October 15, 2025 • 46 mins
Will the Steelers start 2-0 in the division? Mike, Matt, and Merril break down everything to know heading into the Thursday night matchup between the Bengals and Steelers over in Cincinatti.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to the Steelers Preview show on WDVE Pittsburgh, brought
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team at shop dot Steelers dot com. And now here
are your hosts, Merril Hodge, Matt Williamson, and Mike Persuda.
Speaker 2 (00:23):
Good evening and welcome to another edition of Steelers Preview
right here on Steelers Nation Radio and your Steelers slag
Ship one of two point five DVE, Mike Pursuda and
Matt Williamson with you.
Speaker 3 (00:33):
We'll have our factor back.
Speaker 2 (00:35):
Merril Hodge joining us momentarily as we get you ready
for Thursday night football, the Steelers at the Cincinnati Bengals
and Matt. There is a lot to unpack, as there
always is. But one of the things that I'm kind
of obsessing about as we run through the AFC North
Division the beginning of the AFC North Division schedule, is
(00:58):
that it is the beginning of the AFC North Division schedule.
I expected a tough game against Cleveland, And yeah, it
ended up twenty three to nine, but it was a
one score game in the third quarter when the Steelers
were punting. Yeah yeah, And had the Browns not run
into the punter, which was if he called from my perspective,
But that game could have been different. Now it's the
(01:20):
Bengals who look bad on paper and they put a
lot of bad tape out there. But you're a big
stats guy, Matt, stats, ponder this one. The Bengals and
Steelers are five and five in their last ten meetings
against each other. Each team has scored two hundred and
thirty seven points in those ten games. Yea, and the
Steelers have one hundred and two more total yards than
(01:41):
the Bengals in the last ten games.
Speaker 4 (01:43):
Now, they've been very even lately. I had a lot
of Burrow involved there that, but sometimes not not always
right right right?
Speaker 2 (01:50):
I think I think this is a game the Steelers
can win when it's in the AFC North. I stopped
short of should because to me, should doesn't apply in
these six games against the Bengals, Browns, and Ravens.
Speaker 4 (02:03):
I hear you. Now, I think we'd all admit the
Steelers are the better team. You know on paper stats all.
I mean you mentioned I'm a big stack guy, and
I go on and on about bad stats about the Bengals. Yeah,
there's plenty of them. I mean example, they've been outscored
by eighty points this year. That's the most in the league.
And they started out to and oh, you know, you
(02:24):
get positive points differential when you win, you I mean,
so it's been all the last couple of weeks just
getting beat badly. But the big thing that I keep
coming back to too is I know Mike Tomlin and
the Steelers of late have a tough They have a
flat out bad record on the road Thursday nights. But
so it's just about every team playing Thursday nights on
(02:47):
the road stinks. You don't really get much practice time.
It's a flip. You gotta travel. That's a difficult situation.
Speaker 2 (02:55):
I think that's something people bring up sometimes, but they
almost do it rather matter of actly, as if they
feel like they have to mention it, right, but they
don't believe it, And it's real.
Speaker 4 (03:05):
It's very real. It's not that I don't think football
is designed to play that way. Like I'm hoping one
day and I think that day will come when they'll
play an eighteen game schedule with two buys and no
one's going to operate on such a short week for
Thursday road games. You know you could be coming off
a buy for Thursday.
Speaker 5 (03:21):
That's what That's what you hope.
Speaker 4 (03:23):
That's what I think is going to come. They'll get
rid of a.
Speaker 2 (03:26):
Santa comes down the chimney to make more money to
the league.
Speaker 4 (03:29):
I bet people agree with me.
Speaker 3 (03:31):
Yeah, but I mean these prime time games, they're.
Speaker 4 (03:33):
Not going away. I just think that you'll have a
buy on going into it, right because two buys you
know what I mean?
Speaker 5 (03:40):
Understood, Yeah, it's going away. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (03:44):
More bad stats.
Speaker 2 (03:45):
Bengals have scored three or fewer points in the first
half of four straight games.
Speaker 5 (03:49):
They got nerdle right in Green Bay.
Speaker 4 (03:52):
You can look at two ways. I was going to say, well,
they are starting to show signs of life in Flaco's
first game, late in the game against the Packers, or
it's called garbage time. It doesn't matter. They're getting beat anyway,
you know what I mean.
Speaker 3 (04:04):
There's a couple more.
Speaker 2 (04:04):
The Bengals are last in the NFL in rushing yards
per game by over twenty five yards.
Speaker 5 (04:12):
They're pathetic.
Speaker 2 (04:13):
The Bengals are bottom three in the NFL in total
in scoring offense, and total in scoring defense. The four
teams in the last thirty years have been bottom three
in all of those categories.
Speaker 4 (04:26):
I don't know if they're worse on defense or offense. Yeah,
you know.
Speaker 2 (04:30):
The twenty seventeen Colts, the twenty sixteen Browns, the five
to forty nine Ers, and the ninety nine expansion Browns,
and none of those teams, they are all terrible, won
five games. So it's not trending well in Cincinnati, and
its ending very well in Pittsburgh.
Speaker 4 (04:48):
And I don't think Flaco's real riding in on a
white horse to save the day, but at the at
least gave them a jolt.
Speaker 6 (04:55):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (04:55):
I just I was curious to your impression of watching
since at Green Bay, because I know you and Merrill
were both very down on Flacco. The brown looked really,
really bad.
Speaker 4 (05:09):
They had to make that move the Gabriel, whether they
trade Flaco or not, they had to make a move
the Gabriel.
Speaker 3 (05:13):
I didn't see any of that.
Speaker 2 (05:14):
I watched the first half of Bengals at Packers, and
I thought, Joe, it's over man. You got to get
out of here, You're you're embarrassing yourself.
Speaker 4 (05:22):
Yeah, you don't belong with the field anymore.
Speaker 2 (05:24):
And in the second half, I thought, Joe, you can
still play well.
Speaker 5 (05:28):
He still has a.
Speaker 4 (05:28):
Huge arm, and not to the Rogers level. The experience
factor is certainly real. You know where the pressure is
coming from. You know how teams are going to defend you.
And to give Joe credit, I mean really, since he
won Comeback Player of the Year with the Browns the
first time around, they brought him off the couch. He
(05:49):
was retired basically at that point. I don't think he
cares at this point. And what I mean by that
is not that he doesn't care about winning and losing
or you know, he's just not bashful. He's like him
my dad's well into his seventies and he just says things.
Now you know what I mean, I'm getting more and
more that way, you know, like, so care what people think.
(06:09):
I mean, Flacco plays like Jameis Winston now then Steelers
ran into a hot Jameis Winston a couple of years
ago that if you're gonna sling it all over the
field the Higgins and Chase, you might roll snake eyes.
Once in a while and whip you you know, you.
Speaker 5 (06:23):
Know, to that very point.
Speaker 2 (06:25):
The Bengals were down ten to nothing at the half,
and then they tried to battle back, but every time
they scored, they give up a city off.
Speaker 4 (06:33):
That's how it last year.
Speaker 3 (06:34):
It kept going one score, two score, one score two score.
Speaker 2 (06:36):
But it's it's twenty four to ten late in the
game and they've got a fourth and five at the
nineteen and Flacco hits Jamar Chase and two things stand
out dramatically about this play. Number One, Chase is being held.
His right arm is locked, so just catches it with
his left hand at the pilot. Okay, one hand, he's ridiculous,
one handed catching traffic and touchdown. The other Chase acknowledges
(06:59):
that afterward, in the aftermath, they just blew off the
play that was called. Chase went to Flacko and said,
you know, I think we should do this, and flac.
Speaker 5 (07:08):
I said go for it. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (07:09):
And you know I'm paraphrasing here by the button.
Speaker 4 (07:12):
Hook at the toyota Yeah, yeah, right, yeah, you know,
veteran guys that know what they're doing, and they decided
to put it on themselves in that moment. Yeah, I
bet Rogers does it all the time that.
Speaker 5 (07:22):
That can be a dangerous combination.
Speaker 4 (07:24):
Right, I know as much as the coaches, I'm gonna
do what I want. I'm new around here. I just
run this route against.
Speaker 3 (07:30):
And the coach sector was fine with it.
Speaker 5 (07:31):
How can you not be?
Speaker 4 (07:32):
I mean, you're at that point, so they are dangerous
and but their protection's bad. You know, the team is
built to play shootouts, and the defense, to your point,
even if the offense gets hot, could allow a lot
of points. I mean, we analyze this stuff from AFAR
(07:54):
and there's just not a lot of angles besides short
road trip on the two really dangerous receivers.
Speaker 5 (08:04):
Competitive factor that really worry you.
Speaker 2 (08:08):
The other thing that was interesting to me in the
wake of that Packers game, Uh, I'm not sure what
you think of the Bengals linebacker Logan Wilson. I think
he's I think he's pretty good player. He didn't play
in the second half on defense, He played twelve snaps
and they're now going with a couple of rookies. Barrett
(08:28):
Carter fourth round or out of Clemson. He never left
the field against Green Bay. He's gonna be the Green
Dot guy now and Demetrius Knight, junior second rounder out
of South Carolina.
Speaker 3 (08:41):
I know they got to get better on defense. I'm
not sure.
Speaker 2 (08:44):
Benching one of their defensive captains and one of the
most experienced players and are pretty good player. I shouldn't
say Benching because they're talking about a rotation and a
division of labor, but clearly they are shifting to get
younger and different.
Speaker 5 (08:59):
Curious as to your thoughts on that.
Speaker 4 (09:01):
Yeah, I mean their draft was interesting in that they
drafted two guards and they drafted two off the ball
linebackers because both those positions have been pretty bad for
a while now. Really, with the exception of Wilson, who's fine,
but he's not special or anything like that. Now, these
two linebackers, to me, as most rookies do not Sweassinger
(09:24):
from a week ago. That's what made him different. They're
totally swimming. Yeah, I mean, I don't Their run defense,
as you mentioned, is really poor, and I don't think
it's the D line getting blown off the ball. I
think the D line is below average to adequate.
Speaker 5 (09:38):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (09:39):
One of those one of those scores that gave up
at Green Bay was Jacob's fourteen yards up the gut.
Speaker 4 (09:44):
They looked like they weren't real excited about tackling him. Yeah,
and they often don't fill the right gap or get
manipulated with play action or presnat motion as most linebackers do.
I think those two are right for the picking.
Speaker 2 (09:58):
You mentioned the two rookie offensive lineman. Dylan Fairchild the
left guard. He missed the Green Bay game, but the
anticipation is he will be back.
Speaker 3 (10:07):
And then you have a fair Child's the third rounder
out of Georgia.
Speaker 2 (10:11):
Jalen Rivers is the right guard, fifth rounder out of Miami.
Speaker 4 (10:15):
And they're okay prospects. But again you're playing a lot
of young dudes.
Speaker 3 (10:19):
But we're talking about problems at tackle and in.
Speaker 5 (10:24):
Experience at guard.
Speaker 4 (10:25):
Right Mims the right tackle I really like coming out
of Georgia, but he's wasn't very experienced as a prospect
at the time either. They're not great at center, and
I'll be honest, their offensive line does not have a
lot of physicality to it. They don't bury people, they
don't go off the ball regressive. I don't like the
way they play so this segment, and they lead the
(10:47):
league in passing oppertun I mean they throw all the time.
Speaker 2 (10:49):
This segment is not really selling people on the tough
game coming up.
Speaker 5 (10:53):
Steelers could lose this one, but.
Speaker 2 (10:54):
I think I think a tough games coming up, and
I think they could lose.
Speaker 4 (10:57):
Yeah, me too.
Speaker 2 (10:59):
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we come back, our factor back, Merril Hodge will get
the ball and run with it. So keep it here
with Matt Williamson on Mike Pursuda. You're listening to Steelers
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(11:39):
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Speaker 1 (11:49):
Back to the Steelers preview show on DVE.
Speaker 2 (11:53):
Welcome back Mike Pursuda and Matt Williamson, getting you ready
for the Steelers and the Bengals in Cincinnati Thursday night football.
