November 24, 2025 • 48 mins
King and Starks continue their game recap and go to the phone lines to answer listener questions and comments.
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Speaker 1 (00:05):
This is in the locker room with King and Starks
on Steelers Nation Radio, presented by your neighborhood Forward Store.
Speaker 2 (00:14):
The F one fifty is the official.
Speaker 1 (00:16):
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 3 (00:25):
All right, that is the sound of a power hour
I've ever heard one, guys, and that is Optimist, of course,
making his way through the locker room and of course
on his way doing whatever it is that Optimist does.
(00:46):
And we are live back inside the locker room.
Speaker 4 (00:49):
So back to you, Rob, all right, and let's get
to the phone lines four, one, two, one six. Let's
go to our friend Juan in South Carolina. One, thanks
very much for being with us. How are you today?
Speaker 5 (01:02):
Good morning, guys, hap me all to day.
Speaker 6 (01:04):
To your same Thank you.
Speaker 2 (01:11):
What you got in your mind?
Speaker 5 (01:12):
Why so, let's talk about the game yesterday. Like you
guys were stating earlier, we couldn't afford this. We could
afford the lost as an NFC team, and where dolls
get the AFC teams? So yesterday we should have just
(01:32):
killed them with the running game. Like you see, we
was we was we was killing them in the running
game while we didn't continue running the ball yesterday.
Speaker 3 (01:42):
Yeah, I mean that that is a very viable question.
And you know, when you kind of look at just
where the team was in this moment, it is frustrating.
I mean that that is that is really the big
overarching question. Why to run or not to run? That
is the question. And and we just did not take
advantage of the opportunity in front of us to the
(02:03):
full extent that we could have or exploited the opportunity
in front of us. I think we took advantage, we
just didn't exploit it. And that's gonna be something you know,
you're gonna say it was that gamesmanship and you know,
where is the fine line of running it enough for
running it too much? But I think how I look
(02:25):
at it is, whatever it was, we needed more of it, right,
We needed more you know, I need more cow bell,
you know, whatever that was going to be, it needed
to be emphasized to a greater degree. And I just
feel like there was an opportunity missed there and that
(02:49):
opportunity just did not come to fruition.
Speaker 2 (02:52):
And I'm just.
Speaker 3 (02:54):
I am a little miffed and I think that that
was kind of you know, my gripe with everything is
why because everything pointed towards it.
Speaker 2 (03:04):
But you know there's a reason why I am an.
Speaker 3 (03:08):
Analyst and not a offensive coordinator, right. I mean, you
know you have to take some of that credence and
say they know what they're doing. But it is head scratching,
and I get if some players work out the way
they do, say the ball does go a little bit
further and it's not that little, it's not underthrown a
little bit to where nay Sean Wright can literally make
(03:29):
a fantastic play on the ball and literally come inches
away from being out of bounds versus it being an interception.
Does that change the complexion of the game. If the
guys line up and it's not an illegal formation penalty
and Mason scrambles and rushes for twenty two yards, does
(03:51):
that not get whited out?
Speaker 2 (03:52):
Does that change the game?
Speaker 3 (03:54):
But also, you know the question of like you said,
if guys are a little bit more their p's and q's,
those two overthrown balls that Caleb Williams is very well
known for and very well documented, that's his game. He's
not as accurate as you think he should be at
quarterback right now. It hits the shoulder of James Pierre,
(04:14):
hits the shoulder of Carl Kyle Duggar on some overthrows
and there's no adjustment. But then again, you look at
his receivers also could not catch half those balls that
Caleb Williams through.
Speaker 2 (04:25):
So you can't really get.
Speaker 3 (04:26):
Mad at the DBS for not doing it when their
own receivers couldn't do it in a lot of those instances.
Speaker 2 (04:32):
Right, you know, if.
Speaker 3 (04:35):
You're able to stop some of the scrambles that Caleb
Williams had because we knew that's what he does when
he's in trouble, or he doesn't know he's going to run,
stopping a couple of third downs, right, I mean, there's
all these things we don't if we don't botch the
Steel City shove with on the fourth down and we
(04:58):
don't get that turnover down, so we continue and we
get that sixty seven or eight inches that it was
in that moment. If guys actually come up fire off
the ball at the same time and not kind of
guessing and late, and then that leads to the stop.
Different game. There's a lot of ifs. There's a lot
of shutarcuta woodas and you know what if we field
(05:19):
the ball a little bit clean, more cleanly at the
beginning of the game and get better field position and
don't have to march down the field now, I know. Listen,
we got our first ninety five yard plus drive since
twenty twenty three. That was all nice and all, but
we didn't come with with the win, right. I mean,
there's there's a lot of cross sections or pieces of
(05:41):
the pie since we're in Thanksgiving week, right, that you
could cut up and you could share with everybody. But
at the end of the day, it's still the team, right,
It's still a team effort, and you know, you have
to cover up for your brother when your brother might
not be at his best in that moment, you know,
you make him right. And they just didn't have enough
opportunities where they made each other right as a team,
(06:04):
and that's what contributed to this loss.
Speaker 4 (06:07):
Nay one, Hey, hope you have a wonderful and blessed Thanksgiving,
my friend, Thank you very much as always for calling
us and.
Speaker 6 (06:14):
Being part of the show.
Speaker 2 (06:17):
Thank you, buddy.
Speaker 4 (06:18):
All right, that's one from South Carolina, our good pala.
He's love to hear from one. We also have some
other calls. Let's get to Everett and fort Wayne. Everett,
how are you today, Thanks for being with us in
the locker room.
Speaker 7 (06:31):
Good morning, gentlemen.
Speaker 6 (06:32):
How are you today doing well? How are you?
Speaker 2 (06:35):
Everett? Good? Good?
Speaker 7 (06:36):
Good. I just I guess I'm frustrated with the fact
that other teams exploit us over the middle on passing
and we don't. We we don't respond, we don't adjust.
The one time we did, doug Or picks off Flaco
(06:56):
and takes it to the house. So I just don't understand.
And we don't split the middle of the field on
our offense. We don't throw slants enough, we don't put
you know, early in the season, Rogers was throwing those
crossers to DK and Scornic and stuff like that, and
then it just seems like we've gone away from that
where all the throws are to the sidelines, and it's
(07:20):
just very frustrating to watch. That seemed like the biggest
difference in the game yesterday was all three of their
touchdown passes were right down the middle.
Speaker 4 (07:29):
And I do look, so the defensive side, Max, I'm
gonna let you handle the offensive side.
Speaker 6 (07:33):
I'm going to throw it.
Speaker 4 (07:34):
A question on top of Everetts, which is that I
believe that you know, Arthur Smith will meet with his
quarterbacks and say, okay, what throws? These are the throws
we like for this game. What throws do you feel
comfortable with? Is that part of perhaps the process of
what we're seeing with seemingly attacking a defense less over
(07:56):
the middle, then maybe we've seen it other times.
Speaker 3 (08:00):
Yeah, I think it's game play specific for a lot
of it. And when I look at just you know,
going into this game, we already knew who the Chicago
Bears were. The strength of their team was their pass
rush and their secondary right. I mean, this is a
team that's number one in turnovers for a reason, and
we saw Naseean Wright was doing that. Now, they didn't
(08:20):
have a Jalen Johnson, they lost Tyre Stevenson during this game,
but this is a team that's very talented at doing that.
So you know, the one area where a larger, massive
bodies is going to be in the middle. But to
Everett's point, I think what's wrong with the slant if
you can get inside leverage out of the slot position
and just hit them with that, And whether it's five
(08:42):
six yards, it's still five six yards and you're not
going for the go ball down the sideline where you
can get bracketed. And DK was bracketed on that one.
So you know, na Sean had the underneath coverage. That's
why he was there in position to make the interception.
Safety was rolling over the top. I know a lot
of people didn't see that, but that was a bracket.
And DK's game is not the sideline go ball. Like
(09:04):
he's not George Pickens. And that's where it was, like,
he is a guy you need to put him in
the open field. And you know, I hate to call it.
You know it's Frank, but I'm a comic book kid.
So he's the juggernaut. Like once he gets the ball
in his hands and he starts running, it's like Darnell
Washington to a lesser degree. Right, he is tough to
bring down in the open field, and he gets faster
(09:27):
as the ball gets in his hand. It's like a superpower.
He's not the guy that's gonna go and just make
these jump ball passes. And I think that's where the
confusion is because it's like, oh, we gotta throw this,
gotta throw this pass route because he's wide receiver number one.
It's like, no play the guy to his strengths. I
was like, he's en routes, he's curl flats, he's comebacks,
he's double moves, and it's numbers to hash or if
(09:51):
you are going side is sideline inside to numbers working
towards the more middle of the field and that's where
he gets his stuff. Or you're taking a deep over
route with DK like those are the things where I
think we kind of minimize some of the skill set
of him. And it's schematics, I get it, but know
who the guy is that he's on it. If twenty
six is on him, probably don't want to throw the
(10:13):
ball underneath. You want to give him a high ball
where he can go high point and catch it if
he is going to have to run that route.
Speaker 2 (10:19):
So I mean, I agree, Everett.
Speaker 3 (10:21):
There's a lot of those things, And I get there's
gamesmanshipping trying to throw guys off in those moments, but
sometimes the best answer is the easiest answer.
Speaker 7 (10:31):
It's just like that jumbo package, we run the sweet
right er left. Just run that till they can't stop it.
Like you said earlier, just keep running the same play.
I mean, that play has worked ninety percent of the
time they run it. That thing just you know, get
those three tight ends out there just blowing people away
and then let Jalen or Gainwell run through it. But
(10:52):
they don't go to that enough, so I don't know.
The play calling is very frustrating for me.
Speaker 4 (10:57):
Every Thank you very much, thanks for being with us
in the locker room. Again, Happy Thanksgiving to you. I
hope you and your family have a great time you
get with loved ones, and hopefully the Steelers will. Yeah,
it would defeat to the Buffalo Bills on Sunday and
went to Looms. Is a big game for both teams,
by the way, not just for the Steelers. Let's go
to Eric and Elizabeth Township. Eric, thanks very much for
(11:19):
being with us in the locker room.
Speaker 8 (11:22):
Hey guys, how are you guys doing good? How are
you good?
Speaker 6 (11:25):
Good?
Speaker 2 (11:25):
Hey? Thanks for that analysis.
Speaker 8 (11:27):
The very beginning with those stats, I would have scratched
my head that they would.
Speaker 9 (11:30):
Lose a game.
Speaker 6 (11:31):
When you rattled those off. That was amazing. It really, yeah,
very amazing.
Speaker 8 (11:36):
So one thing I'd like to I'll hit you with
a bunch of things maybe, but we always talk about.
Speaker 6 (11:41):
The Indie and the New England wins.
Speaker 8 (11:43):
They had six turnovers in those games, only one one
of them by seven points. That's not realistic. That's not
gonna happen every day. The defense and the offense both
had splash plays. The fourth and one was unbelievable. Great call,
the fumble in the end zone, great play.
