July 24, 2025 • 36 mins
Rob and Max continue to prepare Steeler Nation for training camp practice number one.
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Speaker 1 (00:05):
Iheartradios.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
Live coverage of about twenty twenty five Steelers Training Camp
is presented by FedEx where Now meets Next and also
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(00:28):
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Castle Rock, by Clearview Federal Credit Union, and by us steel.
Speaker 3 (00:40):
Welcome back to Latrobe in the locker room with King
and Stark's presented by your Neighborhood Fords.
Speaker 4 (00:45):
Join the students. Audio Network.
Speaker 3 (00:46):
Want to mention again, you know, obviously filling in for
Craig Wolfe. I think I'm always going to feel like
it's filling in for Craig Wolfley for the rest of
my life and our daily departed friend and brother. But
thanks very much for being with us and hanging in
there with us as.
Speaker 4 (01:01):
We transition to a new program.
Speaker 3 (01:03):
But by the way, speaking of transition, Jes asking you
got in late last night, you guys. During the commercial break,
we're talking about the films you're lining up to yes
during very important part of camp.
Speaker 5 (01:12):
Right, it is it is. I mean, and here's a
funny thing.
Speaker 6 (01:15):
Early on in my career, we actually had that one
day where we would all get out here to practice,
go through the warm ups, and then you'd see these
buses rolling through and we knew that all man, this
movie day and we got to go watch a movie
as a team for one of the day's kind of
as a bonding experience.
Speaker 5 (01:34):
We don't have that anymore, right, but those days are longer.
Speaker 4 (01:37):
You go, now watch a movie on your phone. You
couldn't watch a movie.
Speaker 6 (01:40):
Yeah, I say, yeah, Netflix Prime, whatever else. I want
to give away too much free advertising here on the airwaves,
but you know, if you guys want to feel free
to throw a sponsorship our way, we'll definitely throw your
name in. But yeah, there's so much more access to
and even movies that are in the theaters, you can
still go get like advanced screenings for your room, right,
I mean, after like a week or two, you could
(02:01):
go onto one of these and you can actually watch
a movie.
Speaker 5 (02:03):
That's still in the movie theater.
Speaker 6 (02:04):
But there's something about going to the movie, right, The
smell of popcorn, the the the kind.
Speaker 5 (02:10):
Of option, dark cold room, dark cold room.
Speaker 6 (02:13):
You're you're congregating with people you don't know, but yet
we all have something in common because we're going here
to have this communal experience.
Speaker 5 (02:21):
And then of course buttery fingers and of course hot
dog breath.
Speaker 6 (02:24):
I mean, that's also why you go to the movie
theater unless you're unless you're like a you know, a
theater candy fan, you know, milk Duds or Sour Patch
Kids or something.
Speaker 3 (02:32):
I'm more incited, I'm more inclined to go that way.
But I guess I mix the uh, the chocolate. My
wife's a popcorn person, and you know, she puts extra
butter on and then if she's not looking, I put
more extra butter on it. Yeah, exactly, and some salt.
And then if I mix that with the with the chocolate.
Speaker 6 (02:48):
So my wife, my wife's a milk Duds and popcorn fans.
So that's a real that's a real treat there, because
you got the chocolate and the caramel, and they're so
much in your teeth when you're done, Oh, no question. Yeah,
don't smile and take a picture right after doing that.
Speaker 5 (03:01):
Make sure you go home first.
Speaker 3 (03:02):
Yeah, so just quickly because we're going to get back
to football, but I still feel like there's some movies
you want to go see in the movie theater.
Speaker 4 (03:09):
So yeah, I haven't. You know, my kids, I wasn't
a comic book reader growing up.
Speaker 3 (03:14):
I didn't even know. I'm ashamed to admit this, but
I'm not ashamed of ad minute. It's the fact I
didn't even know there was a Marvel comics. I really did,
literally didn't know. And so when I think Iron Man
was the first one I saw, I'm like, Okay, the
kids wanted to go see it.
Speaker 4 (03:25):
We went so well.
Speaker 3 (03:27):
Every time a new movie would come out, they'd be like,
aunt Man, and I'd be like, that sounds like the
stupidest thing I've ever heard.
Speaker 4 (03:33):
I'm not gonna go see it. And then we go
see it. I'm like, that was phenomenal, you know.
Speaker 3 (03:36):
But I have not watched one since my kids left
the house four or five years ago. I have not
gone to the movie theater to watch any of these
action comic book movies.
Speaker 4 (03:48):
But I'm going tonight. I'm going tonight to go see Fantastic.
Speaker 3 (03:51):
Fantastic four with my son, was girlfriend and my wife,
and we're gonna go check it.
Speaker 5 (03:55):
Out.
Speaker 3 (03:55):
But I always feel like if you're gonna watch a
Marvel movie, if you're gonna watch it James Bob movie.
Speaker 7 (04:00):
Oppenheimer. Yeah, since COVID, I've only been to the theaters
one time, but it was for oppen On.
Speaker 3 (04:05):
Yeah, the big sweeping epics. But then you know what
will happen. Invariably they'll come up to the Oscar nominations
and my wife would be like, well, how many of
these have we seen.
Speaker 4 (04:13):
We've only seen three out of the eight.
Speaker 3 (04:14):
So now you're getting on Netflix or Amazon and your
big cat and you're watching those movies at home. But
I think the big sweeping dramas or action movies that
the Tom Cruise movie was.
Speaker 4 (04:25):
The last one.
Speaker 5 (04:26):
Top Gun Maverick or Mission IPOs.
Speaker 4 (04:28):
Mission Impossible, that's a movie theater.
Speaker 5 (04:31):
Yeah, yeah, and I agree.
Speaker 6 (04:33):
And I think one of the biggest things is is
that you know, when you're thinking about that, you want
one that's actually shot for theaters. Like a lot of
people because of the New Age style, like we have
all these smaller cameras that can move and stuff. If
it has like Top Gun Maverick, right, like you got
the you got to sit in a Dolby at most
from here the jet taking off, and you want to
feel the rumble.
Speaker 5 (04:52):
In your seat. And like you said, the CGI elements.
Speaker 6 (04:55):
Of of of a actual like Marvel DC comics type
of movie where you need to get all of this
because it's so much and a smaller screen just isn't
gonna cut it. And I know, listen, I know, listen,
you ballers out there, they have eighty five and one
hundred inch screens.
Speaker 5 (05:09):
Right, we're not talking to you, we're talking.
Speaker 6 (05:11):
We're talking to the forty two to sixty five inch crowd, okay,
you know, and even the twenty seven inch that kind
of sits there like right there in the corner.
Speaker 5 (05:17):
We're talking to that crowd.
Speaker 3 (05:18):
So I gotta tell you real quick. So my my
living room couch, and now we watch everything in the kitchen,
but my living room couch is probably ten feet away
from my TV. And it doesn't matter what TV. When
the forty two inch TVs be I got that, then
it when it was a fifty inch, and a fifty five,
then is sixty The first thing I always thought the
minute I put it on my console and sat on
(05:39):
my couch, My first thought was always it's not big enough.
It doesn't matter how big it is.
Speaker 6 (05:44):
A house to eight feet, you move it to eight feet,
fill up the aspect ratio there.
Speaker 4 (05:50):
Yeah, there's you said for that.
Speaker 5 (05:51):
But why you did it? Yeah, because you always want
to get a new TV. So I see, I see
the psychology true.
Speaker 3 (05:58):
But this is again the reason you got off on
a slight tangentiers because this is part of camp, right,
what are you gonna do in those few off hours?
And the players don't have many off hours, do they?
Speaker 1 (06:08):
No?
Speaker 5 (06:08):
I mean there there's they're sprinkled in.
Speaker 6 (06:11):
It's not like it's not a blocks, right, It's more
like you have a lot of these like twenty thirty
forty minute break time periods because of the way the
practice schedule is. But you don't have the three hour
block like you used to with that morning schedule.
Speaker 5 (06:25):
That's where it was.
Speaker 6 (06:26):
It was a big trough in like the middle of
the day to early evening where guys are just aimlessly
walking around. Right, I've done all my work, but I
feel like a nervous energy. I can't just go sit
in my room.
Speaker 5 (06:37):
Me. I didn't have that problem. Anytime I had a
free time, I was off my feet, laying in my bed.
Speaker 6 (06:41):
But these guys, because because it's a younger group, they're
they're just walking up and down by the baseball fields.
They're walking over to the training facility, getting like extra treatment.
Speaker 4 (06:52):
Roommate or roommate.
Speaker 6 (06:54):
I had a roommate my first three years and then
and then I elevated to my older Yeah better says
because I also kind of became like the black sheep
because if you roomed with me, you weren't making the team.
Speaker 5 (07:06):
So I don't know how that was.
Speaker 6 (07:08):
Listen, I only had one offensive roommate, but it was
I had two defensive roommates the first and then finally
they said, Max, you're going to.
Speaker 5 (07:19):
Your own room.
Speaker 6 (07:20):
You've matured enough, you've made it past the rookie period,
you're vested veteran, so now you get your own room.
Speaker 5 (07:25):
And also we don't have to cut the guy that
has a name next to you.
Speaker 3 (07:27):
Well, you know, you see these on hard knocks and whatever,
and the you know, the teammates in their dorms or
if they have a dorm or hotels, they're trying to
catch up with each other and maybe you know, it
takes a little edge off the loneliness.
Speaker 4 (07:41):
I do know this.
Speaker 3 (07:42):
It depends upon your roommate's a big thing. Like I remember,
you know, working in smaller markets and TV when I
first started out. You go on the road and you
got one hotel room because you and the photographer in
the same hotel room.
Speaker 5 (07:54):
And I remember, I.
Speaker 3 (07:54):
Don't want to say his name, great guy, but he
was the loudest snorter YEA ever heard in my life.
And I remember trying to sleep in the bathtub with
the door closed.
Speaker 4 (08:04):
I couldn't.
Speaker 3 (08:05):
I couldn't fall asleep in my room. It was a
race to try to get there first and fall asleep first.
I literally slept in the tub, so you never know
what you're gonna get.
Speaker 5 (08:14):
Yeah, I was a snoring TV.
Speaker 6 (08:16):
But I also also because I couldn't because I couldn't
sleep at night before a game, like my anxiety, my
my just my nervous energy. So I had to take
like talent all PM to go to sleep the night
before games because if not, I wasn't going to sleep.
And so therefore I thought I was a great sleeper.
