July 25, 2025 • 41 mins
Max and Kinger continue their coverage from Latrobe discussing all things training camp.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:06):
Iheartradios. 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 Control, by Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank, by Schneider Downs,
(00:29):
by Hass's Steaked Seahouse, by your Neighborhood Forward Store, by
Castle Rock, by Clearview Federal Credit Union, and by US Steel.
Speaker 2 (00:43):
And two fields over. The players are scratching at three
fields here at Saint Vincent. You've never got up here.
We're in the press box, and it's a nice view
from here in the press box. It's a smallest press box,
but it's small stands and it's just an intimate.
Speaker 3 (00:57):
Let's put let's call it intimate, very intimate. As we
are perched a top chuck Nole Stadium, right, I mean,
that's what Wolf always like to make sure you knew
we are.
Speaker 4 (01:05):
We are in chuck Nole Stadium.
Speaker 3 (01:07):
We are perched atop looking over the three sprawling fields
here at Saint Vincent. So yeah, exactly, you got you
gotta make it you gotta make it bigger than it is.
You know, you have to create the atmosphere like you
need to be here. You know, the Basilica over off
off in the distance, the Saint Vincent sign perfectly manicured.
Speaker 2 (01:28):
Yeah, the shrubbery, uh so, yeah, the hills in the distance.
Speaker 3 (01:32):
Rolling hills, rolling, rolling, rolling hills as well.
Speaker 2 (01:35):
Very very beautiful. It's a beautiful setting, absolute beautiful setting.
So some of the players are out there, actually the
team is out there stretching on field to with.
Speaker 3 (01:43):
Some great stretches. By the way, those those are those
are ones we actually probably need to do.
Speaker 4 (01:47):
Rob.
Speaker 3 (01:47):
You and I well at yoga every commercial. Yeah, I know,
I know, I know exactly you are. You are crawling
the wall. I haven't seen the spider, the spider walk up.
Speaker 2 (02:00):
I don't want to say it's painful because I don't
want to come off as too much of it, you know, Yeah, exactly,
and tough guy. So I think that's just sort of
just a veteran. So we're in the locker room. You're
in the locker room with King and Starks, presented by
you neighborhood a forward stour, mister. There's audio network. Guys
are stretching and stuff, you know, in a larger sense, Max,
Since Omar Khan took over, I think he's done a
(02:22):
wonderful job assessing different units of the team that need
to get better. And again, I think this needs to
be underscored to some degree. I understand Steelers fans are
used to the team getting to the playoffs, winning playoff games,
and competing for a super Bowl. Frankly, it's been a
while since you could label the Steelers a true super
(02:42):
Bowl contender when you think about what they've been able
to accomplish. Going back to Kevin Colbert continuing on now
with Omar Khan, it is laudable to me. I understand
it's not enough. It's not enough for the Steelers, it's
not enough for their fans. But how extremely difficult it
is to draft late and every year and you make
the playoffs, you draft twenty second, you make the playoffs,
(03:04):
you draft twenty fourth, you make the playoffs, draft nineteenth.
It is so difficult to maintain that. All you have
to do is look around the league. How are things
going to New England right now? Right?
Speaker 4 (03:13):
You know?
Speaker 2 (03:13):
How about how about Buffalo? And everyone talks about Buffalo
and how exciting. It is, and they are exciting, and
I think McDermott's a heck of a coach. They got
Josh Allen. They haven't won a super Bowl yet, and
they went through twenty losing seasons in a row. Twenty.
That's no hope at least when you get into the playoffs.
I don't care who you have at quarterback, you have
(03:36):
a hoper's chance.
Speaker 4 (03:37):
You don't have to.
Speaker 2 (03:37):
You have no chance of winning a playoff game and
winning the super Bowl if you don't make the playoffs.
You have to make the playoffs. So that as a
sort of the bedrock for what I'm going to say. Look,
they're trying to find a way to continue to draft
late and take that next step up and forward, which
is get into the playoffs and start winning some playoff games.
(03:59):
Aretrualy mentioned it last year as well. I really think
that the Steelers in the last three years have gotten
much more competitive and much closer to that. I bring
up this point. I think a couple of years ago,
unbelievable job by Mason Rudolph to get the team into
the playoffs. They win those last three games, they're beating
kind of teams that are in that same sort of category.
(04:22):
You were in Seattle, Cincinnati, down the stretch, teams that
are fighting for a playoff spot, and you proved you
were better than them. But you also the proof was
in the putting you're not as good as the Buffalo
bill As you weren't as good as the contenders. We
saw the team suffer blowout losses in the course of
the regular season, and I really felt going up to Buffalo, Hey,
you know, if you win the turnover battle four to nothing,
(04:45):
if you return a punt for a touchdown, if something,
you know, you get a defensive touchdown, maybe yeah, maybe
you've got a chance to hang around. But basically lining up,
you're just not as good. You're you're not as And
then last year I thought they made a significan can
step forward. When I look at that five game stretch
at the end of the season, we all knew it
was gonna be difficult, you know. Even so Baltimore, you know,
(05:08):
you're right in the game until late in the third quarter,
early in the fourth quarter, Uh, the Eagles, Right, You're
you're marching in late in the third quarter after a
horrible start to that game, you're marching in to tie
the game. And Najie Harris, who never fumbles, just drops
a pitch right and now, and now what happened earlier
in the game, Uh, you know the long drives by
the Eagles, You're three and outs winds up catching up
(05:30):
with you. Baltimore. You couldn't have gotten more bad breaks
at the beginning of that game. Every fumble pounced upon
by the Ravens. You're still in that game. Even the
Chiefs who that, But that was the one that you
were that was the biggest discrepancy. But think about that
phantom holding call on Darnel Washington. Kaleen Warren runs it
in for a touchdown. You're in the lead. At you
(05:51):
You're gonna go into halftime with the lead in that game. Yes,
So those are things that I don't think two years ago,
three years ago, even four years ago were realistic for
this Steelers. Now, what does that tell you? It tells
you you're closer, but it tells you you're also not
good enough yet. And so because you took on the
(06:11):
top teams and you were found wanting right, you needed
to get better. I think they've spent another offseason getting
better and taking another significant step to being able to
go toe to toe with the top teams in the league.
Speaker 3 (06:23):
And unlike years past, like you weren't going to just
sit there silently waiting for a draft pick to fall
to you, right right, They utilized free agency very fast
and very early and very often in the process. And
I think that was the other thing where it said
we're not content because I think the best way to
describe cy which says, you know, there are tiers in
the NFL, right, absolutely, yeah, and you know your tier
(06:46):
one teams. That's where you put your Kansas cities. That's
where you put your Philadelphia's, your Baltimore's, your Buffalo's, even
Minnesota and Detroit right on the NFC side, LA, those
are like tier one style teams. Washington bust onto the
scene last year. And then there was that tier two
right that's your wild cards and you're and you're possible
(07:07):
still in it. You know, we're looking at like week fifteen,
like in the hunt category. Yeah, we were the top
of the in the hunt category.
Speaker 2 (07:14):
Exactly right. Yeah, I like I always said, like upper class,
middle class, you're in the middle class where you're you're
at the upper echelon of the middle Yes, because you
when you and listen to me, and again, I know,
I know there's gonna be some segment of segment of
fans that aren't gonna want to hear this. That's I
think a lot of that goes to coaching. It goes
to the front office and building good teams, but it
(07:34):
goes to finding ways and knowing how to win. It
goes to the things we were talking about, the culture,
the tradition. You go out, students go out expecting to
beat Seattle and make it to the playoffs. You know, yes,
and and Cincinnati. All those things are factors, and yet
you're still in that tier below.
Speaker 3 (07:50):
You're still you're still in the hunt, right, yes, yeah, yeah,
you're the thing like, hey, we hope they get in
the playoffs, or they might get in the playoffs, or
maybe they should get and then there's a team that
they expect to be in the playoffs, they expect to
be in the super Bowl. And that was that we
and we lived in that tier for a very long time.
We've been Roethlisberger, right, We lived in the they're they're
(08:11):
they're in it to win a super Bowl and they're
in it and they're built for that. Now we've taken
a rung down, but still that rung has been the
fall from grace. Like you said, Buffalo, twenty years of
losing seasons. I mean, we look at the Jets. How
many number one picks have the Jets had in the
last ten years and still a team that we don't
really expect to.
Speaker 4 (08:28):
Do anything year in a year out. Think about the Giants.
Speaker 3 (08:31):
The Giants have been boom or bust when there's a
lot of teams that have that kind of farce.
Speaker 2 (08:35):
And there are a lot of teams that just have
no chance, that have never had a chance.
Speaker 4 (08:38):
Never had a chance.
Speaker 3 (08:39):
Think a team just across the Ohio Pennsylvania border says,
I call I call it the Putt in Bay Browns,
But you know, I get it. It's Cleveland still. But
you know, there's teams that you just don't expect. And
I think that's where I think we because we've set
so high atop the perch.
Speaker 4 (08:56):
You know, when you take.
Speaker 3 (08:57):
A step down, it's like, man, this, I'm like, but listen,
we have not ever had to rebuild a team, right,
We've never had to worry about man if this top
ten pick doesn't work out, Like we ain't been in
the top ten.
Speaker 2 (09:10):
The fly.
Speaker 4 (09:11):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (09:11):
Yeah, we've always just retooled, reconstructed and kind of worked
and even sometimes you have made you have made lemonade
and lemon cello martinis out of lemon peels.
Speaker 4 (09:22):
You know, when you think about.
Speaker 3 (09:23):
Some of the rosters that you're going within, it is
now most importantly, I don't know, I think I had
one of those one day life. Don't know, maybe in Italy,
but I think that's one of the things that you know,
has always been really the crux of the Steelers team.
Your nucleus has always been strong. Now it's about building
the outer layers around that nucleus. And Omar Khan has
(09:46):
done a huge job. Think about since he's taken the job,
he has turned over this roster is going into training camp.
Forty three I think is the number this year. It's
the lowest turnover he's had, but he's turned over that
he's you're in that many players and even last year
it was fifty three new guys that were that were
doing Steelers training camp for the first time. Wow, that's
(10:07):
over potentially half your roster going into training camp. And
he's done it year on year to get the best
guy and you have to kind of churn through, you
have to get some guys, and you know, realizing that
it's not just the draft. It's not just however six
to eight draft picks or eleven picks you're going to
get that's gonna make your team. It's quality free agency
(10:27):
and going and poaching the right positions and not just
buying a team like I mean, we look at how
La did it for a number of years. Right, they
went and they bought their team, right, and you know,
they had the churches at FDM picks and all that
kind of stuff, and it was a whole thing. I
was like, yeah, you got your moonshot, but you know
what did it cost, you know for you to get that?