Wonder if the two old guys will be able to
stay up long enough to finish the game. Time now
to welcome our factor back to the program, Merril Hodge
joining us as he always does. Merrill is asking a
(12:15):
couple of guys north of the age of forty, asking
them to play on into the evening. Too much of
an ask.
Speaker 5 (12:22):
Actually, that's a fair question me.
Speaker 6 (12:24):
Ask you anybody who's probably their forty fifty sixties that
is less legit. Now, if you're under that, you're like,
what are you talking about? Yeah, well you'll you'll know
one day, hopefully definitely one day.
Speaker 2 (12:36):
Well, I wanted to start with you this week on
kind of an intangible note. Ever since the Minnesota game
in Dublin, Williamson's got me focused on emotion after his
usual conversation after his called shot that the Steelers would
have the emotional edge in Ireland. And you know, we
talked last week about the offensive line having fun because
(12:59):
they got a for the Vikings and steals, random ball,
and one of the narratives coming out of the South
Side of Pittsburgh this week, according to no less authority
than defensive coordinator Terrell Austin, is the defense is playing
with speed and violence, and he emphasized that the violence
part is definitely part of the equation.
Speaker 5 (13:19):
You need both.
Speaker 2 (13:21):
And it looks like there's a little bit of a
feeding frenzy going on defensively. If your offense is having
fun and your defense is starting to feel like it
can kick anybody's butt, what good things does that pretend
moving forward?
Speaker 6 (13:35):
Yeah, well it's a good formula, you know, to kind
of build on that. You know, what was interesting and
you never know. Let's here's what I love about a season. Like,
you know, coaches always have a plan, you know, and
I'm with en coach at every level too, So I've
had plans and then then you start to try to
execute that plan and you're like, that's not working. And
(13:55):
the ability to adjust and then find something that works,
I think is the art of coaching and what makes
sports great. So you know, when they they're the first
couple of weeks, I don't think there's anybody that would
argue they I mean just up front there just getting manhandled.
So you know what they did, you know, schematically, and
this is coaching, is they're like, okay, well.
Speaker 5 (14:18):
Which this often happens.
Speaker 6 (14:20):
I can tell you say how many times that we
would we see it when we got ready to play
an opponent because I.
Speaker 5 (14:26):
Can't handle it.
Speaker 6 (14:26):
They're like, well, they're gonna scheme it, so meaning move
people around, slamm the defensive line, scrape the linebackers, run
the linebacker through the a gap real quick, you know,
just try to disrupt you and create these these different
schemes to help offset their deficiencies. Well they did that
(14:47):
and then they became better at just the fundamentals. Now
now they have both both that work for him. You know,
you can line up and we can play, but we
can also do some scheme stuff.
Speaker 5 (15:00):
That's all I think.
Speaker 6 (15:01):
It's always makes it more fun for the player, is
that when you do some stuff that, especially when they
like it, you know, and they enjoy doing it. You'll
line up in the gap, you know, or line up
differently if you're an inside linebacker. Let me make specific points.
Is that that makes it fun for the player. And
when they're really good at it, you know, like I
(15:22):
think we've talked about blitzing. They did some blitzing about
three weeks ago, and they actually were running into each other.
Their timing was terrible, and they've gotten so much better
at that, the execution of it, the timing of it,
the rhythm of it, and they do it really well.
Speaker 5 (15:39):
And so they can do both now.
Speaker 6 (15:42):
And that's that to me, is a very it's a
valuable asset and it's a wicked.
Speaker 5 (15:48):
Tool that they're going to have going forward that they
can build on.
Speaker 6 (15:51):
And it's a it's a problem for teams they will face,
and especially this one because they you know, they have
all they have offensive line problems, you know, especially on
their edges.
Speaker 5 (16:02):
They really do have some problems.
Speaker 6 (16:04):
That that I'm not our concern, but in this particular matchup,
it's going to.
Speaker 5 (16:11):
Be a big concern. You know.
Speaker 6 (16:12):
I don't know how they're going to handle the things
that they're going to have to handle because it's a lot.
And but the Steelers, you know, this is not week
six seven. I can't even remember to where we are,
but six of the Steelers because that's just got to
remember who got to buy, who doesn't have a buy.
Speaker 5 (16:32):
So it's week seven as a league six for the Steelers.
Speaker 6 (16:35):
You know, it's a it's a really good sign because
you listen, at the end of the day, you want
to play your best football around December, you know, you
want to have things ironed out. And I don't think
any coach likes to go through growing pains, but they're
necessary and they do help you build, and they help
and and oftentimes some people it's also add this, sometimes
(16:57):
you never find the answer. You know, at least they've
found owned an answer, And I'm telling you that's that
should give hope, you know, every just the steal nation period,
because they have found answers and they're responding to it
and they're playing well.
Speaker 5 (17:11):
Now they've just got to build on it going forward.
Speaker 4 (17:13):
You mentioned the plan and the vision, and I think
it goes back to the offseason. Really. I mean that
a year ago, I think Porter was really the only
corner they trusted, especially if he's gonna be a one
on one situation. They were a lot more hesitant to
Blitz and Omar in the front offics credit they change
that dramatically. You know, if Eccles is your fourth corner,
that's a lot better than the situation They've had for
(17:34):
a long time, and they have more front seven depth,
and then as a result, they're wreaking havoc and chaos
on quarterbacks and causing turnovers and a lot of quarterback
hits and six man pressures. But do you think they
are that aggressive on Thursday because these two receivers. If
(17:55):
the Bengals are gonna sting it, it's going to be
these two having big games.
Speaker 5 (18:00):
Correct. That's a great question.
Speaker 6 (18:02):
Actually, And here's why I think it's a great question
because if you think of this from the quarterback receiver perspective,
I think you have hesitation. If you think of it
through the protection aspect, you will come all day. Yeah,
you know, like so you know this is where that's
(18:24):
where coaches get paid. But they get paid because you know,
you got to make choices and decisions on that because
I just think that they have so many concerns up front.
Speaker 5 (18:35):
You know.
Speaker 6 (18:36):
Well, here's actually I can answer a question from this
perspective early in the game. If I find out what
they're going to do to help those tackles, then I
make that decision. You know, if they're if they're keeping
because if they're keeping people in, so I tell people
us all the time, they're like, well, t J Wat
hasn't had many sex. Well, you know what TJ wat
does every freaking play? He occupies three people. Okay, I
(18:58):
don't know anybody that can, so what more do you
want him to do? And when he doesn't occupy three people,
he hits the quarterback or a Saxson.
Speaker 5 (19:06):
Okay, so he's doing his job. Now.
Speaker 6 (19:08):
I might not show up on a statistical board, but
that is that's impactful. I don't know that they because
I'm gonna back up before they they got Joe Flackel.
I was watching tape. It was the same week and
I was like.
Speaker 5 (19:23):
First of all, I watched the Cleveland Browns.
Speaker 6 (19:25):
I'm like, okay, every now and then I come across
this after doing this for like forty some years, I'm like,
he doesn't want to play. I'm watching Joe Flaham like
he doesn't want.
Speaker 5 (19:35):
To be out there. You can tell it, you could
feel it. And then I put on Cincinnati.
Speaker 6 (19:40):
I'm like, oh my gosh, I think this coaching staff
thinks that Joe Burrow is still playing because they're calling
plays like it's Joe Burrow, just kidding Joe Burrow. And
then this is the problem, like, I would never build
from the outside end. Ever, if you want to win
a championship in the NFL, you do not build from
an outside end. And they are flooded with primitive players
(20:01):
that are awesome, but the core of their team now
kidnapping their runner pretty good.
Speaker 5 (20:06):
Yeah, if I.
Speaker 6 (20:07):
Was that coaching staff, I'm the first order of business, Well,
make sure we got good tight ends, because they have
pretty a few good tight ends, you know. I'm sorry, However,
this is what we have to do. Our perimeter guys.
You're not going to be the highlight anymore. Unfortunate because
we got to win games. And I would pound the ball.
I would run the ball because that kid is a
good runner. Our obviously lines struggling anywhere, and we would
(20:28):
be we'd be like seventy thirty.
Speaker 5 (20:30):
They are not like that.
Speaker 4 (20:32):
Meanwhile, they're the balls team in the league. I know,
And I'm just like, also the worst rushing team, the
worst rushing team leader by a.
Speaker 3 (20:40):
Lot, by a lot.
Speaker 4 (20:41):
I'm just like Maryland. You probably know this, but they're
they're peripheral blockers for protection, aren't very good at it either.
They live in eleven personnel, so that's three receivers that
aren't going to help in protection and the tight ends
or receiver types, like who's going to help the tackles.
Speaker 5 (20:58):
I'm with you, listen.
Speaker 6 (21:00):
I don't want them to change their minds. And I
don't think anybody was. Mike Tom was probably listen.
Speaker 5 (21:06):
The guys.
Speaker 6 (21:07):
We hope we don't they keep doing what they're doing
because we really like that.
Speaker 5 (21:11):
But the one thing about the Packer game was interesting.
Speaker 6 (21:14):
They did kind of morph into a little more running
attack and run action stuff. You know, I think that's,
you know, a limited time with your quarterback, so you
had to reduce it because they looked like that looked
like a Dylan Gabriel game plan. If you if you,
if you studied that tape, it was like Jesus, They're like,
that's like a guy in his first start.
Speaker 5 (21:33):
You know. That's just because you don't have three practices.
Speaker 6 (21:35):
Well, they only have one practice, one more practice to
get ready on Thursday. You got to walk through. But
that's all you have. You ain't gonna build much on that.
It's just it's insane. It's crazy what they do there
though I did, but hey, keep doing it.
Speaker 2 (21:50):
To answer Williamson's very good question, about blitz, too blitz
or not too blitz. When Mike Tomlins showed up in
Latrobe in July, he said, and I quote, we can
match up and play man to man versus any one.
That's what is exciting to us, our ability to match
up and play man to man against anyone in this game.
Speaker 3 (22:12):
Clearly he had the Bengals in mind.
Speaker 2 (22:14):
So if it requires one on one on Chase or Higgins,
I think the Steelers are going to roll those dice.
But what I wanted to hear from you about is
the schematics that you reference that the Steelers have adjusted with, specifically,
the Hannibals Elephants number seventy four is eligible seven offensive
lineman running at you. How do defenses deal with that?
(22:37):
Because whatever adjustments have been made by the Vikings and
Browns have not slowed it down.
Speaker 5 (22:45):
Yeah. Well, you know, on that side of the ball,
I think they kind of fell into the same thing.
You know.
Speaker 6 (22:49):
They here's what they've they've done more of which actually
I mean, I just I've always loved it because I'm
not been.
Speaker 5 (22:57):
A fan of it, and I shouldn't. I'm just not
a fan of it.
Speaker 6 (23:00):
But I've had a lot of success with it too,
is like man blocking schemes versus zone blocking schemes. Like
zone blocking schemes, so that the fan understands there's like
a minimum of five most of the time, six and
seven guys that got to kind of work together as
you're blocking people and we're passing people off, blocking people
as we go. And so anybody who doesn't see it
(23:21):
the same way, you know, there could be a miss.
You know, there's a guy not blocked, you know, or
somebody accounted on account for. But a man blocking scheme
is like I got that guy, you got that guy,
We got this guy.
Speaker 5 (23:33):
And if they just in front, we know, well I
got that guy. Now you got that.
Speaker 6 (23:36):
So there's not it shouldn't be a mystery. And they
have done more man blocking schemes and they're better at it.
Speaker 5 (23:43):
You're just better at it.
Speaker 4 (23:44):
The figure I thought they were better at it at
the end of like the Matt Cannada regime.
Speaker 6 (23:50):
Oh honestly, I will be honest with you, I don't
know how they didn't stay with that. Yeah, yes, I
like you know, that's the hearing there because listen, let's
we got to deal with what is actual facts.
Speaker 5 (24:06):
Now.
Speaker 6 (24:07):
To their credit, what they have done is they've done
more land blocking schemes and they have been really really effective,
and they just do them better. You know, when we
get dard and actually they when we got to the
zone stuff this a little bit they do They were
okay with that. They did a little better job there.
They're just not as good at it.
Speaker 4 (24:27):
But you definitely don't running games much more diverse than
it was, not just because but just even in play calling.