But of course my roommates totally different, like, oh my god,
(08:37):
you're sawing wood in there. I didn't know, dude. I
was like, man, I tried to roll you over. It
didn't work. It was like I started sleep walking in
the room. So yeah, so so we've learned. Yeah, it
was a lot of funs. But I also I also
had characters as my roommates. I mean, just imagine me
and Willly Cologne sharing wh man. So I mean we
we had some and like you said, you have that
(08:57):
buddy system.
Speaker 5 (09:00):
Will it what Bronx New York Baby?
Speaker 4 (09:01):
But that's right, that's right, that's right.
Speaker 3 (09:04):
You're thinking.
Speaker 6 (09:06):
Exigu Yeah, but no, and so you know, and that
that's the thing. Like, and that's why I appreciate because
not a lot of teams do it anymore. They don't
go off campus to A lot of teams stay on property.
They're either at their training facility or at their stadium
and they get in a hotel room and that's their
training camp experience. I think there's something to be said
(09:28):
when you ship everybody to one location and you kind
of have this one corrald location where you're forced to
create bonds, You're forced to interact because we're all stuck
in the same situation. We can't go home, we can't
sneak home after bedcheck, you know, sneaking home is an
hour and twenty plus drive just to get your bed
(09:48):
to then try and get back here first.
Speaker 5 (09:50):
Anon, you're losing sleep.
Speaker 6 (09:51):
So I think for the Steelers being out here, this
is a chance for really to become a team, to
bond with these other guys.
Speaker 3 (09:57):
And in look that we talked about this at the beginning,
the world has changed. I mean, there was a time
when guys are probably like, hey, man, I'm gonna come
out for camp for five weeks. I got a free
place to stay. They're gonna feed me, right, And now
you know, now you're dealing with a lot of millionaires
and guys making a lot of money, and they they, uh,
it's a little bit different setting that they're probably around
(10:18):
the league. Maybe the feeling isn't they they aren't as grateful,
but it is really good to see that. I think
this yeer is still doing this. And by the way,
we're seeing Cam Johnson here. Remember last year in the
off season workouts and and then during uh the camp
up here in the trop he looked incredible, absolutely incredible,
and then he had suffered the injury and Corless weightman
(10:40):
came in and did a fine job.
Speaker 6 (10:41):
Yeah, Corlos is still there, and I think that's something
you still always have to have to wonder.
Speaker 5 (10:47):
It's always a worry, I mean, because it's funny over
our hit.
Speaker 6 (10:49):
We've had some some dynamic kickers and like unfortunate injuries
that have that have kind of sidelight that I think
about Dan Sa Polvida bro Oh my god, that very similar,
like power, powerful, very pointed, I mean, change the field
for you type of leg.
Speaker 5 (11:05):
But unfortunate injuries have kind of slowed that down.
Speaker 6 (11:08):
So I'm hoping for Cam he comes back to form because,
like I said, we were.
Speaker 5 (11:11):
I was.
Speaker 6 (11:12):
I was sitting on the sidelines during that Atlanta game
Week one, and he was.
Speaker 5 (11:16):
He was booming the ball.
Speaker 6 (11:17):
I mean, he put Kirk Cuzes in a tough bind
for starting field position consistently through that game. He gets
the terrible injury. Then of course, of course we we
know we I mean, the Wizard of Boz comes and
he does it.
Speaker 4 (11:29):
All right, forty seven yard.
Speaker 3 (11:33):
Shadow of his.
Speaker 6 (11:35):
Yeah, exactly, Cold had done like two kicks into the net.
It was like all right, let's go, you know, and
and just absolutely was a weapon and was truly a
special teamer that day, handling both duties, but good to
see him back out here. I mean, because Cam can
be a difference maker. I mean, we don't talk about
special teams that much, but I mean it's something that
(11:56):
you have to talk about that just because between Boz
and between Cam and what cols like, they're an integral part.
Like they set the tempo for your team. They determine
starting field position right whether it's a kickoff, whether it's
a punt, or whether you make the extra make an
extra pointer, field goal, whether you don't like it, swings
(12:16):
the game, and it's something that I feel like it
is still a very important aspect.
Speaker 3 (12:20):
So those guys are also the specialist. Ay're all standing out.
They have their own field right below us on the
very first field, the second field. The offense is working
third field. This reminds me of something. The defense has
got their yellow jersey on the offense of their white jerseys,
and we're watching them working on interception drills and covered drills.
A lot of balls slipping through the fingers of a
lot of defensive backs, which reminds me that back in
(12:41):
the day, you know, the saying that I heard was, Hey,
that the I played wide receiver.
Speaker 4 (12:47):
When you're in college.
Speaker 3 (12:47):
Yeah, and they said, you know, hey, the best athletes
in the football field are defensive backs. That's what they
would away come up and say, Yeah, I mean, if you.
Speaker 4 (12:55):
Could catch, you'd be playing wide receiver, you.
Speaker 3 (12:57):
Know, exactly exactly, So you might be the best athlete
on the team. But uh, you got to learn how
to catch the ball too, man. So so it's it's
interesting to watch. We're not seeing any balls hit the floor,
on hit the grass on field two and field three.
They're they're kind of sliding all over the place out there.
Speaker 5 (13:12):
Yeah, I mean, and that's the thing.
Speaker 6 (13:13):
I mean, the biggest equalizer is, like you know, especially
if you get to college or if you have high
school teams like okay, we're gonna line everybody up at
wide receiver.
Speaker 5 (13:20):
Whoever catches it stage who.
Speaker 4 (13:24):
Exactly. That is so true, man, that is so true.
Speaker 5 (13:27):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (13:27):
So, by the way, were you a little surprised when
they traded George Pickens?
Speaker 4 (13:32):
For By the way, I was.
Speaker 3 (13:33):
I would have been fine with them rolling Pickens and
and Metcalf out there. Like I said, I do think
John new Smith maybe becomes your number two receiver, not
as conventional perhaps in the past, but I you know
I would have been fine with them rolling pickens in
Metcalf and and they decided, look, you only got Metcalf
for one more year.
Speaker 4 (13:51):
I will say this.
Speaker 3 (13:52):
When they traded for Metcalf and signed them to the extension,
the writing was on the wall, there's no way this year,
there's are or our most teams are gonna pay. You know,
unless you're the Tonati right airing it out constantly, You're
just not going to pay two receivers that kind of money.
Speaker 6 (14:09):
Well, and and also not paying and knowing that you
had to pay TJ. Watts right, So it was like
it was like, and what is Cincinnati dealing with right now?
They're dealing with a pass rusher problem.
Speaker 5 (14:22):
That's right, because they signed two receivers.
Speaker 6 (14:24):
So you knew that was that was gonna be the
less conventional way. But it was like, hey, let's see
what we got for you, and maybe you could repair
it to where hey, he could go somewhere else after
you've seen if he can or cannot do it.
Speaker 5 (14:36):
But I think it was just a matter of time.
Speaker 6 (14:38):
I would have loved the same prospect of having two
really big, dynamic receivers, but at the end of the day,
what would you have gotten from the other right, And
I'm not sitting here just because he's gone.
Speaker 5 (14:48):
I'm saying listen, I said a lot while he was here.
Speaker 4 (14:51):
And it was similar skills.
Speaker 6 (14:52):
It's not like similar skill set, right, That's right, Yeah,
similar skill set, similar playmaking ability. But at the end
of the day, it's still too very tall receivers where
you think about what the AFC North looks like with
T Higgins and jmar Chase over there, and then you
throw in where DeAndre Hopkins kind of comes in when
were shot Bateman as the Flowers down in Baltimore, and
then who knows what's in Cleveland. We're just gonna leave
(15:14):
it at that. I don't even know who's throwing them
the football.
Speaker 7 (15:16):
Maybe Flacco took the first first team reps yesterday, that
means nothing, then Kenny, then Dylan Gabriel, than Shador So that.
Speaker 5 (15:23):
Was basically how they were signed.
Speaker 3 (15:25):
Correct, literally.
Speaker 5 (15:30):
That the surprise.
Speaker 6 (15:33):
Yeah, But I mean, and I think that that's where
you have to be more like precise, like what do
I want? Do I need more dbs that are going
to be able to come bat those guys or am
I trying to match fire with fire and try and
have an air out fest. And I don't think that
was the Steelers process was we want to come in
with a more hybrid balanced approach because I have like
you said, you know, I think you said this West
(15:55):
like or or was it U Rob? Ye have Derek
Henry one week, you have Joe Burrow the other week. Right, Yeah,
it's and so it's like you have to have a
team that can either slug it out with you or
a team that can air it out with you.
Speaker 5 (16:05):
So you need a mix of both.
Speaker 6 (16:06):
You're not going to have two separate Stilos on the
same team that can be able to do those things.
Speaker 5 (16:11):
So you have to.
Speaker 6 (16:11):
Manage it in the middle and what equalizes that defense.
Speaker 3 (16:15):
And by the way, right as we stand here right now,
I'm assuming Calvin Austin is your outside receiver. And a
lot of people look at his size or really kind
of lack of size with Calviny. He's not a big
guy and he's not a bulky guy either and think,
well he should be a slock guy.
Speaker 4 (16:30):
But he's very comfortable played mostly in college on the outside.
Speaker 3 (16:34):
We saw him play a lot on the outside last year.
And another guy, you know, we talked about blocking. And
you know, we used to call it stalk blocking. I
don't you know, I guess perimeter blocking or whatever they
want to call downfield blocking. You know, we talked about
John new Smith and DK Metcalf and they're big guys.
To me, yes, it's a big guy blocking downfield. The
hinds ward is obviously number one. Number two is even
(16:59):
that guy is the willingness to do it. And one
of the things I liked about Calvin Huston is a
tough bugger, and he is willing. And so even if
you know, let's say he was going out there to
block Deshaun Elliott, right, who's a wonderful physical player, even
if Deshaun's going to discard him right in the time
it takes him to do that, that might be enough time.
(17:20):
So if you're Calvin Austin, you know what you have
to do, get up, dust yourself off, and do it again.
And here's the thing about Calvin Austin. He's never been
a big guy ever in his life. So he knows
that that is what is required for him down in
and down out, to be effected and to be able
to play regularly on the NFL level. And he is willing.
Speaker 4 (17:39):
He is a tough Uh.
Speaker 3 (17:41):
He's not a big guy. He's a tough little fellow.
Speaker 6 (17:43):
And I'll say this, the prime example was that Cincinnati
game in Cincinnati last season where it felt like they
were targeting him, dude, and they blast They blasted him
twice and what do he do? Got up, looked the
guy in the face, got back in the huddle. So yeah, right,
the kid as tough as nails and it's hard to steal,
but yet comes in a very very tightly efficient lead
(18:07):
netpackge that's.
