September 3, 2025 • 47 mins
Jim Wexell joins Rob and Max to share his opinions on the state of the team heading into the season and the guys touch on a few other topics to wrap up today's show.
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Speaker 1 (00:05):
Oh, guess what day it is? Guess what day it is?
Speaker 2 (00:10):
Anybody, Julie, Hey, guess what day it is?
Speaker 1 (00:14):
Oh, come on, I know you can hear me. Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike,
what day is it? Mike, guess what today is?
Speaker 3 (00:22):
It's yes, sir, it would not be a hump day
if it also wasn't concurrently a wex Wednesday, as we
affectionately call it around here inside the locker room, of course,
steel City Insider, uh editor.
Speaker 4 (00:44):
Chief, you know, main guy, go to point person however
you want to look at it. But he's also a
very accomplished author as well. You know, when you think
about just all that Jim we has has done. You know,
Steelers an illustrated timeline, which is an amazing uh tabletop
(01:07):
you know, coffee table type book that has great pictures,
great stories, and a great timeline of just everything you
need to know about the Steelers history. A great friend
of this program. Uh can't say enough. I'm gonna stop
with the flowers. Gonna know, Wex starts to blush a
little bit after a while, but we have Jim Wexel
on the line with us. How are you doing today,
(01:28):
Jim I'm doing great.
Speaker 5 (01:31):
Uh, Max, thank you for all of that, and the
season must be here if I'm on right.
Speaker 4 (01:37):
Yeah, correct, you are correct, it is that time.
Speaker 1 (01:42):
We Hey.
Speaker 2 (01:45):
First of all, great to have you on and thank
you very much for for being with us. Wex Hey,
you know, before we kind of like dive into stuff. Uh,
I think both Max and I would love to get
your short of overview of where the Stealers are right
now and what kind of a season you think we're
sort of looking at here.
Speaker 5 (02:08):
Huh. You know, with all the big names they have,
they sure are still flying under the radars. I think
people think it's some kind of all star last attempt
by the Steelers to break the non playoff win skid.
(02:31):
I just I don't see it that way. I see
it as a young team that's rebuilding on its lines
and it is just about there on both lines and
has added has supplemented with some big time names.
Speaker 1 (02:49):
You know.
Speaker 5 (02:49):
I remember back in the arts during those championship years,
the players used to say, you know, we have a
great combination of old guys, medium guys, and young guys,
and this team has that maybe maybe an extra old
guy in there, but you know, it's not the way
(03:11):
people take care of their bodies today, and they eat
right if they want to. I think you can play longer.
Some of these guys like Aaron Rodgers, you know, he's
taking care of himself the way Tom Brady took care
of himself. So I really have I really have high
optimism for this team.
Speaker 2 (03:31):
I really do, you know, Wax, I have to say
that in talking to first of all, in listening to
and reading the national pundits, I've seen a lot of
eight and nine for this year is Yeah, this is
the year that it comes to an end. We've heard
this story before. This is the year where the you know,
(03:52):
the winning streak comes to an end. I've even talked
to a couple of local guys who think, man, this
thing could just implode. I have to say, I agree
with you. I just don't see it. I see a
team that. Okay, so we have to figure out, you know,
can Broderick Jones play left tackle in Troy fout tyn
to play right tackle? Well, every team's got questions. You know,
(04:15):
how do you replace Minka Fitzpatrick at safety?
Speaker 1 (04:18):
Right? Is there going to be you know, are you
going to miss Naji Harris?
Speaker 2 (04:23):
Perhaps more than people might think, Okay, so those are
the questions, and I understand those questions, and I think
you're legitimate questions, every single one of them the same token.
I look around at the roster and I just see
upgrades everywhere, and I agree with you. I mean, they're
they're offensive line. I mean, four fifths of this line
is extremely young. They've got another guy in Spencer Anderson
(04:46):
who could potentially be a starter who's young. They've shored
up the defensive line. You know, nobody's going to have
a roster chock full of fifty three twenty four year.
Speaker 1 (04:58):
Olds who are all Pro bowlers. You know, it doesn't
work that way. I'm with you.
Speaker 2 (05:02):
I'm mystified by by the and listen, maybe I'll be wrong. Well,
that's why they play the games. But I'm mystified by
this sort of lack of people thinking that Stethers are
a better team than the team that won ten games
a year ago.
Speaker 5 (05:21):
You know, in our business, rob you look smarter the
more negative you are, and when you don't know what's happening,
and it's usually people that don't come here and watch
or have really studied the building of this team, the
rebuilding of this team from the Antonio Brown team from
(05:42):
the Dave di Castro Marquise Pouncy team that peaked in
the twenty sixteen AFC Championship Game, which was a rebuild
and couldn't really rebuild totally because they kept drafting twenty
four right. It never did rebuild because of that. It's
the Dan Marina don Shula dynamic. You know, a rookie
(06:05):
joined a veteran team that went to the Super Bowl,
and then that veteran team got old as the rookie
quarterback was moving into his prime, and a prime franchise
quarterback will get you to eight and eight every year,
no matter how bad you need rebuilt, and so that
was the dynamic here. And they got lucky with a
guy like Antonio Brown in the sixth round, and then
(06:27):
they got a Levy a Bell and they had triplets,
magnificent triplets, but there were still holes and they couldn't
get past where they were. And then guys like Shay'sier
and Twott go down two of the few guys, so
then they had to totally rebuild. And now they're doing
it again and they're kind of hurrying the process. They
know they don't have that franchise quarterback. It's just become
(06:54):
in vogue to trash them and say they don't know
what they're doing because they've added a four one year
old quarterback. And I'm reading Tom Moore's book because Tom
Moore came to town with Tampa Bay and Tom Moore
was Chuck knowles first offensive coordinator and he was a
receiver's coach for Swan and staal Wart and he's had Manning,
(07:15):
he's had Brady, and he told me to get his book,
and I'm reading his book and great stuff about Brady
coming to the Tampa Bay. That was a totally ready team,
just like this team, and everybody you know poo pooed
their chances and they got off to a sluggish start.
They were actually seven and seven, and Tom Morris is
(07:38):
one of the keys to that team was picking up
Antonio Brown. So I don't know if this team has
anybody in mind for the trading deadline to add as
a receiver. But there's a lot of similarities with Aaron
Rodgers and Tom Brady at the same age, as you know.
I watched Aaron Rodgers run through mobility drills yesterday. He's
(08:01):
more mobile than Mason he's more mobile than Skylar Thompson.
Those are those are young quarterbacks in their primes. Nobody
has seen him yet. That's why I asked Mike Tomlin
yesterday for a scouting report on Rogers because really, nobody's
seen him, so that's leading to the negativity. Nobody has
seen Rogers. Guy's got his arm. We've heard Ben talk
(08:25):
about that. We've heard Ryan Clark talk about that, all
these guys who visited practice. The arm still is there,
but the mobility is there. So I mean, we could
go position by position, But as you said, Roderick Jones
is the key. The interior without Derek Harmon will be
(08:50):
a key. But we got Max's guy. Why he a
black in there? I don't know why he changed from
Max's number. He is not not or No Max, I'm
sorry to change gears here, But Max, were you wearing
seventy eight? It wasn't Dwight White your father in law?
Speaker 4 (09:08):
No, no, no, I we we we we had we
had a recent Yeah, so.
Speaker 5 (09:16):
I diated his daughter for a while, Okay, no.
Speaker 4 (09:19):
Subject, yes, yeah, but he was he was mine, yes, yes,
he was a mentor of mine. I mean, Dwight White,
I can't say enough about about how great he was.
Speaker 5 (09:28):
Okay, great for me too.
Speaker 2 (09:30):
Yeah, let me let me, let me steer this, let
me steer this back, and then Max you can jump
in here. But I do want to get back to
the point you're making about the quarterback position, because what
I've seen and what I saw, you know, I've seen
a couple of times, is it's about time that the Steelers,
you know, tear this down for a rebuild.
Speaker 1 (09:50):
Okay, so that's like this, Hey.
Speaker 2 (09:52):
You know, you know they're gonna be eight and nine
and then it's good at the bottom is going to
fall out and then they need to they need to
commit to a rebuild. Well, first of all, the Steelers
are never going to tank, right, They're never going to
construct a roster that they think is bad with the
idea of having a bad record. Secondly, you know, right,
(10:14):
so you have four offensive linemen that are young. You
went out and got Metcalf and signed him to a deal,
so he's your number one receiver. You drafted a guy
in Caleb Johnson that you hope will ascend to number
one status. But you also, you know, signed Jalen Warren
to extensions, so you appear to be set there. You've
got a great group of tight ends, one of whom
(10:35):
signed a contract extension. You know, you bring Johnny Smith in,
you have Darnel Washington. I'm going positioned by position on
purpose because and then the defensive lineman. You know, you've
kind of regenerated that group, as you mentioned, with the
young guys. Joey Porter Jr. Is a young defensive back. Sure,
you've got some veterans at other positions. I understand that
(10:55):
you also have guys in their prime at some positions,
like Patrick Queen. Peyton Wilson is a young player, looks
like he's going to start this year. I do think it.
It just seems to all, you know, if people aren't
looking that closely, And first of all, maybe they should
be looking that closely. But it all seems to to
your point, to come down to this quarterback position. Wex
(11:17):
like everyone's like, well, next year they'll get their guy,
but what about this year with Aaron Rodgers and a
good team around him. It's it is and you, like
you said, there are some questions and and you know
I should have thrown that into a question too. Look,
father time catches up with everybody caught up with Tom Brady.
