HR2: Matt’s Stats

Wes and Matt dive deep into the numbers and analytics behind the upcoming Steelers-Jets matchup.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:04):
Your tune's about Drive on your twenty four to seven
home of the Black and Goal Steelers Nation Radio.

Speaker 2 (00:41):
Hour number two of the Drive. Here on a Thursday,
having some fun getting excited for the start of the
NFL regular season this evening, and of course that means
the start of the Steelers season not too far away.
And with that, one of my favorite traditions all year
during the NFL s and is the Matt's Stats packet

(01:02):
that Matt Williamson sends them. Yeah, that's when you really
know you're getting the game day. That's when you know
things are getting serious. And you know, Matt a ton
here that is there a specific area that you want
to start? Well, I should have asked you that first
before we before we got before we got on.

Speaker 3 (01:19):
This one is the probably the largest one in history,
the unabridged version. Much of this is on Steelers dot com,
by the way, folks, you can find it. It just
went up very recently. But this one was four thousand
word word document. I mean it was pretty extensive. It's
I think I started it before training camp even started.
I started just accumulating notes. You can you find something

(01:40):
boom at it at it at it.

Speaker 2 (01:42):
Like halfway through training camp you sent me your initial,
like rough draft of this and you were like, Hey,
if there's anything you want to pull out of here
that we could talk about.

Speaker 3 (01:48):
It something you want to chat about for a segment.
Here's some topics.

Speaker 2 (01:53):
Well let's talk about Let's continue along the lines of
like point differentials and scoring points and how much it
can mean if this offense really takes a step forward,
because the line of demarcation is clear. When the Steelers
defense allowed nineteen or more points, this is a little frightening.
They've gone to and eight. Yeah, they went to and eight.

(02:15):
I should say, only give up nineteen, only gave up nineteen.
You still you only win twenty percent of your game eight. No,
when the defense gave up eighteen or less. And some
people might say, Wes, isn't that a defensive stat You
said you want to start here talking about the offense
and scoring No.

Speaker 3 (02:28):
No, asking a team to get twenty points isn't that
much In today's NFL.

Speaker 2 (02:32):
If your defense is holding a team to eighteen or fewer,
you should be winning every single game or ninety percent
of it right now.

Speaker 3 (02:39):
Obviously, some of those ones when it was over nineteen
were well over nineteen. You know, if you give up
thirty five. I mean, I'm sure there were some bad
ones in there, we know that, but it shouldn't be
that stark where Okay, if we came to eighteen and
under we win, well most teams, do you know what
I mean, that's not the unusual part. Oh, the fact
that you're undefeated, well that's nice. But I mean the

(02:59):
fact that you know, eight under nineteen you win them
all isn't as crazy as allowing nineteen or more if
it was twenty five of like, oh yeah, okay, that's.

Speaker 2 (03:09):
Twenty four twenty five. Absolutely yep.

Speaker 3 (03:12):
So I know people give Mike tom On a hard
time about things, as every head coach gets, by the way,
but he knows these things. I mean we mentioned it before. Well,
if we give up nineteen points or more, we usually lose.
If we throw an interception, we usually loose. So he
coaches accordingly, you know, like people give him a hard time.

(03:32):
He's way too conservative. You know, he red red paint
that he has exactly right, he wasn't. I mean, Dale
and I talk about this all the time. When he
had Ben and Ab and Lev, they would score an
opening touchdown and go for two. You know what I mean,
Like he had a lot of paint and so he
tried a lot of different stuff.

Speaker 2 (03:53):
He used to cosso back his palette.

Speaker 3 (03:55):
I mean, if you have Trubisky and Duck and these
guys as your quarterback, and you know, if I'd let
up nineteen points and probably we're gonna lose, you got
to coach a certain way.

Speaker 2 (04:02):
You absolutely do, and it makes a ton of sense.
And that is I mean, it's just that one stood
out to me when I started that those earlier this week.
Piggybacking off of that, we know that the the touchdown
numbers for the Steelers weren't certainly what we wanted them

(04:23):
to be last year. You and I have talked about
the amount of touchdown passes the Steelers have thrown in
their last fifty games being too low, the lack of
first quarter touchdowns, opening drive touchdowns. The Steelers did not
score a single touchdown on an on an opening drive
last year.

Speaker 3 (04:39):
That's back even longer than last year.

Speaker 2 (04:40):
It's been bad. It's been bad for for a while.

Speaker 3 (04:44):
For multiple offensive coordinators, play callers, and quarterbacks.

Speaker 2 (04:48):
And I know, I know I'm preaching to the choir
because That's one of the things you see Steelers fans
screaming about on social media all the time now.

Speaker 3 (04:55):
That the world's aware they're under the microscope. Like, I
didn't make nothing would make me happy up here than
Steelers would turn the opening kickoff to the forty five
yard line. Rogers five plays later row as a touchdown,
even if they lose thirty to seven. After that, at
least be like, Okay, we don't have to talk about
that anymore.

Speaker 2 (05:13):
We can be done talking about that. Since twenty fifteen,
the Jets have thirty games where they have not scored
an offensive touchdown.

Speaker 3 (05:21):
Oh, this is crazy too.

Speaker 2 (05:22):
Not only is that the most in the league, no
other team has more than nineteen.

Speaker 3 (05:26):
I know, So that like, that's so bad, the whole
game without an offensive touchdown.

Speaker 2 (05:32):
Thirty times in the last ten years. No one else
is even in the twenties.

Speaker 3 (05:35):
No one's even close. So I bet a lot of
people are like, I bet the Steelers are right behind.

Speaker 2 (05:38):
Oh they are not only seven for the Steelers only
the Packers and Eagles have fewer fewer.