Speaker 2 (11:59):
But overall with the defense.
Speaker 8 (12:01):
I don't think you know, you look at the stats
a little bit, but at key times they didn't stop
the pass. Great job against the run, but didn't stop
the pass. Offense. Yeah, they ran the ball pretty well.
You got that game well, big one for fifty one
yards or whatever it was. They only gain out game
in Chicago by about thirty yards on that plot. If
(12:21):
you take that play out of there, I would like
to look at overall the penalties. You brought that up,
the punting. Look at the punting average of pits of
the Steelers versus the Bears. And also the thing way
with the kick returns, and one thing that I never
here mentioned and I'm just trying totally off the wall
and probably totally wrong about this, but it's the offensive line. Yes,
(12:45):
they did a great job with the run. Look at
that one big play, but they're not protecting the passer.
You got Rogers back there, he gives up a safety,
he got Rudolph. Maybe they make some bad, bad decisions
and they're running around to me, but I don't think
they protect the quarterback enough. And that's the thing that
(13:06):
I've looked at over the season, but maybe totally wrong.
No one says that. So I heard the beginning the
offensive line young They're gonna gel on this. I don't
think they've shelled at all.
Speaker 4 (13:18):
Mike comments, Okay, so Eric, I am glad you brought
up the special teams because again, you know you talk
about hidden yardage. Well, you know, you're losing yards in
the punt game, and you're losing yards and the kickoff
return game. Those don't count in the total yard statistics,
but they certainly count just the same way when you
(13:39):
turn it over on downs, that's a turnover that doesn't
count as a turnover. So you know, if you look
at the the game through that lens, they probably lost
the yardage game because they lost yards in special teams,
which is not something that normally happens with the Steelers,
and they lost the turnover battle. So I think those
are Those are good points, and those are part of
(14:01):
when you lose a game by a field goal.
Speaker 6 (14:03):
Little things like that add up. Max.
Speaker 4 (14:06):
I will ask you to see what you've seen on
the offensive line.
Speaker 6 (14:11):
Has it improved over the course of the season.
Speaker 3 (14:16):
It's been highly inconsistent. Like they've had their moments where
you're like, Okay, this team gets it. This young squad
is viable. But I have to point to the fact,
and this is not what everybody's gonna want to hear,
but you know, I would love to see them be
able to run out of a normal personnel group. And
I love the addition of Spencer Anderson because I think
(14:39):
it is something that's often overlooked and teams don't necessarily
take that type of approach, like, oh, well, we got
to run it that way, and there is a creative
way that seems to be unstoppable. But you should at
some point be able to run out of eleven personnel,
a normal eleven personnel with a standard tight end. And
that's where like they haven't quite gelled in that moment.
(15:02):
And the pass protection is good and listen, you know,
those guys on the other side of the ball get
paid a lot of money to do what they do.
Montes Wet highly compensated, right, just like a Miles Garrett
highly compensated. You know, you look at TJ. Watt, highly
compensated for what he does. And that's where you know,
(15:23):
you understand that there is a battle and the margin
vera for an offensive line is a lot thinner than
it is for a defensive line, right.
Speaker 2 (15:30):
You know, you know a guy gives up one or
two sacks, he sucks.
Speaker 3 (15:34):
And if a guy gets one or two sacks and
that's it on the defense side of the ball, he's amazing,
right ye. I mean you know, and in the course
of sixty to seventy plays or thirty forty dropbacks, you
have two bad plays as an offensive lineman, you they're
looking to replace you. You get stuffed as a defensive
lineman for a majority of plays, and you come away
(15:54):
with two of them, you are hailed a hero. So
I mean that narrative is always going to be something,
but that's the job you sign up for as an
offensive lineman. I get that, and you know, we take
pride in being consistent. But also there are moments if
you know he's struggling, get some help there. Darnell right
right after TJ was whipping him, they started adding the
(16:18):
tight end over there, right, They started running more chips
that way to try and help him out.
Speaker 2 (16:22):
And that's how you have to do it.
Speaker 3 (16:24):
You can't just continually leave guys on an island and
those moments. Expect them to just be great at all times.
Like you know, you're giving up weight, which you know,
when you're the bigger guy, guess what, you don't.
Speaker 2 (16:34):
Move as fast as a smaller guy. So there are
moments where they're going to get you.
Speaker 3 (16:38):
And so that's what I say, caution, you know, from
looking at it from that perspective that oh they're not
getting better. They still put up you know, one hundred
and eighty plus yards and they did, you know, create
the wall to allow him to run fifty five yarder
which I thought was going to be a touchdown with
that hand touched out, just shy of it. But I
(17:00):
felt like there should have been more. There should have
been more opportunities for them to do that because they
were doing very well in that game and they were
exploiting that, you know, and if you take that play away,
they still had over one hundred and thirty yards rushing
and this team was in this Chicago Bear's team was
given up greater than one hundred and thirty four yards
a game rushing the football, and I felt like there
(17:22):
were when you have a backup quarterback, no matter how
great the backup is, he's still a backup. That's when
you lean on your run game in those moments. And
I think we kind of out psyched ourselves because Mason
is a veteran. Mason is a guy who's won games
for you in the starting role and positioned on this team.
Speaker 2 (17:37):
So you kind of got lulled a little bit and
thinking and we can just do what we do.
Speaker 3 (17:41):
But you know, that's where you have to kind of
caution yourself, and the easiest answer is always going to
you know, sometimes is the best answer. And I think
we kind of outthought ourselves in those moments.
Speaker 2 (17:51):
But you're right.
Speaker 3 (17:52):
I mean it's something. I feel like the offensive line
is coming along. I feel like they are getting better,
but you're just not playing to their strengths consistently.
Speaker 4 (18:01):
All right, Eric, thank you very much for your phone call.
We've got to take a break. We have more of
your phone calls coming up at four one two nine,
one nine, one three, one six when we continue in
the Locker Room presented by your neighborhood Ford Store, in
the Students Pro Shop on Stuears Nation Radio, a part
of the Steelers Audio Network.
Speaker 1 (18:22):
This is in the locker Room with King and Starks
on Steelers Nation Radio, presented by your neighborhood Ford Store.
Speaker 2 (18:31):
The F one P fifty is the.
Speaker 1 (18:32):
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 4 (18:43):
And taking your phone calls as we all help each
other in a communal.
Speaker 6 (18:47):
Effort to get over this thirty one to twenty.
Speaker 4 (18:50):
Eight loss in Chicago yesterday that drops the students record
to six and five and drops them out of first
place in the AFC North for the first time. A
lot to get to and your phone calls, and let's
go back to the phone lines and talk to Ryan
and Butler. Ryan, thanks very much for being with us
in the locker room.
Speaker 10 (19:11):
Thank you, You're welcome. Okay, So this Upkine. Saturday is
the last week of a college football season, correct, Okay, Yeah,
(19:33):
and then on Saturday is one big matchup. Yeah about
we're supposed to see is the pit pant first take.
Speaker 4 (19:42):
Okay, uh, some troubles there again on the phone line,
so hopefully we can get that straightened out. This is,
of course a Steelers show, so I understand there's some
desire to talk about a big game coming up for
the Panthers on Saturday, but we're gonna keep it to
the Steelers as we go to Ricky in Georgia. Ricky,
thanks you very much for being with us in the
locker room.
Speaker 2 (20:04):
Everybody doing good, doing all right, Ricky?
Speaker 9 (20:08):
Oh we're doing good, man, We're doing good.
Speaker 10 (20:09):
Hey.
Speaker 9 (20:10):
I know when they hang out head low, but hey man,
look just keep your head up and keep going. But
once I didn't yesterday, I couldn't watch the game in
my area because they want showing. They were showing the
can City and in the game, so I had to
listen to y'all in the radio. But unfortunately someone on
our heart and I couldn't catch the rest of the
game till like the end of the four quarter, when,
of course, when the game decided. So I had to
(20:31):
go back and look at the highlights of it and
what I take from the game from what the team,
what I see now whatever they trying to do stematically
is it is working. I just think that the players
are not paying attend to the details of the work,
and I'm gonna reinforce that by saying, oh I see details,
(20:53):
I mean like watching what some players line up there
on the offense and defensive side and knowing how to
attack it. To approach it is just going up to
that man, whatever the situation you see on that your
linebacker position or you had to ride see positions. I
think the players are not just paying into what they
detail work has to be and not and knowing where
to be at for the time to start to play.
(21:13):
Because we made some plays, Unfortunately we didn't make the
play that we need to make it at the end
of it. And from what I took from Aaron Rodgers
his first post game interview as we beat the Jets,
he was very accountable and he held everybody accountable, including
himself of as in what can happen if we all
played it right on the road. So I just think
(21:35):
it's a lack of payting detail mixed with a little
fatiguingness in the mind throughout the game, or staying focused
what you need to do and what's your job and
what's your assignment because it's going to work. The talent
is there. It's just we were, like I think we
kind of getting in our own way, in our own
heads in certain situations. Not all the situations, just certain ones.
I don't know why, that's what it's seemed like. And
(21:58):
I still think the team got a change. They still
got a champ change, like like you said, miss Robb,
and it just fact or they when they step in
the ring or they're gonna knock the person out in
front of them every play, every single play. And I
remember watching the or I went to the Angle a
couple of years ago. I came back and I watched
the document of the eighty five Bears that cost and
played them but not playing them, but and I listen
(22:21):
to how them in the defensive mind, how they players were.
They used to pay vegs and stuff like that just
to get to the quarterback. I know the one that
the illegal they were doing. But it's that competitive ad
of must you're players to make everybody else better to
get to where you need to be. And I think
that's something we lack of on our defense side and
(22:42):
maybe offense side, not because we don't we lack talent,
but because we ain't played enough together. Now mind you,
they just had the season. We should be on track
where it's not. Every team's built differently, But I just
think that's where it's not. That's what that's what the
sparking not coming from. It's like, I'm gonna be building
to you. I'm gonna buil in the type of situation
and we all can win together. We be building each
(23:03):
other each play, but stay focused. So that's my take
on it. Anything y'all got to say, if I'm.
Speaker 4 (23:08):
Rolling right about it, oh yeah, thank you, Hey, listen,
I think that's you know, there's a lot of talk
max about what they're not doing schematically, and it's and
it's understandable. It drives people crazy that you know, uh,
third and ten and they're just you know, they're able
to throw them all over the middle of the field
(23:29):
and pick up first downs. We've seen that. We saw
it happened last week in Cincinnati. We saw it happened
this week against Chicago, making it look easy. And yet
you know, guys are pointing around, who's lined up, where
are we supposed to be? And then you see that
offensively late in the game. You know, we talk about
plays that could have should have At this stage of
(23:52):
the season. You know, we talk about you can't you
can't be lined up in the wrong spot, and you
know what, things aren't going your way. You got to
battle through adverse city and take accountability. So I think
these are really good points because I think a lot
of people are pointing to, well, you know, there's there's
things we're not doing schematically, you know, but again, uh,
(24:12):
you know, the players have to go out and play
and make plays as well.
