August 4, 2026 • 46 mins
Max and Rob break down the latest roster moves and the latest topics from camp.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
This is live coverage of the twenty twenty six Steelers
training camp or the Steelers Audio Network, presented by bod Light,
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Speaker 2 (00:11):
To enjoy, and brought to you in part by.
Speaker 1 (00:13):
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(00:35):
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Speaker 3 (00:50):
And welcome back to Saint Vincent College in the trope
where you are inside the locker room with Max Starks, myself,
Rob King, We thank you very much for being with us.
We are talking of offensive line, all things offensive line
because of how important it is to this team, and
so Max, you know, the Troy Foultano really looked good
last year at right tackle, just got better and better,
(01:12):
and his first year as the starters, the season went along,
and then you know Mason McCormick, right next to him
a year plus. Starting that duo seemed to look good. Well,
now you draft a haunt a chour and you flop
those guys to the left side. And there was there
was thoughts. There are a lot of thoughts about Troy foul Tan.
It was such a good player that a lot of
people thought, Hey, he could be an all world guard,
(01:32):
he could be a really good starting tackle. Well they've
kept him at the tackle position, and you know, I
don't think they've even entertained the guard thing. That was
more people talking, Yeah, but anyway, don't know about these
cookies by the way, Yeah don't. You'll be answering and
I'll be eating soon. So the we got a little
(01:56):
punch he here in the trope. So you move those
two guys. What is the biggest first of all, talk
about the difficulties of a tackle moving from one side
to the other, even if you have experience at both
of those positions.
Speaker 4 (02:11):
Well, the first thing that you have to worry about
is mentally switching over plays. Now, the good thing is here,
this is a unique situation for Troy. This is all
a brand new offense, right, this is a brand new terminology.
So he's not carrying over old scheme habits to the
other side, so coming into this he can kind of
(02:31):
be relatively new. The thing that he's going to be
fighting more is biomechanicska, meaning physiologically, he's taken so many
reps at right tackle over the past year right that
you have to now retrain your body to kick the
left leg back as opposed to keeping you up as
a post leg and work on a different angle in
(02:52):
the opposite direction than what you're used to, and just
doing enough reps to be comfortable with that new neuropathway
okay for his body and for him, that was the
biggest thing, you know, left foot back, right foot forward,
you know, versus the other way around at the right
tackle position. And then how do I see things now?
(03:15):
You know you're a little bit more left eye dominance
for your outside edge versus your right eye dominance. You know,
you're worried about more reactionary to the inside. You're trying
to keep a guy wide to your left and he's
going to be lining up to the left, so you
need to be able to keep an eye on him
while also keeping an eye on the ball. Those are
the kind of the little physiological things that you have
to change and then flipping the plays. In your mind,
(03:37):
you're used to a tube being to your side. Now
it's a three or an odd number to the left,
even number to the right at the flip. What the
strength is to me when I hear a play call
and when I'm digesting it. So those are kind of
the subtle differences you have to make, and so for
Troy so far has not been an issue.
Speaker 3 (03:56):
So for example, like if you're playing left tackle, if
you're playing right tackle, this is fairly obvious and I
don't know if this happens to you quickly, but your
first move is going to be TJ. Here comes TJ.
Watt your right tackle. Your first move is to drop
step back with your right leg and try to square
up to them. The left tackle, obviously, your first step
is to drop back with your left leg to square
(04:19):
up to that pass rusher who's trying to beat you
on an outside path? Is that what you're kind of
talking about, as far as the neudological pathways and that
sort of thing.
Speaker 4 (04:26):
My push leg on the right side is my left leg,
so I'm pushing from the inside out to my right
and then your right leg is Now what we call
it gather the gather step or the gather leg. Right,
you're pushing so far forward that the right leg now
keeps you in balance because it's sticking in the ground
and you're sliding your left leg. Flip that left side.
(04:47):
Now I'm pushing off with my right leg to go left,
and now my left foot is my gather step or
my gather foot to bring me back to balance. It's
a complete opposite of what you been doing. So that's
where the neurological side of it comes into it, and
so you have to get comfortable with that. And in
(05:07):
traditional circumstances, I'll say this, that progression comes a little
bit slower because you're not getting as many reps. Well,
here in the Mike McCarthy camp, everybody goes back to school, right,
like Rodney Dangerfield. We're going back to school, guys. Yeah,
and he's getting a lot more reps than he normally
would on a daily basis. To speed up that process,
(05:28):
to get more comfortable, to make it easier to hit
the triple, Indy, exactly. That's right. You got to be
able to hit that triple Lindy. I mean, you know
it's a ten meter board up there. This is, this
is this is not just a little you know, a
little one meter board right off right off the pool
that's in your backyard.
Speaker 3 (05:42):
I just can I just since you brought since you
brought up that movie, can I just tell you that
one of them as an English literature major in college.
Speaker 4 (05:49):
That was my major.
Speaker 3 (05:51):
And if anybody out there is ever sat in an
English class in college, you know what this is like.
If you've ever majored in it, you know what this
is like. Three times a week, five days a week,
three times a day, five days a week.
Speaker 4 (06:06):
For four years.
Speaker 3 (06:07):
Yeah, Well, what do you think of what's your interpretation
of what so and so means here?
Speaker 4 (06:12):
Well?
Speaker 3 (06:13):
I think it's kind of a Freudian suko.
Speaker 4 (06:15):
But you know, and you're.
Speaker 3 (06:16):
Just like, what is this dude talking about? What is
my fellow student talking about? He's just making up worse.
Speaker 4 (06:21):
So in the movie, in the movie back to School.
So that's everybody.
Speaker 3 (06:25):
Everybody's got an interpretation, and it's you know, it's always
deeper than you think.
Speaker 4 (06:29):
Sometimes you're like, why I didn't wring that. I never
thought about that anyway.
Speaker 3 (06:32):
So, So Rodney Dangerfield goes back to school and he is, uh,
he needs to write a paper on Kurt Vonnegut, right,
but he doesn't have time because he's running his business
and he's looking after his son. So he calls up
Kurt Vonnegut, who's a friend of his, and writes a
paper and he gets like a d on it. And
the woman says, well, whoever wrote this paper clearly has
(06:55):
no idea about Kurt Vonnegut.
Speaker 4 (06:56):
And k wrote the paper, So that's I love that.
Speaker 3 (07:00):
That's like the revenge for the English seat you like,
or English student you're like, That's exactly what it's like
to be not Okay, I've listened, love you all, all
you English professors out there. I'm not trying to pick
on you anyway. So so learning all this new stuff,
hitting the triple Lindy out there on the left side,
is the hardest part, The neurological part.
Speaker 4 (07:19):
Do you think. I think it's the hardest. The hardest
part because you're fighting your nature, right, You're fighting what
your experience is telling you, what your body is conditioned for.
You're fighting all of that conditioning and programming. So I
think that's where it becomes the toughest part is counteracting
what you've been taught and what you've been doing for
(07:41):
the last year. You've only been a right tackle, You've
only taken right tackle snaps, and now this year be
the left tackle. Believe the left tackle breed the left tackle.
You are the left tackle, and so you're fighting all
of that extra stuff that you had before. Throw it
out the window. We're starting from the ground floor again.
(08:03):
And I think that's what it is now. The blessing
that he has is he's done it before. This isn't
the first time he's had to do this. Whereas Broderick Jones.
When Broderick came in Projerick was just a left tackle
and then had to learn to play right tackle. Troy
at least has experience in college playing both, so it's
not as tough a transition because he's already gone through
(08:23):
it one time.
Speaker 3 (08:25):
So have you, I'm trying to think. I know you've
been to Portugal, right, So have you ever been to
one of the British aisles where you drive on the
other side of the road?
Speaker 4 (08:37):
One time? Okay, and I'll never do it again.
Speaker 3 (08:39):
So I do it all the time when we travel
over there. My daughter lives in Scotland. When we go
over there, I said all the time, like I'm there
twice a year.
Speaker 4 (08:46):
I'm not.
Speaker 3 (08:47):
But in the times that I've been over in Ireland
and Scotland, I love to drive myself. I like to
poke around and see different things, so I want to
be behind the wheel of a car. So you're driving
on the wrong side of the road, which is a
little freaky, and I'm trying to I'm wondering if this
is similar. And then right when you think you've got
it down because you're concentrating so hard on it, something
(09:09):
will take over, like the way you've always done it
for decades as a driver like me, and you'll come
up to like an intersection and.
Speaker 4 (09:19):
You will just out you will be in the wrong place.
Speaker 3 (09:22):
Right, You're going around and round about yeah, and you're thinking, okay,
I want to I need to go to the right.
Well you actually need to go to the left. And
then all of a sudden, and I've been there, man.
You know it's your jet lagged and you're leaving an
air you're leaving an airport. You got a rental car,
and you go the wrong way even though you're thinking
about it, and the horns start blaring and they know
it's a foreigner. You know, behind the wheel of a car.
(09:43):
But so no matter how you're thinking about it, I
guess my point is that instinct will take over, and
you've got to be able to drum that instinct out
of you if you want to drive and not get
in an accident and get the people in your car hurt.
Speaker 4 (09:58):
Is it that way?
Speaker 3 (09:59):
Do you get to a point where that instinct takes
over and you're like, oh, man, I moved the wrong
way because I've done that a thousand times and I've
only done this, you know, ten times, And.
Speaker 4 (10:09):
That's exactly what is That's a perfect analogy, apples to apples,
and the roundabout is the perfect example because you know,
first of all, how often do you encounter roundabouts in America?
Speaker 3 (10:19):
They're getting more common though, they're getting more and I'll
be a son of a gun if the things don't
work the first time I'm doing them, Like why are
these roundabouts?
Speaker 2 (10:26):
Put a light here?
Speaker 3 (10:27):
Then I'm like, that's actually a pretty good idea. There's
one outside of us, save it's a college.
Speaker 4 (10:35):
There's a roundabout exactly, so you know, you get to that,
And that's a perfect example. Is well, every time I've
gone through a roundabout in America. I go right. But
here I get to this roundabout for the first time,
and I'm on the left side of the road. I
got to go to the left to go right, I
gotta take this long way around. Yes, it's like normally
that's the left turn that takes the long way around.
(10:56):
So that's a perfect example that leads me into it.
You're gonna to a point where a guy's gonna rush
down the middle of you, and your instinct is, oh, well,
I just need to drop my right leg and let
him keep going because that's the path I need him
to go as a right tackle. But I'm on the left.
Oh my god. Okay, I get think the battles that
you're fighting even harder to cut him off. So you
(11:17):
don't kill your quarterback because you just open the barn
door and just allow them a free rush to the inside.