Speaker 3 (18:08):
Well but and it's gonna be interesting to see again,
you know, because the talk here last year was this
Steeler's interested in a wide receiver. Lots of national stories
even local stories as well about guys that are interested
in would they acquire one? Are they in a similar
position this year? That'll certainly be part of the storyline
here in Latrow stick around plenty more to com You're
listening to the Locker Room with King and Starch, presented
(18:30):
by your neighborhood Fords Tour on the Steeler's audio network.
Speaker 1 (18:39):
I Heart Radios.
Speaker 2 (18:41):
Live coverage about twenty twenty five Steelers training camp is
presented by FedEx. Where now Meets Next and also brought
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By Pennsylvania One Call.
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Speaker 3 (19:12):
And Welcome back to Latrob in the Locker Room with
King and Starks, presented by your neighborhood Fords Store here
on the Steelers Audio Network.
Speaker 4 (19:19):
Coming to you from Latrob, Pennsylvania.
Speaker 3 (19:20):
Where an hour and thirty five minutes into camp, I'm
feeling little tugs of failure at me. You know, I'm
I'm thinking to myself because camp there's a lot of
sitting around, yes, and so when there's a lot of
sitting around for me, I don't know how you feel
about when there's a lot of sitting around. Food, extra
food gets involved that you might not normally eat. So
I drive up here today. I got my non fat
(19:42):
yogurt you know, oh yeah, the blueberries. You got a
little granola and I eat.
Speaker 4 (19:45):
That was it.
Speaker 5 (19:45):
Greeker were talking about regular Chabani ok, okay.
Speaker 3 (19:49):
New York Chabani from my wife's hometown up there, Edmonston,
New York. She went to a high school. I had
thirty one people in their graduating class. Sez little tiny
farm country up there. So I got my Bonnie right
then I come down here in the booth and Wes
Euler has got a big thing of cashews with both
you and I staved off for an hour.
Speaker 6 (20:08):
And fifteen, and hey, we we did well to wait
until this last break before we cracked it open.
Speaker 3 (20:13):
And then I went from what do I have right here?
Speaker 4 (20:15):
What is this right here?
Speaker 1 (20:16):
Max?
Speaker 6 (20:16):
That was an Aquaphina water bottle. You've already got the diet, Patty.
Speaker 3 (20:21):
I'm already an hour and twenty minutes and I've failed.
Speaker 6 (20:24):
Hey, it's only failure if you don't recognize it, you know.
I think the first step to getting over an addiction
is admitting you have an addiction.
Speaker 5 (20:33):
And you've done that very acute.
Speaker 4 (20:35):
I'm not saying addiction, I'm just saying lost.
Speaker 3 (20:36):
No, it is.
Speaker 6 (20:37):
It is because because you definitely are looking at the
fancy whole cashoes there bad and you're like, I can't
do it, I can't do you just automatically you turn
to put yourself in the corner after.
Speaker 4 (20:46):
You one of my one of my huge weeks. I
love I love cashe's.
Speaker 5 (20:50):
Oh same here, I love cashe's.
Speaker 3 (20:52):
I mean, if cashoes and cheese were health foods, I
think I'd be like Adonis, you know what I mean absolutely,
I mean, phenomenal shape, what work out a lot, you know, yeah.
Speaker 6 (21:01):
It would be amazing. But I'm like, but yeah, that
that's the fullest offense. Good fats for the most part.
There's still some bad ones there.
Speaker 3 (21:08):
But so my wife will get on me because everyone said,
I don't buy cashews that often, but when I do,
I'll eat them all like there's there's leftover cashews, that
doesn't it. And my wife said, you know they come
from the poison ivy fanly. I said, really, have you
heard that?
Speaker 5 (21:22):
No? I have not.
Speaker 3 (21:23):
Okay, all right, let's put that aside and let's get
back to talking about some football.
Speaker 4 (21:27):
Here, because some of the fun things, yeah so so.
Speaker 3 (21:33):
But this is part of it, right, This is part
of the experience to you know, what you're gonna eat,
how much you're gonna eat, and what movies you're gonna watch.
Speaker 4 (21:39):
In the dorm rooms.
Speaker 3 (21:40):
And I mean, this is you know, we all want
to talk about football. But these things, the meetings, the
weight lifting, this is all. It's not just what happens
on the field. That's what happens around the field as well.
And and we just want to kind of continue the
overview of the team. So we mentioned several times this
John US Smith edition, and I love the John Smith
(22:00):
edition because I think he's a you know, he's a
guy that's who's going to be best utilized as an
H backer in the slot. He can help your block
for the running game, could be a mismatch, There could
be a mismatch in the receiving game, coming off a
tremendous season last year in Miami. But the other part
of that trade was you got a new cornerback, Jalen Ramsey,
(22:20):
and you traded Minka Fitzpatrick. And now you have with
the signing of Darius Slay. And again we're talking about
a little different way of doing business. You trade for Metcalf,
you signed him to an extension, You go out immediately
in free agency and pick up Darius Slay.
Speaker 4 (22:35):
Now you have those three corners.
Speaker 3 (22:38):
My take on this, Max is I don't want to
lose a player of Minka Fitzpatrick's abilities, and I think
because probably Troy Polamalu was your best defensive back for
so many years. We get enamored with the safety position
kind of like we get enamored with the center position
because there's been so many great ones. But what you
really want to me, from my vantage point in the NFL, is.
Speaker 4 (23:00):
His corners over safeties.
Speaker 3 (23:02):
You want you want, and I'm not trying to denigrate
the safety position, but you want those guys who can
go out and cover. You know, if you're Cincinnati, you're
building this juggernaut throwing team. Well, okay, you got Joey
Porter Jr. Then what do you have on the other side. Well,
I'll tell you what you have on the other side.
You got Jaalen Ramsey and you got Darius Slay. I
think that, yes, micka Fitzpatrick goes out, but Jayalen Ramsey
(23:24):
coming in. We talked about Johnny Smith, but man, that
is a big acquisition.
Speaker 6 (23:28):
Now it's a big acquisition, and you're talking about this
is also a guy who ranked number sixty six on
the NFL's top one hundred player list.
Speaker 5 (23:35):
So it's not like you just went and got a guy.
You got a very very good, skilled, capable guy.
Speaker 6 (23:42):
Late in the process of coming into camp and you
already had Darius Big play Slay who we know about
his exploits, right, we watch what he's done on Super
Bowl teams, we watch what he's done at other places.
So for him to come and offer that skill set,
you know, think back to twenty twenty one when he
was with the Rams and how Raheem Morris kind of
(24:03):
really deployed him and utilized him. It's gonna be interesting
because the quandary is gonna be do I put Slay
on the outside and put Jalen on the inside with
a Beanie Bishop or vice versa, because both of those
guys are man demand corner guys, and of course Joey
Porter Jr. Is also He's on our team. I don't
(24:26):
want to sit there and act like I'm overlooking him.
I'm talking about the other side, just like we have
a DK Metcalf. We don't need to talk about DK
because we already know who receiver number one is. Joey
Porter Junior's dB number one for the man demand and
that's what he's.
Speaker 5 (24:40):
Been building toys.
Speaker 6 (24:40):
We're talking about the guy to go in support of,
so you're not running away from him in the formation
you're not mixing up the wide receivers, so you can
get the mismatch.
Speaker 5 (24:50):
Who's that guy that can compliment him when you have t.
Speaker 6 (24:52):
Higgins Jamar Chase, when you have DeAndre Hopkins inserting in
there with Zay Flowers or with shat Bateman, or when
you have to go against those recip up in Green well,
the Green Bay is coming to us.
Speaker 5 (25:03):
But you know when you have a Romeo adopts, So
you have.
Speaker 6 (25:05):
All these different situations that you're trying to plan for
in season. And I'm not going to go through the
entire NFL schedule today. We got three weeks to do that.
But there's a lot of duos and trios and receivers
where you need that many guys. And Tarrell Austin has
been one of those guys always said like if I
got two DB's.
Speaker 5 (25:24):
I need three.
Speaker 6 (25:25):
So you've always got to prepare that there is an
injury or there's a matchup issue that you need to
be able to mix and match for.
Speaker 5 (25:31):
And now you have a very good.
Speaker 7 (25:33):
Proper one thing we talk about the offensive line, Yeah,
you need more than five starters because you're gonna need
them at some point throughout the course of seventeen games.
Speaker 5 (25:39):
You need eight guys. You need eight guys your offensive line.
Speaker 3 (25:41):
We're definitely gonna be talking about that at some point,
because you talked about the second receiver. The offensive line
I think is a is worthy of a long discussion.
But when you know one little sideline, so you you
went out and got Brandon Echols, you signed him in
a very good special teams player. Now presumably Beanie Bishop
becomes a preserved well he led your team in interceptions.
Speaker 5 (26:02):
A year ago.
Speaker 3 (26:03):
Did you still have Corey Trice, who I think they
feel very highly about, but who's been injured. Who can
now maybe you can spot him in there and you
can he can, he can learn a little bit more
and develop a little bit more. I think they added
a year out of jail and Ramsey's contract, if I'm
not mistaken, as well.
Speaker 4 (26:19):
After they picked him up.
Speaker 3 (26:21):
So I think the overall health, particularly of the cornerback position, which,
let let's face it, if you're going to build a
team in the NFL, you're thinking, you know, in today's NFL,
you're thinking, I need that edge rusher, I need that cornerback,
you know, just on the defensive side here, Obviously quarterback
and receiver and running back, left tackle, although it's becoming
(26:43):
right tackle appears now, but you know there's certain positions
that you need. Well, the studers now have three of
those guys at corner and three guys at least coming
in behind them.
Speaker 4 (26:53):
That I think you feel pretty good about now.
Speaker 5 (26:55):
You feel really good about it now. The biggest question
I think now, by the way, yeah.
Speaker 6 (27:00):
Yes, because listen, we had a run on those a
couple of years ago, right, and.
Speaker 3 (27:04):
We were talking about, look at the offense this time
last year, We're like, they got eleven offensive lineman that
can make NFL teams, and then by by the time Indianapolis.
Speaker 5 (27:13):
Right, yeah, nobody. And then for dbs as well, the
same thing. I will never forget.
Speaker 6 (27:19):
It was like my first year, like, I mean, look
at all these dbs we got. We were down to
like one and we were bringing in everybody off the
streets to fill. So let's not take it for grant.