Speaker 3 (24:17):
No, they do, and and usually you know, there there's
a certain hunger, there's a certain desire, there's certain competitive
nature that you have to have built into you that says, no,
I'm not going to let this guy make the play right.
Speaker 2 (24:35):
It's not going to be on my watch that this
goes awry.
Speaker 3 (24:40):
You know, we you know, I want to I want
to get there before the other like that internal competition,
And I feel like there is to a degree on
the defensive side of the ball, But like you said,
it's not as apparent all the time. I mean, you
look at how Jalen Ramsey plays, right, I mean, hair
is on fire. He wants to knock you out every
time he gets It's to you and you know a
(25:03):
certain level. I feel like cal Duggar also brings that
kind of pedigree to it where he wants to. He's
just as competitive, like who's going to get the most
tackles right now?
Speaker 2 (25:13):
Now?
Speaker 3 (25:13):
Who got the sack and who didn't get the sack?
And you have this kind of repartee amongst amongst teammates,
a friendly competition. Offensively a little bit different, you know,
as far as how you get across it. I mean,
you know, in our offensive line room, I mean, we
had a competition every week for who got the most pancakes, right,
you know, we want to see who wasn't loafing and
(25:35):
who was it who was the weak link? Like we
had these kind of internal, built in competitions. And yeah,
I mean the game has changed from that perspective. And
you know, guys don't take that. They just want to
do their job. And and there's something to be said
for that, right, that consistency with doing your job. But
at the end of the day, this is a game.
(25:56):
You gotta make it fun. When it sucks, you gotta
find you gotta find a silver lining in the moment.
And you know, there's a certain unbridled gladiatorial aspect to
this game where I want to see the other guy quit, right,
I want to do everything in my power to make sure.
Speaker 2 (26:18):
He is not successful.
Speaker 3 (26:20):
And that's that internal drive and maybe that's just generational things.
I mean, you talked about the eighty five Bears. You know,
they played football a lot different back then, you know,
just like we look at the seventies Steelers teams, right,
there was a lot of different rules with mel Blunt
was that safety that aren't there anymore now? You know,
you know, Dick Knight, train lane's not coming out and
(26:44):
you're not.
Speaker 2 (26:44):
Head slapping everybody like Deacon Jones. Right, you know, there's
a reason.
Speaker 3 (26:48):
Why, you know, offensive line are actually allowed to use
their hands now, you know. So I get there's a
certain evolution that has to happen in this game, but
there's still something about that pride aspect where I just
want to beat you up and this is my legal
way of beating you within an inch of your life
on every single play between the whistles. And yeah, I mean,
(27:10):
guys are just built different this day and age, but
there you still see it. You still see it in
certain players. It's like, why can't our guys get to that.
Why can't they be internally because there's only so much
a coach can say, There's only so many speeches that
can be given to where you have to respond as
a man and to a man, looking at the guy
to your left and your right, in front of you
(27:30):
and behind you, and say I won't be the weak link.
And that is something I see in moments. I just
don't see it consistently in the competitiveness of those guys
amongst each other. I see the competitiveness in the games,
but you can't depend on others to do more than
what their job is. And as long as eleven do
their job, it should work out more often than not.
Speaker 4 (27:52):
So Ricky and Max, can I share something with you
guys real quick? I was at the Pro Football Hall
of Fame in my son and Canton and my wife,
and my wife's like, Oka, I'm gonna go out and
get the car warmed up, and my son and I
they had these little videos for all the Hall of famers,
and of course my son is, you know, investigating the younger,
newer players, the people that he's seen or maybe when
(28:12):
he was young man he heard about from the generation previous.
And we're both, you know, hitting these videos and I'm
over there hitting Dick Knight, Train Lane and some other guys,
and I'm like, hey, man, come over here and check
this thing out, Like you couldn't get away with these
clothesline tackles. And then we got to a point where
we absolutely refused to leave. We were hitting video after
(28:33):
video until we saw somebody totally flattened, totally pancake.
Speaker 6 (28:38):
That's what we needed to see.
Speaker 4 (28:39):
So we'd already seen some of the videos and we're
hitting videos and it's not happening. I'm imagining my wife
out like hey, what's going on? What are these guys doing?
And then we hit Jerome Bettis and we were able
to leave the Hall of Fame because he just flattened
somebody from the from the Ravens as a matter of fact,
which made it even better. Defensive back came up and
Jerome flattened them, and then we were able to safely
(29:01):
leave the Hall of Fame. So different eras, but but
just what you guys talking about that your conversation made
me think of that that great moment. It can't ohio
with my son.
Speaker 7 (29:11):
Wow.
Speaker 4 (29:12):
So anyway, punched up, Hey, Ricky, thank you so much, man,
appreciate it. Hope you have a happy and blessed Thanksgiving
and are surrounded by loved ones. And we thank you
very much for being with us.
Speaker 9 (29:24):
Thanks to y'all.
Speaker 7 (29:25):
Man.
Speaker 4 (29:26):
Oh yeah, yeah, there's no doubt that's gonna happen. I
mean none. Let's let's squeeze in. Should we squeeze in
one more phone call?
Speaker 2 (29:35):
You know?
Speaker 4 (29:35):
No, we have a couple guys online. Let's get to
those when we get back. Let's take a break. Before
we do take a break, I want to remind everybody
that you can gear up with the latest gain day
necessities at the official Students 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
(29:57):
of the official Students Pro shops located at Acres Stadium,
Grove City, Premium Outlets or Tanger Outlets, or gear up
online at shop dot Steelers dot com. Get it direct
from the team at the Steers Pro shop at shop
excuse me, shop at dot Steelers dot com. Our phone
number once again four one two nine one nine one
(30:18):
three one six back with more in the Locker Room
presented by our neighborhood Ford Store and the steerersh Pro
Shop on Steelers Nation Radio, a part of the Steelers
Audio Network.
Speaker 1 (30:30):
This is in the Locker Room with Kenyon Starks on
Steelers Nation Radio, presented by your neighborhood Board 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 (30:52):
All right, we know what it is.
Speaker 3 (30:54):
Is the last segment, which of course we know it's
only one thing.
Speaker 5 (30:58):
Is the bell lap.
Speaker 2 (31:03):
Oh, one of the sweetest sounds out there for not
so great day. Obviously this would normally be reserved for
a victory donut Monday, but you know, it.
Speaker 3 (31:16):
Being the holidays, I would say that you know this
is this is a this is a comfort food Monday,
you know, comforting after a loss. You get twenty four
hours to kind of deal with this. We'll take thirty
six as we kind of get here a little bit
earlier than everybody else in the process. But you know,
make sure you go out there, make sure you find
something good to eat today, something that warms the soul.
(31:38):
And we're in this holiday season and you know, as
we think about giving thanks, we'll we will get later
in the week where we'll actually open up the lines
and talk about what you're thankful for, you know, for
this season, but you know, just general thanks for all
of the blessings I've been bestowed upon us. You know,
(31:59):
just take a moment to reflect on that. And you know,
this game of football is a beautiful one, but it's
also sometimes unforgiving at times.
Speaker 2 (32:08):
But at the end of the day, you know.
Speaker 3 (32:10):
Just so guys are doing their best out there, and
I think that's where you kind of have to make
sure that we're keeping that in perspective. They are human
and we are human, so you know, emotions do run deep,
and make sure you put that energy in the right
direction and make sure that it is in a constructive
type of way and not in a destructive kind of way.
Speaker 4 (32:31):
Well, put my friend, and let us get back to
the phone lines, and let's start with Nathaniel in Los Angeles. Nathaniel,
thanks for being with us in the locker room.
Speaker 5 (32:40):
Thanks, good morning.
Speaker 6 (32:42):
Good morning. What's on your mind.
Speaker 7 (32:50):
Days the game yesterday?
Speaker 6 (32:54):
Oh man?
Speaker 4 (32:55):
Nathaniel waited for a while out in La. Yeah, Nathaniel,
call back you. Yeah, you call back.
Speaker 2 (33:01):
Back because there was a there was a connection issue.
Speaker 6 (33:04):
Connection issue. Let's go to CR in Chicago. Cr. How
you doing what.
Speaker 11 (33:13):
Live back in the Winness City of Chicago, Man, Cargo
week Man, I am so pumped up about and it's
been a while since to talk to you guys.
Speaker 2 (33:25):
Man.
Speaker 8 (33:28):
I came up.
Speaker 11 (33:28):
I didn't know where to go at.
Speaker 9 (33:30):
I hadn't been.
Speaker 11 (33:33):
What it's called Hosmith is in a westboundal oh.
Speaker 6 (33:38):
Max, Yeah, that kind of sums it up.
Speaker 3 (33:42):
Yeah, we have technically yeulties and we are having techicult
difficulties with the phone lines. We are we apologize everyone,
hopefully call back. We could try and figure this out.
Like I said, we'll have the phone lines opened up,
you know often this week, more often to make sure
we get them in when we will, we will get
(34:03):
you know, the Grimlins. You know this is something that
over my uh my five now years doing this show.
You know, we we have we have grimlins that get
into the system from time to time.
Speaker 2 (34:13):
And you know, CJ.
Speaker 3 (34:15):
Who is our who is our faithful you know, Ninja
Grimlin Hunter uh is no longer with us, So we're
gonna have to find a new Ninja Grimlin Hunter justin
you're gonna have to dub somebody the Grimlin.
Speaker 2 (34:24):
Hunter in the future, uh to handle that.
Speaker 3 (34:28):
So there is a you know, a phone line issue,
but we will get that rectified before the next show. Yeah,
you know, I love hearing from Nathaniel. I love hearing
from c R. And they usually bring some great point
of commentary. Hopefully you know, they can keep those thoughts
uh for another day and and be able to present
that to us because you know, as we kind of
(34:49):
look at this, I mean, and we could tell by
the phone callers, right Rob that No, there's a lot
of emotions, but also I there is optimism, and yes
there is a frustration, but it's a because destructive criticism
I think is kind of the general theme of what
we got today, and that's the way it should be.
And there were moments where we saw the brilliance, right,
(35:10):
we saw the excellence. I mean TJ Watt passing his
brother JJ on the all time sack list and doing
it in dramatic fashion, right, I mean, how else a
strip sack fumble in the end zone that leads to
a touchdown. It doesn't get more more fantastic for the
story career that TJ. Watt has had and is continuing
(35:31):
to have and leaving his legacy on the NFL. Nick
Herbert being the byproduct that gets to celebrate that as
first touchdown since high school. You know, so there are
those moments, right, we get those moments and the Kenny
Gainwell fifty five yarder that breaks off, and you know,
for DK metcalf right, his dad, Eric metcalf was a
(35:54):
former Bear. He gets a touchdown in Chicago, he gets
the ball, he gets to give it to his dad.