Maybe it's caught up with Aaron Rodgers, but it hasn't
looked that way. And so I do think that this
(11:41):
narrative that there's they need to fail in order to
get the quarterback. By the way, you know, you can
trade up and get quarterbacks. Kansas City did it with Mahomes,
Buffalo did it with Alan Just because you're drafting twenty
six doesn't mean you can't get a franchise quarterback. If
that's what you're on the lookout for, you just got
to pay to get him. So I do think that
(12:01):
maybe a lot of this narrative does does you know,
come back to the quarterback position.
Speaker 5 (12:06):
Wex well, you know, if if they I think the
sign the one thing they could have done that may
have been more Steelers like in the past, but still
not totally. I mean, they took Derek Harmon instead of
Jackson Dart, that was more for this year. They could
(12:34):
have still got their young quarterback and brought Rogers in
and tried to plug that hole in the middle with
a second round defensive lineman. I like, I like what
they've done. I mean, I hear they had a first
round grade on Jackson Dart apparently it wasn't higher than Harmon,
(12:54):
but you know, they filled that hole with a twenty
one year old defensive lineman. I mean, that's what not
rebuilding is is drafting a twenty one year old defensive
lineman when you have Cam Heyward's he's turning sixty five soon,
so they're going to need help on the defensive line.
(13:15):
I'm turning sixty five soon, actually, I just I want
someone else to go down with me. But and as
for the other I listened all the I listened to
radio talk shit too much, and all they talk about
is Cam Hayward, will you or won'ty? And I'll just
throw this in there that I never for a minute
(13:37):
thought that he was going to skip any games. I'm
just just a fussy old guy fussing about his contract.
That's all that was, and that's all I believe it
will be. This roster is too good for him to
miss this. He wants a ring more than anyone. He
is not going to miss any of this. So anyway,
(14:02):
Derek Harmon looks like the real deal, and y A
Black looks like he's you know, I saw Max's tweet
comparing it, not comparing him, but he mentioned Dwight White
with the same number, and as I watched Ya Black
in training camp and in preseason games, I couldn't help
(14:22):
but think of the seventy Steelers. I just couldn't. I
wasn't Dwight White. That made me think of because he's
not built like Dwight and he doesn't play in the
same position. But it's just a big, strong man in
the middle, A fifth round pick, you know, Elsie Greenwood
was a tenth round pick. It just it just made
me think of those days. So I'm excited. Then you
(14:46):
mentioned Peyton Wilson Rod he could be he could be
a pro bowler this year. He really really looks good
and confident. He's the same athlete he was, but more confident,
more decisive have been his steps and stronger. It comes
with confidence.
Speaker 4 (15:06):
It absolutely does. Wex And you know, I think when
we kind of look at that, there's there there. You
know you always say, you know, you hear the phrase
host springs eternal right at the beginning of every NFL season.
But I think for the Steelers, I think to all
the reasons we've kind of laid it out, you know,
there there's reason for you know, optimism and not foolish optimism.
(15:29):
You know, you could say cautious optimism, but there is
room for optimism just in general with what thus far,
what we've acquired and how those guys have kind of
acquitted themselves in more of a practice setting. I know
you were in the locker room on Monday and you
said you were looking for guys under the rear. Who
do you think you know outside of we listed like
(15:50):
the rookies and kind of you know, known under the
radars because they have zero NFL experience. But what under
the radar guys are you looking at to be one
of those sneaky good, you know, contributors to this team
this season or anticipating Yeah.
Speaker 5 (16:07):
I think we all know the usuals, you know, Darnel
Washington and Roman Wilson and Calvin Austin and those kind
of guys. But I was looking at more guys who
their stories haven't been brought forward yet, like Carson Brunner.
(16:28):
I don't know if you focused on him as a
special teams player. They've got to have him active.
Speaker 4 (16:33):
On game day.
Speaker 5 (16:35):
He's that good. I don't know how you feel, you
guys feel about it, but you know I talked to
him and he told me, you know, he he he
would go to his coaches at Washington and begged to
play on special teams. He loves it, he says. And
I said, you know, rookies know they have to play
(16:57):
special teams to make the team. Why don't they all
love it? He said, they just didn't play it enough
in college. You had a real appreciation for it for
the most part. And so that's one guy. And he
could he could fill in on defense and help you
in an emergency. But I think he's too good of
a special teams player. I think he has to be active.
(17:19):
Why he black? I mean, I don't know that he's
under the radar anymore. And he didn't really bat many passes.
He didn't get credit for the one deflection he had
and appreciates the game. It was an incompletion, he didn't
get credit for it. But every day a practice was
at least too bad at passes. And I asked him
if he was a basketball player, if he was a
(17:40):
shop blocker, and he said yeah, but he said he
doesn't like basketball because they called too many fouls. He
looked like he had looked like he had some resentment
backed up in when he said that. So he said
it's definitely an art skill. And so he's another guy,
(18:07):
of course, Jalen Warren. You know, everybody's waiting for him
to lose his job, and here he gets a contract.
Of course, he fumbled and ball security has been an issue,
and his second carrier pre season, he only had like
three carries and he fumbled. And so I asked him
about that, and one thing he said was, I'm just
(18:30):
glad the Steelers didn't hold it against me. They still
offered him, they still gave him the contract. I think
he's under the radar because everybody's waiting for him to
be replaced. Everybody's saying, well, he's never had fifteen carries
in a game. He can't do it. Well, if he's
never had it, how do you know he can't do it.
You know, I think he can carry twenty twenty five times,
(18:52):
need be, That's not going to be the case. Another guy,
Jack Sawyer. Jack Sawyer is going to play a lot.
You know, I asked Tomlin who would replace Harmon in
the base. You know, Benton and Hayward are the starting
tackles in the Nickel, which they use ninety percent at
(19:13):
the time. Nickelar time they use a nose probably, I
don't know. Last year was more than ten percent, but
I'm guessing it'll be even less this year. And that's
when Harmon would start. So who would And Thomas said,
committee because it's going to be hot and we're still unconditioned.
Earlier in the year, you look for committee. And so
I was talking to Jack Sawyer same thing. They have
(19:35):
to use committee outside linebacker and if her Big isn't
going to play much or if he's not going to
play because of his hamstring, and if he does, if
he is active, I'm sure they're going to be careful
with his snapcounts. Lawyer's going to play a lot, is
he ready? We all know his story, but he is
(19:56):
another under the radar piece guys like that.
Speaker 4 (20:04):
Max, Yeah, no, And and for me, you know, I
think I think you have to look at that, and
I think that's why this offseason was so important. And
you know, the one thing I kind of point to
Wex and you know, tell me what you're thinking. I
think this secondary is going to be top flight. Just
watching I know we only got that one series with
(20:27):
uh in Carolina, with with that starting unit with Joey,
with Slay and and and Jalen. But the way Jalen
was running around and hitting folks and then was and
then was stomping around trying to get back in the
game in the preseason. Man, I mean, I I know,
like I said, Minka is going to be a tough
(20:48):
guy to replace. You know, but there's a reason why
you had faith into Shaun Elliott White, why you re
signed him. There's a reason why you went out and
got to want thorn Hill and you bring back a
Chuck Clark and you know, you know, my is a
guy that got us in a pinch back in the
you know a couple of years ago when it was
just Terrell Edmonds and him, and then it was it
was named the guy here. You know, let's play in
(21:10):
that corner. It was like open tryouts, it felt like.
But man, looking at the secondary and just the versatility
that it has with all those pieces, I mean, that's
the one area that I think I don't have a
question mark about as far as are these guys that
be ready to go right out the gates. I mean,
(21:30):
you talk about committees, but that group, I'm like, they
look well conditioned, They fly around their known suspects. There's
guys that have plenty of NFL experience that know how
to play this game. And that's a group that I
look at and I have less less of those. It's
gonna be an under the radar. These guys are above
(21:52):
the radar. These guys are big dopper marks on the radar.
You know what I'm saying that that are out there
in that secondary.
Speaker 5 (22:00):
You know it's going to be funny this week. See
you've got Garrett Wilson one hundred and one catches last year.
He was a go to guy for Justin Field at
Ohio State. Reunited most teams and correct me if I'm wrong, Max,
But when they have a star corner and they want
to shut somebody down, they don't put the star corner
(22:21):
on the number two receiver and double cover the number one.
I know that was a that was Belichick move and
a cow that was the Cowboys documentary. They did that
with Dion and and things like that. But I don't
see that happening. I see Ramsey in competition with his
(22:45):
other with Sleigh and Porter, you know, teammate competition, loving competition,
but competition nonetheless and having already been bequeathed that by
Tomlin when he said Jalen's got the number one guy.
It's just how it is. I know Joey's upset, and
(23:06):
I know Slayh's upset, but that's just how it's gonna be. Well,
now he's got to do it, and he's got to
do it really well. So I think he's gonna take
the one and I don't I don't know that they're
going to double the other guy because Joey and and
slay are too good to waste. You know, you can
(23:27):
you can get more pass rush instead of doubling.
Speaker 1 (23:31):
Uh.
Speaker 5 (23:33):
I'm just I'm so excited to watch how this develops.
You know, they know all about Justin, they know what
his limitations are. They know and they're going to know
how to defend him. And they're defending Lamar Jackson all
these years, being embarrassed by Lamar Jackson last time out
and and that run game. They're gonna come ready, And
(23:55):
I I was, Uh, it was impressive to hear Mike
Tomlin talk about stuffing the run being the number one priority,
and he went on at length about that because he
has those three corners, he knows what Justin fields can't
do and how they need to play him, and it's
(24:15):
going to be all about shutting that run down and
having guys at the line of scrimmage while Jalen Ramsey
and his compadres compete for personal for team superiority, and
watching the film next week, it's it's it's gonna be
(24:36):
one of those so competitive situations that will only sharpen
iron for the rest of the team. So it's exciting.