Speaker 6 (24:34):
Yeah, just to play calling design, you know, weak side,
strong side, perimeter stuff, you know, lesstable, you know, yeah,
I see, you know one thing that I don't know
if we'll get you, but I think is important that
the Bengals have struggled with defensively because they listen. They
got a new coordinator, they got a bunch of young
guys that are playing. Anytime, you get a sense of
(24:57):
misdirection and like a for one way and.
Speaker 5 (25:01):
Then we come back to the other.
Speaker 4 (25:03):
Like they really those young linebackers don't know what they're doing.
Speaker 6 (25:07):
They they really struggle, man, They miss people, they lose people,
and listen if you you know, like the Packers didn't
do much of it. Leading up to that Packer game,
people had done more of that and then really effective.
You know, Detroit destroyed them. I can't remember the game
before that. They just destroyed them too. I would not
be surprised if you don't see a little more of that,
(25:29):
because Aaron can move any boots.
Speaker 5 (25:31):
And they do.
Speaker 6 (25:32):
We were doing that offset some struggles we were having
with protection. Okay, that's why we were doing it. Now
you can do it to be effective against a front
that or a defense that struggles accounting for people, you know,
those type of misdirections. So I would I would expect
to see a little more of that in this one,
and that that continuation of that building on like man
(25:54):
blocking schemes and getting that running game going, and keep
building that because they you could see that they get
moving with that they and you're going with field energy
change and that that team when those players are called Meryl.
The other side of the ball, there's big schematic news
for the Steelers is they finally got healthy, so they
were able to play Alex high Smith, TJ. Watt and
(26:15):
Nick Herbigal at the same time that third down package
Herbigins side blowing past guards, the two guys crashing the edge.
Speaker 3 (26:24):
Uh more please huh? I mean that's working.
Speaker 6 (26:27):
Yeah, well you're gonna go back to some scheme stuff
and personnel groupings that you can do that are are
real challenge because I'll do with the challenges from an
offensive perspective, is when you see the like that many linebackers,
because we go by numbers, you know, we're looking for
you know, nineties or defensive lineman you know, you know
the other fifties and stuff like that.
Speaker 5 (26:47):
They usually linebackers.
Speaker 6 (26:49):
So when you see those different numbers in positions, you know,
that can confuse everybody. OPTU lineman you're running because you
know every always thinks that like the quarterback is the
one being affected. He's not like there's got one guy
who tells another ten what's going on. I mean the
other ten guy to know what's going on too. They
got to see things, uh, the exact same way. But Dad,
(27:13):
to your point, that just gives them another layer of
like fun, Like that's fun, like to put that type
of personnel out there and let them get after it.
Speaker 5 (27:23):
You know, you don't know.
Speaker 6 (27:24):
Who's gonna come, and all of them are dangerous when
they do come, and where are they lined up?
Speaker 5 (27:29):
All the things?
Speaker 6 (27:30):
I just said that that's what's going through everybody's mind
when they come out in the huddle like.
Speaker 5 (27:33):
Where are they?
Speaker 6 (27:34):
You know, and then you've got one guy who just
has a brain fart and you know like, oh I
thought he was and then you have a sack.
Speaker 1 (27:42):
You know.
Speaker 6 (27:42):
Now listen, the Cleveland Browns are different. You know, they
did what they should do to the Cleveland Browns. They're
not very good upfront, they have limited people on the
person on the perimeter, and you got a guy any
second start that's exactly what you should have done. You know,
you're not gonna run into that type of environment each
and every week. But in this case, you've got a
(28:02):
guy who's been there for four good practices, okay under
two weeks. There's only so much that they can apply
and only so much chemistry that can't exist. So if
you neutralize them, what it matters. And I mean and
they help you by that because they don't call runs.
But if you put them in passing situations a majority
of the time and you don't turn the ball over
(28:25):
if we could, if you can just do that, then
you're better than this team. You should handle this team,
and there should be a team that you control and
that you win in a in a dominant fashion.
Speaker 4 (28:36):
So Marril, there's a lot of defensive players that are
rightfully getting headlines and a lot spoken about them, her
Big in particular, harm and et cetera. But I would
argue that Patrick queen's playing the best of his dealer career,
maybe far and away.
Speaker 6 (28:52):
Well, Matt, I'll tell you this, Like I actually, and
I've been in Pat McQueen's situation where you're like, you
go to a new team, he's played for nearly a decade,
and I just people just expect I remember, Okay, I
went because I did it. So when I went to Chicago,
I remember, like I was two weeks in the training camp,
my agent called me, goes all right, Oh yeah, I'm fine.
Speaker 5 (29:13):
I said, why would you Why would you call?
Speaker 4 (29:15):
Well?
Speaker 5 (29:16):
I was just wondering if you were all right? Who
was wondering? Well? The staff, you know, Jim called. So
here's what I learned.
Speaker 6 (29:24):
Expectations are dangerous. Like the Bears had these experts because
I don't know if you know, I wouldn't expect you
to remember, but Ironhead Hayward had just been they just
signed out. I heard had Hayward a year before. That's
what CAM camp Warden Cam Hayward and I you know,
he didn't know this, but I came in and replaced
iron Head Hayward. In fact, it was probably the most
(29:45):
un comfortable day of my professional career because I just signed.
I got there for the Bears. I'm walking in and
iron had Headward. They were gonna let him go for
another three days. So we're both in the gym working
out together. It's just, I mean, we're training together.
Speaker 5 (29:59):
It was it was just, it was. It was a
very odd I love Ironhead anyway, not.
Speaker 6 (30:03):
Being said, and I'm like, okay, see, they have expectations
of how you played somewhere, and within two weeks it
came out.
Speaker 5 (30:13):
Just two weeks.
Speaker 6 (30:13):
I like, somebody didn't see the expectations whatever they built
in their head. Okay, So sometimes you get expectations and
I would agree with you, like Patrick Clean when you
watched him play with the Ravens and then last year
that's not the same guy. But now from a player perspective,
like I was like getting my feet. I was like,
just because I didn't know anybody, and we had four
(30:36):
or five new starters on offense all right, tack our quarterback,
both running back, wide receiver and someone else.
Speaker 5 (30:43):
But I was like, holy calch, we didn't even know
who we were.
Speaker 6 (30:46):
You know, we didn't know that until like week four,
to be honest with you. So so my point is
sometimes you don't really get comfortable until you're in your
second year and you have a really good feel.
Speaker 5 (30:58):
But I would echo what you did said.
Speaker 6 (31:00):
I mean, he is playing fast and furious and making
the type of plays that you used to see him
make in Baltimore that he didn't make last year. And
I'm not giving him a Hall pass. I'm I'm not
giving him that Hall pass because nobody gets a Hall pass.
But those are the reason that you can see somebody
struggle a little bit is that it's all new. Just
because they play in the NFL for nearly a decade
(31:22):
doesn't mean they know how to play here. You know,
they got to learn how to play here, and that
sometimes takes some time.
Speaker 2 (31:29):
Marri lest thing I got for you This Cincinnati team,
in the wake of the Borough injury, wasn't competitive against Minnesota,
wasn't competitive against Denver, wasn't competitive against Detroit. I saw
a defense fighting throughout that Green Bay game, and I
saw an offense finally started rolling a little bit. I
expect Cincinnati hosting Pittsburgh Thursday night. I expect the Bengals
(31:53):
to be defending the Alamo.
Speaker 5 (31:55):
Like I agree.
Speaker 2 (31:57):
I think this is gonna be this was gonna leave
a mark. It's going to be another AFC North Rock fight.
Speaker 6 (32:03):
Yeah, let me just tell you this. I'm sure Mike
Tomlin he's been around long enough to know. Man, I'm
almost I'll put one thousand percent on it. If you
can do a thousand or one hundred percent, one hundred percent,
we can't get more than that.
Speaker 5 (32:16):
The emphasis of this is the divisional rival.
Speaker 6 (32:19):
And they are professional players, Okay, And you don't under
estimate professional players. It's a Thursday night game, they're in
their house. Don't think for two seconds that what we
have seen on it. Because I'm gonna tell you this,
I can't tell any experiences we have like this. You
watch tape and sometimes you to your point, they watched
all those games, and for my players pact, having.
Speaker 5 (32:41):
Been there, you're like, may's not really that good. I'll
give you an example. The New England Patriots.
Speaker 6 (32:47):
Newington Patriots were oh and eleven on ten or or
eleven coming into Pittsburgh. We win at the last play
of the game on a fourth and one goal line stand. Okay,
and I I'm telling you the majority of that struggle
was that we could watch them all getting ready all
week and they're like, it's just not very good. You know,
(33:07):
they do it, but man, that's not how they showed up.
They showed up to beat us and to play their
very best. And that is the mindset that you have
to create for these players. You can't load them into
sleep with the weaknesses that you've seen on film, because
those can improve and those weaknesses become a strength and
(33:28):
then the next thing you know, we're the fourth quarter.
Are in a dang dogfight. All right, So you are
better and there's a standard and I think that you
know you're better, but then you've got to prove it.
You can't prove it in the fourth quarter. You need
to prove it in every quarter.
Speaker 5 (33:42):
You know.
Speaker 6 (33:42):
That's and that's from a coaching perspective. That is how
you have to establish you have the mindset of your team.
You can't get them into that weak way of thinking,
oh Jesus is not going to be that. They don't
really they don't run the ball out that well. You know,
they don't even call it that much. You know, pass
the game. They got tackle issues will be okay. You
know you can't get them speculate and we're going to
see what we've seen on tape. We're gonna get something
(34:03):
better than that. And I agree with you. I just
been too many divisional games where you're just like, in
the halftime, you're like, whoa, we misjudge this bad boy.
Speaker 5 (34:13):
You don't want to misjudge this bad boy.
Speaker 2 (34:16):
Meryl, great stuff. We'll do it again next week. Hopefully
we'll be talking about the five and one Stealers.
Speaker 5 (34:22):
Looking forward to it. Man, go Steelers, Love you guys.
Speaker 2 (34:25):
Meryl Hodge the factor back here on Steelers Preview, which
is presented by your neighborhood Ford Store. The F one
fifty is the official truck of the Pittsburgh Steelers, right
here on Steelers Nation Radio and your Steelers flagship one
to two point five DVE.
Speaker 1 (34:41):
Back to the Steelers Preview show on DV.
Speaker 3 (34:46):
Welcome back, Meryl Hodge.
Speaker 2 (34:48):
Informative and enthusiastic is always uh. He mentioned the running
back for Cincinnati a couple times. I don't think we
got around to actually, yeah, interesting player, Chase Brown out in Illinois,
very Jalen Warren kind of like player.
Speaker 4 (35:01):
Yeah yeah, low to the ground, you can break the long.
Speaker 5 (35:03):
One battle battles.
Speaker 4 (35:05):
Fats yep interesting. Him and his twin brother were both
drafted in the same class.
Speaker 5 (35:11):
He's a safety.
Speaker 4 (35:12):
They played together to Illinois, really tough upbringing, and they
like thrive off each other and you could see, I mean,
he'd be really easy to root for if he was
in a Steeler uniform. But they don't run the ball
that much, and he's not as good as p Ryan
in protection. So they've been playing p Ryan a little
bit more. You know, like last year when Brown took over,
he was getting an ungodly percent of the touches at
(35:35):
the running back position and snaps, and now that's starting
to dwindle. And he's kind of been one of their
bright spots in the last year or so. And that
is along with a lot of their bright spots aren't
as bright anymore.
Speaker 2 (35:48):
You know, it's truly a tag team. And yeah, you
look at the better ball carrier. The p Ryan gets
a lot of uh run he does, and he's trustworthy,
better a lot.
Speaker 3 (36:00):
I think Brown is the better player.
Speaker 2 (36:02):
Yeah, but uh, you know, it's one of the things
they are trying to figure out in Cincinnati.
Speaker 4 (36:08):
But we touched on this with Merrill too, like, yeah,
their O line struggles in protection, so p Ryan's the
better protector to help. But they're always an eleven personnel
with three receivers. Yoshavas is an OK number three, but
then their tight ends are mostly receiving types too.