You know, you think of all of these other sub
storylines that are so great. You know, we kind of
get lost in the sauce on the loss. I get it,
and you know, at the end of the day, you're
measured in wins and losses. But there were some small
victories there that we also have to make sure we
don't gloss over because we're so obsessed with the loss
(36:19):
and look at some of the positive things that happened
in that game, and you know, they had those moments
that provided the excitement. You know, we had moments we
were fist pumping right going into halftime. We were feeling good, right,
we had a turnover, and we still it didn't define us.
Speaker 2 (36:36):
We took the.
Speaker 3 (36:36):
Lead, but like you said, I mean there was still
consistency issues that was in it, but still a solid day.
I mean you held them tight. And I know you
know style points don't count. That's more of a collegiate
type of thing, but you know you were in this game.
It was This game never got truly out of hand.
And I think that's another thing where you say you're
(36:58):
on the cusp, you're close, not quite there yet, but
what can we do if we have all pieces to us?
And I will say this, Calvin Anderson coming in for
the injured Broderick Jones did a good job, right, He
had a solid performance, and you know, as a VET,
as a backup swing guy, you got to be ready
at a moment's notice, and Broderick couldn't return to that
(37:21):
game and cal had to stay in there, and Cal did.
Speaker 2 (37:24):
Cal did a great job.
Speaker 3 (37:25):
You know, Joey Porter Junior getting knocked out of this game,
Darius Slay coming in, he's he's just coming off of
an injury as well, and coming in and playing James
Pierre once again, you know, manning that position and doing
the best job I think, you know, you have to
look at some of the some of the really good
jobs that happened in this game and some of the
great moments as well, and and keep you know, keep
(37:49):
it in perspective that you know, you're not that far off.
And the Bears are a good team.
Speaker 2 (37:53):
You know.
Speaker 3 (37:53):
I think a lot of people, because they've been so
bad for so long, this is a good team this year,
and they're not perfect.
Speaker 2 (38:00):
They just happen to get us at.
Speaker 3 (38:01):
Moments where you know, they exploited some of our weaknesses.
Speaker 4 (38:06):
I think that's well, So first of all, you know, look,
and it's hard on a Monday when you've lost, but
there were good things that happened in the game, and
whether you want to celebrate them as a fan and say, hey, listen,
it's there's still some things that we liked seeing and
hopefully listening to.
Speaker 6 (38:26):
I also think that it's an indication that.
Speaker 4 (38:31):
The Steelers again, I just keep thinking that at some
point here it's all going to come together. And the
elements that I see or think i'm seeing, I think
I'm seeing a team that has run the ball better
than their statistics indicate.
Speaker 6 (38:52):
The passing game has looked lively at times.
Speaker 4 (38:55):
The defense has been dominant at times, it just hasn't
been consistent enough to win. And when you think about
the losses, the losses have come, for the most part
to top caliber teams. And okay, let's throw the Cincinnati
Bengals out of their Thursday night game. Division opponent asked
(39:17):
the Bills taking on Miami about divisional opponents where they
got smoked.
Speaker 2 (39:24):
The Dallas Cowboys right last night.
Speaker 6 (39:26):
That's right.
Speaker 2 (39:27):
Those games are and they hit different.
Speaker 6 (39:29):
That's right.
Speaker 4 (39:30):
It's all you know, So there are there are a
lot of a lot of reasons, a lot of things
to point to. But I just think, you know, I
see a team that was leading Seattle at the half,
right you were in you know, you were ahead of
that game fourteen to seven. You had your opportunities to
(39:52):
win that game, you know, just by based on what
you did at half. And by the way, you know,
we're talking about a Seattle Seahawks team that's eight and
three right now, you were leading at halftime against another
eight and three team, the Chicago Bears. You were leading
at halftime against the seven to three and one team
(40:13):
in the Green Bay Packers. It's not like and look
who's better than those teams, the Rams, maybe the Eagles, maybe,
I don't know if anybody in the AFC. I mean,
you beat the Colts, you beat the Patriots, right, You've
beaten the elite teams in the AFC, and you had
(40:35):
leads at halftime against three of the elite teams in
the NFC. And I guess throw Philadelphia and throw La
in there. You haven't played them, So I just I
see these elements there, Max, I said at the beginning
of the year. I've said it all along. I thought
they had more talent and a better team than they
were a year ago. It just hasn't congealed to the
(40:58):
point it needs to congeal.
Speaker 2 (41:00):
Two.
Speaker 4 (41:01):
And look, I keep thinking, go to you know, take
take on Buffalo, beat Buffalo, Ravens, come in, beat the Ravens.
Now Miami comes in here on a Monday night game.
Speaker 6 (41:13):
And maybe you.
Speaker 4 (41:14):
Beat the the Dolphins as well. And now you've won
three to zero. Now all those pieces have come together.
We've seen the special teams be a plus almost every
single game, and it wasn't yesterday. How do we get
this so that more good things are happening, the good
things that we're seeing. How do they happen on a
more consistent basis, How do you get better coming out
(41:36):
of the out of halftime and into the third quarter
and get the ball and put one of those drives
together that puts these other teams in trouble, that you know,
gives you the game, that allows you to take command
of the game. Is probably a better way to put that,
because that's been lacking. And I don't understand why that's
(41:57):
been lacking, but it has been. And I mean, you
can't argue that that's been the case, you know, and
listen in all of these games. You're up fourteen to
seven against the Seahawks, you get the ball to begin
the second half. You're up big on the Packers, you
get the ball to begin the second half. You're up
against the Bears. Again, we're talking about top teams. You
(42:21):
get the ball to begin the second half. You have
a chance to turn this into two score leads, and
can't do it. And that's why I just think, for
whatever reason, it hasn't added up to what I think
the stealers have And if I'm going to take a
positive out of it, it's that, Okay, it hasn't happened yet, right,
And it may not happen, this may just be the team,
(42:42):
but I've seen the elements and it makes me believe
that it's still in there. That's the positives I'm taking
out of the game yesterday in Chicago.
Speaker 3 (42:52):
Yeah, and I think that's what it is is it
comes down to just that consistency. If we can get
the consistency down, I don't see how.
Speaker 2 (43:01):
You you know you can.
Speaker 3 (43:03):
You can be upset because we have the talent, we
have the players, We have every answer.
Speaker 2 (43:10):
And this is.
Speaker 3 (43:11):
Something that Wolf has always preached, and so his touch
the answers you seek are within those four walls. It's
different if you're say, man, we're not up to snuff,
but we are up to stuff. We are in a
position where we control our destiny and we have the
guys to help us get there. And I'm just hoping
that you know, like anything else, you know that you
(43:32):
take full advantage of those opportunities. I mean, that's just
something that has to happen eventually, and for this team,
you have to just make that ideal that hey, we
are going to do whatever it takes, you know, to
be successful, and you know we're not going to let
circumstances really define us as a unit because we have
(43:54):
the answers. It's not like we're a team that's you know,
scrounging and praying for you know, the best type of
situation to happen out out of any given situation. It's
we have to be our own answers. We have to
solve our own problems, and this team has the ability
to solve those problems. It's just a matter of can
(44:18):
we agree that this is the best way of going
about it. And I think that's what the Steelers are
going to have to do. They're gonna have to make
that decision to a man that I will not be denied.
I will not be denied in this moment. And you know,
just just get pissed off. Just get pissed off about
being pissed off.
Speaker 2 (44:38):
That's really what it comes down to.
Speaker 6 (44:40):
Max. Let me ask you this.
Speaker 4 (44:42):
You know, around Pittsburgh teams fans are down right, we
understand that you're down Exactly how is it.
Speaker 6 (44:53):
In the locker room?
Speaker 4 (44:54):
Like you know, I know that you know, if anybody's
ever played a sport, you know, and you've been in
a game and things gotten out of the nitty gritty
and you're talking to your parents afterwards or whatever, or
your your friends, and they're like, man, I was so
nervous out there.
Speaker 2 (45:07):
Were you nervous?
Speaker 4 (45:08):
Most of the time, players are not nervous, right, You're
in the throes of the game. You're you are trying to,
you know, assess what's happening, and you're you know, you're
so locked in that you can't allow nerves to happen.
We see, listen, we see You've seen it happen at
the free throw line at the end of NBA games
or college games. I understand that it does happen, right,
But throwing that aside and just talking about the emotion
(45:33):
of a team that's just lost a difficult game, where
are the emotions. Are those kind of the sky is
falling emotions creeping into a locker room? Or is it
just hey man, let's go business as usual. Let's find
a way to win a game.
Speaker 2 (45:48):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (45:49):
No, I mean, you could get frustrated, and that's a
natural human emotion, and you know guys are going to
have that.
Speaker 2 (45:54):
But you know, we always get the twenty four hour
rule to realize, Hey, you know, is this is this palpable?
Is it?
Speaker 3 (46:01):
Is this a bigger issue than what we're making it
out to be. I mean, that's the question. You're gonna
always ask yourself that that's the that's the secret sauce.
But I think at the end of the day, you realize,
hey man, we gave it our best shot. They got
good guys too, and you know, eventually those guys are
gonna beat our guys, and we have to be okay
with that process of you know, you're gonna win some,
(46:25):
you're gonna lose some. The object of the game is
win more than you lose. And if you keep that
in perspective, you'll you'll be okay and you realize your guys,
hey man, we're all in this together, right. I mean,
no one person shoulders all of this blame that that
that's just that's just impossible. That's the reason why it's
the team sport. If you want individual accountability, go play tennis,
(46:46):
or go play golf, or you know some other sport
where squash, you know, racquetball, you know, where you have
one person that you can lean that that that you
can only blame.
Speaker 2 (46:56):
This is not that sport.
Speaker 3 (46:58):
This is this is a sport that's made up players
and different position groups and different skill sets that allow
for the success or the failure of any given play,
any given game, and so you can't shoulder all of that.
I mean and listen, I was a victim of that
type of philosophy where I used to I used to
always get down on myself and think, Man, is it
(47:20):
my fault?
Speaker 6 (47:21):
You know?
Speaker 3 (47:21):
And you know I had to I had to learn that,
I had to reframe my thinking from that perspective.
Speaker 2 (47:25):
No, this is a team sport. And did I do
my job?
Speaker 3 (47:29):
That's the only thing I can really concern myself with
was did I do my job? And if I did
my job, you know, good things are going to eventually
happen more often than they're not going to happen. And
so as long as I take that perspective in mind,
I should be okay.
Speaker 6 (47:46):
Max Starks, thank you very much, my friend.
Speaker 4 (47:48):
We always like, you know, in the locker room, but
Max is the one who's actually been in the locker room.
So I love that, love that perspective, Max, Thank you
very much. Want to thank everybody for calling in today.
We want to thank just and Miller for being at
the patrols in our iHeart studio, and we of course
want to thank you for listening as well. For Max Starks,
I'm Rob King. Thanks for being with us in the
(48:09):
Locker Room, presented by your neighborhood Ford Store and this
pro Shop on Steathers Nation Radio, a part of the
Steelers Audio Network.