Speaker 4 (24:45):
Yeah, yeah, No, I think you hit the nail on
the head with that one, because I think when you
have those guys, this is also preparation for you know
what happens next, right, you know, because you're talking about
in season, and you're also making sure that the guys
around the way also feel that uneasiness. And I'm talking
(25:06):
about guys in Cincinnati and guys in Baltimore, you know
that have a duo or a trio of receivers that
they feel really good about. And it's like, now we
have a trio of cornerbacks that we feel really good about.
And like I said, we could put Jalen as the
number one, or we could put Sleighs the number one,
or we can put Joey Porter Junior as a number one.
(25:27):
Some of the Steelers haven't been able to say for
a while. As far as having having a compliment of
guys that they can throw at you and they can
change the variation, I agree with you. You know, there's
nobody else to double or bracket on that on that team,
is it Josh Reynolds, No, is Arion Smith?
Speaker 1 (25:43):
No?
Speaker 4 (25:44):
You know, and you're not going to double team a
rookie tight end and Mason Taylor. So there's your options
for your aerial assault. I think a lot more concentration
has to be on Justin fields, has to be on
the backfield, worrying about how they're going to do things
a lah like you said Baltimore, with creating the issues
in the run game and making sure you sew up
the responsibilities there for option plays, quarterback spy and the like.
(26:07):
So now I completely agree with you on that one.
Wex Well.
Speaker 5 (26:12):
I doesn't mean I think it's gonna be an easy win.
I think it's going to be a win. No, But
you know the stevel is gonna have a difficult time scoring.
That's a good defense with a really good defensive coordinator,
Steve Wilkes. You know, I'm reading that Tom Moore book
and it's the name Steve Wilkes keeps popping up. I mean,
Tom Moore has had quite an odyssey, and Steve Wilkes's
(26:37):
name keeps popping up, and so I have not paid
much attention to him. He's not one of the big
name defensive coordinators amongst US fans and media, but I
think among coaches he is. It's not the guy, one
of the guys. And so they have a lot of talent.
They have Sauce Gardner, are they going to are they
(26:58):
gonna put him on DK? Are they gonna bracket d J?
So a lot of and another under the radar guy,
Brandon Eccles, will know a little bit something about the
Jets too, and he's four And I agree with Wex.
Speaker 1 (27:14):
I can't wait to see.
Speaker 2 (27:15):
I think you're you know, you just sort of mentioned
it in passing about you know, who do you match
up with? And you know there'll be multiple week to week,
but you know, I keep thinking about, you know, will
they bring more pressure and different pressure? You know when
they I'll just use one guy as an example, when
they when they made the signing a couple of years
(27:38):
ago to bring in Patrick Queen, I remember thinking, well,
do you use Queen and coverage because he's excellent at that,
or to use him to blitz because he's he's pretty
darn good at that as well. Well, we've seldom seen
him blitz, and I think I think it's a reflection of,
you know, what they felt they needed to do to
maybe guard a little bit against the secondary. Well, if
(28:01):
that was the case, this does not look at all
to me like a secondary you have to guard against.
Speaker 5 (28:09):
Yeah, and then you know TJ during the whatever holdout
he had in the summer, people were saying trade him
this and that. You know, Cam feasted last year because
everybody doubled in triple TJ. And now you're throwing a
first round pick who has showed a lot of lot
(28:30):
of potential right between those two. So what's that going
to mean for Cam? What's Cam and TJ going to mean?
For Derek Harmon? What are both of them going to mean?
For TJ? What's that secondary going to mean for TJ?
And Alex high Smith and Nick Herbig. It's a pretty
exciting time for this defense. I know there's been a
(28:50):
lot of blowback about Mike Tomlin using the word historic
back in July that this defense has a chance to
be historic. And by the way, that is the word
used in the question to him, so he repeated the word.
I agree with him. And of course it's all going
(29:11):
to depend on health, as every team should say at
this point of the year. So far, so good.
Speaker 1 (29:20):
WEX.
Speaker 2 (29:21):
It is just an absolute pleasure to have you on, man,
I'm looking forward to this all year. I'm looking forward
to seeing you tomorrow down a Steelers practice.
Speaker 1 (29:30):
Fun stuff. Man, Thanks for coming on with us.
Speaker 5 (29:34):
Can I throw one stat out there? Yes? No, Well,
everybody says, you know, how can this defense go from
giving up two hundred and ninety nine rush yards to
be in an historic defense? Do you know which playoff
season team held the previous record for allowing the most
rush yards to their opponent? I will the nineteenth nineteen
(29:56):
seventy three Steelers allowed two hundred and thirty some yards
to the Raiders. That record stood until last January. I
think the seventy three defense turned into a pretty good
one after that.
Speaker 1 (30:10):
Love it, love.
Speaker 4 (30:11):
It there it is, there's always a nugget. Gotta love it.
That is the author himself giving us some good historical context.
Now we appreciate it very much. WEX. Of course, you know,
we tell people to go to steel City Insider to
catch all of your great commentary. You also have a
podcast as well. It's through what twenty four to seven
(30:32):
Sports correct where you can find steel City Insider Jim
Wexel dot com for all your book needs. You want
to fill your library, just go to Jim Wexsel dot com.
You can fill all of that up with with all
that history. So we appreciate the time. As always, wex
you may you make this Wednesday a little a little
more bearable. It makes it not so much a hump day,
(30:53):
it makes it a wex day. So we appreciate that time.
Speaker 5 (30:58):
Thank you, Jim.
Speaker 2 (31:00):
All right, Jim Wexl'll see him tomorrow over at the
South Side for the Steelers. We're gonna continue on Steelers
getting ready for their first game of the season, Steelers
and Jets. When we continue Inside the Locker Room with
King and Starks, presented by our neighborhood Fords Tour here
on the Steelers Audio Network. Welcome back Inside the Locker
(31:26):
Room with King and Starks, presented by your neighborhood Fords
Tour here on the Steelers Audio Network. I want to
thank Jim Wexel for coming on with Us, a regular
feature throughout the course of the season of Wex Wednesday,
always dropping some knowledge on us.
Speaker 4 (31:40):
Max Listen, there's always there's always a good little little
nugget in there that he's going to throw in there
for you. And you know, love Wex and obviously all
that all that he provides. And yeah, I mean you
talk about, you know a guy who has charted the
history of this Steelers frameranchise and put it into book format.
(32:02):
I mean, I can tell you I personally own I
want to say. Let's see, I'm just looking at my
bookshelf right now, one, two, three, four. I have four
of Wex's books.
Speaker 1 (32:14):
Nice.
Speaker 4 (32:15):
The one I have not gotten is that tabletop one
because every time he has he has autographed signing and stuff.
I keep forgetting to go. Well, I'm never in town,
so that also kind of hurts it. But I know
it's like one of those that that's the one piece
I'm missing. So, I mean, I have some great ones
I love. I love is on the Clock, Pittsburgh Steelers
(32:36):
book that he did, the Paulamalo book is is amazing,
just that kind of biography of Troy It's really special.
But yeah, Jim's Jim's really good. And when you talk
about knowing those random nuggets like him and Bob Labriola,
Oh yeah, who I mean, you know, you don't You
(32:56):
don't get any more deeper into the weeds about Dealers
history than those two.
Speaker 1 (33:03):
Yes, no, those that that is, those are deep waters.
Deep waters.
Speaker 2 (33:08):
Another guy who has deep waters not only with the
Steelers but but certainly just around the league, and that
is our buddy Matt Williamson. And we have a bit
of a shorter segment here, but I did want to
throw this out. Matt, Uh, you know, points out a
lot of things that Mike go overlooked.
Speaker 1 (33:29):
Maybe they're obvious, uh.
Speaker 2 (33:30):
But usually not, you know, usually they're they're things that
make you go hmm. And one of the stats that
he pointed out this year, and one of the areas
that Jets have upgraded and wex bringing up Carson Brunner
and special teams made me think about it is that
the Jets were pretty bad on special teams last year.
Speaker 1 (33:52):
They were not a good team.
Speaker 2 (33:54):
So, uh, they have made some some additions and they
have got some guys going to play larger roles. Kanay
wanmu is a returner extremely dangerous. He was with the
team last year, but figures to play a larger role,
and the kickoff rule has changed, and Xavier Gibson was
on the team last year. I had an excellent kickoff
(34:15):
return average as well. Not so good in a punt returner,
but as a kickoff returner. So that's an area that
I think that shouldn't go overlooked. But the biggest one
for me is the change at kicker. So they bring
in Austin McNamara, a very very accurate kicker, really accurate.
(34:36):
Last year, the Jets used several different kickers. Four of
those kickers tried field goals. They made seventy one point
four percent of their kicks. That was by a fairly
sizable margin, the worst in the NFL. Just to run
down a couple of these things from thirty to thirty
(34:58):
nine that has become automatic in the NFL, six of
eight from forty to forty nine, which is not automatic,
but you expect your kicker to make it fifty percent
five out of ten and from fifty and beyond one
out of two. Now, when you consider that the Jets
(35:19):
lost six one score games, six one score games they lost,
and you think about the difference that a kicker could
make that alone is one of those things that could
vault the Jets into winning more football games. I mean,
just going down the running down the lease to Denver
(35:39):
by one, to Minnesota by six, to Buffalo by a
field goal, to New England by a field goal, to
Indianapolis by one, to Seattle by five, to Miami in overtime.
I mean, you make a couple of kicks on a
team that only won five games a year ago, do
they win? Is it not quite as dire and not
(36:03):
quite a larger a hill to climb as you would think,
just by upgrading in one area, which is field goal kicking.
Speaker 4 (36:12):
Yeah, I mean, listen, hey, difference between going zero and
one and one and oh last year for us was what.
Speaker 1 (36:20):
Six field goals? My boss?
Speaker 4 (36:22):
Yeah, yeah, exactly, So you ask it. It doesn't matter.
