July 29, 2025 • 42 mins
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Speaker 1 (00:04):
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Speaker 2 (00:38):
Well. Welcome back to Saint Vincent College in the trow.
We're watching the players stretching across the field in the
locker room here with King and Starks, presented by your
neighborhood Ford Stour on the Sitter's Audio Network. They're getting
loosened up, not in the pads yet, but they will
be soon for the first time. A fun day. We're
talking about the backs and backers and some of the
guys were looking forward to but didn't get to the ends.
(01:01):
And again, I think one of the guys that we're
gonna be watching. We know what Darnell Washington can do
right yes, And we know at this point of his
career what Pat Priyarmouth can do. JJ Gallbreath to me,
is one of those guys that you know, he he
started to get a lot of buzz in Mini camp
and then the OTAs and you know he's trying to
(01:22):
carry that over here as a pass catcher.
Speaker 3 (01:24):
A couple of great catches here in practice so far, right,
he looks like a pass catcher, can you balk?
Speaker 4 (01:31):
Right?
Speaker 2 (01:31):
And you know you have John hus Smith who has
that versatility he can play out in the slot, but
he could also you know, you know, disengage they like
to call it. He could also be engaged if you
need him to be. But I think ideally you'd like
to see him in the slot. So we're looking forward
to John OUs Smith and I'm looking forward to JJ
Gallbreath among that tight end group.
Speaker 4 (01:50):
I am as well.
Speaker 3 (01:51):
And of course you know Connor Hayward plays that HVAC
so he's a very physical guy that you're gonna be
looking for as always because you always want that you know,
fullback high brid type, right, you know that you need
and I mean each of these guys possessed different skill
sets and different physical traits, which makes it so good
that you can that you can kind of move those
guys around. They're like puzzle pieces, right, but they're like
(02:13):
the universal puzzle pieces where it's like what do we
want to deploy? Given a play? So I want to
see him. I'm a little I'm a little sad.
Speaker 4 (02:20):
You know.
Speaker 3 (02:20):
DJ Thomas Jones, the rookie from South Alabama. He got
injured on Sunday and I got carted off the field,
so we won't see him, and obviously we'll wait to hear.
Speaker 2 (02:31):
They haven't released any information.
Speaker 4 (02:33):
They have not.
Speaker 3 (02:33):
Released any information yet. It didn't look great, but uh
but here, so he's out. That was when I was
really because he's at six to one.
Speaker 2 (02:44):
Let me see what they let me see what they
had them listed here at uh fifty three? Yeah. Yeah,
So so he was the one guy to me, you know,
as you're looking to make this team, well, we don't
really need you at end, probably unless there's some injuries.
So to me, I was wondering, can he be a fullback?
Speaker 4 (03:06):
Yeah? Can he push Connor Hayward?
Speaker 2 (03:08):
Yeah? If you wanted to line up, yeah, if you
wanted to line up in an I formation? Is he
a guy that can blast you? And I think all
last camp they were looking they had they had a
player playing full back they're looking for the next sort
of Dan Kryther, right, you know that that kind of player.
And his name his name, no, his name escapes me
(03:30):
now who it was. But he didn't make the team.
He was with the team throughout a lot of camp.
You know. It's it's a role in which how often
are you going to be used? Well, you might not
be used at all on a certain game. You might
be used for ten plays in another game or five plays,
So you better bring some versatility. But it would, you know,
to me, the shaping of a roster. Okay, so we're
(03:51):
looking for versatility. Well, it comes in different ways and
comes in different positions. And I would imagine these guys
all get together and say, hey, listen, on the offensive side, Hey,
we got this guy who's versatile doing these things and
we think we can help, but he can be on
special team. Meanwhile, on somebody on the other side of saying, well,
we got a corner who can also play the slot
and maybe he could drop down into the box. You know.
(04:12):
So yeah, everyone's pushing for their versatile guy. So it's
not just versatility within a position, it's versatility within the
team framework. But it seemed to me like that's his
best path forward is hey, you can play fullback. Okay, great,
we only need that an occasion. What else can you do?
Speaker 4 (04:29):
Yeah? I mean well, and that's the quandary with Derek Watt.
Speaker 2 (04:32):
Right.
Speaker 4 (04:32):
When Derek Watt was on this roster, he was strictly
a fullback.
Speaker 3 (04:35):
And we only used him ten maybe twelve plays a
game at the most. And he was making this salary,
right because he's a core four special teams guy, But
he was just a fullback on offense, right, and he
wasn't even playing that much. No, he wasn't even playing
that much. I mean, you know there was games heck
of a special teamer. Yeah, he played a lot of
specialty stats, but when you talk about offensive snaps, he
(04:57):
was maybe probably on average probably about five snaps game
at the most. And you were kind of making room
for him versus, this is what we do bread and butter,
and he fits in that scheme. You're trying to find
ways to utilize him, and that's eventually why we ended
up getting rid of Derek and you know, looking at
more of a Connor Hayward h back because he can
(05:17):
play tight end, he can block, and he can move
in space and give you some different looks.
Speaker 2 (05:23):
I think you were looking I think not dinner, but
I think you're looking for that fullback who can blow
your doors off. You're like, whoa wait a minute, now
this is yeah, this is a guy who's going to
open holes for us, not he can do the job.
I mean that's where I think, you know, if you're
looking for that position, you've got to be that guy.
Speaker 3 (05:40):
Yeah, you got to be you know, short neck problems,
right right, yeah, you know, you got to be just
one big muscles, like oh yeah, there's his head and
there's his torso you know what I'm saying, Like, you're
not like, ah, he's got it's a horse horso. And
I think that's where I can't remember that fullback that
came in last year. Yeah, well remember a couple of
years ago in Green, like we were auditioning him, right,
(06:02):
that's Ractric car, big jumbo full back that could go in.
Speaker 4 (06:06):
And he had some good place. Yeah, and he actually
we saw he had hands. But of course we ended
up trading him to Houston.
Speaker 2 (06:11):
But it was it would have been, it would have
been an interesting prospect. And then of course the question becomes,
you know that guy also has to get to the
edge and not whiff on the corner safeties coming up
and just you know, bait defender in the box, right
that that can make you miss. And so you know
that probably that that two fifty size gives you the
(06:33):
capability if you're athletic enough to be able to do
both and therefore be able to be used more. Right,
So I mean every again, that's the versatility within the versatility,
I mean, can you do all those things in order
to make a team. So I agree with you. I
was interested in watching him, and because he kind of
sticks out on the roster, right, but but he's we
(06:54):
do not expect him no official word yet on any
potential injury for him. Will you not expect to see him?
So so we talked about the backs on backers and
the tight ends we're interested in seeing. Let's talk now
about the receivers and the defensive backs because it is.
You know, you've brought in a fascinating group of guys.
(07:15):
You have Darius Slay, you have Jalen Ramsey, you brought
in jan Thornhill. You know you just signed Chuck Clark
at the safety position. You brought in Brandon Eccles, who's
a very athletic guy. You know, you have Corey Trice,
who is you know, trying to just stay healthy and
continue to grow and mature as a player. You know,
(07:37):
Beanie Bishop, you know there are a lot of guys
who were who are fighting for jobs and fighting for
positioning within the roster. Are you going to be the nickel?
Are you going to be the first guy off the bench?
You get a chance now to see that against DK
Metcalf and some others.
Speaker 4 (07:53):
Yeah, and then throw in Sebastian Castro.
Speaker 2 (07:55):
Yes, really forgot it?
Speaker 4 (07:57):
See who is?
Speaker 3 (07:58):
But but will you list the list? Yeah, he falls
way down the list.
Speaker 2 (08:01):
But he could be that camp darling.
Speaker 4 (08:04):
He could be a camp.
Speaker 3 (08:05):
He could be a guy who could show up on
and take Dante Kent another rookie rookie yeah you bron
punts right, Yeah, so he has a little bit more
position flexibility. So it's gonna be really interesting to see
that group going up against Like you said DK Metcalf,
like I already said DK Metcalf, Jalen Rams is gonna
be must watch TV, right, you know, we see those
two because they've done it for so long against each other.
(08:27):
I mean when when Jalen was with the Rams, and
DK was with Seattle. They had some epic lockups and
and some physicality, so you correlate that to bring it
here on the field. And then of course, I mean,
Deshaun Elliott doesn't turn down for anybody. So you know,
I want to see how Calvin Austin does in that
stock drill. Roman Wilson, you know, hey, this is your
(08:48):
chance to prove yourself, young man. You've got an opportunity
here and you cannot make the club in the tub.
Scholarship year was last year, so he needs to he
needs to really step up, and I feel wow, And
then let's.
Speaker 4 (08:59):
See how all squares squares up.
Speaker 3 (09:02):
Max Hurlman is another rookie, Keishawn Williams who's had a
who's at a good, pretty good camp. Uh Will Howard
found him a number of times and team drills. You know,
I haven't seen much of Rock Taylor or and like
you said, Montana's Lamonious Craig is not.
Speaker 4 (09:18):
Gonna be available to us.
Speaker 2 (09:19):
He's been released.
Speaker 3 (09:20):
So there's a lot of interesting guys. I want to
see who's gonna separate themselves to vying for that number two,
number three, number four spot on this roster, and this
is one of the places where you're gonna make a
name for yourself, right.
Speaker 2 (09:36):
And you know, if you're a wide receiver in the
outside looking in, can you battle into that top five
or six? And then you know, I think it's you know,
you need to be I mean, ideally we talk about versatility,
but ideally you want to be outstanding at something. You know,
if you're not a star, if you're not Jalen Ramsey,
(09:56):
if you're not DK Metcalf, you need to be to me,
he outstanding at something and versatile enough at other things
to make the team. You can't be, uh, sort of
a master of nothing. I don't think, you know, I
always go back to you know, it's a it's a
music reference, but you know there uh Mick Jaggers asked
(10:17):
about Brian Jones, who played the sitar for the for
the Rolling Stones, and he, you know, was found drowned
in a pool when they look like they're on the
cusp but throwing them out of the band and and
you know, he was asked about it, and you know,
like like, well, I could he does his sitar and
he does this, and he does that and Mick Jagger said, well, yeah,
at the end of the day, what does he hang
his hat on? What can he really do? What is
(10:39):
he really outstanding at? And the answer, according to Mick Jagger,
was nothing, right, So yeah, you can you can replace
the guy who's outstanding at nothing. So if you're Ben Skarnik,
can you get out there and be a serviceable wide receiver? Uh,
you know, a good blocker? Yeah, but you're also a
great special teamer, you know, So you're outstanding at something
(11:01):
and versatile enough that the other stuff can get out
on a pattern make a catch. So that'll be interesting
to watch too. Does somebody you know, does one of
these wide receivers that you mentioned Williams, does he show
Wait a minute, now, this guy is a really interesting receiver.
He's probably not gonna play, so what else can he do? Now?
So there's a lot of that that goes into the evaluation.