And the Steelers have kind of always just marginally been
(10:48):
doing it, but now it's more aggressive because that's what
that's what it dictates now. And now you're seeing like
we would have never traded for like a Jalen Ramsey
back in the day.
Speaker 2 (10:56):
And by the way, real quick, I just want to
say I would applaud the Rams for what they did.
They want to they in a super Bowl, thet.
Speaker 4 (11:01):
They took, they got it done. But so many times, don't.
Speaker 2 (11:03):
How many times? How many times have the Cowboys tried that?
How many times? Brown, Dan Snyder, the Redskins that. Yeah,
most of the time it fails.
Speaker 3 (11:12):
They were the one.
Speaker 2 (11:16):
They did it, they won the Super Bowl.
Speaker 3 (11:17):
Congratulation they did, and they did it at home too,
something that doesn't really happen.
Speaker 4 (11:21):
But more often than not, that fails.
Speaker 3 (11:23):
I mean, we talk about the brown How many times
did the Browns bring in like so many just big
names and then the team never quite gelled. And you
said the Redskins did the same thing. Now, commanders still
make sure we're knowing that. I'm not calling them that,
so I don't have to put a quarter in the jar.
But when they were the Redskins, Daniel Snyder, Yeah, I mean,
and like you said, Cowboys do it year in and
(11:44):
year out. I think of the Chargers. The Chargers tried
to do that as well. And you can't buy your championship,
but you can put pieces in the wheel. If the
wheels already made and a cog is broken, yes, you
replace the cog. Sometimes it's a draft picks, sometimes it's
a free agent. But you don't blow up the wheel
and create a new wheel, right. I think that's where
a lot of teams feel that pressure, and I think
(12:05):
also it goes to having stability at the coaching position.
That also allows you to be more aggressive and more
patient because you know there's a longer term plan. Whereas
we look at every year, eight coaches are getting fired.
A quarter of this league is going to have new
head coaches every single year. It's incredible and we've had
three and over fifty years.
Speaker 2 (12:25):
And by the way, when you build a solid team,
it allows you you know, look, we always talk in
the draft best player available right, well, even with the Steelers,
that's usually not true. It's the best player available at
multiple positions though for what we need right You don't
go into the draft thinking, you know, we need a
(12:47):
pass rusher, like I think the Bengals felt like, hey,
we need a pass rusher, so we're going to go
draft to pass rusher. Well, if you're the Steelers, you're like, okay,
well we could use something here or something there's but
there's no pressing need, there's no absolutely have to and
so that allows you to broaden the field and pick
good football players. And then as you get later in
the draft, it allows you to say, well, we weren't
(13:10):
thinking about another offensive lineman, but let's take Mason McCormick. Yeah,
wind up starter for you. You might say, you know,
maybe that guy this year is Jack Sawyer. I don't
know who winds up being a really good outside linebacker
pass rusher. Well, if you're drafting for need, you're passing
up the Mason mccormicks and the other guys who wind
up being good starters. So that process has always been
(13:31):
good for the Steelers. But you're right, more aggressive and
free agency, and I think that you know, if we
talked about Okay, so the Steelers came up short last
year and we all remember that game in Baltimore and
by the way, I went into the Ravens booth and
the line was I don't know seven and a half
or whatever whatever the line was in the game. I
remember talking to the Ravens guys there and saying, I
(13:51):
think this is going to be three point game, because
it's always a three point game. They're like, they're like,
they were mystified that was that big of a Now,
of course it wound up being under lined, right, I mean,
the yeah, that was that was a lot. That was
a lopside that in that stretch of games we referenced
down the stretch that five tough games and then the
(14:11):
playoff game. The playoff game is the worst of the five, right,
That was the words of the six That was the
worst defeat to stealer suffered. But when you looked at
this team and said, Okay, what do we need on
defense to be able to elevate this defense which was
good statistically to being better being maybe top you know,
(14:32):
real top five type of defense. What do you need? Well,
we underlined this in the first hour, how different the
defense was in stopping to run under camp when Cam
Hayward was on the field. Elite when he wasn't on
the field, Uh, frankly, really bad elite. And then you
think about the secondary, right, So what did they do?
(14:54):
They added two elite corners, They went out and got
some good veteran guys in free agency. They use their
first round pick on the defensive lineman. They use a
later pick on a defensive lineman. I think what they
did was they shored up their weaknesses. And we began
this program talking Max talking about the incredible depth that
the Steelers have in this defensive line. I think they've
(15:15):
you know, again, and I understand fans that they're gonna
remember that loss to the Ravens, But I'm trying to
look at the team objectively, and I think, Max, they've
made a significant step forward because they plugged the holes
that needed to be.
Speaker 3 (15:29):
Plugged, but they plugged the holes that that needed to
be plugged from the end of the season. Plus they
also made sure that they hadn't quality debt for the
departures and free agency. That was the other thing that
I think, You know, you kind of kind of people
can tend to forget at times. It's like you lost
a Najee Harris, Right, it was a guy's a thousand
yard rusher every single season that he was here wearing
the black and goal. You think of Dan Moore started
(15:52):
from a rookie as a fourth round pick and played
every game at left tackle, and you still you knew, hey,
we drafted accordingly Broder owns Troy Fatano in successive years
that if Dan did leave, we had somebody there.
Speaker 4 (16:05):
Right.
Speaker 3 (16:05):
You also identified, hey, this is a really deep running
back class, so we don't have to go early and
go attack the O'moreon Hampton's right, the quin Shawn Judkins
and the Treveon Henderson's of the world.
Speaker 4 (16:16):
We could be a little.
Speaker 3 (16:17):
Patient because guess what, maybe not everybody's looking at because
Iowa doesn't score as many points, But how tough and
how well that dude ran with an offense that was
very anemic. Caleb Johnson's probably going to be there, and
you can be patient and not be aggressive and jump
too high for a guy. And so I think that's
the other part of it is you play chessnut checkers.
When it comes to the entire field of what the
(16:38):
off season is like, it is a mix of free
agency mixed with the draft and attacking those needs kind
of concurrently versus in silos like, oh, we gotta go,
we gotta win it in free agency and that's where
we're at, and then you know, we'll pray for the
draft to fall our way. It was like, no, we
have a plan, like Okay, can I get this guy
later in the draft or can I not? Okay, I
need to supplement that with a free agent, a guy
(16:59):
I know that's there.
Speaker 2 (17:00):
And I think going back to Kevin Colbert gets one
one of the things that I thought Kevin Colbert was
masterful at. Now Omar Khan, the free agency's going there,
They're a level above, right, yeah, but when you talk
about you know, when the Steelers would get to the draft,
they had a plausible football team, right, yes, we could
play with these guys, which is what allows you to say, Okay, well,
(17:20):
let's say you go into free agency thinking, well, we
need a defensive tackle, we need a corner, you know,
maybe we need a running back, maybe we need a receiver,
and you go out and sign some of those guys,
maybe not the maybe not the greatest receiver, the greatest
defensive tackle of a guy like, hey, we could win
with that guy. Then that that lessens the need, It
obviates the need to absolutely have to go out and
(17:43):
draft in that position, which is what gets you in
trouble and what gets organizations in trouble. And going back
to Kevin Colbert, I thought they've done a great job
now with Omar Khan. You know now you're talking about
Patrick Queen, right, yeah, you're talking about a star. You're
talking about trading for DC a metcap, trading going top.
Speaker 4 (18:02):
In the list. Yeah, exactly.
Speaker 2 (18:05):
It isn't just plausible, it's exciting what you put out
there prior to and.
Speaker 3 (18:09):
You're grabbing bona fide superstars at this position versus a
guy like, hey, he fits in perfectly into our system.
I think that's where the next evolution of how managing
a team is now going. And you see that kind
of manifesting itself by the guys that are on the
field right now.
Speaker 2 (18:24):
For sure, it is exciting. We can't wait. The team
is running through some drills. That's Aaron Rodgers out there
with a hat on. Is that Aaron Rodgers in the house.
Speaker 4 (18:33):
That's always Aaron Rodgers.
Speaker 2 (18:35):
So running some running some drills here kind of mildly actually.
Speaker 3 (18:42):
But he followed, He followed Aaron Rodgers from day one
and said, you know what, I'm aware a hat as
well today.
Speaker 4 (18:47):
He didn't have one on yesterday. Yeah, I worked for him.
Speaker 3 (18:50):
Maybe maybe I have a little touch because of that hat.
Speaker 2 (18:52):
Maybe that's key. Maybe we'll wear hats tomorrow too. Stick around.
We're at Saint Vincent College and the Trope and you're
listening to the Locker Room with King Starts, presented by
your neighborhood Ford Store on the Steelers audio network.
Speaker 1 (19:08):
Iheartradios. Live coverage of twenty twenty five Steelers training camp
is presented by Fadex where Now meets Next and also
brought to You by bud Light, Independence Health System, by
Pennsylvania One Call System, by Live Casino, Calciente Pizza and
Drafthouse by Tom's Appliances, South Hills Auto, Laurel, Highlands Visitors Bureau, Wemax,
(19:33):
Select Realty, the Pittsburgh Steelers Pro Shop and by US Steel.
Speaker 2 (19:41):
And Welcome back in the Locker Room, a King of
Stark's presented by your neighborhood Ford Store on the Steelers
Audio Network and UH offense in White, Defense and Gold.
Speaker 4 (19:53):
The drills are drilling.
Speaker 2 (19:54):
The drills are drilling. They're on fields two and three.
So testing our eyesight as we look out across Chuck
Noles Stadium.
Speaker 4 (20:01):
There we go, There we go, there we go.
Speaker 3 (20:03):
We we are well equipped and you know, yeah we
have we have a nice catbird seat up here, and uh,
you know, obviously wanting to save Field one. Obviously that
that that's that's that's the fan Dazure location, you know,
so everybody can be up against the fence and cheering,
uh for the Black and Gold out here at training camp,
which practice at.
Speaker 4 (20:22):
One fifty five. So you want to get out there.
Speaker 3 (20:24):
You take a half day at work, you know, drive
on down to Late Trobe and uh come watch practice.
And of course this weekend we'll have practices on Saturday
and Sunday as well, you know. And I have to
say I'm getting better with liking the afternoon scheduled slate
versus the that late morning practice time that kind of
was a little bit more touch and go. As far
(20:44):
as far as how the fans would have access and
usually limited to the weekends, were just like just blowouts.
I mean, everybody was here on the weekends because you
didn't have the afternoon access. I think having it in
the afternoon gives you a little bit more flexibile as
a family trying to get up here to watch training camp.