Speaker 3 (05:45):
So I mean, now, that's not a great thing to accomplish.
We scored a touchdow score a touchdown. Yeah, okay, great,
but compared to the rest of the league over a
long stretch, they're one of the best teams and the
Jets are by far the worst. Yes, real quickly, you're
talking about the touchdown thing somewhere in there. It's either
when the Steelers have the ball or the general stuff.

(06:07):
Such a low percentage of their points last year came
via touchdown. Now that's a compliment to Boz because he
never if he did, if he missed a lot.

Speaker 2 (06:15):
More in one of the greatest seasons that a kicker
ever had.

Speaker 3 (06:18):
Righteah, and he probably won't have as good a year.
I mean, if he has ninety five percent of that year,
you're still really happy.

Speaker 2 (06:26):
It's the Saquon Barkley conversation you and I had when
we did Fantasy football mock shofts last week exactly. If
he has ninety percent of that year, it's still good,
still good. Don't expect him to repeat what he did
last year.

Speaker 3 (06:36):
Barkley's best year as a pro. That's probably Boss's best year.

Speaker 2 (06:39):
Yes, bro, probably, they're like historically great seasons for their positions.

Speaker 3 (06:43):
Yes, but too much of their points came from non touchdowns,
you know, too higher.

Speaker 2 (06:49):
Percentage completely completely agree. We touched on this a little
bit in the first hour, but just to fully cover it,
Pittsburgh had the NFL's worst first quarter scoring differential last year,
minus three point nine, so basically the average four points
a game on average that they were trailing at the
end of the first quarter.

Speaker 3 (07:07):
The first quarter, you're losing by four every game. I'm
not I mean, on average, it's terrible.

Speaker 2 (07:13):
They averaged just two point seven points in the first
quarter last year, twenty ninth out of thirty two teams
in the NFL.

Speaker 3 (07:18):
Which is real bad. But it's not as bad as
the d And that's that's.

Speaker 2 (07:21):
The interesting I think. And you kind of, you know,
put me in line with this in the first hour
of the show as well too, where I kind of assumed,
and I think a lot of people assume that it's
just because the offense has been inept.

Speaker 3 (07:33):
Oh, yeah, it was Arthur Smith Macanada. That's all there for,
you know, right, But no, it's worse than the.

Speaker 2 (07:37):
D defense allowed six points six points in the first
quarter last season, thirty second out of thirty two teams,
dead last in the NFL.

Speaker 3 (07:44):
Dead last. And I think the sentence after that is
it's the same thing as average per but the number
of points allowed in the first quarter was pretty They
were pretty distant second I mean Dallas was thirty one
or whatever.

Speaker 2 (07:57):
Yes, and the Steelers allowed thirteen more were first quarter
points than than the thirty first place team.

Speaker 3 (08:03):
Yeah. Now, I don't know what to exactly attribute that to,
but to be frank, I think you're crazy as a
coaching staff if you don't at least evaluate what you're
doing from the second the bell rings in week two
until the bell rings and winging three, you know, like
that whole week of prep. I think you at least

(08:25):
have to say, are we doing something wrong throughout the year,
Because what's kind of crazy is a lot of fans
will say this team doesn't know how to adjust, they
don't know how to game plan, blah blah blah. It's
not really true. Look at the third quarter. They're awesome
in the third quarter.

Speaker 2 (08:42):
Plus sixty eight scoring differential last year, which was like
the Tava League.

Speaker 1 (08:46):
Right.

Speaker 2 (08:47):
That tells me that they know how to make adjustments
and tweaks at halftime.

Speaker 3 (08:50):
Right. Yeah. So I'm not like killing the staff, you know,
but there's some there were some strong try that to
the start of the game, right, if you could get
a little of that at the beginning of the game
for whatever reason, and maybe it's just what we were
saying before they come out to conservative and we know
we can't throw a pick early, blah blah blah. But

(09:11):
no matter what, you've been starting games minus four after
the first quarter. And as we said yesterday, if I
had Burrow and Chase and Higgins like, all right, well,
I'm just gonna tell Joe to throw it, well, I
don't want it to have to tell Mitch and Duck
the three you know, and the guys they've had, you know.

Speaker 2 (09:28):
Completely agree, Yeah, completely agree. Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh's first half point
differential negative twenty seven, second half differential plus sixty.

Speaker 3 (09:38):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (09:39):
I mean again, that tells me that they know what
they're doing at halftime. Yeah, they get in there with
the grease board and here's how we're going to adjust,
and here's what they're trying to do. Here's how we're
going to counter. Great, but give me some of that
out of the gate as well.

Speaker 3 (09:52):
Too, Yes, you need way more of it out of
the gate now to defend them. I think you could
also make the argument that their style of offense, run heavy,
heavier personnel, tackling nause Harris all day. Maybe it doesn't
pay off in the.

Speaker 2 (10:09):
First two drive, it's also a great point, but by
the third quarter.

Speaker 3 (10:13):
And mental toughness, stamina, conditioning, physicality, traits that the Steelers
have had, like our whole life prioritize, right, Yeah, Like
I bet Jerome had more yards per carry in the
fourth quarter, right, right, right, So maybe it's a maybe
some of it. I'm not gonna say all of it.
I'm not here to excuse everything away because you can't

(10:35):
be the last and first quarter point differential is what
we do is a marathon, not a sprint, you know
what I mean?

Speaker 2 (10:42):
Yes, yes, and that that part of it does make sense.

Speaker 3 (10:44):
I think there is truth to that.

Speaker 2 (10:46):
But let's have a little bit better of a start
to the marathon.

Speaker 3 (10:48):
Yeah, let's be last in the first quarter different and then.

Speaker 2 (10:51):
We'll and then will really be in a good spot.

Speaker 3 (10:53):
It's twentieth I would understand, don't be thirty second, correct,
I mean the Browns exist, the Saints exist to pay.
I mean there's a really bad team because everybody else
in that neighborhood is terrible.