This is in the locker room with King and Starks
on Steelers Nation Radio, presented by your neighborhood Forward Store.
Speaker 2 (00:14):
The F one fifty is the official.
Speaker 1 (00:16):
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 3 (00:25):
All right, that is the sound of a power hour
I've ever heard one, guys, and that is Optimist, of course,
making his way through the locker room and of course
on his way doing whatever it is that Optimist does.
(00:46):
And we are live back inside the locker room.
Speaker 4 (00:49):
So back to you, Rob, all right, and let's get
to the phone lines four, one, two, one six. Let's
go to our friend Juan in South Carolina. One, thanks
very much for being with us. How are you today?
Speaker 5 (01:02):
Good morning, guys, hap me all to day.
Speaker 6 (01:04):
To your same Thank you.
Speaker 2 (01:11):
What you got in your mind?
Speaker 5 (01:12):
Why so, let's talk about the game yesterday. Like you
guys were stating earlier, we couldn't afford this. We could
afford the lost as an NFC team, and where dolls
get the AFC teams? So yesterday we should have just
(01:32):
killed them with the running game. Like you see, we
was we was we was killing them in the running
game while we didn't continue running the ball yesterday.
Speaker 3 (01:42):
Yeah, I mean that that is a very viable question.
And you know, when you kind of look at just
where the team was in this moment, it is frustrating.
I mean that that is that is really the big
overarching question. Why to run or not to run? That
is the question. And and we just did not take
advantage of the opportunity in front of us to the
(02:03):
full extent that we could have or exploited the opportunity
in front of us. I think we took advantage, we
just didn't exploit it. And that's gonna be something you know,
you're gonna say it was that gamesmanship and you know,
where is the fine line of running it enough for
running it too much? But I think how I look
(02:25):
at it is, whatever it was, we needed more of it, right,
We needed more you know, I need more cow bell,
you know, whatever that was going to be, it needed
to be emphasized to a greater degree. And I just
feel like there was an opportunity missed there and that
(02:49):
opportunity just did not come to fruition.
Speaker 2 (02:52):
And I'm just.
Speaker 3 (02:54):
I am a little miffed and I think that that
was kind of you know, my gripe with everything is
why because everything pointed towards it.
Speaker 2 (03:04):
But you know there's a reason why I am an.
Speaker 3 (03:08):
Analyst and not a offensive coordinator, right. I mean, you
know you have to take some of that credence and
say they know what they're doing. But it is head scratching,
and I get if some players work out the way
they do, say the ball does go a little bit
further and it's not that little, it's not underthrown a
little bit to where nay Sean Wright can literally make
(03:29):
a fantastic play on the ball and literally come inches
away from being out of bounds versus it being an interception.
Does that change the complexion of the game. If the
guys line up and it's not an illegal formation penalty
and Mason scrambles and rushes for twenty two yards, does
(03:51):
that not get whited out?
Speaker 2 (03:52):
Does that change the game?
Speaker 3 (03:54):
But also, you know the question of like you said,
if guys are a little bit more their p's and q's,
those two overthrown balls that Caleb Williams is very well
known for and very well documented, that's his game. He's
not as accurate as you think he should be at
quarterback right now. It hits the shoulder of James Pierre,
(04:14):
hits the shoulder of Carl Kyle Duggar on some overthrows
and there's no adjustment. But then again, you look at
his receivers also could not catch half those balls that
Caleb Williams through.
Speaker 2 (04:25):
So you can't really get.
Speaker 3 (04:26):
Mad at the DBS for not doing it when their
own receivers couldn't do it in a lot of those instances.
Speaker 2 (04:32):
Right, you know, if.
Speaker 3 (04:35):
You're able to stop some of the scrambles that Caleb
Williams had because we knew that's what he does when
he's in trouble, or he doesn't know he's going to run,
stopping a couple of third downs, right, I mean, there's
all these things we don't if we don't botch the
Steel City shove with on the fourth down and we
(04:58):
don't get that turnover down, so we continue and we
get that sixty seven or eight inches that it was
in that moment. If guys actually come up fire off
the ball at the same time and not kind of
guessing and late, and then that leads to the stop.
Different game. There's a lot of ifs. There's a lot
of shutarcuta woodas and you know what if we field
(05:19):
the ball a little bit clean, more cleanly at the
beginning of the game and get better field position and
don't have to march down the field now, I know. Listen,
we got our first ninety five yard plus drive since
twenty twenty three. That was all nice and all, but
we didn't come with with the win, right. I mean,
there's there's a lot of cross sections or pieces of
(05:41):
the pie since we're in Thanksgiving week, right, that you
could cut up and you could share with everybody. But
at the end of the day, it's still the team, right,
It's still a team effort, and you know, you have
to cover up for your brother when your brother might
not be at his best in that moment, you know,
you make him right. And they just didn't have enough
opportunities where they made each other right as a team,
(06:04):
and that's what contributed to this loss.
Speaker 4 (06:07):
Nay one, Hey, hope you have a wonderful and blessed Thanksgiving,
my friend, Thank you very much as always for calling
us and.
Speaker 6 (06:14):
Being part of the show.
Speaker 2 (06:17):
Thank you, buddy.
Speaker 4 (06:18):
All right, that's one from South Carolina, our good pala.
He's love to hear from one. We also have some
other calls. Let's get to Everett and fort Wayne. Everett,
how are you today, Thanks for being with us in
the locker room.
Speaker 7 (06:31):
Good morning, gentlemen.
Speaker 6 (06:32):
How are you today doing well? How are you?
Speaker 2 (06:35):
Everett? Good? Good?
Speaker 7 (06:36):
Good. I just I guess I'm frustrated with the fact
that other teams exploit us over the middle on passing
and we don't. We we don't respond, we don't adjust.
The one time we did, doug Or picks off Flaco
(06:56):
and takes it to the house. So I just don't understand.
And we don't split the middle of the field on
our offense. We don't throw slants enough, we don't put
you know, early in the season, Rogers was throwing those
crossers to DK and Scornic and stuff like that, and
then it just seems like we've gone away from that
where all the throws are to the sidelines, and it's
(07:20):
just very frustrating to watch. That seemed like the biggest
difference in the game yesterday was all three of their
touchdown passes were right down the middle.
Speaker 4 (07:29):
And I do look, so the defensive side, Max, I'm
gonna let you handle the offensive side.
Speaker 6 (07:33):
I'm going to throw it.
Speaker 4 (07:34):
A question on top of Everetts, which is that I
believe that you know, Arthur Smith will meet with his
quarterbacks and say, okay, what throws? These are the throws
we like for this game. What throws do you feel
comfortable with? Is that part of perhaps the process of
what we're seeing with seemingly attacking a defense less over
(07:56):
the middle, then maybe we've seen it other times.
Speaker 3 (08:00):
Yeah, I think it's game play specific for a lot
of it. And when I look at just you know,
going into this game, we already knew who the Chicago
Bears were. The strength of their team was their pass
rush and their secondary right. I mean, this is a
team that's number one in turnovers for a reason, and
we saw Naseean Wright was doing that. Now, they didn't
(08:20):
have a Jalen Johnson, they lost Tyre Stevenson during this game,
but this is a team that's very talented at doing that.
So you know, the one area where a larger, massive
bodies is going to be in the middle. But to
Everett's point, I think what's wrong with the slant if
you can get inside leverage out of the slot position
and just hit them with that, And whether it's five
(08:42):
six yards, it's still five six yards and you're not
going for the go ball down the sideline where you
can get bracketed. And DK was bracketed on that one.
So you know, na Sean had the underneath coverage. That's
why he was there in position to make the interception.
Safety was rolling over the top. I know a lot
of people didn't see that, but that was a bracket.
And DK's game is not the sideline go ball. Like
(09:04):
he's not George Pickens. And that's where it was, like,
he is a guy you need to put him in
the open field. And you know, I hate to call it.
You know it's Frank, but I'm a comic book kid.
So he's the juggernaut. Like once he gets the ball
in his hands and he starts running, it's like Darnell
Washington to a lesser degree. Right, he is tough to
bring down in the open field, and he gets faster
(09:27):
as the ball gets in his hand. It's like a superpower.
He's not the guy that's gonna go and just make
these jump ball passes. And I think that's where the
confusion is because it's like, oh, we gotta throw this,
gotta throw this pass route because he's wide receiver number one.
It's like, no play the guy to his strengths. I
was like, he's en routes, he's curl flats, he's comebacks,
he's double moves, and it's numbers to hash or if
(09:51):
you are going side is sideline inside to numbers working
towards the more middle of the field and that's where
he gets his stuff. Or you're taking a deep over
route with DK like those are the things where I
think we kind of minimize some of the skill set
of him. And it's schematics, I get it, but know
who the guy is that he's on it. If twenty
six is on him, probably don't want to throw the
(10:13):
ball underneath. You want to give him a high ball
where he can go high point and catch it if
he is going to have to run that route.
Speaker 2 (10:19):
So I mean, I agree, Everett.
Speaker 3 (10:21):
There's a lot of those things, And I get there's
gamesmanshipping trying to throw guys off in those moments, but
sometimes the best answer is the easiest answer.
Speaker 7 (10:31):
It's just like that jumbo package, we run the sweet
right er left. Just run that till they can't stop it.
Like you said earlier, just keep running the same play.
I mean, that play has worked ninety percent of the
time they run it. That thing just you know, get
those three tight ends out there just blowing people away
and then let Jalen or Gainwell run through it. But
(10:52):
they don't go to that enough, so I don't know.
The play calling is very frustrating for me.
Speaker 4 (10:57):
Every Thank you very much, thanks for being with us
in the locker room. Again, Happy Thanksgiving to you. I
hope you and your family have a great time you
get with loved ones, and hopefully the Steelers will. Yeah,
it would defeat to the Buffalo Bills on Sunday and
went to Looms. Is a big game for both teams,
by the way, not just for the Steelers. Let's go
to Eric and Elizabeth Township. Eric, thanks very much for
(11:19):
being with us in the locker room.
Speaker 8 (11:22):
Hey guys, how are you guys doing good? How are
you good?
Speaker 6 (11:25):
Good?
Speaker 2 (11:25):
Hey? Thanks for that analysis.
Speaker 8 (11:27):
The very beginning with those stats, I would have scratched
my head that they would.
Speaker 9 (11:30):
Lose a game.
Speaker 6 (11:31):
When you rattled those off. That was amazing. It really, yeah,
very amazing.
Speaker 8 (11:36):
So one thing I'd like to I'll hit you with
a bunch of things maybe, but we always talk about.
Speaker 6 (11:41):
The Indie and the New England wins.
Speaker 8 (11:43):
They had six turnovers in those games, only one one
of them by seven points. That's not realistic. That's not
gonna happen every day. The defense and the offense both
had splash plays. The fourth and one was unbelievable. Great call,
the fumble in the end zone, great play.