But I think one of the other issues I'm gonna
be looking at is the Minka hole. You know, because
you went and you got a dB, so you replaced
a player of caliber in that room per se, But
(27:40):
that actual true free safety position, the rover on the
back side because you have a Wan Thornhill who's who
stayed in there? But Wan has been playing strong safety
right he was a guy that you look at him
and de Shaun Elliott had a very similar style. They're
a box guy who can play in range, he can
carry it, he can carry a tight end off the
line type of position. But who's that rover guy who's
(28:03):
gonna be the rover and how are they gonna slot
that in? So is it Deshaun that's gonna be playing
free safety now even though he made a name for
himself and got an extension based off his box play as.
Speaker 5 (28:13):
More of a strong safety, or is.
Speaker 6 (28:15):
It you know Wan Thornhill now expected to do that.
That's the only one that I have circled his question
mark in that secondary or the back half of the
defense where I'm gonna be watching that type of position
flesh at fletch itself out.
Speaker 3 (28:30):
I will say this last year during camp, you know
there you and again Omar Khan has made some big acquisitions.
Speaker 4 (28:36):
And to me and I talked about it all during
camp last year. I was really excited.
Speaker 3 (28:40):
I thought that Deshaun Elliott signing was oh under the radar,
I thought it was a great signing. And then when
I watched him play, he he was better than I
thought he was. I knew he was good coming in.
I'm like, this is a really solid NFL starter. This
is under the radar, this is like, this is a
good player. Man, this is And then when I saw
him playing, like, man's that guy? To me this year
(29:01):
is want Thornhill. When they signed Thornhill, I'm like, think
I want Thornhill. I thought that was a and again
it didn't. It didn't raise a lot of eyebrows, didn't
get a lot of headlines. But I'm gonna plant my
stake early in saying early in camp, saying of the
underrated or under the radar acquisitions.
Speaker 4 (29:20):
He's number one on my list.
Speaker 3 (29:21):
I think he's a really good football player, and I
think they'll find a way to implement these guys. But
you know, we'll see over the course of camp.
Speaker 4 (29:29):
But I'm excited about one.
Speaker 5 (29:30):
Thornhill. Well, I'm excited.
Speaker 6 (29:31):
And that's why I said that's gonna be the one
that's gonna be one of my question marks because I
just don't know based off of what they did versus
what they need them to do now I don't want.
Speaker 3 (29:40):
To pound or you don't want to as much as
you like a player. There there are fits there, you know.
There are these square peg round hole things.
Speaker 5 (29:47):
So yeah, and listen.
Speaker 6 (29:48):
If he becomes Oval, he becomes Oval just enough, That's
all I need, all.
Speaker 3 (29:54):
Right, stick around. We have more still to come. A
final segment from witha Trop here as the players begin
to drift off the fields the practice fields here at
Saint Vincent after their morning walkthrough. As you're listening to
the Locker Room with King and Starks presented by your
neighborhood Ford Store on the Steelers Audio Network.
Speaker 1 (30:12):
Iheartradios.
Speaker 2 (30:14):
Live coverage of about twenty twenty five Steelers training camp
is presented by FedEx where Now meets Next and also
brought to you by CGR Wholesale Roofing and Siding Supply Center,
by Tom's Appliances, by Always Safe Flagging and Traffic controlled
by Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank, by Schneider Downs, by
(30:35):
Has's Steak and Seahouse, by your neighborhood Forward Store, by
Castle Rod, by Clearview Federal Credit Union, and by US Steel.
Speaker 4 (30:47):
And Welcome back to the job.
Speaker 3 (30:49):
In the Locker Room with King and Starks presented by
your neighborhood Fords Tour coming to you on the Steelers
Audio Network perchs in our position, you're a little closer
to the fifty. I'm at about the forty four yard line.
Where would you say you are?
Speaker 6 (31:00):
Max, I would say I'm about at the forty six Okay,
yeah right, I mean it would been weird.
Speaker 5 (31:06):
I'd be like, I'm forty four and a half. We're
really close to each other. Now, that's that's that's not happening.
Speaker 3 (31:10):
I mean it is a tight TV A.
Speaker 5 (31:12):
Yeah, that's TV.
Speaker 6 (31:13):
Like we got to do the two hit and you
know the state of the booth is like only like
three and a half feet deep.
Speaker 3 (31:18):
Yeah, So that's My career has been a lot of
it has been predicated on sitting uncomfortably close to men larger.
Speaker 5 (31:25):
Than I am, and meat and more often than not
knees touching.
Speaker 6 (31:27):
But you can't see it right because like up top, Hey,
keep everything up top, guys, don't worry about going out.
Speaker 3 (31:32):
Well, did your radio get spread out.
Speaker 5 (31:34):
A little bit?
Speaker 6 (31:34):
We got a little bit in a room. Yeah, we
could stand you know, we want to Yeah.
Speaker 3 (31:39):
I want to look it out across the field and
watching just the last you know, lingering players, some of.
Speaker 5 (31:43):
Them with special teams.
Speaker 3 (31:44):
So as they leave the field here now, so you're
two hours away from practice, guys will eat, right, guys
want to eat?
Speaker 5 (31:51):
What?
Speaker 4 (31:51):
Uh?
Speaker 3 (31:52):
What do they say half an hour before swimming? What
do you want to You want to get your meal
done by what twelve thirty?
Speaker 6 (31:57):
Yeah, you want to at least have about an hour
our hour ten before that, because also you have to
think about guys had to come back, get taped, warm up.
A lot of guys like to stretch up top and
be loose because you have like the little pre practice
walkthrough in your individual groups and then you go into
group stretch. So some guys like to get a little
little extra session in up top with stretching, get the
(32:18):
bands out, just move the ligaments and everything. And then
if you know, for the older guys, and of course
you and I probably before broadcast you got an icy
hot you know, throw some tiger ball doesn't get loose,
you know, so so you.
Speaker 5 (32:32):
Want to give enough time for that. Some guys also
like to shower before they go out to practice.
Speaker 4 (32:36):
Uh.
Speaker 3 (32:36):
And that's interesting, you know, you see that in Major
League Baseball clubhouses guys will come into the clubhouse and shower.
Speaker 5 (32:42):
I'm like, what did you do at home?
Speaker 3 (32:44):
Yea?
Speaker 5 (32:45):
Or where are you? Where are you coming from?
Speaker 3 (32:49):
I've always thought that was very sure. So guys will shower.
Speaker 6 (32:51):
Before Yeah, exactly, I mean, but some of us also
superstition too, like guys have I mean, because let's face
it this, any professional sports you have ritual routines and
superstitions that you follow because you know no different, because
it's obviously shown you success.
Speaker 5 (33:08):
So if it's if it ain't broke, don't fix it.
Speaker 3 (33:10):
So I will tell you from from high school, going
to a small high school and playing various sports, and
then in college the only thing I had, well, I
had two things. The only thing I had was I
never clipped my fingernails on the day of any game
I was playing, okay, because you know, you ever you
ever clip it, you get it too far and it's
like uncomfort.
Speaker 5 (33:27):
Yeah, and then you know.
Speaker 3 (33:29):
What I as you're holding a bat or gripping a
football or shooting a basket, we don't want to think
about that. The other one I did in college, much
to the annoyance of my of our trainer, was I
got this so I was not very.
Speaker 4 (33:40):
Fast, so I didn't want my ankles taped.
Speaker 3 (33:42):
But I was terrified I did this weird fear of
spraining my ankle and warm ups. So in the day
of the game, before warm ups, I would he would
you would have to go through the whole thing, spray
and put the tape on, and then before the game
I would tape, I'd cut it off. Now, I wouldn't
call that a superstition, though there was a reason behind.
Speaker 5 (34:00):
Well, who had a ritual? You had a vital It
was a ritual, not a superstition.
Speaker 4 (34:05):
Did you have a ritual superstition?
Speaker 5 (34:07):
Oh yeah, no, I put I.
Speaker 6 (34:08):
I literally when I came in for game day, I
had to I had to set my because they would
throw my pads in in my locker. I actually had
I would put my pads in a specific order and
I would sit down and I had to put my
pads in my pants in the same exact order every
time I got there. And so that's superstition. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah,
that's the And then for my ritual, I had the
(34:29):
same playlist that I listened to every week, and I
did the same thing at each point during it.
Speaker 4 (34:34):
When I called USTI I'm gonna call that ritual.
Speaker 5 (34:37):
Yes, so those were getting things I had to do.
Speaker 4 (34:41):
Yeah, it's like chick exactly. But again, chicken very healthy.
Speaker 5 (34:48):
It's very healthy.
Speaker 6 (34:49):
It's not the bacon, cream, cheese and a piece of
toast that I do before game days.
Speaker 3 (34:55):
And maybe people right now are saying they can use
a little more fish to get that brain fired up a
little bit.
Speaker 6 (34:58):
There we go, a little more omega you know, the
mega fatty acids there.
Speaker 4 (35:02):
Well, uh, Max, we got through it.
Speaker 3 (35:04):
Just one more time when it and again we'll be
thinking about Wolf all season long.
Speaker 5 (35:08):
But good to see you, my friend, No, good to
see you as well.
Speaker 6 (35:11):
And this is this is a fun start at you know,
somber occasion of course.
Speaker 5 (35:14):
And once again we will.
Speaker 6 (35:16):
Never fill the void of Wolf, of Craig Wolfly, but
the most important thing is we honor his legacy. And
he is a man that lived and breathed. You're talking
about a guy who was as hard as steel. And
maybe he couldn't bend to horse you, but he could
ben the English language.
Speaker 5 (35:35):
With ease as as a true iron man that he was.
Speaker 6 (35:39):
That he was, so we will continue that. I mean,
it's it's a blessing to be here. It's sad he's
not here, but I know he's looking down. I know
he's excited right now and he's probably ready to give
somebody a ballistic get them and I'll.
Speaker 7 (35:49):
Tell I'll tell you this, Max, from from Tounch to
Wolf to yourself, I can't imagine a better lineage in
terms in terms of in terms of the men you
guys are, in terms of how good you all are
as broad as I think that's pretty special for Steeers.
Speaker 4 (36:02):
Thy Well put that's Wes Juler. We have C. J.
Speaker 3 (36:04):
Wolfley with us. We have Justin Miller back in the studio.
He's Max Starks. I'm Rob King. We thank you for
listening to this edition of the Locker Room with King
and Starks, presented by your neighborhood Fords Tour on the
Steelers Audio Network
Iheartradios.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
Live coverage of about twenty twenty five Steelers Training Camp
is presented by FedEx where Now meets Next and also
brought to you by CGR Wholesale, Roofing and Siding Supply Center,
by Tons Appliances, by Always Safe Flagging and Traffic Control
by Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank, by Schneider Downs, by
(00:28):
Hassa's Steak and Seahouse, by your Neighborhood Forward Store, by
Castle Rock, by Clearview Federal Credit Union, and by us steel.