Speaker 2 (36:25):
My job on the pronunciation like that, Yeah, yeah, because
that is with an I that is I.
Speaker 4 (36:30):
Yes, doesn't think you would be Yoshabas track guy out
of Princeton. Yes, yes, he's not bad either, you know,
but there's not much blocking going on.
Speaker 5 (36:39):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (36:39):
Just to finish the p Ryan Brown point nine carries
for Brown at green Bay, six for p Ryan.
Speaker 4 (36:46):
I mean, and it wasn't like green Bay was winning
by a million either. Your run backs should get more
than that for one thing, and it shouldn't be a
nine to six split or whatever you said it was.
Speaker 2 (36:57):
The injury report is presented by your neighborhood Ford Store,
the F one fifty official truck of the Pittsburgh Steelers.
In matter, I wanted to take a little bit of
a different approach to that tonight because Jalen Ramsey played
last week and good for him, you know, a couple
of sacks and he was doing Jayden Ramsey things out there.
But I don't think there was great expectation when it
(37:19):
was first reported that he had a hamstring injury that
he was going to make it back onto the field,
and he didn't practice for a couple of days, and
all of a sudden on Friday he was out there,
and Aaron Rodgers gave just a glowing characterization of Ramsey
the teammate, and he talked about how Rogers talked about
how in his time in the league he's seen plenty
(37:40):
of guys if there's a Sunday game and then a
Thursday game coming up and they're banged up, they take
both of those off because.
Speaker 3 (37:47):
As Rogers put it, the long week after, you know, Rogers.
Speaker 2 (37:50):
Thinks that NFL guy's fear not playing at one hundred
percent because a lot of them, you know, there's pressure,
there's pressure form, and nobody wants to do that.
Speaker 4 (38:00):
I never really understood that logic, Like some scouts and
coaches will be like, whatever you put on between the
white lines is what you're doing, Like, doesn't it matter
if a guy drags a bum leg out there? To
do it as opposed to being one hundred percent, you.
Speaker 3 (38:11):
Know, And yeah, I mean to me, it should matter
that he wants to do that.
Speaker 2 (38:14):
Yeah, it should be up to the coaches to say, no,
you're not right, you're not helping.
Speaker 4 (38:17):
But the other teams don't know that, you know, Like
if I'm a scout for the Browns and you're watching
Steeler tape, you're like, well, I didn't know he was hurt.
I just know what you put out there, you know.
Speaker 2 (38:25):
But you know, we talked a little bit with Merrill
at the outset about the emotion of the O line
and the feeding frenzy on defense. But Rogers talked again
about what an example that sets. And I'm paraphrasing his
postgame comments after the Browns game. But you know, Jalen Rams,
he's not just an all pro, He's not just a
potential gold jacket guy.
Speaker 5 (38:46):
He's apparently a pretty good teammate.
Speaker 4 (38:48):
Yeah, and highly highly competitive. I don't think it's an
accident at all. That basically all the veteran, big name
guys led by Rogers and Rams but also Slay Metcalf,
these guys play with a lot of attitude, a lot
of emotion, and I heard a lot of national you know,
(39:10):
analysts say, well, if this goes wrong, it could really
go wrong because these guys are all big attitudes and
rogers on McAfee and blah blah blah blah blah. And
I'm like, yeah, that might be true. I mean, if
things go wrong, it might get you might hear from
all kinds of different birds chirping.
Speaker 3 (39:24):
I heard Ramsey ripped because he's bouncing around the leg.
Speaker 5 (39:27):
Yeah. Going from team to team.
Speaker 4 (39:29):
The teams are giving them first round picks for It's
not like they're cutting them, you know, they want them.
But I'm sitting there thinking like, isn't that what Tom
Win's best at is dealing with big attitudes and getting
them all to you know, steer the ship correctly. I mean,
that's a big ones around here. He's got a lot
of production out of Yeah.
Speaker 2 (39:45):
And it's just the way this is starting to come
into focus is pretty impressive to me. We're seeing what
the defense looks like when it's healthy and when it
has versatility of scheme at its disposal.
Speaker 4 (39:59):
And it's pretty impressive and it's aggressive.
Speaker 2 (40:02):
Another thing that Aaron Rodgers talked about this week that
I wanted to bounce off because it made an impression
on me. Tomlin Mike Tomlin was asked after the Browns
game if, even though Rogers has experienced is he still
growing and is there more that he can do individually
and more this offense can do collectively with the passage
(40:23):
of time and some more continuity in chemistry.
Speaker 5 (40:27):
And I bounced that off of Rogers on.
Speaker 2 (40:30):
Tuesday, and he said, yeah, absolutely, We've only played five
games together.
Speaker 3 (40:34):
Yeah, yeah, it's very reasonable to expect. And the example
he used was, I forget.
Speaker 2 (40:39):
The exact word that he employed, but off script stuff,
you know, and the touchdown, the Rogers touchdown to Connor
Hayward is a great example that where Hayward is, you know,
a quick first read maybe.
Speaker 5 (40:54):
And then okay, he's out of it.
Speaker 2 (40:56):
Then you go to this guy, then you go to
this Now all of a sudden he comes back to
Hayward and he's directing track, pointing the way and then
throwing it right to a spot. And if they can
start doing stuff off script, right, that's when you become
really dangerous.
Speaker 4 (41:11):
Right Yeah, And you know in this past game, his
average time to throw went up. It wasn't just first
red get it out, you know, because I thought so,
I know, there was a lot of concern with why
aren't they throwing the ball down the field. I know
this is good, we like Rogers, but this, this is unsustainable.
Well a lot of it was because teams were playing
with two high shelves and for you know, they weren't
(41:33):
really fearing the run game. But I thought this pass
game against a very good Browns defense, when you see
single high, I'm going to go one on one and
throw it downfield. Now, there was one he didn't complete
that was kind of ugly. I don't got stuck in
the wind or whatever.
Speaker 3 (41:46):
But a couple of another one hit Tyson Campbell in
the back.
Speaker 4 (41:49):
Yeah yeah, yeah, yeah, But I'm not worried about his
downfield pass.
Speaker 5 (41:53):
One of them went in in the end zone.
Speaker 4 (41:54):
One of them was a touchdown too. Like it just
last week showed that he and they are willing to
play other ways than just think dunk dink dunk down
the field.
Speaker 2 (42:06):
You know, And if you can get to the point
where it's just you know, we talked about Flack owned Chase,
but you can get to the point where it's a
couple of guys that know what they're doing just kind
of figure it out as they go along and making
it happen. It's another club in the bag.
Speaker 4 (42:20):
Yeah, and there's no perfect defensive scheme where everybody would
run it. They all have holes and he knows every
one of them. And if he can get the other
ten to attack those holes at the line of scrimmage
or whatever he sees, there'd be more dangerous.
Speaker 2 (42:33):
The other thing I wanted to ask up about before
we get out of here. I know Jim Schwartz is
a defensive mastermind, and they've got the numbers in the
track record and the resume.
Speaker 5 (42:44):
And sure he needs no endorsement from me.
Speaker 4 (42:46):
No, he's got a great career. Yeah, but.
Speaker 2 (42:50):
How does dk Metcalf end up getting covered multiple times
one on one in a game when the other receivers
are named Roman, Wilson, Ben Skernic and Scott.
Speaker 5 (43:00):
No offense to those guys.
Speaker 4 (43:01):
Right, because the Boston was out there.
Speaker 5 (43:03):
They're all on the team for a reason.
Speaker 2 (43:04):
And I know Cleveland's a single high team, but don't
you have to look at your opposition once in a
while and say, hey, you know what. I don't know
if we were going to win this game, but number
four is not going to beat me.
Speaker 4 (43:15):
There's one scary guy. Yeah, there's one scary pass catcher.
If you're looking at this through a Browns lens and
you let that guy not beat you single handedly, but
do more damage than he should too impactful, right to impactful.
I agree, And I know it's you know, this is
what we do, and we're good at it. We're execution based.
That's fine. But even taking it to a new level.
(43:35):
The guy that they asked to shut him down, they
traded for like two days ago. Yeah, I mean, I
mean that didn't you didn't even know the guy.
Speaker 2 (43:42):
I wasn't as curious about that, because one thing a
guy can Tyson Campbell's good player in the first round pick.
One thing he can do coming to a new team
is hey, you got him, You got him right, right right.
Speaker 3 (43:53):
But he needed some help, but helped me out. I
think most people he needs some help against DK Metcalf.
Speaker 4 (43:58):
He's just That's why they've got so much too high
is because Metcalf. You know, like last year in Seattle,
they got tons of too high, you know, because he's
a scary dude.
Speaker 2 (44:06):
If Ramsey has been everything they thought on defense, I
think Metcalf has been everything they thought on offense.
Speaker 4 (44:11):
Yes, I couldn't agree more. I'm you know me, I'm
a front office guy. I am super impressed with their offseason,
you know, draft player acquisitions, the vision as a whole,
setting up for the future. They're in really good shape.
Speaker 2 (44:25):
Rogers to Metcalf this season attempts nineteen to thirty one
for three hundred and fifty six yards, four tds, no picks.
The passer rating in those instances one forty point six.
The only higher one is Baker Mayfield to a Mecca
Abuca one point eight.
Speaker 4 (44:42):
Yeah, you'll take it now. My slight complaint is, would
you say something out of forty one I'd like to
see more targets. I mean he's only getting like five
or six targets a game now. They don't run a
ton of plays. They need to get that back up.
But and teams will roll coverage to take came away.
But going back to this game, Turner the pretty high
(45:04):
pick out of Michigan. It's probably their best defensive back.
But it's not like a Sauce situation or anyone you
have to stay away from.
Speaker 3 (45:13):
Oh, I think he's by farther best.
Speaker 5 (45:14):
I think he's my.
Speaker 4 (45:15):
Father best I agree with Yeah. I mean he's promised.
He's one of the promising defensive players.
Speaker 3 (45:19):
Plays with attitude.
Speaker 5 (45:21):
Not the biggest guy, but he plays big.
Speaker 4 (45:22):
Bast I mean he's a good player. But I don't
know if they'll travel him. But I would think no
matter who's on Metcalf, I don't think they're gonna be
leaving him alone very much.
Speaker 2 (45:32):
Yeah, whether they do or they don't, I would throw
at number twenty nine, Cam Taylor Britt Yes, at the
other corner. And I don't think this is a good
tackling team, particularly in the secondary, particularly safety Jordan Battle
number twenty seven.
Speaker 4 (45:44):
Yeah, we touched on the linebackers being problematic, but the
safeties aren't much better. I mean the back seven in
general is not a good tackling unit.
Speaker 3 (45:52):
So what are we thinking, Steelers prevail or Steelers pounce.
Speaker 4 (45:56):
I think Steelers prevail. We've talked a lot about, or
many people talk to a ton about Tomlin really struggles
on these short weeks on the road, and I get that,
but you know who doesn't Aaron Rodgers. He's thirteen and
five on Thursday Night games with a forty two to
(46:17):
five touchdown interception ratio.
Speaker 2 (46:19):
Guys, proving to be something of a cheat code here
in Pittsburgh.
Speaker 4 (46:23):
I don't think he needs a lot of prep time.
Speaker 3 (46:24):
That's going to do it for us.
Speaker 2 (46:25):
Thanks to Justin Miller for running the show in his
typical expert fashion. We will do it again next week.
Until then, for Matt Williamson, I'm Mike. Pursuit of this
has been Steeler's Preview, presented by your neighborhood Ford Store.
The F one fifty is the official truck of the
Pittsburgh Steelers, right here on Steelers Nation Radio and your
Steelers flagship.
Speaker 3 (46:45):
One of two point five dv E. Good Night everyone,
Welcome to the Steelers Preview show on WDVE Pittsburgh, brought
to you by your neighborhood Ford Store. The F one
fifty is the official truck of the Pittsburgh Steelers by
Brian Patton and Associates. It's all about the benefits and
by the Steelers Pro Shop. Get it direct from the
team at shop dot Steelers dot com. And now here
are your hosts, Merril Hodge, Matt Williamson, and Mike Persuda.