Speaker 3 (11:22):
Okay, now here's my next question. So, yes, there is
going to be some differences for Troy Foutano. Now, yeah,
I think there's a little bit less big picture question
before I ask you about working with Mason McCormick. A
little bit less of the premiere pass rusher always comes
from the blind side right, So the left tackle has
(11:44):
got to be your best guy. He's got to be
the guy who's gonna get paid. He's the guy we're
drafting in the first round.
Speaker 4 (11:50):
Well. TJ.
Speaker 3 (11:51):
Watson a great example of a guy who's on the
other side, But Miles Garrett a great example of a
guy who you never know where he's going to line up.
So I don't don't know. Do you think now the
left tackle is still the most important position on the
offensive line? Is it a twins just a little bit
(12:11):
less that we have to have a certain type of
guy there. So my point being Troy was excellent at
right tackle. Is he facing bigger obstacles and bigger changes
on the left tackle spot or has that changed a
little bit because of the way guys move around.
Speaker 4 (12:31):
I think it's still an important side because it's still
an important side. Yes, it's still the more important side.
It's still the most important side because the quarterback can't
see right no matter who you put over there. The
quarterback has to trust you right no matter who they
line up. Now they have guys like also go along
with the T. J. Watt and Nick Bosa, you know,
lines up on the same offensive right, defensive left and
(12:55):
is effective from there as a more athletic guy now
at that left side, that the that the right tackle
has to be aware of. It has to be more athletic.
But once again, the quarterback can see an adjust that
a lot easier. Even though those guys are premier guys,
you're still getting the premier guy on the backside because
he's got to be the athletic one that has to
(13:15):
whip the block and he's the one that's going to
give the no man's lamb hit. Yeah, So that's why
I still think left tackle is the most important unless
you have a left handed quarterback. If the quarterback can't
see it, that's still what always makes it just danger.
Will Robinson right, for sure?
Speaker 3 (13:29):
I yes, I thank you because you answered in a
way that took my poorly phrased question and put it
into context. I wasn't trying to ask is it still
the most important I was asking is are the are
the players? Are you still going against the premier pass rushers.
Speaker 4 (13:44):
For years, you were.
Speaker 3 (13:45):
Always going against their best guy, their Lawrence Taylor because
he was going to line up on that blind side
every single time.
Speaker 4 (13:54):
Now I think.
Speaker 3 (13:55):
There are, but it's still going to be a challenge
obviously moving from right to left. So irrespective of who
those players are, now, what about having a Mason McCormick
come next to him Max?
Speaker 4 (14:05):
Is that a big deal?
Speaker 3 (14:06):
Those two guys are used to working each other, Now
they're gonna be working. It reminds me of one of
one of the greatest lines of all time. You know,
Fred Astaire was a sorry, I'm going a few times.
Fredis the great dancer Fred and his dance partner was
Ginger Rogers, and you know, they somebody asked her, she's
a great dancer. Obviously, somebody asked her about, you know,
(14:28):
dancing with Fredister. What was it like dancing with somebody
who is that great? And she said, well, don't forget
that I was doing the same stuff that Fred was doing,
only I was moving backwards and I was in high heels.
Speaker 4 (14:40):
Yeah, good point, Ginger.
Speaker 3 (14:45):
So now, right, so now you have these guys, they're
they're they're they're not playing in high heels, believe me,
but they're doing it backward.
Speaker 4 (14:52):
Right, they're on the left.
Speaker 3 (14:56):
They're together again. Right, they're working in tandem again, but
it's on the left side. Is there going to be
a comfort level with both of those guys being switched.
A lot of times you'd just see we're moving the
right tackle to the left tackle. I thought it was
fascinating that they moved them both to the left side,
So they must think that that's going to help the
(15:19):
adjustment for both of them, that they're a unit. Did
you feel like it was a unit sort of thing
on the offensive line, left tackle, left guard.
Speaker 4 (15:26):
Yeah. I think the combinations matter because they're used to communicating.
They know each other's idiosyncrasies, right, they know they know
how each other ticks. They've talked and communicated and made
calls to each other over the past year, so they
kind of have a familiarity with the voice, the cadence
that they're changing stuff. They could be more nuanced, and
(15:48):
I think that just speeds up that process. Having your
buddy over there with you, and also your buddy is
going to be learning with you. And granted, the guard
is going to be easier learning curve because you're in
a phone booth. Right, you have a funnel tackle sideboards,
there's a center there's a center sideboard, so you funnel
right to the guard. So the guard can be a
little bit narrower in stance and it's just a movement
(16:08):
thing for him. I think having him next to Troy
gives Troy a comfortability and ease of communication because Mason
also knows what Troy sees and what he doesn't see,
and vice versa. Troy knows what Mason sees and doesn't see,
and they're able to communicate with each other, and they
also know how each other likes to do things right.
You know, if Mason's free and comes for the outside block,
(16:31):
he knows that Mason's gonna come check inside and make
a B line for the guy that he's blocking is
probably gonna knock his block off, So you know that,
and you can anticipate because you've had that happen to
you in game, so you can anticipate what the support
looks like. I can be a little bit more heady
on the outside and be more aggressive because Mason's gonna
have my inside half right. There's a trust there, So
(16:54):
I think that's what really helps when you're thinking about it.
And Mike McCarthy cares a lot about those combinations. He
cares about those relationships that they have, and that's why
he did a full sale sit now. Granted, also Isaac
C Amalo's not here, so it presented a vacancy. I
don't think you would have moved Mason McCormick over there
if Isaac cmalo is still on the roster point, but
since we have a question at tackle, we have a
(17:15):
vacancy at left guard, I'd rather move both over.
Speaker 3 (17:18):
Yeah, I think it's really interesting. I hadn't even it
hadn't even crossed my mind, frankly, that they would do
that until they did it. Now will it affect Zach
Frasier at all?
Speaker 4 (17:30):
And that's where the biggest question is, how does Zach
react knowing that it's not to his right as a snaphand.
You know, how's that right guard position? Because you have
to think Zach snapping with his right hand, that's that's
an unprotected side, so that a gap is he never
had to worry because he knew Mason was going to
shut the door until he got his hand back up
right from snapping the ball underneath his legs. So now
(17:52):
who's the new guy. Is that new guy going to
protect him the same way on his snaphand interesting as
he did in the past. So that's going to be
a comfortability or you know, or Zach could be you know,
don't you know? That's about how I feel like. That's
how Zach talks.
Speaker 3 (18:08):
That's fascinating. I hadn't thought about that with a snaphand.
Speaker 4 (18:11):
So it's a protection thing and how you step because
you need to make sure that a gap is sealed
and secured until that point seven too point eight second
difference where he doesn't have that hand is he's securing
the snap to the quarterback under center. Shotguns a little
bit quicker because you can get the hand back up
because you're not worrying about feel of the quarterback, you know,
making sure it gets into his hands and hits the palms.
(18:33):
So that's gonna be a difference for him. So right
now it looks like it's not an issue because Spencer
Anderson has obviously been a swing guy on that interior.
But how does that job look seventeen weeks in a row.
How does that look from snap to snap, series to series,
defender to defender that comes in there. So that's gonna
be new for Zach to get used to, is who's
on his right, because that's the biggest thing is that
(18:56):
you know, Mason was a guy that was looking and
was and was there while Spencer was the one tapping
the butt and making the calls, or Isaac Camalo was
that guy. So now you're flipping those roles. Now, do
you carry that over and have Mason do that from
the left now so that Spencer can be free of
that and all I can worry about is just protecting
the snaphand on any given pass play. That's gonna be Well,
(19:19):
I'm still waiting to see because we haven't really seen.
I haven't seen that operation in a live, live situation
because normally by team section it's competitive, but it's not
like a game. You know.
Speaker 3 (19:30):
Boy, I'm so glad I asked that question. It's a
great answer because frankly, I was just going to stick
with the guard tackle combinations. And I'm glad I asked
that question, and I hope fans are glad I asked
it too, because it's it's a really I hadn't thought
about it. That's why it's so great to have an
offense alive and sitting next to me. Yeah, it's good stuff,
or all the questions.
Speaker 4 (19:48):
That's good stuff. Well, we're gonna stick out.
Speaker 3 (19:49):
We're gonna get back to that right side of the
offense line. Some other news from around camp as well,
including a roster move when we continue in the locker
room here on the Steelers Audio Network.
Speaker 1 (20:02):
This is live coverageop the twenty twenty six Steelers Training
Camp or the Steelers Audio Network, presented by pod Light,
Easy to Drink, easy.
Speaker 2 (20:13):
To enjoy, and brought to you in part by.
Speaker 1 (20:15):
Always Safe Flagging and Traffic Control making traffic safe again
called four one two three oh one twenty three hundred,
or visit us online at awsafe dot net for a
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Speaker 3 (20:53):
And welcome back to Saint Vincent College in Latrobe. As
we're talking offensive line, so you know, I think the
expectation is Zach Frazier is going to be absolutely fine.
We're not worried about that at all. That the left side,
whereas you could see a hiccup or two possibly, it's
going to be just fine. I want to get to
(21:14):
the right side in a moment. But I do want
to ask you, do you think that a couple of
more reps, maybe a couple of more series, maybe even
extra to quarter would benefit those guys on the left
side in preseason or do you think they don't need it?
Speaker 4 (21:31):
I will say this so before I answer your question,
I have to make an announcement. Okay, I have now
officially switched from the right side to the left side
with my headset. Yes, that's good, that's good. It's a
big moment. I wanted to make sure everybody knew, and
I can tell you that I feel good at the left.
I feel good at the.
Speaker 3 (21:47):
Left right now. So I think you know answer your question.
So let me tell you why this is important. Okay,
So people are listening on the radio. I can't see us.
I'm sitting on the left, which is where I sit
in the broadcast when we're calling the games. Max is
sitting to the right, and so there we have headsets on,
and the headsets there's a little arm bar that comes
(22:08):
out and the microphone is in front of your mouth,
but it's not quite in front of your mouth. It's
a little bit angled to one side. The side that
is coming out of the armbar. So when I turn
to Max to and I turn to my right, I'm
turning toward the microphone. Correct, and so therefore hopefully so
now you can't see me on the radio. But now
I'm turning to the right, and the audio quality remains
(22:30):
the same. And Justin Miller, who's back at the controls,
doesn't have to pot up or down my audio. He's happy, exactly,
said Justin.
Speaker 4 (22:39):
Are you happy? Right now?
Speaker 3 (22:41):
We have Justin Miller, We have Justin pot yourself up,
Justin let us know if you're happy.
Speaker 4 (22:45):
He might just be so happy that he can't. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (22:49):
So Max had it on the right, so if he
would turn to the left and face me, because we're
human beings, sentient beings talking to each other, so we're
gonna look at each other. Yeah, yeah, then that now
he's turning to the microphone. Therefore he's he's moved it
from his right side. So if he was turning from
his right to his left, he'd be turning away from
that microphone. Correct, So so watch out the difference in
my audio. So here I'm talking. See, so you can't.