Speaker 3 (00:40):
Welcome back to Latrobe in the locker room with King
and Stark's presented by your Neighborhood Fords.
Speaker 4 (00:45):
Join the students. Audio Network.
Speaker 3 (00:46):
Want to mention again, you know, obviously filling in for
Craig Wolfe. I think I'm always going to feel like
it's filling in for Craig Wolfley for the rest of
my life and our daily departed friend and brother. But
thanks very much for being with us and hanging in
there with us as.
Speaker 4 (01:01):
We transition to a new program.
Speaker 3 (01:03):
But by the way, speaking of transition, Jes asking you
got in late last night, you guys. During the commercial break,
we're talking about the films you're lining up to yes
during very important part of camp.
Speaker 5 (01:12):
Right, it is it is. I mean, and here's a
funny thing.
Speaker 6 (01:15):
Early on in my career, we actually had that one
day where we would all get out here to practice,
go through the warm ups, and then you'd see these
buses rolling through and we knew that all man, this
movie day and we got to go watch a movie
as a team for one of the day's kind of
as a bonding experience.
Speaker 5 (01:34):
We don't have that anymore, right, but those days are longer.
Speaker 4 (01:37):
You go, now watch a movie on your phone. You
couldn't watch a movie.
Speaker 6 (01:40):
Yeah, I say, yeah, Netflix Prime, whatever else. I want
to give away too much free advertising here on the airwaves,
but you know, if you guys want to feel free
to throw a sponsorship our way, we'll definitely throw your
name in. But yeah, there's so much more access to
and even movies that are in the theaters, you can
still go get like advanced screenings for your room, right,
I mean, after like a week or two, you could
(02:01):
go onto one of these and you can actually watch
a movie.
Speaker 5 (02:03):
That's still in the movie theater.
Speaker 6 (02:04):
But there's something about going to the movie, right, The
smell of popcorn, the the the kind.
Speaker 5 (02:10):
Of option, dark cold room, dark cold room.
Speaker 6 (02:13):
You're you're congregating with people you don't know, but yet
we all have something in common because we're going here
to have this communal experience.
Speaker 5 (02:21):
And then of course buttery fingers and of course hot
dog breath.
Speaker 6 (02:24):
I mean, that's also why you go to the movie
theater unless you're unless you're like a you know, a
theater candy fan, you know, milk Duds or Sour Patch
Kids or something.
Speaker 3 (02:32):
I'm more incited, I'm more inclined to go that way.
But I guess I mix the uh, the chocolate. My
wife's a popcorn person, and you know, she puts extra
butter on and then if she's not looking, I put
more extra butter on it. Yeah, exactly, and some salt.
And then if I mix that with the with the chocolate.
Speaker 6 (02:48):
So my wife, my wife's a milk Duds and popcorn fans.
So that's a real that's a real treat there, because
you got the chocolate and the caramel, and they're so
much in your teeth when you're done, Oh, no question. Yeah,
don't smile and take a picture right after doing that.
Speaker 5 (03:01):
Make sure you go home first.
Speaker 3 (03:02):
Yeah, so just quickly because we're going to get back
to football, but I still feel like there's some movies
you want to go see in the movie theater.
Speaker 4 (03:09):
So yeah, I haven't. You know, my kids, I wasn't
a comic book reader growing up.
Speaker 3 (03:14):
I didn't even know. I'm ashamed to admit this, but
I'm not ashamed of ad minute. It's the fact I
didn't even know there was a Marvel comics. I really did,
literally didn't know. And so when I think Iron Man
was the first one I saw, I'm like, Okay, the
kids wanted to go see it.
Speaker 4 (03:25):
We went so well.
Speaker 3 (03:27):
Every time a new movie would come out, they'd be like,
aunt Man, and I'd be like, that sounds like the
stupidest thing I've ever heard.
Speaker 4 (03:33):
I'm not gonna go see it. And then we go
see it. I'm like, that was phenomenal, you know.
Speaker 3 (03:36):
But I have not watched one since my kids left
the house four or five years ago. I have not
gone to the movie theater to watch any of these
action comic book movies.
Speaker 4 (03:48):
But I'm going tonight. I'm going tonight to go see Fantastic.
Speaker 3 (03:51):
Fantastic four with my son, was girlfriend and my wife,
and we're gonna go check it.
Speaker 5 (03:55):
Out.
Speaker 3 (03:55):
But I always feel like if you're gonna watch a
Marvel movie, if you're gonna watch it James Bob movie.
Speaker 7 (04:00):
Oppenheimer. Yeah, since COVID, I've only been to the theaters
one time, but it was for oppen On.
Speaker 3 (04:05):
Yeah, the big sweeping epics. But then you know what
will happen. Invariably they'll come up to the Oscar nominations
and my wife would be like, well, how many of
these have we seen.
Speaker 4 (04:13):
We've only seen three out of the eight.
Speaker 3 (04:14):
So now you're getting on Netflix or Amazon and your
big cat and you're watching those movies at home. But
I think the big sweeping dramas or action movies that
the Tom Cruise movie was.
Speaker 4 (04:25):
The last one.
Speaker 5 (04:26):
Top Gun Maverick or Mission IPOs.
Speaker 4 (04:28):
Mission Impossible, that's a movie theater.
Speaker 5 (04:31):
Yeah, yeah, and I agree.
Speaker 6 (04:33):
And I think one of the biggest things is is
that you know, when you're thinking about that, you want
one that's actually shot for theaters. Like a lot of
people because of the New Age style, like we have
all these smaller cameras that can move and stuff. If
it has like Top Gun Maverick, right, like you got
the you got to sit in a Dolby at most
from here the jet taking off, and you want to
feel the rumble.
Speaker 5 (04:52):
In your seat. And like you said, the CGI elements.
Speaker 6 (04:55):
Of of of a actual like Marvel DC comics type
of movie where you need to get all of this
because it's so much and a smaller screen just isn't
gonna cut it. And I know, listen, I know, listen,
you ballers out there, they have eighty five and one
hundred inch screens.
Speaker 5 (05:09):
Right, we're not talking to you, we're talking.
Speaker 6 (05:11):
We're talking to the forty two to sixty five inch crowd, okay,
you know, and even the twenty seven inch that kind
of sits there like right there in the corner.
Speaker 5 (05:17):
We're talking to that crowd.
Speaker 3 (05:18):
So I gotta tell you real quick. So my my
living room couch, and now we watch everything in the kitchen,
but my living room couch is probably ten feet away
from my TV. And it doesn't matter what TV. When
the forty two inch TVs be I got that, then
it when it was a fifty inch, and a fifty five,
then is sixty The first thing I always thought the
minute I put it on my console and sat on
(05:39):
my couch, My first thought was always it's not big enough.
It doesn't matter how big it is.
Speaker 6 (05:44):
A house to eight feet, you move it to eight feet,
fill up the aspect ratio there.
Speaker 4 (05:50):
Yeah, there's you said for that.
Speaker 5 (05:51):
But why you did it? Yeah, because you always want
to get a new TV. So I see, I see
the psychology true.
Speaker 3 (05:58):
But this is again the reason you got off on
a slight tangentiers because this is part of camp, right,
what are you gonna do in those few off hours?
And the players don't have many off hours, do they?
Speaker 1 (06:08):
No?
Speaker 5 (06:08):
I mean there there's they're sprinkled in.
Speaker 6 (06:11):
It's not like it's not a blocks, right, It's more
like you have a lot of these like twenty thirty
forty minute break time periods because of the way the
practice schedule is. But you don't have the three hour
block like you used to with that morning schedule.
Speaker 5 (06:25):
That's where it was.
Speaker 6 (06:26):
It was a big trough in like the middle of
the day to early evening where guys are just aimlessly
walking around. Right, I've done all my work, but I
feel like a nervous energy. I can't just go sit
in my room.
Speaker 5 (06:37):
Me. I didn't have that problem. Anytime I had a
free time, I was off my feet, laying in my bed.
Speaker 6 (06:41):
But these guys, because because it's a younger group, they're
they're just walking up and down by the baseball fields.
They're walking over to the training facility, getting like extra treatment.
Speaker 4 (06:52):
Roommate or roommate.
Speaker 6 (06:54):
I had a roommate my first three years and then
and then I elevated to my older Yeah better says
because I also kind of became like the black sheep
because if you roomed with me, you weren't making the team.
Speaker 5 (07:06):
So I don't know how that was.
Speaker 6 (07:08):
Listen, I only had one offensive roommate, but it was
I had two defensive roommates the first and then finally
they said, Max, you're going to.
Speaker 5 (07:19):
Your own room.
Speaker 6 (07:20):
You've matured enough, you've made it past the rookie period,
you're vested veteran, so now you get your own room.
Speaker 5 (07:25):
And also we don't have to cut the guy that
has a name next to you.
Speaker 3 (07:27):
Well, you know, you see these on hard knocks and whatever,
and the you know, the teammates in their dorms or
if they have a dorm or hotels, they're trying to
catch up with each other and maybe you know, it
takes a little edge off the loneliness.
Speaker 4 (07:41):
I do know this.
Speaker 3 (07:42):
It depends upon your roommate's a big thing. Like I remember,
you know, working in smaller markets and TV when I
first started out. You go on the road and you
got one hotel room because you and the photographer in
the same hotel room.
Speaker 5 (07:54):
And I remember, I.
Speaker 3 (07:54):
Don't want to say his name, great guy, but he
was the loudest snorter YEA ever heard in my life.
And I remember trying to sleep in the bathtub with
the door closed.
Speaker 4 (08:04):
I couldn't.
Speaker 3 (08:05):
I couldn't fall asleep in my room. It was a
race to try to get there first and fall asleep first.
I literally slept in the tub, so you never know
what you're gonna get.
Speaker 5 (08:14):
Yeah, I was a snoring TV.
Speaker 6 (08:16):
But I also also because I couldn't because I couldn't
sleep at night before a game, like my anxiety, my
my just my nervous energy. So I had to take
like talent all PM to go to sleep the night
before games because if not, I wasn't going to sleep.
And so therefore I thought I was a great sleeper.
But of course my roommates totally different, like, oh my god,
(08:37):
you're sawing wood in there. I didn't know, dude. I
was like, man, I tried to roll you over. It
didn't work. It was like I started sleep walking in
the room. So yeah, so so we've learned. Yeah, it
was a lot of funs. But I also I also
had characters as my roommates. I mean, just imagine me
and Willly Cologne sharing wh man. So I mean we
we had some and like you said, you have that
(08:57):
buddy system.