Speaker 2 (11:02):
Absolutely, and I think This one really kind of paints
that picture. There have been sixty one teams to win
ten or more games in the NFL over the last
five years.

Speaker 3 (11:12):
Okay, okay, the last five years, startling.

Speaker 2 (11:15):
Sixty This was the one that I had to read
it through like three times. When you when you saw
this earlier in the week.

Speaker 3 (11:20):
Yeah, we might have to say it twice because it's
a little hard to understand. But okay, sixty one teams
have won double digit.

Speaker 2 (11:27):
Game in the last five years. Sixty one teams over
those five years, of.

Speaker 3 (11:30):
One done more than one.

Speaker 2 (11:33):
Have done it every year, right, you know, Eagles have
done it a bunch.

Speaker 3 (11:36):
Of times exactly.

Speaker 2 (11:37):
Of those sixty one offenses, Pittsburgh's offense over the past
two years ranks fifty ninth and sixtieth in yards per play.
Yeah again, let me let me repeat this, not just
for dramatic effect, but to make sure you're getting it.
Sixty one teams, sixty one offenses have won ten or
more games over the last five years.

Speaker 3 (11:56):
They're good football teams.

Speaker 2 (11:57):
The Steelers the last two years to teams that have
gone to the playoffs, right, their offense ranks fifty ninth
and sixtieth out of those sixty one teams. Yeah, that's insane, insane,
that is default. You want to talk about stats like I.

Speaker 3 (12:11):
Think like Tomlin does not a coach, like you're giving.

Speaker 2 (12:14):
Me that's a statistical anomaly that you could be that
bad on offense and still making the playoffs.

Speaker 3 (12:19):
Right, you're the worst of good teams. I mean, like
everyone involved is a good team.

Speaker 2 (12:23):
Sure, you know, and they want that's a good point
as well too. You won ten games.

Speaker 3 (12:27):
You weren't garbage, right, I mean, you're the ugliest girl
to beauty prize to some degree.

Speaker 2 (12:32):
You're the slowest. You're the slowest guy in the one
hundred meter final, right.

Speaker 3 (12:35):
But they weren't good offenses. I mean maybe the team
when it was all said and time, clearly, but you
were the worst you would an offense. You know, steer,
you rows the boat in this league. The fact that
you can get the double digits when you're at the
bottom is pretty crazy.

Speaker 2 (12:51):
It's it's absolutely insane.

Speaker 3 (12:53):
I mean, it's winning in the margins, and that's what
Tomlin's so good at, you know. And that's a hard
thing for average fan to notice.

Speaker 2 (12:58):
Totally, right, right, right, But what's encouraging to me about
that is, if you don't have to win in the
margins anymore.

Speaker 3 (13:04):
That's what I'm saying, Like, just get a little better
and a lot of these categories that he's been so
good at since he became the head coach. I mean,
he gets all this there. I say this all the time.
There's fifteen human beings walking the planet that know how
to know how to win football games in this league. Now,

(13:24):
I'm not talking about the retired guys like Parcels that
I mean, they're gone.

Speaker 2 (13:28):
You're talking Sean Payton, Mike Tomlin, Andy Reid eight. I
mean like Jim Yeah, Jim Harbaugh, John Harbaugh, Sorry, like Pete.

Speaker 3 (13:38):
Carroll and the Raiders are going to New England this
week to play Vrabel and the Patriots. Those two teams
have been bad lately, but now they're gonna win in
the market.

Speaker 2 (13:48):
They're not gonna win, They're not gonna win three games
a season, and they're with those coaches, right.

Speaker 3 (13:52):
Right, Harbaugh, I said Peyton. Peyton's took over a terrible
team that was recovering from the Russell Wilson madness. It
wasn't bad as Watson madness. Nobody wanted that job, and
he went he goes eight nine his first year, and
now they're like, all right, give me my guys. You know,
like there's some dudes that know how to win in
this league, and a lot of it is just not losing.

Speaker 2 (14:11):
It's raising that floor.

Speaker 3 (14:12):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, exactly.

Speaker 2 (14:14):
That's a very good way to put it. Is knowing
how to not lose.

Speaker 3 (14:17):
From what I understand from people that were on Belichick's staff,
first staff meeting of the week every year, Okay, how
do we not lose in Pittsburgh this week? I know
how to win, you know, but like what things can
we lose?

Speaker 2 (14:31):
We don't let Antonio Brown run wild, we don't let TJ.
Watt wreck our game plan.

Speaker 3 (14:36):
Right, we can't have fifteen penalties or you know, turnover
obvious stuff. But then there's other things.

Speaker 2 (14:41):
These guys value the ball. We're going to have to
really value the ball.

Speaker 3 (14:44):
The Patriots under Brady and Belichick were the best team
ever at not losing games. Yes they were, because the
other teams will lose them for you sometimes when they
even at this level, Yeah, when they throw that curve
ball doesn't break, you better hit it out of the park,
you know, And they when they screw it up and
the Patriots did.

Speaker 2 (15:03):
And just to put a bow on on this, Matt,
because we kind of referenced some of these earlier Steelers
plus nine and explosive play differential last that shocked to me.
And if you think about it, they hardly ever give
them up, and they didn't have a ton of them.
But George Pickens would give you a couple of years.

Speaker 3 (15:21):
You know, I think both numbers gave you a couple
of numbers were kind of low.

Speaker 2 (15:26):
Yes, Jets were plus two and explosive play differential that
sacked differential that you referenced Steelers minus nine Jets plus three.

Speaker 3 (15:35):
Yeah, not bad.

Speaker 2 (15:36):
So that's another way pretty well if you could, if
you're if you're looking for past the victory for the Jets,
Steelers don't protect Aaron Rodgers. They do protect justin fields.
You know, they they sacked Aaron Rodgers three times and
the Steelers never get the justin fields. Would you say
the Jets were Jets were plus three in sacked differential.