Speaker 4 (23:13):
Have that exactly, And I think making that that that
game time because we have new headsets also about it,
also new headsets, so getting used to it. And the
sound is more focalized, right because the old one was
a bigger mount so you could have that variance and
it could be on my right side and I could
turn left because it had a bigger receiver to catch
(23:35):
my voice. This one's a little bit more pointed, almost
like a little like mini ice cream cone, and it's directed,
so I need to have make sure that I'm on
top of it and that you can hear me clearly
when I turn away and look at Rob. So I've
made that switch to the left side. So well done.
There you go. We just told you how the sausage
was made, and now that I'm on the left side,
(23:55):
I can now communicate about left side things.
Speaker 3 (23:58):
So do they will they or do they mean? And
again we don't know. Look, there's a lot that goes
into into preseason games, some of it.
Speaker 4 (24:07):
You know.
Speaker 3 (24:07):
Mike McCarthy's been on load management. He talked about, you know,
having a super physical camp early on in Green Bay
and his team was fried by week ten, you know,
so he doesn't want to do that. So load management
is part of this. And but do you think it
would be whove those guys to have extra reps. Do
you think it doesn't matter that much to have extra
reps to see some live things going on as they
(24:30):
acclimate moving and I'm talking now about McCormick and fout
Tana as they acclimate moving from the right side to
the left.
Speaker 4 (24:36):
Side, I think they will get the rest because I
think because of the right tackle battle, you'll have to
keep them in to get fair comparisons. So I think
they will get a couple more rest because you'll have
Dylan Cook over there, Maxian Achure right, and you'll also
have Brock and Spencer, so you won't have necessarily the
(24:57):
swing guys to go over there and relieve them while
the others are all right, So you will probably see
a little bit more. Thing I thought, again, I trust
your lineman, yes, not only on what they see on
the field, but also when we're going to eat trust
where alignment right now? Oh that's a that's a definite
two cardinal rules there. But yeah, so I think you
(25:17):
are going to see them a little bit more just
because there's an open battle on the right.
Speaker 3 (25:21):
Okay, so let's talk about the open battle on the
right because that's going to be a big one. Do
you sense that it's going a certain way? And you
know what, forget that it's way too early to tell.
Let let's jump into what it's going to be the
main event, because I'm sure we'll get into this as
we get closer about the most important things we're going
to watch.
Speaker 4 (25:40):
That's going to be one of them. For me?
Speaker 3 (25:41):
Is that right side of the offensive line?
Speaker 4 (25:44):
Do you think.
Speaker 3 (25:46):
That will have a larger impact than it might normally
how these guys perform. So, for example, unless there is
a an unexpected oh my gosh, have you seen we
got swinging gate in that left side, they're gonna be fine.
Right now, the expectation is gonna be fine. Is it
going to be a smooth road? You hope it is.
Is it gonna be bumpy? That wouldn't be unexpected. The
(26:09):
right side is all about competing for spots exactly. Yes,
So I would imagine that those performances and you're trying again,
I mean like, think about you know, the backup quarterback position,
right you want you want whoever that is battling for
the backup quarters backspot to not be overwhelmed.
Speaker 4 (26:28):
If they're a young guy.
Speaker 3 (26:29):
But to be given a fair shake against other teams
better defenses. So we see it all the time in
training camp, geting, Oh my, that running back ran eleven
times for eighty eight yards.
Speaker 4 (26:41):
Yeah against two Yeah.
Speaker 3 (26:43):
Right, so that is that's important. Yeah, and maybe your
third string line is better than their third string line. Okay,
well that's not gonna matter because none of those guys
are gonna be on your team exactly.
Speaker 4 (26:53):
And you're and it's like, like I said, Michael Parsons
isn't playing in this game. He's injured, But you can't
extrapolate who the third outside backer is thinking, ah, man,
well if that was Michael Parsons, you know he would
have done. Know, you don't know, right, you don't know.
But compared to what they have, our threes are better
than your threes. That's great. But can that three be
(27:16):
a one? Right? Right? Can that three play up to
the level of competing against one level talent? Can they
raise their game? All things equal, looks good, but can
you raise your game? Can you take it to another level?
Can you go another gear to get ready for what
NFL starting talent looks like? In week seven? Right in
week thirteen, where like its pressure is on the fire,
(27:40):
and you've got to make sure that you are playing
because you're playing for first place in your division, you're
playing for a playoff spot. Can you answer the call
and be ready for that guy on third and eight right,
he's got his ears pinned back, like that's what you're
looking for in this And I think for the preseason
you're not necessarily gonna get that because obviously they like
shitting them on their first string guys. But the guys
(28:01):
you are gonna put out there early in that game,
those guys matter because those guys are guys fighting for
roster spots. Those are guys are gonna be rotational guys
defensively because the same guys don't play every snap. So
you're gonna get NFL quality talent and how do they
look on from one game to the next. And that's
why I think you will see a little more Troy
and Mason on the left to make sure you give
(28:22):
the right side a fair shake so that Dylan gets
fresh reps at right tackle, and then Maxianchure gets the
fresh reps and also Broderick Jones gets the fresh reps
as much as possible, and then whatever they didn't get
in that first game. They'll get it in the second
game against the Jets, right, so you're going to see
a little bit more of that first line and Aaron's
playing in the first two preseason games. Remember that that
(28:43):
was what was talked about. Mike McCarthy said, Hey, I
want you to play in the in the Green Bay
and the Jets game. He's gonna play in the Green
Band in the Jets and he hasn't really had meaningful
preseason napsince twenty eighteen. So now you got your ace
back there. This is the guy you need to ride with.
I'm gonna keep the best protection out there possible.
Speaker 3 (29:01):
Yeah, of kind of important, kind of important to keep.
Speaker 4 (29:03):
You can't give a OLA or a lookout block.
Speaker 3 (29:07):
No no, no, no, no no no no, no, no,
no no. He's got to be out there. And uh
and I think that's I think that's really interesting.
Speaker 4 (29:18):
I'm for it, Max for it. Get out there. These
aren't meaningless games. These are evaluation opportunities for how good
my team can be. And I need to make sure
that I'm getting the best guys because once again, there's
a lot of talent out here, right, So you can't
just kind of blow off the games in these moments
because you're getting you need a fair evaluation to make
(29:38):
sure you're putting the best guys out there, because, like
I said, you're gonna end up cutting a guy that's
going to contribute on another team. So make sure we
get the best of those options and the guy that
goes to the other team is not our best.
Speaker 3 (29:50):
Option, right, and then sharpening guys up like Aaron Rodgers.
I think that's a really interesting decision. It kind of
goes against a lot of the trends. And yet, you know,
sometimes a team will kind of ease into what they're
trying to do.
Speaker 4 (30:05):
Matthew Staffer's not playing a preseason game. Yeah, your off's
not playing a preseason game.
Speaker 3 (30:11):
Now, I will say this, those guys are they are
not running new offenses.
Speaker 4 (30:18):
They also yet you're correct they are not. Now. Granted,
you could also argue Aaron's not running a new right either.
He's familiar with this. He's running an old office. He
just hasn't run it recently. That's really true. Yeah, Okay,
so it's still plenty to get to.
Speaker 3 (30:33):
Unfortunately, more to get to than we have time for,
including that roster move that we haven't gotten to that
we're going to tell you about when we continue in
the locker room from Saint Vincent College here on the
Steelers Audio Network.
Speaker 1 (30:43):
This is live Coverery Chump twenty twenty six Steelers Training
Camp or the Steelers Audio Network, presented by bud Light,
Easy to Drink, easy to enjoy, and brought.
Speaker 2 (30:55):
To you in part by your neighborhood Ford store.
Speaker 4 (30:59):
Queen you Pitch.
Speaker 1 (31:00):
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Speaker 4 (31:27):
And Welcome back to lovely Saint Vincent College. In the
trob let's talk about flying to the trope. We're in
the trope. Yeah, we are in Latrop. We're right across
the street from the Arnold Palmer Airport. So we're tuck
cozy in the little valley here at St.
Speaker 3 (31:43):
Vincent's coal I don't know if there's I don't know
what's going on at the airport there, So I'm not
the if you want to know what's going on in
the world, I'm the last person you want to ask
because I literally don't know. Yeah, but I do know
that the I do know that the fine Italian restaurant
there is Don't Do It is still open.
Speaker 4 (32:00):
That Italian wedding soup is still one of my favorite
the muscles as well another another crowd favorite there when
when me and my my buddies usually descend on there,
we'll usually go there one or two times during training camp.
I haven't made my first visit yet, but just know
that when I go there, I'm always giving me the
wedding soup. I love it. It's good stuff.
Speaker 3 (32:19):
So when it comes to these preseason football games and
ascertaining who's going to start at right guard, right tackle, look,
I know there's other things involved. Are they in the
meetings paying attention in meetings? Do they know what's going on?
You know, it's not just about did he flatten somebody
(32:40):
or pancake somebody or make a wow play like so
you know we can see somebody make a splash play
even if they're running with the ones, and you know,
maybe they're not. Maybe they don't. They lucked into it.
They don't know, you know, in a critical moment when
they need to run a quick stop and Aaron Rodgers
(33:02):
is gonna get up and throw that stop pattern and
he throws the ball and they're running the slant that
was called because he didn't recognize the defense, and it
goes right into the chest to the defender who.
Speaker 4 (33:11):
Takes it for a pick six.
Speaker 3 (33:12):
That's the stuff you can't ascertain necessarily by watching a
preseason game. So the point being, it's not just what
we're gonna see, but it feels to me Max like
there are legitimate jobs on the line at right guard,
at right tackle that will largely be one or lost
(33:36):
in preseason games. Do you think that's accurate?
Speaker 4 (33:39):
I think it is okay. As far as starting roles, Yeah,
that's right. As far as starting roles go, those are
the two because I think everywhere else you look, starters
are pretty much slated. You know who the starter is
going to be. And maybe there's a rotational type of thing,
especially defensively, about how those guys insert when they play,
(33:59):
who starts game based on personnel. All those things are subjective,
but when you're talking about a starting position that will
be one specifically off of preseason games in training camp,
it's the right garden, right tackle position. Those are two
open positions here in camp. I think we know who
the number two receiver is, Michael Pittman, and then you
(34:21):
have upside for your number three's Roman Wilson, Jeremy Bernard,
Kayden wegen Wright, insert names here, and then you'll kind
of fill out your five to six receivers that you'll
keep running back. We know is Rico Dadele and Jalen Warren.
