July 30, 2025 • 41 mins
King and Starks discuss what they expect from the team in today's practice period, the sixth one of camp.
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Speaker 1 (00:04):
Iheartradios live coverage.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
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Speaker 3 (00:44):
You're your Mike's Hot, Max, I want to know it
al from inside the locker room with King and Stark's
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Speaker 4 (00:52):
What happened? Max? Oh?
Speaker 3 (00:53):
No?
Speaker 5 (00:53):
I was talking about when we were in France and
you were saying like, yeah, you know, just just a
timped French and you'll be fine day.
Speaker 4 (00:58):
Right. So I was like, I saw was doing my best.
I was like I'm practicing. I was like yeah, And
so so I go up to check in at.
Speaker 5 (01:06):
The hotel and I'm like, Bonjeorge, She's like, hello, how
are you doing?
Speaker 4 (01:09):
To that? It was that bad accent? Was that bad?
I got.
Speaker 3 (01:13):
I had a similar experience in in Montreal. It was
starting to rain and I went into a store looking
for an umbrella, and and up there they greet you
with bon hello because it because it's bilingual.
Speaker 4 (01:26):
Right.
Speaker 3 (01:27):
So I walked in and said bon which is do
you have an umbrella? The guy goes, yeah, it's over
there in the corner.
Speaker 4 (01:37):
You even get because that hurts your soul. I tried.
I gave it, I really really gave it. The old
yeah yeah, so it goes. So, uh, man, we're fired up.
We are excited.
Speaker 3 (01:50):
So yesterday our number two as well, we were getting
fired up and the team was out here stretching and
then an unexpected I.
Speaker 4 (01:58):
Was in full uniform practice.
Speaker 3 (02:01):
You're in full uniform. So again we're gonna get just quickly.
Speaker 4 (02:05):
Again.
Speaker 3 (02:05):
We talked about some of this stuff yesterday, but got
to be fired up today to see the backs on backers, uh,
the the linemen going at each otherelah yeah, the one
on one pass rush, and the receivers blocking the defensive
back wide receiver dB stalk drill, stalk drill, yeah, which
(02:25):
is the toughest block in all the football.
Speaker 4 (02:28):
Right.
Speaker 5 (02:28):
So now for that position, you do have some about
forty passing passing attempts in a row.
Speaker 3 (02:35):
Yeah, yeah, that's okay, all right, well physically grinding, But
I mean I'm talking about you know, you have to
go So think about it. You're a wide receiver, right,
You're out trying to block somebody. First of all, it's
not like your first movement hits that guy, right, you
have to go after him, and now he is looking
past you at the ballcarrier, so you have to read him, mirror.
Speaker 4 (02:56):
Him, and get into him. Uh.
Speaker 3 (02:59):
And you don't have any idea what's going on behind
your back, much like you were talking about yesterday. You know,
you think you've got a guy beautifully blocked, and the
quarterback rolls out your way and.
Speaker 4 (03:07):
Now you're giving up a sack. Yes, right exactly. So uh.
Speaker 3 (03:11):
You know, we talked about this a little bit, uh
from because we were doing a lot of backs on
back or stuff. We talked about this a little bit
from the wide receivers perspective, and I think we all agreed.
We both agreed we're really interested to watch Roman Wilson
because he didn't go through this. You know, when you
think about the receivers. Look, I'm I'm interested to see
DK Metcalf. You know that is a large, large man.
Speaker 4 (03:35):
He was, he.
Speaker 3 (03:37):
Was standing in the he was standing in the receiver
group yesterday. Yeah, he honestly looked like I mean, he
just towered over everybody.
Speaker 4 (03:43):
Oh he looked like a tight end jointing. Yeah, he did.
He looked at a tight end.
Speaker 5 (03:46):
A very physically imposing figure. And you have like Calvin
Austin and Roman right like right next to him.
Speaker 4 (03:53):
Right.
Speaker 6 (03:54):
Uh.
Speaker 3 (03:54):
Yeah, it's a it's a different size dynamic, let's put
it that way. So, yes, I'm really interested to see
Dk Metcalf. Uh, where are they gonna put John Wrey Smith?
Speaker 4 (04:04):
Yeah, that's gonna be.
Speaker 3 (04:05):
That's why they put him in the stock blocking drill.
Speaker 5 (04:07):
Now he'll be, he'll be he'll be on backs on
backers because by position, that's how you line up when
you start these drill. They don't start playing around with
you know.
Speaker 4 (04:16):
Who might be.
Speaker 5 (04:17):
Because I never saw even though Kendrick Green was pretending
to be a fullback, I never saw him go do
backs on backs.
Speaker 4 (04:22):
I think that was one of the drills.
Speaker 5 (04:23):
Are like right, nah, we're not gonna We're not gonna
not gonna happen. It breaks the integrity or the spirit
of the drill. But John Smith's gonna get a lot
of eleven on eleven opportunities to show his stock blocking
skills when he's in the slot, right, So you know,
look the and and you're glad these these drills aren't
washed out completely.
Speaker 3 (04:43):
I know Mike Tom will make no excuses. He never
makes any excuses for his team.
Speaker 4 (04:47):
But I mean if you.
Speaker 3 (04:48):
Get down to uh, you know, practices in the gym
and then you know, uh game speed man. This is
a This is a separator, isn't it. Daylight today is
a separator. So you want to see that early Now
there's a separator, but it's also a learning opportunities both. Yeah,
but there there might be some guys who aren't ready
for this level of physicality and may never be ready
(05:10):
or embracing this level of physicality.
Speaker 4 (05:12):
And that's where it is.
Speaker 5 (05:12):
It's it's it's meant to create the line.
Speaker 4 (05:16):
Right.
Speaker 5 (05:16):
This is the first true tangible measurements you get in camp, right,
because you can't Yeah, you can see can a guy
catch or not catch?
Speaker 4 (05:24):
Like in shells? Right? Right?
Speaker 5 (05:25):
You know, can a running back cut or not cut?
Can he visually see what the hole is? But this
is where you actually get to see.
Speaker 6 (05:33):
Football movements, football skills, football play, and a very concentrated
environment and you get to actually see this is real life.
Speaker 5 (05:45):
This is blitz pick up right when backs on backers.
This is what happens when you call a play and
the line has to full sail turn protect, so to speak.
And now your backer has the in man on the
line of scrimmage, whoever that might.
Speaker 4 (05:58):
Be, and how to they pick that up?
Speaker 5 (06:01):
You know, you probably say backs can always pick up
safeties they're blitzing, But can you pick up a d
lineman that you know, outside back er, edge rusher when
he comes or if the blitz comes up the middle,
that middle backer's hit is getting on you a lot
faster Quarterbacks taking a shotgun, you gotta wait for the
shotgun to clear and then try and get in front
of that guy rushing on either side of the center
and the a gaps like that is what you get
(06:23):
to see. And then of course stock drills, right, we
throw screens to the outside, we run outside tosses. How
does that wide receiver you know react and how does
that defensive back break down knowing play action is coming
to him? And then of course, one on one pass rush,
you're going to have the block a D line.
Speaker 4 (06:40):
I guess, like that's just kind of rule number one.
Speaker 5 (06:43):
Can you block this guy in front of you and
give your quarterback enough time? And like I said, tackles
are responsible for the width of the pocket, how far
he can move left and right based off those guys
and the interior side center in both guards, you're responsible
for the.
Speaker 4 (06:58):
Depth of the pocket.
Speaker 5 (06:59):
So how much space as a quarterback have to move
up right into the pocket to complete a throw. And
a lot of traditional pocket passers, let's put Aaron Rodgers
in that category, right, he needs that space for the
for the depth because he likes to move up and end.
He's not a He's not a back and out type
of player. You know what we saw from Russell Wilson
justin fields more mobile dual threat style quarterbacks want to
(07:22):
back up and get out, so that mimics more Lamar Jackson.
But Joe Burrow he wants the interior of that pocket.
So how well can you collapse that pocket and not
give him space to step up and make a throw
to either one of his two Megatron receivers.
Speaker 3 (07:36):
So again, you know, I think fans kind of understand. Okay,
defensive lineman who can collapse the pocket. Offensive lineman who
can stop the pocket from collapsing. But when you think
about you know, running backs, can you hey, he's a
wonderful receiver on third down, Well, if he can't block,
you know, teams are gonna blitz at him right and
(07:56):
not let him release and susceptible, that's a problem you are.
And I think that there was you know, it was
gratifying to me to see Calvin Austin and I'm sure
gratifying for Calvin get more playing time because I think
prior to that he'd been used on jet sweeps. And
the notion was because he's not a big man, he's
(08:17):
not a big human being, you can't use him in
the run game. But think about this, Okay, So now
let's say you're lining up in the slot, you're Roman
Wilson or you're Calvin Austin. If you can't block and
you're out in the slot, what is that time on
the other team, Well, they're probably throwing the football here,
and so you have to limit how much you can
(08:40):
play that person unless you're going to be playing him
only in third and long. How are you going to
trust that person to be out there. You don't want
to tip off to the opposing defense what you're doing.
And so it's important for these guys to be willing
and able blockers. One of the things that we learned
about Calvin Austin last year is he is a willing
(09:01):
and able blocker. He is not a big guy, but
he's never been a big guy. He knows what it
takes us that way. I've been this way by whole life,
and I understand what it takes, you know, to use
a wolf ism. He's tougher than Woodpecker lips. Yeah, and
and so we know that, and we'll see him today
(09:21):
sticking his nose in there. Now, Roman Wilson has to
prove he's that guy, because you don't want to be
the guy who's playing time is limited because you are
a one trick pony. And so that's that's again why
these drills are so important to these players, because if
you cannot block, and especially in an Arthur Smith offense
(09:42):
where he wants to run the football. Although as he said,
you don't bring in Aaron Rodgers and and pay Dk
Metcalf to run the wishbone. I get that you're not
gonna run the wishbone out there. But if you cannot block,
you will not play. Your playing time will be either
severely curtailed, or you will not helmet, or you will
not make the team exactly.
Speaker 5 (10:03):
And that's what this is. This is the first opportunity
to see.
Speaker 4 (10:06):
Who can and who can't, and then the following day is.
Speaker 5 (10:10):
Who learn from their previous day's mistakes. Right, That's why
you want to get as many of these opportunities. And
it's you know, you know, I was gonna say a
very basal word, it sucks that you didn't get that
day yesterday. So you've got to kind of speed things
up today and get the most out of today because
you've lost that one padded practice that you won't get
(10:31):
back any other way, and you're still barreling towards Friday.
Speaker 4 (10:34):
Night lights this weekend.