Speaker 3 (15:54):
That's Rogers. That's a good point.

Speaker 2 (15:57):
Doesn't take That's been another one of your fists points
this offseason.

Speaker 3 (16:01):
He will he's not going to take many sacks.

Speaker 2 (16:05):
Two of the twelve projected teams with a starting new
starting quarterback in twenty twenty five, being the Jets and
the Steelers. Yeah, I told you earlier how I filled
in for Rob King with Max Starks. This morning on
in the Locker Room, Jerry Dulac told us first time
in NFL history that two starting quarterbacks are facing both

(16:26):
facing their former team in week one.

Speaker 3 (16:29):
I speculated that on a different podcasts. I'm like, I'm
not going to look it up. There's been I can't
imagine it's happened more than there's.

Speaker 2 (16:34):
Been a handful of times obviously that a quarterback has
played his former team in Week one, sure, but both
playing their former team in Week one.

Speaker 3 (16:43):
That they started for in Week one.

Speaker 2 (16:44):
First, first time that's happened.

Speaker 3 (16:46):
I'm not shocked. I'm a little shocked. I'm a little shocked.
I know it was a really low number.

Speaker 2 (16:52):
Yes, Yes, and so that is That's a pretty pretty
cool backdrop for all of this. Some more stuff that
I want to get into with you here from this
massive Matt stats packet will do that as we roll along.
Matt Williamson West Schuler. It is the drive here on
Steelers Nation Radio on the Steelers Audio Network, your.

Speaker 1 (17:22):
Tunes about drive on your twenty four to seven home
of the Black and Goal Steelers Nation.

Speaker 2 (17:27):
Radio, Matt, as we continue to roll through some stats here,

(18:12):
I want to focus on the signal callers, particularly the
Steelers signal callers, but we can get into some some
justin field stuff as well too. Any different, They could
certainly not be any different. That's a very very good point,
and just their style of play, and I think obviously
particularly where they're at in their careers as well too,
just justin field's not the young pup anymore, but certainly

(18:36):
not the veteran that Aaron Rodgers is. Matt. Aaron Rodgers
one thousand, one hundred and thirty seven yards, shy of
passing Ben Roethlisberger for fifth most passing yards in NFL history.

Speaker 3 (18:48):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (18:49):
Also six touchdown passes, shy of passing Brett Favre for
fourth most all time. He's one of just five quarterbacks
to have five hundred career touchdown passes.

Speaker 3 (19:00):
Yeah, and he's right there with Russell Wilson and Pat
Mahomes as the best touchdown interception ratio ever. I know
Wilson's three. I can't remember who's won right now, if
it's Rogers or Mahomes.

Speaker 2 (19:12):
After this, I think they kind of go back and
four close.

Speaker 3 (19:15):
I mean, we all know Aaron Rodgers is and he's
going to be forty two years old this year. I mean,
it's no shock that he's at the top of these
compiling lists, of course, but it's remarkable. Nonetheless, it certainly is.

Speaker 2 (19:30):
In speaking of that, there's only been one quarterback in
NFL history that has started ten plus games at age
forty two or older, Tom Brady. Yes, Rogers turns forty
two in December, so late in the season.

Speaker 3 (19:43):
Yeah, I must didn't put that in there because he's
not forty two. It's impossible for him to do ten
this year. But it gives you an idea, you know
what I mean, Like he's going to turn forty two
this year. If he decides to come back for another season,
Brady would be the only one that he could match.

Speaker 2 (19:58):
You know.

Speaker 3 (19:59):
Yes, speaking of the guys do play later in the
life than they did when I was a kid.

Speaker 2 (20:04):
Or in every sport right now?

Speaker 3 (20:06):
Yeah, really, I mean, Lena Ovechkin, if he didn't miss
those couple of weeks with his leg injury, would have
probably led the league in goals again this year. Wow,
you know ya is my agent? He hung where we
graduate high school the same year.

Speaker 2 (20:21):
It's Lebron is a great example. Sidney Crosby is a
great example to you know, to stay in this town.
I mean a lot there was kind of like when
I was growing up.

Speaker 3 (20:29):
And they're making more money than ever, absolutely right. They're
not sticking around because they're poor exactly.

Speaker 2 (20:35):
Exactly, Yeah, because they don't want to go to like
their second career laying floors or insurance. I don't think
he's worried about his future bank roll too much.

Speaker 3 (20:46):
That is crazy though, but people are playing late.

Speaker 2 (20:48):
Even like a lot of the you know, like athletic
skill based positions in sports. People used to think there
used to be this kind of like mindset of once
you turn thirty, it's done.

Speaker 1 (20:57):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (20:57):
Yeah, Look at Mike Evans is still put in thousand
yard reception seasons every year well into his thirties.

Speaker 3 (21:04):
Cam Hayward, like sts, medicine and sports science.

Speaker 2 (21:06):
I think that's a lot of it. They got to
their own personal trainers better than ever. They take care
of their bodies better than ever.

Speaker 3 (21:12):
Yeah, there's a lot of it.

Speaker 2 (21:13):
They're not laying floors in the off season, like Jack
Lambert was, they're not working for moving companies in the
off season, like Craig Wolfly.

Speaker 3 (21:20):
Was, they monitor their sleep and hyperbolic chambers and crazy
stuff that I absolutely even comment on.

Speaker 2 (21:27):
I don't know absolutely, Like I kind of remember that
old adage of growing up of like once you hit thirty,
you start to really regress. Not so much anymore, man, No,
I mean Jalen Ramsey's thirty right now, and I think
we are still very confident that he's doing it at
a high level.

Speaker 3 (21:43):
Yeah, it's interesting.

Speaker 2 (21:45):
Where is it here? Of course I just had it
now the interception number reference to go.