However you deploy them as a completely different thing. Mike
McCarthy talked about that today, talking about I don't want
to have He's like one of the things why the
(34:42):
guys play as much as they do. I don't want
to worry about who's in on third down. I don't
want to think about what guy I need to put
in there, so we know who they are, and then
after that we'll figure out whether that's Caleb Johnson, Travis Homer,
Lou Nichols, Eli hyden Reich and company. Right tight end,
Dona W. Washington just got paid, Pat Fryarm has been paid. Yes,
(35:04):
we know those are your top two, is it Robert Tanyan,
Is it Lake Lake McCree, is it somebody else? Right,
That's where we're figuring out who the third guy is.
But as far as starters, when I name the I
name the starting position. Aaron Rodgers is the starting quarterback. Yes,
otherwise noted. Right, those are the things we know. So
backup positions might alternate and change, and those might be
(35:26):
other side battles, but those are the two that are
going to affect because offensive linemen, it's the Spartan methodology, right,
when you go out there as a starter, come back
with your shielder on it. But the only way you're
getting out is an injury situation. We're we're not flip
flopping lines. We're not flip flopping players based on situations.
(35:47):
You're in as long as you're healthy, as long as
you're doing your job, you are in there. There's no
sub package that doesn't have you at alignment like Spencer Anderson, right,
the sixth of ol Linman type of deal, extra tight
end type of deal. But that's it. And so I
think you're absolutely right, those are the two that we're
going to stay with once they are announced, and it's
(36:08):
going to be one in training campus going to be
an open competition until we have final cuts. Yeap.
Speaker 3 (36:15):
I totally agree with all of that. I agree that
I just don't think there are that many. I don't
think you're any any front line positions open except right
guard and right tackle. I think that's why I respect,
That's why I've spent an entire show talking about this,
because I think that's it.
Speaker 4 (36:35):
Max. They are the battles. They are the battles because
we know who our top three pass rushers are, right right,
dj Alex and Nick Kurbick. You know the corner four. Yep,
we know who the corners are. Joey Porter Junior did
not lose his job by not practicing, but having Jamel
Din and Sante Samuel now is like, okay, well, which
one do we want to start? Depends on who we got.
We have options, right, We know that Jakwan Brisker and
(36:58):
Deshaun Elliott are two says, but we also love the
fact that we can add a couple extra guys. Sebastian Castro.
Where does he fit into this right now? Where do
these other pieces fit in there? Linebacker Patrick Queen, Payton Wilson.
Are we having much talk about that? Nope? But we're saying,
Malie Harrison called Holkom, Carson, Brunner and company. Who fills
(37:19):
in there? Henderson? Where do these guys fill in on
that D line? We know that cam Herward ain't going nowhere,
Keanu Binnen ain't going nowhere, Derek Harmon ain't going anywhere, right,
and then we have a pretty good idea that Sebastian
Joseph Day you brought him in a free agency, He's
going to be there, right. We know also after that
you're gonna have ya Black, He's going to be there. Yep.
(37:41):
Now the question is who's six, seven, eight right right
for that D line or nine? However, however many they
keep on the D line. That's what you're fighting for.
You're fighting for the back end of the depth, right.
But this is the first and only two front line
positions that are open that are going to be dictated
that you're gonna watch live how good or bad they do.
Speaker 3 (38:01):
And those are all interesting battles. But yes, this is
front and center for me.
Speaker 4 (38:06):
Now.
Speaker 3 (38:06):
Sometimes you know again you talk, and I think it's
really interesting that Mike McCarthy's talked about units of two
or three. I think that we all think about units.
When it comes to say the wide receiver position. That's
that might be the easiest to look at that and
defense it back when you start to go into nickel
and dime, and you know, sometimes there's just a missing
(38:28):
piece in that. That's that causes the engine to splutter
a little bit, you know, And it's just but but
I will also say this. We know you know if
you took that engine apart and said, what are the
pieces there? Well, the pieces are going to be Jamel Dean,
Joey Porter Jr. Jalen Ramsey, Sean Elliott. You know you
know who the pieces are gonna be Samuel now right now?
(38:51):
So now yeah, now it's hey, are we better off?
Speaker 4 (38:56):
You know? Well, will it run smoothly? At all times?
Will run smoothly?
Speaker 3 (38:59):
If a Sante Samuel Junior's been an outside guy, you're
just saying for you you know, he's in the slaughter,
Echoes is in the slaughter. Ramsey's in the slaughter. No,
Ramsey's at safety. What is the best combination of those things?
Can one guy on an offensive line cause that engine
to splutter? Or would you need so you replace just
(39:21):
that one piece and it all comes together? Or is
that just an oversimplification of what the importance of one position.
Speaker 4 (39:28):
No, it does matter because you're only strong as your
weakest link. Right, you've heard that. We've heard that phrase
a lot in our life. But for the offensive line,
that's what matters. Like it has to be five guys
as one. You can't have four in a wildcard. You
can't have three and two possibles, right if we're talking
cards and play spades a lot. So that's where the
possible comes in. You've got to have five guys that
(39:48):
you believe is the best five combination together. And that's
how you have to operate. If you have one squeaky
wheel or one sputtering part, it collapses because now they
found their way in. Right. It's just like you know
you talk about, you know, a break in a dam
(40:10):
or a dyke, right, you know that once that little
water leak creeps in there, it keeps going, keeps going,
keeps going, keeps becoming a bigger problem. And now we've
got to figure out how do we patch it? And
do you patch it with an extra guy blocking? A
year ago we ran our best football when we were
in twelve and thirteen personnel. Why because we had to
bring Spencer Anderson and be an extra tight end. Yeah,
(40:32):
we a six offensive linemen to run the football effectively.
There's a weakness there. If you can't run with your five,
there's a problem. And they were trying to patch it
the entire time. Now you don't have that option. We
need to run with five. And I'm not going to
make any assumptions about what we need to do. I
just need it answered. And there's a lot of different
(40:53):
answers in different parts you can fit in may Maybe
I need an eddel Brock header. Maybe the factory one
wasn't working good enough on this engine. Maybe I need
to switch to Mopar. Right, you know, you start figuring
HEMI right, what's gonna be the best piece that's gonna
fit to make this engine as effective and run as
fast as it can? And intake system? Do I need
(41:15):
a blower or can I just trust that the regular
intake is gonna be great? You know you're looking for
all these different adjustments and aftermarket parts to make it
be more efficient. But that's what you gotta have. You
got to have the best pieces there to make this
offense run the best. And for an offensive line, you
can't have a weak offensive linement. Right, You've got to
have strong parts all around, and they have to have
(41:37):
different strengths. I'm not saying they all need to be
exactly the same. We're not gonna put five Zack Frasiers
out there, right, because it's not gonna work, you know,
because Zach is better at center. Zach. I don't think
it's a great left tackle, right, you know what I'm saying.
But I need to put the best left tackle out
there that makes a quarterback feel comfortable, right, that can
communicate cleanly with the rest of his line, that him
(41:58):
and the left guard vibe together or flow together. That's
been another big key phrase here. Flow. Mike McCarthy wants
to see flow in practice. Okay, so how well does
that flow? I don't need a clog in the communication highway, right,
I don't need congestion. I need free flow between all
five guys. So you're looking for the best combination of five,
(42:18):
not necessarily the five best players, but the five best
players that work together. Yeah, that was leading to my
next question.
Speaker 3 (42:25):
So, I mean, it's the two guys who are gonna
work best with the three guys you already know who
are starting, right, it's incumbent upon them to find a
way to fit into that machine.
Speaker 4 (42:38):
Correct, Ye, shave a little bit off the edge because
you're a square peg. You need a little more oval. Okay,
but you're not quite a round peg, you know. You know. Hey,
We're going to see how this works and can it
build over the season. Also, there's a little bit of
projection in there. Can this get better? Is it good
enough now? And can it get better by the end
of the year. That's what the projection is. So a
(43:01):
guy like Maxianachure, I have no idea what he's gonna
look like in the pros. I only know what he
did in college. Does that college Max now become a
better option as a promax or is it Dylan Cook
who showed me great strides at left? But does that
translate to the right? Spencer Anderson is good at five positions,
(43:24):
but can he be great at one position? Right? Those
are the questions we're looking to answer. Brock Hofflin was
really good in Dallas. Can he be really good here
in Pittsburgh? Those are the questions. Look at Roderick Jones,
can you go back to the right or do you
need to compete for the left? Because that's what you are.
(43:46):
I need to answer that, and that's what the opportunities
are going to give during this whole process is can
they do that? Can they make that conversion?
Speaker 3 (43:54):
Okay, so final question for you in that regard if
it and I you know, would hate a player to
be damned for position flexibility, but if if things were
relatively even, and and there's almost no such thing, right,
there's no such thing as as one hundred percent even,
but if things were relatively even, max, does could position
(44:20):
flexibility actually hurt a guy? You know the fact that
he could potentially Thank you, I just knocked over a
a can that's spilled all over.
Speaker 4 (44:34):
The you're electronics. I was like, yeah, so.
Speaker 3 (44:40):
Will could that flexibility hurt somebody? Where the coach says,
you know what, it's pretty close. But if there's an injury,
now I got to move the right tackle to left guard,
the left guard, the center of the center to left
tack or I could just say I got one guy
that can play all those positions.
Speaker 4 (44:56):
I could just plug him in.
Speaker 3 (44:58):
Could that flexibility actually against the guy trying to start?
Are you just going to start the best five and
worry about that stuff as it comes up?
Speaker 4 (45:06):
Over the course of a game. I think you have
to take it as such, who's the best guy for
the job at hand, right, and then we can worry
about the backup guy afterwards.
Speaker 3 (45:16):
I think so too, But I think it's worth pointing
out because people talk about position flexibility all the time.
Speaker 4 (45:22):
Let's not over sell that.
Speaker 3 (45:23):
Yeah, versus starting and playing hopefully every snap of every game.
Speaker 4 (45:27):
Yeah, the jack of all Tray's master of none methodology. Right,
you don't want that, but it's good to know that. Hey,
he might be struggling right now, but don't forget he's
a valuable piece because this dude can go everywhere. Right now,
it might.
Speaker 3 (45:40):
Yeah, so if as long as it as long as
it doesn't hurt you in your in your in your
efforts to start, can't hurt you when.
Speaker 4 (45:50):
It comes to trying to make the team. Yeah, help.
Speaker 5 (45:54):
Number I can either be number five on this list
or I know I'm not falling below eight, right, getting
a helmet, whether it starts the game or whether I
get inserted during the game.
Speaker 4 (46:04):
He's Max Starks, I'm Robed King. We always enjoy being
with you.
Speaker 3 (46:07):
Day off tomorrow, We'll be back on these airwaves on Thursday.
Looking forward to things ramping up. The ramp up is over.
Speaker 4 (46:17):
We are ready to go.
Speaker 3 (46:20):
Everyone's gonna get ready to take scrimmage on Saturday. Would
imagine we'll see some We'll see some testosteron let's say
on Thursday and Friday.