Speaker 2 (11:59):
But overall with the defense.
Speaker 8 (12:01):
I don't think you know, you look at the stats
a little bit, but at key times they didn't stop
the pass. Great job against the run, but didn't stop
the pass. Offense. Yeah, they ran the ball pretty well.
You got that game well, big one for fifty one
yards or whatever it was. They only gain out game
in Chicago by about thirty yards on that plot. If
(12:21):
you take that play out of there, I would like
to look at overall the penalties. You brought that up,
the punting. Look at the punting average of pits of
the Steelers versus the Bears. And also the thing way
with the kick returns, and one thing that I never
here mentioned and I'm just trying totally off the wall
and probably totally wrong about this, but it's the offensive line. Yes,
(12:45):
they did a great job with the run. Look at
that one big play, but they're not protecting the passer.
You got Rogers back there, he gives up a safety,
he got Rudolph. Maybe they make some bad, bad decisions
and they're running around to me, but I don't think
they protect the quarterback enough. And that's the thing that
(13:06):
I've looked at over the season, but maybe totally wrong.
No one says that. So I heard the beginning the
offensive line young They're gonna gel on this. I don't
think they've shelled at all.
Speaker 4 (13:18):
Mike comments, Okay, so Eric, I am glad you brought
up the special teams because again, you know you talk
about hidden yardage. Well, you know, you're losing yards in
the punt game, and you're losing yards and the kickoff
return game. Those don't count in the total yard statistics,
but they certainly count just the same way when you
(13:39):
turn it over on downs, that's a turnover that doesn't
count as a turnover. So you know, if you look
at the the game through that lens, they probably lost
the yardage game because they lost yards in special teams,
which is not something that normally happens with the Steelers,
and they lost the turnover battle. So I think those
are Those are good points, and those are part of
(14:01):
when you lose a game by a field goal.
Speaker 6 (14:03):
Little things like that add up. Max.
Speaker 4 (14:06):
I will ask you to see what you've seen on
the offensive line.
Speaker 6 (14:11):
Has it improved over the course of the season.
Speaker 3 (14:16):
It's been highly inconsistent. Like they've had their moments where
you're like, Okay, this team gets it. This young squad
is viable. But I have to point to the fact,
and this is not what everybody's gonna want to hear,
but you know, I would love to see them be
able to run out of a normal personnel group. And
I love the addition of Spencer Anderson because I think
(14:39):
it is something that's often overlooked and teams don't necessarily
take that type of approach, like, oh, well, we got
to run it that way, and there is a creative
way that seems to be unstoppable. But you should at
some point be able to run out of eleven personnel,
a normal eleven personnel with a standard tight end. And
that's where like they haven't quite gelled in that moment.
(15:02):
And the pass protection is good and listen, you know,
those guys on the other side of the ball get
paid a lot of money to do what they do.
Montes Wet highly compensated, right, just like a Miles Garrett
highly compensated. You know, you look at TJ. Watt, highly
compensated for what he does. And that's where you know,
(15:23):
you understand that there is a battle and the margin
vera for an offensive line is a lot thinner than
it is for a defensive line, right.
Speaker 2 (15:30):
You know, you know a guy gives up one or
two sacks, he sucks.
Speaker 3 (15:34):
And if a guy gets one or two sacks and
that's it on the defense side of the ball, he's amazing,
right ye. I mean you know, and in the course
of sixty to seventy plays or thirty forty dropbacks, you
have two bad plays as an offensive lineman, you they're
looking to replace you. You get stuffed as a defensive
lineman for a majority of plays, and you come away
(15:54):
with two of them, you are hailed a hero. So
I mean that narrative is always going to be something,
but that's the job you sign up for as an
offensive lineman. I get that, and you know, we take
pride in being consistent. But also there are moments if
you know he's struggling, get some help there. Darnell right
right after TJ was whipping him, they started adding the
(16:18):
tight end over there, right, They started running more chips
that way to try and help him out.
Speaker 2 (16:22):
And that's how you have to do it.
Speaker 3 (16:24):
You can't just continually leave guys on an island and
those moments. Expect them to just be great at all times.
Like you know, you're giving up weight, which you know,
when you're the bigger guy, guess what, you don't.
Speaker 2 (16:34):
Move as fast as a smaller guy. So there are
moments where they're going to get you.
Speaker 3 (16:38):
And so that's what I say, caution, you know, from
looking at it from that perspective that oh they're not
getting better. They still put up you know, one hundred
and eighty plus yards and they did, you know, create
the wall to allow him to run fifty five yarder
which I thought was going to be a touchdown with
that hand touched out, just shy of it. But I
(17:00):
felt like there should have been more. There should have
been more opportunities for them to do that because they
were doing very well in that game and they were
exploiting that, you know, and if you take that play away,
they still had over one hundred and thirty yards rushing
and this team was in this Chicago Bear's team was
given up greater than one hundred and thirty four yards
a game rushing the football, and I felt like there
(17:22):
were when you have a backup quarterback, no matter how
great the backup is, he's still a backup. That's when
you lean on your run game in those moments. And
I think we kind of out psyched ourselves because Mason
is a veteran. Mason is a guy who's won games
for you in the starting role and positioned on this team.
Speaker 2 (17:37):
So you kind of got lulled a little bit and
thinking and we can just do what we do.
Speaker 3 (17:41):
But you know, that's where you have to kind of
caution yourself, and the easiest answer is always going to
you know, sometimes is the best answer. And I think
we kind of outthought ourselves in those moments.
Speaker 2 (17:51):
But you're right.
Speaker 3 (17:52):
I mean it's something. I feel like the offensive line
is coming along. I feel like they are getting better,
but you're just not playing to their strengths consistently.
Speaker 4 (18:01):
All right, Eric, thank you very much for your phone call.
We've got to take a break. We have more of
your phone calls coming up at four one two nine,
one nine, one three, one six when we continue in
the Locker Room presented by your neighborhood Ford Store, in
the Students Pro Shop on Stuears Nation Radio, a part
of the Steelers Audio Network.
Speaker 1 (18:22):
This is in the locker Room with King and Starks
on Steelers Nation Radio, presented by your neighborhood Ford Store.
Speaker 2 (18:31):
The F one P fifty is the.
Speaker 1 (18:32):
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 4 (18:43):
And taking your phone calls as we all help each
other in a communal.
Speaker 6 (18:47):
Effort to get over this thirty one to twenty.
Speaker 4 (18:50):
Eight loss in Chicago yesterday that drops the students record
to six and five and drops them out of first
place in the AFC North for the first time. A
lot to get to and your phone calls, and let's
go back to the phone lines and talk to Ryan
and Butler. Ryan, thanks very much for being with us
in the locker room.
Speaker 10 (19:11):
Thank you, You're welcome. Okay, So this Upkine. Saturday is
the last week of a college football season, correct, Okay, Yeah,
(19:33):
and then on Saturday is one big matchup. Yeah about
we're supposed to see is the pit pant first take.
Speaker 4 (19:42):
Okay, uh, some troubles there again on the phone line,
so hopefully we can get that straightened out. This is,
of course a Steelers show, so I understand there's some
desire to talk about a big game coming up for
the Panthers on Saturday, but we're gonna keep it to
the Steelers as we go to Ricky in Georgia. Ricky,
thanks you very much for being with us in the
locker room.
Speaker 2 (20:04):
Everybody doing good, doing all right, Ricky?
Speaker 9 (20:08):
Oh we're doing good, man, We're doing good.
Speaker 10 (20:09):
Hey.
Speaker 9 (20:10):
I know when they hang out head low, but hey man,
look just keep your head up and keep going. But
once I didn't yesterday, I couldn't watch the game in
my area because they want showing. They were showing the
can City and in the game, so I had to
listen to y'all in the radio. But unfortunately someone on
our heart and I couldn't catch the rest of the
game till like the end of the four quarter, when,
of course, when the game decided. So I had to
(20:31):
go back and look at the highlights of it and
what I take from the game from what the team,
what I see now whatever they trying to do stematically
is it is working. I just think that the players
are not paying attend to the details of the work,
and I'm gonna reinforce that by saying, oh I see details,
(20:53):
I mean like watching what some players line up there
on the offense and defensive side and knowing how to
attack it. To approach it is just going up to
that man, whatever the situation you see on that your
linebacker position or you had to ride see positions. I
think the players are not just paying into what they
detail work has to be and not and knowing where
to be at for the time to start to play.
(21:13):
Because we made some plays, Unfortunately we didn't make the
play that we need to make it at the end
of it. And from what I took from Aaron Rodgers
his first post game interview as we beat the Jets,
he was very accountable and he held everybody accountable, including
himself of as in what can happen if we all
played it right on the road. So I just think
(21:35):
it's a lack of payting detail mixed with a little
fatiguingness in the mind throughout the game, or staying focused
what you need to do and what's your job and
what's your assignment because it's going to work. The talent
is there. It's just we were, like I think we
kind of getting in our own way, in our own
heads in certain situations. Not all the situations, just certain ones.
I don't know why, that's what it's seemed like. And
(21:58):
I still think the team got a change. They still
got a champ change, like like you said, miss Robb,
and it just fact or they when they step in
the ring or they're gonna knock the person out in
front of them every play, every single play. And I
remember watching the or I went to the Angle a
couple of years ago. I came back and I watched
the document of the eighty five Bears that cost and
played them but not playing them, but and I listen
(22:21):
to how them in the defensive mind, how they players were.
They used to pay vegs and stuff like that just
to get to the quarterback. I know the one that
the illegal they were doing. But it's that competitive ad
of must you're players to make everybody else better to
get to where you need to be. And I think
that's something we lack of on our defense side and
(22:42):
maybe offense side, not because we don't we lack talent,
but because we ain't played enough together. Now mind you,
they just had the season. We should be on track
where it's not. Every team's built differently, But I just
think that's where it's not. That's what that's what the
sparking not coming from. It's like, I'm gonna be building
to you. I'm gonna buil in the type of situation
and we all can win together. We be building each
(23:03):
other each play, but stay focused. So that's my take
on it. Anything y'all got to say, if I'm.
Speaker 4 (23:08):
Rolling right about it, oh yeah, thank you, Hey, listen,
I think that's you know, there's a lot of talk
max about what they're not doing schematically, and it's and
it's understandable. It drives people crazy that you know, uh,
third and ten and they're just you know, they're able
to throw them all over the middle of the field
(23:29):
and pick up first downs. We've seen that. We saw
it happened last week in Cincinnati. We saw it happened
this week against Chicago, making it look easy. And yet
you know, guys are pointing around, who's lined up, where
are we supposed to be? And then you see that
offensively late in the game. You know, we talk about
plays that could have should have At this stage of
(23:52):
the season. You know, we talk about you can't you
can't be lined up in the wrong spot, and you
know what, things aren't going your way. You got to
battle through adverse city and take accountability. So I think
these are really good points because I think a lot
of people are pointing to, well, you know, there's there's
things we're not doing schematically, you know, but again, uh,
(24:12):
you know, the players have to go out and play
and make plays as well.