Speaker 3 (21:50):
Ahead time great quarterback. So I got a really good
question on my Peacock and Williamson mailbag this week about wanting,
you know how the Steelers say one helmet guys, you know,
like Ben was a one helmet dude, Troy, Troy, you
hope Cam looks like Cam's going to be, you know, EJ.
They want him to be a one helmet guy. And
I didn't really think of this. He's like it was

(22:10):
obviously a Steeler fan. Rode In is like, is Ben
going to be like the last one helmet quarterback that's
like a Hall of Fame type like, and he made
the joke, He's like, I can't wait for the Steelers
to sign Josh Allen or Mahomes in eight years, you know,
like they just signed Wilson and Rogers, you know what
I mean, like Dak Prescott here in another year or two, right,

(22:30):
you know, like if you look at all the all
time great quarterbacks far Manning, Brady blah blah blah, Rogers,
you know that of Lake.

Speaker 2 (22:37):
The Elways and the Roethlisbergers are the exceptions.

Speaker 3 (22:40):
Yeah, I mean there's not many in the last twenty years.
I mean since like the Marino Elway year era where
they actually start and finish with the same team Eli did,
like Rivers at the end, go the Rivers, Theos, the
Colt Stafford goes to the Rams. Like all these guys
are like hall of fame or borderline hall of famers.
Ben like the only one in two different teams. Yah, right, right, right?

Speaker 2 (23:04):
You know that's an interesting point.

Speaker 3 (23:06):
And and the point was we just assumed Lamar Mahomes
Alan Burrow will be on those teams for a decade. Sure,
but his tree doesn't really say they are.

Speaker 2 (23:16):
I don't think. I don't think anybody would have ever
thought that that Tom Brady and Bill Belichick and you
know that would have been that divorce and all that
that happened there.

Speaker 3 (23:24):
I mean, like Manning might have, but he happened to
get injured badly the year that That's why came out.

Speaker 2 (23:29):
That why that's why. That one's kind of a unique
scenario because he had a very serious injury at the
end of the draft and they had the first pick
in the draft with a generational type quarterback prospect coming out.

Speaker 3 (23:39):
To what I said, I was like, if that was
the year that Miles Garrett was the best prospect, they
might have been like Peyton, let's roll back and with
draft Miles Garrett. You know what I mean.

Speaker 2 (23:46):
If it wasn't the quarterback, if you made me guess
right now, Patrick Mahomes play his entire career.

Speaker 3 (23:51):
For the Chiefs, I can't imagine.

Speaker 2 (23:53):
I'm not he's I think with a franchise like that
that waited so long to win like this, right, they will.
They will let him Hong Kong. They will let him
hang around a year or two extra. Yeah, But like
Alan and Borrow, I would say no, I would be
very confident in making a bet right now that Joe
Burrow plays for somebody other than the Cincinnati Bengals, and

(24:13):
sooner maybe rather than later.

Speaker 3 (24:14):
He that might happen soon, and Steeler fans should rejoice
if it does trade him to the NFC. But even
like Alan and Lamar I mentioned, they've gotten so much
better doing the old man quarterback stuff that their legs
could could really wane and they still are going to
be really good players.

Speaker 2 (24:34):
I don't want to hear from people used to say
when Lamar gets into his thirties and loses his step,
he's done. I don't want to hear that he threw
forty one touchdowns on four interceptions.

Speaker 3 (24:42):
R right. I mean he could have a shattered ankle
and still be a really good player. I mean might
not even be the same style. But those two are
over the hump of they don't have to rely on
just athleticism.

Speaker 2 (24:54):
I am totally with him, totally with you on that.
That's an interesting point.

Speaker 3 (24:58):
But it's crazy. You know, there aren't men actually.

Speaker 2 (25:00):
Quarterback like it's it's really falling off or.

Speaker 3 (25:02):
Close to Hall of Fame quarterbacks. Almost all of them
are not one helmet.

Speaker 2 (25:06):
Guy Ben and ELI are going to be the only
ones who get in here anytime soon that were one
helmet quarterbacks.

Speaker 3 (25:12):
Yeah, and the end of ELI was not pretty, not great.

Speaker 2 (25:15):
Not great over the last five years.

Speaker 1 (25:17):
Matt.

Speaker 2 (25:17):
Here's the number that we referenced earlier, the Steelers thirty
eight and ten when they do not throw an interception.

Speaker 3 (25:23):
Is that nuts?

Speaker 2 (25:24):
That's nearly an eighty percent win percentage. It's seventy nine
percent win percentage.

Speaker 3 (25:29):
And I'll bet everything I have Tomlin knows that or closed.
He might not know the exact number, but like we
throw a pick, we don't throw a pick, we win.

Speaker 2 (25:36):
And who have been the quarterbacks they targeted the last
two years? Two quarterbacks that don't throw interceptions? Yeah, yeah,
Russell Wilson third best, third, lowest, I should say, interception
rate in NFL history. Aaron Rodgers is currently number one,
so the Holmes is right on his heels, but he
is still currently number one.

Speaker 3 (25:51):
So clearly when Duck would be it, I mean Tom
Win even said it, like when Duck was out there, like,
just don't kill us. Yeah he didn't, he.

Speaker 2 (26:00):
Literally just don't kill us.

Speaker 3 (26:03):
I'm sure.

Speaker 2 (26:03):
I'm sure he.

Speaker 3 (26:05):
Said the same thing to Kenny and his rookie year,
Trubisky when he would get in there, went in doubt,
third it, throw it in stands, don't throw it. Pick day, baby.
And that's a tough way to live, you know. I
mean it's it's hard to beat Mahomes in the playoffs.
With that mindset.

Speaker 2 (26:21):
Of course, you can win a lot of games getting.