Speaker 5 (10:35):
Right, And that's the scrimmage or quote unquote dress rehearsal
type of time where you actually go through the team drives,
you go through special teams, and you go through kind
of the mock game atmosphere where you try and curate,
you know, actual playing in a game. And you've got
one less time that you guys have hit and kind
of calloused yourselves a.
Speaker 4 (10:55):
Little bit more.
Speaker 5 (10:56):
So it's gonna be really indicative today. The pads are
going to be turned up because now this is like
a two per day, Like I've got to get even
more out of this, So you know, we don't want
this truncated experience where you can kind of ease into it.
Now you just got to dive in Tinto's in, right,
you got to do a cannonball into the deep end
versus getting in the pool kind of waiting your depth
(11:18):
into it. It's like, no, no, we need we need
to pick this up because now we only have one
more practice after this before Friday night lights. Whereas we
thought we were having three, we now have two. So
I am really excited. Today is gonna be I think
even hotter, and like I said, you have a lot
of pent up emotion there from the day before.
Speaker 4 (11:36):
That's gonna that's gonna unleash itself.
Speaker 3 (11:38):
I got the I got the weather forecast from my son.
He's so much better. I'm like, I'm the guy I
can bare the zip, close my my backpack. I did
bring my umbrella today. It's not supposed to rain yesterday,
not only did I not bring my umbrella.
Speaker 4 (11:52):
I looked at it.
Speaker 3 (11:52):
I'm like, god, it's not supposed to rain. I left
my windows down. Oh my god, Oh my god.
Speaker 4 (11:59):
Because it's in the nineties. Yes, you still don't put
your windows. It's Western Pa in the sum Yeah, yeah,
I got I was. It was an uncomfortable ride home.
Let's put it that way.
Speaker 3 (12:09):
You're also inviting in more moisture and humidity than that Amazon.
Speaker 5 (12:13):
Yeah that you don't want the other things, Yeah, talk
about it.
Speaker 4 (12:17):
I made a mistake. I made a mistake.
Speaker 3 (12:18):
But anyway, I got the I got the weather forecast,
which is ninety one and it feels like of ninety
eight today, right about the time these guys are out
there in the field doing this thing.
Speaker 5 (12:29):
Yeah, it's it's gonna be muggy, and expect fights. I'm
just saying, expect fight. You're not supposed to. We're not
supposed to advertise it. But listen, as a guy who's
gone through enough for these and Wolf can attest to this.
You get, you get, you get a little more touchy feely,
you know, in these type of conditions, and also you're
a little bit more sensitive. Uh that extra lean is
(12:52):
not is not warranted.
Speaker 3 (12:53):
Real quick question to Marvin leal alignment or backs and backers.
He'll be alignment, right, he'll be alignment. Okay, Yeah, that's
a personal question. Now as far as the fighting, you know,
so you're you're out there running around and I have
not seen that here. Does the team have to and
the coaching staff have to really police that the the
(13:15):
over eager guy or the or the guy. So you're
running around there, you know, and I'm talking about when
you're when you're in pads. Uh, but no, you're it's
not full patch, right, You're out there running around and
you're going through and there's sometimes there's a guy who's
just a little too aggressive and it's non contact okay,
and he's and he's going to hit you when he
(13:36):
shouldn't hit you.
Speaker 4 (13:36):
He hit justin fields last year. Yeah, I remember that.
Speaker 5 (13:40):
Jason mccormicka, McCormick, Zach Frasier were not fans of that motion.
Speaker 3 (13:44):
But is there a I mean I've rarely seen that,
Like they got into a scrum Sunday. Okay, Well I
wasn't here right down on the corner between the one
so David Parker Hall of Fame stuff, exact exactly.
Speaker 5 (13:58):
You missed the cobra, but you you did not see
the bag of snakes down here.
Speaker 4 (14:01):
No I did. I didn't.
Speaker 3 (14:03):
By the way, well deserved Hall of Fame finally, and
Dick Allen from Wampa, PA. Finally those guys got in
and they deserved it. But okay, so there are guys
that get a little too aggressed about there. Well that'll
spill over now to today.
Speaker 5 (14:15):
And and now, like you said, a day of suppression, okay,
it is not the best thing for this type of
and like you said, and it's going to be hot. Yeah,
you're gonna you're gonna see lineman fights. You know, you're
gonna you're gonna see probably some some dbs and wide
receivers mix it up, because I mean, I remember famously
rookie Camp, George Pickens and Joey Porter Junior going at
(14:36):
it during the stalk drill and getting into it and
wanting to throw blows at each other. So you know,
you try and get on as fast as possible, but
you can't prevent it completely. It's just an element you
can't get out.
Speaker 4 (14:47):
Now.
Speaker 5 (14:47):
I know there's coaches out there, Bruce Arians famously, I'll
never forget this I'm in Cardinals camp and Darnell Dockett and.
Speaker 4 (14:59):
I can't if it.
Speaker 3 (15:00):
Was Earl Earl.
Speaker 5 (15:03):
Earl Watts, I can't remember if they got into it,
it was it was him and somebody else.
Speaker 4 (15:09):
BA stopped practice.
Speaker 5 (15:11):
And he made them run around the field whole width
of the field holding hands. Could you imagine that, you know?
And and you know offensive lineman they had. They had
a similar thing if you if you messed up a
snap or you did something, they'll make them jog around
in the field. But they had to hold hands. The
two dudes that just fought each other have to hold
(15:33):
hands and run around the field Daisy chain style and
then come back because they're like, whatever you had, it
should be gone by the time you held another man.
Speaker 4 (15:41):
It was effective. They didn't. They didn't fight again.
Speaker 5 (15:43):
And BA was very adamant about not getting into fights.
Speaker 4 (15:47):
Yeah, did in practice.
Speaker 5 (15:48):
So I mean, there's different ways of doing it. Vic Fangio,
he doesn't. He doesn't use curse words. You know, there's
a lot of different ways you know that people police practice.
But Mike Tomin was like, listen, I'd rather say woe
than sick them.
Speaker 4 (16:00):
That's right. That's always been his mantra here. So you're
gonna do it. Obviously, don't hurt a guy in the process, right,
but you gotta you gotta gotta let a little bit of.
Speaker 3 (16:07):
That test every once in a while, all right. So
we we talked a little bit about the receivers. I
think the number one guy on our list that we
both wanted to see was Roman Wilson. Yes, is there
somebody on the defensive side of ball the ball you're
eager to see. Maybe it's a Sebastian Castro, Yeah, maybe
(16:29):
it's one of the new guys, just to get a
look at Brandon Echols or jan Thornhill or Chuck Darius
Slay or Chuck Clark.
Speaker 4 (16:36):
Yeah, I want to see Chuck definitely. You know, I
know what one is.
Speaker 5 (16:40):
I've seen one, and even I know to a lesser
degree about Chuck because Chuck's coming off of an injury
from twenty three and he did start twelve game twelve games, right,
but he also missfire. Yeah, Okay, So I'm eager to
see how he does because he's the latest addition to
that secondary since we started camp. He was a guy
that was added after camp started. So I want to
(17:01):
see how he moves and how he responds to the physicality.
I always want to see Jalen Ramsey because I mean,
he's just such a physically imposing and tenacious tackler on
the edge. He's a guy that can blitz from the slot.
He's a guy that can cover a corner, cover it safety.
He plays so many different positions, So to see how
he's deployed in that drill, it's gonna be something I'm
(17:24):
going to be really interested to see in that one.
And then of course, you know, I do want to
see Sebastian Castro. I do want to see how the
rookie responds because, like you said, you have a very
jammed up secondary with talent. How do you separate yourself
from that's right? How do you play with that? Corey
Trice another one that's looking to get a corner position
out here when you already have Darius Lay, Jalen Ramsey,
(17:45):
and Joey Porter Jr.
Speaker 4 (17:47):
Who comes out as that.
Speaker 5 (17:48):
Fourth cornerback in that group and he's the avatar, So
you want to see how he does. And he's competing, Yeah,
he's competing with Brandon Eckles, So it's like, hey, what
are you going to do to make a name for
yourself here. You know, can you stay healthy after being physical?
Because health has been an issue for Corey Trice. So
those are some of the defensive names that I'm looking for.
Speaker 3 (18:07):
There's also so Dante Kent, Yeah, rookie, he's gonna be.
Is he gonna be a corner slash return man. He's
a he's on the slighter side at five ten, so
what you know can he handle Well, there's only one
really really big right, but Robert.
Speaker 4 (18:24):
Woods is a very physical blocker, right, so we'll.
Speaker 5 (18:26):
See Keyshawn Williams want to see him. Of the rookie,
there's a response. He's been he's been having he's been
thrown at a little bit here in camp and made
some plays. So how does he do in the off
ball situations where he's not getting the ball?
Speaker 3 (18:38):
Yeah, it's gonna be a It's it's such a separator
on this day again, you're not down and out, No,
but you are, but you are putting a good foot
forward or taking a bad step backward.
Speaker 5 (18:51):
After today, the vice script works two different ways. It
can hold together or it can squeeze, right, that's what
you want to see. How does the vice gript come
down on you. And that's why I said there's a line, right.
You know when when they're looking at this roster, you
know they're cutting it. Who's above the line and who's
below the line? Right from day to day? And do
you move up or do you stock up stock down
(19:13):
in these type of situations. And this is where the
camp phenoms come into play. After day one, you have
a good idea about who's caught the coach's attention, good, bad,
or indifferent and who now gets that premium matchup the
next day when we come out here and we do
the same thing. So it's gonna be very interesting. This
is this is the pole position checking day. This is
the qualifier to get you in pole position for day two.
Speaker 3 (19:35):
And I think that we've we talked about this a little, Yester.
We're gonna talk about the D line and the old line.
We're also going to talk about the backs and backers,
of which of course seems to take center stage of this.
But it's going to be that matchup Dezure that line
has moved up. This is a This is Omar Khan
and his staff have built, in my opinion, a deeper
Steelers team.
Speaker 4 (19:56):
It's gotten a little deeper every year.
Speaker 3 (19:58):
This is the deepest team in b wait some time
for from my perspective, they're gonna be good football players.
Barring injury, They're gonna be good football players.
Speaker 5 (20:07):
You don't make this team, yeah, there's gonna be some
really good This is by far the deepest team since
I've been back on the broadcast team, because a year
ago it was great front line guys, but you were
very thin on depth.
Speaker 4 (20:19):
You prayed for health. This one.
Speaker 5 (20:23):
You've got mix and match whatever you want to do,
and you've got a lot of different ways of deploying.
And like you said, some good football players are gonna
be released from this team and go play elsewhere on Sundays,
because you're not only auditioning for the team you're on,
you're auditioning for thirty one other teams that are looking
at you, and they're watching those preseason games. And we'll
get our first preseason game coming tomorrow on Thursday, the
(20:45):
Hall of Fame game.
