June 3, 2025 • 27 mins
If Aaron Rodgers ends up not playing for the Steelers in 2025, would you be okay with the team going out there with the guys currently on the roster.
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Speaker 1 (00:08):
We are chugging along in this phase of the off season.
OTA's Week two starts today as we were recording this podcast,
the Steelers standard Jacob here today and Tom as always
recording it at ten five am exactly on Tuesday, June
the third, and after this it becomes real.
Speaker 2 (00:27):
So the players that aren't.
Speaker 1 (00:29):
Under contract, who are not at OTA's better show up
or they're gonna have to pay a pretty decent amount
of money. Labs and I were talking today for our
Asked and Answered podcast, and he was saying that if
you miss all three days of the mandatory mini camp session,
that's a six figure fine that you're looking at that's
going to be imposed.
Speaker 2 (00:48):
Now.
Speaker 1 (00:49):
Sometimes players make enough money where they can look at
a fine and say, you know what, I'm okay with
working that into my finances for this year and taking
a couple of days off and doing whatever I want to.
Speaker 2 (01:03):
And more power to you if you have the money
to spend there.
Speaker 1 (01:05):
But honestly, man, why I would you skip three days
of football drills really not even real football to keep
six figures in your pocket. So I expect most people
to be there now.
Speaker 2 (01:20):
TJ.
Speaker 1 (01:20):
Watt, I think is a little bit of a question, right,
because then it becomes the contract thing, and does he
really start the hold in that we're expecting to happen
a training camp by maybe not showing up to mini
camp and have that be kind of the message from
his camp for the negotiations. Who knows, we'll find out
(01:45):
about that when it unfolds next week. And then DK
Metcals is really the only other one that is under
contract that hasn't shown up yet either. Maybe they'll show
up this week, but as always, time will tell. Favorite
I'm saying that will become very old news probably at
any minute now if they do potentially show up this week.
(02:06):
I want to start in the most important place though,
for this phase of ot AS, in this second week
of OTAs, and that's the team going to Kenny Wood
last Yeah, absolutely Monday. Well it's not always Kenny Wood,
Like remember they go to David where David Busters might
be training camp. I don't know, but they And honestly, man,
(02:28):
I am not foolish to the perks that NFL athletes
and athletes get in life, and they're pretty sweet, but
one of the perks being closed, you just kind of
can run through it as much as you want. That's
pretty sweet. Now do you think they get the full experience? Like,
do you think every ride? I'm sure all the rides
are open. I don't know, But do you think they
(02:49):
get like the games open, like where they could.
Speaker 2 (02:51):
Play some dogs.
Speaker 3 (02:54):
It's not fair?
Speaker 2 (02:55):
What do you mean it's not fair?
Speaker 3 (02:56):
Because I would like that chance as well.
Speaker 1 (03:00):
You to like I thought you were saying, like it's
unfair these athletes would just dominate at those games and
take all the prizes. No, those are very different skill
set games. They might not be good at fishing a
duck out of a pond.
Speaker 2 (03:11):
It's just as much as they fall.
Speaker 3 (03:13):
I heard I haven't been to Kenny.
Speaker 1 (03:15):
What if your quarterback does the tire throw and he
misses like five of them, you start to have isn't
that rag?
Speaker 4 (03:21):
Do you have second doubts all those carnival games users, Yeah,
like the you know the ring where you're trying to
get on.
Speaker 2 (03:27):
The bottle to a carnival. Now, come on though, but.
Speaker 3 (03:31):
The carnival games, it means some part of games didn't
they get.
Speaker 4 (03:34):
I heard they got rid of like the classic that
that shooting gallery.
Speaker 2 (03:38):
It's gone, it's gone, man.
Speaker 1 (03:39):
Wow, because they had to make way for the Steelers
right the Steel h Steels Country and the Steel Curtain.