Speaker 3 (24:17):
No, they do, and and usually you know, there there's
a certain hunger, there's a certain desire, there's certain competitive
nature that you have to have built into you that says, no,
I'm not going to let this guy make the play right.
Speaker 2 (24:35):
It's not going to be on my watch that this
goes awry.
Speaker 3 (24:40):
You know, we you know, I want to I want
to get there before the other like that internal competition,
And I feel like there is to a degree on
the defensive side of the ball, But like you said,
it's not as apparent all the time. I mean, you
look at how Jalen Ramsey plays, right, I mean, hair
is on fire. He wants to knock you out every
time he gets It's to you and you know a
(25:03):
certain level. I feel like cal Duggar also brings that
kind of pedigree to it where he wants to. He's
just as competitive, like who's going to get the most
tackles right now?
Speaker 2 (25:13):
Now?
Speaker 3 (25:13):
Who got the sack and who didn't get the sack?
And you have this kind of repartee amongst amongst teammates,
a friendly competition. Offensively a little bit different, you know,
as far as how you get across it. I mean,
you know, in our offensive line room, I mean, we
had a competition every week for who got the most pancakes, right,
you know, we want to see who wasn't loafing and
(25:35):
who was it who was the weak link? Like we
had these kind of internal, built in competitions. And yeah,
I mean the game has changed from that perspective. And
you know, guys don't take that. They just want to
do their job. And and there's something to be said
for that, right, that consistency with doing your job. But
at the end of the day, this is a game.
(25:56):
You gotta make it fun. When it sucks, you gotta
find you gotta find a silver lining in the moment.
And you know, there's a certain unbridled gladiatorial aspect to
this game where I want to see the other guy quit, right,
I want to do everything in my power to make sure.
Speaker 2 (26:18):
He is not successful.
Speaker 3 (26:20):
And that's that internal drive and maybe that's just generational things.
I mean, you talked about the eighty five Bears. You know,
they played football a lot different back then, you know,
just like we look at the seventies Steelers teams, right,
there was a lot of different rules with mel Blunt
was that safety that aren't there anymore now? You know,
you know, Dick Knight, train lane's not coming out and
(26:44):
you're not.
Speaker 2 (26:44):
Head slapping everybody like Deacon Jones. Right, you know, there's
a reason.
Speaker 3 (26:48):
Why, you know, offensive line are actually allowed to use
their hands now, you know. So I get there's a
certain evolution that has to happen in this game, but
there's still something about that pride aspect where I just
want to beat you up and this is my legal
way of beating you within an inch of your life
on every single play between the whistles. And yeah, I mean,
(27:10):
guys are just built different this day and age, but
there you still see it. You still see it in
certain players. It's like, why can't our guys get to that.
Why can't they be internally because there's only so much
a coach can say, There's only so many speeches that
can be given to where you have to respond as
a man and to a man, looking at the guy
to your left and your right, in front of you
(27:30):
and behind you, and say I won't be the weak link.
And that is something I see in moments. I just
don't see it consistently in the competitiveness of those guys
amongst each other. I see the competitiveness in the games,
but you can't depend on others to do more than
what their job is. And as long as eleven do
their job, it should work out more often than not.
Speaker 4 (27:52):
So Ricky and Max, can I share something with you
guys real quick? I was at the Pro Football Hall
of Fame in my son and Canton and my wife,
and my wife's like, Oka, I'm gonna go out and
get the car warmed up, and my son and I
they had these little videos for all the Hall of famers,
and of course my son is, you know, investigating the younger,
newer players, the people that he's seen or maybe when
(28:12):
he was young man he heard about from the generation previous.
And we're both, you know, hitting these videos and I'm
over there hitting Dick Knight, Train Lane and some other guys,
and I'm like, hey, man, come over here and check
this thing out, Like you couldn't get away with these
clothesline tackles. And then we got to a point where
we absolutely refused to leave. We were hitting video after
(28:33):
video until we saw somebody totally flattened, totally pancake.
Speaker 6 (28:38):
That's what we needed to see.
Speaker 4 (28:39):
So we'd already seen some of the videos and we're
hitting videos and it's not happening. I'm imagining my wife
out like hey, what's going on? What are these guys doing?
And then we hit Jerome Bettis and we were able
to leave the Hall of Fame because he just flattened
somebody from the from the Ravens as a matter of fact,
which made it even better. Defensive back came up and
Jerome flattened them, and then we were able to safely
(29:01):
leave the Hall of Fame. So different eras, but but
just what you guys talking about that your conversation made
me think of that that great moment. It can't ohio
with my son.
Speaker 7 (29:11):
Wow.
Speaker 4 (29:12):
So anyway, punched up, Hey, Ricky, thank you so much, man,
appreciate it. Hope you have a happy and blessed Thanksgiving
and are surrounded by loved ones. And we thank you
very much for being with us.
Speaker 9 (29:24):
Thanks to y'all.
Speaker 7 (29:25):
Man.
Speaker 4 (29:26):
Oh yeah, yeah, there's no doubt that's gonna happen. I
mean none. Let's let's squeeze in. Should we squeeze in
one more phone call?
Speaker 2 (29:35):
You know?
Speaker 4 (29:35):
No, we have a couple guys online. Let's get to
those when we get back. Let's take a break. Before
we do take a break, I want to remind everybody
that you can gear up with the latest gain day
necessities at the official Students 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
(29:57):
of the official Students Pro shops located at Acres Stadium,
Grove City, Premium Outlets or Tanger Outlets, or gear up
online at shop dot Steelers dot com. Get it direct
from the team at the Steers Pro shop at shop
excuse me, shop at dot Steelers dot com. Our phone
number once again four one two nine one nine one
(30:18):
three one six back with more in the Locker Room
presented by our neighborhood Ford Store and the steerersh Pro
Shop on Steelers Nation Radio, a part of the Steelers
Audio Network.
Speaker 1 (30:30):
This is in the Locker Room with Kenyon Starks on
Steelers Nation Radio, presented by your neighborhood Board 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 (30:52):
All right, we know what it is.
Speaker 3 (30:54):
Is the last segment, which of course we know it's
only one thing.
Speaker 5 (30:58):
Is the bell lap.
Speaker 2 (31:03):
Oh, one of the sweetest sounds out there for not
so great day. Obviously this would normally be reserved for
a victory donut Monday, but you know, it.
Speaker 3 (31:16):
Being the holidays, I would say that you know this
is this is a this is a comfort food Monday,
you know, comforting after a loss. You get twenty four
hours to kind of deal with this. We'll take thirty
six as we kind of get here a little bit
earlier than everybody else in the process. But you know,
make sure you go out there, make sure you find
something good to eat today, something that warms the soul.
(31:38):
And we're in this holiday season and you know, as
we think about giving thanks, we'll we will get later
in the week where we'll actually open up the lines
and talk about what you're thankful for, you know, for
this season, but you know, just general thanks for all
of the blessings I've been bestowed upon us. You know,
(31:59):
just take a moment to reflect on that. And you know,
this game of football is a beautiful one, but it's
also sometimes unforgiving at times.
Speaker 2 (32:08):
But at the end of the day, you know.
Speaker 3 (32:10):
Just so guys are doing their best out there, and
I think that's where you kind of have to make
sure that we're keeping that in perspective. They are human
and we are human, so you know, emotions do run deep,
and make sure you put that energy in the right
direction and make sure that it is in a constructive
type of way and not in a destructive kind of way.
Speaker 4 (32:31):
Well, put my friend, and let us get back to
the phone lines, and let's start with Nathaniel in Los Angeles. Nathaniel,
thanks for being with us in the locker room.
Speaker 5 (32:40):
Thanks, good morning.
Speaker 6 (32:42):
Good morning. What's on your mind.
Speaker 7 (32:50):
Days the game yesterday?
Speaker 6 (32:54):
Oh man?
Speaker 4 (32:55):
Nathaniel waited for a while out in La. Yeah, Nathaniel,
call back you. Yeah, you call back.
Speaker 2 (33:01):
Back because there was a there was a connection issue.
Speaker 6 (33:04):
Connection issue. Let's go to CR in Chicago. Cr. How
you doing what.
Speaker 11 (33:13):
Live back in the Winness City of Chicago, Man, Cargo
week Man, I am so pumped up about and it's
been a while since to talk to you guys.
Speaker 2 (33:25):
Man.
Speaker 8 (33:28):
I came up.
Speaker 11 (33:28):
I didn't know where to go at.
Speaker 9 (33:30):
I hadn't been.
Speaker 11 (33:33):
What it's called Hosmith is in a westboundal oh.
Speaker 6 (33:38):
Max, Yeah, that kind of sums it up.
Speaker 3 (33:42):
Yeah, we have technically yeulties and we are having techicult
difficulties with the phone lines. We are we apologize everyone,
hopefully call back. We could try and figure this out.
Like I said, we'll have the phone lines opened up,
you know often this week, more often to make sure
we get them in when we will, we will get
(34:03):
you know, the Grimlins. You know this is something that
over my uh my five now years doing this show.
You know, we we have we have grimlins that get
into the system from time to time.
Speaker 2 (34:13):
And you know, CJ.
Speaker 3 (34:15):
Who is our who is our faithful you know, Ninja
Grimlin Hunter uh is no longer with us, So we're
gonna have to find a new Ninja Grimlin Hunter justin
you're gonna have to dub somebody the Grimlin.
Speaker 2 (34:24):
Hunter in the future, uh to handle that.
Speaker 3 (34:28):
So there is a you know, a phone line issue,
but we will get that rectified before the next show. Yeah,
you know, I love hearing from Nathaniel. I love hearing
from c R. And they usually bring some great point
of commentary. Hopefully you know, they can keep those thoughts
uh for another day and and be able to present
that to us because you know, as we kind of
(34:49):
look at this, I mean, and we could tell by
the phone callers, right Rob that No, there's a lot
of emotions, but also I there is optimism, and yes
there is a frustration, but it's a because destructive criticism
I think is kind of the general theme of what
we got today, and that's the way it should be.
And there were moments where we saw the brilliance, right,
(35:10):
we saw the excellence. I mean TJ Watt passing his
brother JJ on the all time sack list and doing
it in dramatic fashion, right, I mean, how else a
strip sack fumble in the end zone that leads to
a touchdown. It doesn't get more more fantastic for the
story career that TJ. Watt has had and is continuing
(35:31):
to have and leaving his legacy on the NFL. Nick
Herbert being the byproduct that gets to celebrate that as
first touchdown since high school. You know, so there are
those moments, right, we get those moments and the Kenny
Gainwell fifty five yarder that breaks off, and you know,
for DK metcalf right, his dad, Eric metcalf was a
(35:54):
former Bear. He gets a touchdown in Chicago, he gets
the ball, he gets to give it to his dad.