Speaker 2 (00:23):
Good evening and welcome to another edition of Steelers Preview
right here on Steelers Nation Radio and your Steelers slag
Ship one of two point five DVE, Mike Pursuda and
Matt Williamson with you.
Speaker 3 (00:33):
We'll have our factor back.
Speaker 2 (00:35):
Merril Hodge joining us momentarily as we get you ready
for Thursday night football, the Steelers at the Cincinnati Bengals
and Matt. There is a lot to unpack, as there
always is. But one of the things that I'm kind
of obsessing about as we run through the AFC North
Division the beginning of the AFC North Division schedule, is
(00:58):
that it is the beginning of the AFC North Division schedule.
I expected a tough game against Cleveland, And yeah, it
ended up twenty three to nine, but it was a
one score game in the third quarter when the Steelers
were punting. Yeah yeah, And had the Browns not run
into the punter, which was if he called from my perspective,
But that game could have been different. Now it's the
(01:20):
Bengals who look bad on paper and they put a
lot of bad tape out there. But you're a big
stats guy, Matt, stats, ponder this one. The Bengals and
Steelers are five and five in their last ten meetings
against each other. Each team has scored two hundred and
thirty seven points in those ten games. Yea, and the
Steelers have one hundred and two more total yards than
(01:41):
the Bengals in the last ten games.
Speaker 4 (01:43):
Now, they've been very even lately. I had a lot
of Burrow involved there that, but sometimes not not always
right right right?
Speaker 2 (01:50):
I think I think this is a game the Steelers
can win when it's in the AFC North. I stopped
short of should because to me, should doesn't apply in
these six games against the Bengals, Browns, and Ravens.
Speaker 4 (02:03):
I hear you. Now, I think we'd all admit the
Steelers are the better team. You know on paper stats all.
I mean you mentioned I'm a big stack guy, and
I go on and on about bad stats about the Bengals. Yeah,
there's plenty of them. I mean example, they've been outscored
by eighty points this year. That's the most in the league.
And they started out to and oh, you know, you
(02:24):
get positive points differential when you win, you I mean,
so it's been all the last couple of weeks just
getting beat badly. But the big thing that I keep
coming back to too is I know Mike Tomlin and
the Steelers of late have a tough They have a
flat out bad record on the road Thursday nights. But
so it's just about every team playing Thursday nights on
(02:47):
the road stinks. You don't really get much practice time.
It's a flip. You gotta travel. That's a difficult situation.
Speaker 2 (02:55):
I think that's something people bring up sometimes, but they
almost do it rather matter of actly, as if they
feel like they have to mention it, right, but they
don't believe it, And it's real.
Speaker 4 (03:05):
It's very real. It's not that I don't think football
is designed to play that way. Like I'm hoping one
day and I think that day will come when they'll
play an eighteen game schedule with two buys and no
one's going to operate on such a short week for
Thursday road games. You know you could be coming off
a buy for Thursday.
Speaker 5 (03:21):
That's what That's what you hope.
Speaker 4 (03:23):
That's what I think is going to come. They'll get
rid of a.
Speaker 2 (03:26):
Santa comes down the chimney to make more money to
the league.
Speaker 4 (03:29):
I bet people agree with me.
Speaker 3 (03:31):
Yeah, but I mean these prime time games, they're.
Speaker 4 (03:33):
Not going away. I just think that you'll have a
buy on going into it, right because two buys you
know what I mean?
Speaker 5 (03:40):
Understood, Yeah, it's going away. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (03:44):
More bad stats.
Speaker 2 (03:45):
Bengals have scored three or fewer points in the first
half of four straight games.
Speaker 5 (03:49):
They got nerdle right in Green Bay.
Speaker 4 (03:52):
You can look at two ways. I was going to say, well,
they are starting to show signs of life in Flaco's
first game, late in the game against the Packers, or
it's called garbage time. It doesn't matter. They're getting beat anyway,
you know what I mean.
Speaker 3 (04:04):
There's a couple more.
Speaker 2 (04:04):
The Bengals are last in the NFL in rushing yards
per game by over twenty five yards.
Speaker 5 (04:12):
They're pathetic.
Speaker 2 (04:13):
The Bengals are bottom three in the NFL in total
in scoring offense, and total in scoring defense. The four
teams in the last thirty years have been bottom three
in all of those categories.
Speaker 4 (04:26):
I don't know if they're worse on defense or offense. Yeah,
you know.
Speaker 2 (04:30):
The twenty seventeen Colts, the twenty sixteen Browns, the five
to forty nine Ers, and the ninety nine expansion Browns,
and none of those teams, they are all terrible, won
five games. So it's not trending well in Cincinnati, and
its ending very well in Pittsburgh.
Speaker 4 (04:48):
And I don't think Flaco's real riding in on a
white horse to save the day, but at the at
least gave them a jolt.
Speaker 6 (04:55):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (04:55):
I just I was curious to your impression of watching
since at Green Bay, because I know you and Merrill
were both very down on Flacco. The brown looked really,
really bad.
Speaker 4 (05:09):
They had to make that move the Gabriel, whether they
trade Flaco or not, they had to make a move
the Gabriel.
Speaker 3 (05:13):
I didn't see any of that.
Speaker 2 (05:14):
I watched the first half of Bengals at Packers, and
I thought, Joe, it's over man. You got to get
out of here, You're you're embarrassing yourself.
Speaker 4 (05:22):
Yeah, you don't belong with the field anymore.
Speaker 2 (05:24):
And in the second half, I thought, Joe, you can
still play well.
Speaker 5 (05:28):
He still has a.
Speaker 4 (05:28):
Huge arm, and not to the Rogers level. The experience
factor is certainly real. You know where the pressure is
coming from. You know how teams are going to defend you.
And to give Joe credit, I mean really, since he
won Comeback Player of the Year with the Browns the
first time around, they brought him off the couch. He
(05:49):
was retired basically at that point. I don't think he
cares at this point. And what I mean by that
is not that he doesn't care about winning and losing
or you know, he's just not bashful. He's like him
my dad's well into his seventies and he just says things.
Now you know what I mean, I'm getting more and
more that way, you know, like, so care what people think.
(06:09):
I mean, Flacco plays like Jameis Winston now then Steelers
ran into a hot Jameis Winston a couple of years
ago that if you're gonna sling it all over the
field the Higgins and Chase, you might roll snake eyes.
Once in a while and whip you you know, you.
Speaker 5 (06:23):
Know, to that very point.
Speaker 2 (06:25):
The Bengals were down ten to nothing at the half,
and then they tried to battle back, but every time
they scored, they give up a city off.
Speaker 4 (06:33):
That's how it last year.
Speaker 3 (06:34):
It kept going one score, two score, one score two score.
Speaker 2 (06:36):
But it's it's twenty four to ten late in the
game and they've got a fourth and five at the
nineteen and Flacco hits Jamar Chase and two things stand
out dramatically about this play. Number One, Chase is being held.
His right arm is locked, so just catches it with
his left hand at the pilot. Okay, one hand, he's ridiculous,
one handed catching traffic and touchdown. The other Chase acknowledges
(06:59):
that afterward, in the aftermath, they just blew off the
play that was called. Chase went to Flacko and said,
you know, I think we should do this, and flac.
Speaker 5 (07:08):
I said go for it. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (07:09):
And you know I'm paraphrasing here by the button.
Speaker 4 (07:12):
Hook at the toyota Yeah, yeah, right, yeah, you know,
veteran guys that know what they're doing, and they decided
to put it on themselves in that moment. Yeah, I
bet Rogers does it all the time that.
Speaker 5 (07:22):
That can be a dangerous combination.
Speaker 4 (07:24):
Right, I know as much as the coaches, I'm gonna
do what I want. I'm new around here. I just
run this route against.
Speaker 3 (07:30):
And the coach sector was fine with it.
Speaker 5 (07:31):
How can you not be?
Speaker 4 (07:32):
I mean, you're at that point, so they are dangerous
and but their protection's bad. You know, the team is
built to play shootouts, and the defense, to your point,
even if the offense gets hot, could allow a lot
of points. I mean, we analyze this stuff from AFAR
(07:54):
and there's just not a lot of angles besides short
road trip on the two really dangerous receivers.
Speaker 5 (08:04):
Competitive factor that really worry you.
Speaker 2 (08:08):
The other thing that was interesting to me in the
wake of that Packers game, Uh, I'm not sure what
you think of the Bengals linebacker Logan Wilson. I think
he's I think he's pretty good player. He didn't play
in the second half on defense, He played twelve snaps
and they're now going with a couple of rookies. Barrett
(08:28):
Carter fourth round or out of Clemson. He never left
the field against Green Bay. He's gonna be the Green
Dot guy now and Demetrius Knight, junior second rounder out
of South Carolina.
Speaker 3 (08:41):
I know they got to get better on defense. I'm
not sure.
Speaker 2 (08:44):
Benching one of their defensive captains and one of the
most experienced players and are pretty good player. I shouldn't
say Benching because they're talking about a rotation and a
division of labor, but clearly they are shifting to get
younger and different.
Speaker 5 (08:59):
Curious as to your thoughts on that.
Speaker 4 (09:01):
Yeah, I mean their draft was interesting in that they
drafted two guards and they drafted two off the ball
linebackers because both those positions have been pretty bad for
a while now. Really, with the exception of Wilson, who's fine,
but he's not special or anything like that. Now, these
two linebackers, to me, as most rookies do not Sweassinger
(09:24):
from a week ago. That's what made him different. They're
totally swimming. Yeah, I mean, I don't Their run defense,
as you mentioned, is really poor, and I don't think
it's the D line getting blown off the ball. I
think the D line is below average to adequate.
Speaker 5 (09:38):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (09:39):
One of those one of those scores that gave up
at Green Bay was Jacob's fourteen yards up the gut.
Speaker 4 (09:44):
They looked like they weren't real excited about tackling him. Yeah,
and they often don't fill the right gap or get
manipulated with play action or presnat motion as most linebackers do.
I think those two are right for the picking.
Speaker 2 (09:58):
You mentioned the two rookie offensive lineman. Dylan Fairchild the
left guard. He missed the Green Bay game, but the
anticipation is he will be back.
Speaker 3 (10:07):
And then you have a fair Child's the third rounder
out of Georgia.
Speaker 2 (10:11):
Jalen Rivers is the right guard, fifth rounder out of Miami.
Speaker 4 (10:15):
And they're okay prospects. But again you're playing a lot
of young dudes.
Speaker 3 (10:19):
But we're talking about problems at tackle and in.
Speaker 5 (10:24):
Experience at guard.
Speaker 4 (10:25):
Right Mims the right tackle I really like coming out
of Georgia, but he's wasn't very experienced as a prospect
at the time either. They're not great at center, and
I'll be honest, their offensive line does not have a
lot of physicality to it. They don't bury people, they
don't go off the ball regressive. I don't like the
way they play so this segment, and they lead the
(10:47):
league in passing oppertun I mean they throw all the time.
Speaker 2 (10:49):
This segment is not really selling people on the tough
game coming up.
Speaker 5 (10:53):
Steelers could lose this one, but.
Speaker 2 (10:54):
I think I think a tough games coming up, and
I think they could lose.
Speaker 4 (10:57):
Yeah, me too.
Speaker 2 (10:59):
Get up with the latest game day necessities at the
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terrible towels, authentic memorabilia and custom exclusives you can only
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Speaker 3 (11:17):
Outlets, and the Tanger Outlets.
Speaker 2 (11:19):
You can also gear up online at shop dot steelers
dot com. Get it direct from the team at the
Steelers Pro Shop at shop dot steelers dot com. When
we come back, our factor back, Merril Hodge will get
the ball and run with it. So keep it here
with Matt Williamson on Mike Pursuda. You're listening to Steelers
Preview presented by your neighborhood Ford Store. The F one
(11:39):
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here on Steelers Nation Radio and of course, your Steelers
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Speaker 1 (11:49):
Back to the Steelers preview show on DVE.
Speaker 2 (11:53):
Welcome back Mike Pursuda and Matt Williamson, getting you ready
for the Steelers and the Bengals in Cincinnati Thursday night football.