But but yeah, they're they're doing their drills out there
and it's looking good. You know, a lot of brother
(21:05):
in lawing out there. I think Dylan Cook was at
was at d end on that last play on the
offensive side, and I think I'm not sure who was
playing quarterback for the defense, but uh, you know, oh sorry,
offensive linemen are trash cans over there on the defensive side.
To see the respect, I mean, this is lack of
respect there for offensive line. We're just immobile objects.
Speaker 2 (21:23):
Am I seeing Spencer Anderson standing up out their stand
up defensive end. Yeah, past the DK metcalf.
Speaker 3 (21:29):
Exactly, trying, you know, trying trying to pull his best
you know, you know JJ Swatt style. You know, just
sit back, scan and put your hands up type of deal. Yeah,
I mean he's better than a broomstick, Like I see
a lot of guys.
Speaker 2 (21:40):
Do I've seen that before, right, Yeah, yeah, the broomstick
or around the broomstick or what have you.
Speaker 3 (21:46):
Yeah, a little bit better than the broomstick.
Speaker 2 (21:48):
Yeah. Fun stuff and fun, you know, just doing some
walk through kind of stuff and and trying to get
these reps. And how did you feel about walkthroughs? Did
you like walk through.
Speaker 4 (21:57):
I didn't mind them.
Speaker 3 (21:58):
I didn't mind because sometimes, you know, because there's so
many different ways that guys absorb information, right, you know,
some guys can go and watch and see it on
on a grease board in the in the team meeting room.
Some guys can watch film and kind of extrapolate what
they need to do versus what they're seeing the opponent do.
Then some guys, like the walkthrough is beneficial or the
actual physical practice, like some guys need to be physically
(22:19):
go through it and kind of make their adjustments and
mistakes and everything along in the practice process. So I
used to love all of it because it was always
information gathering for me, like I was always and I
think in a walkthrough, I can kind of scan the
field a little bit better because I know it's not
full speed. Whereas it you get into practice and you
you know, you have Lawrence Timmins over there walking around stalking,
and James Harrison's right above you.
Speaker 4 (22:40):
You know you're not focused on a whole lot.
Speaker 3 (22:42):
You know, it's like, Okay, I gotta lock into my guys,
so I can't watch what the safeties are doing rotation
wise and everything else. A walkthrough kind of gives you
better schematics to kind of see the whole field. So
I appreciated the walk through because it gave me a
better sense of knowing where guys should be and then
anticipating what comes out of that.
Speaker 2 (22:58):
Yeah, any I think reps right, any of any sort,
can help you get better. I'm curious, and again, we're
gonna step away a little bit from this specific practice
in this specific camp. But you know, as you go
through the course of a season and you're you know,
you're getting a walk through your final walk through. How
much from your blocking schemes will change from week to
(23:24):
week and how much you know you're going through that
walk through now, and so maybe maybe somebody, uh you know,
isn't head up on you. He plays inside shoulder, outside shoulder.
There's other things. There's blitz packages a team does or
what have you. So let you know, let's say you
had a huh, did you go odd to the left
or even the Yeah. Now, so you're playing left tackle
(23:46):
and it's a twenty seven running play, right, the running
back is gonna get it and he's gonna run. He's
gonna run to the seven hole, which is outside the
left tackle, right. But so you would think that that
that play is going to be blocked the same every
single game, but there's little nuances right from week to
week depending upon the opponent it does.
Speaker 3 (24:06):
And also it changes who your landmarks are because if
you're going as a three to four defense versus a
four to three, the will backer is in the box,
and a four to three and a three to four
the will's on the line of scrims. So now you
got Jack that's playing that weak side now because we
side outside linebacker on the line of scrimmage. So think
Alex Heismith right would be the will if we're going
(24:28):
a right strong defense, defensive front or offensive front.
Speaker 4 (24:32):
And then you got the jack.
Speaker 3 (24:33):
So that's Peyton Wilson, that that is a Landon robbers,
that's somebody over there that Now it adjusts our angle
because guess what, he's a little bit closer. So now
how we take our steps on a double team block
in a zone is gonna be a little bit different.
You can be a little bit more patient when he's
a will and a four to three because he has
to come further across the line, whereas a jack, I
(24:53):
gotta be a little bit quicker. So I means I
have to be able to get that that down lineman
that we're working on over onto the guard or over
on to me as a tackle so that that guy
can release. And maybe it's more so the guard takes
the first step off and I got to man the guy,
or if it's a little bit wider, now that guard
needs to come underneath so that I can make it
up to the second level. So it changes week to week.
(25:15):
And also I think the other big thing gap versus
zone power versus an area, So it does change week
to week based on the personnel how we're going to
run these plays because it might hit a little bit
wider and he's thinking more cutback versus pounding and really
getting to that hole in that spot that the play
calls for. So every week is a new challenge because
(25:37):
every team has a different strength that you have to
deal with. So it's really important week to week that
you understand what the install plan is on Wednesday Thursday,
and then you clean it up on Friday, and then
you have a walk through Saturday just to you know,
kind of further enhance and further ingrain into guys what
the game plan is, and then you have your top
fifteen plays of the game. As an offense. Defensively, you know,
(26:00):
they work it different. They're anticipating what formation groups and
they have to anticipate at least three to four things
per position group, and that's how they kind of work
it in different pages, so to speak. Whereas we have
that script sheet, here's what we want to do based
off of what we think they're going to do, and
marry that into the game plan.
Speaker 2 (26:17):
So let's take this. Let's take this made up twenty
seven running play, right, which is a running back, the
running back taking it outside. Max is playing left tackle
when he's supposed to go outside the left tackle, and
it's blocked a certain way when you're in camp. Uh,
is it blocked the same way every time? So most
people out there that are listening, maybe you played high
school football. Maybe people played even small college football like
(26:41):
I did, or bigger college football, which is another obviously
believe the level I played, there's fourteen levels above, or
I played where you played. You know, there's a there's
a lot of different things out there, but you know,
you're you know, you're looking at okay. You know some
coaches telling okay, you know your your your first step
has to be, you know, dropping that left foot back
(27:01):
and squaring your shoulders and doing it right. So you
go through all that. Are you blocking it the same
way in training camp so it's rope boom drop drop
step go, boom, drop step go, boom, drop step go,
or are you varying it even in camp so that
you are used to different defenses and that sort of thing.
Speaker 3 (27:22):
So early on in camp, the biggest thing it's Steelers
on Steelers. So however, the Steelers are going to block
it defensively, that's how we're going to practice it.
Speaker 2 (27:30):
Okay.
Speaker 3 (27:30):
So it's at this point it's we don't care about
anybody else. We care about us. So how is TJ
Watt going to play this? If you're if you're sitting
there at at the at the tackle position, I have
I have to defend against how TJ Is going to
play it. And then you have the script cards kind
of in the walk through, they have cards that we
call it show team, right, you know, the show team
(27:51):
will have just a blank, here's a four to three
over type of defense, and that's how we're going to
block that. But then you have the other one. It's like, okay,
we're running a three four under. We'll just we'll just
go ahead and block it up for practice. So you're
working through generic scenarios, but for the most part, when
we're actually going through it, you're blocking how you're gonna
play these guys in the competitive period. So whether it's
(28:13):
pass under pressure, seven shots, or any of the team drills,
two minute drill, I'm preparing for the Steelers. And then
as we get into the week. If I can prepare
for the Steelers, I can prepare for anybody. That's how
they mentally frame it and then they're gonna try things,
and we're gonna try things just because you don't know
when you're gonna see it. So it's not necessarily like, hey,
today it's a drop forty five and go on an angle,
(28:36):
you know, or it's hey, it's a it's a shuffle
step and go vertical. You're seeing, Okay, who am I
playing against?
Speaker 4 (28:42):
You know? Am I gonna?
Speaker 3 (28:43):
Am I gonna block Alex Heismith this way and Nick
Herbig this way? That's how I need to practice for it,
because that's what matters that this especially this early part
of the stage. Now, when we get into preseason games,
we'll have that joint practice and that'll be a whole
different thing. Right, you'll actually be preparing for the Tampa
Bay Buccaneers when you do those joint practices and then
going into the game and we might do a day
(29:03):
or two of install with still very vanilla. It's like
we're trying to find out what the bread and butter
is right now at this point.
Speaker 2 (29:08):
So you know, we talk about I think it was
maybe Bill Parcels or some coach saying, look, you need
sixteen games. They played sixteen games for an offensive line
to really gel to really get that feeling. So you're
out there, you know, you're making your line calls or whatever.
You're getting ready for this mythical twenty seven, which, by
the way, the more we talk about it, the better
(29:30):
play it's becoming. It's becoming down this year, there's best running.
Speaker 4 (29:33):
Play, so bread and butter right now, so how do
you shut it down?
Speaker 2 (29:37):
Does it change for you? Does it change for the
guy next to you? Chris came out to right, he's
got to it changes for him too? Are you looking
at you know?
Speaker 4 (29:49):
Maybe?
Speaker 2 (29:50):
Okay, we know that this team normally runs a four
to three, so we're gonna block it this way, and
all of a sudden, that defensive end, you know, six
seconds before Ben Roethlis says hot and stats the ball
drops off. Now, how do you communicate and make sure
you're blocking it properly? Because if that guy's in a
different position, you both have to be on the same page.
Speaker 3 (30:09):
We have to both be on the same because I
don't need like you know, so say, we're making this
mythical twenty seven, right, it's more of a reaching better.
It's getting better and better. So here's the thing. We're
open side right. You know I'm open side, so I don't.
That means I don't have a tight end next to
me right, and so I have what we would call
a reach block. So wherever that defensive end lines up,
whether it's head up, outside, shoulder, in space and avoid position,
(30:34):
I have to go take a wider step to match
wherever he's located.
Speaker 4 (30:37):
Right and for the guard who's coming over with me.
Speaker 3 (30:40):
So say it's a four to three over right because
the strength of the offense is on the right hand
side tight end sitting on the right hand side next
to the tackle, So that means that there's a three technique.
And now where my guard is, he now has a nose,
so the nose is shaded in in that a gap
so to speak, between the center and the left guard.
So now if I am having to reach and Chris
has void, he doesn't have a physical body on him
(31:02):
or near him. He's now going to hang back to
help the center overtake that nose before working to the backer.
And for me, I'm by myself because that defensive end
is so wide. So now that twenty seven belly could
possibly be a twenty five belly depending on how I
read exactly.
Speaker 2 (31:19):
So now again for people that you know the one hole,
the one might be between the garden tackle three, between
the garden I'm sorry, one between the center and center
guard three, between the garden, tackle five, between.
Speaker 3 (31:31):
No tackle and tight ends.