Speaker 5 (09:00):
Will it what Bronx New York Baby?
Speaker 4 (09:01):
But that's right, that's right, that's right.
Speaker 3 (09:04):
You're thinking.
Speaker 6 (09:06):
Exigu Yeah, but no, and so you know, and that
that's the thing. Like, and that's why I appreciate because
not a lot of teams do it anymore. They don't
go off campus to A lot of teams stay on property.
They're either at their training facility or at their stadium
and they get in a hotel room and that's their
training camp experience. I think there's something to be said
(09:28):
when you ship everybody to one location and you kind
of have this one corrald location where you're forced to
create bonds, You're forced to interact because we're all stuck
in the same situation. We can't go home, we can't
sneak home after bedcheck, you know, sneaking home is an
hour and twenty plus drive just to get your bed
(09:48):
to then try and get back here first.
Speaker 5 (09:50):
Anon, you're losing sleep.
Speaker 6 (09:51):
So I think for the Steelers being out here, this
is a chance for really to become a team, to
bond with these other guys.
Speaker 3 (09:57):
And in look that we talked about this at the beginning,
the world has changed. I mean, there was a time
when guys are probably like, hey, man, I'm gonna come
out for camp for five weeks. I got a free
place to stay. They're gonna feed me, right, And now
you know, now you're dealing with a lot of millionaires
and guys making a lot of money, and they they, uh,
it's a little bit different setting that they're probably around
(10:18):
the league. Maybe the feeling isn't they they aren't as grateful,
but it is really good to see that. I think
this yeer is still doing this. And by the way,
we're seeing Cam Johnson here. Remember last year in the
off season workouts and and then during uh the camp
up here in the trop he looked incredible, absolutely incredible,
and then he had suffered the injury and Corless weightman
(10:40):
came in and did a fine job.
Speaker 6 (10:41):
Yeah, Corlos is still there, and I think that's something
you still always have to have to wonder.
Speaker 5 (10:47):
It's always a worry, I mean, because it's funny over
our hit.
Speaker 6 (10:49):
We've had some some dynamic kickers and like unfortunate injuries
that have that have kind of sidelight that I think
about Dan Sa Polvida bro Oh my god, that very similar,
like power, powerful, very pointed, I mean, change the field
for you type of leg.
Speaker 5 (11:05):
But unfortunate injuries have kind of slowed that down.
Speaker 6 (11:08):
So I'm hoping for Cam he comes back to form because,
like I said, we were.
Speaker 5 (11:11):
I was.
Speaker 6 (11:12):
I was sitting on the sidelines during that Atlanta game
Week one, and he was.
Speaker 5 (11:16):
He was booming the ball.
Speaker 6 (11:17):
I mean, he put Kirk Cuzes in a tough bind
for starting field position consistently through that game. He gets
the terrible injury. Then of course, of course we we
know we I mean, the Wizard of Boz comes and
he does it.
Speaker 4 (11:29):
All right, forty seven yard.
Speaker 3 (11:33):
Shadow of his.
Speaker 6 (11:35):
Yeah, exactly, Cold had done like two kicks into the net.
It was like all right, let's go, you know, and
and just absolutely was a weapon and was truly a
special teamer that day, handling both duties, but good to
see him back out here. I mean, because Cam can
be a difference maker. I mean, we don't talk about
special teams that much, but I mean it's something that
(11:56):
you have to talk about that just because between Boz
and between Cam and what cols like, they're an integral part.
Like they set the tempo for your team. They determine
starting field position right whether it's a kickoff, whether it's
a punt, or whether you make the extra make an
extra pointer, field goal, whether you don't like it, swings
(12:16):
the game, and it's something that I feel like it
is still a very important aspect.
Speaker 3 (12:20):
So those guys are also the specialist. Ay're all standing out.
They have their own field right below us on the
very first field, the second field. The offense is working
third field. This reminds me of something. The defense has
got their yellow jersey on the offense of their white jerseys,
and we're watching them working on interception drills and covered drills.
A lot of balls slipping through the fingers of a
lot of defensive backs, which reminds me that back in
(12:41):
the day, you know, the saying that I heard was, Hey,
that the I played wide receiver.
Speaker 4 (12:47):
When you're in college.
Speaker 3 (12:47):
Yeah, and they said, you know, hey, the best athletes
in the football field are defensive backs. That's what they
would away come up and say, Yeah, I mean, if you.
Speaker 4 (12:55):
Could catch, you'd be playing wide receiver, you.
Speaker 3 (12:57):
Know, exactly exactly, So you might be the best athlete
on the team. But uh, you got to learn how
to catch the ball too, man. So so it's it's
interesting to watch. We're not seeing any balls hit the floor,
on hit the grass on field two and field three.
They're they're kind of sliding all over the place out there.
Speaker 5 (13:12):
Yeah, I mean, and that's the thing.
Speaker 6 (13:13):
I mean, the biggest equalizer is, like you know, especially
if you get to college or if you have high
school teams like okay, we're gonna line everybody up at
wide receiver.
Speaker 5 (13:20):
Whoever catches it stage who.
Speaker 4 (13:24):
Exactly. That is so true, man, that is so true.
Speaker 5 (13:27):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (13:27):
So, by the way, were you a little surprised when
they traded George Pickens?
Speaker 4 (13:32):
For By the way, I was.
Speaker 3 (13:33):
I would have been fine with them rolling Pickens and
and Metcalf out there. Like I said, I do think
John new Smith maybe becomes your number two receiver, not
as conventional perhaps in the past, but I you know
I would have been fine with them rolling pickens in
Metcalf and and they decided, look, you only got Metcalf
for one more year.
Speaker 4 (13:51):
I will say this.
Speaker 3 (13:52):
When they traded for Metcalf and signed them to the extension,
the writing was on the wall, there's no way this year,
there's are or our most teams are gonna pay. You know,
unless you're the Tonati right airing it out constantly, You're
just not going to pay two receivers that kind of money.
Speaker 6 (14:09):
Well, and and also not paying and knowing that you
had to pay TJ. Watts right, So it was like
it was like, and what is Cincinnati dealing with right now?
They're dealing with a pass rusher problem.
Speaker 5 (14:22):
That's right, because they signed two receivers.
Speaker 6 (14:24):
So you knew that was that was gonna be the
less conventional way. But it was like, hey, let's see
what we got for you, and maybe you could repair
it to where hey, he could go somewhere else after
you've seen if he can or cannot do it.
Speaker 5 (14:36):
But I think it was just a matter of time.
Speaker 6 (14:38):
I would have loved the same prospect of having two
really big, dynamic receivers, but at the end of the day,
what would you have gotten from the other right, And
I'm not sitting here just because he's gone.
Speaker 5 (14:48):
I'm saying listen, I said a lot while he was here.
Speaker 4 (14:51):
And it was similar skills.
Speaker 6 (14:52):
It's not like similar skill set, right, That's right, Yeah,
similar skill set, similar playmaking ability. But at the end
of the day, it's still too very tall receivers where
you think about what the AFC North looks like with
T Higgins and jmar Chase over there, and then you
throw in where DeAndre Hopkins kind of comes in when
were shot Bateman as the Flowers down in Baltimore, and
then who knows what's in Cleveland. We're just gonna leave
(15:14):
it at that. I don't even know who's throwing them
the football.
Speaker 7 (15:16):
Maybe Flacco took the first first team reps yesterday, that
means nothing, then Kenny, then Dylan Gabriel, than Shador So that.
Speaker 5 (15:23):
Was basically how they were signed.
Speaker 3 (15:25):
Correct, literally.
Speaker 5 (15:30):
That the surprise.
Speaker 6 (15:33):
Yeah, But I mean, and I think that that's where
you have to be more like precise, like what do
I want? Do I need more dbs that are going
to be able to come bat those guys or am
I trying to match fire with fire and try and
have an air out fest. And I don't think that
was the Steelers process was we want to come in
with a more hybrid balanced approach because I have like
you said, you know, I think you said this West
(15:55):
like or or was it U Rob? Ye have Derek
Henry one week, you have Joe Burrow the other week. Right, Yeah,
it's and so it's like you have to have a
team that can either slug it out with you or
a team that can air it out with you.
Speaker 5 (16:05):
So you need a mix of both.
Speaker 6 (16:06):
You're not going to have two separate Stilos on the
same team that can be able to do those things.
Speaker 5 (16:11):
So you have to.
Speaker 6 (16:11):
Manage it in the middle and what equalizes that defense.
Speaker 3 (16:15):
And by the way, right as we stand here right now,
I'm assuming Calvin Austin is your outside receiver. And a
lot of people look at his size or really kind
of lack of size with Calviny. He's not a big
guy and he's not a bulky guy either and think,
well he should be a slock guy.
Speaker 4 (16:30):
But he's very comfortable played mostly in college on the outside.
Speaker 3 (16:34):
We saw him play a lot on the outside last year.
And another guy, you know, we talked about blocking. And
you know, we used to call it stalk blocking. I
don't you know, I guess perimeter blocking or whatever they
want to call downfield blocking. You know, we talked about
John new Smith and DK Metcalf and they're big guys.
To me, yes, it's a big guy blocking downfield. The
hinds ward is obviously number one. Number two is even
(16:59):
that guy is the willingness to do it. And one
of the things I liked about Calvin Huston is a
tough bugger, and he is willing. And so even if
you know, let's say he was going out there to
block Deshaun Elliott, right, who's a wonderful physical player, even
if Deshaun's going to discard him right in the time
it takes him to do that, that might be enough time.
(17:20):
So if you're Calvin Austin, you know what you have
to do, get up, dust yourself off, and do it again.
And here's the thing about Calvin Austin. He's never been
a big guy ever in his life. So he knows
that that is what is required for him down in
and down out, to be effected and to be able
to play regularly on the NFL level. And he is willing.
Speaker 4 (17:39):
He is a tough Uh.
Speaker 3 (17:41):
He's not a big guy. He's a tough little fellow.
Speaker 6 (17:43):
And I'll say this, the prime example was that Cincinnati
game in Cincinnati last season where it felt like they
were targeting him, dude, and they blast They blasted him
twice and what do he do? Got up, looked the
guy in the face, got back in the huddle. So yeah, right,
the kid as tough as nails and it's hard to steal,
but yet comes in a very very tightly efficient lead
(18:07):
netpackge that's.