Speaker 3 (11:22):
No, it's a central part of the evaluation process, and
it comes down to can you make a splash at
least once a day where it says oh man, and
the rest of the time can you fit in?
Speaker 2 (11:36):
Interesting?
Speaker 3 (11:37):
But you could also make that oh Man play and
it'd be a bad one.
Speaker 4 (11:41):
Right, Yeah, that's a balance.
Speaker 3 (11:43):
But do you jump off as opposed to oh man, yeah, yeah, exactly, exactly,
so many ways that could be used, right, And so
if you can, if you can create that spash place says,
oh my god, we got to rewind the film and
watch this again, and then the rest of the times
like we don't notice you because you blend in so well,
that's what you're looking for, and that's what you're talking about,
the one great thing. And I think it's a great
(12:04):
example of Ben Scaronik, Right, you.
Speaker 4 (12:06):
Know, Ben, can you go and you know, force.
Speaker 3 (12:09):
A fumble in Washington down inside the red zone and
get us a turnover, but then also be able to
run a ten yard out right and just make a
routine play routinely as Mike Tomlin likes to say, can
you do that? And I think that's where Ben Skaronik
has kind of been that guy where you're like, okay,
all right, this is what he does exceptionally well. Is
(12:30):
he covers he has tenacity, but then guys a serviceable,
good receiver as well when you have an injury on
your line, so you're looking for that at multiple positions.
You want to find that next Ben Scoronic type. You
know when you think, I mean, heck, Chris Boswell, we
know what he is, right, the Wizard of Oz, right,
the boot, the leg, everything however.
Speaker 4 (12:52):
You want to get.
Speaker 3 (12:53):
But he went in and he punted in in Atlanta, Yeah,
when we had no punters and he and he did
it fresh off of no reps.
Speaker 4 (13:01):
One kick him to the net, booms a forty yarder. Right.
Speaker 2 (13:04):
Well, I think I think there's also I mean, I'm
saying this and I think ideally that's what you'd like,
But there's room on a roster for a Swiss Army knife.
I mean Connor, Connor Hayward's a guy like that, right.
You know, they were talking about Spencer Anderson. Now Spencer's
looking to show that he can be more than that.
But I think of a guy like Scotty Miller. Next thing,
(13:26):
you know, you know, he can hold on, you know,
kicks for you. He's running down being a gunner. When
there's injuries. He could return a punt for you. He
can play wide receiver. Maybe not top of the scale
at anything, but boy, a really good football player who
you know, again, you're limited to how many guys you
can dress on game day. It's kind of a nice
(13:46):
thing for a coach to know, hey, I can He
may not even play, but I got him, but I
got him in my back pocket and he could serve
multiple roles. I mean, it's just, you know, the construction
of a roster is is really.
Speaker 3 (13:58):
Fascinating, fascinating, and you know, I'm blessed and fortunate with opportunity.
I get to sit up there in those scouts meetings
and watch the evaluation process and you know, give my
two cents when necessary. But the biggest thing is that
you know you have to the more you can do,
That's something that Mike Tomlin said since day one. He
was like, the more you can do, the harder it
(14:19):
is to get rid of you. And I will never
forget this rookie year. His rookie sees it as a
head coach. He gave us all these shirts that he
put to our locker, and the shirt simply said use
me on a big block on this on this white
dry fit shirt that said use me.
Speaker 4 (14:36):
And you know I took that. I took that to heart.
Speaker 3 (14:38):
I was like, man, no, I'm gonna wear this shirt
every freaking game day and I want him to see
me like you need to use me. And it was
simply the ethos of the more you can do, the
harder it is to get rid of you. So are
you just a corner? Are you just an offensive guard?
Are you just this guy?
Speaker 4 (14:59):
Right?
Speaker 3 (15:00):
But can you do more? Can you kick in and specialties?
Can you jump across the ball? I remember I was
playing goal line defense at one point in my career, right.
They were like, yeah, and I was on field goal
block as an offensive lineman, you know, because they're like, no,
it should be deep, but not Max.
Speaker 4 (15:13):
You've got long arms and you have good extension.
Speaker 2 (15:15):
Let's trying.
Speaker 4 (15:17):
By the way, Yeah, it's excellent coach.
Speaker 3 (15:19):
So and I was like, and I played four positions
in college, so I'm like, I could play guard. My
first start was at guard in my career here in
Pittsburgh when Alan Fanica we sewed up the one seed
go in rook I was like, I an't played guard,
but I figured.
Speaker 4 (15:31):
It out on to fly.
Speaker 2 (15:32):
Right.
Speaker 3 (15:32):
The more you can do, the more versatility, the more
ways you can catch a coach's eye is really the
biggest thing.
Speaker 2 (15:38):
So, are we we're gonna see pass patterns? Right? Are
we gonna see yes? Are we gonna see blocking drills
between the receivers and the d backs also, Yeah.
Speaker 3 (15:46):
We'll see we'll see some blocking drills and they'll coordinate
them in the field to play. Because whereas that stock
drill runs along the sidelines, we'll actually see some of
the blocking combination routes that are ran off of that
in the middle of the field. It's almost like a
seven on seven esque type of drill. But the emphasis
is just on wide receiver dB combinations.
Speaker 2 (16:04):
But the stock blocking will be that's one on one.
That's yea, and that goes on at the same time.
They're all at the same time, right, Yeah, they all
at the same.
Speaker 4 (16:11):
Time, So those are two separate piers.
Speaker 3 (16:13):
One good thing is that they're like, hey, when you're
doing stock drill is one on one, everybody's involved.
Speaker 2 (16:18):
Then you have a what I'm saying is the stock
drill at the same time as the as the backs
on backers. Oh yeah, yeah, it is.
Speaker 3 (16:24):
So all the individual So I said, it's a three
ring circus during that period.
Speaker 4 (16:28):
And actually the best place to be is actually.
Speaker 2 (16:30):
Where we are.
Speaker 3 (16:31):
I think I'm gonna I think you might have you
might have the money on back up, I'm gonna be
on the field, but you got a mosey on up.
Speaker 4 (16:36):
You can catch all of it. I'm gonna I'm bound to.
Speaker 2 (16:38):
Miss next to labs that they can check check out
the check out the practice. Yeah, that's what I did.
That's what I did last year. I sat up top
and uh, I was trying to watch it all, you know,
and yeah and sometimes you know, I don't know if
you ever are trying to watch two or three sporting
events at once. And some days, uh, some days you're like,
(17:00):
he shoots in scores and you're over here, touchdown and
you're over here he struck about. And then other days
you're like, boy, you don't see a play like that
very often? What play? I missed it looking over here.
I don't want to miss it, man, I want to
see it all. And I'm I'm looking. We're gonna get
into the offensive lineman in a moment. But is there
any I guess probably if I'm looking at the stock
(17:22):
blocking drill from an offensive perspective, I'm probably looking at
Roman Wilson. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (17:27):
No, he's uh, he's known suspect number one.
Speaker 2 (17:31):
Uh.
Speaker 3 (17:32):
He's a guy that is gonna have to prove. We've
seen what Calvin Austin can do. He's done it.
Speaker 4 (17:35):
He's done it multiple years here in camp.
Speaker 2 (17:37):
And again to rewind. Not a big guy, but he
will stick his nose in there.
Speaker 4 (17:41):
He will stick his note down there, and he will
bounce back up.
Speaker 2 (17:43):
He's like the play he is. And and his.
Speaker 3 (17:47):
Rookie year got cut short right before that we never
got to see it.
Speaker 4 (17:51):
And then the year two we're like, oh wow, okay.
Speaker 2 (17:52):
And I think Roman was not part of that drill
last year, so this first taste of it, yep.
Speaker 4 (17:59):
So it'll be interesting to see how he does in
this drine.
Speaker 3 (18:02):
This is where if you're talking about making a jump
from you know, rookie to second year guy, that's where
you're gonna see the biggest I think opportunity where you
get to focus in on him because you know, when
you're at eleven on eleven right, you know, you run
the route you could you could be the.
Speaker 4 (18:17):
Third option, and how do we count that? How do
we quantify that?
Speaker 3 (18:20):
Oh, he ran the route really well, I guess right.
Safety did not jump down on the under route, you know,
and Aaron Rodgers is trying to build a report probably
with DK metcalf right, so you know he's gonna be
if you're if you're a tight end running a drag
pattern across the middle and you're wide open, you might
not get it for a while. And Pat fryer Muth
was one of those guys. Yeah, he throws the hand up.
He's wide open, and Pat's like trying to shove it
(18:43):
in there to DK double coverage. He just throws his
hands up and runs back to the huddle head.
Speaker 2 (18:49):
I don't, but I did see that.
Speaker 4 (18:50):
Yeah, No, I mean, but.
Speaker 3 (18:51):
It's it's okay because I mean, listen, this is what
we're gonna see and day to day is a different prospect.
Speaker 4 (18:56):
There's a different emphasis every day.
Speaker 3 (18:58):
And for Aaron, the one thing I do about watching
his game and something I've appreciated now that he's with
us and I actually can be on the field level
and kind of see from his perspective, he really wants
to try things out, Like he takes this opportunity like, hey,
this is training camp. I get to try and see
what I can and what I can't do. So then
(19:18):
when I get in the season, I'm not surprised by
something right or have to do something that I haven't
done yet. He's going to do everything on here, whether
it's an awkward angle throwing, you know, throwing the shallow drag,
and it's gone a little bit past where he wants to.
Can I still get that angle in there, even though
it looks like it's not advantageous. Can I make it happen?
Or the sideline touch on, you know on a post
(19:41):
corner route. Can I drop it right there in the
bucket right before it goes out of bounds and hit
my receiver so that he has two feet down before
going out of bounds, Like is it his ball or
nobody ball?
Speaker 4 (19:51):
Like this is the opportunity to.
Speaker 3 (19:52):
Try all of that stuff out with no harm, no foul,
right as opposed to and he's earned that right.
Speaker 2 (20:00):
But again, training camp's a little bit different for everybody else. TJ. Watt,
I got a new flesh for you. He's going to
make the team right. So if he wants to work
on something, you let him work on something right and
trust that he knows how to get himself ready. Trust
as you get closer to the season, he's going to
be honing in on those things we know we can do.
And maybe he's added a trick in his bag. Gonna
(20:22):
be the same thing with Aaron Rodgers, Oh, he did
this in practice. Don't worry about it because he's working. Ye,
He'll be fine. He's working toward a certain goal. He
said the same thing right in his interview.
Speaker 3 (20:32):
He's like, Hey, yeah, I know I threw an interception,
but he's like, guess what, I'll throw a lot of
touchdowns too.
Speaker 2 (20:36):
Right, All right, stick around. We're gonna get to the
offensive line in the defensive line, because I am fascinated
about what we might see from a really new group
not just draft picks, but a new group of defensive
linemen coming against a group of still young offensive linemen
for the Pittsburgh Steelers. We're going to talk about that
when we continue in the locker room with King and Starks.