Speaker 2 (31:32):
Yeah, you're side of it. That was outside of It's
just that you may have.
Speaker 3 (31:38):
The Playah, it's good, but so now it becomes more
of a twenty five because you don't have that. But
maybe you have a motion that now takes the tight
end from that side, or a full back or an
h back that now comes over and he's souto. That's
why it's bumping so wide because that guy's now going
for that. That guy he's pulling across or pulling down.
Speaker 2 (31:57):
So everything that's put into place is for that play
to succeed one way or the other.
Speaker 3 (32:03):
Correct.
Speaker 2 (32:04):
Did you ever get to a position where at the
last minute they shifted and you thought, oh, there's not
time to there's not time to audible, but there's only
five in the play clock, and you think this isn't
gonna work.
Speaker 3 (32:14):
Yeah, I mean yeah, we've had we've had those moments
and it's like.
Speaker 2 (32:17):
No matter what, no matter what scheme we have, they
got three, we got two blocks in, it's not gonna work.
Speaker 3 (32:22):
They have overloaded us. So now it's you know, normally
then the quarterback.
Speaker 4 (32:28):
You could adjust.
Speaker 3 (32:29):
And we also in certain situations we know a team
likes to move and stunt will run check with me
or what we call kill plays. So I mean, we'll
send in two plays and you either kill to the
other play like you'll call the first one. And that's
what we're doing until the quarterback says kill or is
a check with me, And then he'll give you a
number indicating which which way we're gonna go with the
(32:50):
play because we have two of them up there and
we're thinking about it as such, and he'll make the
play pre snap based off the mic position or base
where if it's a three technique, we're not running to
the three technique this week because we know that Aaron
Smith is playing that three technique, so we don't want
to run at Eron, so we're gonna check to the
other side because we know if Aaron's here, that means
there's a void in the space that we want to run.
Speaker 2 (33:11):
So so back in the little Division III level, we
would just call it an opposite call, right, I go
on the line of scrimmage count. The guys be like, well,
we called it twenty seven, but it's not gonna work
if I call opposite and we go twenty six. So
does that happen frequently?
Speaker 3 (33:25):
That happens enough. I mean it's rare because teams are
still tendency based, Okay, so what we show them they
want to combat that. And if you run a lot
of plays out of one formation, they're gonna usually line
up and give you what you think they're going to
give you. And then it's like, but I saw last
week one time they just made a shift call and
(33:46):
they just shifted everything one gap over. That's what you
call a check with me. That's when you bring in
a kill play, because it's like, we want to make
sure that when they guess, they're always guessing wrong right
on this because it is a guess when they shift,
it's not a predetermined thing. They're going off of what
our strength is. So if they're coming out for a
right formation, all of a sudden, we line up left,
then they have to shift because they want the strength
(34:07):
to that side. And so now you're counting the overloads
and that's what matters in this. But you've watched enough film,
You've practiced enough situations that when we come in with
those plays and we know those players are on the list.
So when we look at the game plan, Okay, we
got this many kill plays, we have this many checked
with me, is we have this many nows because you
also have the now route, Like if the run doesn't work,
(34:29):
it's like, okay, now we got to throw it now,
and you'll hear and you hear the quarterback. And Ben
was so good at he just give a look and
he'd just be like, he's like, just run the play.
So we'll still run the run, knowing it's unsuccessful. But
Ben's throwing the ball out to Santonio Hines or Antoine
or somebody else, right, and the defense is so sucked
up because they think it's a run that now you
have that off cover guy. Now you can get five
(34:50):
yards and make the pseudo run.
Speaker 2 (34:51):
By the way, Max once again here on radio, picking
up the list. As he's talking about a list, there's
a little list in front of you, Max.
Speaker 3 (34:57):
Pretending that it's the game plan on.
Speaker 4 (35:02):
Game day. We have it on game day at least
we'll have a little go pro like right.
Speaker 2 (35:06):
Before for this show, last question here, Wester, are we
up against the break? And I ask a question? Or
should I wait till after the break? Why don't you
tease it?
Speaker 3 (35:14):
Oh?
Speaker 4 (35:15):
Tease the question?
Speaker 2 (35:16):
I'm gonna ask Max a question? Is that a good
enough Teas we have his question, you'll have to find
out what that question is by listening after this right,
you are listening to the locker Room with King Stark's
presented by your neighborhood Ford Store. On this tee, there's audio.
Speaker 1 (35:31):
Network Iheartradios live coverage. How about twenty twenty five Steelers
training Camp. He's presented by fat X where now meets
next and also brought to you by c g R
Wholesale Roofing and Siding Supply Center, by Don's Appliances, by
(35:53):
Always Safe Flagging and Traffic Control by Greater Pittsburgh Community
Food Bank, by Schneider Downs, by Hot Steak and Seahouse,
by your neighborhood Forward Store, by Castle Rock, by clear
View Federal Credit Union, and by us Steal.
Speaker 2 (36:12):
And welcome back to Latrobe. But inside the locker room
with King and Stark's presented by your neighborhood Ford Store,
and there's audio network. It looks like it was threatening
to rain earlier today, but that is it was swept
away by the breeze, making to the American flag old
glory uh in the wind breezing, so you know it's out.
Uh what do you call it? Extended technical wards for that?
Speaker 4 (36:34):
Uh?
Speaker 3 (36:35):
Billowing, fillowing, Very very well done.
Speaker 2 (36:42):
So before the break, I told you that there was
a question I wanted to ask Max. So we're talking
about some of the nitty gritty with with the offensive
line play and just the team in general. And my
question for you was, look you go again, certain personnel
which you are, certain teams and certain personnel. What you mentioned,
you're gonna certain plays at this time of year, and
(37:03):
this probably maybe this changes from coordinator to coordinator. Are
you more inclined to run the same plays out of
different formations? So are mythical twenty seven?
Speaker 4 (37:15):
Right? Yeah?
Speaker 2 (37:15):
Now you're now you have you have a banana bunch
to the left, or you have twins to the left,
or you have a receiver to the left. You don't
have anybody to the left. They're all on the right
side of the formation. So there's different blocking schemes and things.
So or do you just say, hey, we only run
the twenty seven out of a certain formation. So uh,
we're not gonna We're only gonna work on it at
a certain formation. So is it is? It? Is it
(37:38):
the same plays with different formations or different plays depending
upon the formation.
Speaker 3 (37:46):
See both, you do both, okay, but each day has
a different emphasis because you have to remember, we're also
installing the entire playbook in training camp, so we're getting
through sub sects every single day that we're going through.
So today is a gap emphasis day. So we're gonna
run every thirty five permutation we have. We're gonna run
(38:08):
every twenty five permutation, we gonna run every you don't
have fifteen anymore, but yeah, we're gonna run every forty
five out of the same group because that's our emphasis. Gap.
How do we get the pools going and we want
to see the same play against different multiple fronts, but
same personnel groupings, but then change a little bit of
that to get the same play. So you're getting both
(38:30):
of them because nowa today's a gap day, and then
we'll get into you know, six man protection day, and
then we're running everything that's a six man protection and
then everything that's a five man protection.
Speaker 4 (38:40):
The next day, and then seven man and so on and.
Speaker 3 (38:42):
So forth, and you're so on that day, we're running
everything that's geared towards that gap scheme that we have
right and left against every front we can throw out there,
so that the play principle stick in, so that if
we do have something that happens, like you said, if
we're out there and and a de tackle like an
Aaron Donald, Right, besides, I don't want to play off
(39:05):
off the center's shoulder. I'm just gonna move to the
inside eye of the guard instead. I'm gonna move to
the guard's inside shoulder and move off of the sinner's shoulder.
Now that changes how we block things.
Speaker 4 (39:15):
We still, yeah, exactly.
Speaker 2 (39:20):
Requires extra attention. Right, So that's part of a game
plan throughout a course of a weeks. You block Aaron
Donald differently than you block somebody else.
Speaker 3 (39:28):
Exactly, And it's like, hey, I know that normally if
he detaches from you center, you then just automatically work back.
He's like, no, no, no, stay front side and just look
at him and hey, backside guard.
Speaker 4 (39:37):
Good luck, God bless you, hally lujah. You know if
you can get that.
Speaker 3 (39:40):
Block, because that guy's now coming in because that stem
affects how the coordination of the choreography of the play goes,
and so you're working on every version of that, you know,
with with today being the emphasis on gap skin and I.
Speaker 2 (39:54):
Think the bottom line is you need both, right, Yeah, both.
I remember, like being in high school, I get to
the line of scrim you know, the defense to be
yelling out two options and I'd be like, how did
they know that? Yeah, exactly you, and it'd be right, dude, Yeah,
you can't be You're done. We were changing plays back
in high school, back into day. But you need both
because if you just run that mythical twenty seven that
(40:17):
we've been talking about out of multiple formations, well, team's
gonna get ready to defend that. But if you only
run certain plays out of certain formations, are going to.
Speaker 3 (40:25):
Be ready for that too. Yeah, And so you have
to have it. And that's why the game plan matters
every week because you're going off of what you're going
against and what we're most successful at at the same time.
So it's a perfect balance between what you're good at
versus what they're good at, and as are good better
than they're good when we run it.
Speaker 2 (40:43):
And sometimes like the Lombardi sweep, sometimes knowing that they
know what you're gonna run and still being able to
get them yes and wonderful.
Speaker 3 (40:49):
That was a format office we used to run early
on with Jerome in the backfield. I mean, if we
had a team icet and we needed to hold the
ball for the last four minutes, I'll never forget we
ran the same play eight times in a row, and
we dared them to stop us on it, and they
didn't do it, and it was twenty it was twenty
two and twenty three double. It's like we're lying up
with the same formation. We're not moving, We're about to
run right here. I want you to see what we're
(41:10):
about to do and you can't stop it because we're
better than you.
Speaker 2 (41:13):
That's got to be a beautiful feeling.
Speaker 3 (41:14):
It is the best feeling because you see the quit
in their eyes. Yeah, they're just like, I can't do this.
You've already ran this four times with me. I'm tired
of you laying on the back of my calf. I'm
tired of you hitting me in the rib cage and
I just want to I just want to lay down
and cry.
Speaker 2 (41:27):
So you don't see quitting my eyes do you No,
I don't see quitting your eyes. It's good because we
have to end the show. But we're not quitting the show.
We're not quitting the.
Speaker 4 (41:33):
Show, ending the shit.
Speaker 3 (41:35):
We're ending it and we're going to pick it up tomorrow.