You know, you think of all of these other sub
storylines that are so great. You know, we kind of
get lost in the sauce on the loss. I get it,
and you know, at the end of the day, you're
measured in wins and losses. But there were some small
victories there that we also have to make sure we
don't gloss over because we're so obsessed with the loss
(36:19):
and look at some of the positive things that happened
in that game, and you know, they had those moments
that provided the excitement. You know, we had moments we
were fist pumping right going into halftime. We were feeling good, right,
we had a turnover, and we still it didn't define us.
Speaker 2 (36:36):
We took the.
Speaker 3 (36:36):
Lead, but like you said, I mean there was still
consistency issues that was in it, but still a solid day.
I mean you held them tight. And I know you
know style points don't count. That's more of a collegiate
type of thing, but you know you were in this game.
It was This game never got truly out of hand.
And I think that's another thing where you say you're
(36:58):
on the cusp, you're close, not quite there yet, but
what can we do if we have all pieces to us?
And I will say this, Calvin Anderson coming in for
the injured Broderick Jones did a good job, right, He
had a solid performance, and you know, as a VET,
as a backup swing guy, you got to be ready
at a moment's notice, and Broderick couldn't return to that
(37:21):
game and cal had to stay in there, and Cal did.
Speaker 2 (37:24):
Cal did a great job.
Speaker 3 (37:25):
You know, Joey Porter Junior getting knocked out of this game,
Darius Slay coming in, he's he's just coming off of
an injury as well, and coming in and playing James
Pierre once again, you know, manning that position and doing
the best job I think, you know, you have to
look at some of the some of the really good
jobs that happened in this game and some of the
great moments as well, and and keep you know, keep
(37:49):
it in perspective that you know, you're not that far off.
And the Bears are a good team.
Speaker 2 (37:53):
You know.
Speaker 3 (37:53):
I think a lot of people, because they've been so
bad for so long, this is a good team this year,
and they're not perfect.
Speaker 2 (38:00):
They just happen to get us at.
Speaker 3 (38:01):
Moments where you know, they exploited some of our weaknesses.
Speaker 4 (38:06):
I think that's well, So first of all, you know, look,
and it's hard on a Monday when you've lost, but
there were good things that happened in the game, and
whether you want to celebrate them as a fan and say, hey, listen,
it's there's still some things that we liked seeing and
hopefully listening to.
Speaker 6 (38:26):
I also think that it's an indication that.
Speaker 4 (38:31):
The Steelers again, I just keep thinking that at some
point here it's all going to come together. And the
elements that I see or think i'm seeing, I think
I'm seeing a team that has run the ball better
than their statistics indicate.
Speaker 6 (38:52):
The passing game has looked lively at times.
Speaker 4 (38:55):
The defense has been dominant at times, it just hasn't
been consistent enough to win. And when you think about
the losses, the losses have come, for the most part
to top caliber teams. And okay, let's throw the Cincinnati
Bengals out of their Thursday night game. Division opponent asked
(39:17):
the Bills taking on Miami about divisional opponents where they
got smoked.
Speaker 2 (39:24):
The Dallas Cowboys right last night.
Speaker 6 (39:26):
That's right.
Speaker 2 (39:27):
Those games are and they hit different.
Speaker 6 (39:29):
That's right.
Speaker 4 (39:30):
It's all you know, So there are there are a
lot of a lot of reasons, a lot of things
to point to. But I just think, you know, I
see a team that was leading Seattle at the half,
right you were in you know, you were ahead of
that game fourteen to seven. You had your opportunities to
(39:52):
win that game, you know, just by based on what
you did at half. And by the way, you know,
we're talking about a Seattle Seahawks team that's eight and
three right now, you were leading at halftime against another
eight and three team, the Chicago Bears. You were leading
at halftime against the seven to three and one team
(40:13):
in the Green Bay Packers. It's not like and look
who's better than those teams, the Rams, maybe the Eagles, maybe,
I don't know if anybody in the AFC. I mean,
you beat the Colts, you beat the Patriots, right, You've
beaten the elite teams in the AFC, and you had
(40:35):
leads at halftime against three of the elite teams in
the NFC. And I guess throw Philadelphia and throw La
in there. You haven't played them, So I just I
see these elements there, Max, I said at the beginning
of the year. I've said it all along. I thought
they had more talent and a better team than they
were a year ago. It just hasn't congealed to the
(40:58):
point it needs to congeal.
Speaker 2 (41:00):
Two.
Speaker 4 (41:01):
And look, I keep thinking, go to you know, take
take on Buffalo, beat Buffalo, Ravens, come in, beat the Ravens.
Now Miami comes in here on a Monday night game.
Speaker 6 (41:13):
And maybe you.
Speaker 4 (41:14):
Beat the the Dolphins as well. And now you've won
three to zero. Now all those pieces have come together.
We've seen the special teams be a plus almost every
single game, and it wasn't yesterday. How do we get
this so that more good things are happening, the good
things that we're seeing. How do they happen on a
more consistent basis, How do you get better coming out
(41:36):
of the out of halftime and into the third quarter
and get the ball and put one of those drives
together that puts these other teams in trouble, that you know,
gives you the game, that allows you to take command
of the game. Is probably a better way to put that,
because that's been lacking. And I don't understand why that's
(41:57):
been lacking, but it has been. And I mean, you
can't argue that that's been the case, you know, and
listen in all of these games. You're up fourteen to
seven against the Seahawks, you get the ball to begin
the second half. You're up big on the Packers, you
get the ball to begin the second half. You're up
against the Bears. Again, we're talking about top teams. You
(42:21):
get the ball to begin the second half. You have
a chance to turn this into two score leads, and
can't do it. And that's why I just think, for
whatever reason, it hasn't added up to what I think
the stealers have And if I'm going to take a
positive out of it, it's that, Okay, it hasn't happened yet, right,
And it may not happen, this may just be the team,
(42:42):
but I've seen the elements and it makes me believe
that it's still in there. That's the positives I'm taking
out of the game yesterday in Chicago.
Speaker 3 (42:52):
Yeah, and I think that's what it is is it
comes down to just that consistency. If we can get
the consistency down, I don't see how.
Speaker 2 (43:01):
You you know you can.
Speaker 3 (43:03):
You can be upset because we have the talent, we
have the players, We have every answer.
Speaker 2 (43:10):
And this is.
Speaker 3 (43:11):
Something that Wolf has always preached, and so his touch
the answers you seek are within those four walls. It's
different if you're say, man, we're not up to snuff,
but we are up to stuff. We are in a
position where we control our destiny and we have the
guys to help us get there. And I'm just hoping
that you know, like anything else, you know that you
(43:32):
take full advantage of those opportunities. I mean, that's just
something that has to happen eventually, and for this team,
you have to just make that ideal that hey, we
are going to do whatever it takes, you know, to
be successful, and you know we're not going to let
circumstances really define us as a unit because we have
(43:54):
the answers. It's not like we're a team that's you know,
scrounging and praying for you know, the best type of
situation to happen out out of any given situation. It's
we have to be our own answers. We have to
solve our own problems, and this team has the ability
to solve those problems. It's just a matter of can
(44:18):
we agree that this is the best way of going
about it. And I think that's what the Steelers are
going to have to do. They're gonna have to make
that decision to a man that I will not be denied.
I will not be denied in this moment. And you know,
just just get pissed off. Just get pissed off about
being pissed off.
Speaker 2 (44:38):
That's really what it comes down to.
Speaker 6 (44:40):
Max. Let me ask you this.
Speaker 4 (44:42):
You know, around Pittsburgh teams fans are down right, we
understand that you're down Exactly how is it.
Speaker 6 (44:53):
In the locker room?
Speaker 4 (44:54):
Like you know, I know that you know, if anybody's
ever played a sport, you know, and you've been in
a game and things gotten out of the nitty gritty
and you're talking to your parents afterwards or whatever, or
your your friends, and they're like, man, I was so
nervous out there.
Speaker 2 (45:07):
Were you nervous?
Speaker 4 (45:08):
Most of the time, players are not nervous, right, You're
in the throes of the game. You're you are trying to,
you know, assess what's happening, and you're you know, you're
so locked in that you can't allow nerves to happen.
We see, listen, we see You've seen it happen at
the free throw line at the end of NBA games
or college games. I understand that it does happen, right,
But throwing that aside and just talking about the emotion
(45:33):
of a team that's just lost a difficult game, where
are the emotions. Are those kind of the sky is
falling emotions creeping into a locker room? Or is it
just hey man, let's go business as usual. Let's find
a way to win a game.
Speaker 2 (45:48):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (45:49):
No, I mean, you could get frustrated, and that's a
natural human emotion, and you know guys are going to
have that.
Speaker 2 (45:54):
But you know, we always get the twenty four hour
rule to realize, Hey, you know, is this is this palpable?
Is it?
Speaker 3 (46:01):
Is this a bigger issue than what we're making it
out to be. I mean, that's the question. You're gonna
always ask yourself that that's the that's the secret sauce.
But I think at the end of the day, you realize,
hey man, we gave it our best shot. They got
good guys too, and you know, eventually those guys are
gonna beat our guys, and we have to be okay
with that process of you know, you're gonna win some,
(46:25):
you're gonna lose some. The object of the game is
win more than you lose. And if you keep that
in perspective, you'll you'll be okay and you realize your guys,
hey man, we're all in this together, right. I mean,
no one person shoulders all of this blame that that
that's just that's just impossible. That's the reason why it's
the team sport. If you want individual accountability, go play tennis,
(46:46):
or go play golf, or you know some other sport
where squash, you know, racquetball, you know, where you have
one person that you can lean that that that you
can only blame.
Speaker 2 (46:56):
This is not that sport.
Speaker 3 (46:58):
This is this is a sport that's made up players
and different position groups and different skill sets that allow
for the success or the failure of any given play,
any given game, and so you can't shoulder all of that.
I mean and listen, I was a victim of that
type of philosophy where I used to I used to
always get down on myself and think, Man, is it
(47:20):
my fault?
Speaker 6 (47:21):
You know?
Speaker 3 (47:21):
And you know I had to I had to learn that,
I had to reframe my thinking from that perspective.
Speaker 2 (47:25):
No, this is a team sport. And did I do
my job?
Speaker 3 (47:29):
That's the only thing I can really concern myself with
was did I do my job? And if I did
my job, you know, good things are going to eventually
happen more often than they're not going to happen. And
so as long as I take that perspective in mind,
I should be okay.
Speaker 6 (47:46):
Max Starks, thank you very much, my friend.
Speaker 4 (47:48):
We always like, you know, in the locker room, but
Max is the one who's actually been in the locker room.
So I love that, love that perspective, Max, Thank you
very much. Want to thank everybody for calling in today.
We want to thank just and Miller for being at
the patrols in our iHeart studio, and we of course
want to thank you for listening as well. For Max Starks,
I'm Rob King. Thanks for being with us in the
(48:09):
Locker Room, presented by your neighborhood Ford Store and this
pro Shop on Steathers Nation Radio, a part of the
Steelers Audio Network.
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