(20:56):
Presented by your neighborhood Ford Store. Here on the Steelers' audio.
Speaker 1 (20:59):
Network, Iheartradios Live coverage I'm Got twenty twenty five Steelers
Training Camp is presented by Faedex where Now meets Next
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(21:20):
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Speaker 2 (21:41):
Locker room with King and Starks resented by your neighborhood
Ford Store. To see there's Audio Network Bob Labriola one
booth over kind of hanging out. Yeah, before he's ready
to go after us, getting mentally prepared.
Speaker 4 (21:53):
That's right, you know, I mean, you know it's you know,
it's time to get serious.
Speaker 3 (21:57):
When you see Labs walk and he's got the blue Duffel,
you got the AFC Duffel.
Speaker 4 (22:02):
You know he's here.
Speaker 3 (22:03):
He's here for business, you know. And I think that's
one of the things. And and you are also trying
to reserve your seat a little ahead of time. Can
you throw your hat or something in the chair to
keep keep us face.
Speaker 2 (22:13):
Next, so the schedule is you go up and you
have lunch and then you come back. I'll be going
so I'll probably have a solo lunch. My friend Max
Starks is going to take care there.
Speaker 4 (22:25):
I mean, if you hang for five minutes, I will,
I can.
Speaker 3 (22:29):
I can walk over with you, but I gotta run
up top because Troy's leaving today him and the boys.
They gotta get back out to Cali because a boys
start football camp and everything getting ready for the season.
So I want to say my goodbyes to one of
my best buds, right my teammate. I mean, you know,
got to be there, but I will be heading over
with you. And then I've got a treat for fans.
If you're not listening to the airwaves and you do
(22:50):
happen to stumble upon the Steelers digital content, either on
the mobile app or on the website, you will be
treated to a visual surprise by me during the show.
And Missy Matthews is also going to be on the air,
So Microsie won't be here today. Visual surprise, Yeah, visual surprise.
But yeah, so Missy will be up there of course,
obviously a visual surprise because she hasn't done the show yet.
(23:13):
She'll be now starting to do her her her segments
with me, and yeah, you will be delighted. I'm not
gonna give away anything else, but you will. You'll you'll
probably laugh and chuckle when you see me on air.
Speaker 2 (23:25):
So I can't wait to see it. Just a quick
Troy story. I was. I was at the Greek Food
Festival in the McCandless area. Yeah, and my sister was
in town. She's a big NFL fan, my younger sister,
she and her husband in town. I had a really
really bad back, couldn't could barely move, got to my seat,
you know, couldn't turn, couldn't move, sitting down, and my
(23:49):
sister's looking over my shoulder and she's like, uh, hey,
I think that's I think that's Troy Polamalo flipping French
fries over there. And I remember I didn't want to
turn around because my back was killing me. I said, soon,
not every Polynesian guy in Pittsburg. It's Troy Palmont. No,
I really think it is. So I turned around and
(24:10):
I'm like, oh my god, it is Troy. He flipped fries.
And my buddy Greg Morris, they made uh, they made
French fries for years. They had a little symmetry going.
They made outstanding French fries. Just uh, a down to
earth guy to say, to say the least, but if
you think about that, right, Yeah, he's there just doing
his thing and hot as blaze. It was so hot
(24:33):
he's in there flipping the French fries.
Speaker 4 (24:35):
We had.
Speaker 3 (24:36):
The Greek Festival used to be in downtown, right at
the point, right, okay, So I would go down there
every year I lived downtown, So I'd walk down from
my apartment walk all the way down to the point.
Speaker 4 (24:44):
It was a nice little walk, usually in the late spring.
Speaker 3 (24:48):
And I'm going there, I'm trying to get some domades, right, yeah, okay.
Speaker 4 (24:52):
And then who's behind me? Ready to order him? Frank
O Harris.
Speaker 3 (24:55):
Really, Franco's like these are really good?
Speaker 2 (24:58):
Oh my god.
Speaker 3 (24:59):
So then frank and I like sat down. I'm like, dude,
frank O Harris is you know, And that's the one
that you love when guys are just out and about
in the city and embracing everything the culture.
Speaker 2 (25:07):
He did, man lived over the Mexican War streets.
Speaker 3 (25:10):
Yeah, I mean, just just a legendary dude. And like
you said, Troy, you know, love Greek food. So yeah,
no surprise that Troy's making Greek fries in the back.
But I mean, cool, Yeah, that's that's that's.
Speaker 4 (25:23):
A fun moment. It's cool to see those moments.
Speaker 2 (25:24):
So offensive line versus defensive line. Yes, and you know
the show Ponies, I have to say, uh, you know,
everybody expects a sort of progression in year two Oh,
they're just gonna get better. You know, Zach Frazier, Mason McCormick,
you know, Broderick Jones is now, let's not forget he's
moving over to left tackle. Troy Faltanu didn't play last
(25:47):
year because he got hurt. I mean he was he
went through all these practices. He's at right tackle. That
to me, you know, when he's talking about a second receiver,
that is the position of most interest to me in
this camp is the off line. And now they're going
against today, not just Cam Heyward and Keanu Benton, but
two rookie draft choices, Derek Harmon and way A Black,
(26:09):
a Quale and Otomewell and other guys that they've signed
as free agents. It's a very we talk Logan Lee
is out there was something to prove Round two. I
mean this is this is a very very deep and
you know, Dean Lowry, Isaiah louder Milk, you know, look,
uh you know they're guys like de Marvin Leal. This
(26:31):
is you know, he's trying to make the team. You know,
there is a lot of talent and a lot to
prove on that defensive line, and I think on the
offensive line, something to prove as well. It's you know,
guys don't always progress from year to year. Now I
think with a makeup of those guys they will, but
it's still gonna be I'm fascinated to watch that part
(26:52):
of it.
Speaker 4 (26:53):
No, I'm excited as well.
Speaker 3 (26:54):
Like you said, I'm always keen and locked in on
the offensive line. You know, Willie Cologne and I will
walking around practice the other day and just kind of
like taking our mental notes and you know, comparing contrast
about our experience when we were here.
Speaker 4 (27:07):
What we wanted to see how guys move.
Speaker 3 (27:11):
And this is that next step, This is the next
step for them is Now it's unrealistic as the one
on one pass rush is, it's still very telling because
it's about competition. It's about can I get the best
of you more often than not? Right, because that's the
prospect of pass protection. You know, nobody's ever gonna pass
(27:31):
rush one guy individually on one individual play. Right, It's
a team concept where you got multiple guys doing multiple.
Speaker 4 (27:39):
Things twists, stunts, pass offs on drills. But it's like,
how do you move by yourself?
Speaker 3 (27:46):
How do you move disconnected from the group, And are
you a fighter or are you a flyer right fight
or fight versus flight?
Speaker 4 (27:54):
Are you going to meet that? Are you going to be.
Speaker 3 (27:57):
Pissed off if you get beat right off the bat?
Or you guy that's gonna kind of sul could just
wait till the next play. You know, you're looking for
that type of tenacity from the offensive line as well
as the defense line does DEFENSI lignment. He gets stoned
and he wants to get right back up there and
run the play again, right because like I want to
get better, And Coach t is right there like like, hey,
I'm about to curate this. Let's see what happens again.
(28:20):
Now again, Like you'll see guys say like three four
reps in a row, whereas normally you go one move
on to the next and kind of go through the
line to get.
Speaker 4 (28:27):
Two drills, two hits at it.
Speaker 3 (28:29):
But then there's always those beefeeder matchups that Wolf likes
to call him that Mike Tom was like, no, I
want to see this again. So Troy Fatanu, I think
he's gonna be one of those candidates that gets that
right because it's like, hey, you need to test this
knee and if you want to be a starter, this
what's gonna look like.
Speaker 4 (28:45):
And so you're gonna get T J. Watt multiple times.
Speaker 3 (28:48):
You're gonna get a Cam Hayward that bumps out every
once in a while. And then if you're Broderick Jones,
you get a lot of Alex Highsmith, a lot of
high dose of that of Alex Highsmith and Nick Herbig,
and I want to see how you move because the
game is sixty to seventy plays a game, so you're
not just going to see a guy once. So it's like,
let's see if we get a two minute drill and
(29:10):
you got to go against that guy back to back
and it's an incompletion. But yet you know, or a
guy get tackled in bounced for a three yard game,
you got to get right back on the line and
do it again. So how well do you respond to
good or bad information? How well do you diagnose so
that you can go to the next play and make
sure that it works out for you.
Speaker 2 (29:28):
So the other thing, though, is too is that I
understand it's not individual when you look at that group
on the offensive line, but there's got to be times
in which, over the course of a game, you're picking
your poison and you might say, hey, my right tackle
or left tackle. I don't feel real comfortable with him
going back to latrobe right and what I've seen in
(29:51):
preseason games and how that's carried over. So now maybe
you know that tight end's got to be in the
left side, of the tight end's got to be in
the right side, and that yeah, or the running backs
got to chip that guy, he's got to give him help.
Maybe it's somebody in the interior who's being overpowered and
now you have to double him. And now that running
back's got to stay in. He can't go out on
the pattern. That's a big effect like that, that trickle
(30:13):
down effect. And that's why you know I you know,
football to me is the ultimate team sport. And a
guy like TJ. Watt, even if he's not getting home,
you are not putting one guy on TJ. Watt. You're
doing so at your own peril. So how does that
affect the guys behind you in coverage when that running
back has to stay in or that tight end has
(30:35):
to stay in and double Conversely, how is that affecting
you in a negative way offensively? If you have a
guy who just needs help.
Speaker 3 (30:45):
Well, so it's two fol So I'll answer the first one.
Defensive perspective, you want that TJ. Water on your team absolutely,
because now that's one more guy you can dedicate into
the pass coverage. And if your team that runs zone,
it's now an extra area that's covered. You can shrink
the responsibilities of other players in that same area when
(31:06):
it is because you know, the running back has to chip,
the tight end has to stay in and block and
make sure the tackle secures the play.
Speaker 4 (31:13):
And now I have.
Speaker 3 (31:14):
An extra linebacker, nickel or someone in that cover zone
that can now run the curl flat. You know, he
could sit right off the line about five yards off
two yards outside of the tap defensive end or defensive
end slash offensive tackle zone and sit there.
Speaker 4 (31:29):
We call that the.
Speaker 3 (31:30):
Curl flat area because you're either going to run up
to that line and kick out flat running it out,
or you're gonna curl back around and give your numbers
to it like an underneath route get to the sticks.
So you have a guy that could cover that area
as opposed to say, hey, we got to pass this
off and if you're in the zone, it's your responsibility.
If you're out of the zone, then it's this guy's responsibility.