Speaker 3 (20:46):
And as we mentioned, besaw Jacoby Winman, who was on
the practice squad last year picked up by Carolina.
Speaker 4 (20:51):
We're gonna see him later on in the preseason to.
Speaker 3 (20:53):
Become an integral part of their defense, So we're gonna
talk about the backs and backers. We're gonna talk about
the offensive defense, the line, which I think is going
to be one of the most really interesting matchups with
the way the Steers have attacked the defensive line in
the off season.
Speaker 4 (21:07):
We'll talk about that next.
Speaker 3 (21:08):
In the Locker Room with King and Starks, presented by
your neighborhood Fords Store here and the Steelers Audio.
Speaker 2 (21:12):
Network, Iheartradios Live Coverage IBOUT twenty twenty five.
Speaker 1 (21:20):
Steelers Training Camp is presented.
Speaker 2 (21:22):
By FedEx where Now meets Next and also brought to
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Speaker 3 (21:50):
And Welcome back inside the Locker Room with King and Starks,
presented by your neighborhood Ford Store and the Steelers Audio
Network coming to you from Saint Vincent College. In the trope,
beautiful day skies, big white puppy clouds and mountains receding
into the distance.
Speaker 4 (22:04):
The Green grass in front of us, still being worked on.
Speaker 3 (22:06):
They're still reading it up, redding it up as we
like say, Pittsburgh reading it up, greening it up too.
Speaker 4 (22:15):
A little bit of brown out there. Uh, so.
Speaker 3 (22:20):
We are we were, you know, keenly anticipating these matchups.
And yesterday I think, you know, we were talking about
the defensive line matchups, right, the defensive line and the
offensive line, and I want to get back to that
in the moment, but we we also talked about the
backs and backers, but mostly we talked about it from
the back, uh sort of perspective. And there's reason for that, right.
(22:43):
Caleb Johnson's looks like he's gonna be the new lead guy.
Jalen Warren is musty TV. And then you're looking at
you know, you're looking at you know, what what is
Kenneth Gainwell going to do in that sort of setting.
You know, he's a guy that was that was brought
in one of the early signings, and you're expecting him
to be a contributor on third down, but certainly a
contributor for the offense. And then you have you know,
(23:06):
you have Max Hurdleman, who turned a few heads in
camp and got some people talking about him. Wo's the
guy that really just played special teams at Notre Dame
and during OTAs he was lining up on offense and
on defense. He was a defensive back for Notre Dame,
but he really just played special teams. And so we've
seen him a little bit of running back. What's he
gonna do in these drills? And then you know, the
(23:28):
competition for at this year, there's elect to to keep
a fourth running back. You know, is it gonna be
Evan Hall, Is it gonna be Trey Sermon? There are
there are some legitimate competitions, and again we talk about
strength towards the end of the roster. Both those guys
hauling Sermon have been you know, we're draft picks. Both
(23:49):
have had some time in the NFL. So again, what
can you be trusted to do? And you know, so
I think there's reason for us to be concentrating on that.
But how about from the defensive perspective, is there anybody
that you're really looking to see in this backs on backers?
Speaker 5 (24:06):
Yeah, I'm really excited to see Cole Holcombe, you know,
because he's been injured the last couple of years. Was
really a great integral piece two years ago, takes a
bad injury, doesn't play at all last year.
Speaker 4 (24:19):
Seems to be at full health now.
Speaker 5 (24:21):
So I want to see how Cole Holcomb does in
this because this is one of the drills where you know,
you can really make a name for yourself. You can
become a buzzsaw defensively. Now your blitz capability goes up
to here, you know, and I'm doing here as in
you know, it's like from nine to ten.
Speaker 4 (24:36):
Once again on Radio Max gesturing with his hand up.
Speaker 5 (24:39):
I had self corrected myself and explained it this time.
Normally I forget that we don't have a GoPro in here.
Speaker 2 (24:50):
But we need to.
Speaker 5 (24:51):
It takes it to another it takes it to another
level of intensity, and that's what you're looking for defensive
I'm looking for the buzzsaw guy who could cut.
Speaker 4 (24:59):
Through the line and can cut through and saw off you.
Speaker 5 (25:02):
Know whoever that is in the second level or second
wave of defense in the blocking position, which is usually
one of your h backs, tight ends or your running
backs in those moments. So I'm looking at him. I'm
looking at Malik Harrison, who's been very tenacious here.
Speaker 4 (25:17):
Early in camp.
Speaker 5 (25:18):
They've run some passenger pressure, blitz packages with him, and
he's just wiry and he is athletic and he knows
how to get around blocks. Is gonna be interesting to
see how he does in this drill. I mean, we
know who the gnome guys are. I mean really TJ. Watt,
Alex Heismith, right, Nick her Big. Nick Herby's built for
this drill. He's done, He's done excellent in that drill.
(25:40):
But you want to see how the other supporting cast
Jack Sawyer another one rookie, you know, does he get
paired up against Caleb Johnson? Does it become rookie on
rookie violence in those moments taking an edge blocker? But
interesting enough, I still want to see what Patrick Queen
can do in that position. Peyton Wilson, this is another one.
Peyton's gonna be asked to blitz. He's a very quick defender.
(26:01):
Can he get back there and can he evade and
possibly mash it up and get to the quarterback. So
there's a lot on the defensive side to be really
excited for, because when you're thinking about what this d
line's gonna be, they're gonna be a handful potentially for
a lot of linemen. So who's the guy who can
weave through that and make an impact and take on
(26:24):
that quote unquote secondary blocker in the backfield? And can
you escape or can you disengage from that guy fast
enough to get to the quarterback mark.
Speaker 4 (26:34):
So it's a lot that can be gleaned from both
sides of the ball.
Speaker 5 (26:38):
You know, it's gonna be a whipneck type of situation
where you're looking back and forth like who's el's all
going on?
Speaker 4 (26:43):
Because there's a three ring circus yep, of.
Speaker 5 (26:45):
All three of these drills happening concurrently, and so you
want to make sure you don't miss a moment. But
I will say the feature dajure is going to be
over there in that backson backers drill, which, once again
to reorientate everybody.
Speaker 4 (26:59):
We're in the press box.
Speaker 5 (27:01):
We are facing field one between the forty and fifty
yard line as our advantage point.
Speaker 3 (27:07):
So to our far right corner forty five degree angle away.
Speaker 5 (27:10):
Yeah, where that white tent is on the field. In
the middle of the field between fields one and two.
There are lines drawn over there and it is to
mock the position five positions of the offensive line and
the track angles that players need to take if you're
a defender, but also the zone that the offense has
to protect.
Speaker 4 (27:28):
And so you will see that being all the way curated.
Just look for Mike Tomlin.
Speaker 5 (27:34):
He will be right there in the backside, almost close
to the gravel road of demarcation, so to speak, between
the turf field and field one he will be conducting.
He will be the conductor of that drill. And then
of course in the far left corner opposite side, same
side of the field, so to speak, but the far
(27:55):
left corner that's where one on one pass rush will
be with the offensive line and defensive line. And then
along the nearest sideline to the fans and the press
box and bleachers will be the wide receiver, defensive back
stock drill. And that will complete your three ring circus.
It is a three ring circus, man, It's so exciting.
So one other guy I want to toss out there
(28:17):
as a rookie is Carson Brunner. I'm interested to see
what he you know, young brew dog, ye late late
draft choice. And again you know he's not the biggest
guy six seven, and I think too Max. When we
talk about competition, right, we're talking about the competition, and
we've named a bunch of guys that we think are
(28:38):
in competition, uh to get out there, Uh be part
of the eleven on offense, be part of the eleven
on defense. But there's also going to be you know,
three or four spots reserved for special.
Speaker 4 (28:51):
Teams, for special teams.
Speaker 3 (28:53):
And so you know, I think if you were and
and I think Mark Robinson, Uh, you know, Juan Pierre,
I have one Pierre Baseball James Pierre. These guys are
JP JP. These are guys that the other JP. We
got another JP, the other guy, the other guys that
are that are out there that are you know, Miles
(29:13):
killerbrew right, these guys need to show something else too, right,
and want to show something else because there might be
a guy at the end of the roster where you say, okay, well, uh,
this guy can help us on defense, and we think
he can be a terrific special teams player as opposed
to are you just a special teams player? So you know,
(29:36):
whether again, whether that's and I don't know who it is,
whether it's Sebastian Castro or Carson Brunner or Brandon Eccles
or whoever it is that's out there battling for spots.
This is another opportunity for you to show, hey, don't
forget me when it's eleven on eleven and not just
you know, the special teams aspect of the game.
Speaker 5 (29:56):
Yeah, but I will say this, Miles Killerbrew he's a
pretty special Yeah. He's not going to put the specialist
special team right, He's not going as a multi pro
bowler captain type all. Yeah, you're not worried about that
guy having an issue. Ben Scaronic another one I think of.
That's a special teams they say, just has to prove hey,
you can count on me to catch the football. We're
(30:18):
down to the third fourth receiver and you need an
additional body in there. Those are those couple of moments
where you're like, that guy's got a spot, but everybody
else you have to fill out your core for.
Speaker 4 (30:29):
So show me what else you can do.
Speaker 5 (30:30):
Ben, show me that you're not a one trick pony
and that you're not a master of one and you
can't really do much else. This is that moment where
we get to see you do eleven on eleven offense
defensive football skills in all of these curated drills to
start padded practices, So it's gonna be really interesting. I
think I think you brought up a good one. Carson Brunner,
(30:51):
the son of Mark Bruner. You've heard that last name before,
who sits in our scouting department. Yeah, exactly, big time
tight end here in the early two thousands. So it'll
be interesting to see that second.
Speaker 4 (31:04):
Leney. It's just like we saw Joey Porter Jr. When
he came in.
Speaker 5 (31:06):
We know who the dad is, but what can the
Sun do to separate and make his own mark here
in this organization?
Speaker 4 (31:13):
Yeah, and I do think that.
Speaker 3 (31:15):
You know, we talked a little bit about yesterday yesterday
about you know, what does a coach want towards the
end of his roster? Does he want somebody who's got
wide versatility and can help you out in a number
of different ways? You think of Connor Hayward, Do you
think of Scotty Miller? Guys who can play and have
(31:35):
versatility or just really good football players. Would you prefer
somebody who excels at one part of the game and
is serviceable at others? Right, there's always gradients, there's always
you know, variables and varieties within each player's skill set
that you know they come cut down day. You know,
I'm sure that when the coaches are up there and
(31:57):
and the scouts and whoever decides, uh, you know, the
front office people decides that the personnel. I think there's
probably some years where you're like, okay, well, uh let's
make a case because we got to add some guys on.