It absolutely does matter when you have that. I mean, listen,
we don't make it to the AFC Championship game in
my rookie year. You know, if the Jets weren't the
Jets and had a bad field goal kicker, right, you
know that it swings games, It swings momentum. You know,
(36:44):
it lets your team know that you don't have to
play the full hundred yards of the field. When you
have a dynamic kicker, it says, hey, if we're starting
on our own twenty or twenty five, I don't have
to go get seventy five and eighty yards. I could
be okay with fifty yards of offense forty yards of
offense right, because I know that we can still put
(37:05):
points on the board. That's what special teams does. Or
it shortens our field that we don't have to go
to the length of the field. If we're starting at
the thirty five yard line, right, that's sixty five yards
to go and a guy to have it situation for
a touchdown. All of those things matter, and that's special teams.
And that's why I always, you know, I always kind
of you know, it's miffs me. There we go, I'm
(37:28):
pulling out random words now. It miffs me. I miffed
when people don't appreciate what special teams brings as a
third dimension to a team. It absolutely does matter because
those pivotal moments, those you know, opportune sudden, sudden field
flipping opportunities, whether we're backed up, we can't get a
(37:49):
first down to save our lives. But that punter comes
in and he boots the sixty yard with a five
to zero hangtime and allows everybody to get down the field,
you know, in time to cover that kick. You lip
the field for your team. Whereas most teams would think,
oh man, this is gonna be good. You know, we'll
get a decent you know, we'll get a decent punt
and a decent return and maybe you know they've given
(38:11):
us back. You know, they've given us position to be
somewhere around midfield from the forty yard line. It's like
when you get backed up, Hey, you're gonna have to
go through the same trials and tribulations we went through.
You're gonna be starting on the twenty. Let's see how
you do against our defense. All those things matter in
the momentum and the chess match that is a game.
And kickers and that special teams unit, your core for
(38:34):
special teamers are those difference makers. That's why what you know,
you always talk about when there's a penalty on special teams,
the you know, and then you have to rekick in
a punt situation, man advantage that return team. Just go
ahead and just say chalk it up, Hey, this is
gonna be This is gonna be a good return play
tons Chilkin used to talk about it all the time,
(38:54):
Like the one thing you love is when a team
has already ran, has already done one sprint, and they
gotta they gotta back to the line and perform another
sprint back to back in the middle of a game.
That's when big returns happen. And those things are game
changing moments when you think about it, and you know,
and like I said, I still go back to the
first game of last year. You know, Chris Boswell, how
(39:16):
important was he to us not only kicking the six
field goals, but then he goes out there and boots
a cold one. You know what I'm saying, Like in
the punk game, because we lost Cam Johnson before we
got Corless weightman, Like, that's where it can't be stressed
enough how important that dynamic is on a team. And
that's why you know, for the NFL, the emphasis for
(39:38):
the new dynamic kickoff and even tweaking it now from
year one now going into year two with making the
penalty to the thirty five, because they want more returns.
They want to see the action of the game. They
don't want to lose the special team's emphasis in this
game because it is so matter of fact. So, like
you said, for the New York Jets, that was a
(40:00):
sore spot for them, you know, a year ago, and
you know, we'll see how that gets tested this year,
but it is it is a very dynamic point.
Speaker 2 (40:09):
And and again just to just to run down this quickly,
and by the way, missing a field goal, especially a
very makeable field goal you expect to make, is just
not only that, you know, it can't be measured the
drag it has in a team where all of a
sudden you're like, well, I mean you remember people, they're
not robots, they're they're they're they're players who you know,
(40:32):
emotions are going to play a part of it. And
as I just look down. So so but let's just
forget about momentum and what it can mean to a game. Okay,
So the Steelers are the the Jets are two and one.
They're taken on Denver, and they miss a game winning
field goal, fifty yard game winning field goal with under
a minute left. Denver winds up winning ten to nine.
You make that field goal, you're three and one, right, Okay,
(40:54):
So you lose to Minnesota Buffalo. You have a chance
to take the lead in the fourth quarter of the
field goal, you miss that one, You get worked by
this Steelers. You miss an opportunity in New England and
lose that with another missfield goal, and you wind up
losing that twenty five to twenty two. Let's not give
them all three wins, Max, although the Denver one would
(41:14):
have been a win. Let's just say let's give them two.
You know what your record is instead of three and
six after you be Houston, You're a five and four
football team.
Speaker 1 (41:24):
Think about that.
Speaker 2 (41:25):
Think about what a massive difference that makes for your
outlook for where your season's going. You're not talking about,
hey man, we're our season's over right, You've got a
different momentum. You've got pep in your step. You got
five wins. You're a five and four football team. And
looking back and even saying we could probably be better
than this, you know that's a big You know, again,
(41:48):
every team in the league, and this is why we
see teams turn around so quickly. You get, first of all,
you get a softer schedule, right if you have a
bad record, But most teams are.
Speaker 1 (41:57):
Like this Jets team.
Speaker 2 (41:59):
It's a finger two that could be short up and
then all of a sudden you're a much more formidable opponent.
I don't want to get everyone scared. I like to
get myself a little nervous though before the game, I
must admit. But you know, this Jet's you know, improving
the special team's aspect of their game might be something
that makes a big difference for them this year.
Speaker 4 (42:20):
No, very much so, and we shall see, we shall
see what this dimension does bring in. I'm not gonna
be upset about it, you know, at all, But you know,
I can't wait to hopefully let that kind of delay
just a little bit.
Speaker 2 (42:36):
Yes, works for me. So we're not gonna delay. We're
gonna take a break and we're gonna come back with
some more thoughts for Max Starks to help get you
ready for the Steelers and Jets coming up on Sunday,
first game of the season. You're inside the locker room
with King and Starks, presented by your neighborhood Fords or
here on the Steelers Audio network. So Max Starks is
(43:18):
at that time, we're not hearing Max. However, it is
that time. I'm gonna just go ahead and there it is.
It's time for the bell lap. I like it better
when Max says it. Max says it with some plom
(43:38):
Max is ready to go for the bell lap.
Speaker 1 (43:40):
But this is the bell lap.
Speaker 2 (43:42):
As we're getting you ready for the Steelers and the
Jets inside the locker room with King and Starks, presented
by your neighborhood Forde Tour. Here on the Steelers Audio Network,
we've been breaking down some of the stories from today,
just briefly to recap. On the Steelers side of things,
Robert Woods had asked for him been granted his release
from the Steelers practice squad. Veteran guy has had a
(44:04):
terrific career in the NFL and evidently wants to find
himself on a regular roster and not on a practice squad.
So has the opportunity to shop as services or perhaps
become available if a team needs some receiver help through injury,
maybe even the Steelers, who knows, or some other team
perhaps in the first few weeks where maybe he's just
going to call it a career. It's been a fine
career for Robert Woods. Of more pressing concern for both
(44:28):
the Jets and the Steelers in this game is the
news that was announced this morning, or broke this morning
that Elijah via Tucker, the very very fine right guard
for the New York Jets, has apparently suffered an arm
injury that could be serious and could keep him out
of action not only this week but beyond as well.
(44:48):
We'll know more about that later on when the Jets
whole practice and presumably will be asked about and answer
that question about the health of Elijah via Tucker. But
that would be a loss for this New York Jets team.
So that's one of the things we've been talking about. Also,
Jim waxelon to talk about this season, and Jim's more
optimistic about the twenty twenty five Steelers, And I think
(45:13):
we've read nationally. Just saw another national poll that had
the Steelers not making the AFC playoffs.
Speaker 4 (45:21):
Max, Yeah, I mean, once again, it's always interesting when
those poles come out because, like you said, I feel
like there's more vitriol than there is intrigue with the Steelers.
I think you know a lot of people you know
and you don't want to say is fatigue to a degree,
but you know, people just want something salacious, They want dysfunction,
(45:45):
they want there to be this crazy upheaval, and the
Steelers just never give the media their satisfaction.
Speaker 1 (45:54):
Nope, nope.
Speaker 4 (45:55):
So to the lou Riddics of the world and those
that always want to put the negativity out there and
be negative, Nancy's about it, and nothing against Nancy's out
there that might not be negative. It's just it's a phrasing,
you know, so so Nancy, please don't please don't tweet
me saying why do you always say negative? Nancy? It's
just a phrase, just a phrase, not directed at you,
(46:16):
you know that just want to see the Steelers fail,
like some people just want to see things burn, and
we never we never give them the satisfaction of that.
So they have to do something, they have to say something,
you know, to try and get some clickbait. They also
they also know when you mentioned the name Steelers, guess
what eyeballs point to it, So some of it's clickbait related.
So we just operate in business as usual, as Mike
(46:39):
Thomas Mike Tollin would say, and you know, just go
about our business. They want the dysfunction, but we never
seem to give it to them. So I'm happy with that.
I'm happy with quote unquote flying under the radar and
over overperforming and under you know, oh is it? It's
under promising and over delivering.
Speaker 2 (46:58):
That this show which is which is over for today? Max,
been enjoyable and I'm with you and I'm with wex.
I just don't see it, but we'll see.
Speaker 5 (47:11):
Uh.
Speaker 1 (47:11):
They play the game for a reason. We'll see what happens.
Speaker 2 (47:13):
But I don't see it, but I do see you,
Max Starks, I see you.
Speaker 4 (47:20):
I appreciate it. It's good to be seen all the
way across the country.
Speaker 3 (47:26):
Uh.
Speaker 1 (47:26):
Max, always a pleasure, my friend.
Speaker 2 (47:28):
Thank you for the time and uh and a great
spending time with you. Are thanks to Jim Wexel as
well for hopping on on a wex Wednesday, and we
of course thank you for listening to this edition of
Inside the Locker Room with King and Starks presented by
your neighborhood Ford Store here on the Steelers Audio Network.