So there's a nice picture that Tom One posted of
him and his family in front of the Steel Steelers
Country sign, steel background. Steel Curtain's monstrous. I went last year,
in like five years. It's disgustingly big, like it's huge,
(04:00):
like I I don't think people who haven't really seen
it since it has made you know, uh, since they
broke ground on it and it became a thing, understand
just how massive it is and how it like loops
around over that lake around the skycoaster. I'm gonna ride
it this year. I think I might be a little
washed up when it comes to roller coasters. I was
a little dizzy getting off on one at the Beach
last year. But I'm gonna try the Steel Curtain.
Speaker 2 (04:22):
I have to.
Speaker 1 (04:23):
It looks like so much fun. One of those cedar
point type of roller coasters that has been dropped into
Kenny Wood's lap. So I uh, I thought it was
so much fun or the idea of going to that
park and having it all to yourself was so much
fun to me, like just jumping from ride to ride.
Speaker 2 (04:42):
And I do wonder if the snacks were open to
at least at least potato.
Speaker 1 (04:47):
You got to open up potato patch for the guys
at least, right, because that's just so iconic.
Speaker 2 (04:51):
It's such a staple. Give me those bacon cheese fries.
Speaker 3 (04:55):
M but strategic.
Speaker 2 (04:57):
You gotta be strategic because you can't pound those and
then go right.
Speaker 4 (05:00):
I remember, I remember the first time I went as
like a twenty three year old, like, I don't know,
I guess it.
Speaker 3 (05:08):
Never went in college, so I went. I skipped a mistake. Well,
I also, you know, was working.
Speaker 4 (05:16):
Hey, No, well, first of all, you went to school
in the city of Pittsburgh. I went to school out
in the Midwest, so I didn't have the year to
like be around Pittsburgh. And then in the summer, I
was working, so I didn't have the opportunities. I get that,
but I was. And what I was I was saying was, huh.
Speaker 1 (05:33):
You should have worked at Annywood, Like yeah, like Jesse
Eisenberg and Kristen Stewart.
Speaker 2 (05:40):
No.
Speaker 4 (05:40):
I remember the first time I went back, like since
high school, and I was like twenty two, twenty three
years old, and I was I was with my younger
cousins and I was like, yeah, of course, I'll go
with my younger cousins, like I want them to see it.
I want to show them all the good rides beyond,
you know, just Kittie Land and we have potato patch
Fry and we went on I don't remember which one.
(06:03):
It was one of the spinny ones, right, there's a
lot of spinny ones. Big mistake, and I got off
and it was the first moment I was like, oh,
I'm not a little kid anymore that can eat whatever
the hell I want and then go on as many
loop de loop or twirly rides. I feel sick as
umly possible. I felt. I felt gross, but not gross.
(06:23):
I felt like it was about to become gross.
Speaker 1 (06:26):
We all have those moments where we kind of realized
that we're washed in our life now.
Speaker 2 (06:29):
And that was one.
Speaker 3 (06:30):
And I was only twenty three when I when I
had that.
Speaker 2 (06:32):
Here, here's the route that you do though.
Speaker 1 (06:34):
Here's a little expert and then we'll move on from
this tox of actual football. Little expert Kennywood opinion. Here
you get your potato patch fries, right, then you go
on Ghostwood to States. You just cruise around that little
thing and shoot a little targets and bang a little girl.
Speaker 4 (06:47):
So you go deep into the park to get the fries.
So you come all the way back.
Speaker 2 (06:51):
No, that's right next to the potato patch ghost State.
Speaker 4 (06:54):
Oh oh oh was that one that's like elevated? Okay,
I was thinking, uh, what used to be Garfield's Nightmare
or it was Garfield's Nice the old mill?
Speaker 3 (07:01):
Now it's it's it went back to the old.
Speaker 1 (07:04):
Now if you want to all walk a little bit
and let the tummy settle, yeah, you can do that.
But you just hit that go in there, bang some targets, bang, remember,
rack up a nice score. It's a little competitive, right,
you get the juice with your crew. It's a nice
easy ride. Then if you're still feeling, you know, a
little bloated and fat, going Noah's Ark for a little bit,
you just walk through.