(31:50):
It makes life a lot easier. And then transversely on offense,
if I'm a tackle and I'm struggling against against a
certain pass rusher right, and now I need body presence,
I need a chip excuse me, or I need a
guy to stay in for those moments. That's one less
guy out in the route. That's one less option for
your quarterback to see. The checkdown is no longer there
(32:12):
because if the running backs blocking in the backfield, guess what,
there's no checkdown's right.
Speaker 4 (32:16):
So you take.
Speaker 3 (32:17):
Options away and you create options for other people.
Speaker 4 (32:22):
So that's why it's good.
Speaker 3 (32:23):
You want to know that your tackle can block one
on one, right and that you don't.
Speaker 4 (32:26):
Need the tight end.
Speaker 3 (32:27):
It's cool if he's lined up there, it's a body
presence thing and he's releasing. So it kind of forces
the defensive lineman to do only one thing.
Speaker 2 (32:35):
Maybe give him a little jab or a little chip on.
Speaker 3 (32:37):
Your you give him a shoulders to the way out,
just to just to take something off of it, a
little edge off of the rush.
Speaker 4 (32:43):
But when you have to stay and.
Speaker 3 (32:45):
Plant, that becomes a whole different world of problems.
Speaker 4 (32:49):
That you don't want to have.
Speaker 3 (32:50):
You want to give your quarterback every opportunity, every option,
the buffets open, right, We're not gonna tell you can
only go to the right side.
Speaker 2 (32:57):
Right.
Speaker 3 (32:57):
You know the general So's chicken is not ready yet,
so you know you got to go to the carving station.
You want to make sure everything's available so that he
can hit and do whatever he wants to feel comforted with.
A guy like Aaron Rodgers could benefit greatly from more
options available to him.
Speaker 2 (33:11):
And I do understand that who you're playing can have
an effect on that. If you're playing Aaron Donald, you're
probably thinking about, no matter who it is, giving him
some help, yea, at your own peril if you don't.
But you need to know which one of your offensive linemen.
And that's why I think this is interesting here. You know, conversely, defensively,
(33:34):
if you're a defender, hey man, you want to know
that on third down you can get out there, you
can disengage from these blocks. So it to me again,
there's a lot to learn on the offensive line and
defensive line. Still about the Steelers.
Speaker 3 (33:47):
And you and I don't I'm not also crippled as
a coordinator on what the strength of the formation is.
That's the other thing, Like, oh man, you know it's
third and eight, I have to line up in a
left formation right right because my left.
Speaker 4 (34:02):
Tackle can't handle it. That's right.
Speaker 3 (34:04):
I can only line up in the right for me,
So that also hampers the play calling right and formation.
Even if I'm lining up here, I can't motion the
guy right. He has to stay static, and I got
to figure out how to get through this.
Speaker 4 (34:16):
So there's a lot of things that goes into it.
Speaker 3 (34:18):
That one on one pass rush is very revealing for
what the strengths and the weaknesses are of your offensive line,
but also of your formations that you're gonna run. Because
there's certain plays that you might want to run in
a two minute situation, but it's like, but it's ran
out of the left's run out of you know, twins right. Well,
I can't run twins right because I gotta worry about
my left tackle. So now we got so now I
(34:39):
gotta go split left and get a motion over there
to get to twins right late. But I got to
start with the formation of the tight end being over
here to help my tackle out.
Speaker 2 (34:48):
Well, the the ramifications of that, the nuances, what they mean,
We start to find that out today. We start to
find it out in backs and backers. We start to
find it out in the stock who can be out
there and who can be trusted. We begin to find
it out on the offensive and defensive line. Who can
stand on their own, who can make a difference on
the defensive line. Very exciting stuff happening out here today
(35:11):
in the trope. We have more to come. Still in
the locker room with King and Starks presented by your
neighborhood Ford Store here on the Steelers Audio.
Speaker 1 (35:17):
Network, Iheartradios. Live coverage of twenty twenty five Steelers Training
Camp is presented by Fadex where Now meets Next and
also brought to you by First National Bank, by Kalucy Chevrolet,
iron Workers Union Number three, by Easy Home Exteriors, by
(35:40):
SNT Bank, Wemax Select Realty, by Tons Appliances, the Pittsburgh
Steelers Pro shot by Always Safe Flagging and Traffic Control,
and by US Steel.
Speaker 2 (35:54):
And welcome back to the locker room A King and
Starts presented by your neighborhood Ford Store here in the
Stevens Audio netw work and you know, talking about the
offensive lineman. We we talked about some of the key
guys that we're looking to see in every sort of
you know, first in the in the running backs, it's
it's uh, it's Caleb Johnson. But how about those other
guys towards the end of the roster maybe looking to
(36:16):
be that fourth running back, and then with the receivers,
kind of Roman Wilson. I think, is that that's that
guy that we kind of want to see in the
in the blocking drill. Okay, So we've talked sort of
generally about the offensive line defensive line, how important it is,
uh for these for these offensive linemen and defensive lineman
to show what they can do early on here. Is
(36:36):
there a particular matchup that you think we will see
or a particular player or two that you're eager to
see how they perform in this?
Speaker 4 (36:44):
I guess Derek Harmon, right, Harmon Anderson.
Speaker 2 (36:47):
Okay, that's what I want. I wondered if we're gonna
see that.
Speaker 4 (36:51):
Yeah, I think we will see that.
Speaker 3 (36:52):
Okay, I think we'll see him work against both Mason
McCormick and Spencer Anderson. Obviously, I'm watching Isaac Camalo kind
of go through some some drill work by himself to
see test himself out, to see what he can and
can't do. But Spencer Anderson Derek Harmon is gonna be
my first one.
Speaker 4 (37:09):
Obviously.
Speaker 3 (37:10):
Ya Black will also be in that mix to take on.
I'd love to see him versus like Zach Frazier. Uh huh,
that's gonna be a heck of a one. But I
think also seeing what aquality can do. He'll play that
guard to tackle position, so you know whether he'll get
Broderick Jones or whether he'll bump down in the interior
and maybe you see like a Calvin Anderson type go
(37:32):
up against him. There's a lot of good rotational options available,
so to speak.
Speaker 4 (37:39):
I think that's the best way of putting it.
Speaker 3 (37:42):
You know, another guy would be really interested to see
offensively is I want to see what this kid, Aiden
Williams can do.
Speaker 4 (37:49):
The rookie from Minnesota du Luth.
Speaker 3 (37:52):
He's a bigger body six almost sixty six, three hundred
and fifteen pounds. They have him listed as a guard,
but I saw him doing some tackle work today, uh or.
Speaker 4 (38:00):
Sorry, y two days ago. What does Max Sharping look like?
Speaker 3 (38:05):
I mean, he's actually another guy, veteran yep, been around
the block. You know what can he bring to the
table as well? Gareth Gareth Warren is a very interesting
one rookie from Lindenwood. He looks he looks very solid
and stable at the at the tackle position, like he's
not he's not a super quick guy, but he's a
(38:27):
very steady guy. It's like it's weird watching him because
none of his movements are are quick strike aggressive, right.
You think about guys getting out there, you know, you
take your sets and you want to stab somebody really quickly.
He sits there, he does the hand play and then boom,
he just he just grabs a guy.
Speaker 4 (38:43):
He just grips him, and then he and then and
then he just washes him.
Speaker 3 (38:46):
So it's gonna be really interesting to see some of
these guys that I haven't got a chance to really
watch up close and personal and see how they respond
when the pressure is real. Because I've seen some good things,
I've seen some interesting things. So I'm really interested to
see how that second wave kind of prevents because I
think there's there is room for at least two guys
(39:09):
on this.
Speaker 4 (39:09):
Offense to depth easily.
Speaker 3 (39:12):
So I want to see who's gonna flush themselves out
in that situation. Like I said, I gave you the
names Aiden Williams and Gareth Warren are the two rookies
that I want to see, but I also want to
see what Max Sharping can do as well.
Speaker 2 (39:22):
I felt like there was no room last year, no
room for anybody to make camp barring injuries, and of
course to see there's that injuries and we're running out
of time. So I just want to ask you this quickly.
So you have you just mentioned Minnesota, Duluth and linden Wood.
Is there any grace period? And this is where scouts
would come in and say, hey, I like what I'm
(39:44):
seeing with somebody as opposed to the performance hasn't maybe
caught up yet. That is a big jump to go
from Lyndenwood College in Saint Louis to NFL training camp.
Same thing with Minnesota Duluth. Is there a more acceptable
acclamation period or Mike tomlin has says you'd better jump
(40:05):
on the moving train Friday night lights.
Speaker 4 (40:07):
Okay, so you got today, this is the intro. We
get to create the base floor.
Speaker 2 (40:13):
So maybe.
Speaker 3 (40:15):
There's about a two practice grace poka and then if
you haven't picked it, if you haven't picked your level up,
or you haven't developed or learned anything from those three
practice you got to watch. You will be saying grace
somewhere in front of a TV before dinner, watching.
Speaker 4 (40:30):
The Steelers play football.
Speaker 3 (40:32):
So that's where I feel like my grace period is
like where do I see the jump from day one
to day two? But then day two to Friday night lights.
Now you're putting it on as a spectacle out there.
How do you respond to that competition because you already
know what it is, You've gone through it three straight days.
Do you answer the call when the lights turn on?
In that environment?
Speaker 2 (40:52):
Can lineman make a really big impression today? I mean
you can make an impression? Can you make a really
big and if you're one of these guys from a
small school, can you have maybe when the meetings happening
tonight and the coaches are can you have somebody saying, wow, man,
we got to keep an eye on this guy. Or
is it too early?
Speaker 4 (41:11):
No?
Speaker 3 (41:11):
No, there's always opportunity to make splash plays. Listen, do
you just you do it against the vent and not
an other rookie, You will get attention. You you Stone
Cam Hayward at the line. I don't care what repid is,
I don't care what how Cam's feeling.
Speaker 4 (41:24):
You stone him.
Speaker 3 (41:25):
As a rookie, you're gonna get attention. You block TJ.
Watt somewhat effectively and don't let him get to the
little square at the back.
Speaker 4 (41:34):
Of that line. Uh, that will raise eyebrows.
Speaker 3 (41:38):
You you get you catch Alex HeiG Smith or Keanu
Benton as well, you raise eyebrows. You can't do it
against Dominique Davis, right right, that doesn't count. That's like okay,
Isaiah Loudermelk, that doesn't really count. You get it against
a front line starter, a guy with stats in this league. Yes,
you can make a name for yourself really quickly.
Speaker 2 (41:56):
So exciting the first day of pads here at the Trope,
we're just getting your warmed up. The practice coming up
in a couple of hours. Plenty more coverage Bob Labrielle
and Tom Offerman coming your way next year on the
Steelers Audio Network Formax Starks. I'm Rob King. We thank
you for listening once again to the Locker Room with
King and Starks, presented by your neighborhood Ford Store
Iheartradios. Live coverage of about 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
(00:27):
Visitors Bureau, Wemax, Select Realty, the Pittsburgh Steelers Pro Shop
and by us steel.