Speaker 2 (41:37):
We are all that. As Max said from Saint Vincent College,
day two of Steelers' training camp in Latrobe, we thank
you for listening to the Locker Room with King and Starks,
presented by your neighborhood Fords Tour on the Steelers Audio
Network
Iheartradios. 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 Control, by Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank, by Schneider Downs,
(00:29):
by Hass's Steaked Seahouse, by your Neighborhood Forward Store, by
Castle Rock, by Clearview Federal Credit Union, and by US Steel.
Speaker 2 (00:43):
And two fields over. The players are scratching at three
fields here at Saint Vincent. You've never got up here.
We're in the press box, and it's a nice view
from here in the press box. It's a smallest press box,
but it's small stands and it's just an intimate.
Speaker 3 (00:57):
Let's put let's call it intimate, very intimate. As we
are perched a top chuck Nole Stadium, right, I mean,
that's what Wolf always like to make sure you knew
we are.
Speaker 4 (01:05):
We are in chuck Nole Stadium.
Speaker 3 (01:07):
We are perched atop looking over the three sprawling fields
here at Saint Vincent. So yeah, exactly, you got you
gotta make it you gotta make it bigger than it is.
You know, you have to create the atmosphere like you
need to be here. You know, the Basilica over off
off in the distance, the Saint Vincent sign perfectly manicured.
Speaker 2 (01:28):
Yeah, the shrubbery, uh so, yeah, the hills in the distance.
Speaker 3 (01:32):
Rolling hills, rolling, rolling, rolling hills as well.
Speaker 2 (01:35):
Very very beautiful. It's a beautiful setting, absolute beautiful setting.
So some of the players are out there, actually the
team is out there stretching on field to with.
Speaker 3 (01:43):
Some great stretches. By the way, those those are those
are ones we actually probably need to do.
Speaker 4 (01:47):
Rob.
Speaker 3 (01:47):
You and I well at yoga every commercial. Yeah, I know,
I know, I know exactly you are. You are crawling
the wall. I haven't seen the spider, the spider walk up.
Speaker 2 (02:00):
I don't want to say it's painful because I don't
want to come off as too much of it, you know, Yeah, exactly,
and tough guy. So I think that's just sort of
just a veteran. So we're in the locker room. You're
in the locker room with King and Starks, presented by
you neighborhood a forward stour, mister. There's audio network. Guys
are stretching and stuff, you know, in a larger sense, Max,
Since Omar Khan took over, I think he's done a
(02:22):
wonderful job assessing different units of the team that need
to get better. And again, I think this needs to
be underscored to some degree. I understand Steelers fans are
used to the team getting to the playoffs, winning playoff games,
and competing for a super Bowl. Frankly, it's been a
while since you could label the Steelers a true super
(02:42):
Bowl contender when you think about what they've been able
to accomplish. Going back to Kevin Colbert continuing on now
with Omar Khan, it is laudable to me. I understand
it's not enough. It's not enough for the Steelers, it's
not enough for their fans. But how extremely difficult it
is to draft late and every year and you make
the playoffs, you draft twenty second, you make the playoffs,
(03:04):
you draft twenty fourth, you make the playoffs, draft nineteenth.
It is so difficult to maintain that. All you have
to do is look around the league. How are things
going to New England right now? Right?
Speaker 4 (03:13):
You know?
Speaker 2 (03:13):
How about how about Buffalo? And everyone talks about Buffalo
and how exciting. It is, and they are exciting, and
I think McDermott's a heck of a coach. They got
Josh Allen. They haven't won a super Bowl yet, and
they went through twenty losing seasons in a row. Twenty.
That's no hope at least when you get into the playoffs.
I don't care who you have at quarterback, you have
(03:36):
a hoper's chance.
Speaker 4 (03:37):
You don't have to.
Speaker 2 (03:37):
You have no chance of winning a playoff game and
winning the super Bowl if you don't make the playoffs.
You have to make the playoffs. So that as a
sort of the bedrock for what I'm going to say. Look,
they're trying to find a way to continue to draft
late and take that next step up and forward, which
is get into the playoffs and start winning some playoff games.
(03:59):
Aretrualy mentioned it last year as well. I really think
that the Steelers in the last three years have gotten
much more competitive and much closer to that. I bring
up this point. I think a couple of years ago,
unbelievable job by Mason Rudolph to get the team into
the playoffs. They win those last three games, they're beating
kind of teams that are in that same sort of category.
(04:22):
You were in Seattle, Cincinnati, down the stretch, teams that
are fighting for a playoff spot, and you proved you
were better than them. But you also the proof was
in the putting you're not as good as the Buffalo
bill As you weren't as good as the contenders. We
saw the team suffer blowout losses in the course of
the regular season, and I really felt going up to Buffalo, Hey,
you know, if you win the turnover battle four to nothing,
(04:45):
if you return a punt for a touchdown, if something,
you know, you get a defensive touchdown, maybe yeah, maybe
you've got a chance to hang around. But basically lining up,
you're just not as good. You're you're not as And
then last year I thought they made a significan can
step forward. When I look at that five game stretch
at the end of the season, we all knew it
was gonna be difficult, you know. Even so Baltimore, you know,
(05:08):
you're right in the game until late in the third quarter,
early in the fourth quarter, Uh, the Eagles, Right, You're
you're marching in late in the third quarter after a
horrible start to that game, you're marching in to tie
the game. And Najie Harris, who never fumbles, just drops
a pitch right and now, and now what happened earlier
in the game, Uh, you know the long drives by
the Eagles, You're three and outs winds up catching up
(05:30):
with you. Baltimore. You couldn't have gotten more bad breaks
at the beginning of that game. Every fumble pounced upon
by the Ravens. You're still in that game. Even the
Chiefs who that, But that was the one that you
were that was the biggest discrepancy. But think about that
phantom holding call on Darnel Washington. Kaleen Warren runs it
in for a touchdown. You're in the lead. At you
(05:51):
You're gonna go into halftime with the lead in that game. Yes,
So those are things that I don't think two years ago,
three years ago, even four years ago were realistic for
this Steelers. Now, what does that tell you? It tells
you you're closer, but it tells you you're also not
good enough yet. And so because you took on the
(06:11):
top teams and you were found wanting right, you needed
to get better. I think they've spent another offseason getting
better and taking another significant step to being able to
go toe to toe with the top teams in the league.
Speaker 3 (06:23):
And unlike years past, like you weren't going to just
sit there silently waiting for a draft pick to fall
to you, right right, They utilized free agency very fast
and very early and very often in the process. And
I think that was the other thing where it said
we're not content because I think the best way to
describe cy which says, you know, there are tiers in
the NFL, right, absolutely, yeah, and you know your tier
(06:46):
one teams. That's where you put your Kansas cities. That's
where you put your Philadelphia's, your Baltimore's, your Buffalo's, even
Minnesota and Detroit right on the NFC side, LA, those
are like tier one style teams. Washington bust onto the
scene last year. And then there was that tier two
right that's your wild cards and you're and you're possible
(07:07):
still in it. You know, we're looking at like week fifteen,
like in the hunt category. Yeah, we were the top
of the in the hunt category.
Speaker 2 (07:14):
Exactly right. Yeah, I like I always said, like upper class,
middle class, you're in the middle class where you're you're
at the upper echelon of the middle Yes, because you
when you and listen to me, and again, I know,
I know there's gonna be some segment of segment of
fans that aren't gonna want to hear this. That's I
think a lot of that goes to coaching. It goes
to the front office and building good teams, but it
(07:34):
goes to finding ways and knowing how to win. It
goes to the things we were talking about, the culture,
the tradition. You go out, students go out expecting to
beat Seattle and make it to the playoffs. You know, yes,
and and Cincinnati. All those things are factors, and yet
you're still in that tier below.
Speaker 3 (07:50):
You're still you're still in the hunt, right, yes, yeah, yeah,
you're the thing like, hey, we hope they get in
the playoffs, or they might get in the playoffs, or
maybe they should get and then there's a team that
they expect to be in the playoffs, they expect to
be in the super Bowl. And that was that we
and we lived in that tier for a very long time.
We've been Roethlisberger, right, We lived in the they're they're
(08:11):
they're in it to win a super Bowl and they're
in it and they're built for that. Now we've taken
a rung down, but still that rung has been the
fall from grace. Like you said, Buffalo, twenty years of
losing seasons. I mean, we look at the Jets. How
many number one picks have the Jets had in the
last ten years and still a team that we don't
really expect to.
Speaker 4 (08:28):
Do anything year in a year out. Think about the Giants.
Speaker 3 (08:31):
The Giants have been boom or bust when there's a
lot of teams that have that kind of farce.
Speaker 2 (08:35):
And there are a lot of teams that just have
no chance, that have never had a chance.
Speaker 4 (08:38):
Never had a chance.
Speaker 3 (08:39):
Think a team just across the Ohio Pennsylvania border says,
I call I call it the Putt in Bay Browns,
But you know, I get it. It's Cleveland still. But
you know, there's teams that you just don't expect. And
I think that's where I think we because we've set
so high atop the perch.
Speaker 4 (08:56):
You know, when you take.
Speaker 3 (08:57):
A step down, it's like, man, this, I'm like, but listen,
we have not ever had to rebuild a team, right,
We've never had to worry about man if this top
ten pick doesn't work out, Like we ain't been in
the top ten.
Speaker 2 (09:10):
The fly.
Speaker 4 (09:11):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (09:11):
Yeah, we've always just retooled, reconstructed and kind of worked
and even sometimes you have made you have made lemonade
and lemon cello martinis out of lemon peels.
Speaker 4 (09:22):
You know, when you think about.
Speaker 3 (09:23):
Some of the rosters that you're going within, it is
now most importantly, I don't know, I think I had
one of those one day life. Don't know, maybe in Italy,
but I think that's one of the things that you know,
has always been really the crux of the Steelers team.
Your nucleus has always been strong. Now it's about building
the outer layers around that nucleus. And Omar Khan has
(09:46):
done a huge job. Think about since he's taken the job,
he has turned over this roster is going into training camp.
Forty three I think is the number this year. It's
the lowest turnover he's had, but he's turned over that
he's you're in that many players and even last year
it was fifty three new guys that were that were
doing Steelers training camp for the first time. Wow, that's
(10:07):
over potentially half your roster going into training camp. And
he's done it year on year to get the best
guy and you have to kind of churn through, you
have to get some guys, and you know, realizing that
it's not just the draft. It's not just however six
to eight draft picks or eleven picks you're going to
get that's gonna make your team. It's quality free agency
(10:27):
and going and poaching the right positions and not just
buying a team like I mean, we look at how
La did it for a number of years. Right, they
went and they bought their team, right, and you know,
they had the churches at FDM picks and all that
kind of stuff, and it was a whole thing. I
was like, yeah, you got your moonshot, but you know
what did it cost, you know for you to get that?