Speaker 3 (07:24):
I don't know, because.
Speaker 2 (07:27):
That's after ghost It, so you should be a little
bit past it.
Speaker 3 (07:29):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (07:30):
Shaky Force can kind of reintroduce you a little bit
into that thrill seeking experience. And then when you exit
Noah's Ark Thunderbolt, Phantom, it's the worlds there at that point.
Speaker 3 (07:39):
How about the whip that would really kill you, don't
you think?
Speaker 2 (07:44):
Yeah, that one's not good.
Speaker 1 (07:45):
Although I used to love the spinning rides as a kid,
I used to love the Wipeout. I don't know if
that's still there anymore, the wipe way you would go
up and down.
Speaker 4 (07:52):
No, I think they just kind of like rename it,
you know, they just it's like the same Barren Curve, right,
That's what I'm thinking.
Speaker 2 (07:59):
The Wipeout was different ride altogether.
Speaker 1 (08:01):
But I helped the Steelers enjoyed Kennywood because now it's
back to work today.
Speaker 2 (08:05):
Boys.
Speaker 1 (08:06):
No, but that is a cool thing that they do.
And again, it just like if you've seen South Park
out there, the episode where Cartman buys the amusement park
and then keeps it all to himself and he just
runs a muck through it like it's a dream like
and they just get to jump from ride to ride.
Speaker 2 (08:20):
We should do something like that at the station.
Speaker 1 (08:21):
Like I know, you guys go out and do something
on DVE, but we should figure out a way to
work it out where it's like station day and it's
like parks closed today, we do the DV morning show
from out there and everybody just gets to ride whatever
they want.
Speaker 3 (08:31):
It'd be great.
Speaker 1 (08:32):
I'd love to do that, we have it, then we
get on it. Well we've done it in the past.
Speaker 4 (08:36):
We don't have we don't have a Kennywood visit setup
for this summer.
Speaker 2 (08:40):
So wompom.
Speaker 1 (08:43):
We still love Kenny Wood though, and obviously the Steelers
do as well. So you're in OTAs now you still
don't know who the quarterback is. That's just Groundhog's Day
at this point. It's it's kind of getting ridiculous.
Speaker 2 (08:57):
I don't think to talk.
Speaker 1 (08:58):
About it like it's that way before Groundhog it is,
but it's appropriate. It's getting a little ridiculous to talk
about it because it's kind of just in a holding
pattern and it really has been. But the one element
of the holding pattern that I'm gonna nibble at here
is the Plan B route and what the Steelers potentially
could do if it isn't Rogers. And I really do
wonder if there is a Plan B like as far
(09:19):
as going out and getting your Kirk cousins or going
out and signing somebody else from the market.
Speaker 2 (09:24):
Now they're gonna have.
Speaker 1 (09:25):
To get somebody if it's not Rogers, to just fill
out their roster and to have enough quarterbacks to go
into training camp.
Speaker 2 (09:32):
You're gonna need one more.
Speaker 1 (09:34):
But I really do wonder if, since we're at this
point in the season, second week of OTA starting now,
that a Plan B for the Steelers would honestly just
be Mason Rudolph, Will Howard and Skyler Thompson as your
main quarterback room. You sign some other undrafted guy or
(09:54):
somebody else that's out there still lingering on the market
to be your camp arm and you kind of just
really put to the test that Mike Tomla magic, right,
and see what you can extract from a quarterback room
of Mason Rudolph and maybe as the season works on,
Will Howard.
Speaker 2 (10:14):
And we'll get to that in a little bit.
Speaker 3 (10:16):
But I don't know.
Speaker 1 (10:19):
And I've heard Jeremy Fowler say and even double down
on it, that it's just an obvious Plan B, and
he's heard that the Steelers would be interested in that.
But Peter Schreger was saying something the other day like
if Kirk Cousins really was a viable Plan B, and
if Kirk Cousins really was somebody that they would be comfortable.
Speaker 2 (10:33):
With, like why not do this earlier? Like why not
get this done earlier?