Speaker 2 (00:38):
Well. Welcome back to Saint Vincent College in the trow.
We're watching the players stretching across the field in the
locker room here with King and Starks, presented by your
neighborhood Ford Stour on the Sitter's Audio Network. They're getting
loosened up, not in the pads yet, but they will
be soon for the first time. A fun day. We're
talking about the backs and backers and some of the
guys were looking forward to but didn't get to the ends.
(01:01):
And again, I think one of the guys that we're
gonna be watching. We know what Darnell Washington can do
right yes, And we know at this point of his
career what Pat Priyarmouth can do. JJ Gallbreath to me,
is one of those guys that you know, he he
started to get a lot of buzz in Mini camp
and then the OTAs and you know he's trying to
(01:22):
carry that over here as a pass catcher.
Speaker 3 (01:24):
A couple of great catches here in practice so far, right,
he looks like a pass catcher, can you balk?
Speaker 4 (01:31):
Right?
Speaker 2 (01:31):
And you know you have John hus Smith who has
that versatility he can play out in the slot, but
he could also you know, you know, disengage they like
to call it. He could also be engaged if you
need him to be. But I think ideally you'd like
to see him in the slot. So we're looking forward
to John OUs Smith and I'm looking forward to JJ
Gallbreath among that tight end group.
Speaker 4 (01:50):
I am as well.
Speaker 3 (01:51):
And of course you know Connor Hayward plays that HVAC
so he's a very physical guy that you're gonna be
looking for as always because you always want that you know,
fullback high brid type, right, you know that you need
and I mean each of these guys possessed different skill
sets and different physical traits, which makes it so good
that you can that you can kind of move those
guys around. They're like puzzle pieces, right, but they're like
(02:13):
the universal puzzle pieces where it's like what do we
want to deploy? Given a play? So I want to
see him. I'm a little I'm a little sad.
Speaker 4 (02:20):
You know.
Speaker 3 (02:20):
DJ Thomas Jones, the rookie from South Alabama. He got
injured on Sunday and I got carted off the field,
so we won't see him, and obviously we'll wait to hear.
Speaker 2 (02:31):
They haven't released any information.
Speaker 4 (02:33):
They have not.
Speaker 3 (02:33):
Released any information yet. It didn't look great, but uh
but here, so he's out. That was when I was
really because he's at six to one.
Speaker 2 (02:44):
Let me see what they let me see what they
had them listed here at uh fifty three? Yeah. Yeah,
So so he was the one guy to me, you know,
as you're looking to make this team, well, we don't
really need you at end, probably unless there's some injuries.
So to me, I was wondering, can he be a fullback?
Speaker 4 (03:06):
Yeah? Can he push Connor Hayward?
Speaker 2 (03:08):
Yeah? If you wanted to line up, yeah, if you
wanted to line up in an I formation? Is he
a guy that can blast you? And I think all
last camp they were looking they had they had a
player playing full back they're looking for the next sort
of Dan Kryther, right, you know that that kind of player.
And his name his name, no, his name escapes me
(03:30):
now who it was. But he didn't make the team.
He was with the team throughout a lot of camp.
You know. It's it's a role in which how often
are you going to be used? Well, you might not
be used at all on a certain game. You might
be used for ten plays in another game or five plays,
So you better bring some versatility. But it would, you know,
to me, the shaping of a roster. Okay, so we're
(03:51):
looking for versatility. Well, it comes in different ways and
comes in different positions. And I would imagine these guys
all get together and say, hey, listen, on the offensive side, Hey,
we got this guy who's versatile doing these things and
we think we can help, but he can be on
special team. Meanwhile, on somebody on the other side of saying, well,
we got a corner who can also play the slot
and maybe he could drop down into the box. You know.
(04:12):
So yeah, everyone's pushing for their versatile guy. So it's
not just versatility within a position, it's versatility within the
team framework. But it seemed to me like that's his
best path forward is hey, you can play fullback. Okay, great,
we only need that an occasion. What else can you do?
Speaker 4 (04:29):
Yeah? I mean well, and that's the quandary with Derek Watt.
Speaker 2 (04:32):
Right.
Speaker 4 (04:32):
When Derek Watt was on this roster, he was strictly
a fullback.
Speaker 3 (04:35):
And we only used him ten maybe twelve plays a
game at the most. And he was making this salary,
right because he's a core four special teams guy, But
he was just a fullback on offense, right, and he
wasn't even playing that much. No, he wasn't even playing
that much. I mean, you know there was games heck
of a special teamer. Yeah, he played a lot of
specialty stats, but when you talk about offensive snaps, he
(04:57):
was maybe probably on average probably about five snaps game
at the most. And you were kind of making room
for him versus, this is what we do bread and butter,
and he fits in that scheme. You're trying to find
ways to utilize him, and that's eventually why we ended
up getting rid of Derek and you know, looking at
more of a Connor Hayward h back because he can
(05:17):
play tight end, he can block, and he can move
in space and give you some different looks.
Speaker 2 (05:23):
I think you were looking I think not dinner, but
I think you're looking for that fullback who can blow
your doors off. You're like, whoa wait a minute, now
this is yeah, this is a guy who's going to
open holes for us, not he can do the job.
I mean that's where I think, you know, if you're
looking for that position, you've got to be that guy.
Speaker 3 (05:40):
Yeah, you got to be you know, short neck problems,
right right, yeah, you know, you got to be just
one big muscles, like oh yeah, there's his head and
there's his torso you know what I'm saying, Like, you're
not like, ah, he's got it's a horse horso. And
I think that's where I can't remember that fullback that
came in last year. Yeah, well remember a couple of
years ago in Green, like we were auditioning him, right,
(06:02):
that's Ractric car, big jumbo full back that could go in.
Speaker 4 (06:06):
And he had some good place. Yeah, and he actually
we saw he had hands. But of course we ended
up trading him to Houston.
Speaker 2 (06:11):
But it was it would have been, it would have
been an interesting prospect. And then of course the question becomes,
you know that guy also has to get to the
edge and not whiff on the corner safeties coming up
and just you know, bait defender in the box, right
that that can make you miss. And so you know
that probably that that two fifty size gives you the
(06:33):
capability if you're athletic enough to be able to do
both and therefore be able to be used more. Right,
So I mean every again, that's the versatility within the versatility,
I mean, can you do all those things in order
to make a team. So I agree with you. I
was interested in watching him, and because he kind of
sticks out on the roster, right, but but he's we
(06:54):
do not expect him no official word yet on any
potential injury for him. Will you not expect to see him?
So so we talked about the backs on backers and
the tight ends we're interested in seeing. Let's talk now
about the receivers and the defensive backs because it is.
You know, you've brought in a fascinating group of guys.
(07:15):
You have Darius Slay, you have Jalen Ramsey, you brought
in jan Thornhill. You know you just signed Chuck Clark
at the safety position. You brought in Brandon Eccles, who's
a very athletic guy. You know, you have Corey Trice,
who is you know, trying to just stay healthy and
continue to grow and mature as a player. You know,
(07:37):
Beanie Bishop, you know there are a lot of guys
who were who are fighting for jobs and fighting for
positioning within the roster. Are you going to be the nickel?
Are you going to be the first guy off the bench?
You get a chance now to see that against DK
Metcalf and some others.
Speaker 4 (07:53):
Yeah, and then throw in Sebastian Castro.
Speaker 2 (07:55):
Yes, really forgot it?
Speaker 4 (07:57):
See who is?
Speaker 3 (07:58):
But but will you list the list? Yeah, he falls
way down the list.
Speaker 2 (08:01):
But he could be that camp darling.
Speaker 4 (08:04):
He could be a camp.
Speaker 3 (08:05):
He could be a guy who could show up on
and take Dante Kent another rookie rookie yeah you bron
punts right, Yeah, so he has a little bit more
position flexibility. So it's gonna be really interesting to see
that group going up against Like you said DK Metcalf,
like I already said DK Metcalf, Jalen Rams is gonna
be must watch TV, right, you know, we see those
two because they've done it for so long against each other.
(08:27):
I mean when when Jalen was with the Rams, and
DK was with Seattle. They had some epic lockups and
and some physicality, so you correlate that to bring it
here on the field. And then of course, I mean,
Deshaun Elliott doesn't turn down for anybody. So you know,
I want to see how Calvin Austin does in that
stock drill. Roman Wilson, you know, hey, this is your
(08:48):
chance to prove yourself, young man. You've got an opportunity
here and you cannot make the club in the tub.
Scholarship year was last year, so he needs to he
needs to really step up, and I feel wow, And
then let's.
Speaker 4 (08:59):
See how all squares squares up.
Speaker 3 (09:02):
Max Hurlman is another rookie, Keishawn Williams who's had a
who's at a good, pretty good camp. Uh Will Howard
found him a number of times and team drills. You know,
I haven't seen much of Rock Taylor or and like
you said, Montana's Lamonious Craig is not.
Speaker 4 (09:18):
Gonna be available to us.
Speaker 2 (09:19):
He's been released.
Speaker 3 (09:20):
So there's a lot of interesting guys. I want to
see who's gonna separate themselves to vying for that number two,
number three, number four spot on this roster, and this
is one of the places where you're gonna make a
name for yourself, right.
Speaker 2 (09:36):
And you know, if you're a wide receiver in the
outside looking in, can you battle into that top five
or six? And then you know, I think it's you know,
you need to be I mean, ideally we talk about versatility,
but ideally you want to be outstanding at something. You know,
if you're not a star, if you're not Jalen Ramsey,
(09:56):
if you're not DK Metcalf, you need to be to me,
he outstanding at something and versatile enough at other things
to make the team. You can't be, uh, sort of
a master of nothing. I don't think, you know, I
always go back to you know, it's a it's a
music reference, but you know there uh Mick Jaggers asked
(10:17):
about Brian Jones, who played the sitar for the for
the Rolling Stones, and he, you know, was found drowned
in a pool when they look like they're on the
cusp but throwing them out of the band and and
you know, he was asked about it, and you know,
like like, well, I could he does his sitar and
he does this, and he does that and Mick Jagger said, well, yeah,
at the end of the day, what does he hang
his hat on? What can he really do? What is
(10:39):
he really outstanding at? And the answer, according to Mick Jagger,
was nothing, right, So yeah, you can you can replace
the guy who's outstanding at nothing. So if you're Ben Skarnik,
can you get out there and be a serviceable wide receiver? Uh,
you know, a good blocker? Yeah, but you're also a
great special teamer, you know, So you're outstanding at something
(11:01):
and versatile enough that the other stuff can get out
on a pattern make a catch. So that'll be interesting
to watch too. Does somebody you know, does one of
these wide receivers that you mentioned Williams, does he show
Wait a minute, now, this guy is a really interesting receiver.
He's probably not gonna play, so what else can he do? Now?
So there's a lot of that that goes into the evaluation.