Wonder if the two old guys will be able to
stay up long enough to finish the game. Time now
to welcome our factor back to the program, Merril Hodge
joining us as he always does. Merrill is asking a
(12:15):
couple of guys north of the age of forty, asking
them to play on into the evening. Too much of
an ask.
Speaker 5 (12:22):
Actually, that's a fair question me.
Speaker 6 (12:24):
Ask you anybody who's probably their forty fifty sixties that
is less legit. Now, if you're under that, you're like,
what are you talking about? Yeah, well you'll you'll know
one day, hopefully definitely one day.
Speaker 2 (12:36):
Well, I wanted to start with you this week on
kind of an intangible note. Ever since the Minnesota game
in Dublin, Williamson's got me focused on emotion after his
usual conversation after his called shot that the Steelers would
have the emotional edge in Ireland. And you know, we
talked last week about the offensive line having fun because
(12:59):
they got a for the Vikings and steals, random ball,
and one of the narratives coming out of the South
Side of Pittsburgh this week, according to no less authority
than defensive coordinator Terrell Austin, is the defense is playing
with speed and violence, and he emphasized that the violence
part is definitely part of the equation.
Speaker 5 (13:19):
You need both.
Speaker 2 (13:21):
And it looks like there's a little bit of a
feeding frenzy going on defensively. If your offense is having
fun and your defense is starting to feel like it
can kick anybody's butt, what good things does that pretend
moving forward?
Speaker 6 (13:35):
Yeah, well it's a good formula, you know, to kind
of build on that. You know, what was interesting and
you never know. Let's here's what I love about a season. Like,
you know, coaches always have a plan, you know, and
I'm with en coach at every level too, So I've
had plans and then then you start to try to
execute that plan and you're like, that's not working. And
(13:55):
the ability to adjust and then find something that works,
I think is the art of coaching and what makes
sports great. So you know, when they they're the first
couple of weeks, I don't think there's anybody that would
argue they I mean just up front there just getting manhandled.
So you know what they did, you know, schematically, and
this is coaching, is they're like, okay, well.
Speaker 5 (14:18):
Which this often happens.
Speaker 6 (14:20):
I can tell you say how many times that we
would we see it when we got ready to play
an opponent because I.
Speaker 5 (14:26):
Can't handle it.
Speaker 6 (14:26):
They're like, well, they're gonna scheme it, so meaning move
people around, slamm the defensive line, scrape the linebackers, run
the linebacker through the a gap real quick, you know,
just try to disrupt you and create these these different
schemes to help offset their deficiencies. Well they did that
(14:47):
and then they became better at just the fundamentals. Now
now they have both both that work for him. You know,
you can line up and we can play, but we
can also do some scheme stuff.
Speaker 5 (15:00):
That's all I think.
Speaker 6 (15:01):
It's always makes it more fun for the player, is
that when you do some stuff that, especially when they
like it, you know, and they enjoy doing it. You'll
line up in the gap, you know, or line up
differently if you're an inside linebacker. Let me make specific points.
Is that that makes it fun for the player. And
when they're really good at it, you know, like I
(15:22):
think we've talked about blitzing. They did some blitzing about
three weeks ago, and they actually were running into each other.
Their timing was terrible, and they've gotten so much better
at that, the execution of it, the timing of it,
the rhythm of it, and they do it really well.
Speaker 5 (15:39):
And so they can do both now.
Speaker 6 (15:42):
And that's that to me, is a very it's a
valuable asset and it's a wicked.
Speaker 5 (15:48):
Tool that they're going to have going forward that they
can build on.
Speaker 6 (15:51):
And it's a it's a problem for teams they will face,
and especially this one because they you know, they have
all they have offensive line problems, you know, especially on
their edges.
Speaker 5 (16:02):
They really do have some problems.
Speaker 6 (16:04):
That that I'm not our concern, but in this particular matchup,
it's going to.
Speaker 5 (16:11):
Be a big concern. You know.
Speaker 6 (16:12):
I don't know how they're going to handle the things
that they're going to have to handle because it's a lot.
And but the Steelers, you know, this is not week
six seven. I can't even remember to where we are,
but six of the Steelers because that's just got to
remember who got to buy, who doesn't have a buy.
Speaker 5 (16:32):
So it's week seven as a league six for the Steelers.
Speaker 6 (16:35):
You know, it's a it's a really good sign because
you listen, at the end of the day, you want
to play your best football around December, you know, you
want to have things ironed out. And I don't think
any coach likes to go through growing pains, but they're
necessary and they do help you build, and they help
and and oftentimes some people it's also add this, sometimes
(16:57):
you never find the answer. You know, at least they've
found owned an answer, And I'm telling you that's that
should give hope, you know, every just the steal nation period,
because they have found answers and they're responding to it
and they're playing well.
Speaker 5 (17:11):
Now they've just got to build on it going forward.
Speaker 4 (17:13):
You mentioned the plan and the vision, and I think
it goes back to the offseason. Really. I mean that
a year ago, I think Porter was really the only
corner they trusted, especially if he's gonna be a one
on one situation. They were a lot more hesitant to
Blitz and Omar in the front offics credit they change
that dramatically. You know, if Eccles is your fourth corner,
that's a lot better than the situation They've had for
(17:34):
a long time, and they have more front seven depth,
and then as a result, they're wreaking havoc and chaos
on quarterbacks and causing turnovers and a lot of quarterback
hits and six man pressures. But do you think they
are that aggressive on Thursday because these two receivers. If
(17:55):
the Bengals are gonna sting it, it's going to be
these two having big games.
Speaker 5 (18:00):
Correct. That's a great question.
Speaker 6 (18:02):
Actually, And here's why I think it's a great question
because if you think of this from the quarterback receiver perspective,
I think you have hesitation. If you think of it
through the protection aspect, you will come all day. Yeah,
you know, like so you know this is where that's
(18:24):
where coaches get paid. But they get paid because you know,
you got to make choices and decisions on that because
I just think that they have so many concerns up front.
Speaker 5 (18:35):
You know.
Speaker 6 (18:36):
Well, here's actually I can answer a question from this
perspective early in the game. If I find out what
they're going to do to help those tackles, then I
make that decision. You know, if they're if they're keeping
because if they're keeping people in, so I tell people
us all the time, they're like, well, t J Wat
hasn't had many sex. Well, you know what TJ wat
does every freaking play? He occupies three people. Okay, I
(18:58):
don't know anybody that can, so what more do you
want him to do? And when he doesn't occupy three people,
he hits the quarterback or a Saxson.
Speaker 5 (19:06):
Okay, so he's doing his job. Now.
Speaker 6 (19:08):
I might not show up on a statistical board, but
that is that's impactful. I don't know that they because
I'm gonna back up before they they got Joe Flackel.
I was watching tape. It was the same week and
I was like.
Speaker 5 (19:23):
First of all, I watched the Cleveland Browns.
Speaker 6 (19:25):
I'm like, okay, every now and then I come across
this after doing this for like forty some years, I'm like,
he doesn't want to play. I'm watching Joe Flaham like
he doesn't want.
Speaker 5 (19:35):
To be out there. You can tell it, you could
feel it. And then I put on Cincinnati.
Speaker 6 (19:40):
I'm like, oh my gosh, I think this coaching staff
thinks that Joe Burrow is still playing because they're calling
plays like it's Joe Burrow, just kidding Joe Burrow. And
then this is the problem, like, I would never build
from the outside end. Ever, if you want to win
a championship in the NFL, you do not build from
an outside end. And they are flooded with primitive players
(20:01):
that are awesome, but the core of their team now
kidnapping their runner pretty good.
Speaker 5 (20:06):
Yeah, if I.
Speaker 6 (20:07):
Was that coaching staff, I'm the first order of business, Well,
make sure we got good tight ends, because they have
pretty a few good tight ends, you know. I'm sorry, However,
this is what we have to do. Our perimeter guys.
You're not going to be the highlight anymore. Unfortunate because
we got to win games. And I would pound the ball.
I would run the ball because that kid is a
good runner. Our obviously lines struggling anywhere, and we would
(20:28):
be we'd be like seventy thirty.
Speaker 5 (20:30):
They are not like that.
Speaker 4 (20:32):
Meanwhile, they're the balls team in the league. I know,
And I'm just like, also the worst rushing team, the
worst rushing team leader by a.
Speaker 3 (20:40):
Lot, by a lot.
Speaker 4 (20:41):
I'm just like Maryland. You probably know this, but they're
they're peripheral blockers for protection, aren't very good at it either.
They live in eleven personnel, so that's three receivers that
aren't going to help in protection and the tight ends
or receiver types, like who's going to help the tackles.
Speaker 5 (20:58):
I'm with you, listen.
Speaker 6 (21:00):
I don't want them to change their minds. And I
don't think anybody was. Mike Tom was probably listen.
Speaker 5 (21:06):
The guys.
Speaker 6 (21:07):
We hope we don't they keep doing what they're doing
because we really like that.
Speaker 5 (21:11):
But the one thing about the Packer game was interesting.
Speaker 6 (21:14):
They did kind of morph into a little more running
attack and run action stuff. You know, I think that's,
you know, a limited time with your quarterback, so you
had to reduce it because they looked like that looked
like a Dylan Gabriel game plan. If you if you,
if you studied that tape, it was like Jesus, They're like,
that's like a guy in his first start.
Speaker 5 (21:33):
You know. That's just because you don't have three practices.
Speaker 6 (21:35):
Well, they only have one practice, one more practice to
get ready on Thursday. You got to walk through. But
that's all you have. You ain't gonna build much on that.
It's just it's insane. It's crazy what they do there
though I did, but hey, keep doing it.
Speaker 2 (21:50):
To answer Williamson's very good question, about blitz, too blitz
or not too blitz. When Mike Tomlins showed up in
Latrobe in July, he said, and I quote, we can
match up and play man to man versus any one.
That's what is exciting to us, our ability to match
up and play man to man against anyone in this game.
Speaker 3 (22:12):
Clearly he had the Bengals in mind.
Speaker 2 (22:14):
So if it requires one on one on Chase or Higgins,
I think the Steelers are going to roll those dice.
But what I wanted to hear from you about is
the schematics that you reference that the Steelers have adjusted with, specifically,
the Hannibals Elephants number seventy four is eligible seven offensive
lineman running at you. How do defenses deal with that?
(22:37):
Because whatever adjustments have been made by the Vikings and
Browns have not slowed it down.
Speaker 5 (22:45):
Yeah. Well, you know, on that side of the ball,
I think they kind of fell into the same thing.
You know.
Speaker 6 (22:49):
They here's what they've they've done more of which actually
I mean, I just I've always loved it because I'm
not been.
Speaker 5 (22:57):
A fan of it, and I shouldn't. I'm just not
a fan of it.
Speaker 6 (23:00):
But I've had a lot of success with it too,
is like man blocking schemes versus zone blocking schemes. Like
zone blocking schemes, so that the fan understands there's like
a minimum of five most of the time, six and
seven guys that got to kind of work together as
you're blocking people and we're passing people off, blocking people
as we go. And so anybody who doesn't see it
(23:21):
the same way, you know, there could be a miss.
You know, there's a guy not blocked, you know, or
somebody accounted on account for. But a man blocking scheme
is like I got that guy, you got that guy,
We got this guy.
Speaker 5 (23:33):
And if they just in front, we know, well I
got that guy. Now you got that.
Speaker 6 (23:36):
So there's not it shouldn't be a mystery. And they
have done more man blocking schemes and they're better at it.
Speaker 5 (23:43):
You're just better at it.
Speaker 4 (23:44):
The figure I thought they were better at it at
the end of like the Matt Cannada regime.
Speaker 6 (23:50):
Oh honestly, I will be honest with you, I don't
know how they didn't stay with that. Yeah, yes, I
like you know, that's the hearing there because listen, let's
we got to deal with what is actual facts.
Speaker 5 (24:06):
Now.
Speaker 6 (24:07):
To their credit, what they have done is they've done
more land blocking schemes and they have been really really effective,
and they just do them better. You know, when we
get dard and actually they when we got to the
zone stuff this a little bit they do They were
okay with that. They did a little better job there.
They're just not as good at it.
Speaker 4 (24:27):
But you definitely don't running games much more diverse than
it was, not just because but just even in play calling.
