Week In Review Episode 48 - Beltway Battle

The Week in Review looks back at some bye week updates, and at the challenge ahead against the Commanders.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
This is the Steelers Week in Review with Wesley Huehler
on Steelers Nation Radio at Steelers dot com.

Speaker 2 (00:07):
Hello Steelers Nation, and welcome to the Steelers Week in Review,
your one stop shop for all the current news and
headlines for your Pittsburgh Steelers. I'm Wes Syeuler, host of
the Steelers Blitz on the Steelers Audio Network. Let's get
you up the speed on all the latest for the
Black and Gold. Out of the bye week and feeling good.
The Steelers sit at six and two, first place in
the AFC North, but with a tough schedule of games

(00:30):
on the horizon, beginning with a trip to the nation's
capital to take on the surprising Washington Commanders, who are
seven and two in a top their division. As well.
Mike Tomlin discussed what was accomplished during the bye week, you.

Speaker 1 (00:44):
Know, from a football perspective or a strategy perspective, probably
less significant than the year's past. I think with the
flow of information today, I think some of the self
scout things, some of the things that you traditionally think
about regarding bye weeks, are more of a continual thing
in today's game, at least it is for us in
all three phases. Every week we allocate a certain amount

(01:05):
of time into self evaluation or self scout or analysis,
if you will, And so it makes that less of
a dramatic thing when you lean in on bie week
than years past. But we did have a productive week
in that regard. Just looking at everything that we do
in all three phases, how we divide the labor up,

(01:26):
what we're doing well, what we're not doing well, in
the effort to narrow our focus so we can make
victory more fluid over the second half of the year
in terms of our performance.

Speaker 2 (01:36):
And as he always does, Mike Tomlin discussed all injury
updates heading into the new week for the Black and Gold.

Speaker 1 (01:42):
We got a lot of guys who've been out who
have a chance this week. Man, We'll be watching their
participation on a variety of levels to determine whether or
not they'll be included or not. Guys like Corey Trice,
Nick Herbick, Ce Patterson, Zach Fraser Tyler, all of those
guys who have been out in recent weeks and in

(02:05):
some cases an extended period of time on the cusp
of it, and so we'll see where their participation leads
us and what roles we might carve out for them.
Same thing could be said for Cam Sutton, who's available
to us now. And so you know, really Bye week
is probably spent pondering those possibilities, how to better divide

(02:28):
up labor as we get capable people back to us.
But I don't view that as a problem, and that's
a first world problem. If that's a problem having guys
that are capable and guys that have ascended and performed
well in their absence, and the complications of infusing them
back into the fold again as a problem that I'll

(02:48):
welcome if you want to describe it as that.

Speaker 2 (02:50):
It will be the first place Steelers against the first
place Commanders. Sunday at one o'clock in our nation's capital,
Mike Tomlin talked about the challenge that this upstart Washington
team presents.

Speaker 1 (03:01):
Really impressed with, first and foremost what they're doing offensively
on their young signal caller. Quarterback mobility is an asset
to him, but I've been really impressed by his prudent
use of it. Not only him, but you got to
acknowledge coach Kingsbury as the architect of it. Their ability

(03:22):
to prudently utilize his mobility, particularly in weighty moments, to
keep the defense off balance, to win lines the game,
to score points. It shows up in a lot of
situational statistics or circumstances. They got fifteen Russian touchdowns. They
lead the NFL and Russian touchdowns. His quarterback mobility is

(03:44):
a component of that. There are eleven of eleven on
the season on fourth down conversions. You watch that real.
His mobility, whether by designer ad lib, is a component
of that. It doesn't matter what tape you put on
third down red own operation. His mobility is a is
a major factor, whether it's by design or by ad lib,

(04:06):
play extension, escape, it is something to be reckoned with.
It's one of the core components of why they're dangerous group.
You couple that with their unique ball security. They've turned
the ball over three times in nine games. I think
that's a record of some description through nine games in
the NFL. They throw two interceptions and they fumbled one time.