And the Steelers have kind of always just marginally been
(10:48):
doing it, but now it's more aggressive because that's what
that's what it dictates now. And now you're seeing like
we would have never traded for like a Jalen Ramsey
back in the day.
Speaker 2 (10:56):
And by the way, real quick, I just want to
say I would applaud the Rams for what they did.
They want to they in a super Bowl, thet.
Speaker 4 (11:01):
They took, they got it done. But so many times, don't.
Speaker 2 (11:03):
How many times? How many times have the Cowboys tried that?
How many times? Brown, Dan Snyder, the Redskins that. Yeah,
most of the time it fails.
Speaker 3 (11:12):
They were the one.
Speaker 2 (11:16):
They did it, they won the Super Bowl.
Speaker 3 (11:17):
Congratulation they did, and they did it at home too,
something that doesn't really happen.
Speaker 4 (11:21):
But more often than not, that fails.
Speaker 3 (11:23):
I mean, we talk about the brown How many times
did the Browns bring in like so many just big
names and then the team never quite gelled. And you
said the Redskins did the same thing. Now, commanders still
make sure we're knowing that. I'm not calling them that,
so I don't have to put a quarter in the jar.
But when they were the Redskins, Daniel Snyder, Yeah, I mean,
and like you said, Cowboys do it year in and
(11:44):
year out. I think of the Chargers. The Chargers tried
to do that as well. And you can't buy your championship,
but you can put pieces in the wheel. If the
wheels already made and a cog is broken, yes, you
replace the cog. Sometimes it's a draft picks, sometimes it's
a free agent. But you don't blow up the wheel
and create a new wheel, right. I think that's where
a lot of teams feel that pressure, and I think
(12:05):
also it goes to having stability at the coaching position.
That also allows you to be more aggressive and more
patient because you know there's a longer term plan. Whereas
we look at every year, eight coaches are getting fired.
A quarter of this league is going to have new
head coaches every single year. It's incredible and we've had
three and over fifty years.
Speaker 2 (12:25):
And by the way, when you build a solid team,
it allows you you know, look, we always talk in
the draft best player available right, well, even with the Steelers,
that's usually not true. It's the best player available at
multiple positions though for what we need right You don't
go into the draft thinking, you know, we need a
(12:47):
pass rusher, like I think the Bengals felt like, hey,
we need a pass rusher, so we're going to go
draft to pass rusher. Well, if you're the Steelers, you're like, okay,
well we could use something here or something there's but
there's no pressing need, there's no absolutely have to and
so that allows you to broaden the field and pick
good football players. And then as you get later in
the draft, it allows you to say, well, we weren't
(13:10):
thinking about another offensive lineman, but let's take Mason McCormick. Yeah,
wind up starter for you. You might say, you know,
maybe that guy this year is Jack Sawyer. I don't
know who winds up being a really good outside linebacker
pass rusher. Well, if you're drafting for need, you're passing
up the Mason mccormicks and the other guys who wind
up being good starters. So that process has always been
(13:31):
good for the Steelers. But you're right, more aggressive and
free agency, and I think that you know, if we
talked about Okay, so the Steelers came up short last
year and we all remember that game in Baltimore and
by the way, I went into the Ravens booth and
the line was I don't know seven and a half
or whatever whatever the line was in the game. I
remember talking to the Ravens guys there and saying, I
(13:51):
think this is going to be three point game, because
it's always a three point game. They're like, they're like,
they were mystified that was that big of a Now,
of course it wound up being under lined, right, I mean,
the yeah, that was that was a lot. That was
a lopside that in that stretch of games we referenced
down the stretch that five tough games and then the
(14:11):
playoff game. The playoff game is the worst of the five, right,
That was the words of the six That was the
worst defeat to stealer suffered. But when you looked at
this team and said, Okay, what do we need on
defense to be able to elevate this defense which was
good statistically to being better being maybe top you know,
(14:32):
real top five type of defense. What do you need? Well,
we underlined this in the first hour, how different the
defense was in stopping to run under camp when Cam
Hayward was on the field. Elite when he wasn't on
the field, Uh, frankly, really bad elite. And then you
think about the secondary, right, So what did they do?
(14:54):
They added two elite corners, They went out and got
some good veteran guys in free agency. They use their
first round pick on the defensive lineman. They use a
later pick on a defensive lineman. I think what they
did was they shored up their weaknesses. And we began
this program talking Max talking about the incredible depth that
the Steelers have in this defensive line. I think they've
(15:15):
you know, again, and I understand fans that they're gonna
remember that loss to the Ravens, But I'm trying to
look at the team objectively, and I think, Max, they've
made a significant step forward because they plugged the holes
that needed to be.
Speaker 3 (15:29):
Plugged, but they plugged the holes that that needed to
be plugged from the end of the season. Plus they
also made sure that they hadn't quality debt for the
departures and free agency. That was the other thing that
I think, You know, you kind of kind of people
can tend to forget at times. It's like you lost
a Najee Harris, Right, it was a guy's a thousand
yard rusher every single season that he was here wearing
the black and goal. You think of Dan Moore started
(15:52):
from a rookie as a fourth round pick and played
every game at left tackle, and you still you knew, hey,
we drafted accordingly Broder owns Troy Fatano in successive years
that if Dan did leave, we had somebody there.
Speaker 4 (16:05):
Right.
Speaker 3 (16:05):
You also identified, hey, this is a really deep running
back class, so we don't have to go early and
go attack the O'moreon Hampton's right, the quin Shawn Judkins
and the Treveon Henderson's of the world.
Speaker 4 (16:16):
We could be a little.
Speaker 3 (16:17):
Patient because guess what, maybe not everybody's looking at because
Iowa doesn't score as many points, But how tough and
how well that dude ran with an offense that was
very anemic. Caleb Johnson's probably going to be there, and
you can be patient and not be aggressive and jump
too high for a guy. And so I think that's
the other part of it is you play chessnut checkers.
When it comes to the entire field of what the
(16:38):
off season is like, it is a mix of free
agency mixed with the draft and attacking those needs kind
of concurrently versus in silos like, oh, we gotta go,
we gotta win it in free agency and that's where
we're at, and then you know, we'll pray for the
draft to fall our way. It was like, no, we
have a plan, like Okay, can I get this guy
later in the draft or can I not? Okay, I
need to supplement that with a free agent, a guy
(16:59):
I know that's there.
Speaker 2 (17:00):
And I think going back to Kevin Colbert gets one
one of the things that I thought Kevin Colbert was
masterful at. Now Omar Khan, the free agency's going there,
They're a level above, right, yeah, but when you talk
about you know, when the Steelers would get to the draft,
they had a plausible football team, right, yes, we could
play with these guys, which is what allows you to say, Okay, well,
(17:20):
let's say you go into free agency thinking, well, we
need a defensive tackle, we need a corner, you know,
maybe we need a running back, maybe we need a receiver,
and you go out and sign some of those guys,
maybe not the maybe not the greatest receiver, the greatest
defensive tackle of a guy like, hey, we could win
with that guy. Then that that lessens the need, It
obviates the need to absolutely have to go out and
(17:43):
draft in that position, which is what gets you in
trouble and what gets organizations in trouble. And going back
to Kevin Colbert, I thought they've done a great job
now with Omar Khan. You know now you're talking about
Patrick Queen, right, yeah, you're talking about a star. You're
talking about trading for DC a metcap, trading going top.
Speaker 4 (18:02):
In the list. Yeah, exactly.
Speaker 2 (18:05):
It isn't just plausible, it's exciting what you put out
there prior to and.
Speaker 3 (18:09):
You're grabbing bona fide superstars at this position versus a
guy like, hey, he fits in perfectly into our system.
I think that's where the next evolution of how managing
a team is now going. And you see that kind
of manifesting itself by the guys that are on the
field right now.
Speaker 2 (18:24):
For sure, it is exciting. We can't wait. The team
is running through some drills. That's Aaron Rodgers out there
with a hat on. Is that Aaron Rodgers in the house.
Speaker 4 (18:33):
That's always Aaron Rodgers.
Speaker 2 (18:35):
So running some running some drills here kind of mildly actually.
Speaker 3 (18:42):
But he followed, He followed Aaron Rodgers from day one
and said, you know what, I'm aware a hat as
well today.
Speaker 4 (18:47):
He didn't have one on yesterday. Yeah, I worked for him.
Speaker 3 (18:50):
Maybe maybe I have a little touch because of that hat.
Speaker 2 (18:52):
Maybe that's key. Maybe we'll wear hats tomorrow too. Stick around.
We're at Saint Vincent College and the Trope and you're
listening to the Locker Room with King Starts, presented by
your neighborhood Ford Store on the Steelers audio network.
Speaker 1 (19:08):
Iheartradios. Live coverage of twenty twenty five Steelers training camp
is presented by Fadex where Now meets Next and also
brought to You by bud Light, Independence Health System, by
Pennsylvania One Call System, by Live Casino, Calciente Pizza and
Drafthouse by Tom's Appliances, South Hills Auto, Laurel, Highlands Visitors Bureau, Wemax,
(19:33):
Select Realty, the Pittsburgh Steelers Pro Shop and by US Steel.
Speaker 2 (19:41):
And Welcome back in the Locker Room, a King of
Stark's presented by your neighborhood Ford Store on the Steelers
Audio Network and UH offense in White, Defense and Gold.
Speaker 4 (19:53):
The drills are drilling.
Speaker 2 (19:54):
The drills are drilling. They're on fields two and three.
So testing our eyesight as we look out across Chuck
Noles Stadium.
Speaker 4 (20:01):
There we go, There we go, there we go.
Speaker 3 (20:03):
We we are well equipped and you know, yeah we
have we have a nice catbird seat up here, and uh,
you know, obviously wanting to save Field one. Obviously that
that that's that's that's the fan Dazure location, you know,
so everybody can be up against the fence and cheering,
uh for the Black and Gold out here at training camp,
which practice at.
Speaker 4 (20:22):
One fifty five. So you want to get out there.
Speaker 3 (20:24):
You take a half day at work, you know, drive
on down to Late Trobe and uh come watch practice.
And of course this weekend we'll have practices on Saturday
and Sunday as well, you know. And I have to
say I'm getting better with liking the afternoon scheduled slate
versus the that late morning practice time that kind of
was a little bit more touch and go. As far
(20:44):
as far as how the fans would have access and
usually limited to the weekends, were just like just blowouts.
I mean, everybody was here on the weekends because you
didn't have the afternoon access. I think having it in
the afternoon gives you a little bit more flexibile as
a family trying to get up here to watch training camp.