I think I think this year it's going to be
a case of make your case because some some good
(32:17):
football players are gonna be cut and so, uh, you know,
it's a little bit different feel perhaps, but there's gonna
be some you know, the proverbial banging the fist on
the table. Hey I need to keep this guy because
and then who do you think you can slide through
onto the practice squad that maybe others can hide?
Speaker 4 (32:34):
Right? Who can you hide? So it's gonna be fascinating.
Speaker 3 (32:37):
And again, you know, all of these processes, Okay, they
they and they've gone through all They've drafted guys, They've
scouted guys and brought in college free agents. They have
guys that they have tape on from past years. We
know certain guys who are going to make the team.
It's not like this is happening in a vacuum, but
you gotta do it out here.
Speaker 4 (32:56):
Yeah, you have to. Here is where you do.
Speaker 5 (33:00):
You don't save it for acker, sure, right, and you
don't save it for the opposing stadium. It has to
be done in the forge. It has to be done
in the pit, so to speak. And you have to
show us that we can trust you on game day. Right,
That's what this is about, instilling trust and creating opportunities
for yourself. Because it's not going to just turn on
and turn off like a light switch.
Speaker 4 (33:21):
Right, No, We've got this is a slow burn.
Speaker 5 (33:23):
It's a it's a it's a build up to then
seeing it come through when the lights get bright in
the opposing stadiums in your own stadium, and it has
to start here. You have to show me that the
light can turn on like red roof in right, We'll
leave the light on. Can you leave the light on
out here? And then it carries over into the actual
other team competition.
Speaker 3 (33:44):
You know, I can't wait, but I have to say
I might be most interested of the three groups. I
might be most interested in the offensive lineman versus the
defensive lineman.
Speaker 4 (33:55):
Which we will you don't say which we will.
Speaker 3 (33:58):
Talk about next because I'm fascinated by some of these matchups.
You're inside the Locker Room with King and Starks, presented
by you neighborhood Ford Store on the Steelers Audio Network.
Speaker 1 (34:10):
Iheartradios.
Speaker 2 (34:11):
Live coverage of about twenty twenty five Steelers Training Camp
is presented by Fatex where Now meets Next and also
brought to you by CGR Wholesale Roofing and Siding Supply Center,
by Tons Appliances, by Always Safe Flagging and Traffic Control
by Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank, by Schneider Downs, by
(34:33):
Hassa's Steak and Seahouse, by your neighborhood Ford Store, by
Castle Rock, by Clearview Federal Credit Youth and by US steel.
Speaker 3 (34:45):
Welcome back to the Locker Room with King and Starks,
presented by your neighborhood Ford Store here in the Steelers
Audio Network. So you know this is the day, and
this is the backs on Backer's Day, right, yes, And
it is the backs on Backers Day.
Speaker 4 (34:57):
Give me violence, it's you're gonna get. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (35:00):
It is also the it is also the stock blocking drill,
right yeah, a little less you know, maybe on the radar,
but it's also the offensive line and defensive line going
at it. So backs and backers are the headline show. Right,
It's like when they used to have you go to
the movies back in the thirties, they have like a
short and then a cartoon and then the main event. Right, yeah,
(35:21):
well these other ones are are super intriguing, Like I
you know, I'm going to be trying to watch, you know,
to go back to the offensive guys, Caleb Johnson and
the backs on Backer and Hope. It's not at the
same time as Roman Wilson and Hope. It's not at
the same time as Derek Harmon with the offensive line.
So we talked about are the going against the offensive lineman.
(35:42):
We talked about that yesterday, about this influx of defensive alignment,
and again Matt Williamson brought this statistic from what the
Steelers defense did last year. When Cam Hayward was on
the field, the Steelers were number two in the NFL
(36:02):
in yards per carry allowed, number two. When he was
not on the field, they were thirty first.
Speaker 4 (36:09):
That is a problem.
Speaker 3 (36:11):
Uh, the Steelers were well aware of that problem, right.
You know, we see people come up with stats and stuff.
They know, right, they're not We're not telling them anything.
Speaker 4 (36:20):
It's not like they need analytics also to tell them
that they watched how bad it was. So what do
they do?
Speaker 3 (36:25):
They go out and sign a quality who'd been a
backup but started every game last year for New England,
became a became a starter for him. Draft two defensive linemen.
You still have Keanu Benton back, You still have Cam
Hayward back, You still have you do you want to
see Logan Lee. I want to see Logan Lee. Dean
Lowry's back down we added mid season last year. You know,
(36:46):
Logan Lee was the kind of guy that sort of
as as camp went on last year, you started to
hear a little bit of an ota is a little
bit of buzz about.
Speaker 4 (36:55):
This guy was a late pick.
Speaker 3 (36:56):
Yeah, and then he got hurt right then he got injured,
So you want to see him out there. But as
much as I want to see this D line, I
think if you're a Steelers fan going into this practice,
going into this camp, if you were to identify what
is there a position on the defense, on the offense
that worries you a little bit, I think most fans
would say the offensive line, And why, well, you have
(37:18):
guys you know you're expecting you look Zach Fraser was
tremendous last year.
Speaker 4 (37:23):
You know, can he make another step forward?
Speaker 3 (37:24):
How about Mason McCormick being a Day one starter now,
Troy Faltano, who'd won the right tackle job last year
in camp but got hurt.
Speaker 4 (37:34):
So he we didn't see him play.
Speaker 3 (37:36):
He's essentially a rookie at right tackle, and Broderick Jones
is moving from right tackle to left tackle. They still
have Spencer Anderson, you have Ryan McCollum. You have some
good depth there. Obviously, they signed Calvin Anderson so they
like him at tackle. So there's some there's some depth
there on that offensive line, right. But I think because
of you know, it's not a set in stone type
(37:58):
of oh well, listen, we know what we can expect
out of, uh, you know, Dan Moore because he's been
here for a while, or you know, James Daniels of
course he got hurt. To me there, it's a position.
I think for most fans, it might be the position
of Injurgue. I I talked to fans and they're like,
you know, hey, what do you think about Aaron Roy.
You know, fans be like, well, as long as they
(38:19):
can keep them up.
Speaker 4 (38:20):
Right, you know, Uh.
Speaker 3 (38:21):
So, that's the sense I get is that fans biggest
concern is the offensive line.
Speaker 4 (38:27):
Do you get that sense?
Speaker 5 (38:29):
I don't necessarily get that, I think because I look
at it from a different perspective.
Speaker 4 (38:33):
I'm just telling you what people have told that exactly.
Speaker 5 (38:35):
And I think for me, you know, people when I've
been around that, they're just they're excited to see can
Roger Jones step over the left tackle?
Speaker 4 (38:43):
Right?
Speaker 5 (38:44):
Can Troy Fatano so rebound back for an injury? And
can someone come in and supplant, you know in Isaac
c Amalu, Right, And that's where you look at Spencer
Anderson like this is the jump year, right, if you're
going to make it. Because Isaac Ceamalu still on the
NFL list, which is a non football injury list. The
(39:04):
one thing I am happy about today is that if
we would have had one on one pass Russian PATI
practice yesterday, Roderick Jones wouldn't participated because he tweaked.
Speaker 4 (39:14):
His leg, and today you will get him. Great.
Speaker 5 (39:18):
So if I'm looking at this, there is a positivity
where I could say he is an additional guy that
we get to see that we might not have gotten
to see yesterday, and now I'm interested to see him
against the Jack Sawyer. I'm axed to see him how
he's going to adjust to Alex high Smith and Nick
herbig over there on the edge. And then I look
(39:38):
at the interior, I mean y A Black and Derek Harmon.
How do you respond to that interior? Do you get
Mason McCormick, Do you get Zach Frasier, Spencer Anderson? How
are those big boys in the middle going to fare
in day one? You know in that day because I
know how Camry was going to do, I know how
Keanu Bennon is going to do. They're gonna get theirs. Then,
like you said, Daniel Aquale, how does he fit into
(39:59):
this mix? Because Carl Dunbar likes to carry a defensive linemen.
So how do you cut your teeth in that group?
And Logan Lee do you build your way up to
seeing some of the front line starters and those guys?
And then you know Max Sharping, a guy who was
on the who was who was a dressed day guy
that never really played yep on this squad.
Speaker 3 (40:16):
Latter and guys got some stars under his belt in
the NFL.
Speaker 5 (40:18):
I want I want to see the young guy on offense,
the guy that's actually bearing my my number, so to speak,
h number seventy eight, and I believe it was Gareth Williams,
the kid, yeh, rookie from was it linden Wood?
Speaker 4 (40:30):
I think linden Wood's college, right, yeah? College.
Speaker 5 (40:33):
So I want to see how he does because I
saw some things from him at left tackle, very patient,
good hands, good body posture.
Speaker 4 (40:41):
But how does it do when it when it ticks
up a notch on speed?
Speaker 3 (40:43):
And he's a young guy, he's only twenty one years old. Yeah,
so you might be betting on some some upside there
as well.
Speaker 4 (40:49):
Maybe you can hide him on practice squad. But I
just think that I think that part's going to be fascinating.
Speaker 3 (40:53):
Yeah, I'm not. I'm not, and I what I'm saying.
I think there's some trepidation among the fans. I'm excited
about it. I think there's gonna be great depth in
the defensive line. So I think that's gonna be an
area and the head's gonna be on a swivel up.
Speaker 5 (41:04):
Here, Max it is, and my my pedometer, I'm gonna
be getting my step count in walking between the drills
because they're literally one hundred yards apart from each other.
Speaker 4 (41:14):
So I'm gonna start it backs on backers, But.
Speaker 5 (41:16):
Of course I've got to get over to to the
to the big boys, because that's where that's where chaos ensues.
Speaker 4 (41:23):
It's in a it's in a short, tight quarter combat. Right.
Speaker 5 (41:27):
You know you talk about wanting to be in a ball,
that's the one that's gonna be. This was gonna be
the elongated explosion. These are like missiles going off.
Speaker 3 (41:34):
He's pointing back, pointing towards the backs on backer. For
those listening on radio, Max is pointing.
Speaker 4 (41:39):
You can watch on Radio two.
Speaker 3 (41:43):
You're in the locker room with Kiing Stark stuff. Thanks
for being with us. We can't wait a big day
here at the Trope.
Speaker 4 (41:48):
Uh.
Speaker 3 (41:48):
The locker room is presented by your neighborhood Ford store.
You're listening here on this Steelers Audio Network.
Iheartradios live coverage.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
I'm Got twenty twenty five Steelers Training Camp is presented
by FedEx where Now meets Next and also brought to
you by CGR Wholesale, Roofing and Siding Supply Center.
Speaker 1 (00:18):
By Tom's Appliances, by.