Speaker 4 (46:30):
It would be fun. Clap Yeah, he's Max Starks. I'm
Rob King.
Speaker 3 (46:34):
The Drive is coming up next with Wes and Matt.
We thank you for being with us in the locker
room here and this year there's Audio Network
This is live coverage of the twenty twenty six Steelers
training camp or the Steelers Audio Network, presented by bod Light,
Easy to Drink, Easy.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
To enjoy, and brought to you in part by.
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Speaker 3 (00:50):
And welcome back to Saint Vincent College in the trope
where you are inside the locker room with Max Starks, myself,
Rob King, We thank you very much for being with us.
We are talking of offensive line, all things offensive line
because of how important it is to this team, and
so Max, you know, the Troy Foultano really looked good
last year at right tackle, just got better and better,
(01:12):
and his first year as the starters, the season went along,
and then you know Mason McCormick, right next to him
a year plus. Starting that duo seemed to look good. Well,
now you draft a haunt a chour and you flop
those guys to the left side. And there was there
was thoughts. There are a lot of thoughts about Troy foul Tan.
It was such a good player that a lot of
people thought, Hey, he could be an all world guard,
(01:32):
he could be a really good starting tackle. Well they've
kept him at the tackle position, and you know, I
don't think they've even entertained the guard thing. That was
more people talking, Yeah, but anyway, don't know about these
cookies by the way, Yeah don't. You'll be answering and
I'll be eating soon. So the we got a little
(01:56):
punch he here in the trope. So you move those
two guys. What is the biggest first of all, talk
about the difficulties of a tackle moving from one side
to the other, even if you have experience at both
of those positions.
Speaker 4 (02:11):
Well, the first thing that you have to worry about
is mentally switching over plays. Now, the good thing is here,
this is a unique situation for Troy. This is all
a brand new offense, right, this is a brand new terminology.
So he's not carrying over old scheme habits to the
other side, so coming into this he can kind of
(02:31):
be relatively new. The thing that he's going to be
fighting more is biomechanicska, meaning physiologically, he's taken so many
reps at right tackle over the past year right that
you have to now retrain your body to kick the
left leg back as opposed to keeping you up as
a post leg and work on a different angle in
(02:52):
the opposite direction than what you're used to, and just
doing enough reps to be comfortable with that new neuropathway
okay for his body and for him, that was the
biggest thing, you know, left foot back, right foot forward,
you know, versus the other way around at the right
tackle position. And then how do I see things now?
(03:15):
You know you're a little bit more left eye dominance
for your outside edge versus your right eye dominance. You know,
you're worried about more reactionary to the inside. You're trying
to keep a guy wide to your left and he's
going to be lining up to the left, so you
need to be able to keep an eye on him
while also keeping an eye on the ball. Those are
the kind of the little physiological things that you have
to change and then flipping the plays. In your mind,
(03:37):
you're used to a tube being to your side. Now
it's a three or an odd number to the left,
even number to the right at the flip. What the
strength is to me when I hear a play call
and when I'm digesting it. So those are kind of
the subtle differences you have to make, and so for
Troy so far has not been an issue.
Speaker 3 (03:56):
So for example, like if you're playing left tackle, if
you're playing right tackle, this is fairly obvious and I
don't know if this happens to you quickly, but your
first move is going to be TJ. Here comes TJ.
Watt your right tackle. Your first move is to drop
step back with your right leg and try to square
up to them. The left tackle, obviously, your first step
is to drop back with your left leg to square
(04:19):
up to that pass rusher who's trying to beat you
on an outside path? Is that what you're kind of
talking about, as far as the neudological pathways and that
sort of thing.
Speaker 4 (04:26):
My push leg on the right side is my left leg,
so I'm pushing from the inside out to my right
and then your right leg is Now what we call
it gather the gather step or the gather leg. Right,
you're pushing so far forward that the right leg now
keeps you in balance because it's sticking in the ground
and you're sliding your left leg. Flip that left side.
(04:47):
Now I'm pushing off with my right leg to go left,
and now my left foot is my gather step or
my gather foot to bring me back to balance. It's
a complete opposite of what you been doing. So that's
where the neurological side of it comes into it, and
so you have to get comfortable with that. And in
(05:07):
traditional circumstances, I'll say this, that progression comes a little
bit slower because you're not getting as many reps. Well,
here in the Mike McCarthy camp, everybody goes back to school, right,
like Rodney Dangerfield. We're going back to school, guys. Yeah,
and he's getting a lot more reps than he normally
would on a daily basis. To speed up that process,
(05:28):
to get more comfortable, to make it easier to hit
the triple, Indy, exactly. That's right. You got to be
able to hit that triple Lindy. I mean, you know
it's a ten meter board up there. This is, this
is this is not just a little you know, a
little one meter board right off right off the pool
that's in your backyard.
Speaker 3 (05:42):
I just can I just since you brought since you
brought up that movie, can I just tell you that
one of them as an English literature major in college.
Speaker 4 (05:49):
That was my major.
Speaker 3 (05:51):
And if anybody out there is ever sat in an
English class in college, you know what this is like.
If you've ever majored in it, you know what this
is like. Three times a week, five days a week,
three times a day, five days a week.
Speaker 4 (06:06):
For four years.
Speaker 3 (06:07):
Yeah, Well, what do you think of what's your interpretation
of what so and so means here?
Speaker 4 (06:12):
Well?
Speaker 3 (06:13):
I think it's kind of a Freudian suko.
Speaker 4 (06:15):
But you know, and you're.
Speaker 3 (06:16):
Just like, what is this dude talking about? What is
my fellow student talking about? He's just making up worse.
Speaker 4 (06:21):
So in the movie, in the movie back to School.
So that's everybody.
Speaker 3 (06:25):
Everybody's got an interpretation, and it's you know, it's always
deeper than you think.
Speaker 4 (06:29):
Sometimes you're like, why I didn't wring that. I never
thought about that anyway.
Speaker 3 (06:32):
So, So Rodney Dangerfield goes back to school and he is, uh,
he needs to write a paper on Kurt Vonnegut, right,
but he doesn't have time because he's running his business
and he's looking after his son. So he calls up
Kurt Vonnegut, who's a friend of his, and writes a
paper and he gets like a d on it. And
the woman says, well, whoever wrote this paper clearly has
(06:55):
no idea about Kurt Vonnegut.
Speaker 4 (06:56):
And k wrote the paper, So that's I love that.
Speaker 3 (07:00):
That's like the revenge for the English seat you like,
or English student you're like, That's exactly what it's like
to be not Okay, I've listened, love you all, all
you English professors out there. I'm not trying to pick
on you anyway. So so learning all this new stuff,
hitting the triple Lindy out there on the left side,
is the hardest part, The neurological part.
Speaker 4 (07:19):
Do you think. I think it's the hardest. The hardest
part because you're fighting your nature, right, You're fighting what
your experience is telling you, what your body is conditioned for.
You're fighting all of that conditioning and programming. So I
think that's where it becomes the toughest part is counteracting
what you've been taught and what you've been doing for
(07:41):
the last year. You've only been a right tackle, You've
only taken right tackle snaps, and now this year be
the left tackle. Believe the left tackle breed the left tackle.
You are the left tackle, and so you're fighting all
of that extra stuff that you had before. Throw it
out the window. We're starting from the ground floor again.
(08:03):
And I think that's what it is now. The blessing
that he has is he's done it before. This isn't
the first time he's had to do this. Whereas Broderick Jones.
When Broderick came in Projerick was just a left tackle
and then had to learn to play right tackle. Troy
at least has experience in college playing both, so it's
not as tough a transition because he's already gone through
(08:23):
it one time.
Speaker 3 (08:25):
So have you, I'm trying to think. I know you've
been to Portugal, right, So have you ever been to
one of the British aisles where you drive on the
other side of the road?
Speaker 4 (08:37):
One time? Okay, and I'll never do it again.
Speaker 3 (08:39):
So I do it all the time when we travel
over there. My daughter lives in Scotland. When we go
over there, I said all the time, like I'm there
twice a year.
Speaker 4 (08:46):
I'm not.
Speaker 3 (08:47):
But in the times that I've been over in Ireland
and Scotland, I love to drive myself. I like to
poke around and see different things, so I want to
be behind the wheel of a car. So you're driving
on the wrong side of the road, which is a
little freaky, and I'm trying to I'm wondering if this
is similar. And then right when you think you've got
it down because you're concentrating so hard on it, something
(09:09):
will take over, like the way you've always done it
for decades as a driver like me, and you'll come
up to like an intersection and.
Speaker 4 (09:19):
You will just out you will be in the wrong place.
Speaker 3 (09:22):
Right, You're going around and round about yeah, and you're thinking, okay,
I want to I need to go to the right.
Well you actually need to go to the left. And
then all of a sudden, and I've been there, man.
You know it's your jet lagged and you're leaving an
air you're leaving an airport. You got a rental car,
and you go the wrong way even though you're thinking
about it, and the horns start blaring and they know
it's a foreigner. You know, behind the wheel of a car.
(09:43):
But so no matter how you're thinking about it, I
guess my point is that instinct will take over, and
you've got to be able to drum that instinct out
of you if you want to drive and not get
in an accident and get the people in your car hurt.
Speaker 4 (09:58):
Is it that way?
Speaker 3 (09:59):
Do you get to a point where that instinct takes
over and you're like, oh, man, I moved the wrong
way because I've done that a thousand times and I've
only done this, you know, ten times, And.
Speaker 4 (10:09):
That's exactly what is That's a perfect analogy, apples to apples,
and the roundabout is the perfect example because you know,
first of all, how often do you encounter roundabouts in America?
Speaker 3 (10:19):
They're getting more common though, they're getting more and I'll
be a son of a gun if the things don't
work the first time I'm doing them, Like why are
these roundabouts?
Speaker 2 (10:26):
Put a light here?
Speaker 3 (10:27):
Then I'm like, that's actually a pretty good idea. There's
one outside of us, save it's a college.
Speaker 4 (10:35):
There's a roundabout exactly, so you know, you get to that,
And that's a perfect example. Is well, every time I've
gone through a roundabout in America. I go right. But
here I get to this roundabout for the first time,
and I'm on the left side of the road. I
got to go to the left to go right, I
gotta take this long way around. Yes, it's like normally
that's the left turn that takes the long way around.
(10:56):
So that's a perfect example that leads me into it.
You're gonna to a point where a guy's gonna rush
down the middle of you, and your instinct is, oh, well,
I just need to drop my right leg and let
him keep going because that's the path I need him
to go as a right tackle. But I'm on the left.
Oh my god. Okay, I get think the battles that
you're fighting even harder to cut him off. So you
(11:17):
don't kill your quarterback because you just open the barn
door and just allow them a free rush to the inside.