Oh, guess what day it is? Guess what day it is?
Speaker 2 (00:10):
Anybody, Julie, Hey, guess what day it is?
Speaker 1 (00:14):
Oh, come on, I know you can hear me. Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike,
what day is it? Mike, guess what today is?
Speaker 3 (00:22):
It's yes, sir, it would not be a hump day
if it also wasn't concurrently a wex Wednesday, as we
affectionately call it around here inside the locker room, of course,
steel City Insider, uh editor.
Speaker 4 (00:44):
Chief, you know, main guy, go to point person however
you want to look at it. But he's also a
very accomplished author as well. You know, when you think
about just all that Jim we has has done. You know,
Steelers an illustrated timeline, which is an amazing uh tabletop
(01:07):
you know, coffee table type book that has great pictures,
great stories, and a great timeline of just everything you
need to know about the Steelers history. A great friend
of this program. Uh can't say enough. I'm gonna stop
with the flowers. Gonna know, Wex starts to blush a
little bit after a while, but we have Jim Wexel
on the line with us. How are you doing today,
(01:28):
Jim I'm doing great.
Speaker 5 (01:31):
Uh, Max, thank you for all of that, and the
season must be here if I'm on right.
Speaker 4 (01:37):
Yeah, correct, you are correct, it is that time.
Speaker 1 (01:42):
We Hey.
Speaker 2 (01:45):
First of all, great to have you on and thank
you very much for for being with us. Wex Hey,
you know, before we kind of like dive into stuff. Uh,
I think both Max and I would love to get
your short of overview of where the Stealers are right
now and what kind of a season you think we're
sort of looking at here.
Speaker 5 (02:08):
Huh. You know, with all the big names they have,
they sure are still flying under the radars. I think
people think it's some kind of all star last attempt
by the Steelers to break the non playoff win skid.
(02:31):
I just I don't see it that way. I see
it as a young team that's rebuilding on its lines
and it is just about there on both lines and
has added has supplemented with some big time names.
Speaker 1 (02:49):
You know.
Speaker 5 (02:49):
I remember back in the arts during those championship years,
the players used to say, you know, we have a
great combination of old guys, medium guys, and young guys,
and this team has that maybe maybe an extra old
guy in there, but you know, it's not the way
(03:11):
people take care of their bodies today, and they eat
right if they want to. I think you can play longer.
Some of these guys like Aaron Rodgers, you know, he's
taking care of himself the way Tom Brady took care
of himself. So I really have I really have high
optimism for this team.
Speaker 2 (03:31):
I really do, you know, Wax, I have to say
that in talking to first of all, in listening to
and reading the national pundits, I've seen a lot of
eight and nine for this year is Yeah, this is
the year that it comes to an end. We've heard
this story before. This is the year where the you know,
(03:52):
the winning streak comes to an end. I've even talked
to a couple of local guys who think, man, this
thing could just implode. I have to say, I agree
with you. I just don't see it. I see a
team that. Okay, so we have to figure out, you know,
can Broderick Jones play left tackle in Troy fout tyn
to play right tackle? Well, every team's got questions. You know,
(04:15):
how do you replace Minka Fitzpatrick at safety?
Speaker 1 (04:18):
Right? Is there going to be you know, are you
going to miss Naji Harris?
Speaker 2 (04:23):
Perhaps more than people might think, Okay, so those are
the questions, and I understand those questions, and I think
you're legitimate questions, every single one of them the same token.
I look around at the roster and I just see
upgrades everywhere, and I agree with you. I mean, they're
they're offensive line. I mean, four fifths of this line
is extremely young. They've got another guy in Spencer Anderson
(04:46):
who could potentially be a starter who's young. They've shored
up the defensive line. You know, nobody's going to have
a roster chock full of fifty three twenty four year.
Speaker 1 (04:58):
Olds who are all Pro bowlers. You know, it doesn't
work that way. I'm with you.
Speaker 2 (05:02):
I'm mystified by by the and listen, maybe I'll be wrong. Well,
that's why they play the games. But I'm mystified by
this sort of lack of people thinking that Stethers are
a better team than the team that won ten games
a year ago.
Speaker 5 (05:21):
You know, in our business, rob you look smarter the
more negative you are, and when you don't know what's happening,
and it's usually people that don't come here and watch
or have really studied the building of this team, the
rebuilding of this team from the Antonio Brown team from
(05:42):
the Dave di Castro Marquise Pouncy team that peaked in
the twenty sixteen AFC Championship Game, which was a rebuild
and couldn't really rebuild totally because they kept drafting twenty
four right. It never did rebuild because of that. It's
the Dan Marina don Shula dynamic. You know, a rookie
(06:05):
joined a veteran team that went to the Super Bowl,
and then that veteran team got old as the rookie
quarterback was moving into his prime, and a prime franchise
quarterback will get you to eight and eight every year,
no matter how bad you need rebuilt, and so that
was the dynamic here. And they got lucky with a
guy like Antonio Brown in the sixth round, and then
(06:27):
they got a Levy a Bell and they had triplets,
magnificent triplets, but there were still holes and they couldn't
get past where they were. And then guys like Shay'sier
and Twott go down two of the few guys, so
then they had to totally rebuild. And now they're doing
it again and they're kind of hurrying the process. They
know they don't have that franchise quarterback. It's just become
(06:54):
in vogue to trash them and say they don't know
what they're doing because they've added a four one year
old quarterback. And I'm reading Tom Moore's book because Tom
Moore came to town with Tampa Bay and Tom Moore
was Chuck knowles first offensive coordinator and he was a
receiver's coach for Swan and staal Wart and he's had Manning,
(07:15):
he's had Brady, and he told me to get his book,
and I'm reading his book and great stuff about Brady
coming to the Tampa Bay. That was a totally ready team,
just like this team, and everybody you know poo pooed
their chances and they got off to a sluggish start.
They were actually seven and seven, and Tom Morris is
(07:38):
one of the keys to that team was picking up
Antonio Brown. So I don't know if this team has
anybody in mind for the trading deadline to add as
a receiver. But there's a lot of similarities with Aaron
Rodgers and Tom Brady at the same age, as you know.
I watched Aaron Rodgers run through mobility drills yesterday. He's
(08:01):
more mobile than Mason he's more mobile than Skylar Thompson.
Those are those are young quarterbacks in their primes. Nobody
has seen him yet. That's why I asked Mike Tomlin
yesterday for a scouting report on Rogers because really, nobody's
seen him, so that's leading to the negativity. Nobody has
seen Rogers. Guy's got his arm. We've heard Ben talk
(08:25):
about that. We've heard Ryan Clark talk about that, all
these guys who visited practice. The arm still is there,
but the mobility is there. So I mean, we could
go position by position, But as you said, Roderick Jones
is the key. The interior without Derek Harmon will be
(08:50):
a key. But we got Max's guy. Why he a
black in there? I don't know why he changed from
Max's number. He is not not or No Max, I'm
sorry to change gears here, But Max, were you wearing
seventy eight? It wasn't Dwight White your father in law?
Speaker 4 (09:08):
No, no, no, I we we we we had we
had a recent Yeah, so.
Speaker 5 (09:16):
I diated his daughter for a while, Okay, no.
Speaker 4 (09:19):
Subject, yes, yeah, but he was he was mine, yes, yes,
he was a mentor of mine. I mean, Dwight White,
I can't say enough about about how great he was.
Speaker 5 (09:28):
Okay, great for me too.
Speaker 2 (09:30):
Yeah, let me let me, let me steer this, let
me steer this back, and then Max you can jump
in here. But I do want to get back to
the point you're making about the quarterback position, because what
I've seen and what I saw, you know, I've seen
a couple of times, is it's about time that the Steelers,
you know, tear this down for a rebuild.
Speaker 1 (09:50):
Okay, so that's like this, Hey.
Speaker 2 (09:52):
You know, you know they're gonna be eight and nine
and then it's good at the bottom is going to
fall out and then they need to they need to
commit to a rebuild. Well, first of all, the Steelers
are never going to tank, right, They're never going to
construct a roster that they think is bad with the
idea of having a bad record. Secondly, you know, right,
(10:14):
so you have four offensive linemen that are young. You
went out and got Metcalf and signed him to a deal,
so he's your number one receiver. You drafted a guy
in Caleb Johnson that you hope will ascend to number
one status. But you also, you know, signed Jalen Warren
to extensions, so you appear to be set there. You've
got a great group of tight ends, one of whom
(10:35):
signed a contract extension. You know, you bring Johnny Smith in,
you have Darnel Washington. I'm going positioned by position on
purpose because and then the defensive lineman. You know, you've
kind of regenerated that group, as you mentioned, with the
young guys. Joey Porter Jr. Is a young defensive back. Sure,
you've got some veterans at other positions. I understand that
(10:55):
you also have guys in their prime at some positions,
like Patrick Queen. Peyton Wilson is a young player, looks
like he's going to start this year. I do think it.
It just seems to all, you know, if people aren't
looking that closely, And first of all, maybe they should
be looking that closely. But it all seems to to
your point, to come down to this quarterback position. Wex
(11:17):
like everyone's like, well, next year they'll get their guy,
but what about this year with Aaron Rodgers and a
good team around him. It's it is and you, like
you said, there are some questions and and you know
I should have thrown that into a question too. Look,
father time catches up with everybody caught up with Tom Brady.
Maybe it's caught up with Aaron Rodgers, but it hasn't
looked that way. And so I do think that this
(11:41):
narrative that there's they need to fail in order to
get the quarterback. By the way, you know, you can
trade up and get quarterbacks. Kansas City did it with Mahomes,
Buffalo did it with Alan Just because you're drafting twenty
six doesn't mean you can't get a franchise quarterback. If
that's what you're on the lookout for, you just got
to pay to get him. So I do think that
(12:01):
maybe a lot of this narrative does does you know,
come back to the quarterback position.