Speaker 3 (26:23):
There, a lot of games getting there. And the last
two years they haven't had the choice of any quarterback
they wanted. You know, we're gonna we picked Wilson, we
picked Rogers, and I'm sure they were very aware of
the touchdown interception ratio of their careers. Big body of work,
and that's a wonderful stat But I hope if we're

(26:44):
right that they're in the quarterback market next year, they're
not just looking at the leadoff single like swing to
the fences, you know, like when to me in the
quarterback market when you're drafting one high, I don't mind
if I miss, but I am going to swing to
hit a grand slam with known on base, you know,
like I need Josh.

Speaker 2 (27:04):
Adams Kenny Pickett conversation. That's what was my problem with picking,
and I took it and I gave the Steelers some
benefit there because how often can you draft the consensus
number one quarterback the twentieth overall, of course, but there's
also a reason that the consensus number one quarterback went
twentieth overall, something we never see. Guys they reach on
every quarterback possible.

Speaker 3 (27:23):
I understand. Taking Anthony Richardson, yeah, I mean.

Speaker 2 (27:27):
It looked Josh Rosen exactly.

Speaker 3 (27:29):
I mean, you got a swing big on trade Zach Wilson,
and if you end up throwing a lot of picks
with the new guy, that's how you win. I mean,
not that you don't win this league by throwing picks,
but I hope you don't take the strategy of let's
get the guy that's twenty that doesn't throw picks. Now
give me the guy with twenty with a rocket arm
that runs a four to two. You know what I mean,
Like Leonora Sellers eat yeah, yeah, yeah. Man.

Speaker 2 (27:50):
After his performance in that opener against Virginia Tech, the
Ben Roethlisberger comparisons were everywhere.

Speaker 3 (27:55):
I could see him be in the first pick of
the draft.

Speaker 2 (27:56):
Well, something I can't. There might be a chance that
the Steelers.

Speaker 3 (28:00):
Don't that could be bying this guy.

Speaker 2 (28:03):
If you if you're picking in the in the low twenties. Yeah,
he ain't getting he ain't trained up to get the
first pick. You're not getting the first not happening. You
might get the seventh, but you're but you're but you're
not getting the first.

Speaker 3 (28:13):
And that was Alan Mahome, those guys one night.

Speaker 2 (28:15):
Totally.

Speaker 3 (28:15):
You can get a superstar not picking one. But I've
done this long enough to be like people were talking
about him as one of the five or six. I'm like,
he could be one some Yeah.

Speaker 2 (28:26):
One of those. I think it was one of those
football aggregator type accounts you know that just post highlights
and news and stuff like that. Someone put a clip.
I should have saved it and sent it to you,
but it was like thirty seconds. It was a play
Ben Roethlisberger made his rookie season the Steelers where he
like shrugged off two sacks, sidestepped the guy and and
and made an awesome like throw for fifteen yards. Yeah,

(28:48):
And essentially they showed that and then they essentially cut
to Lenora's Cellars doing the same thing Saturday against against
Virgil like a almost eerily similar play where he goes
one way, breaks a couple of tackles, comes the other way,
makes somebody miss and then gets rid of it for
a Houdini first down.

Speaker 3 (29:06):
So I think people know Dane Brugler is with the
athletic that they should at least they should if they don't.
Big time draft guy.

Speaker 2 (29:11):
He's I think our number one go to the draft guy.
He's now.

Speaker 3 (29:13):
He hasn't done it as long as like Mel you know,
he's a younger guy, but it's been a while and
he's awesome aut what he does. I was listening to
his podcast after week one of the college football season,
and he said he said this going in. He said,
Sellers is the strongest quarterback I've ever evaluated. He's like
Cam Newton was closed, Jaden Hurts was close. He's like

(29:35):
Ben was before my time. But reference Ben Allen and
just everything about him is strong. I mean the arm,
the ability to break tackles.

Speaker 2 (29:44):
He's a great athlete.

Speaker 3 (29:45):
Yea, yeah, yeah, I mean just pure strength matters.

Speaker 2 (29:48):
Man. I normally hate when people do here here here comes,
here comes the number one cornerback in the draft, and
let's compare him to Revis.

Speaker 3 (29:58):
Yeah. Yeah, you know, like I minds me.

Speaker 2 (30:00):
I typically hate it when yeah, let's compare him to
one of the oh that interior defensive lineman. Let's compare
him to Warren sapp or to Aaron Donald. You know,
it makes me crazy.

Speaker 3 (30:10):
I use Jim Brown as the example to really put
it over thought. Oh kind of reminds me of Jim Brown.
Oh okay, yeah, this.

Speaker 2 (30:17):
Wide receiver is Randy Moss two point. Let me tell
you a little faster version. But I get some of
the Leonora's sellers, the Ben Roethlisberger comparisons, I can see, yeah,
I can see it. Uh, Just to kind of follow
up and finish on this here. Over the last decade,
Pittsburgh has started nine different quarterbacks Ben Benjamin Todd Roethlisberger.

(30:37):
Of course, when you get to that level, you put
your middle name in there. Landry Jones, Michael Vick, Mason
Rudolph Duck, Hodge's, Mitch Trubisky, Kenny pick At, Justin Fields,
and Russell Wilson. Only Trubisky had a losing record as
a starter, and he only had like three or four starts, right,
and it starts it's like one and two or something
like that.

Speaker 3 (30:53):
Now, some of these guys didn't start a ton vic sure,
you know, but still that's nine guys.

Speaker 2 (30:59):
And only one of those is well, not only one
of those is going to the Hall of Fame.

Speaker 3 (31:04):
Yeah, Wilson's a really good player, no doubt.

Speaker 2 (31:06):
But he and I should he Yeah, Wilson has has
Hall of Fame type critics. He could certainly, he could
certainly get in.

Speaker 3 (31:12):
And I'm not gonna say end of career Bean was
the same as mid career band either. But still, of
all those dudes, only Trubisky had a losing record as
a starter. That's pretty crazy.