Speaker 3 (11:22):
No, it's a central part of the evaluation process, and
it comes down to can you make a splash at
least once a day where it says oh man, and
the rest of the time can you fit in?
Speaker 2 (11:36):
Interesting?
Speaker 3 (11:37):
But you could also make that oh Man play and
it'd be a bad one.
Speaker 4 (11:41):
Right, Yeah, that's a balance.
Speaker 3 (11:43):
But do you jump off as opposed to oh man, yeah, yeah, exactly, exactly,
so many ways that could be used, right, And so
if you can, if you can create that spash place says,
oh my god, we got to rewind the film and
watch this again, and then the rest of the times
like we don't notice you because you blend in so well,
that's what you're looking for, and that's what you're talking about,
the one great thing. And I think it's a great
(12:04):
example of Ben Scaronik, Right, you.
Speaker 4 (12:06):
Know, Ben, can you go and you know, force.
Speaker 3 (12:09):
A fumble in Washington down inside the red zone and
get us a turnover, but then also be able to
run a ten yard out right and just make a
routine play routinely as Mike Tomlin likes to say, can
you do that? And I think that's where Ben Skaronik
has kind of been that guy where you're like, okay,
all right, this is what he does exceptionally well. Is
(12:30):
he covers he has tenacity, but then guys a serviceable,
good receiver as well when you have an injury on
your line, so you're looking for that at multiple positions.
You want to find that next Ben Scoronic type. You
know when you think, I mean, heck, Chris Boswell, we
know what he is, right, the Wizard of Oz, right,
the boot, the leg, everything however.
Speaker 4 (12:52):
You want to get.
Speaker 3 (12:53):
But he went in and he punted in in Atlanta, Yeah,
when we had no punters and he and he did
it fresh off of no reps.
Speaker 4 (13:01):
One kick him to the net, booms a forty yarder. Right.
Speaker 2 (13:04):
Well, I think I think there's also I mean, I'm
saying this and I think ideally that's what you'd like,
But there's room on a roster for a Swiss Army knife.
I mean Connor, Connor Hayward's a guy like that, right.
You know, they were talking about Spencer Anderson. Now Spencer's
looking to show that he can be more than that.
But I think of a guy like Scotty Miller. Next thing,
(13:26):
you know, you know, he can hold on, you know,
kicks for you. He's running down being a gunner. When
there's injuries. He could return a punt for you. He
can play wide receiver. Maybe not top of the scale
at anything, but boy, a really good football player who
you know, again, you're limited to how many guys you
can dress on game day. It's kind of a nice
(13:46):
thing for a coach to know, hey, I can He
may not even play, but I got him, but I
got him in my back pocket and he could serve
multiple roles. I mean, it's just, you know, the construction
of a roster is is really.
Speaker 3 (13:58):
Fascinating, fascinating, and you know, I'm blessed and fortunate with opportunity.
I get to sit up there in those scouts meetings
and watch the evaluation process and you know, give my
two cents when necessary. But the biggest thing is that
you know you have to the more you can do,
That's something that Mike Tomlin said since day one. He
was like, the more you can do, the harder it
(14:19):
is to get rid of you. And I will never
forget this rookie year. His rookie sees it as a
head coach. He gave us all these shirts that he
put to our locker, and the shirt simply said use
me on a big block on this on this white
dry fit shirt that said use me.
Speaker 4 (14:36):
And you know I took that. I took that to heart.
Speaker 3 (14:38):
I was like, man, no, I'm gonna wear this shirt
every freaking game day and I want him to see
me like you need to use me. And it was
simply the ethos of the more you can do, the
harder it is to get rid of you. So are
you just a corner? Are you just an offensive guard?
Are you just this guy?
Speaker 4 (14:59):
Right?
Speaker 3 (15:00):
But can you do more? Can you kick in and specialties?
Can you jump across the ball? I remember I was
playing goal line defense at one point in my career, right.
They were like, yeah, and I was on field goal
block as an offensive lineman, you know, because they're like, no,
it should be deep, but not Max.
Speaker 4 (15:13):
You've got long arms and you have good extension.
Speaker 2 (15:15):
Let's trying.
Speaker 4 (15:17):
By the way, Yeah, it's excellent coach.
Speaker 3 (15:19):
So and I was like, and I played four positions
in college, so I'm like, I could play guard. My
first start was at guard in my career here in
Pittsburgh when Alan Fanica we sewed up the one seed
go in rook I was like, I an't played guard,
but I figured.
Speaker 4 (15:31):
It out on to fly.
Speaker 2 (15:32):
Right.
Speaker 3 (15:32):
The more you can do, the more versatility, the more
ways you can catch a coach's eye is really the
biggest thing.
Speaker 2 (15:38):
So, are we we're gonna see pass patterns? Right? Are
we gonna see yes? Are we gonna see blocking drills
between the receivers and the d backs also, Yeah.
Speaker 3 (15:46):
We'll see we'll see some blocking drills and they'll coordinate
them in the field to play. Because whereas that stock
drill runs along the sidelines, we'll actually see some of
the blocking combination routes that are ran off of that
in the middle of the field. It's almost like a
seven on seven esque type of drill. But the emphasis
is just on wide receiver dB combinations.
Speaker 2 (16:04):
But the stock blocking will be that's one on one.
That's yea, and that goes on at the same time.
They're all at the same time, right, Yeah, they all
at the same.
Speaker 4 (16:11):
Time, So those are two separate piers.
Speaker 3 (16:13):
One good thing is that they're like, hey, when you're
doing stock drill is one on one, everybody's involved.
Speaker 2 (16:18):
Then you have a what I'm saying is the stock
drill at the same time as the as the backs
on backers. Oh yeah, yeah, it is.
Speaker 3 (16:24):
So all the individual So I said, it's a three
ring circus during that period.
Speaker 4 (16:28):
And actually the best place to be is actually.
Speaker 2 (16:30):
Where we are.
Speaker 3 (16:31):
I think I'm gonna I think you might have you
might have the money on back up, I'm gonna be
on the field, but you got a mosey on up.
Speaker 4 (16:36):
You can catch all of it. I'm gonna I'm bound to.
Speaker 2 (16:38):
Miss next to labs that they can check check out
the check out the practice. Yeah, that's what I did.
That's what I did last year. I sat up top
and uh, I was trying to watch it all, you know,
and yeah and sometimes you know, I don't know if
you ever are trying to watch two or three sporting
events at once. And some days, uh, some days you're like,
(17:00):
he shoots in scores and you're over here, touchdown and
you're over here he struck about. And then other days
you're like, boy, you don't see a play like that
very often? What play? I missed it looking over here.
I don't want to miss it, man, I want to
see it all. And I'm I'm looking. We're gonna get
into the offensive lineman in a moment. But is there
any I guess probably if I'm looking at the stock
(17:22):
blocking drill from an offensive perspective, I'm probably looking at
Roman Wilson. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (17:27):
No, he's uh, he's known suspect number one.
Speaker 2 (17:31):
Uh.
Speaker 3 (17:32):
He's a guy that is gonna have to prove. We've
seen what Calvin Austin can do. He's done it.
Speaker 4 (17:35):
He's done it multiple years here in camp.
Speaker 2 (17:37):
And again to rewind. Not a big guy, but he
will stick his nose in there.
Speaker 4 (17:41):
He will stick his note down there, and he will
bounce back up.
Speaker 2 (17:43):
He's like the play he is. And and his.
Speaker 3 (17:47):
Rookie year got cut short right before that we never
got to see it.
Speaker 4 (17:51):
And then the year two we're like, oh wow, okay.
Speaker 2 (17:52):
And I think Roman was not part of that drill
last year, so this first taste of it, yep.
Speaker 4 (17:59):
So it'll be interesting to see how he does in
this drine.
Speaker 3 (18:02):
This is where if you're talking about making a jump
from you know, rookie to second year guy, that's where
you're gonna see the biggest I think opportunity where you
get to focus in on him because you know, when
you're at eleven on eleven right, you know, you run
the route you could you could be the.
Speaker 4 (18:17):
Third option, and how do we count that? How do
we quantify that?
Speaker 3 (18:20):
Oh, he ran the route really well, I guess right.
Safety did not jump down on the under route, you know,
and Aaron Rodgers is trying to build a report probably
with DK metcalf right, so you know he's gonna be
if you're if you're a tight end running a drag
pattern across the middle and you're wide open, you might
not get it for a while. And Pat fryer Muth
was one of those guys. Yeah, he throws the hand up.
He's wide open, and Pat's like trying to shove it
(18:43):
in there to DK double coverage. He just throws his
hands up and runs back to the huddle head.
Speaker 2 (18:49):
I don't, but I did see that.
Speaker 4 (18:50):
Yeah, No, I mean, but.
Speaker 3 (18:51):
It's it's okay because I mean, listen, this is what
we're gonna see and day to day is a different prospect.
Speaker 4 (18:56):
There's a different emphasis every day.
Speaker 3 (18:58):
And for Aaron, the one thing I do about watching
his game and something I've appreciated now that he's with
us and I actually can be on the field level
and kind of see from his perspective, he really wants
to try things out, Like he takes this opportunity like, hey,
this is training camp. I get to try and see
what I can and what I can't do. So then
(19:18):
when I get in the season, I'm not surprised by
something right or have to do something that I haven't
done yet. He's going to do everything on here, whether
it's an awkward angle throwing, you know, throwing the shallow drag,
and it's gone a little bit past where he wants to.
Can I still get that angle in there, even though
it looks like it's not advantageous. Can I make it happen?
Or the sideline touch on, you know on a post
(19:41):
corner route. Can I drop it right there in the
bucket right before it goes out of bounds and hit
my receiver so that he has two feet down before
going out of bounds, Like is it his ball or
nobody ball?
Speaker 4 (19:51):
Like this is the opportunity to.
Speaker 3 (19:52):
Try all of that stuff out with no harm, no foul,
right as opposed to and he's earned that right.
Speaker 2 (20:00):
But again, training camp's a little bit different for everybody else. TJ. Watt,
I got a new flesh for you. He's going to
make the team right. So if he wants to work
on something, you let him work on something right and
trust that he knows how to get himself ready. Trust
as you get closer to the season, he's going to
be honing in on those things we know we can do.
And maybe he's added a trick in his bag. Gonna
(20:22):
be the same thing with Aaron Rodgers, Oh, he did
this in practice. Don't worry about it because he's working. Ye,
He'll be fine. He's working toward a certain goal. He
said the same thing right in his interview.
Speaker 3 (20:32):
He's like, Hey, yeah, I know I threw an interception,
but he's like, guess what, I'll throw a lot of
touchdowns too.
Speaker 2 (20:36):
Right, All right, stick around. We're gonna get to the
offensive line in the defensive line, because I am fascinated
about what we might see from a really new group
not just draft picks, but a new group of defensive
linemen coming against a group of still young offensive linemen
for the Pittsburgh Steelers. We're going to talk about that
when we continue in the locker room with King and Starks.