But but yeah, they're they're doing their drills out there
and it's looking good. You know, a lot of brother
(21:05):
in lawing out there. I think Dylan Cook was at
was at d end on that last play on the
offensive side, and I think I'm not sure who was
playing quarterback for the defense, but uh, you know, oh sorry,
offensive linemen are trash cans over there on the defensive side.
To see the respect, I mean, this is lack of
respect there for offensive line. We're just immobile objects.
Speaker 2 (21:23):
Am I seeing Spencer Anderson standing up out their stand
up defensive end. Yeah, past the DK metcalf.
Speaker 3 (21:29):
Exactly, trying, you know, trying trying to pull his best
you know, you know JJ Swatt style. You know, just
sit back, scan and put your hands up type of deal. Yeah,
I mean he's better than a broomstick, Like I see
a lot of guys.
Speaker 2 (21:40):
Do I've seen that before, right, Yeah, yeah, the broomstick
or around the broomstick or what have you.
Speaker 3 (21:46):
Yeah, a little bit better than the broomstick.
Speaker 2 (21:48):
Yeah. Fun stuff and fun, you know, just doing some
walk through kind of stuff and and trying to get
these reps. And how did you feel about walkthroughs? Did
you like walk through.
Speaker 4 (21:57):
I didn't mind them.
Speaker 3 (21:58):
I didn't mind because sometimes, you know, because there's so
many different ways that guys absorb information, right, you know,
some guys can go and watch and see it on
on a grease board in the in the team meeting room.
Some guys can watch film and kind of extrapolate what
they need to do versus what they're seeing the opponent do.
Then some guys, like the walkthrough is beneficial or the
actual physical practice, like some guys need to be physically
(22:19):
go through it and kind of make their adjustments and
mistakes and everything along in the practice process. So I
used to love all of it because it was always
information gathering for me, like I was always and I
think in a walkthrough, I can kind of scan the
field a little bit better because I know it's not
full speed. Whereas it you get into practice and you
you know, you have Lawrence Timmins over there walking around stalking,
and James Harrison's right above you.
Speaker 4 (22:40):
You know you're not focused on a whole lot.
Speaker 3 (22:42):
You know, it's like, Okay, I gotta lock into my guys,
so I can't watch what the safeties are doing rotation
wise and everything else. A walkthrough kind of gives you
better schematics to kind of see the whole field. So
I appreciated the walk through because it gave me a
better sense of knowing where guys should be and then
anticipating what comes out of that.
Speaker 2 (22:58):
Yeah, any I think reps right, any of any sort,
can help you get better. I'm curious, and again, we're
gonna step away a little bit from this specific practice
in this specific camp. But you know, as you go
through the course of a season and you're you know,
you're getting a walk through your final walk through. How
much from your blocking schemes will change from week to
(23:24):
week and how much you know you're going through that
walk through now, and so maybe maybe somebody, uh you know,
isn't head up on you. He plays inside shoulder, outside shoulder.
There's other things. There's blitz packages a team does or
what have you. So let you know, let's say you
had a huh, did you go odd to the left
or even the Yeah. Now, so you're playing left tackle
(23:46):
and it's a twenty seven running play, right, the running
back is gonna get it and he's gonna run. He's
gonna run to the seven hole, which is outside the
left tackle, right. But so you would think that that
that play is going to be blocked the same every
single game, but there's little nuances right from week to
week depending upon the opponent it does.
Speaker 3 (24:06):
And also it changes who your landmarks are because if
you're going as a three to four defense versus a
four to three, the will backer is in the box,
and a four to three and a three to four
the will's on the line of scrims. So now you
got Jack that's playing that weak side now because we
side outside linebacker on the line of scrimmage. So think
Alex Heismith right would be the will if we're going
(24:28):
a right strong defense, defensive front or offensive front.
Speaker 4 (24:32):
And then you got the jack.
Speaker 3 (24:33):
So that's Peyton Wilson, that that is a Landon robbers,
that's somebody over there that Now it adjusts our angle
because guess what, he's a little bit closer. So now
how we take our steps on a double team block
in a zone is gonna be a little bit different.
You can be a little bit more patient when he's
a will and a four to three because he has
to come further across the line, whereas a jack, I
(24:53):
gotta be a little bit quicker. So I means I
have to be able to get that that down lineman
that we're working on over onto the guard or over
on to me as a tackle so that that guy
can release. And maybe it's more so the guard takes
the first step off and I got to man the guy,
or if it's a little bit wider, now that guard
needs to come underneath so that I can make it
up to the second level. So it changes week to week.
(25:15):
And also I think the other big thing gap versus
zone power versus an area, So it does change week
to week based on the personnel how we're going to
run these plays because it might hit a little bit
wider and he's thinking more cutback versus pounding and really
getting to that hole in that spot that the play
calls for. So every week is a new challenge because
(25:37):
every team has a different strength that you have to
deal with. So it's really important week to week that
you understand what the install plan is on Wednesday Thursday,
and then you clean it up on Friday, and then
you have a walk through Saturday just to you know,
kind of further enhance and further ingrain into guys what
the game plan is, and then you have your top
fifteen plays of the game. As an offense. Defensively, you know,
(26:00):
they work it different. They're anticipating what formation groups and
they have to anticipate at least three to four things
per position group, and that's how they kind of work
it in different pages, so to speak. Whereas we have
that script sheet, here's what we want to do based
off of what we think they're going to do, and
marry that into the game plan.
Speaker 2 (26:17):
So let's take this. Let's take this made up twenty
seven running play, right, which is a running back, the
running back taking it outside. Max is playing left tackle
when he's supposed to go outside the left tackle, and
it's blocked a certain way when you're in camp. Uh,
is it blocked the same way every time? So most
people out there that are listening, maybe you played high
school football. Maybe people played even small college football like
(26:41):
I did, or bigger college football, which is another obviously
believe the level I played, there's fourteen levels above, or
I played where you played. You know, there's a there's
a lot of different things out there, but you know,
you're you know, you're looking at okay. You know some
coaches telling okay, you know your your your first step
has to be, you know, dropping that left foot back
(27:01):
and squaring your shoulders and doing it right. So you
go through all that. Are you blocking it the same
way in training camp so it's rope boom drop drop
step go, boom, drop step go, boom, drop step go,
or are you varying it even in camp so that
you are used to different defenses and that sort of thing.
Speaker 3 (27:22):
So early on in camp, the biggest thing it's Steelers
on Steelers. So however, the Steelers are going to block
it defensively, that's how we're going to practice it.
Speaker 2 (27:30):
Okay.
Speaker 3 (27:30):
So it's at this point it's we don't care about
anybody else. We care about us. So how is TJ
Watt going to play this? If you're if you're sitting
there at at the at the tackle position, I have
I have to defend against how TJ Is going to
play it. And then you have the script cards kind
of in the walk through, they have cards that we
call it show team, right, you know, the show team
(27:51):
will have just a blank, here's a four to three
over type of defense, and that's how we're going to
block that. But then you have the other one. It's like, okay,
we're running a three four under. We'll just we'll just
go ahead and block it up for practice. So you're
working through generic scenarios, but for the most part, when
we're actually going through it, you're blocking how you're gonna
play these guys in the competitive period. So whether it's
(28:13):
pass under pressure, seven shots, or any of the team drills,
two minute drill, I'm preparing for the Steelers. And then
as we get into the week. If I can prepare
for the Steelers, I can prepare for anybody. That's how
they mentally frame it and then they're gonna try things,
and we're gonna try things just because you don't know
when you're gonna see it. So it's not necessarily like, hey,
today it's a drop forty five and go on an angle,
(28:36):
you know, or it's hey, it's a it's a shuffle
step and go vertical. You're seeing, Okay, who am I
playing against?
Speaker 4 (28:42):
You know? Am I gonna?
Speaker 3 (28:43):
Am I gonna block Alex Heismith this way and Nick
Herbig this way? That's how I need to practice for it,
because that's what matters that this especially this early part
of the stage. Now, when we get into preseason games,
we'll have that joint practice and that'll be a whole
different thing. Right, you'll actually be preparing for the Tampa
Bay Buccaneers when you do those joint practices and then
going into the game and we might do a day
(29:03):
or two of install with still very vanilla. It's like
we're trying to find out what the bread and butter
is right now at this point.
Speaker 2 (29:08):
So you know, we talk about I think it was
maybe Bill Parcels or some coach saying, look, you need
sixteen games. They played sixteen games for an offensive line
to really gel to really get that feeling. So you're
out there, you know, you're making your line calls or whatever.
You're getting ready for this mythical twenty seven, which, by
the way, the more we talk about it, the better
(29:30):
play it's becoming. It's becoming down this year, there's best running.
Speaker 4 (29:33):
Play, so bread and butter right now, so how do
you shut it down?
Speaker 2 (29:37):
Does it change for you? Does it change for the
guy next to you? Chris came out to right, he's
got to it changes for him too? Are you looking
at you know?
Speaker 4 (29:49):
Maybe?
Speaker 2 (29:50):
Okay, we know that this team normally runs a four
to three, so we're gonna block it this way, and
all of a sudden, that defensive end, you know, six
seconds before Ben Roethlis says hot and stats the ball
drops off. Now, how do you communicate and make sure
you're blocking it properly? Because if that guy's in a
different position, you both have to be on the same page.
Speaker 3 (30:09):
We have to both be on the same because I
don't need like you know, so say, we're making this
mythical twenty seven, right, it's more of a reaching better.
It's getting better and better. So here's the thing. We're
open side right. You know I'm open side, so I don't.
That means I don't have a tight end next to
me right, and so I have what we would call
a reach block. So wherever that defensive end lines up,
whether it's head up, outside, shoulder, in space and avoid position,
(30:34):
I have to go take a wider step to match
wherever he's located.
Speaker 4 (30:37):
Right and for the guard who's coming over with me.
Speaker 3 (30:40):
So say it's a four to three over right because
the strength of the offense is on the right hand
side tight end sitting on the right hand side next
to the tackle, So that means that there's a three technique.
And now where my guard is, he now has a nose,
so the nose is shaded in in that a gap
so to speak, between the center and the left guard.
So now if I am having to reach and Chris
has void, he doesn't have a physical body on him
(31:02):
or near him. He's now going to hang back to
help the center overtake that nose before working to the backer.
And for me, I'm by myself because that defensive end
is so wide. So now that twenty seven belly could
possibly be a twenty five belly depending on how I
read exactly.
Speaker 2 (31:19):
So now again for people that you know the one hole,
the one might be between the garden tackle three, between
the garden I'm sorry, one between the center and center
guard three, between the garden, tackle five, between.
Speaker 3 (31:31):
No tackle and tight ends.
Speaker 2 (31:32):
Yeah, you're side of it. That was outside of It's
just that you may have.