Speaker 5 (12:06):
Wex well, you know, if if they I think the
sign the one thing they could have done that may
have been more Steelers like in the past, but still
not totally. I mean, they took Derek Harmon instead of
Jackson Dart, that was more for this year. They could
(12:34):
have still got their young quarterback and brought Rogers in
and tried to plug that hole in the middle with
a second round defensive lineman. I like, I like what
they've done. I mean, I hear they had a first
round grade on Jackson Dart apparently it wasn't higher than Harmon,
(12:54):
but you know, they filled that hole with a twenty
one year old defensive lineman. I mean, that's what not
rebuilding is is drafting a twenty one year old defensive
lineman when you have Cam Heyward's he's turning sixty five soon,
so they're going to need help on the defensive line.
(13:15):
I'm turning sixty five soon, actually, I just I want
someone else to go down with me. But and as
for the other I listened all the I listened to
radio talk shit too much, and all they talk about
is Cam Hayward, will you or won'ty? And I'll just
throw this in there that I never for a minute
(13:37):
thought that he was going to skip any games. I'm
just just a fussy old guy fussing about his contract.
That's all that was, and that's all I believe it
will be. This roster is too good for him to
miss this. He wants a ring more than anyone. He
is not going to miss any of this. So anyway,
(14:02):
Derek Harmon looks like the real deal, and y A
Black looks like he's you know, I saw Max's tweet
comparing it, not comparing him, but he mentioned Dwight White
with the same number, and as I watched Ya Black
in training camp and in preseason games, I couldn't help
(14:22):
but think of the seventy Steelers. I just couldn't. I
wasn't Dwight White. That made me think of because he's
not built like Dwight and he doesn't play in the
same position. But it's just a big, strong man in
the middle, A fifth round pick, you know, Elsie Greenwood
was a tenth round pick. It just it just made
me think of those days. So I'm excited. Then you
(14:46):
mentioned Peyton Wilson Rod he could be he could be
a pro bowler this year. He really really looks good
and confident. He's the same athlete he was, but more confident,
more decisive have been his steps and stronger. It comes
with confidence.
Speaker 4 (15:06):
It absolutely does. Wex And you know, I think when
we kind of look at that, there's there there. You
know you always say, you know, you hear the phrase
host springs eternal right at the beginning of every NFL season.
But I think for the Steelers, I think to all
the reasons we've kind of laid it out, you know,
there there's reason for you know, optimism and not foolish optimism.
(15:29):
You know, you could say cautious optimism, but there is
room for optimism just in general with what thus far,
what we've acquired and how those guys have kind of
acquitted themselves in more of a practice setting. I know
you were in the locker room on Monday and you
said you were looking for guys under the rear. Who
do you think you know outside of we listed like
(15:50):
the rookies and kind of you know, known under the
radars because they have zero NFL experience. But what under
the radar guys are you looking at to be one
of those sneaky good, you know, contributors to this team
this season or anticipating Yeah.
Speaker 5 (16:07):
I think we all know the usuals, you know, Darnel
Washington and Roman Wilson and Calvin Austin and those kind
of guys. But I was looking at more guys who
their stories haven't been brought forward yet, like Carson Brunner.
(16:28):
I don't know if you focused on him as a
special teams player. They've got to have him active.
Speaker 4 (16:33):
On game day.
Speaker 5 (16:35):
He's that good. I don't know how you feel, you
guys feel about it, but you know I talked to
him and he told me, you know, he he he
would go to his coaches at Washington and begged to
play on special teams. He loves it, he says. And
I said, you know, rookies know they have to play
(16:57):
special teams to make the team. Why don't they all
love it? He said, they just didn't play it enough
in college. You had a real appreciation for it for
the most part. And so that's one guy. And he
could he could fill in on defense and help you
in an emergency. But I think he's too good of
a special teams player. I think he has to be active.
(17:19):
Why he black? I mean, I don't know that he's
under the radar anymore. And he didn't really bat many passes.
He didn't get credit for the one deflection he had
and appreciates the game. It was an incompletion, he didn't
get credit for it. But every day a practice was
at least too bad at passes. And I asked him
if he was a basketball player, if he was a
(17:40):
shop blocker, and he said yeah, but he said he
doesn't like basketball because they called too many fouls. He
looked like he had looked like he had some resentment
backed up in when he said that. So he said
it's definitely an art skill. And so he's another guy,
(18:07):
of course, Jalen Warren. You know, everybody's waiting for him
to lose his job, and here he gets a contract.
Of course, he fumbled and ball security has been an issue,
and his second carrier pre season, he only had like
three carries and he fumbled. And so I asked him
about that, and one thing he said was, I'm just
(18:30):
glad the Steelers didn't hold it against me. They still
offered him, they still gave him the contract. I think
he's under the radar because everybody's waiting for him to
be replaced. Everybody's saying, well, he's never had fifteen carries
in a game. He can't do it. Well, if he's
never had it, how do you know he can't do it.
You know, I think he can carry twenty twenty five times,
(18:52):
need be, That's not going to be the case. Another guy,
Jack Sawyer. Jack Sawyer is going to play a lot.
You know, I asked Tomlin who would replace Harmon in
the base. You know, Benton and Hayward are the starting
tackles in the Nickel, which they use ninety percent at
(19:13):
the time. Nickelar time they use a nose probably, I
don't know. Last year was more than ten percent, but
I'm guessing it'll be even less this year. And that's
when Harmon would start. So who would And Thomas said,
committee because it's going to be hot and we're still unconditioned.
Earlier in the year, you look for committee. And so
I was talking to Jack Sawyer same thing. They have
(19:35):
to use committee outside linebacker and if her Big isn't
going to play much or if he's not going to
play because of his hamstring, and if he does, if
he is active, I'm sure they're going to be careful
with his snapcounts. Lawyer's going to play a lot, is
he ready? We all know his story, but he is
(19:56):
another under the radar piece guys like that.
Speaker 4 (20:04):
Max, Yeah, no, And and for me, you know, I
think I think you have to look at that, and
I think that's why this offseason was so important. And
you know, the one thing I kind of point to
Wex and you know, tell me what you're thinking. I
think this secondary is going to be top flight. Just
watching I know we only got that one series with
(20:27):
uh in Carolina, with with that starting unit with Joey,
with Slay and and and Jalen. But the way Jalen
was running around and hitting folks and then was and
then was stomping around trying to get back in the
game in the preseason. Man, I mean, I I know,
like I said, Minka is going to be a tough
(20:48):
guy to replace. You know, but there's a reason why
you had faith into Shaun Elliott White, why you re
signed him. There's a reason why you went out and
got to want thorn Hill and you bring back a
Chuck Clark and you know, you know, my is a
guy that got us in a pinch back in the
you know a couple of years ago when it was
just Terrell Edmonds and him, and then it was it
was named the guy here. You know, let's play in
(21:10):
that corner. It was like open tryouts, it felt like.
But man, looking at the secondary and just the versatility
that it has with all those pieces, I mean, that's
the one area that I think I don't have a
question mark about as far as are these guys that
be ready to go right out the gates. I mean,
(21:30):
you talk about committees, but that group, I'm like, they
look well conditioned, They fly around their known suspects. There's
guys that have plenty of NFL experience that know how
to play this game. And that's a group that I
look at and I have less less of those. It's
gonna be an under the radar. These guys are above
(21:52):
the radar. These guys are big dopper marks on the radar.
You know what I'm saying that that are out there
in that secondary.
Speaker 5 (22:00):
You know it's going to be funny this week. See
you've got Garrett Wilson one hundred and one catches last year.
He was a go to guy for Justin Field at
Ohio State. Reunited most teams and correct me if I'm wrong, Max,
But when they have a star corner and they want
to shut somebody down, they don't put the star corner
(22:21):
on the number two receiver and double cover the number one.
I know that was a that was Belichick move and
a cow that was the Cowboys documentary. They did that
with Dion and and things like that. But I don't
see that happening. I see Ramsey in competition with his
(22:45):
other with Sleigh and Porter, you know, teammate competition, loving competition,
but competition nonetheless and having already been bequeathed that by
Tomlin when he said Jalen's got the number one guy.
It's just how it is. I know Joey's upset, and
(23:06):
I know Slayh's upset, but that's just how it's gonna be. Well,
now he's got to do it, and he's got to
do it really well. So I think he's gonna take
the one and I don't I don't know that they're
going to double the other guy because Joey and and
slay are too good to waste. You know, you can
(23:27):
you can get more pass rush instead of doubling.
Speaker 1 (23:31):
Uh.
Speaker 5 (23:33):
I'm just I'm so excited to watch how this develops.
You know, they know all about Justin, they know what
his limitations are. They know and they're going to know
how to defend him. And they're defending Lamar Jackson all
these years, being embarrassed by Lamar Jackson last time out
and and that run game. They're gonna come ready, And
(23:55):
I I was, Uh, it was impressive to hear Mike
Tomlin talk about stuffing the run being the number one priority,
and he went on at length about that because he
has those three corners, he knows what Justin fields can't
do and how they need to play him, and it's
(24:15):
going to be all about shutting that run down and
having guys at the line of scrimmage while Jalen Ramsey
and his compadres compete for personal for team superiority, and
watching the film next week, it's it's it's gonna be
(24:36):
one of those so competitive situations that will only sharpen
iron for the rest of the team. So it's exciting.