Speaker 2 (31:22):
Since Mike Tomlin has been the Steelers head coach in
two thousand and seven, only the Patriots and the Packers
have won more games than Pittsburgh. Only Baltimore, Kansas City,
and New England have played more playoff games in the
a f C.

Speaker 3 (31:35):
Yeah, now we all know we want that record to
be better in the postseason.

Speaker 2 (31:40):
Totally.

Speaker 3 (31:40):
Tomlin does too, totally. But that's pretty good.

Speaker 2 (31:42):
This is Matt, This is the same and I think
you'll get a kick out of this before we go
to break. My expectations as a WVU fan are not
what they are for Alabama fans and Ohio State fans. Yeah. Yeah,
if those Ohio State was ten and two last year
at the end of the regular season and trying to
run Ryan Day out of town, and then he won
the National championship six weeks later.

Speaker 3 (32:01):
Like this beats Texas this week.

Speaker 2 (32:03):
But I get it. I would rather have Ohio State
expectations than WU expectations. Yeah, absolutely, I would rather have
Steelers expectations than Jets expectations. But I still still think
from time to time the grain of salt in there
is good to have as well.

Speaker 3 (32:17):
Agreed. Agreed. Now, if we had every Jets fan on
to our right and every Steelers fan to our left,
and we asked them both, what do you guys think
about an eight and nine record this year? We know
what the answers would be.

Speaker 2 (32:28):
I'll take it.

Speaker 3 (32:29):
The folks agreed, you'd be like, sign me up where.

Speaker 2 (32:31):
Justin Fields did well, We're in the right direction.

Speaker 3 (32:33):
Folks in black and goal will.

Speaker 2 (32:34):
Be like, no way, would be like I want to
clean house. If we have a losing record this season,
that's enough, get them out of here. One more segment
to go on the other side, a couple.

Speaker 3 (32:43):
More rated this long enough all these winning seasons.

Speaker 2 (32:48):
Dude, last year I was laughing. Alabama finished ranked like
fourteenth or fifteenth in the regular season. Last year in trouble.
That guy's in trouble. They went nine and three and
finished ranked like fourteenth in the country. Kaylindbor, you got
one more year, dude, you better figure it out. I do.

Speaker 3 (33:03):
I think he's lost to more unranked teams than Saban did.

Speaker 2 (33:07):
Ye.

Speaker 3 (33:09):
He's been there for like fifteen minutes.

Speaker 2 (33:10):
He's already lost to four ranked teams as well, which
is as many I think as Nick Saban lost to
and like his last ten years, Like Sabin went six
and six his first year in Alabama, and then after
that they weren't He like lost six games the rest
of his entire time.

Speaker 3 (33:25):
Right, You don't want to be the man that follows
the man.

Speaker 2 (33:28):
You absolutely do not. Especially there do not no chance
a couple more of these that I want to close
down with you. When we return on the other side,
we will go through some of these last Matt stats
nuggets here to close this thing down. On a Thursday,
West Shuler, Matt Williamson, it is the Drive on Steelers
Nation Radio on the Steelers Audio Network, Your teams.

Speaker 1 (33:54):
About Drive on your twenty four to seven Home of
the Black and Goal Steelers Nation.

Speaker 2 (33:58):
Radio, the final segment of the Drive here on this Thursday.

(34:32):
As we have waited, we have anticipated, we have got
the beginning of the NFL season tonight across the Commonwealth
in Philadelphia. God bless America.

Speaker 3 (34:43):
Matt.

Speaker 2 (34:44):
I did take a look at the tweets here, and
I totally forgot that we solicited those early. We could
carry tomorrow, and we could certainly carry some over tomorrow.
But Mark tweets us and says, wondering about a comparison
of the Tampa Bay Bucks roster that won the Super
Bowl with Brady to the current Steelers roster with Aaron Rodgers.

Speaker 3 (35:03):
I'd have to be refreshed a little, but not much.
I got it here for you because real quick, before
we dig into it, I remember Dale and I talking
about that because the year before he went to Tampa
was the Winston year that he threw thirty thirty five yards, right,
And I remember talking about it going, this team's a

(35:26):
quarterback away. I mean like they had a lot of
pieces in place, and Tom knew it. I mean Tom
picked them going totally. If I don't throw thirty picks,
which he never.

Speaker 2 (35:37):
Wins, we're gonna have a really good chance we got noise.

Speaker 3 (35:39):
Stuff here going. I mean they had Evans and Godwin
and young Wurfs, and then he recruits Gronk and those
guys too. It's better than this roster, I think. Now
the defenses are maybe something comparable.

Speaker 2 (35:51):
I think it is better than this roster. But there are, like,
give me some names.

Speaker 3 (35:54):
I'm trying to think, like what that team.

Speaker 2 (35:57):
Was, madamkan su Vid Golson, Pierre Paul was there was
their line. Those guys were thirty four, twenty six, thirty
and thirty two rookie Devin White next to veteran Leavonte David,
who's going to play till least fifty five. I'm convinced.

Speaker 3 (36:11):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (36:12):
And Shaq Barrett, who had an outstanding year.

Speaker 3 (36:15):
That's a pretty good front seven, very good front seven.

Speaker 2 (36:17):
I tell you what, though, I like the I like
the I like the Steelers.

Speaker 3 (36:21):
Their front seven can hang with anybody.

Speaker 2 (36:22):
I like the I like the Steelers secondary much more
than I like that Bucks secondary. Dean Murphy Bunting Winfield
Junior in Whitehead.

Speaker 3 (36:32):
Okay, I'd probably take the Steeler d over that one.

Speaker 2 (36:34):
I think I take the Steeler d over that one.
I'd certainly take the Steelers secondary.