Speaker 3 (31:38):
The Playah, it's good, but so now it becomes more
of a twenty five because you don't have that. But
maybe you have a motion that now takes the tight
end from that side, or a full back or an
h back that now comes over and he's souto. That's
why it's bumping so wide because that guy's now going
for that. That guy he's pulling across or pulling down.
Speaker 2 (31:57):
So everything that's put into place is for that play
to succeed one way or the other.
Speaker 3 (32:03):
Correct.
Speaker 2 (32:04):
Did you ever get to a position where at the
last minute they shifted and you thought, oh, there's not
time to there's not time to audible, but there's only
five in the play clock, and you think this isn't
gonna work.
Speaker 3 (32:14):
Yeah, I mean yeah, we've had we've had those moments
and it's like.
Speaker 2 (32:17):
No matter what, no matter what scheme we have, they
got three, we got two blocks in, it's not gonna work.
Speaker 3 (32:22):
They have overloaded us. So now it's you know, normally
then the quarterback.
Speaker 4 (32:28):
You could adjust.
Speaker 3 (32:29):
And we also in certain situations we know a team
likes to move and stunt will run check with me
or what we call kill plays. So I mean, we'll
send in two plays and you either kill to the
other play like you'll call the first one. And that's
what we're doing until the quarterback says kill or is
a check with me, And then he'll give you a
number indicating which which way we're gonna go with the
(32:50):
play because we have two of them up there and
we're thinking about it as such, and he'll make the
play pre snap based off the mic position or base
where if it's a three technique, we're not running to
the three technique this week because we know that Aaron
Smith is playing that three technique, so we don't want
to run at Eron, so we're gonna check to the
other side because we know if Aaron's here, that means
there's a void in the space that we want to run.
Speaker 2 (33:11):
So so back in the little Division III level, we
would just call it an opposite call, right, I go
on the line of scrimmage count. The guys be like, well,
we called it twenty seven, but it's not gonna work
if I call opposite and we go twenty six. So
does that happen frequently?
Speaker 3 (33:25):
That happens enough. I mean it's rare because teams are
still tendency based, Okay, so what we show them they
want to combat that. And if you run a lot
of plays out of one formation, they're gonna usually line
up and give you what you think they're going to
give you. And then it's like, but I saw last
week one time they just made a shift call and
(33:46):
they just shifted everything one gap over. That's what you
call a check with me. That's when you bring in
a kill play, because it's like, we want to make
sure that when they guess, they're always guessing wrong right
on this because it is a guess when they shift,
it's not a predetermined thing. They're going off of what
our strength is. So if they're coming out for a
right formation, all of a sudden, we line up left,
then they have to shift because they want the strength
(34:07):
to that side. And so now you're counting the overloads
and that's what matters in this. But you've watched enough film,
You've practiced enough situations that when we come in with
those plays and we know those players are on the list.
So when we look at the game plan, Okay, we
got this many kill plays, we have this many checked
with me, is we have this many nows because you
also have the now route, Like if the run doesn't work,
(34:29):
it's like, okay, now we got to throw it now,
and you'll hear and you hear the quarterback. And Ben
was so good at he just give a look and
he'd just be like, he's like, just run the play.
So we'll still run the run, knowing it's unsuccessful. But
Ben's throwing the ball out to Santonio Hines or Antoine
or somebody else, right, and the defense is so sucked
up because they think it's a run that now you
have that off cover guy. Now you can get five
(34:50):
yards and make the pseudo run.
Speaker 2 (34:51):
By the way, Max once again here on radio, picking
up the list. As he's talking about a list, there's
a little list in front of you, Max.
Speaker 3 (34:57):
Pretending that it's the game plan on.
Speaker 4 (35:02):
Game day. We have it on game day at least
we'll have a little go pro like right.
Speaker 2 (35:06):
Before for this show, last question here, Wester, are we
up against the break? And I ask a question? Or
should I wait till after the break? Why don't you
tease it?
Speaker 3 (35:14):
Oh?
Speaker 4 (35:15):
Tease the question?
Speaker 2 (35:16):
I'm gonna ask Max a question? Is that a good
enough Teas we have his question, you'll have to find
out what that question is by listening after this right,
you are listening to the locker Room with King Stark's
presented by your neighborhood Ford Store. On this tee, there's audio.
Speaker 1 (35:31):
Network Iheartradios live coverage. How about twenty twenty five Steelers
training Camp. He's presented by fat X where now meets
next and also brought to you by c g R
Wholesale Roofing and Siding Supply Center, by Don's Appliances, by
(35:53):
Always Safe Flagging and Traffic Control by Greater Pittsburgh Community
Food Bank, by Schneider Downs, by Hot Steak and Seahouse,
by your neighborhood Forward Store, by Castle Rock, by clear
View Federal Credit Union, and by us Steal.
Speaker 2 (36:12):
And welcome back to Latrobe. But inside the locker room
with King and Stark's presented by your neighborhood Ford Store,
and there's audio network. It looks like it was threatening
to rain earlier today, but that is it was swept
away by the breeze, making to the American flag old
glory uh in the wind breezing, so you know it's out.
Uh what do you call it? Extended technical wards for that?
Speaker 4 (36:34):
Uh?
Speaker 3 (36:35):
Billowing, fillowing, Very very well done.
Speaker 2 (36:42):
So before the break, I told you that there was
a question I wanted to ask Max. So we're talking
about some of the nitty gritty with with the offensive
line play and just the team in general. And my
question for you was, look you go again, certain personnel
which you are, certain teams and certain personnel. What you mentioned,
you're gonna certain plays at this time of year, and
(37:03):
this probably maybe this changes from coordinator to coordinator. Are
you more inclined to run the same plays out of
different formations? So are mythical twenty seven?
Speaker 4 (37:15):
Right? Yeah?
Speaker 2 (37:15):
Now you're now you have you have a banana bunch
to the left, or you have twins to the left,
or you have a receiver to the left. You don't
have anybody to the left. They're all on the right
side of the formation. So there's different blocking schemes and things.
So or do you just say, hey, we only run
the twenty seven out of a certain formation. So uh,
we're not gonna We're only gonna work on it at
a certain formation. So is it is? It? Is it
(37:38):
the same plays with different formations or different plays depending
upon the formation.
Speaker 3 (37:46):
See both, you do both, okay, but each day has
a different emphasis because you have to remember, we're also
installing the entire playbook in training camp, so we're getting
through sub sects every single day that we're going through.
So today is a gap emphasis day. So we're gonna
run every thirty five permutation we have. We're gonna run
(38:08):
every twenty five permutation, we gonna run every you don't
have fifteen anymore, but yeah, we're gonna run every forty
five out of the same group because that's our emphasis. Gap.
How do we get the pools going and we want
to see the same play against different multiple fronts, but
same personnel groupings, but then change a little bit of
that to get the same play. So you're getting both
(38:30):
of them because nowa today's a gap day, and then
we'll get into you know, six man protection day, and
then we're running everything that's a six man protection and
then everything that's a five man protection.
Speaker 4 (38:40):
The next day, and then seven man and so on and.
Speaker 3 (38:42):
So forth, and you're so on that day, we're running
everything that's geared towards that gap scheme that we have
right and left against every front we can throw out there,
so that the play principle stick in, so that if
we do have something that happens, like you said, if
we're out there and and a de tackle like an
Aaron Donald, Right, besides, I don't want to play off
(39:05):
off the center's shoulder. I'm just gonna move to the
inside eye of the guard instead. I'm gonna move to
the guard's inside shoulder and move off of the sinner's shoulder.
Now that changes how we block things.
Speaker 4 (39:15):
We still, yeah, exactly.
Speaker 2 (39:20):
Requires extra attention. Right, So that's part of a game
plan throughout a course of a weeks. You block Aaron
Donald differently than you block somebody else.
Speaker 3 (39:28):
Exactly, And it's like, hey, I know that normally if
he detaches from you center, you then just automatically work back.
He's like, no, no, no, stay front side and just look
at him and hey, backside guard.
Speaker 4 (39:37):
Good luck, God bless you, hally lujah. You know if
you can get that.
Speaker 3 (39:40):
Block, because that guy's now coming in because that stem
affects how the coordination of the choreography of the play goes,
and so you're working on every version of that, you know,
with with today being the emphasis on gap skin and I.
Speaker 2 (39:54):
Think the bottom line is you need both, right, Yeah, both.
I remember, like being in high school, I get to
the line of scrim you know, the defense to be
yelling out two options and I'd be like, how did
they know that? Yeah, exactly you, and it'd be right, dude, Yeah,
you can't be You're done. We were changing plays back
in high school, back into day. But you need both
because if you just run that mythical twenty seven that
(40:17):
we've been talking about out of multiple formations, well, team's
gonna get ready to defend that. But if you only
run certain plays out of certain formations, are going to.
Speaker 3 (40:25):
Be ready for that too. Yeah, And so you have
to have it. And that's why the game plan matters
every week because you're going off of what you're going
against and what we're most successful at at the same time.
So it's a perfect balance between what you're good at
versus what they're good at, and as are good better
than they're good when we run it.
Speaker 2 (40:43):
And sometimes like the Lombardi sweep, sometimes knowing that they
know what you're gonna run and still being able to
get them yes and wonderful.
Speaker 3 (40:49):
That was a format office we used to run early
on with Jerome in the backfield. I mean, if we
had a team icet and we needed to hold the
ball for the last four minutes, I'll never forget we
ran the same play eight times in a row, and
we dared them to stop us on it, and they
didn't do it, and it was twenty it was twenty
two and twenty three double. It's like we're lying up
with the same formation. We're not moving, We're about to
run right here. I want you to see what we're
(41:10):
about to do and you can't stop it because we're
better than you.
Speaker 2 (41:13):
That's got to be a beautiful feeling.
Speaker 3 (41:14):
It is the best feeling because you see the quit
in their eyes. Yeah, they're just like, I can't do this.
You've already ran this four times with me. I'm tired
of you laying on the back of my calf. I'm
tired of you hitting me in the rib cage and
I just want to I just want to lay down
and cry.
Speaker 2 (41:27):
So you don't see quitting my eyes do you No,
I don't see quitting your eyes. It's good because we
have to end the show. But we're not quitting the show.
We're not quitting the.
Speaker 4 (41:33):
Show, ending the shit.
Speaker 3 (41:35):
We're ending it and we're going to pick it up tomorrow.
Speaker 2 (41:37):
We are all that. As Max said from Saint Vincent College,
day two of Steelers' training camp in Latrobe, we thank
you for listening to the Locker Room with King and Starks,
presented by your neighborhood Fords Tour on the Steelers Audio
Network
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com