(04:30):
You lead the league in rushing touchdowns. You're running the
ball as effectively as a collective as they are, and
you've only turned it over three times in nine games. Man,
you're gonna be seven and two and so man, we're
preparing with an edge. We respect those things, but they
got a total unit. McLaren is a guy that is
a significant winner in one on one matchups. We better

(04:52):
do a really good job of thoughtfully managing our exposure
to him and working the minimu him, particularly in circumstances.
But they do a nice job of utilizing all the eligibles.
I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the impressive complementary
backfield that they have. Robinson is kind of a nuts

(05:13):
and bolts, downhill guy. Everyone in football is familiar with
Eckler and his his talents in the running game and
in the passing game. And Jeremy McNichols has done a
really nice job for him. We had Jeremy here a
couple of years ago in training camp with us MAN.
He's a course special teams contributor, and you know, coach
Kingsbury's doing a nice job of finding football for him

(05:35):
within the offensive structure as well. Ertz is a dangerous
tight end. It's capable of getting down the grass man.
And they got a well welled out round, a well
rounded wide receiver group that that makes it them a
formidable group in three wide receiver sets and so forth.
On the defensive side of the ball, man, they're They're
highly fundamental, They're very rarely out of place. They don't

(05:58):
give up big plays. I think they're fifth of the
league and past defense, and I think that's reflective of
the lid that they keep on it continually. Man, they're
inside linebacker tandem. Not only is a catalyst for them
in terms of play making and energy, but you see
how they thoughtfully utilize their talents schematically. Louvu Man is

(06:20):
an awesome combination linebacker in that he's really good at
playing off the ball, but he's also good at rushing
the passer. You get in one dimensional passing circumstances, he
essentially becomes a defensive end. They deploy him in similar
ways as they did Michael Parsons when Michael was young,
and he was kind of a more of a hybrid
player in Dallas. Obviously, Michael's more of an end now,

(06:42):
but when he was young, he was more of a hybrid.
And I think about that when I see the many
ways that they're moving Louvou around and finding ways to
get him on a variety of people from a rush standpoint.
Bobby Wagner. You know, what can you say about Bobby
that hadn't already been said. Man, he's got a legendary
body of work for this generation. One hundred and ninety,

(07:03):
one hundred and ninety four games, one hundred ninety three starts.
You know, over a thousand plus career solo tackles. Man,
you could tell he's a student of the game and
hub of communication for them. You know, their new outfit
in that everyone is new to the schematics and new
to dan Quinn's approach to business, but Bobby Wagner isn't.
And I imagine that he is a catalyst for growth

(07:27):
within that collective and a hub of communication and really
studies a lot of warders. You watch their tape, you
could tell he has a lot of latitude in terms
of getting them in and out of defenses in just
that time tested relationship in a variety of locations. Man,
you cannot put a price tag on And I'd imagine
he's been really significant while they've done some of the

(07:47):
really nice things that they've done upfront, Man, you got
to deal with pain inside, fouler outside. They've got some
turnover on the edge, but again they have some guys
that are familiar to Dan Quinn Man, I think and
coach Fowler at Florida, for example, and so there's some
there's some relationships or some depth to those warders that

(08:07):
I think are aid transition. They've been really thoughtful in
that regard. They've done a nice job of tooling their
secondary in recent years with top quality draft talent Mike
Forbes at corner in the acquisition of Jeremy Chin at safety.
I can't say enough about I've always respected Chen's game.

(08:29):
He's good in a lot of ways. Man. He's good
down in and around the line of scrimmage versus the run.
He plays big nickel for him, He's a good blitzer,
he covers tight ends and one dimensional pass of moments,
and so he's a good and versatile player that I
think really adds value to them. On the back end,
as I mentioned, they're very good at the turnover game.

(08:50):
They're good at getting them, they're good at possessing the ball.
We're playing them in their venue. They're seven and two bunch,
and so on the surface, obviously there's a lot of
things to be excited about. We equally as excited just
to get back, getting back to doing what it is
that we're doing and getting back in a stadium and competing.

Speaker 2 (09:08):
It's back to back Battle of the Beltway weeks for
the Pittsburgh Steelers, DC and Baltimore. It all kicks off
this Sunday at one pm. I'm Steelers Audio Network host
Wes Shuler. Thanks for listening to this episode of the
Steelers Week in Review. Take care and I'll talk to
the ends next week.