Speaker 3 (36:38):
Yes, over that one. Yeah, it's a good defense though, Yeah,
you can win a Super Bowl that defense. You absolutely
can a good phenomenal quarterback, you.

Speaker 2 (36:45):
Know, but yeah, prime of his career, Mike Evans same
age as DK Metcalf.

Speaker 3 (36:49):
Yeah, I mean Evans is a Hall of Famer and
that Vergil Evans is better than Meccan.

Speaker 2 (36:53):
I think, and this is a total digression. We don't
have to go there, but I think Mike Evans might
be the most underrated wide receiver in a history.

Speaker 3 (37:00):
It's funny to say that because I agree, you know,
I think he should be compared to like Larry Yes,
you know, like he's not like is he a Hall
of Famer or not?

Speaker 2 (37:07):
And I don't think he was quite a b or Julio,
but he deserves to be in that conversation and we
talk about the best wide receivers of this generation.

Speaker 3 (37:14):
Like he might be a top ten receiver ever.

Speaker 2 (37:18):
Matt, before we go, I think you're right he's again
and absolutely you can make a good faith argument that
he's in the conversation.

Speaker 3 (37:23):
Yeah, yeah, before we go. The better than the Steelers.

Speaker 2 (37:27):
Offense was was was better, But I think the Steelers
defense could be better. Yeah, yeah, before we go, I
did want to run this last Matt's stat past you.
The Steelers last year averaged five point one yards per play.
That was eighth worst in the NFL. Where does that
number need to go for this team to get where
we want them to go.

Speaker 3 (37:47):
It doesn't sound like much, But if you were five
to three, I'm probably be like, I get it, and
now don't forget. I mean, the rushing numbers were really low.

Speaker 2 (37:57):
Because if that was what four point one per average,
second worst in the league. If you get that to
four three or four four.

Speaker 3 (38:03):
Because they definitely had some long balls, you know that
that change, you know, So that's five ones not great.
I'm not saying saying it is. Obviously it was eighth worst, but.

Speaker 2 (38:14):
You liked and you get close to five to five
and you're you're in the middle of the table.

Speaker 3 (38:19):
I mean, Dale and I do this trick all the time.
I mean, if I said five to four, like, sign
me up, I won't take door number two. I won't
go fish. You know what I mean? Yes, five to five,
of course, I'm sign me up. Five to three. Maybe
five to three I might take because it could go backwards.
But people never think that, you know, like this time
of year and it's the NFL is so smart. It's

(38:41):
still we're still in the land of eternal optimism.

Speaker 2 (38:44):
Absolutely.

Speaker 3 (38:45):
Oh it's going to be better in next year. Yeah,
we're better than we were this time though no chance
were as injured this year as last year. Like no
one gets hurt. Our first round pick is going to
be a star because they all hit all thirty two
every year. You know, this guy's coming back from injury,
he'll be better than ever. Oh yeah, that always happens.

Speaker 2 (39:01):
I do. I do love the eternal optimism, but that'll
come crashing down very soon tonight. Last last one that
relates to this, Steelers averaged four point five yards per
play on first downs last year, last in the league.

Speaker 3 (39:17):
Yeah, and a lot of it's because they ran a
lot of first downs, which also has a little bit
of a ripple effect of running people, you know, beating
people up and wearing them down.

Speaker 2 (39:26):
The Jets were also the league's best defense on first
down last year.

Speaker 3 (39:30):
Yeah, that's a good point. I forgot about that.

Speaker 2 (39:31):
So that kind of whole like four yards or more
on first down thing that I can still hear. Our
brother Craig Wolfley screaming about that. That feels like that's
going to be important on Sunday.

Speaker 3 (39:41):
Yeah, first down success rate I'm sure was poor for
the Steelers this past year.

Speaker 2 (39:47):
It absolutely was. Yeah, And and so those are some
of the things that we will be looking for beginning Sunday.
But we will have another show tomorrow. Of course, we'll
have our we'll have our predictions, we'll get into some
more of these the these numbers. Will have a matchup
segment as.

Speaker 3 (40:02):
Well, pick every game and do all that stuff too.
Absolutely absolutely talk a little bit about whatever happens tonight.

Speaker 2 (40:08):
I was just gonna say tonight, I think it's eight
and a half because I'm not going to ask you
who's gonna win. I know your answer there. The Cowboys
keep it close, though, do they cover? They're eight and
a half point underdogs.

Speaker 3 (40:18):
Maybe, I think they're in for a real long night,
But I think that passing game might keep it close
or backdoor cover, you know what I mean.

Speaker 2 (40:27):
They score a touchdown, they score a touchdown late to
lose by seven instead of fourteen.

Speaker 3 (40:32):
Like it wouldn't shock me if Steeler fans watch that
game going. George Pickens is still pretty good.

Speaker 2 (40:39):
You know what I mean. Let me just say, George
Pickens is I have two fantasy football teams. Now, that's it.
They're both money leagues, one with my boys, one with
my family. I got pickings starting in both I too.

Speaker 3 (40:49):
That's crazy. There was like a handful of dudes in
my both three draft leagues that I picked in both leagues,
and he was one of them. And I'm firing him
up with confidence tonight.

Speaker 2 (40:58):
I got them way lower than I thought I should
have in both drafts, and I was happy to do so.
Me too, Matt, good stuff man. Looking forward to tomorrow.
We'll really get this thing ramped up and ready for Sunday.
Big shout out to our guy TV in the booth
for producing us. We are back on YouTube for all
of you that missed that yesterday. If you want to
see Matt and I's beautiful smiling faces, you know where
to go. That's the Steelers official YouTube account. That'll do

(41:20):
it for us today. We'll talk to you tomorrow. For
Matt Williams and I am Weshuler. You know where to
find us. It's on your twenty four to seven Home
of the Black and Gold Steelers Nation Radio on the
Steelers Audio network