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Food Bank, by Schneider Downs, by Hassa's Steak and Seahouse,
by your Neighborhood Forward Store, by Castle Rock, by Clearview
Federal Credit Union, and by US steel.
Speaker 3 (00:44):
You're your Mike's Hot, Max, I want to know it
al from inside the locker room with King and Stark's
presented by our neighborhood Fort Join the Students Audio Network.
Speaker 4 (00:52):
What happened? Max? Oh?
Speaker 3 (00:53):
No?
Speaker 5 (00:53):
I was talking about when we were in France and
you were saying like, yeah, you know, just just a
timped French and you'll be fine day.
Speaker 4 (00:58):
Right. So I was like, I saw was doing my best.
I was like I'm practicing. I was like yeah, And
so so I go up to check in at.
Speaker 5 (01:06):
The hotel and I'm like, Bonjeorge, She's like, hello, how
are you doing?
Speaker 4 (01:09):
To that? It was that bad accent? Was that bad?
I got.
Speaker 3 (01:13):
I had a similar experience in in Montreal. It was
starting to rain and I went into a store looking
for an umbrella, and and up there they greet you
with bon hello because it because it's bilingual.
Speaker 4 (01:26):
Right.
Speaker 3 (01:27):
So I walked in and said bon which is do
you have an umbrella? The guy goes, yeah, it's over
there in the corner.
Speaker 4 (01:37):
You even get because that hurts your soul. I tried.
I gave it, I really really gave it. The old
yeah yeah, so it goes. So, uh, man, we're fired up.
We are excited.
Speaker 3 (01:50):
So yesterday our number two as well, we were getting
fired up and the team was out here stretching and
then an unexpected I.
Speaker 4 (01:58):
Was in full uniform practice.
Speaker 3 (02:01):
You're in full uniform. So again we're gonna get just quickly.
Speaker 4 (02:05):
Again.
Speaker 3 (02:05):
We talked about some of this stuff yesterday, but got
to be fired up today to see the backs on backers, uh,
the the linemen going at each otherelah yeah, the one
on one pass rush, and the receivers blocking the defensive
back wide receiver dB stalk drill, stalk drill, yeah, which
(02:25):
is the toughest block in all the football.
Speaker 4 (02:28):
Right.
Speaker 5 (02:28):
So now for that position, you do have some about
forty passing passing attempts in a row.
Speaker 3 (02:35):
Yeah, yeah, that's okay, all right, well physically grinding, But
I mean I'm talking about you know, you have to
go So think about it. You're a wide receiver, right,
You're out trying to block somebody. First of all, it's
not like your first movement hits that guy, right, you
have to go after him, and now he is looking
past you at the ballcarrier, so you have to read him, mirror.
Speaker 4 (02:56):
Him, and get into him. Uh.
Speaker 3 (02:59):
And you don't have any idea what's going on behind
your back, much like you were talking about yesterday. You know,
you think you've got a guy beautifully blocked, and the
quarterback rolls out your way and.
Speaker 4 (03:07):
Now you're giving up a sack. Yes, right exactly. So uh.
Speaker 3 (03:11):
You know, we talked about this a little bit, uh
from because we were doing a lot of backs on
back or stuff. We talked about this a little bit
from the wide receivers perspective, and I think we all agreed.
We both agreed we're really interested to watch Roman Wilson
because he didn't go through this. You know, when you
think about the receivers. Look, I'm I'm interested to see
DK Metcalf. You know that is a large, large man.
Speaker 4 (03:35):
He was, he.
Speaker 3 (03:37):
Was standing in the he was standing in the receiver
group yesterday. Yeah, he honestly looked like I mean, he
just towered over everybody.
Speaker 4 (03:43):
Oh he looked like a tight end jointing. Yeah, he did.
He looked at a tight end.
Speaker 5 (03:46):
A very physically imposing figure. And you have like Calvin
Austin and Roman right like right next to him.
Speaker 4 (03:53):
Right.
Speaker 6 (03:54):
Uh.
Speaker 3 (03:54):
Yeah, it's a it's a different size dynamic, let's put
it that way. So, yes, I'm really interested to see
Dk Metcalf. Uh, where are they gonna put John Wrey Smith?
Speaker 4 (04:04):
Yeah, that's gonna be.
Speaker 3 (04:05):
That's why they put him in the stock blocking drill.
Speaker 5 (04:07):
Now he'll be, he'll be he'll be on backs on
backers because by position, that's how you line up when
you start these drill. They don't start playing around with
you know.
Speaker 4 (04:16):
Who might be.
Speaker 5 (04:17):
Because I never saw even though Kendrick Green was pretending
to be a fullback, I never saw him go do
backs on backs.
Speaker 4 (04:22):
I think that was one of the drills.
Speaker 5 (04:23):
Are like right, nah, we're not gonna We're not gonna
not gonna happen. It breaks the integrity or the spirit
of the drill. But John Smith's gonna get a lot
of eleven on eleven opportunities to show his stock blocking
skills when he's in the slot, right, So you know,
look the and and you're glad these these drills aren't
washed out completely.
Speaker 3 (04:43):
I know Mike Tom will make no excuses. He never
makes any excuses for his team.
Speaker 4 (04:47):
But I mean if you.
Speaker 3 (04:48):
Get down to uh, you know, practices in the gym
and then you know, uh game speed man. This is
a This is a separator, isn't it. Daylight today is
a separator. So you want to see that early Now
there's a separator, but it's also a learning opportunities both. Yeah,
but there there might be some guys who aren't ready
for this level of physicality and may never be ready
(05:10):
or embracing this level of physicality.
Speaker 4 (05:12):
And that's where it is.
Speaker 5 (05:12):
It's it's it's meant to create the line.
Speaker 4 (05:16):
Right.
Speaker 5 (05:16):
This is the first true tangible measurements you get in camp, right,
because you can't Yeah, you can see can a guy
catch or not catch?
Speaker 4 (05:24):
Like in shells? Right? Right?
Speaker 5 (05:25):
You know, can a running back cut or not cut?
Can he visually see what the hole is? But this
is where you actually get to see.
Speaker 6 (05:33):
Football movements, football skills, football play, and a very concentrated
environment and you get to actually see this is real life.
Speaker 5 (05:45):
This is blitz pick up right when backs on backers.
This is what happens when you call a play and
the line has to full sail turn protect, so to speak.
And now your backer has the in man on the
line of scrimmage, whoever that might.
Speaker 4 (05:58):
Be, and how to they pick that up?
Speaker 5 (06:01):
You know, you probably say backs can always pick up
safeties they're blitzing, But can you pick up a d
lineman that you know, outside back er, edge rusher when
he comes or if the blitz comes up the middle,
that middle backer's hit is getting on you a lot
faster Quarterbacks taking a shotgun, you gotta wait for the
shotgun to clear and then try and get in front
of that guy rushing on either side of the center
and the a gaps like that is what you get
(06:23):
to see. And then of course stock drills, right, we
throw screens to the outside, we run outside tosses. How
does that wide receiver you know react and how does
that defensive back break down knowing play action is coming
to him? And then of course, one on one pass rush,
you're going to have the block a D line.
Speaker 4 (06:40):
I guess, like that's just kind of rule number one.
Speaker 5 (06:43):
Can you block this guy in front of you and
give your quarterback enough time? And like I said, tackles
are responsible for the width of the pocket, how far
he can move left and right based off those guys
and the interior side center in both guards, you're responsible
for the.
Speaker 4 (06:58):
Depth of the pocket.
Speaker 5 (06:59):
So how much space as a quarterback have to move
up right into the pocket to complete a throw. And
a lot of traditional pocket passers, let's put Aaron Rodgers
in that category, right, he needs that space for the
for the depth because he likes to move up and end.
He's not a He's not a back and out type
of player. You know what we saw from Russell Wilson
justin fields more mobile dual threat style quarterbacks want to
(07:22):
back up and get out, so that mimics more Lamar Jackson.
But Joe Burrow he wants the interior of that pocket.
So how well can you collapse that pocket and not
give him space to step up and make a throw
to either one of his two Megatron receivers.
Speaker 3 (07:36):
So again, you know, I think fans kind of understand. Okay,
defensive lineman who can collapse the pocket. Offensive lineman who
can stop the pocket from collapsing. But when you think
about you know, running backs, can you hey, he's a
wonderful receiver on third down, Well, if he can't block,
you know, teams are gonna blitz at him right and
(07:56):
not let him release and susceptible, that's a problem you are.
And I think that there was you know, it was
gratifying to me to see Calvin Austin and I'm sure
gratifying for Calvin get more playing time because I think
prior to that he'd been used on jet sweeps. And
the notion was because he's not a big man, he's
(08:17):
not a big human being, you can't use him in
the run game. But think about this, Okay, So now
let's say you're lining up in the slot, you're Roman
Wilson or you're Calvin Austin. If you can't block and
you're out in the slot, what is that time on
the other team, Well, they're probably throwing the football here,
and so you have to limit how much you can
(08:40):
play that person unless you're going to be playing him
only in third and long. How are you going to
trust that person to be out there. You don't want
to tip off to the opposing defense what you're doing.
And so it's important for these guys to be willing
and able blockers. One of the things that we learned
about Calvin Austin last year is he is a willing
(09:01):
and able blocker. He is not a big guy, but
he's never been a big guy. He knows what it
takes us that way. I've been this way by whole life,
and I understand what it takes, you know, to use
a wolf ism. He's tougher than Woodpecker lips. Yeah, and
and so we know that, and we'll see him today
(09:21):
sticking his nose in there. Now, Roman Wilson has to
prove he's that guy, because you don't want to be
the guy who's playing time is limited because you are
a one trick pony. And so that's that's again why
these drills are so important to these players, because if
you cannot block, and especially in an Arthur Smith offense
(09:42):
where he wants to run the football. Although as he said,
you don't bring in Aaron Rodgers and and pay Dk
Metcalf to run the wishbone. I get that you're not
gonna run the wishbone out there. But if you cannot block,
you will not play. Your playing time will be either
severely curtailed, or you will not helmet, or you will
not make the team exactly.
Speaker 5 (10:03):
And that's what this is. This is the first opportunity
to see.
Speaker 4 (10:06):
Who can and who can't, and then the following day is.
Speaker 5 (10:10):
Who learn from their previous day's mistakes. Right, That's why
you want to get as many of these opportunities. And
it's you know, you know, I was gonna say a
very basal word, it sucks that you didn't get that
day yesterday. So you've got to kind of speed things
up today and get the most out of today because
you've lost that one padded practice that you won't get
(10:31):
back any other way, and you're still barreling towards Friday.
Speaker 4 (10:34):
Night lights this weekend.