(20:56):
Presented by your neighborhood Ford Store. Here on the Steelers' audio.
Speaker 1 (20:59):
Network, Iheartradios Live coverage I'm Got twenty twenty five Steelers
Training Camp is presented by Faedex where Now meets Next
and also brought to you by CGR Wholesale Roofing and
Sighting Supply Center, by Tom's Appliances, by Always Safe Flagging
(21:20):
and traffic controlled by Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank, by
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Ford Store, by Castle Rock, by Clearview Federal Credit Union,
and by us Steel.
Speaker 2 (21:41):
Locker room with King and Starks resented by your neighborhood
Ford Store. To see there's Audio Network Bob Labriola one
booth over kind of hanging out. Yeah, before he's ready
to go after us, getting mentally prepared.
Speaker 4 (21:53):
That's right, you know, I mean, you know it's you know,
it's time to get serious.
Speaker 3 (21:57):
When you see Labs walk and he's got the blue Duffel,
you got the AFC Duffel.
Speaker 4 (22:02):
You know he's here.
Speaker 3 (22:03):
He's here for business, you know. And I think that's
one of the things. And and you are also trying
to reserve your seat a little ahead of time. Can
you throw your hat or something in the chair to
keep keep us face.
Speaker 2 (22:13):
Next, so the schedule is you go up and you
have lunch and then you come back. I'll be going
so I'll probably have a solo lunch. My friend Max
Starks is going to take care there.
Speaker 4 (22:25):
I mean, if you hang for five minutes, I will,
I can.
Speaker 3 (22:29):
I can walk over with you, but I gotta run
up top because Troy's leaving today him and the boys.
They gotta get back out to Cali because a boys
start football camp and everything getting ready for the season.
So I want to say my goodbyes to one of
my best buds, right my teammate. I mean, you know,
got to be there, but I will be heading over
with you. And then I've got a treat for fans.
If you're not listening to the airwaves and you do
(22:50):
happen to stumble upon the Steelers digital content, either on
the mobile app or on the website, you will be
treated to a visual surprise by me during the show.
And Missy Matthews is also going to be on the air,
So Microsie won't be here today. Visual surprise, Yeah, visual surprise.
But yeah, so Missy will be up there of course,
obviously a visual surprise because she hasn't done the show yet.
(23:13):
She'll be now starting to do her her her segments
with me, and yeah, you will be delighted. I'm not
gonna give away anything else, but you will. You'll you'll
probably laugh and chuckle when you see me on air.
Speaker 2 (23:25):
So I can't wait to see it. Just a quick
Troy story. I was. I was at the Greek Food
Festival in the McCandless area. Yeah, and my sister was
in town. She's a big NFL fan, my younger sister,
she and her husband in town. I had a really
really bad back, couldn't could barely move, got to my seat,
you know, couldn't turn, couldn't move, sitting down, and my
(23:49):
sister's looking over my shoulder and she's like, uh, hey,
I think that's I think that's Troy Polamalo flipping French
fries over there. And I remember I didn't want to
turn around because my back was killing me. I said, soon,
not every Polynesian guy in Pittsburg. It's Troy Palmont. No,
I really think it is. So I turned around and
(24:10):
I'm like, oh my god, it is Troy. He flipped fries.
And my buddy Greg Morris, they made uh, they made
French fries for years. They had a little symmetry going.
They made outstanding French fries. Just uh, a down to
earth guy to say, to say the least, but if
you think about that, right, Yeah, he's there just doing
his thing and hot as blaze. It was so hot
(24:33):
he's in there flipping the French fries.
Speaker 4 (24:35):
We had.
Speaker 3 (24:36):
The Greek Festival used to be in downtown, right at
the point, right, okay, So I would go down there
every year I lived downtown, So I'd walk down from
my apartment walk all the way down to the point.
Speaker 4 (24:44):
It was a nice little walk, usually in the late spring.
Speaker 3 (24:48):
And I'm going there, I'm trying to get some domades, right, yeah, okay.
Speaker 4 (24:52):
And then who's behind me? Ready to order him? Frank
O Harris.
Speaker 3 (24:55):
Really, Franco's like these are really good?
Speaker 2 (24:58):
Oh my god.
Speaker 3 (24:59):
So then frank and I like sat down. I'm like, dude,
frank O Harris is you know, And that's the one
that you love when guys are just out and about
in the city and embracing everything the culture.
Speaker 2 (25:07):
He did, man lived over the Mexican War streets.
Speaker 3 (25:10):
Yeah, I mean, just just a legendary dude. And like
you said, Troy, you know, love Greek food. So yeah,
no surprise that Troy's making Greek fries in the back.
But I mean, cool, Yeah, that's that's that's.
Speaker 4 (25:23):
A fun moment. It's cool to see those moments.
Speaker 2 (25:24):
So offensive line versus defensive line. Yes, and you know
the show Ponies, I have to say, uh, you know,
everybody expects a sort of progression in year two Oh,
they're just gonna get better. You know, Zach Frazier, Mason McCormick,
you know, Broderick Jones is now, let's not forget he's
moving over to left tackle. Troy Faltanu didn't play last
(25:47):
year because he got hurt. I mean he was he
went through all these practices. He's at right tackle. That
to me, you know, when he's talking about a second receiver,
that is the position of most interest to me in
this camp is the off line. And now they're going
against today, not just Cam Heyward and Keanu Benton, but
two rookie draft choices, Derek Harmon and way A Black,
(26:09):
a Quale and Otomewell and other guys that they've signed
as free agents. It's a very we talk Logan Lee
is out there was something to prove Round two. I
mean this is this is a very very deep and
you know, Dean Lowry, Isaiah louder Milk, you know, look,
uh you know they're guys like de Marvin Leal. This
(26:31):
is you know, he's trying to make the team. You know,
there is a lot of talent and a lot to
prove on that defensive line, and I think on the
offensive line, something to prove as well. It's you know,
guys don't always progress from year to year. Now I
think with a makeup of those guys they will, but
it's still gonna be I'm fascinated to watch that part
(26:52):
of it.
Speaker 4 (26:53):
No, I'm excited as well.
Speaker 3 (26:54):
Like you said, I'm always keen and locked in on
the offensive line. You know, Willie Cologne and I will
walking around practice the other day and just kind of
like taking our mental notes and you know, comparing contrast
about our experience when we were here.
Speaker 4 (27:07):
What we wanted to see how guys move.
Speaker 3 (27:11):
And this is that next step, This is the next
step for them is Now it's unrealistic as the one
on one pass rush is, it's still very telling because
it's about competition. It's about can I get the best
of you more often than not? Right, because that's the
prospect of pass protection. You know, nobody's ever gonna pass
(27:31):
rush one guy individually on one individual play. Right, It's
a team concept where you got multiple guys doing multiple.
Speaker 4 (27:39):
Things twists, stunts, pass offs on drills. But it's like,
how do you move by yourself?
Speaker 3 (27:46):
How do you move disconnected from the group, And are
you a fighter or are you a flyer right fight
or fight versus flight?
Speaker 4 (27:54):
Are you going to meet that? Are you going to be.
Speaker 3 (27:57):
Pissed off if you get beat right off the bat?
Or you guy that's gonna kind of sul could just
wait till the next play. You know, you're looking for
that type of tenacity from the offensive line as well
as the defense line does DEFENSI lignment. He gets stoned
and he wants to get right back up there and
run the play again, right because like I want to
get better, And Coach t is right there like like, hey,
I'm about to curate this. Let's see what happens again.
(28:20):
Now again, Like you'll see guys say like three four
reps in a row, whereas normally you go one move
on to the next and kind of go through the
line to get.
Speaker 4 (28:27):
Two drills, two hits at it.
Speaker 3 (28:29):
But then there's always those beefeeder matchups that Wolf likes
to call him that Mike Tom was like, no, I
want to see this again. So Troy Fatanu, I think
he's gonna be one of those candidates that gets that
right because it's like, hey, you need to test this
knee and if you want to be a starter, this
what's gonna look like.
Speaker 4 (28:45):
And so you're gonna get T J. Watt multiple times.
Speaker 3 (28:48):
You're gonna get a Cam Hayward that bumps out every
once in a while. And then if you're Broderick Jones,
you get a lot of Alex Highsmith, a lot of
high dose of that of Alex Highsmith and Nick Herbig,
and I want to see how you move because the
game is sixty to seventy plays a game, so you're
not just going to see a guy once. So it's like,
let's see if we get a two minute drill and
(29:10):
you got to go against that guy back to back
and it's an incompletion. But yet you know, or a
guy get tackled in bounced for a three yard game,
you got to get right back on the line and
do it again. So how well do you respond to
good or bad information? How well do you diagnose so
that you can go to the next play and make
sure that it works out for you.
Speaker 2 (29:28):
So the other thing, though, is too is that I
understand it's not individual when you look at that group
on the offensive line, but there's got to be times
in which, over the course of a game, you're picking
your poison and you might say, hey, my right tackle
or left tackle. I don't feel real comfortable with him
going back to latrobe right and what I've seen in
(29:51):
preseason games and how that's carried over. So now maybe
you know that tight end's got to be in the
left side, of the tight end's got to be in
the right side, and that yeah, or the running backs
got to chip that guy, he's got to give him help.
Maybe it's somebody in the interior who's being overpowered and
now you have to double him. And now that running
back's got to stay in. He can't go out on
the pattern. That's a big effect like that, that trickle
(30:13):
down effect. And that's why you know I you know,
football to me is the ultimate team sport. And a
guy like TJ. Watt, even if he's not getting home,
you are not putting one guy on TJ. Watt. You're
doing so at your own peril. So how does that
affect the guys behind you in coverage when that running
back has to stay in or that tight end has
(30:35):
to stay in and double Conversely, how is that affecting
you in a negative way offensively? If you have a
guy who just needs help.
Speaker 3 (30:45):
Well, so it's two fol So I'll answer the first one.
Defensive perspective, you want that TJ. Water on your team absolutely,
because now that's one more guy you can dedicate into
the pass coverage. And if your team that runs zone,
it's now an extra area that's covered. You can shrink
the responsibilities of other players in that same area when
(31:06):
it is because you know, the running back has to chip,
the tight end has to stay in and block and
make sure the tackle secures the play.
Speaker 4 (31:13):
And now I have.
Speaker 3 (31:14):
An extra linebacker, nickel or someone in that cover zone
that can now run the curl flat. You know, he
could sit right off the line about five yards off
two yards outside of the tap defensive end or defensive
end slash offensive tackle zone and sit there.
Speaker 4 (31:29):
We call that the.
Speaker 3 (31:30):
Curl flat area because you're either going to run up
to that line and kick out flat running it out,
or you're gonna curl back around and give your numbers
to it like an underneath route get to the sticks.
So you have a guy that could cover that area
as opposed to say, hey, we got to pass this
off and if you're in the zone, it's your responsibility.
If you're out of the zone, then it's this guy's responsibility.