Speaker 1 (10:37):
Why not make the deal take on the money, Like sure,
if all that stuff is something that you're comfortable with doing,
if you have to move all your chips into that
pile because Rogers decided to retire or whatever.
Speaker 2 (10:48):
I just don't.
Speaker 1 (10:49):
Understand why they'd be sitting here on June third, still
kind of waiting for Aaron to respond when they could
just pull all those triggers and get Kirk Cousins fifty,
Because like, we're in the territory now where you should
be pursuing a viable Plan B. It isn't like, oh,
we have to wait until you know training camp starts
and then you go after the Plan B, Like now
this is Plan B territory if you indeed want to
(11:11):
go after somebody else. But maybe they're in the boat
right now where it's very comfortable for them. And that's
why people are Steelers have to know something, right You
hear that so much from people with nationally is if
Steelers have to know something, there has to be like
a handshake dealer, there has to be a very strong
level of comfortability. Well, maybe the comfortability is Rogers is
our Plan A. Our Plan B is there right now.
(11:34):
We have them going through camp, we have them going
through OTAs we have them working out with our team
in the facility with Rudolph and Howard and then Thompson
just saying that because that shows out the room. But
like maybe that's where some of the comfortability comes from,
is that if this does fall through, well, our Plan
B is already.
Speaker 2 (11:53):
Here and we have.
Speaker 1 (11:57):
I don't know about a level of comfortability, but we
have an understanding that if we bust here and we
put all our chips into the middle of the table,
we're gonna have to to keep the analogy going, play
with the cards that we still have in our hand
that have been dealt to us, and we kind of
dealt ourselves. Wow, that analogy went off the rails a
(12:19):
little bit there. But my point being, maybe this is
the Plan B that's playing out right now, and that's
why you kind of see the Steelers being a little
cool hand Luke about all this stuff and not really
putting an ultimatum on Rogers or saying stuff through the
media like he needs to decide or we're gonna move
in a different direction. Like maybe the different direction that
(12:39):
they move is what's happening right now, and who knows
when you decide to say, you know, what it is
too late, and this is when we're gonna not even
entertain you coming in anymore. If that's camp starting, if
that's in the middle of camp, who knows, but I
do wonder, and honestly am swaying more towards it being
(13:04):
the better situation in scenario to follow through with as
your plan B. Then a going out and trying to
grab a Kirk Cousins or even signing like a Carson
Wentz or whoever else is still bummying out there to
fill out the room with.
Speaker 3 (13:18):
A name that you know.
Speaker 1 (13:20):
To me, it sounds like it feels easy, and it
feels safe, and it feels like a team that recognizes that, yes,
we want to try to win this year, and we
have talent around this team, and Mason has a winning
record as a quarterback, right but we understand that there
is a forest through these trees here and there is
(13:41):
a nice quarterback class coming up here that could present
us with a pretty fast turnaround as far as being
a playoff contender.
Speaker 3 (13:49):
Is can they work out?
Speaker 1 (13:50):
Because we have a nice nest that we've been building up.
We've been building up.
Speaker 2 (13:54):
The line needs to play really well this year.
Speaker 1 (13:56):
We've got a receiver in DK for get another receiver
for sure by that time, or defense is still an
ass kicking defense still have really good talented players. And
if we're signing want for a long term extension, Hey,
I mean you're here for another three four years, right,
So you know what, We're not punting on this season
per se. But maybe this season doesn't yield the playoff
victory that we are so desperate for, but it sets
(14:19):
you up in the right direction for getting the guy
that not only can end that draught, but can start
to make runs in the playoffs, start to talk you
into being a legit contender for the AFC in the playoffs.
Speaker 4 (14:31):
To me, it sounds like the pulse of the city
would be okay with the guys currently on the roster.