Speaker 3 (11:22):
Okay, now here's my next question. So, yes, there is
going to be some differences for Troy Foutano. Now, yeah,
I think there's a little bit less big picture question
before I ask you about working with Mason McCormick. A
little bit less of the premiere pass rusher always comes
from the blind side right, So the left tackle has
(11:44):
got to be your best guy. He's got to be
the guy who's gonna get paid. He's the guy we're
drafting in the first round.
Speaker 4 (11:50):
Well. TJ.
Speaker 3 (11:51):
Watson a great example of a guy who's on the
other side, But Miles Garrett a great example of a
guy who you never know where he's going to line up.
So I don't don't know. Do you think now the
left tackle is still the most important position on the
offensive line? Is it a twins just a little bit
(12:11):
less that we have to have a certain type of
guy there. So my point being Troy was excellent at
right tackle. Is he facing bigger obstacles and bigger changes
on the left tackle spot or has that changed a
little bit because of the way guys move around.
Speaker 4 (12:31):
I think it's still an important side because it's still
an important side. Yes, it's still the more important side.
It's still the most important side because the quarterback can't
see right no matter who you put over there. The
quarterback has to trust you right no matter who they
line up. Now they have guys like also go along
with the T. J. Watt and Nick Bosa, you know,
lines up on the same offensive right, defensive left and
(12:55):
is effective from there as a more athletic guy now
at that left side, that the that the right tackle
has to be aware of. It has to be more athletic.
But once again, the quarterback can see an adjust that
a lot easier. Even though those guys are premier guys,
you're still getting the premier guy on the backside because
he's got to be the athletic one that has to
(13:15):
whip the block and he's the one that's going to
give the no man's lamb hit. Yeah, So that's why
I still think left tackle is the most important unless
you have a left handed quarterback. If the quarterback can't
see it, that's still what always makes it just danger.
Will Robinson right, for sure?
Speaker 3 (13:29):
I yes, I thank you because you answered in a
way that took my poorly phrased question and put it
into context. I wasn't trying to ask is it still
the most important I was asking is are the are
the players? Are you still going against the premier pass rushers.
Speaker 4 (13:44):
For years, you were.
Speaker 3 (13:45):
Always going against their best guy, their Lawrence Taylor because
he was going to line up on that blind side
every single time.
Speaker 4 (13:54):
Now I think.
Speaker 3 (13:55):
There are, but it's still going to be a challenge
obviously moving from right to left. So irrespective of who
those players are, now, what about having a Mason McCormick
come next to him Max?
Speaker 4 (14:05):
Is that a big deal?
Speaker 3 (14:06):
Those two guys are used to working each other, Now
they're gonna be working. It reminds me of one of
one of the greatest lines of all time. You know,
Fred Astaire was a sorry, I'm going a few times.
Fredis the great dancer Fred and his dance partner was
Ginger Rogers, and you know, they somebody asked her, she's
a great dancer. Obviously, somebody asked her about, you know,
(14:28):
dancing with Fredister. What was it like dancing with somebody
who is that great? And she said, well, don't forget
that I was doing the same stuff that Fred was doing,
only I was moving backwards and I was in high heels.
Speaker 4 (14:40):
Yeah, good point, Ginger.
Speaker 3 (14:45):
So now, right, so now you have these guys, they're
they're they're they're not playing in high heels, believe me,
but they're doing it backward.
Speaker 4 (14:52):
Right, they're on the left.
Speaker 3 (14:56):
They're together again. Right, they're working in tandem again, but
it's on the left side. Is there going to be
a comfort level with both of those guys being switched.
A lot of times you'd just see we're moving the
right tackle to the left tackle. I thought it was
fascinating that they moved them both to the left side,
So they must think that that's going to help the
(15:19):
adjustment for both of them, that they're a unit. Did
you feel like it was a unit sort of thing
on the offensive line, left tackle, left guard.
Speaker 4 (15:26):
Yeah. I think the combinations matter because they're used to communicating.
They know each other's idiosyncrasies, right, they know they know
how each other ticks. They've talked and communicated and made
calls to each other over the past year, so they
kind of have a familiarity with the voice, the cadence
that they're changing stuff. They could be more nuanced, and
(15:48):
I think that just speeds up that process. Having your
buddy over there with you, and also your buddy is
going to be learning with you. And granted, the guard
is going to be easier learning curve because you're in
a phone booth. Right, you have a funnel tackle sideboards,
there's a center there's a center sideboard, so you funnel
right to the guard. So the guard can be a
little bit narrower in stance and it's just a movement
(16:08):
thing for him. I think having him next to Troy
gives Troy a comfortability and ease of communication because Mason
also knows what Troy sees and what he doesn't see,
and vice versa. Troy knows what Mason sees and doesn't see,
and they're able to communicate with each other, and they
also know how each other likes to do things right.
You know, if Mason's free and comes for the outside block,
(16:31):
he knows that Mason's gonna come check inside and make
a B line for the guy that he's blocking is
probably gonna knock his block off, So you know that,
and you can anticipate because you've had that happen to
you in game, so you can anticipate what the support
looks like. I can be a little bit more heady
on the outside and be more aggressive because Mason's gonna
have my inside half right. There's a trust there, So
(16:54):
I think that's what really helps when you're thinking about it.
And Mike McCarthy cares a lot about those combinations. He
cares about those relationships that they have, and that's why
he did a full sale sit now. Granted, also Isaac
C Amalo's not here, so it presented a vacancy. I
don't think you would have moved Mason McCormick over there
if Isaac cmalo is still on the roster point, but
since we have a question at tackle, we have a
(17:15):
vacancy at left guard, I'd rather move both over.
Speaker 3 (17:18):
Yeah, I think it's really interesting. I hadn't even it
hadn't even crossed my mind, frankly, that they would do
that until they did it. Now will it affect Zach
Frasier at all?
Speaker 4 (17:30):
And that's where the biggest question is, how does Zach
react knowing that it's not to his right as a snaphand.
You know, how's that right guard position? Because you have
to think Zach snapping with his right hand, that's that's
an unprotected side, so that a gap is he never
had to worry because he knew Mason was going to
shut the door until he got his hand back up
right from snapping the ball underneath his legs. So now
(17:52):
who's the new guy. Is that new guy going to
protect him the same way on his snaphand interesting as
he did in the past. So that's going to be
a comfortability or you know, or Zach could be you know,
don't you know? That's about how I feel like. That's
how Zach talks.
Speaker 3 (18:08):
That's fascinating. I hadn't thought about that with a snaphand.
Speaker 4 (18:11):
So it's a protection thing and how you step because
you need to make sure that a gap is sealed
and secured until that point seven too point eight second
difference where he doesn't have that hand is he's securing
the snap to the quarterback under center. Shotguns a little
bit quicker because you can get the hand back up
because you're not worrying about feel of the quarterback, you know,
making sure it gets into his hands and hits the palms.
(18:33):
So that's gonna be a difference for him. So right
now it looks like it's not an issue because Spencer
Anderson has obviously been a swing guy on that interior.
But how does that job look seventeen weeks in a row.
How does that look from snap to snap, series to series,
defender to defender that comes in there. So that's gonna
be new for Zach to get used to, is who's
on his right, because that's the biggest thing is that
(18:56):
you know, Mason was a guy that was looking and
was and was there while Spencer was the one tapping
the butt and making the calls, or Isaac Camalo was
that guy. So now you're flipping those roles. Now, do
you carry that over and have Mason do that from
the left now so that Spencer can be free of
that and all I can worry about is just protecting
the snaphand on any given pass play. That's gonna be Well,
(19:19):
I'm still waiting to see because we haven't really seen.
I haven't seen that operation in a live, live situation
because normally by team section it's competitive, but it's not
like a game. You know.
Speaker 3 (19:30):
Boy, I'm so glad I asked that question. It's a
great answer because frankly, I was just going to stick
with the guard tackle combinations. And I'm glad I asked
that question, and I hope fans are glad I asked
it too, because it's it's a really I hadn't thought
about it. That's why it's so great to have an
offense alive and sitting next to me. Yeah, it's good stuff,
or all the questions.
Speaker 4 (19:48):
That's good stuff. Well, we're gonna stick out.
Speaker 3 (19:49):
We're gonna get back to that right side of the
offense line. Some other news from around camp as well,
including a roster move when we continue in the locker
room here on the Steelers Audio Network.
Speaker 1 (20:02):
This is live coverageop the twenty twenty six Steelers Training
Camp or the Steelers Audio Network, presented by pod Light,
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Speaker 2 (20:13):
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Speaker 3 (20:53):
And welcome back to Saint Vincent College in Latrobe. As
we're talking offensive line, so you know, I think the
expectation is Zach Frazier is going to be absolutely fine.
We're not worried about that at all. That the left side,
whereas you could see a hiccup or two possibly, it's
going to be just fine. I want to get to
(21:14):
the right side in a moment. But I do want
to ask you, do you think that a couple of
more reps, maybe a couple of more series, maybe even
extra to quarter would benefit those guys on the left
side in preseason or do you think they don't need it?
Speaker 4 (21:31):
I will say this so before I answer your question,
I have to make an announcement. Okay, I have now
officially switched from the right side to the left side
with my headset. Yes, that's good, that's good. It's a
big moment. I wanted to make sure everybody knew, and
I can tell you that I feel good at the left.
I feel good at the.
Speaker 3 (21:47):
Left right now. So I think you know answer your question.
So let me tell you why this is important. Okay,
So people are listening on the radio. I can't see us.
I'm sitting on the left, which is where I sit
in the broadcast when we're calling the games. Max is
sitting to the right, and so there we have headsets on,
and the headsets there's a little arm bar that comes
(22:08):
out and the microphone is in front of your mouth,
but it's not quite in front of your mouth. It's
a little bit angled to one side. The side that
is coming out of the armbar. So when I turn
to Max to and I turn to my right, I'm
turning toward the microphone. Correct, and so therefore hopefully so
now you can't see me on the radio. But now
I'm turning to the right, and the audio quality remains
(22:30):
the same. And Justin Miller, who's back at the controls,
doesn't have to pot up or down my audio. He's happy, exactly,
said Justin.
Speaker 4 (22:39):
Are you happy? Right now?
Speaker 3 (22:41):
We have Justin Miller, We have Justin pot yourself up,
Justin let us know if you're happy.
Speaker 4 (22:45):
He might just be so happy that he can't. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (22:49):
So Max had it on the right, so if he
would turn to the left and face me, because we're
human beings, sentient beings talking to each other, so we're
gonna look at each other. Yeah, yeah, then that now
he's turning to the microphone. Therefore he's he's moved it
from his right side. So if he was turning from
his right to his left, he'd be turning away from
that microphone. Correct, So so watch out the difference in
my audio. So here I'm talking. See, so you can't.