Speaker 4 (24:45):
Yeah, yeah, No, I think you hit the nail on
the head with that one, because I think when you
have those guys, this is also preparation for you know
what happens next, right, you know, because you're talking about
in season, and you're also making sure that the guys
around the way also feel that uneasiness. And I'm talking
(25:06):
about guys in Cincinnati and guys in Baltimore, you know
that have a duo or a trio of receivers that
they feel really good about. And it's like, now we
have a trio of cornerbacks that we feel really good about.
And like I said, we could put Jalen as the
number one, or we could put Sleighs the number one,
or we can put Joey Porter Junior as a number one.
(25:27):
Some of the Steelers haven't been able to say for
a while. As far as having having a compliment of
guys that they can throw at you and they can
change the variation, I agree with you. You know, there's
nobody else to double or bracket on that on that team,
is it Josh Reynolds, No, is Arion Smith?
Speaker 1 (25:43):
No?
Speaker 4 (25:44):
You know, and you're not going to double team a
rookie tight end and Mason Taylor. So there's your options
for your aerial assault. I think a lot more concentration
has to be on Justin fields, has to be on
the backfield, worrying about how they're going to do things
a lah like you said Baltimore, with creating the issues
in the run game and making sure you sew up
the responsibilities there for option plays, quarterback spy and the like.
(26:07):
So now I completely agree with you on that one.
Wex Well.
Speaker 5 (26:12):
I doesn't mean I think it's gonna be an easy win.
I think it's going to be a win. No, But
you know the stevel is gonna have a difficult time scoring.
That's a good defense with a really good defensive coordinator,
Steve Wilkes. You know, I'm reading that Tom Moore book
and it's the name Steve Wilkes keeps popping up. I mean,
Tom Moore has had quite an odyssey, and Steve Wilkes's
(26:37):
name keeps popping up, and so I have not paid
much attention to him. He's not one of the big
name defensive coordinators amongst US fans and media, but I
think among coaches he is. It's not the guy, one
of the guys. And so they have a lot of talent.
They have Sauce Gardner, are they going to are they
(26:58):
gonna put him on DK? Are they gonna bracket d J?
So a lot of and another under the radar guy,
Brandon Eccles, will know a little bit something about the
Jets too, and he's four And I agree with Wex.
Speaker 1 (27:14):
I can't wait to see.
Speaker 2 (27:15):
I think you're you know, you just sort of mentioned
it in passing about you know, who do you match
up with? And you know there'll be multiple week to week,
but you know, I keep thinking about, you know, will
they bring more pressure and different pressure? You know when
they I'll just use one guy as an example, when
they when they made the signing a couple of years
(27:38):
ago to bring in Patrick Queen, I remember thinking, well,
do you use Queen and coverage because he's excellent at that,
or to use him to blitz because he's he's pretty
darn good at that as well. Well, we've seldom seen
him blitz, and I think I think it's a reflection of,
you know, what they felt they needed to do to
maybe guard a little bit against the secondary. Well, if
(28:01):
that was the case, this does not look at all
to me like a secondary you have to guard against.
Speaker 5 (28:09):
Yeah, and then you know TJ during the whatever holdout
he had in the summer, people were saying trade him
this and that. You know, Cam feasted last year because
everybody doubled in triple TJ. And now you're throwing a
first round pick who has showed a lot of lot
(28:30):
of potential right between those two. So what's that going
to mean for Cam? What's Cam and TJ going to mean?
For Derek Harmon? What are both of them going to mean?
For TJ? What's that secondary going to mean for TJ?
And Alex high Smith and Nick Herbig. It's a pretty
exciting time for this defense. I know there's been a
(28:50):
lot of blowback about Mike Tomlin using the word historic
back in July that this defense has a chance to
be historic. And by the way, that is the word
used in the question to him, so he repeated the word.
I agree with him. And of course it's all going
(29:11):
to depend on health, as every team should say at
this point of the year. So far, so good.
Speaker 1 (29:20):
WEX.
Speaker 2 (29:21):
It is just an absolute pleasure to have you on, man,
I'm looking forward to this all year. I'm looking forward
to seeing you tomorrow down a Steelers practice.
Speaker 1 (29:30):
Fun stuff. Man, Thanks for coming on with us.
Speaker 5 (29:34):
Can I throw one stat out there? Yes? No, Well,
everybody says, you know, how can this defense go from
giving up two hundred and ninety nine rush yards to
be in an historic defense? Do you know which playoff
season team held the previous record for allowing the most
rush yards to their opponent? I will the nineteenth nineteen
(29:56):
seventy three Steelers allowed two hundred and thirty some yards
to the Raiders. That record stood until last January. I
think the seventy three defense turned into a pretty good
one after that.
Speaker 1 (30:10):
Love it, love.
Speaker 4 (30:11):
It there it is, there's always a nugget. Gotta love it.
That is the author himself giving us some good historical context.
Now we appreciate it very much. WEX. Of course, you know,
we tell people to go to steel City Insider to
catch all of your great commentary. You also have a
podcast as well. It's through what twenty four to seven
(30:32):
Sports correct where you can find steel City Insider Jim
Wexel dot com for all your book needs. You want
to fill your library, just go to Jim Wexsel dot com.
You can fill all of that up with with all
that history. So we appreciate the time. As always, wex
you may you make this Wednesday a little a little
more bearable. It makes it not so much a hump day,
(30:53):
it makes it a wex day. So we appreciate that time.
Speaker 5 (30:58):
Thank you, Jim.
Speaker 2 (31:00):
All right, Jim Wexl'll see him tomorrow over at the
South Side for the Steelers. We're gonna continue on Steelers
getting ready for their first game of the season, Steelers
and Jets. When we continue Inside the Locker Room with
King and Starks, presented by our neighborhood Fords Tour here
on the Steelers Audio Network. Welcome back Inside the Locker
(31:26):
Room with King and Starks, presented by your neighborhood Fords
Tour here on the Steelers Audio Network. I want to
thank Jim Wexel for coming on with Us, a regular
feature throughout the course of the season of Wex Wednesday,
always dropping some knowledge on us.
Speaker 4 (31:40):
Max Listen, there's always there's always a good little little
nugget in there that he's going to throw in there
for you. And you know, love Wex and obviously all
that all that he provides. And yeah, I mean you
talk about, you know a guy who has charted the
history of this Steelers frameranchise and put it into book format.
(32:02):
I mean, I can tell you I personally own I
want to say. Let's see, I'm just looking at my
bookshelf right now, one, two, three, four. I have four
of Wex's books.
Speaker 1 (32:14):
Nice.
Speaker 4 (32:15):
The one I have not gotten is that tabletop one
because every time he has he has autographed signing and stuff.
I keep forgetting to go. Well, I'm never in town,
so that also kind of hurts it. But I know
it's like one of those that that's the one piece
I'm missing. So, I mean, I have some great ones
I love. I love is on the Clock, Pittsburgh Steelers
(32:36):
book that he did, the Paulamalo book is is amazing,
just that kind of biography of Troy It's really special.
But yeah, Jim's Jim's really good. And when you talk
about knowing those random nuggets like him and Bob Labriola,
Oh yeah, who I mean, you know, you don't You
(32:56):
don't get any more deeper into the weeds about Dealers
history than those two.
Speaker 1 (33:03):
Yes, no, those that that is, those are deep waters.
Deep waters.
Speaker 2 (33:08):
Another guy who has deep waters not only with the
Steelers but but certainly just around the league, and that
is our buddy Matt Williamson. And we have a bit
of a shorter segment here, but I did want to
throw this out. Matt, Uh, you know, points out a
lot of things that Mike go overlooked.
Speaker 1 (33:29):
Maybe they're obvious, uh.
Speaker 2 (33:30):
But usually not, you know, usually they're they're things that
make you go hmm. And one of the stats that
he pointed out this year, and one of the areas
that Jets have upgraded and wex bringing up Carson Brunner
and special teams made me think about it is that
the Jets were pretty bad on special teams last year.
Speaker 1 (33:52):
They were not a good team.
Speaker 2 (33:54):
So, uh, they have made some some additions and they
have got some guys going to play larger roles. Kanay
wanmu is a returner extremely dangerous. He was with the
team last year, but figures to play a larger role,
and the kickoff rule has changed, and Xavier Gibson was
on the team last year. I had an excellent kickoff
(34:15):
return average as well. Not so good in a punt returner,
but as a kickoff returner. So that's an area that
I think that shouldn't go overlooked. But the biggest one
for me is the change at kicker. So they bring
in Austin McNamara, a very very accurate kicker, really accurate.
(34:36):
Last year, the Jets used several different kickers. Four of
those kickers tried field goals. They made seventy one point
four percent of their kicks. That was by a fairly
sizable margin, the worst in the NFL. Just to run
down a couple of these things from thirty to thirty
(34:58):
nine that has become automatic in the NFL, six of
eight from forty to forty nine, which is not automatic,
but you expect your kicker to make it fifty percent
five out of ten and from fifty and beyond one
out of two. Now, when you consider that the Jets
(35:19):
lost six one score games, six one score games they lost,
and you think about the difference that a kicker could
make that alone is one of those things that could
vault the Jets into winning more football games. I mean,
just going down the running down the lease to Denver
(35:39):
by one, to Minnesota by six, to Buffalo by a
field goal, to New England by a field goal, to
Indianapolis by one, to Seattle by five, to Miami in overtime.
I mean, you make a couple of kicks on a
team that only won five games a year ago, do
they win? Is it not quite as dire and not
(36:03):
quite a larger a hill to climb as you would think,
just by upgrading in one area, which is field goal kicking.
Speaker 4 (36:12):
Yeah, I mean, listen, hey, difference between going zero and
one and one and oh last year for us was what.
Speaker 1 (36:20):
Six field goals? My boss?
Speaker 4 (36:22):
Yeah, yeah, exactly, So you ask it. It doesn't matter.