Speaker 6 (24:34):
Yeah, just to play calling design, you know, weak side,
strong side, perimeter stuff, you know, lesstable, you know, yeah,
I see, you know one thing that I don't know
if we'll get you, but I think is important that
the Bengals have struggled with defensively because they listen. They
got a new coordinator, they got a bunch of young
guys that are playing. Anytime, you get a sense of
(24:57):
misdirection and like a for one way and.
Speaker 5 (25:01):
Then we come back to the other.
Speaker 4 (25:03):
Like they really those young linebackers don't know what they're doing.
Speaker 6 (25:07):
They they really struggle, man, They miss people, they lose people,
and listen if you you know, like the Packers didn't
do much of it. Leading up to that Packer game,
people had done more of that and then really effective.
You know, Detroit destroyed them. I can't remember the game
before that. They just destroyed them too. I would not
be surprised if you don't see a little more of that,
(25:29):
because Aaron can move any boots.
Speaker 5 (25:31):
And they do.
Speaker 6 (25:32):
We were doing that offset some struggles we were having
with protection. Okay, that's why we were doing it. Now
you can do it to be effective against a front
that or a defense that struggles accounting for people, you know,
those type of misdirections. So I would I would expect
to see a little more of that in this one,
and that that continuation of that building on like man
(25:54):
blocking schemes and getting that running game going, and keep
building that because they you could see that they get
moving with that they and you're going with field energy
change and that that team when those players are called Meryl.
The other side of the ball, there's big schematic news
for the Steelers is they finally got healthy, so they
were able to play Alex high Smith, TJ. Watt and
(26:15):
Nick Herbigal at the same time that third down package
Herbigins side blowing past guards, the two guys crashing the edge.
Speaker 3 (26:24):
Uh more please huh? I mean that's working.
Speaker 6 (26:27):
Yeah, well you're gonna go back to some scheme stuff
and personnel groupings that you can do that are are
real challenge because I'll do with the challenges from an
offensive perspective, is when you see the like that many linebackers,
because we go by numbers, you know, we're looking for
you know, nineties or defensive lineman you know, you know
the other fifties and stuff like that.
Speaker 5 (26:47):
They usually linebackers.
Speaker 6 (26:49):
So when you see those different numbers in positions, you know,
that can confuse everybody. OPTU lineman you're running because you
know every always thinks that like the quarterback is the
one being affected. He's not like there's got one guy
who tells another ten what's going on. I mean the
other ten guy to know what's going on too. They
got to see things, uh, the exact same way. But Dad,
(27:13):
to your point, that just gives them another layer of
like fun, Like that's fun, like to put that type
of personnel out there and let them get after it.
Speaker 5 (27:23):
You know, you don't know.
Speaker 6 (27:24):
Who's gonna come, and all of them are dangerous when
they do come, and where are they lined up?
Speaker 5 (27:29):
All the things?
Speaker 6 (27:30):
I just said that that's what's going through everybody's mind
when they come out in the huddle like.
Speaker 5 (27:33):
Where are they?
Speaker 6 (27:34):
You know, and then you've got one guy who just
has a brain fart and you know like, oh I
thought he was and then you have a sack.
Speaker 1 (27:42):
You know.
Speaker 6 (27:42):
Now listen, the Cleveland Browns are different. You know, they
did what they should do to the Cleveland Browns. They're
not very good upfront, they have limited people on the
person on the perimeter, and you got a guy any
second start that's exactly what you should have done. You know,
you're not gonna run into that type of environment each
and every week. But in this case, you've got a
(28:02):
guy who's been there for four good practices, okay under
two weeks. There's only so much that they can apply
and only so much chemistry that can't exist. So if
you neutralize them, what it matters. And I mean and
they help you by that because they don't call runs.
But if you put them in passing situations a majority
of the time and you don't turn the ball over
(28:25):
if we could, if you can just do that, then
you're better than this team. You should handle this team,
and there should be a team that you control and
that you win in a in a dominant fashion.
Speaker 4 (28:36):
So Marril, there's a lot of defensive players that are
rightfully getting headlines and a lot spoken about them, her
Big in particular, harm and et cetera. But I would
argue that Patrick queen's playing the best of his dealer career,
maybe far and away.
Speaker 6 (28:52):
Well, Matt, I'll tell you this, Like I actually, and
I've been in Pat McQueen's situation where you're like, you
go to a new team, he's played for nearly a decade,
and I just people just expect I remember, Okay, I
went because I did it. So when I went to Chicago,
I remember, like I was two weeks in the training camp,
my agent called me, goes all right, Oh yeah, I'm fine.
Speaker 5 (29:13):
I said, why would you Why would you call?
Speaker 4 (29:15):
Well?
Speaker 5 (29:16):
I was just wondering if you were all right? Who
was wondering? Well? The staff, you know, Jim called. So
here's what I learned.
Speaker 6 (29:24):
Expectations are dangerous. Like the Bears had these experts because
I don't know if you know, I wouldn't expect you
to remember, but Ironhead Hayward had just been they just
signed out. I heard had Hayward a year before. That's
what CAM camp Warden Cam Hayward and I you know,
he didn't know this, but I came in and replaced
iron Head Hayward. In fact, it was probably the most
(29:45):
un comfortable day of my professional career because I just signed.
I got there for the Bears. I'm walking in and
iron had Headward. They were gonna let him go for
another three days. So we're both in the gym working
out together. It's just, I mean, we're training together.
Speaker 5 (29:59):
It was it was just, it was. It was a
very odd I love Ironhead anyway, not.
Speaker 6 (30:03):
Being said, and I'm like, okay, see, they have expectations
of how you played somewhere, and within two weeks it
came out.
Speaker 5 (30:13):
Just two weeks.
Speaker 6 (30:13):
I like, somebody didn't see the expectations whatever they built
in their head. Okay, So sometimes you get expectations and
I would agree with you, like Patrick Clean when you
watched him play with the Ravens and then last year
that's not the same guy. But now from a player perspective,
like I was like getting my feet. I was like,
just because I didn't know anybody, and we had four
(30:36):
or five new starters on offense all right, tack our quarterback,
both running back, wide receiver and someone else.
Speaker 5 (30:43):
But I was like, holy calch, we didn't even know
who we were.
Speaker 6 (30:46):
You know, we didn't know that until like week four,
to be honest with you. So so my point is
sometimes you don't really get comfortable until you're in your
second year and you have a really good feel.
Speaker 5 (30:58):
But I would echo what you did said.
Speaker 6 (31:00):
I mean, he is playing fast and furious and making
the type of plays that you used to see him
make in Baltimore that he didn't make last year. And
I'm not giving him a Hall pass. I'm I'm not
giving him that Hall pass because nobody gets a Hall pass.
But those are the reason that you can see somebody
struggle a little bit is that it's all new. Just
because they play in the NFL for nearly a decade
(31:22):
doesn't mean they know how to play here. You know,
they got to learn how to play here, and that
sometimes takes some time.
Speaker 2 (31:29):
Marri lest thing I got for you This Cincinnati team,
in the wake of the Borough injury, wasn't competitive against Minnesota,
wasn't competitive against Denver, wasn't competitive against Detroit. I saw
a defense fighting throughout that Green Bay game, and I
saw an offense finally started rolling a little bit. I
expect Cincinnati hosting Pittsburgh Thursday night. I expect the Bengals
(31:53):
to be defending the Alamo.
Speaker 5 (31:55):
Like I agree.
Speaker 2 (31:57):
I think this is gonna be this was gonna leave
a mark. It's going to be another AFC North Rock fight.
Speaker 6 (32:03):
Yeah, let me just tell you this. I'm sure Mike
Tomlin he's been around long enough to know. Man, I'm
almost I'll put one thousand percent on it. If you
can do a thousand or one hundred percent, one hundred percent,
we can't get more than that.
Speaker 5 (32:16):
The emphasis of this is the divisional rival.
Speaker 6 (32:19):
And they are professional players, Okay, And you don't under
estimate professional players. It's a Thursday night game, they're in
their house. Don't think for two seconds that what we
have seen on it. Because I'm gonna tell you this,
I can't tell any experiences we have like this. You
watch tape and sometimes you to your point, they watched
all those games, and for my players pact, having.
Speaker 5 (32:41):
Been there, you're like, may's not really that good. I'll
give you an example. The New England Patriots.
Speaker 6 (32:47):
Newington Patriots were oh and eleven on ten or or
eleven coming into Pittsburgh. We win at the last play
of the game on a fourth and one goal line stand. Okay,
and I I'm telling you the majority of that struggle
was that we could watch them all getting ready all
week and they're like, it's just not very good. You know,
(33:07):
they do it, but man, that's not how they showed up.
They showed up to beat us and to play their
very best. And that is the mindset that you have
to create for these players. You can't load them into
sleep with the weaknesses that you've seen on film, because
those can improve and those weaknesses become a strength and
(33:28):
then the next thing you know, we're the fourth quarter.
Are in a dang dogfight. All right, So you are
better and there's a standard and I think that you
know you're better, but then you've got to prove it.
You can't prove it in the fourth quarter. You need
to prove it in every quarter.
Speaker 5 (33:42):
You know.
Speaker 6 (33:42):
That's and that's from a coaching perspective. That is how
you have to establish you have the mindset of your team.
You can't get them into that weak way of thinking,
oh Jesus is not going to be that. They don't
really they don't run the ball out that well. You know,
they don't even call it that much. You know, pass
the game. They got tackle issues will be okay. You
know you can't get them speculate and we're going to
see what we've seen on tape. We're gonna get something
(34:03):
better than that. And I agree with you. I just
been too many divisional games where you're just like, in
the halftime, you're like, whoa, we misjudge this bad boy.
Speaker 5 (34:13):
You don't want to misjudge this bad boy.
Speaker 2 (34:16):
Meryl, great stuff. We'll do it again next week. Hopefully
we'll be talking about the five and one Stealers.
Speaker 5 (34:22):
Looking forward to it. Man, go Steelers, Love you guys.
Speaker 2 (34:25):
Meryl Hodge the factor back here on Steelers Preview, which
is presented by your neighborhood Ford Store. The F one
fifty is the official truck of the Pittsburgh Steelers, right
here on Steelers Nation Radio and your Steelers flagship one
to two point five DVE.
Speaker 1 (34:41):
Back to the Steelers Preview show on DV.
Speaker 3 (34:46):
Welcome back, Meryl Hodge.
Speaker 2 (34:48):
Informative and enthusiastic is always uh. He mentioned the running
back for Cincinnati a couple times. I don't think we
got around to actually, yeah, interesting player, Chase Brown out in Illinois,
very Jalen Warren kind of like player.
Speaker 4 (35:01):
Yeah yeah, low to the ground, you can break the long.
Speaker 5 (35:03):
One battle battles.
Speaker 4 (35:05):
Fats yep interesting. Him and his twin brother were both
drafted in the same class.
Speaker 5 (35:11):
He's a safety.
Speaker 4 (35:12):
They played together to Illinois, really tough upbringing, and they
like thrive off each other and you could see, I mean,
he'd be really easy to root for if he was
in a Steeler uniform. But they don't run the ball
that much, and he's not as good as p Ryan
in protection. So they've been playing p Ryan a little
bit more. You know, like last year when Brown took over,
he was getting an ungodly percent of the touches at
(35:35):
the running back position and snaps, and now that's starting
to dwindle. And he's kind of been one of their
bright spots in the last year or so. And that
is along with a lot of their bright spots aren't
as bright anymore.
Speaker 2 (35:48):
You know, it's truly a tag team. And yeah, you
look at the better ball carrier. The p Ryan gets
a lot of uh run he does, and he's trustworthy,
better a lot.
Speaker 3 (36:00):
I think Brown is the better player.
Speaker 2 (36:02):
Yeah, but uh, you know, it's one of the things
they are trying to figure out in Cincinnati.
Speaker 4 (36:08):
But we touched on this with Merrill too, like, yeah,
their O line struggles in protection, so p Ryan's the
better protector to help. But they're always an eleven personnel
with three receivers. Yoshavas is an OK number three, but
then their tight ends are mostly receiving types too.