Speaker 3 (18:08):
Well but and it's gonna be interesting to see again,
you know, because the talk here last year was this
Steeler's interested in a wide receiver. Lots of national stories
even local stories as well about guys that are interested
in would they acquire one? Are they in a similar
position this year? That'll certainly be part of the storyline
here in Latrow stick around plenty more to com You're
listening to the Locker Room with King and Starch, presented
(18:30):
by your neighborhood Fords Tour on the Steeler's audio network.
Speaker 1 (18:39):
I Heart Radios.
Speaker 2 (18:41):
Live coverage about twenty twenty five Steelers training camp is
presented by FedEx. Where now Meets Next and also brought
to you by bud Light, Independence Health System.
Speaker 1 (18:53):
By Pennsylvania One Call.
Speaker 2 (18:55):
System, by Live Casino, Calciente Pizza and Draft House by
Appliances South Hills Auto, Laurel, Highlands Visitors Bureau, we Max,
Select Realty, Now Pittsburgh Steelers Pro Shop and buy us steel.
Speaker 3 (19:12):
And Welcome back to Latrob in the Locker Room with
King and Starks, presented by your neighborhood Fords Store here
on the Steelers Audio Network.
Speaker 4 (19:19):
Coming to you from Latrob, Pennsylvania.
Speaker 3 (19:20):
Where an hour and thirty five minutes into camp, I'm
feeling little tugs of failure at me. You know, I'm
I'm thinking to myself because camp there's a lot of
sitting around, yes, and so when there's a lot of
sitting around for me, I don't know how you feel
about when there's a lot of sitting around. Food, extra
food gets involved that you might not normally eat. So
I drive up here today. I got my non fat
(19:42):
yogurt you know, oh yeah, the blueberries. You got a
little granola and I eat.
Speaker 4 (19:45):
That was it.
Speaker 5 (19:45):
Greeker were talking about regular Chabani ok, okay.
Speaker 3 (19:49):
New York Chabani from my wife's hometown up there, Edmonston,
New York. She went to a high school. I had
thirty one people in their graduating class. Sez little tiny
farm country up there. So I got my Bonnie right
then I come down here in the booth and Wes
Euler has got a big thing of cashews with both
you and I staved off for an hour.
Speaker 6 (20:08):
And fifteen, and hey, we we did well to wait
until this last break before we cracked it open.
Speaker 3 (20:13):
And then I went from what do I have right here?
Speaker 4 (20:15):
What is this right here?
Speaker 1 (20:16):
Max?
Speaker 6 (20:16):
That was an Aquaphina water bottle. You've already got the diet, Patty.
Speaker 3 (20:21):
I'm already an hour and twenty minutes and I've failed.
Speaker 6 (20:24):
Hey, it's only failure if you don't recognize it, you know.
I think the first step to getting over an addiction
is admitting you have an addiction.
Speaker 5 (20:33):
And you've done that very acute.
Speaker 4 (20:35):
I'm not saying addiction, I'm just saying lost.
Speaker 3 (20:36):
No, it is.
Speaker 6 (20:37):
It is because because you definitely are looking at the
fancy whole cashoes there bad and you're like, I can't
do it, I can't do you just automatically you turn
to put yourself in the corner after.
Speaker 4 (20:46):
You one of my one of my huge weeks. I
love I love cashe's.
Speaker 5 (20:50):
Oh same here, I love cashe's.
Speaker 3 (20:52):
I mean, if cashoes and cheese were health foods, I
think I'd be like Adonis, you know what I mean absolutely,
I mean, phenomenal shape, what work out a lot, you know, yeah.
Speaker 6 (21:01):
It would be amazing. But I'm like, but yeah, that
that's the fullest offense. Good fats for the most part.
There's still some bad ones there.
Speaker 3 (21:08):
But so my wife will get on me because everyone said,
I don't buy cashews that often, but when I do,
I'll eat them all like there's there's leftover cashews, that
doesn't it. And my wife said, you know they come
from the poison ivy fanly. I said, really, have you
heard that?
Speaker 5 (21:22):
No? I have not.
Speaker 3 (21:23):
Okay, all right, let's put that aside and let's get
back to talking about some football.
Speaker 4 (21:27):
Here, because some of the fun things, yeah so so.
Speaker 3 (21:33):
But this is part of it, right, This is part
of the experience to you know, what you're gonna eat,
how much you're gonna eat, and what movies you're gonna watch.
Speaker 4 (21:39):
In the dorm rooms.
Speaker 3 (21:40):
And I mean, this is you know, we all want
to talk about football. But these things, the meetings, the
weight lifting, this is all. It's not just what happens
on the field. That's what happens around the field as well.
And and we just want to kind of continue the
overview of the team. So we mentioned several times this
John US Smith edition, and I love the John Smith
(22:00):
edition because I think he's a you know, he's a
guy that's who's going to be best utilized as an
H backer in the slot. He can help your block
for the running game, could be a mismatch, There could
be a mismatch in the receiving game, coming off a
tremendous season last year in Miami. But the other part
of that trade was you got a new cornerback, Jalen Ramsey,
(22:20):
and you traded Minka Fitzpatrick. And now you have with
the signing of Darius Slay. And again we're talking about
a little different way of doing business. You trade for Metcalf,
you signed him to an extension, You go out immediately
in free agency and pick up Darius Slay.
Speaker 4 (22:35):
Now you have those three corners.
Speaker 3 (22:38):
My take on this, Max is I don't want to
lose a player of Minka Fitzpatrick's abilities, and I think
because probably Troy Polamalu was your best defensive back for
so many years. We get enamored with the safety position
kind of like we get enamored with the center position
because there's been so many great ones. But what you
really want to me, from my vantage point in the NFL, is.
Speaker 4 (23:00):
His corners over safeties.
Speaker 3 (23:02):
You want you want, and I'm not trying to denigrate
the safety position, but you want those guys who can
go out and cover. You know, if you're Cincinnati, you're
building this juggernaut throwing team. Well, okay, you got Joey
Porter Jr. Then what do you have on the other side. Well,
I'll tell you what you have on the other side.
You got Jaalen Ramsey and you got Darius Slay. I
think that, yes, micka Fitzpatrick goes out, but Jayalen Ramsey
(23:24):
coming in. We talked about Johnny Smith, but man, that
is a big acquisition.
Speaker 6 (23:28):
Now it's a big acquisition, and you're talking about this
is also a guy who ranked number sixty six on
the NFL's top one hundred player list.
Speaker 5 (23:35):
So it's not like you just went and got a guy.
You got a very very good, skilled, capable guy.
Speaker 6 (23:42):
Late in the process of coming into camp and you
already had Darius Big play Slay who we know about
his exploits, right, we watch what he's done on Super
Bowl teams, we watch what he's done at other places.
So for him to come and offer that skill set,
you know, think back to twenty twenty one when he
was with the Rams and how Raheem Morris kind of
(24:03):
really deployed him and utilized him. It's gonna be interesting
because the quandary is gonna be do I put Slay
on the outside and put Jalen on the inside with
a Beanie Bishop or vice versa, because both of those
guys are man demand corner guys, and of course Joey
Porter Jr. Is also He's on our team. I don't
(24:26):
want to sit there and act like I'm overlooking him.
I'm talking about the other side, just like we have
a DK Metcalf. We don't need to talk about DK
because we already know who receiver number one is. Joey
Porter Junior's dB number one for the man demand and
that's what he's.
Speaker 5 (24:40):
Been building toys.
Speaker 6 (24:40):
We're talking about the guy to go in support of,
so you're not running away from him in the formation
you're not mixing up the wide receivers, so you can
get the mismatch.
Speaker 5 (24:50):
Who's that guy that can compliment him when you have t.
Speaker 6 (24:52):
Higgins Jamar Chase, when you have DeAndre Hopkins inserting in
there with Zay Flowers or with shat Bateman, or when
you have to go against those recip up in Green well,
the Green Bay is coming to us.
Speaker 5 (25:03):
But you know when you have a Romeo adopts, So
you have.
Speaker 6 (25:05):
All these different situations that you're trying to plan for
in season. And I'm not going to go through the
entire NFL schedule today. We got three weeks to do that.
But there's a lot of duos and trios and receivers
where you need that many guys. And Tarrell Austin has
been one of those guys always said like if I
got two DB's.
Speaker 5 (25:24):
I need three.
Speaker 6 (25:25):
So you've always got to prepare that there is an
injury or there's a matchup issue that you need to
be able to mix and match for.
Speaker 5 (25:31):
And now you have a very good.
Speaker 7 (25:33):
Proper one thing we talk about the offensive line, Yeah,
you need more than five starters because you're gonna need
them at some point throughout the course of seventeen games.
Speaker 5 (25:39):
You need eight guys. You need eight guys your offensive line.
Speaker 3 (25:41):
We're definitely gonna be talking about that at some point,
because you talked about the second receiver. The offensive line
I think is a is worthy of a long discussion.
But when you know one little sideline, so you you
went out and got Brandon Echols, you signed him in
a very good special teams player. Now presumably Beanie Bishop
becomes a preserved well he led your team in interceptions.
Speaker 5 (26:02):
A year ago.
Speaker 3 (26:03):
Did you still have Corey Trice, who I think they
feel very highly about, but who's been injured. Who can
now maybe you can spot him in there and you
can he can, he can learn a little bit more
and develop a little bit more. I think they added
a year out of jail and Ramsey's contract, if I'm
not mistaken, as well.
Speaker 4 (26:19):
After they picked him up.
Speaker 3 (26:21):
So I think the overall health, particularly of the cornerback position, which,
let let's face it, if you're going to build a
team in the NFL, you're thinking, you know, in today's NFL,
you're thinking, I need that edge rusher, I need that cornerback,
you know, just on the defensive side here, Obviously quarterback
and receiver and running back, left tackle, although it's becoming
(26:43):
right tackle appears now, but you know there's certain positions
that you need. Well, the studers now have three of
those guys at corner and three guys at least coming
in behind them.
Speaker 4 (26:53):
That I think you feel pretty good about now.
Speaker 5 (26:55):
You feel really good about it now. The biggest question
I think now, by the way, yeah.
Speaker 6 (27:00):
Yes, because listen, we had a run on those a
couple of years ago, right, and.
Speaker 3 (27:04):
We were talking about, look at the offense this time
last year, We're like, they got eleven offensive lineman that
can make NFL teams, and then by by the time Indianapolis.
Speaker 5 (27:13):
Right, yeah, nobody. And then for dbs as well, the
same thing. I will never forget.