Speaker 5 (10:35):
Right, And that's the scrimmage or quote unquote dress rehearsal
type of time where you actually go through the team drives,
you go through special teams, and you go through kind
of the mock game atmosphere where you try and curate,
you know, actual playing in a game. And you've got
one less time that you guys have hit and kind
of calloused yourselves a.
Speaker 4 (10:55):
Little bit more.
Speaker 5 (10:56):
So it's gonna be really indicative today. The pads are
going to be turned up because now this is like
a two per day, Like I've got to get even
more out of this, So you know, we don't want
this truncated experience where you can kind of ease into it.
Now you just got to dive in Tinto's in, right,
you got to do a cannonball into the deep end
versus getting in the pool kind of waiting your depth
(11:18):
into it. It's like, no, no, we need we need
to pick this up because now we only have one
more practice after this before Friday night lights. Whereas we
thought we were having three, we now have two. So
I am really excited. Today is gonna be I think
even hotter, and like I said, you have a lot
of pent up emotion there from the day before.
Speaker 4 (11:36):
That's gonna that's gonna unleash itself.
Speaker 3 (11:38):
I got the I got the weather forecast from my son.
He's so much better. I'm like, I'm the guy I
can bare the zip, close my my backpack. I did
bring my umbrella today. It's not supposed to rain yesterday,
not only did I not bring my umbrella.
Speaker 4 (11:52):
I looked at it.
Speaker 3 (11:52):
I'm like, god, it's not supposed to rain. I left
my windows down. Oh my god, Oh my god.
Speaker 4 (11:59):
Because it's in the nineties. Yes, you still don't put
your windows. It's Western Pa in the sum Yeah, yeah,
I got I was. It was an uncomfortable ride home.
Let's put it that way.
Speaker 3 (12:09):
You're also inviting in more moisture and humidity than that Amazon.
Speaker 5 (12:13):
Yeah that you don't want the other things, Yeah, talk
about it.
Speaker 4 (12:17):
I made a mistake. I made a mistake.
Speaker 3 (12:18):
But anyway, I got the I got the weather forecast,
which is ninety one and it feels like of ninety
eight today, right about the time these guys are out
there in the field doing this thing.
Speaker 5 (12:29):
Yeah, it's it's gonna be muggy, and expect fights. I'm
just saying, expect fight. You're not supposed to. We're not
supposed to advertise it. But listen, as a guy who's
gone through enough for these and Wolf can attest to this.
You get, you get, you get a little more touchy feely,
you know, in these type of conditions, and also you're
a little bit more sensitive. Uh that extra lean is
(12:52):
not is not warranted.
Speaker 3 (12:53):
Real quick question to Marvin leal alignment or backs and backers.
He'll be alignment, right, he'll be alignment. Okay, Yeah, that's
a personal question. Now as far as the fighting, you know,
so you're you're out there running around and I have
not seen that here. Does the team have to and
the coaching staff have to really police that the the
(13:15):
over eager guy or the or the guy. So you're
running around there, you know, and I'm talking about when
you're when you're in pads. Uh, but no, you're it's
not full patch, right, You're out there running around and
you're going through and there's sometimes there's a guy who's
just a little too aggressive and it's non contact okay,
and he's and he's going to hit you when he
(13:36):
shouldn't hit you.
Speaker 4 (13:36):
He hit justin fields last year. Yeah, I remember that.
Speaker 5 (13:40):
Jason mccormicka, McCormick, Zach Frasier were not fans of that motion.
Speaker 3 (13:44):
But is there a I mean I've rarely seen that,
Like they got into a scrum Sunday. Okay, Well I
wasn't here right down on the corner between the one
so David Parker Hall of Fame stuff, exact exactly.
Speaker 5 (13:58):
You missed the cobra, but you you did not see
the bag of snakes down here.
Speaker 4 (14:01):
No I did. I didn't.
Speaker 3 (14:03):
By the way, well deserved Hall of Fame finally, and
Dick Allen from Wampa, PA. Finally those guys got in
and they deserved it. But okay, so there are guys
that get a little too aggressed about there. Well that'll
spill over now to today.
Speaker 5 (14:15):
And and now, like you said, a day of suppression, okay,
it is not the best thing for this type of
and like you said, and it's going to be hot. Yeah,
you're gonna you're gonna see lineman fights. You know, you're
gonna you're gonna see probably some some dbs and wide
receivers mix it up, because I mean, I remember famously
rookie Camp, George Pickens and Joey Porter Junior going at
(14:36):
it during the stalk drill and getting into it and
wanting to throw blows at each other. So you know,
you try and get on as fast as possible, but
you can't prevent it completely. It's just an element you
can't get out.
Speaker 4 (14:47):
Now.
Speaker 5 (14:47):
I know there's coaches out there, Bruce Arians famously, I'll
never forget this I'm in Cardinals camp and Darnell Dockett and.
Speaker 4 (14:59):
I can't if it.
Speaker 3 (15:00):
Was Earl Earl.
Speaker 5 (15:03):
Earl Watts, I can't remember if they got into it,
it was it was him and somebody else.
Speaker 4 (15:09):
BA stopped practice.
Speaker 5 (15:11):
And he made them run around the field whole width
of the field holding hands. Could you imagine that, you know?
And and you know offensive lineman they had. They had
a similar thing if you if you messed up a
snap or you did something, they'll make them jog around
in the field. But they had to hold hands. The
two dudes that just fought each other have to hold
(15:33):
hands and run around the field Daisy chain style and
then come back because they're like, whatever you had, it
should be gone by the time you held another man.
Speaker 4 (15:41):
It was effective. They didn't. They didn't fight again.
Speaker 5 (15:43):
And BA was very adamant about not getting into fights.
Speaker 4 (15:47):
Yeah, did in practice.
Speaker 5 (15:48):
So I mean, there's different ways of doing it. Vic Fangio,
he doesn't. He doesn't use curse words. You know, there's
a lot of different ways you know that people police practice.
But Mike Tomin was like, listen, I'd rather say woe
than sick them.
Speaker 4 (16:00):
That's right. That's always been his mantra here. So you're
gonna do it. Obviously, don't hurt a guy in the process, right,
but you gotta you gotta gotta let a little bit of.
Speaker 3 (16:07):
That test every once in a while, all right. So
we we talked a little bit about the receivers. I
think the number one guy on our list that we
both wanted to see was Roman Wilson. Yes, is there
somebody on the defensive side of ball the ball you're
eager to see. Maybe it's a Sebastian Castro, Yeah, maybe
(16:29):
it's one of the new guys, just to get a
look at Brandon Echols or jan Thornhill or Chuck Darius
Slay or Chuck Clark.
Speaker 4 (16:36):
Yeah, I want to see Chuck definitely. You know, I
know what one is.
Speaker 5 (16:40):
I've seen one, and even I know to a lesser
degree about Chuck because Chuck's coming off of an injury
from twenty three and he did start twelve game twelve games, right,
but he also missfire. Yeah, Okay, So I'm eager to
see how he does because he's the latest addition to
that secondary since we started camp. He was a guy
that was added after camp started. So I want to
(17:01):
see how he moves and how he responds to the physicality.
I always want to see Jalen Ramsey because I mean,
he's just such a physically imposing and tenacious tackler on
the edge. He's a guy that can blitz from the slot.
He's a guy that can cover a corner, cover it safety.
He plays so many different positions, So to see how
he's deployed in that drill, it's gonna be something I'm
(17:24):
going to be really interested to see in that one.
And then of course, you know, I do want to
see Sebastian Castro. I do want to see how the
rookie responds because, like you said, you have a very
jammed up secondary with talent. How do you separate yourself
from that's right? How do you play with that? Corey
Trice another one that's looking to get a corner position
out here when you already have Darius Lay, Jalen Ramsey,
(17:45):
and Joey Porter Jr.
Speaker 4 (17:47):
Who comes out as that.
Speaker 5 (17:48):
Fourth cornerback in that group and he's the avatar, So
you want to see how he does. And he's competing, Yeah,
he's competing with Brandon Eckles, So it's like, hey, what
are you going to do to make a name for
yourself here. You know, can you stay healthy after being physical?
Because health has been an issue for Corey Trice. So
those are some of the defensive names that I'm looking for.
Speaker 3 (18:07):
There's also so Dante Kent, Yeah, rookie, he's gonna be.
Is he gonna be a corner slash return man. He's
a he's on the slighter side at five ten, so
what you know can he handle Well, there's only one
really really big right, but Robert.
Speaker 4 (18:24):
Woods is a very physical blocker, right, so we'll.
Speaker 5 (18:26):
See Keyshawn Williams want to see him. Of the rookie,
there's a response. He's been he's been having he's been
thrown at a little bit here in camp and made
some plays. So how does he do in the off
ball situations where he's not getting the ball?
Speaker 3 (18:38):
Yeah, it's gonna be a It's it's such a separator
on this day again, you're not down and out, No,
but you are, but you are putting a good foot
forward or taking a bad step backward.
Speaker 5 (18:51):
After today, the vice script works two different ways. It
can hold together or it can squeeze, right, that's what
you want to see. How does the vice gript come
down on you. And that's why I said there's a line, right.
You know when when they're looking at this roster, you
know they're cutting it. Who's above the line and who's
below the line? Right from day to day? And do
you move up or do you stock up stock down
(19:13):
in these type of situations. And this is where the
camp phenoms come into play. After day one, you have
a good idea about who's caught the coach's attention, good, bad,
or indifferent and who now gets that premium matchup the
next day when we come out here and we do
the same thing. So it's gonna be very interesting. This
is this is the pole position checking day. This is
the qualifier to get you in pole position for day two.
Speaker 3 (19:35):
And I think that we've we talked about this a little, Yester.
We're gonna talk about the D line and the old line.
We're also going to talk about the backs and backers,
of which of course seems to take center stage of this.
But it's going to be that matchup Dezure that line
has moved up. This is a This is Omar Khan
and his staff have built, in my opinion, a deeper
Steelers team.
Speaker 4 (19:56):
It's gotten a little deeper every year.
Speaker 3 (19:58):
This is the deepest team in b wait some time
for from my perspective, they're gonna be good football players.
Barring injury, They're gonna be good football players.
Speaker 5 (20:07):
You don't make this team, yeah, there's gonna be some
really good This is by far the deepest team since
I've been back on the broadcast team, because a year
ago it was great front line guys, but you were
very thin on depth.
Speaker 4 (20:19):
You prayed for health. This one.
Speaker 5 (20:23):
You've got mix and match whatever you want to do,
and you've got a lot of different ways of deploying.
And like you said, some good football players are gonna
be released from this team and go play elsewhere on Sundays,
because you're not only auditioning for the team you're on,
you're auditioning for thirty one other teams that are looking
at you, and they're watching those preseason games. And we'll
get our first preseason game coming tomorrow on Thursday, the
(20:45):
Hall of Fame game.