Speaker 2 (36:25):
My job on the pronunciation like that, Yeah, yeah, because
that is with an I that is I.
Speaker 4 (36:30):
Yes, doesn't think you would be Yoshabas track guy out
of Princeton. Yes, yes, he's not bad either, you know,
but there's not much blocking going on.
Speaker 5 (36:39):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (36:39):
Just to finish the p Ryan Brown point nine carries
for Brown at green Bay, six for p Ryan.
Speaker 4 (36:46):
I mean, and it wasn't like green Bay was winning
by a million either. Your run backs should get more
than that for one thing, and it shouldn't be a
nine to six split or whatever you said it was.
Speaker 2 (36:57):
The injury report is presented by your neighborhood Ford Store,
the F one fifty official truck of the Pittsburgh Steelers.
In matter, I wanted to take a little bit of
a different approach to that tonight because Jalen Ramsey played
last week and good for him, you know, a couple
of sacks and he was doing Jayden Ramsey things out there.
But I don't think there was great expectation when it
(37:19):
was first reported that he had a hamstring injury that
he was going to make it back onto the field,
and he didn't practice for a couple of days, and
all of a sudden on Friday he was out there,
and Aaron Rodgers gave just a glowing characterization of Ramsey
the teammate, and he talked about how Rogers talked about
how in his time in the league he's seen plenty
(37:40):
of guys if there's a Sunday game and then a
Thursday game coming up and they're banged up, they take
both of those off because.
Speaker 3 (37:47):
As Rogers put it, the long week after, you know, Rogers.
Speaker 2 (37:50):
Thinks that NFL guy's fear not playing at one hundred
percent because a lot of them, you know, there's pressure,
there's pressure form, and nobody wants to do that.
Speaker 4 (38:00):
I never really understood that logic, Like some scouts and
coaches will be like, whatever you put on between the
white lines is what you're doing, Like, doesn't it matter
if a guy drags a bum leg out there? To
do it as opposed to being one hundred percent, you.
Speaker 3 (38:11):
Know, And yeah, I mean to me, it should matter
that he wants to do that.
Speaker 2 (38:14):
Yeah, it should be up to the coaches to say, no,
you're not right, you're not helping.
Speaker 4 (38:17):
But the other teams don't know that, you know, Like
if I'm a scout for the Browns and you're watching
Steeler tape, you're like, well, I didn't know he was hurt.
I just know what you put out there, you know.
Speaker 2 (38:25):
But you know, we talked a little bit with Merrill
at the outset about the emotion of the O line
and the feeding frenzy on defense. But Rogers talked again
about what an example that sets. And I'm paraphrasing his
postgame comments after the Browns game. But you know, Jalen Rams,
he's not just an all pro, He's not just a
potential gold jacket guy.
Speaker 5 (38:46):
He's apparently a pretty good teammate.
Speaker 4 (38:48):
Yeah, and highly highly competitive. I don't think it's an
accident at all. That basically all the veteran, big name
guys led by Rogers and Rams but also Slay Metcalf,
these guys play with a lot of attitude, a lot
of emotion, and I heard a lot of national you know,
(39:10):
analysts say, well, if this goes wrong, it could really
go wrong because these guys are all big attitudes and
rogers on McAfee and blah blah blah blah blah. And
I'm like, yeah, that might be true. I mean, if
things go wrong, it might get you might hear from
all kinds of different birds chirping.
Speaker 3 (39:24):
I heard Ramsey ripped because he's bouncing around the leg.
Speaker 5 (39:27):
Yeah. Going from team to team.
Speaker 4 (39:29):
The teams are giving them first round picks for It's
not like they're cutting them, you know, they want them.
But I'm sitting there thinking like, isn't that what Tom
Win's best at is dealing with big attitudes and getting
them all to you know, steer the ship correctly. I mean,
that's a big ones around here. He's got a lot
of production out of Yeah.
Speaker 2 (39:45):
And it's just the way this is starting to come
into focus is pretty impressive to me. We're seeing what
the defense looks like when it's healthy and when it
has versatility of scheme at its disposal.
Speaker 4 (39:59):
And it's pretty impressive and it's aggressive.
Speaker 2 (40:02):
Another thing that Aaron Rodgers talked about this week that
I wanted to bounce off because it made an impression
on me. Tomlin Mike Tomlin was asked after the Browns
game if, even though Rogers has experienced is he still
growing and is there more that he can do individually
and more this offense can do collectively with the passage
(40:23):
of time and some more continuity in chemistry.
Speaker 5 (40:27):
And I bounced that off of Rogers on.
Speaker 2 (40:30):
Tuesday, and he said, yeah, absolutely, We've only played five
games together.
Speaker 3 (40:34):
Yeah, yeah, it's very reasonable to expect. And the example
he used was, I forget.
Speaker 2 (40:39):
The exact word that he employed, but off script stuff,
you know, and the touchdown, the Rogers touchdown to Connor
Hayward is a great example that where Hayward is, you know,
a quick first read maybe.
Speaker 5 (40:54):
And then okay, he's out of it.
Speaker 2 (40:56):
Then you go to this guy, then you go to
this Now all of a sudden he comes back to
Hayward and he's directing track, pointing the way and then
throwing it right to a spot. And if they can
start doing stuff off script, right, that's when you become
really dangerous.
Speaker 4 (41:11):
Right Yeah, And you know in this past game, his
average time to throw went up. It wasn't just first
red get it out, you know, because I thought so,
I know, there was a lot of concern with why
aren't they throwing the ball down the field. I know
this is good, we like Rogers, but this, this is unsustainable.
Well a lot of it was because teams were playing
with two high shelves and for you know, they weren't
(41:33):
really fearing the run game. But I thought this pass
game against a very good Browns defense, when you see
single high, I'm going to go one on one and
throw it downfield. Now, there was one he didn't complete
that was kind of ugly. I don't got stuck in
the wind or whatever.
Speaker 3 (41:46):
But a couple of another one hit Tyson Campbell in
the back.
Speaker 4 (41:49):
Yeah yeah, yeah, yeah, But I'm not worried about his
downfield pass.
Speaker 5 (41:53):
One of them went in in the end zone.
Speaker 4 (41:54):
One of them was a touchdown too. Like it just
last week showed that he and they are willing to
play other ways than just think dunk dink dunk down
the field.
Speaker 2 (42:06):
You know, And if you can get to the point
where it's just you know, we talked about Flack owned Chase,
but you can get to the point where it's a
couple of guys that know what they're doing just kind
of figure it out as they go along and making
it happen. It's another club in the bag.
Speaker 4 (42:20):
Yeah, and there's no perfect defensive scheme where everybody would
run it. They all have holes and he knows every
one of them. And if he can get the other
ten to attack those holes at the line of scrimmage
or whatever he sees, there'd be more dangerous.
Speaker 2 (42:33):
The other thing I wanted to ask up about before
we get out of here. I know Jim Schwartz is
a defensive mastermind, and they've got the numbers in the
track record and the resume.
Speaker 5 (42:44):
And sure he needs no endorsement from me.
Speaker 4 (42:46):
No, he's got a great career. Yeah, but.
Speaker 2 (42:50):
How does dk Metcalf end up getting covered multiple times
one on one in a game when the other receivers
are named Roman, Wilson, Ben Skernic and Scott.
Speaker 5 (43:00):
No offense to those guys.
Speaker 4 (43:01):
Right, because the Boston was out there.
Speaker 5 (43:03):
They're all on the team for a reason.
Speaker 2 (43:04):
And I know Cleveland's a single high team, but don't
you have to look at your opposition once in a
while and say, hey, you know what. I don't know
if we were going to win this game, but number
four is not going to beat me.
Speaker 4 (43:15):
There's one scary guy. Yeah, there's one scary pass catcher.
If you're looking at this through a Browns lens and
you let that guy not beat you single handedly, but
do more damage than he should too impactful, right to impactful.
I agree, And I know it's you know, this is
what we do, and we're good at it. We're execution based.
That's fine. But even taking it to a new level.
(43:35):
The guy that they asked to shut him down, they
traded for like two days ago. Yeah, I mean, I
mean that didn't you didn't even know the guy.
Speaker 2 (43:42):
I wasn't as curious about that, because one thing a
guy can Tyson Campbell's good player in the first round pick.
One thing he can do coming to a new team
is hey, you got him, You got him right, right right.
Speaker 3 (43:53):
But he needed some help, but helped me out. I
think most people he needs some help against DK Metcalf.
Speaker 4 (43:58):
He's just That's why they've got so much too high
is because Metcalf. You know, like last year in Seattle,
they got tons of too high, you know, because he's
a scary dude.
Speaker 2 (44:06):
If Ramsey has been everything they thought on defense, I
think Metcalf has been everything they thought on offense.
Speaker 4 (44:11):
Yes, I couldn't agree more. I'm you know me, I'm
a front office guy. I am super impressed with their offseason,
you know, draft player acquisitions, the vision as a whole,
setting up for the future. They're in really good shape.
Speaker 2 (44:25):
Rogers to Metcalf this season attempts nineteen to thirty one
for three hundred and fifty six yards, four tds, no picks.
The passer rating in those instances one forty point six.
The only higher one is Baker Mayfield to a Mecca
Abuca one point eight.
Speaker 4 (44:42):
Yeah, you'll take it now. My slight complaint is, would
you say something out of forty one I'd like to
see more targets. I mean he's only getting like five
or six targets a game now. They don't run a
ton of plays. They need to get that back up.
But and teams will roll coverage to take came away.
But going back to this game, Turner the pretty high
(45:04):
pick out of Michigan. It's probably their best defensive back.
But it's not like a Sauce situation or anyone you
have to stay away from.
Speaker 3 (45:13):
Oh, I think he's by farther best.
Speaker 5 (45:14):
I think he's my.
Speaker 4 (45:15):
Father best I agree with Yeah. I mean he's promised.
He's one of the promising defensive players.
Speaker 3 (45:19):
Plays with attitude.
Speaker 5 (45:21):
Not the biggest guy, but he plays big.
Speaker 4 (45:22):
Bast I mean he's a good player. But I don't
know if they'll travel him. But I would think no
matter who's on Metcalf, I don't think they're gonna be
leaving him alone very much.
Speaker 2 (45:32):
Yeah, whether they do or they don't, I would throw
at number twenty nine, Cam Taylor Britt Yes, at the
other corner. And I don't think this is a good
tackling team, particularly in the secondary, particularly safety Jordan Battle
number twenty seven.
Speaker 4 (45:44):
Yeah, we touched on the linebackers being problematic, but the
safeties aren't much better. I mean the back seven in
general is not a good tackling unit.
Speaker 3 (45:52):
So what are we thinking, Steelers prevail or Steelers pounce.
Speaker 4 (45:56):
I think Steelers prevail. We've talked a lot about, or
many people talk to a ton about Tomlin really struggles
on these short weeks on the road, and I get that,
but you know who doesn't Aaron Rodgers. He's thirteen and
five on Thursday Night games with a forty two to
(46:17):
five touchdown interception ratio.
Speaker 2 (46:19):
Guys, proving to be something of a cheat code here
in Pittsburgh.
Speaker 4 (46:23):
I don't think he needs a lot of prep time.
Speaker 3 (46:24):
That's going to do it for us.
Speaker 2 (46:25):
Thanks to Justin Miller for running the show in his
typical expert fashion. We will do it again next week.
Until then, for Matt Williamson, I'm Mike. Pursuit of this
has been Steeler's Preview, presented by your neighborhood Ford Store.
The F one fifty is the official truck of the
Pittsburgh Steelers, right here on Steelers Nation Radio and your
Steelers flagship.
Speaker 3 (46:45):
One of two point five dv E. Good Night everyone,
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It’s 1996 in rural North Carolina, and an oddball crew makes history when they pull off America’s third largest cash heist. But it’s all downhill from there. Join host Johnny Knoxville as he unspools a wild and woolly tale about a group of regular ‘ol folks who risked it all for a chance at a better life. CrimeLess: Hillbilly Heist answers the question: what would you do with 17.3 million dollars? The answer includes diamond rings, mansions, velvet Elvis paintings, plus a run for the border, murder-for-hire-plots, and FBI busts.
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Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.
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If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.