It absolutely does matter when you have that. I mean, listen,
we don't make it to the AFC Championship game in
my rookie year. You know, if the Jets weren't the
Jets and had a bad field goal kicker, right, you
know that it swings games, It swings momentum. You know,
(36:44):
it lets your team know that you don't have to
play the full hundred yards of the field. When you
have a dynamic kicker, it says, hey, if we're starting
on our own twenty or twenty five, I don't have
to go get seventy five and eighty yards. I could
be okay with fifty yards of offense forty yards of
offense right, because I know that we can still put
(37:05):
points on the board. That's what special teams does. Or
it shortens our field that we don't have to go
to the length of the field. If we're starting at
the thirty five yard line, right, that's sixty five yards
to go and a guy to have it situation for
a touchdown. All of those things matter, and that's special teams.
And that's why I always, you know, I always kind
of you know, it's miffs me. There we go, I'm
(37:28):
pulling out random words now. It miffs me. I miffed
when people don't appreciate what special teams brings as a
third dimension to a team. It absolutely does matter because
those pivotal moments, those you know, opportune sudden, sudden field
flipping opportunities, whether we're backed up, we can't get a
(37:49):
first down to save our lives. But that punter comes
in and he boots the sixty yard with a five
to zero hangtime and allows everybody to get down the field,
you know, in time to cover that kick. You lip
the field for your team. Whereas most teams would think,
oh man, this is gonna be good. You know, we'll
get a decent you know, we'll get a decent punt
and a decent return and maybe you know they've given
(38:11):
us back. You know, they've given us position to be
somewhere around midfield from the forty yard line. It's like
when you get backed up, Hey, you're gonna have to
go through the same trials and tribulations we went through.
You're gonna be starting on the twenty. Let's see how
you do against our defense. All those things matter in
the momentum and the chess match that is a game.
And kickers and that special teams unit, your core for
(38:34):
special teamers are those difference makers. That's why what you know,
you always talk about when there's a penalty on special teams,
the you know, and then you have to rekick in
a punt situation, man advantage that return team. Just go
ahead and just say chalk it up, Hey, this is
gonna be This is gonna be a good return play
tons Chilkin used to talk about it all the time,
(38:54):
Like the one thing you love is when a team
has already ran, has already done one sprint, and they
gotta they gotta back to the line and perform another
sprint back to back in the middle of a game.
That's when big returns happen. And those things are game
changing moments when you think about it, and you know,
and like I said, I still go back to the
first game of last year. You know, Chris Boswell, how
(39:16):
important was he to us not only kicking the six
field goals, but then he goes out there and boots
a cold one. You know what I'm saying, Like in
the punk game, because we lost Cam Johnson before we
got Corless weightman, Like, that's where it can't be stressed
enough how important that dynamic is on a team. And
that's why you know, for the NFL, the emphasis for
(39:38):
the new dynamic kickoff and even tweaking it now from
year one now going into year two with making the
penalty to the thirty five, because they want more returns.
They want to see the action of the game. They
don't want to lose the special team's emphasis in this
game because it is so matter of fact. So, like
you said, for the New York Jets, that was a
(40:00):
sore spot for them, you know, a year ago, and
you know, we'll see how that gets tested this year,
but it is it is a very dynamic point.
Speaker 2 (40:09):
And and again just to just to run down this quickly,
and by the way, missing a field goal, especially a
very makeable field goal you expect to make, is just
not only that, you know, it can't be measured the
drag it has in a team where all of a
sudden you're like, well, I mean you remember people, they're
not robots, they're they're they're they're players who you know,
(40:32):
emotions are going to play a part of it. And
as I just look down. So so but let's just
forget about momentum and what it can mean to a game. Okay,
So the Steelers are the the Jets are two and one.
They're taken on Denver, and they miss a game winning
field goal, fifty yard game winning field goal with under
a minute left. Denver winds up winning ten to nine.
You make that field goal, you're three and one, right, Okay,
(40:54):
So you lose to Minnesota Buffalo. You have a chance
to take the lead in the fourth quarter of the
field goal, you miss that one, You get worked by
this Steelers. You miss an opportunity in New England and
lose that with another missfield goal, and you wind up
losing that twenty five to twenty two. Let's not give
them all three wins, Max, although the Denver one would
(41:14):
have been a win. Let's just say let's give them two.
You know what your record is instead of three and
six after you be Houston, You're a five and four
football team.
Speaker 1 (41:24):
Think about that.
Speaker 2 (41:25):
Think about what a massive difference that makes for your
outlook for where your season's going. You're not talking about,
hey man, we're our season's over right, You've got a
different momentum. You've got pep in your step. You got
five wins. You're a five and four football team. And
looking back and even saying we could probably be better
than this, you know that's a big You know, again,
(41:48):
every team in the league, and this is why we
see teams turn around so quickly. You get, first of all,
you get a softer schedule, right if you have a
bad record, But most teams are.
Speaker 1 (41:57):
Like this Jets team.
Speaker 2 (41:59):
It's a finger two that could be short up and
then all of a sudden you're a much more formidable opponent.
I don't want to get everyone scared. I like to
get myself a little nervous though before the game, I
must admit. But you know, this Jet's you know, improving
the special team's aspect of their game might be something
that makes a big difference for them this year.
Speaker 4 (42:20):
No, very much so, and we shall see, we shall
see what this dimension does bring in. I'm not gonna
be upset about it, you know, at all, But you know,
I can't wait to hopefully let that kind of delay
just a little bit.
Speaker 2 (42:36):
Yes, works for me. So we're not gonna delay. We're
gonna take a break and we're gonna come back with
some more thoughts for Max Starks to help get you
ready for the Steelers and Jets coming up on Sunday,
first game of the season. You're inside the locker room
with King and Starks, presented by your neighborhood Fords or
here on the Steelers Audio network. So Max Starks is
(43:18):
at that time, we're not hearing Max. However, it is
that time. I'm gonna just go ahead and there it is.
It's time for the bell lap. I like it better
when Max says it. Max says it with some plom
(43:38):
Max is ready to go for the bell lap.
Speaker 1 (43:40):
But this is the bell lap.
Speaker 2 (43:42):
As we're getting you ready for the Steelers and the
Jets inside the locker room with King and Starks, presented
by your neighborhood Forde Tour. Here on the Steelers Audio Network,
we've been breaking down some of the stories from today,
just briefly to recap. On the Steelers side of things,
Robert Woods had asked for him been granted his release
from the Steelers practice squad. Veteran guy has had a
(44:04):
terrific career in the NFL and evidently wants to find
himself on a regular roster and not on a practice squad.
So has the opportunity to shop as services or perhaps
become available if a team needs some receiver help through injury,
maybe even the Steelers, who knows, or some other team
perhaps in the first few weeks where maybe he's just
going to call it a career. It's been a fine
career for Robert Woods. Of more pressing concern for both
(44:28):
the Jets and the Steelers in this game is the
news that was announced this morning, or broke this morning
that Elijah via Tucker, the very very fine right guard
for the New York Jets, has apparently suffered an arm
injury that could be serious and could keep him out
of action not only this week but beyond as well.
(44:48):
We'll know more about that later on when the Jets
whole practice and presumably will be asked about and answer
that question about the health of Elijah via Tucker. But
that would be a loss for this New York Jets team.
So that's one of the things we've been talking about. Also,
Jim waxelon to talk about this season, and Jim's more
optimistic about the twenty twenty five Steelers, And I think
(45:13):
we've read nationally. Just saw another national poll that had
the Steelers not making the AFC playoffs.
Speaker 4 (45:21):
Max, Yeah, I mean, once again, it's always interesting when
those poles come out because, like you said, I feel
like there's more vitriol than there is intrigue with the Steelers.
I think you know a lot of people you know
and you don't want to say is fatigue to a degree,
but you know, people just want something salacious, They want dysfunction,
(45:45):
they want there to be this crazy upheaval, and the
Steelers just never give the media their satisfaction.
Speaker 1 (45:54):
Nope, nope.
Speaker 4 (45:55):
So to the lou Riddics of the world and those
that always want to put the negativity out there and
be negative, Nancy's about it, and nothing against Nancy's out
there that might not be negative. It's just it's a phrasing,
you know, so so Nancy, please don't please don't tweet
me saying why do you always say negative? Nancy? It's
just a phrase, just a phrase, not directed at you,
(46:16):
you know that just want to see the Steelers fail,
like some people just want to see things burn, and
we never we never give them the satisfaction of that.
So they have to do something, they have to say something,
you know, to try and get some clickbait. They also
they also know when you mentioned the name Steelers, guess
what eyeballs point to it, So some of it's clickbait related.
So we just operate in business as usual, as Mike
(46:39):
Thomas Mike Tollin would say, and you know, just go
about our business. They want the dysfunction, but we never
seem to give it to them. So I'm happy with that.
I'm happy with quote unquote flying under the radar and
over overperforming and under you know, oh is it? It's
under promising and over delivering.
Speaker 2 (46:58):
That this show which is which is over for today? Max,
been enjoyable and I'm with you and I'm with wex.
I just don't see it, but we'll see.
Speaker 5 (47:11):
Uh.
Speaker 1 (47:11):
They play the game for a reason. We'll see what happens.
Speaker 2 (47:13):
But I don't see it, but I do see you,
Max Starks, I see you.
Speaker 4 (47:20):
I appreciate it. It's good to be seen all the
way across the country.
Speaker 3 (47:26):
Uh.
Speaker 1 (47:26):
Max, always a pleasure, my friend.
Speaker 2 (47:28):
Thank you for the time and uh and a great
spending time with you. Are thanks to Jim Wexel as
well for hopping on on a wex Wednesday, and we
of course thank you for listening to this edition of
Inside the Locker Room with King and Starks presented by
your neighborhood Ford Store here on the Steelers Audio Network.
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