Speaker 4 (23:13):
Have that exactly, And I think making that that that
game time because we have new headsets also about it,
also new headsets, so getting used to it. And the
sound is more focalized, right because the old one was
a bigger mount so you could have that variance and
it could be on my right side and I could
turn left because it had a bigger receiver to catch
(23:35):
my voice. This one's a little bit more pointed, almost
like a little like mini ice cream cone, and it's directed,
so I need to have make sure that I'm on
top of it and that you can hear me clearly
when I turn away and look at Rob. So I've
made that switch to the left side. So well done.
There you go. We just told you how the sausage
was made, and now that I'm on the left side,
(23:55):
I can now communicate about left side things.
Speaker 3 (23:58):
So do they will they or do they mean? And
again we don't know. Look, there's a lot that goes
into into preseason games, some of it.
Speaker 4 (24:07):
You know.
Speaker 3 (24:07):
Mike McCarthy's been on load management. He talked about, you know,
having a super physical camp early on in Green Bay
and his team was fried by week ten, you know,
so he doesn't want to do that. So load management
is part of this. And but do you think it
would be whove those guys to have extra reps. Do
you think it doesn't matter that much to have extra
reps to see some live things going on as they
(24:30):
acclimate moving and I'm talking now about McCormick and fout
Tana as they acclimate moving from the right side to
the left.
Speaker 4 (24:36):
Side, I think they will get the rest because I
think because of the right tackle battle, you'll have to
keep them in to get fair comparisons. So I think
they will get a couple more rest because you'll have
Dylan Cook over there, Maxian Achure right, and you'll also
have Brock and Spencer, so you won't have necessarily the
(24:57):
swing guys to go over there and relieve them while
the others are all right, So you will probably see
a little bit more. Thing I thought, again, I trust
your lineman, yes, not only on what they see on
the field, but also when we're going to eat trust
where alignment right now? Oh that's a that's a definite
two cardinal rules there. But yeah, so I think you
(25:17):
are going to see them a little bit more just
because there's an open battle on the right.
Speaker 3 (25:21):
Okay, so let's talk about the open battle on the
right because that's going to be a big one. Do
you sense that it's going a certain way? And you
know what, forget that it's way too early to tell.
Let let's jump into what it's going to be the
main event, because I'm sure we'll get into this as
we get closer about the most important things we're going
to watch.
Speaker 4 (25:40):
That's going to be one of them. For me?
Speaker 3 (25:41):
Is that right side of the offensive line?
Speaker 4 (25:44):
Do you think.
Speaker 3 (25:46):
That will have a larger impact than it might normally
how these guys perform. So, for example, unless there is
a an unexpected oh my gosh, have you seen we
got swinging gate in that left side, they're gonna be fine.
Right now, the expectation is gonna be fine. Is it
going to be a smooth road? You hope it is.
Is it gonna be bumpy? That wouldn't be unexpected. The
(26:09):
right side is all about competing for spots exactly. Yes,
So I would imagine that those performances and you're trying again,
I mean like, think about you know, the backup quarterback position,
right you want you want whoever that is battling for
the backup quarters backspot to not be overwhelmed.
Speaker 4 (26:28):
If they're a young guy.
Speaker 3 (26:29):
But to be given a fair shake against other teams
better defenses. So we see it all the time in
training camp, geting, Oh my, that running back ran eleven
times for eighty eight yards.
Speaker 4 (26:41):
Yeah against two Yeah.
Speaker 3 (26:43):
Right, so that is that's important. Yeah, and maybe your
third string line is better than their third string line. Okay,
well that's not gonna matter because none of those guys
are gonna be on your team exactly.
Speaker 4 (26:53):
And you're and it's like, like I said, Michael Parsons
isn't playing in this game. He's injured, But you can't
extrapolate who the third outside backer is thinking, ah, man,
well if that was Michael Parsons, you know he would
have done. Know, you don't know, right, you don't know.
But compared to what they have, our threes are better
than your threes. That's great. But can that three be
(27:16):
a one? Right? Right? Can that three play up to
the level of competing against one level talent? Can they
raise their game? All things equal, looks good, but can
you raise your game? Can you take it to another level?
Can you go another gear to get ready for what
NFL starting talent looks like? In week seven? Right in
week thirteen, where like its pressure is on the fire,
(27:40):
and you've got to make sure that you are playing
because you're playing for first place in your division, you're
playing for a playoff spot. Can you answer the call
and be ready for that guy on third and eight right,
he's got his ears pinned back, like that's what you're
looking for in this And I think for the preseason
you're not necessarily gonna get that because obviously they like
shitting them on their first string guys. But the guys
(28:01):
you are gonna put out there early in that game,
those guys matter because those guys are guys fighting for
roster spots. Those are guys are gonna be rotational guys
defensively because the same guys don't play every snap. So
you're gonna get NFL quality talent and how do they
look on from one game to the next. And that's
why I think you will see a little more Troy
and Mason on the left to make sure you give
(28:22):
the right side a fair shake so that Dylan gets
fresh reps at right tackle, and then Maxianchure gets the
fresh reps and also Broderick Jones gets the fresh reps
as much as possible, and then whatever they didn't get
in that first game. They'll get it in the second
game against the Jets, right, so you're going to see
a little bit more of that first line and Aaron's
playing in the first two preseason games. Remember that that
(28:43):
was what was talked about. Mike McCarthy said, Hey, I
want you to play in the in the Green Bay
and the Jets game. He's gonna play in the Green
Band in the Jets and he hasn't really had meaningful
preseason napsince twenty eighteen. So now you got your ace
back there. This is the guy you need to ride with.
I'm gonna keep the best protection out there possible.
Speaker 3 (29:01):
Yeah, of kind of important, kind of important to keep.
Speaker 4 (29:03):
You can't give a OLA or a lookout block.
Speaker 3 (29:07):
No no, no, no, no no no no, no, no,
no no. He's got to be out there. And uh
and I think that's I think that's really interesting.
Speaker 4 (29:18):
I'm for it, Max for it. Get out there. These
aren't meaningless games. These are evaluation opportunities for how good
my team can be. And I need to make sure
that I'm getting the best guys because once again, there's
a lot of talent out here, right, So you can't
just kind of blow off the games in these moments
because you're getting you need a fair evaluation to make
(29:38):
sure you're putting the best guys out there, because, like
I said, you're gonna end up cutting a guy that's
going to contribute on another team. So make sure we
get the best of those options and the guy that
goes to the other team is not our best.
Speaker 3 (29:50):
Option, right, and then sharpening guys up like Aaron Rodgers.
I think that's a really interesting decision. It kind of
goes against a lot of the trends. And yet, you know,
sometimes a team will kind of ease into what they're
trying to do.
Speaker 4 (30:05):
Matthew Staffer's not playing a preseason game. Yeah, your off's
not playing a preseason game.
Speaker 3 (30:11):
Now, I will say this, those guys are they are
not running new offenses.
Speaker 4 (30:18):
They also yet you're correct they are not. Now. Granted,
you could also argue Aaron's not running a new right either.
He's familiar with this. He's running an old office. He
just hasn't run it recently. That's really true. Yeah, Okay,
so it's still plenty to get to.
Speaker 3 (30:33):
Unfortunately, more to get to than we have time for,
including that roster move that we haven't gotten to that
we're going to tell you about when we continue in
the locker room from Saint Vincent College here on the
Steelers Audio Network.
Speaker 1 (30:43):
This is live Coverery Chump twenty twenty six Steelers Training
Camp or the Steelers Audio Network, presented by bud Light,
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Speaker 2 (30:55):
To you in part by your neighborhood Ford store.
Speaker 4 (30:59):
Queen you Pitch.
Speaker 1 (31:00):
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Speaker 4 (31:27):
And Welcome back to lovely Saint Vincent College. In the
trob let's talk about flying to the trope. We're in
the trope. Yeah, we are in Latrop. We're right across
the street from the Arnold Palmer Airport. So we're tuck
cozy in the little valley here at St.
Speaker 3 (31:43):
Vincent's coal I don't know if there's I don't know
what's going on at the airport there, So I'm not
the if you want to know what's going on in
the world, I'm the last person you want to ask
because I literally don't know. Yeah, but I do know
that the I do know that the fine Italian restaurant
there is Don't Do It is still open.
Speaker 4 (32:00):
That Italian wedding soup is still one of my favorite
the muscles as well another another crowd favorite there when
when me and my my buddies usually descend on there,
we'll usually go there one or two times during training camp.
I haven't made my first visit yet, but just know
that when I go there, I'm always giving me the
wedding soup. I love it. It's good stuff.
Speaker 3 (32:19):
So when it comes to these preseason football games and
ascertaining who's going to start at right guard, right tackle, look,
I know there's other things involved. Are they in the
meetings paying attention in meetings? Do they know what's going on?
You know, it's not just about did he flatten somebody
(32:40):
or pancake somebody or make a wow play like so
you know we can see somebody make a splash play
even if they're running with the ones, and you know,
maybe they're not. Maybe they don't. They lucked into it.
They don't know, you know, in a critical moment when
they need to run a quick stop and Aaron Rodgers
(33:02):
is gonna get up and throw that stop pattern and
he throws the ball and they're running the slant that
was called because he didn't recognize the defense, and it
goes right into the chest to the defender who.
Speaker 4 (33:11):
Takes it for a pick six.
Speaker 3 (33:12):
That's the stuff you can't ascertain necessarily by watching a
preseason game. So the point being, it's not just what
we're gonna see, but it feels to me Max like
there are legitimate jobs on the line at right guard,
at right tackle that will largely be one or lost
(33:36):
in preseason games. Do you think that's accurate?
Speaker 4 (33:39):
I think it is okay. As far as starting roles, Yeah,
that's right. As far as starting roles go, those are
the two because I think everywhere else you look, starters
are pretty much slated. You know who the starter is
going to be. And maybe there's a rotational type of thing,
especially defensively, about how those guys insert when they play,
(33:59):
who starts game based on personnel. All those things are subjective,
but when you're talking about a starting position that will
be one specifically off of preseason games in training camp,
it's the right garden, right tackle position. Those are two
open positions here in camp. I think we know who
the number two receiver is, Michael Pittman, and then you
(34:21):
have upside for your number three's Roman Wilson, Jeremy Bernard,
Kayden wegen Wright, insert names here, and then you'll kind
of fill out your five to six receivers that you'll
keep running back. We know is Rico Dadele and Jalen Warren.
However you deploy them as a completely different thing. Mike
McCarthy talked about that today, talking about I don't want
to have He's like one of the things why the
(34:42):
guys play as much as they do. I don't want
to worry about who's in on third down. I don't
want to think about what guy I need to put
in there, so we know who they are, and then
after that we'll figure out whether that's Caleb Johnson, Travis Homer,
Lou Nichols, Eli hyden Reich and company. Right tight end,
Dona W. Washington just got paid, Pat Fryarm has been paid. Yes,
(35:04):
we know those are your top two, is it Robert Tanyan,
Is it Lake Lake McCree, is it somebody else? Right,
That's where we're figuring out who the third guy is.