Speaker 3 (20:46):
And as we mentioned, besaw Jacoby Winman, who was on
the practice squad last year picked up by Carolina.
Speaker 4 (20:51):
We're gonna see him later on in the preseason to.
Speaker 3 (20:53):
Become an integral part of their defense, So we're gonna
talk about the backs and backers. We're gonna talk about
the offensive defense, the line, which I think is going
to be one of the most really interesting matchups with
the way the Steers have attacked the defensive line in
the off season.
Speaker 4 (21:07):
We'll talk about that next.
Speaker 3 (21:08):
In the Locker Room with King and Starks, presented by
your neighborhood Fords Store here and the Steelers Audio.
Speaker 2 (21:12):
Network, Iheartradios Live Coverage IBOUT twenty twenty five.
Speaker 1 (21:20):
Steelers Training Camp is presented.
Speaker 2 (21:22):
By FedEx where Now meets Next and also brought to
you by bud Light, Independence Health System, by Pennsylvania One
Call System, by Live Casino, Caliente Pizza and Draft House
by Tom's Appliances, South Hills Auto, Laurel Highlands Visitors Bureau, Wemax,
Select Realty, the Pittsburgh Steelers Pro Shop, and by us Steel.
Speaker 3 (21:50):
And Welcome back inside the Locker Room with King and Starks,
presented by your neighborhood Ford Store and the Steelers Audio
Network coming to you from Saint Vincent College. In the trope,
beautiful day skies, big white puppy clouds and mountains receding
into the distance.
Speaker 4 (22:04):
The Green grass in front of us, still being worked on.
Speaker 3 (22:06):
They're still reading it up, redding it up as we
like say, Pittsburgh reading it up, greening it up too.
Speaker 4 (22:15):
A little bit of brown out there. Uh, so.
Speaker 3 (22:20):
We are we were, you know, keenly anticipating these matchups.
And yesterday I think, you know, we were talking about
the defensive line matchups, right, the defensive line and the
offensive line, and I want to get back to that
in the moment, but we we also talked about the
backs and backers, but mostly we talked about it from
the back, uh sort of perspective. And there's reason for that, right.
(22:43):
Caleb Johnson's looks like he's gonna be the new lead guy.
Jalen Warren is musty TV. And then you're looking at
you know, you're looking at you know, what what is
Kenneth Gainwell going to do in that sort of setting.
You know, he's a guy that was that was brought
in one of the early signings, and you're expecting him
to be a contributor on third down, but certainly a
contributor for the offense. And then you have you know,
(23:06):
you have Max Hurdleman, who turned a few heads in
camp and got some people talking about him. Wo's the
guy that really just played special teams at Notre Dame
and during OTAs he was lining up on offense and
on defense. He was a defensive back for Notre Dame,
but he really just played special teams. And so we've
seen him a little bit of running back. What's he
gonna do in these drills? And then you know, the
(23:28):
competition for at this year, there's elect to to keep
a fourth running back. You know, is it gonna be
Evan Hall, Is it gonna be Trey Sermon? There are
there are some legitimate competitions, and again we talk about
strength towards the end of the roster. Both those guys
hauling Sermon have been you know, we're draft picks. Both
(23:49):
have had some time in the NFL. So again, what
can you be trusted to do? And you know, so
I think there's reason for us to be concentrating on that.
But how about from the defensive perspective, is there anybody
that you're really looking to see in this backs on backers?
Speaker 5 (24:06):
Yeah, I'm really excited to see Cole Holcombe, you know,
because he's been injured the last couple of years. Was
really a great integral piece two years ago, takes a
bad injury, doesn't play at all last year.
Speaker 4 (24:19):
Seems to be at full health now.
Speaker 5 (24:21):
So I want to see how Cole Holcomb does in
this because this is one of the drills where you know,
you can really make a name for yourself. You can
become a buzzsaw defensively. Now your blitz capability goes up
to here, you know, and I'm doing here as in
you know, it's like from nine to ten.
Speaker 4 (24:36):
Once again on Radio Max gesturing with his hand up.
Speaker 5 (24:39):
I had self corrected myself and explained it this time.
Normally I forget that we don't have a GoPro in here.
Speaker 2 (24:50):
But we need to.
Speaker 5 (24:51):
It takes it to another it takes it to another
level of intensity, and that's what you're looking for defensive
I'm looking for the buzzsaw guy who could cut.
Speaker 4 (24:59):
Through the line and can cut through and saw off you.
Speaker 5 (25:02):
Know whoever that is in the second level or second
wave of defense in the blocking position, which is usually
one of your h backs, tight ends or your running
backs in those moments. So I'm looking at him. I'm
looking at Malik Harrison, who's been very tenacious here.
Speaker 4 (25:17):
Early in camp.
Speaker 5 (25:18):
They've run some passenger pressure, blitz packages with him, and
he's just wiry and he is athletic and he knows
how to get around blocks. Is gonna be interesting to
see how he does in this drill. I mean, we
know who the gnome guys are. I mean really TJ. Watt,
Alex Heismith, right, Nick her Big. Nick Herby's built for
this drill. He's done, He's done excellent in that drill.
(25:40):
But you want to see how the other supporting cast
Jack Sawyer another one rookie, you know, does he get
paired up against Caleb Johnson? Does it become rookie on
rookie violence in those moments taking an edge blocker? But
interesting enough, I still want to see what Patrick Queen
can do in that position. Peyton Wilson, this is another one.
Peyton's gonna be asked to blitz. He's a very quick defender.
(26:01):
Can he get back there and can he evade and
possibly mash it up and get to the quarterback. So
there's a lot on the defensive side to be really
excited for, because when you're thinking about what this d
line's gonna be, they're gonna be a handful potentially for
a lot of linemen. So who's the guy who can
weave through that and make an impact and take on
(26:24):
that quote unquote secondary blocker in the backfield? And can
you escape or can you disengage from that guy fast
enough to get to the quarterback mark.
Speaker 4 (26:34):
So it's a lot that can be gleaned from both
sides of the ball.
Speaker 5 (26:38):
You know, it's gonna be a whipneck type of situation
where you're looking back and forth like who's el's all
going on?
Speaker 4 (26:43):
Because there's a three ring circus yep, of.
Speaker 5 (26:45):
All three of these drills happening concurrently, and so you
want to make sure you don't miss a moment. But
I will say the feature dajure is going to be
over there in that backson backers drill, which, once again
to reorientate everybody.
Speaker 4 (26:59):
We're in the press box.
Speaker 5 (27:01):
We are facing field one between the forty and fifty
yard line as our advantage point.
Speaker 3 (27:07):
So to our far right corner forty five degree angle away.
Speaker 5 (27:10):
Yeah, where that white tent is on the field. In
the middle of the field between fields one and two.
There are lines drawn over there and it is to
mock the position five positions of the offensive line and
the track angles that players need to take if you're
a defender, but also the zone that the offense has
to protect.
Speaker 4 (27:28):
And so you will see that being all the way curated.
Just look for Mike Tomlin.
Speaker 5 (27:34):
He will be right there in the backside, almost close
to the gravel road of demarcation, so to speak, between
the turf field and field one he will be conducting.
He will be the conductor of that drill. And then
of course in the far left corner opposite side, same
side of the field, so to speak, but the far
(27:55):
left corner that's where one on one pass rush will
be with the offensive line and defensive line. And then
along the nearest sideline to the fans and the press
box and bleachers will be the wide receiver, defensive back
stock drill. And that will complete your three ring circus.
It is a three ring circus, man, It's so exciting.
So one other guy I want to toss out there
(28:17):
as a rookie is Carson Brunner. I'm interested to see
what he you know, young brew dog, ye late late
draft choice. And again you know he's not the biggest
guy six seven, and I think too Max. When we
talk about competition, right, we're talking about the competition, and
we've named a bunch of guys that we think are
(28:38):
in competition, uh to get out there, Uh be part
of the eleven on offense, be part of the eleven
on defense. But there's also going to be you know,
three or four spots reserved for special.
Speaker 4 (28:51):
Teams, for special teams.
Speaker 3 (28:53):
And so you know, I think if you were and
and I think Mark Robinson, Uh, you know, Juan Pierre,
I have one Pierre Baseball James Pierre. These guys are
JP JP. These are guys that the other JP. We
got another JP, the other guy, the other guys that
are that are out there that are you know, Miles
(29:13):
killerbrew right, these guys need to show something else too, right,
and want to show something else because there might be
a guy at the end of the roster where you say, okay, well, uh,
this guy can help us on defense, and we think
he can be a terrific special teams player as opposed
to are you just a special teams player? So you know,
(29:36):
whether again, whether that's and I don't know who it is,
whether it's Sebastian Castro or Carson Brunner or Brandon Eccles
or whoever it is that's out there battling for spots.
This is another opportunity for you to show, hey, don't
forget me when it's eleven on eleven and not just
you know, the special teams aspect of the game.
Speaker 5 (29:56):
Yeah, but I will say this, Miles Killerbrew he's a
pretty special Yeah. He's not going to put the specialist
special team right, He's not going as a multi pro
bowler captain type all. Yeah, you're not worried about that
guy having an issue. Ben Scaronic another one I think of.
That's a special teams they say, just has to prove hey,
you can count on me to catch the football. We're
(30:18):
down to the third fourth receiver and you need an
additional body in there. Those are those couple of moments
where you're like, that guy's got a spot, but everybody
else you have to fill out your core for.
Speaker 4 (30:29):
So show me what else you can do.
Speaker 5 (30:30):
Ben, show me that you're not a one trick pony
and that you're not a master of one and you
can't really do much else. This is that moment where
we get to see you do eleven on eleven offense
defensive football skills in all of these curated drills to
start padded practices, So it's gonna be really interesting. I
think I think you brought up a good one. Carson Brunner,
(30:51):
the son of Mark Bruner. You've heard that last name before,
who sits in our scouting department. Yeah, exactly, big time
tight end here in the early two thousands. So it'll
be interesting to see that second.
Speaker 4 (31:04):
Leney. It's just like we saw Joey Porter Jr. When
he came in.
Speaker 5 (31:06):
We know who the dad is, but what can the
Sun do to separate and make his own mark here
in this organization?
Speaker 4 (31:13):
Yeah, and I do think that.
Speaker 3 (31:15):
You know, we talked a little bit about yesterday yesterday
about you know, what does a coach want towards the
end of his roster? Does he want somebody who's got
wide versatility and can help you out in a number
of different ways? You think of Connor Hayward, Do you
think of Scotty Miller? Guys who can play and have
(31:35):
versatility or just really good football players. Would you prefer
somebody who excels at one part of the game and
is serviceable at others? Right, there's always gradients, there's always
you know, variables and varieties within each player's skill set
that you know they come cut down day. You know,
I'm sure that when the coaches are up there and
(31:57):
and the scouts and whoever decides, uh, you know, the
front office people decides that the personnel. I think there's
probably some years where you're like, okay, well, uh let's
make a case because we got to add some guys on.