(31:50):
It makes life a lot easier. And then transversely on offense,
if I'm a tackle and I'm struggling against against a
certain pass rusher right, and now I need body presence,
I need a chip excuse me, or I need a
guy to stay in for those moments. That's one less
guy out in the route. That's one less option for
your quarterback to see. The checkdown is no longer there
(32:12):
because if the running backs blocking in the backfield, guess what,
there's no checkdown's right.
Speaker 4 (32:16):
So you take.
Speaker 3 (32:17):
Options away and you create options for other people.
Speaker 4 (32:22):
So that's why it's good.
Speaker 3 (32:23):
You want to know that your tackle can block one
on one, right and that you don't.
Speaker 4 (32:26):
Need the tight end.
Speaker 3 (32:27):
It's cool if he's lined up there, it's a body
presence thing and he's releasing. So it kind of forces
the defensive lineman to do only one thing.
Speaker 2 (32:35):
Maybe give him a little jab or a little chip on.
Speaker 3 (32:37):
Your you give him a shoulders to the way out,
just to just to take something off of it, a
little edge off of the rush.
Speaker 4 (32:43):
But when you have to stay and.
Speaker 3 (32:45):
Plant, that becomes a whole different world of problems.
Speaker 4 (32:49):
That you don't want to have.
Speaker 3 (32:50):
You want to give your quarterback every opportunity, every option,
the buffets open, right, We're not gonna tell you can
only go to the right side.
Speaker 2 (32:57):
Right.
Speaker 3 (32:57):
You know the general So's chicken is not ready yet,
so you know you got to go to the carving station.
You want to make sure everything's available so that he
can hit and do whatever he wants to feel comforted with.
A guy like Aaron Rodgers could benefit greatly from more
options available to him.
Speaker 2 (33:11):
And I do understand that who you're playing can have
an effect on that. If you're playing Aaron Donald, you're
probably thinking about, no matter who it is, giving him
some help, yea, at your own peril if you don't.
But you need to know which one of your offensive linemen.
And that's why I think this is interesting here. You know, conversely, defensively,
(33:34):
if you're a defender, hey man, you want to know
that on third down you can get out there, you
can disengage from these blocks. So it to me again,
there's a lot to learn on the offensive line and
defensive line. Still about the Steelers.
Speaker 3 (33:47):
And you and I don't I'm not also crippled as
a coordinator on what the strength of the formation is.
That's the other thing, Like, oh man, you know it's
third and eight, I have to line up in a
left formation right right because my left.
Speaker 4 (34:02):
Tackle can't handle it. That's right.
Speaker 3 (34:04):
I can only line up in the right for me,
So that also hampers the play calling right and formation.
Even if I'm lining up here, I can't motion the
guy right. He has to stay static, and I got
to figure out how to get through this.
Speaker 4 (34:16):
So there's a lot of things that goes into it.
Speaker 3 (34:18):
That one on one pass rush is very revealing for
what the strengths and the weaknesses are of your offensive line,
but also of your formations that you're gonna run. Because
there's certain plays that you might want to run in
a two minute situation, but it's like, but it's ran
out of the left's run out of you know, twins right. Well,
I can't run twins right because I gotta worry about
my left tackle. So now we got so now I
(34:39):
gotta go split left and get a motion over there
to get to twins right late. But I got to
start with the formation of the tight end being over
here to help my tackle out.
Speaker 2 (34:48):
Well, the the ramifications of that, the nuances, what they mean,
We start to find that out today. We start to
find it out in backs and backers. We start to
find it out in the stock who can be out
there and who can be trusted. We begin to find
it out on the offensive and defensive line. Who can
stand on their own, who can make a difference on
the defensive line. Very exciting stuff happening out here today
(35:11):
in the trope. We have more to come. Still in
the locker room with King and Starks presented by your
neighborhood Ford Store here on the Steelers Audio.
Speaker 1 (35:17):
Network, Iheartradios. Live coverage of twenty twenty five Steelers Training
Camp is presented by Fadex where Now meets Next and
also brought to you by First National Bank, by Kalucy Chevrolet,
iron Workers Union Number three, by Easy Home Exteriors, by
(35:40):
SNT Bank, Wemax Select Realty, by Tons Appliances, the Pittsburgh
Steelers Pro shot by Always Safe Flagging and Traffic Control,
and by US Steel.
Speaker 2 (35:54):
And welcome back to the locker room A King and
Starts presented by your neighborhood Ford Store here in the
Stevens Audio netw work and you know, talking about the
offensive lineman. We we talked about some of the key
guys that we're looking to see in every sort of
you know, first in the in the running backs, it's
it's uh, it's Caleb Johnson. But how about those other
guys towards the end of the roster maybe looking to
(36:16):
be that fourth running back, and then with the receivers,
kind of Roman Wilson. I think, is that that's that
guy that we kind of want to see in the
in the blocking drill. Okay, So we've talked sort of
generally about the offensive line defensive line, how important it is,
uh for these for these offensive linemen and defensive lineman
to show what they can do early on here. Is
(36:36):
there a particular matchup that you think we will see
or a particular player or two that you're eager to
see how they perform in this?
Speaker 4 (36:44):
I guess Derek Harmon, right, Harmon Anderson.
Speaker 2 (36:47):
Okay, that's what I want. I wondered if we're gonna
see that.
Speaker 4 (36:51):
Yeah, I think we will see that.
Speaker 3 (36:52):
Okay, I think we'll see him work against both Mason
McCormick and Spencer Anderson. Obviously, I'm watching Isaac Camalo kind
of go through some some drill work by himself to
see test himself out, to see what he can and
can't do. But Spencer Anderson Derek Harmon is gonna be
my first one.
Speaker 4 (37:09):
Obviously.
Speaker 3 (37:10):
Ya Black will also be in that mix to take on.
I'd love to see him versus like Zach Frazier. Uh huh,
that's gonna be a heck of a one. But I
think also seeing what aquality can do. He'll play that
guard to tackle position, so you know whether he'll get
Broderick Jones or whether he'll bump down in the interior
and maybe you see like a Calvin Anderson type go
(37:32):
up against him. There's a lot of good rotational options available,
so to speak.
Speaker 4 (37:39):
I think that's the best way of putting it.
Speaker 3 (37:42):
You know, another guy would be really interested to see
offensively is I want to see what this kid, Aiden
Williams can do.
Speaker 4 (37:49):
The rookie from Minnesota du Luth.
Speaker 3 (37:52):
He's a bigger body six almost sixty six, three hundred
and fifteen pounds. They have him listed as a guard,
but I saw him doing some tackle work today, uh or.
Speaker 4 (38:00):
Sorry, y two days ago. What does Max Sharping look like?
Speaker 3 (38:05):
I mean, he's actually another guy, veteran yep, been around
the block. You know what can he bring to the
table as well? Gareth Gareth Warren is a very interesting
one rookie from Lindenwood. He looks he looks very solid
and stable at the at the tackle position, like he's
not he's not a super quick guy, but he's a
(38:27):
very steady guy. It's like it's weird watching him because
none of his movements are are quick strike aggressive, right.
You think about guys getting out there, you know, you
take your sets and you want to stab somebody really quickly.
He sits there, he does the hand play and then boom,
he just he just grabs a guy.
Speaker 4 (38:43):
He just grips him, and then he and then and
then he just washes him.
Speaker 3 (38:46):
So it's gonna be really interesting to see some of
these guys that I haven't got a chance to really
watch up close and personal and see how they respond
when the pressure is real. Because I've seen some good things,
I've seen some interesting things. So I'm really interested to
see how that second wave kind of prevents because I
think there's there is room for at least two guys
(39:09):
on this.
Speaker 4 (39:09):
Offense to depth easily.
Speaker 3 (39:12):
So I want to see who's gonna flush themselves out
in that situation. Like I said, I gave you the
names Aiden Williams and Gareth Warren are the two rookies
that I want to see, but I also want to
see what Max Sharping can do as well.
Speaker 2 (39:22):
I felt like there was no room last year, no
room for anybody to make camp barring injuries, and of
course to see there's that injuries and we're running out
of time. So I just want to ask you this quickly.
So you have you just mentioned Minnesota, Duluth and linden Wood.
Is there any grace period? And this is where scouts
would come in and say, hey, I like what I'm
(39:44):
seeing with somebody as opposed to the performance hasn't maybe
caught up yet. That is a big jump to go
from Lyndenwood College in Saint Louis to NFL training camp.
Same thing with Minnesota Duluth. Is there a more acceptable
acclamation period or Mike tomlin has says you'd better jump
(40:05):
on the moving train Friday night lights.
Speaker 4 (40:07):
Okay, so you got today, this is the intro. We
get to create the base floor.
Speaker 2 (40:13):
So maybe.
Speaker 3 (40:15):
There's about a two practice grace poka and then if
you haven't picked it, if you haven't picked your level up,
or you haven't developed or learned anything from those three
practice you got to watch. You will be saying grace
somewhere in front of a TV before dinner, watching.
Speaker 4 (40:30):
The Steelers play football.
Speaker 3 (40:32):
So that's where I feel like my grace period is
like where do I see the jump from day one
to day two? But then day two to Friday night lights.
Now you're putting it on as a spectacle out there.
How do you respond to that competition because you already
know what it is, You've gone through it three straight days.
Do you answer the call when the lights turn on?
In that environment?
Speaker 2 (40:52):
Can lineman make a really big impression today? I mean
you can make an impression? Can you make a really
big and if you're one of these guys from a
small school, can you have maybe when the meetings happening
tonight and the coaches are can you have somebody saying, wow, man,
we got to keep an eye on this guy. Or
is it too early?
Speaker 4 (41:11):
No?
Speaker 3 (41:11):
No, there's always opportunity to make splash plays. Listen, do
you just you do it against the vent and not
an other rookie, You will get attention. You you Stone
Cam Hayward at the line. I don't care what repid is,
I don't care what how Cam's feeling.
Speaker 4 (41:24):
You stone him.
Speaker 3 (41:25):
As a rookie, you're gonna get attention. You block TJ.
Watt somewhat effectively and don't let him get to the
little square at the back.
Speaker 4 (41:34):
Of that line. Uh, that will raise eyebrows.
Speaker 3 (41:38):
You you get you catch Alex HeiG Smith or Keanu
Benton as well, you raise eyebrows. You can't do it
against Dominique Davis, right right, that doesn't count. That's like okay,
Isaiah Loudermelk, that doesn't really count. You get it against
a front line starter, a guy with stats in this league. Yes,
you can make a name for yourself really quickly.
Speaker 2 (41:56):
So exciting the first day of pads here at the Trope,
we're just getting your warmed up. The practice coming up
in a couple of hours. Plenty more coverage Bob Labrielle
and Tom Offerman coming your way next year on the
Steelers Audio Network Formax Starks. I'm Rob King. We thank
you for listening once again to the Locker Room with
King and Starks, presented by your neighborhood Ford Store
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