I think Skyler Thompson is kind of like the third
wheeler here, if that makes sense, If that analogy, if
we're going through a bunch of analogies here, kind of
the forgotten about I know what you're saying there, Yes,
(14:52):
but it sounds like a lot of people are saying
Aaron Rodgers is not worth the headache, so let's just
ride it out with Mason Rudolph. How much better is
Aaron Rodgers right now at age what forty one going
on forty two than Mason? Is it really going to
translate from is it really going to be that big
of a difference between nine wins that you could probably
get with Mason to ten wins that you're going to
(15:13):
get with Rogers? Isn't it going to be probably the
same result in the postseason? Especially, so what's the point
of putting yourself through that head, expending the tens of
millions of dollars it would cost you to bring in Rogers?
Speaker 3 (15:25):
And it also the third guy, Will Howard.
Speaker 4 (15:29):
Everyone seems to be riding him high, don't I think
there are people out there setting unrealistic expectations for him.
All of a sudden, you bring in Will Howard and
what he's going to turn into the next Big Ben?
I don't think that's going to be the case. But
he could be a decent backup for you. He played
Big ten football. He played Big ten in a crowded
(15:51):
Big ten football with Pac twelve teams and won a
national championship there.
Speaker 3 (15:55):
So I think he's capable.
Speaker 1 (15:56):
I don't think he's capable of being a top ten
quarterback in the league, right now from what we've seen,
but it's capable of.
Speaker 3 (16:02):
Being one of the better yes backups in the league.
Speaker 2 (16:05):
Yes, I think it's going to be a very good
backup in this league.
Speaker 4 (16:08):
So I think there's a lot of people in Pittsburgh
that would say, you know what, it's not, it's not
uh Joe Montana with Steve Young in the.
Speaker 3 (16:18):
Waiting, but it's doable for this year. Like you said, with.
Speaker 4 (16:22):
The grand vision being known that twenty twenty six is
the year.
Speaker 1 (16:26):
Well back to your pulse of the city thing too,
I do believe that there are Steeler fans out there
that are getting a sense of in terms of Rogers,
or getting a feeling of you know what, dude, like
if you don't want to be here by now, like
if you're still going to keep playing this and stringing
this and stringing this. I really believe that there's fatigue
out there and there is a sense from some people
(16:47):
that are like, you.
Speaker 2 (16:48):
Know what, I don't want him to be the quarterback anymore.
Speaker 1 (16:50):
Like I was kind of on the fence anyway, and
a lot of the stuff that I was skeptical about
is kind of playing out before he's even on the
team right now, and also does he there has to
be a little bit of like a sense that you
want to be here too.
Speaker 2 (17:04):
Like I feel like there could be people.
Speaker 1 (17:11):
Out there that might view Rogers as thinking that he
would be doing the Steelers a big favor by coming
to Pittsburgh, like, oh, yeah, I'll take some of my time,
I'll come to Pittsburgh and I'll help you guys out
little engine that could in Pittsburgh. And I feel like
some people are saying, you know what, just don't even
bother them at this point. If you don't want to
(17:32):
be here, if you don't want to understand the mutual
need for these two or for this franchise in this
quarterback to meet him, to rewrite the final chapter of
his career and not look like a washed up bum
on his way out on the field, and then for
the Steelers to finally get over that hump and maybe
win a playoff game and have that taste washed out
of your mouth before you even need to get that
(17:52):
franchise quarterback in twenty twenty six and have some momentum
building before he even lands on your roster and hopefully
next year's draft. So I think that you know, when
it comes to the pulse of the Steelers nation. I
(18:13):
have to imagine that there are some people out there
that are just kind of like, you know what, Like
at this point it's June third, either you want to
be here or you don't. Like back in the beginning
of April May even you would say that, and it.
Speaker 2 (18:27):
Kind of sounded, you know, a little hard ass, like
you want to be here or you don't. You want
to be a Steeler or not.
Speaker 4 (18:31):
But you could you could argue that that was a
little too early to make that depend to take that stand.
Speaker 2 (18:37):
You know, it's Rogers. There is legitimacy at the beginning
of this process to him potentially retiring. But now, like
I have to give him that.