Speaker 6 (27:19):
It was like my first year, like, I mean, look
at all these dbs we got. We were down to
like one and we were bringing in everybody off the
streets to fill. So let's not take it for grant.
But I think one of the other issues I'm gonna
be looking at is the Minka hole. You know, because
you went and you got a dB, so you replaced
a player of caliber in that room per se, But
(27:40):
that actual true free safety position, the rover on the
back side because you have a Wan Thornhill who's who
stayed in there? But Wan has been playing strong safety
right he was a guy that you look at him
and de Shaun Elliott had a very similar style. They're
a box guy who can play in range, he can
carry it, he can carry a tight end off the
line type of position. But who's that rover guy who's
(28:03):
gonna be the rover and how are they gonna slot
that in? So is it Deshaun that's gonna be playing
free safety now even though he made a name for
himself and got an extension based off his box play as.
Speaker 5 (28:13):
More of a strong safety, or is.
Speaker 6 (28:15):
It you know Wan Thornhill now expected to do that.
That's the only one that I have circled his question
mark in that secondary or the back half of the
defense where I'm gonna be watching that type of position
flesh at fletch itself out.
Speaker 3 (28:30):
I will say this last year during camp, you know
there you and again Omar Khan has made some big acquisitions.
Speaker 4 (28:36):
And to me and I talked about it all during
camp last year. I was really excited.
Speaker 3 (28:40):
I thought that Deshaun Elliott signing was oh under the radar,
I thought it was a great signing. And then when
I watched him play, he he was better than I
thought he was. I knew he was good coming in.
I'm like, this is a really solid NFL starter. This
is under the radar, this is like, this is a
good player. Man, this is And then when I saw
him playing, like, man's that guy? To me this year
(29:01):
is want Thornhill. When they signed Thornhill, I'm like, think
I want Thornhill. I thought that was a and again
it didn't. It didn't raise a lot of eyebrows, didn't
get a lot of headlines. But I'm gonna plant my
stake early in saying early in camp, saying of the
underrated or under the radar acquisitions.
Speaker 4 (29:20):
He's number one on my list.
Speaker 3 (29:21):
I think he's a really good football player, and I
think they'll find a way to implement these guys. But
you know, we'll see over the course of camp.
Speaker 4 (29:29):
But I'm excited about one.
Speaker 5 (29:30):
Thornhill. Well, I'm excited.
Speaker 6 (29:31):
And that's why I said that's gonna be the one
that's gonna be one of my question marks because I
just don't know based off of what they did versus
what they need them to do now I don't want.
Speaker 3 (29:40):
To pound or you don't want to as much as
you like a player. There there are fits there, you know.
There are these square peg round hole things.
Speaker 5 (29:47):
So yeah, and listen.
Speaker 6 (29:48):
If he becomes Oval, he becomes Oval just enough, That's
all I need, all.
Speaker 3 (29:54):
Right, stick around. We have more still to come. A
final segment from witha Trop here as the players begin
to drift off the fields the practice fields here at
Saint Vincent after their morning walkthrough. As you're listening to
the Locker Room with King and Starks presented by your
neighborhood Ford Store on the Steelers Audio Network.
Speaker 1 (30:12):
Iheartradios.
Speaker 2 (30:14):
Live coverage of about twenty twenty five Steelers training camp
is presented by FedEx where Now meets Next and also
brought to you by CGR Wholesale Roofing and Siding Supply Center,
by Tom's Appliances, by Always Safe Flagging and Traffic controlled
by Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank, by Schneider Downs, by
(30:35):
Has's Steak and Seahouse, by your neighborhood Forward Store, by
Castle Rod, by Clearview Federal Credit Union, and by US Steel.
Speaker 4 (30:47):
And Welcome back to the job.
Speaker 3 (30:49):
In the Locker Room with King and Starks presented by
your neighborhood Fords Tour coming to you on the Steelers
Audio Network perchs in our position, you're a little closer
to the fifty. I'm at about the forty four yard line.
Where would you say you are?
Speaker 6 (31:00):
Max, I would say I'm about at the forty six Okay,
yeah right, I mean it would been weird.
Speaker 5 (31:06):
I'd be like, I'm forty four and a half. We're
really close to each other. Now, that's that's that's not happening.
Speaker 3 (31:10):
I mean it is a tight TV A.
Speaker 5 (31:12):
Yeah, that's TV.
Speaker 6 (31:13):
Like we got to do the two hit and you
know the state of the booth is like only like
three and a half feet deep.
Speaker 3 (31:18):
Yeah, So that's My career has been a lot of
it has been predicated on sitting uncomfortably close to men larger.
Speaker 5 (31:25):
Than I am, and meat and more often than not
knees touching.
Speaker 6 (31:27):
But you can't see it right because like up top, Hey,
keep everything up top, guys, don't worry about going out.
Speaker 3 (31:32):
Well, did your radio get spread out.
Speaker 5 (31:34):
A little bit?
Speaker 6 (31:34):
We got a little bit in a room. Yeah, we
could stand you know, we want to Yeah.
Speaker 3 (31:39):
I want to look it out across the field and
watching just the last you know, lingering players, some of.
Speaker 5 (31:43):
Them with special teams.
Speaker 3 (31:44):
So as they leave the field here now, so you're
two hours away from practice, guys will eat, right, guys
want to eat?
Speaker 5 (31:51):
What?
Speaker 4 (31:51):
Uh?
Speaker 3 (31:52):
What do they say half an hour before swimming? What
do you want to You want to get your meal
done by what twelve thirty?
Speaker 6 (31:57):
Yeah, you want to at least have about an hour
our hour ten before that, because also you have to
think about guys had to come back, get taped, warm up.
A lot of guys like to stretch up top and
be loose because you have like the little pre practice
walkthrough in your individual groups and then you go into
group stretch. So some guys like to get a little
little extra session in up top with stretching, get the
(32:18):
bands out, just move the ligaments and everything. And then
if you know, for the older guys, and of course
you and I probably before broadcast you got an icy
hot you know, throw some tiger ball doesn't get loose,
you know, so so you.
Speaker 5 (32:32):
Want to give enough time for that. Some guys also
like to shower before they go out to practice.
Speaker 4 (32:36):
Uh.
Speaker 3 (32:36):
And that's interesting, you know, you see that in Major
League Baseball clubhouses guys will come into the clubhouse and shower.
Speaker 5 (32:42):
I'm like, what did you do at home?
Speaker 3 (32:44):
Yea?
Speaker 5 (32:45):
Or where are you? Where are you coming from?
Speaker 3 (32:49):
I've always thought that was very sure. So guys will shower.
Speaker 6 (32:51):
Before Yeah, exactly, I mean, but some of us also
superstition too, like guys have I mean, because let's face
it this, any professional sports you have ritual routines and
superstitions that you follow because you know no different, because
it's obviously shown you success.
Speaker 5 (33:08):
So if it's if it ain't broke, don't fix it.
Speaker 3 (33:10):
So I will tell you from from high school, going
to a small high school and playing various sports, and
then in college the only thing I had, well, I
had two things. The only thing I had was I
never clipped my fingernails on the day of any game
I was playing, okay, because you know, you ever you
ever clip it, you get it too far and it's
like uncomfort.
Speaker 5 (33:27):
Yeah, and then you know.
Speaker 3 (33:29):
What I as you're holding a bat or gripping a
football or shooting a basket, we don't want to think
about that. The other one I did in college, much
to the annoyance of my of our trainer, was I
got this so I was not very.
Speaker 4 (33:40):
Fast, so I didn't want my ankles taped.
Speaker 3 (33:42):
But I was terrified I did this weird fear of
spraining my ankle and warm ups. So in the day
of the game, before warm ups, I would he would
you would have to go through the whole thing, spray
and put the tape on, and then before the game
I would tape, I'd cut it off. Now, I wouldn't
call that a superstition, though there was a reason behind.
Speaker 5 (34:00):
Well, who had a ritual? You had a vital It
was a ritual, not a superstition.
Speaker 4 (34:05):
Did you have a ritual superstition?
Speaker 5 (34:07):
Oh yeah, no, I put I.
Speaker 6 (34:08):
I literally when I came in for game day, I
had to I had to set my because they would
throw my pads in in my locker. I actually had
I would put my pads in a specific order and
I would sit down and I had to put my
pads in my pants in the same exact order every
time I got there. And so that's superstition. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah,
that's the And then for my ritual, I had the
(34:29):
same playlist that I listened to every week, and I
did the same thing at each point during it.
Speaker 4 (34:34):
When I called USTI I'm gonna call that ritual.
Speaker 5 (34:37):
Yes, so those were getting things I had to do.
Speaker 4 (34:41):
Yeah, it's like chick exactly. But again, chicken very healthy.
Speaker 5 (34:48):
It's very healthy.
Speaker 6 (34:49):
It's not the bacon, cream, cheese and a piece of
toast that I do before game days.
Speaker 3 (34:55):
And maybe people right now are saying they can use
a little more fish to get that brain fired up a
little bit.
Speaker 6 (34:58):
There we go, a little more omega you know, the
mega fatty acids there.
Speaker 4 (35:02):
Well, uh, Max, we got through it.
Speaker 3 (35:04):
Just one more time when it and again we'll be
thinking about Wolf all season long.
Speaker 5 (35:08):
But good to see you, my friend, No, good to
see you as well.
Speaker 6 (35:11):
And this is this is a fun start at you know,
somber occasion of course.
Speaker 5 (35:14):
And once again we will.
Speaker 6 (35:16):
Never fill the void of Wolf, of Craig Wolfly, but
the most important thing is we honor his legacy. And
he is a man that lived and breathed. You're talking
about a guy who was as hard as steel. And
maybe he couldn't bend to horse you, but he could
ben the English language.
Speaker 5 (35:35):
With ease as as a true iron man that he was.
Speaker 6 (35:39):
That he was, so we will continue that. I mean,
it's it's a blessing to be here. It's sad he's
not here, but I know he's looking down. I know
he's excited right now and he's probably ready to give
somebody a ballistic get them and I'll.
Speaker 7 (35:49):
Tell I'll tell you this, Max, from from Tounch to
Wolf to yourself, I can't imagine a better lineage in
terms in terms of in terms of the men you
guys are, in terms of how good you all are
as broad as I think that's pretty special for Steeers.
Speaker 4 (36:02):
Thy Well put that's Wes Juler. We have C. J.
Speaker 3 (36:04):
Wolfley with us. We have Justin Miller back in the studio.
He's Max Starks. I'm Rob King. We thank you for
listening to this edition of the Locker Room with King
and Starks, presented by your neighborhood Fords Tour on the
Steelers Audio Network
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