I think I think this year it's going to be
a case of make your case because some some good
(32:17):
football players are gonna be cut and so, uh, you know,
it's a little bit different feel perhaps, but there's gonna
be some you know, the proverbial banging the fist on
the table. Hey I need to keep this guy because
and then who do you think you can slide through
onto the practice squad that maybe others can hide?
Speaker 4 (32:34):
Right? Who can you hide? So it's gonna be fascinating.
Speaker 3 (32:37):
And again, you know, all of these processes, Okay, they
they and they've gone through all They've drafted guys, They've
scouted guys and brought in college free agents. They have
guys that they have tape on from past years. We
know certain guys who are going to make the team.
It's not like this is happening in a vacuum, but
you gotta do it out here.
Speaker 4 (32:56):
Yeah, you have to. Here is where you do.
Speaker 5 (33:00):
You don't save it for acker, sure, right, and you
don't save it for the opposing stadium. It has to
be done in the forge. It has to be done
in the pit, so to speak. And you have to
show us that we can trust you on game day. Right,
That's what this is about, instilling trust and creating opportunities
for yourself. Because it's not going to just turn on
and turn off like a light switch.
Speaker 4 (33:21):
Right, No, We've got this is a slow burn.
Speaker 5 (33:23):
It's a it's a it's a build up to then
seeing it come through when the lights get bright in
the opposing stadiums in your own stadium, and it has
to start here. You have to show me that the
light can turn on like red roof in right, We'll
leave the light on. Can you leave the light on
out here? And then it carries over into the actual
other team competition.
Speaker 3 (33:44):
You know, I can't wait, but I have to say
I might be most interested of the three groups. I
might be most interested in the offensive lineman versus the
defensive lineman.
Speaker 4 (33:55):
Which we will you don't say which we will.
Speaker 3 (33:58):
Talk about next because I'm fascinated by some of these matchups.
You're inside the Locker Room with King and Starks, presented
by you neighborhood Ford Store on the Steelers Audio Network.
Speaker 1 (34:10):
Iheartradios.
Speaker 2 (34:11):
Live coverage of about twenty twenty five Steelers Training Camp
is presented by Fatex where Now meets Next and also
brought to you by CGR Wholesale Roofing and Siding Supply Center,
by Tons Appliances, by Always Safe Flagging and Traffic Control
by Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank, by Schneider Downs, by
(34:33):
Hassa's Steak and Seahouse, by your neighborhood Ford Store, by
Castle Rock, by Clearview Federal Credit Youth and by US steel.
Speaker 3 (34:45):
Welcome back to the Locker Room with King and Starks,
presented by your neighborhood Ford Store here in the Steelers
Audio Network. So you know this is the day, and
this is the backs on Backer's Day, right, yes, And
it is the backs on Backers Day.
Speaker 4 (34:57):
Give me violence, it's you're gonna get. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (35:00):
It is also the it is also the stock blocking drill,
right yeah, a little less you know, maybe on the radar,
but it's also the offensive line and defensive line going
at it. So backs and backers are the headline show. Right,
It's like when they used to have you go to
the movies back in the thirties, they have like a
short and then a cartoon and then the main event. Right, yeah,
(35:21):
well these other ones are are super intriguing, Like I
you know, I'm going to be trying to watch, you know,
to go back to the offensive guys, Caleb Johnson and
the backs on Backer and Hope. It's not at the
same time as Roman Wilson and Hope. It's not at
the same time as Derek Harmon with the offensive line.
So we talked about are the going against the offensive lineman.
(35:42):
We talked about that yesterday, about this influx of defensive alignment,
and again Matt Williamson brought this statistic from what the
Steelers defense did last year. When Cam Hayward was on
the field, the Steelers were number two in the NFL
(36:02):
in yards per carry allowed, number two. When he was
not on the field, they were thirty first.
Speaker 4 (36:09):
That is a problem.
Speaker 3 (36:11):
Uh, the Steelers were well aware of that problem, right.
You know, we see people come up with stats and stuff.
They know, right, they're not We're not telling them anything.
Speaker 4 (36:20):
It's not like they need analytics also to tell them
that they watched how bad it was. So what do
they do?
Speaker 3 (36:25):
They go out and sign a quality who'd been a
backup but started every game last year for New England,
became a became a starter for him. Draft two defensive linemen.
You still have Keanu Benton back, You still have Cam
Hayward back, You still have you do you want to
see Logan Lee. I want to see Logan Lee. Dean
Lowry's back down we added mid season last year. You know,
(36:46):
Logan Lee was the kind of guy that sort of
as as camp went on last year, you started to
hear a little bit of an ota is a little
bit of buzz about.
Speaker 4 (36:55):
This guy was a late pick.
Speaker 3 (36:56):
Yeah, and then he got hurt right then he got injured,
So you want to see him out there. But as
much as I want to see this D line, I
think if you're a Steelers fan going into this practice,
going into this camp, if you were to identify what
is there a position on the defense, on the offense
that worries you a little bit, I think most fans
would say the offensive line, And why, well, you have
(37:18):
guys you know you're expecting you look Zach Fraser was
tremendous last year.
Speaker 4 (37:23):
You know, can he make another step forward?
Speaker 3 (37:24):
How about Mason McCormick being a Day one starter now,
Troy Faltano, who'd won the right tackle job last year
in camp but got hurt.
Speaker 4 (37:34):
So he we didn't see him play.
Speaker 3 (37:36):
He's essentially a rookie at right tackle, and Broderick Jones
is moving from right tackle to left tackle. They still
have Spencer Anderson, you have Ryan McCollum. You have some
good depth there. Obviously, they signed Calvin Anderson so they
like him at tackle. So there's some there's some depth
there on that offensive line, right. But I think because
of you know, it's not a set in stone type
(37:58):
of oh well, listen, we know what we can expect
out of, uh, you know, Dan Moore because he's been
here for a while, or you know, James Daniels of
course he got hurt. To me there, it's a position.
I think for most fans, it might be the position
of Injurgue. I I talked to fans and they're like,
you know, hey, what do you think about Aaron Roy.
You know, fans be like, well, as long as they
(38:19):
can keep them up.
Speaker 4 (38:20):
Right, you know, Uh.
Speaker 3 (38:21):
So, that's the sense I get is that fans biggest
concern is the offensive line.
Speaker 4 (38:27):
Do you get that sense?
Speaker 5 (38:29):
I don't necessarily get that, I think because I look
at it from a different perspective.
Speaker 4 (38:33):
I'm just telling you what people have told that exactly.
Speaker 5 (38:35):
And I think for me, you know, people when I've
been around that, they're just they're excited to see can
Roger Jones step over the left tackle?
Speaker 4 (38:43):
Right?
Speaker 5 (38:44):
Can Troy Fatano so rebound back for an injury? And
can someone come in and supplant, you know in Isaac
c Amalu, Right, And that's where you look at Spencer
Anderson like this is the jump year, right, if you're
going to make it. Because Isaac Ceamalu still on the
NFL list, which is a non football injury list. The
(39:04):
one thing I am happy about today is that if
we would have had one on one pass Russian PATI
practice yesterday, Roderick Jones wouldn't participated because he tweaked.
Speaker 4 (39:14):
His leg, and today you will get him. Great.
Speaker 5 (39:18):
So if I'm looking at this, there is a positivity
where I could say he is an additional guy that
we get to see that we might not have gotten
to see yesterday, and now I'm interested to see him
against the Jack Sawyer. I'm axed to see him how
he's going to adjust to Alex high Smith and Nick
herbig over there on the edge. And then I look
(39:38):
at the interior, I mean y A Black and Derek Harmon.
How do you respond to that interior? Do you get
Mason McCormick, Do you get Zach Frasier, Spencer Anderson? How
are those big boys in the middle going to fare
in day one? You know in that day because I
know how Camry was going to do, I know how
Keanu Bennon is going to do. They're gonna get theirs. Then,
like you said, Daniel Aquale, how does he fit into
(39:59):
this mix? Because Carl Dunbar likes to carry a defensive linemen.
So how do you cut your teeth in that group?
And Logan Lee do you build your way up to
seeing some of the front line starters and those guys?
And then you know Max Sharping, a guy who was
on the who was who was a dressed day guy
that never really played yep on this squad.
Speaker 3 (40:16):
Latter and guys got some stars under his belt in
the NFL.
Speaker 5 (40:18):
I want I want to see the young guy on offense,
the guy that's actually bearing my my number, so to speak,
h number seventy eight, and I believe it was Gareth Williams,
the kid, yeh, rookie from was it linden Wood?
Speaker 4 (40:30):
I think linden Wood's college, right, yeah? College.
Speaker 5 (40:33):
So I want to see how he does because I
saw some things from him at left tackle, very patient,
good hands, good body posture.
Speaker 4 (40:41):
But how does it do when it when it ticks
up a notch on speed?
Speaker 3 (40:43):
And he's a young guy, he's only twenty one years old. Yeah,
so you might be betting on some some upside there
as well.
Speaker 4 (40:49):
Maybe you can hide him on practice squad. But I
just think that I think that part's going to be fascinating.
Speaker 3 (40:53):
Yeah, I'm not. I'm not, and I what I'm saying.
I think there's some trepidation among the fans. I'm excited
about it. I think there's gonna be great depth in
the defensive line. So I think that's gonna be an
area and the head's gonna be on a swivel up.
Speaker 5 (41:04):
Here, Max it is, and my my pedometer, I'm gonna
be getting my step count in walking between the drills
because they're literally one hundred yards apart from each other.
Speaker 4 (41:14):
So I'm gonna start it backs on backers, But.
Speaker 5 (41:16):
Of course I've got to get over to to the
to the big boys, because that's where that's where chaos ensues.
Speaker 4 (41:23):
It's in a it's in a short, tight quarter combat. Right.
Speaker 5 (41:27):
You know you talk about wanting to be in a ball,
that's the one that's gonna be. This was gonna be
the elongated explosion. These are like missiles going off.
Speaker 3 (41:34):
He's pointing back, pointing towards the backs on backer. For
those listening on radio, Max is pointing.
Speaker 4 (41:39):
You can watch on Radio two.
Speaker 3 (41:43):
You're in the locker room with Kiing Stark stuff. Thanks
for being with us. We can't wait a big day
here at the Trope.
Speaker 4 (41:48):
Uh.
Speaker 3 (41:48):
The locker room is presented by your neighborhood Ford store.
You're listening here on this Steelers Audio Network.
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