He's like, now, but did

(45:54):
you see what in the seventy nine did? Man? I
don't care what anybody I said, lou what seventy four did?
You know? We have those moments as the play ish
the child. Just think because we're all grown, we got kids,
we got bills, we got responsibilities and jobs, but we
could still have those moments and football is a great
conduit of that. So it's very I'm very appreciative of
all those opportunities. And you know, over the years, I mean,

(46:15):
how many conversations De Tounch and Wolf have on this
very show over the years about all their fun experiences,
you know, talking about the Purge and you know, ballistic
enemas and all these other fun memories. And they can
laugh the eye roll, you know about those. I mean,
Wolf would laugh himself into where he couldn't even speak
to finish out a segment because those memories are so strong,

(46:38):
because there was such a formative, concentrated amount of time
spent together that you really get to know somebody. So
I will end my diatribe there, but just to say
it is meaningful, it does matter, and it does translate.

Speaker 4 (46:54):
We have much to talk about with Friday Night Lights.

Speaker 3 (46:56):
As Max gives us the overview of the importance of
Tricks Camp and the team camaraderie and what is being
built here in the trope, We're going to dive down
into the individual matchups, the one on ones, the team drills,
all that and more Still the come when we continue
inside the locker room with King. It starts presented by
your neighborhood Ford Store here on the Steelers Audio.

Speaker 2 (47:18):
Network Iheartradios live coverage.

Speaker 1 (47:24):
How about twenty twenty five Steelers Training Camp is presented
by FedEx where Now meets Next and also brought to
you by Cger Wholesale Roofing and Siding Supply Center, by
Tons Appliances, by Always Safe Flagging and Traffic Control by
Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank, by Schneider Downs, by Hassa's

(47:46):
Steak and Seahouse, by your neighborhood Forward Store, by Castle Rock,
by Clearview, Bedroom, Credit Union and by us Steel.

Speaker 3 (47:58):
Welcome inside in the locker room with King Stars presented
by your neighborhood Ford Store.

Speaker 4 (48:01):
Here on this the Other's audio network. Just a brief.

Speaker 3 (48:05):
Bit of time, So we want to set up we're
gonna be talking about next hour, which is some of
the team drills, some of the one on ones that
Max observed yesterday and Friday Night Lights. There is some
injury news to get on top of him to tell
you about as well. So Max, let's let's leave it
with a brief tease about what you most want to

(48:27):
talk about from Friday Night Lights, a player to a
unit or two. What are you looking forward to diving
into in the next hour.

Speaker 5 (48:36):
Well, let let's let's we'll get into the backs on
backers drill, you know, part duh coming up. I thought
there was some really interesting things, some some familiar faces
and names that had a good performance one on one
pass rush. I do want to get to that one
as well, and then I also want to talk about
some of the some of the team drills, you know,

(48:58):
some of the some of the passing situations you know,
and not necessarily like winners losers, but who kept showing
up and popping up on the tape, because that's the
biggest thing at camp. You want to make sure you
pop on the tape that people can point to and say,
I remember when when you start to see this roster
come together. So it was a very good thing, and

(49:19):
I think we're kind of leaning towards Camp Phenom status
guys making a name for themselves.

Speaker 3 (49:25):
So all that coming up in hour number two well
laid out my friend again, that is I Camp Fenom.
Things got me very very interested, But I'm not gonna
ask you now. I'm gonna have to wait. Camp Phenom
backs on backers, pass rush drills, injuries, team drills, the

(49:45):
depth to this team being tested because of some of
those injuries. Plenty to come when we continue in the
locker room with King of Stars, presented by our neighborhood
Ford Store here on the Steelers Audio Network