But as far as starters, when I name the I
name the starting position. Aaron Rodgers is the starting quarterback. Yes,
otherwise noted. Right, those are the things we know. So
backup positions might alternate and change, and those might be
(35:26):
other side battles, but those are the two that are
going to affect because offensive linemen, it's the Spartan methodology, right,
when you go out there as a starter, come back
with your shielder on it. But the only way you're
getting out is an injury situation. We're we're not flip
flopping lines. We're not flip flopping players based on situations.
(35:47):
You're in as long as you're healthy, as long as
you're doing your job, you are in there. There's no
sub package that doesn't have you at alignment like Spencer Anderson, right,
the sixth of ol Linman type of deal, extra tight
end type of deal. But that's it. And so I
think you're absolutely right, those are the two that we're
going to stay with once they are announced, and it's
(36:08):
going to be one in training campus going to be
an open competition until we have final cuts. Yeap.
Speaker 3 (36:15):
I totally agree with all of that. I agree that
I just don't think there are that many. I don't
think you're any any front line positions open except right
guard and right tackle. I think that's why I respect,
That's why I've spent an entire show talking about this,
because I think that's it.
Speaker 4 (36:35):
Max. They are the battles. They are the battles because
we know who our top three pass rushers are, right right,
dj Alex and Nick Kurbick. You know the corner four. Yep,
we know who the corners are. Joey Porter Junior did
not lose his job by not practicing, but having Jamel
Din and Sante Samuel now is like, okay, well, which
one do we want to start? Depends on who we got.
We have options, right, We know that Jakwan Brisker and
(36:58):
Deshaun Elliott are two says, but we also love the
fact that we can add a couple extra guys. Sebastian Castro.
Where does he fit into this right now? Where do
these other pieces fit in there? Linebacker Patrick Queen, Payton Wilson.
Are we having much talk about that? Nope? But we're saying,
Malie Harrison called Holkom, Carson, Brunner and company. Who fills
(37:19):
in there? Henderson? Where do these guys fill in on
that D line? We know that cam Herward ain't going nowhere,
Keanu Binnen ain't going nowhere, Derek Harmon ain't going anywhere, right,
and then we have a pretty good idea that Sebastian
Joseph Day you brought him in a free agency, He's
going to be there, right. We know also after that
you're gonna have ya Black, He's going to be there. Yep.
(37:41):
Now the question is who's six, seven, eight right right
for that D line or nine? However, however many they
keep on the D line. That's what you're fighting for.
You're fighting for the back end of the depth, right.
But this is the first and only two front line
positions that are open that are going to be dictated
that you're gonna watch live how good or bad they do.
Speaker 3 (38:01):
And those are all interesting battles. But yes, this is
front and center for me.
Speaker 4 (38:06):
Now.
Speaker 3 (38:06):
Sometimes you know again you talk, and I think it's
really interesting that Mike McCarthy's talked about units of two
or three. I think that we all think about units.
When it comes to say the wide receiver position. That's
that might be the easiest to look at that and
defense it back when you start to go into nickel
and dime, and you know, sometimes there's just a missing
(38:28):
piece in that. That's that causes the engine to splutter
a little bit, you know, And it's just but but
I will also say this. We know you know if
you took that engine apart and said, what are the
pieces there? Well, the pieces are going to be Jamel Dean,
Joey Porter Jr. Jalen Ramsey, Sean Elliott. You know you
know who the pieces are gonna be Samuel now right now?
(38:51):
So now yeah, now it's hey, are we better off?
Speaker 4 (38:56):
You know? Well, will it run smoothly? At all times?
Will run smoothly?
Speaker 3 (38:59):
If a Sante Samuel Junior's been an outside guy, you're
just saying for you you know, he's in the slaughter,
Echoes is in the slaughter. Ramsey's in the slaughter. No,
Ramsey's at safety. What is the best combination of those things?
Can one guy on an offensive line cause that engine
to splutter? Or would you need so you replace just
(39:21):
that one piece and it all comes together? Or is
that just an oversimplification of what the importance of one position.
Speaker 4 (39:28):
No, it does matter because you're only strong as your
weakest link. Right, you've heard that. We've heard that phrase
a lot in our life. But for the offensive line,
that's what matters. Like it has to be five guys
as one. You can't have four in a wildcard. You
can't have three and two possibles, right if we're talking
cards and play spades a lot. So that's where the
possible comes in. You've got to have five guys that
(39:48):
you believe is the best five combination together. And that's
how you have to operate. If you have one squeaky
wheel or one sputtering part, it collapses because now they
found their way in. Right. It's just like you know
you talk about, you know, a break in a dam
(40:10):
or a dyke, right, you know that once that little
water leak creeps in there, it keeps going, keeps going,
keeps going, keeps becoming a bigger problem. And now we've
got to figure out how do we patch it? And
do you patch it with an extra guy blocking? A
year ago we ran our best football when we were
in twelve and thirteen personnel. Why because we had to
bring Spencer Anderson and be an extra tight end. Yeah,
(40:32):
we a six offensive linemen to run the football effectively.
There's a weakness there. If you can't run with your five,
there's a problem. And they were trying to patch it
the entire time. Now you don't have that option. We
need to run with five. And I'm not going to
make any assumptions about what we need to do. I
just need it answered. And there's a lot of different
(40:53):
answers in different parts you can fit in may Maybe
I need an eddel Brock header. Maybe the factory one
wasn't working good enough on this engine. Maybe I need
to switch to Mopar. Right, you know, you start figuring
HEMI right, what's gonna be the best piece that's gonna
fit to make this engine as effective and run as
fast as it can? And intake system? Do I need
(41:15):
a blower or can I just trust that the regular
intake is gonna be great? You know you're looking for
all these different adjustments and aftermarket parts to make it
be more efficient. But that's what you gotta have. You
got to have the best pieces there to make this
offense run the best. And for an offensive line, you
can't have a weak offensive linement. Right, You've got to
have strong parts all around, and they have to have
(41:37):
different strengths. I'm not saying they all need to be
exactly the same. We're not gonna put five Zack Frasiers
out there, right, because it's not gonna work, you know,
because Zach is better at center. Zach. I don't think
it's a great left tackle, right, you know what I'm saying.
But I need to put the best left tackle out
there that makes a quarterback feel comfortable, right, that can
communicate cleanly with the rest of his line, that him
(41:58):
and the left guard vibe together or flow together. That's
been another big key phrase here. Flow. Mike McCarthy wants
to see flow in practice. Okay, so how well does
that flow? I don't need a clog in the communication highway, right,
I don't need congestion. I need free flow between all
five guys. So you're looking for the best combination of five,
(42:18):
not necessarily the five best players, but the five best
players that work together. Yeah, that was leading to my
next question.
Speaker 3 (42:25):
So, I mean, it's the two guys who are gonna
work best with the three guys you already know who
are starting, right, it's incumbent upon them to find a
way to fit into that machine.
Speaker 4 (42:38):
Correct, Ye, shave a little bit off the edge because
you're a square peg. You need a little more oval. Okay,
but you're not quite a round peg, you know. You know. Hey,
We're going to see how this works and can it
build over the season. Also, there's a little bit of
projection in there. Can this get better? Is it good
enough now? And can it get better by the end
of the year. That's what the projection is. So a
(43:01):
guy like Maxianachure, I have no idea what he's gonna
look like in the pros. I only know what he
did in college. Does that college Max now become a
better option as a promax or is it Dylan Cook
who showed me great strides at left? But does that
translate to the right? Spencer Anderson is good at five positions,
(43:24):
but can he be great at one position? Right? Those
are the questions we're looking to answer. Brock Hofflin was
really good in Dallas. Can he be really good here
in Pittsburgh? Those are the questions. Look at Roderick Jones,
can you go back to the right or do you
need to compete for the left? Because that's what you are.
(43:46):
I need to answer that, and that's what the opportunities
are going to give during this whole process is can
they do that? Can they make that conversion?
Speaker 3 (43:54):
Okay, so final question for you in that regard if
it and I you know, would hate a player to
be damned for position flexibility, but if if things were
relatively even, and and there's almost no such thing, right,
there's no such thing as as one hundred percent even,
but if things were relatively even, max, does could position
(44:20):
flexibility actually hurt a guy? You know the fact that
he could potentially Thank you, I just knocked over a
a can that's spilled all over.
Speaker 4 (44:34):
The you're electronics. I was like, yeah, so.
Speaker 3 (44:40):
Will could that flexibility hurt somebody? Where the coach says,
you know what, it's pretty close. But if there's an injury,
now I got to move the right tackle to left guard,
the left guard, the center of the center to left
tack or I could just say I got one guy
that can play all those positions.
Speaker 4 (44:56):
I could just plug him in.
Speaker 3 (44:58):
Could that flexibility actually against the guy trying to start?
Are you just going to start the best five and
worry about that stuff as it comes up?
Speaker 4 (45:06):
Over the course of a game. I think you have
to take it as such, who's the best guy for
the job at hand, right, and then we can worry
about the backup guy afterwards.
Speaker 3 (45:16):
I think so too, But I think it's worth pointing
out because people talk about position flexibility all the time.
Speaker 4 (45:22):
Let's not over sell that.
Speaker 3 (45:23):
Yeah, versus starting and playing hopefully every snap of every game.
Speaker 4 (45:27):
Yeah, the jack of all Tray's master of none methodology. Right,
you don't want that, but it's good to know that. Hey,
he might be struggling right now, but don't forget he's
a valuable piece because this dude can go everywhere. Right now,
it might.
Speaker 3 (45:40):
Yeah, so if as long as it as long as
it doesn't hurt you in your in your in your
efforts to start, can't hurt you when.
Speaker 4 (45:50):
It comes to trying to make the team. Yeah, help.
Speaker 5 (45:54):
Number I can either be number five on this list
or I know I'm not falling below eight, right, getting
a helmet, whether it starts the game or whether I
get inserted during the game.
Speaker 4 (46:04):
He's Max Starks, I'm Robed King. We always enjoy being
with you.
Speaker 3 (46:07):
Day off tomorrow, We'll be back on these airwaves on Thursday.
Looking forward to things ramping up. The ramp up is over.
Speaker 4 (46:17):
We are ready to go.
Speaker 3 (46:20):
Everyone's gonna get ready to take scrimmage on Saturday. Would
imagine we'll see some We'll see some testosteron let's say
on Thursday and Friday.
Speaker 4 (46:30):
It would be fun. Clap Yeah, he's Max Starks. I'm
Rob King.
Speaker 3 (46:34):
The Drive is coming up next with Wes and Matt.
We thank you for being with us in the locker
room here and this year there's Audio Network
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