Speaker 1 (18:45):
Remember that was a take after a couple of weeks,
it was like he deserves this time to figure out
if he wants his life in football.
Speaker 4 (18:50):
Game, especially when he made it public that he was
dealing with some family issues.
Speaker 3 (18:54):
But now that time has gone on.
Speaker 4 (18:56):
Even started now like this and when he's saying, I know,
this time to be with my family. He's going to
Chicago for concerts, He's going down he's going down to Austin,
Texas to hang out with Joe Rogan for three hours.
Speaker 2 (19:06):
For sure, we've talked about that. Yeah, that's that kind
of undoes a lot of the stuff that you've been saying.
Speaker 1 (19:11):
But anyway, but my point is back then sure take
your time personal issues, even aside a personal issue that
you're going through.
Speaker 2 (19:18):
Is my career done? And do you want to keep
playing in the NFL or not? And that's a big,
big moment for you.
Speaker 1 (19:24):
Do you start that Hall of Fame clock, do you
start in media? What do you do after this? But
now that the season has started, I mean it has
I know, technically you don't have to be there. That
doesn't start till next week, but this is football season now.
Speaker 4 (19:43):
And.
Speaker 2 (19:45):
For him to still not be here, I mean there's
no more are you going to play or not going
to play?
Speaker 1 (19:52):
Like you need to have that decision made at this point,
like like, I'm not going to afford you now the
credit that you built up for a long time of
being an all time great to take your time on
deciding on coming back and playing or not. Now you
need to decide if you're going to come back and
play or not. And I don't even think that's a
part of the equation anymore. I do think he wants
to play. I think he's gonna be a Steeler. It's
(20:12):
just I really have no idea if this really does
play out all the way to training camp. And like
Brett fav when he came in for the Jets in
training camp when it had started for New.
Speaker 4 (20:23):
York, Yeah, to me, it's just like you said, it's
groundhog Day. It's it's just one day after the other
having the same conversation, and it's it's us trying to
make excuses for the guy and I and it's it's tiring,
it's exhausting. We know that for his entire career, Aaron
(20:43):
Rodgers has been me first. Right, You remember when McCarthy
was a Super Bowl winning coaching Green Bay and Aaron
Rodgers said no, no, no, no no, I'm gonna make this
very public it's me or McCarthy and force the team
to get rid of him. Then Matt Lafour comes in,
who is clearly a arguably top ten head coach in
(21:05):
the league.
Speaker 3 (21:06):
Would you say.
Speaker 4 (21:09):
The floor, Yeah, probably top ten, maybe top fifteen at
the lowest.
Speaker 1 (21:14):
I like him a lot, right, He's got a lot
of success exactly.
Speaker 3 (21:17):
Even without Rogers, they've done very well.
Speaker 4 (21:20):
So you you finally get rid of your guy McCarthy,
and they bring in the floor a young guy, smart guy,
and you still aren't happy, and you say, well, it's
me on the floor.
Speaker 1 (21:30):
Well you know what happened there, right, Rogers thought that
he was going to get McCarthy, an established coach, out.
Speaker 2 (21:34):
Of there, and Rogers was gonna be able to run.
Speaker 1 (21:37):
And then and he's a guy. All of a sudden,
he's a dude. So he's stunting around like he's there.
Speaker 3 (21:42):
And so it's okay, well it's me on the floor.
And what does the team do.
Speaker 4 (21:45):
They draft one in love and they say, sorry, we
got a guy at the quarterback position, we got a
got the head coach. We'd rather go in that direction.
So he goes to New York. What happens in New York?
He gets hurt on the fourth play of the season,
and still makes it all about him. He comes back
the next year and every time something goes wrong, it's, well,
it's not me, it's it's those in the press.
Speaker 3 (22:04):
Guys.
Speaker 1 (22:05):
Yeah, right, right, right, gets sell A fired in four weeks,
so you can get another coach in there that you know,
he feels comfortable with, doesn't have a lot of you know,
there's no button heads really with him, and then that's
not gonna happen here, like the coach things, Yeah, good.
Speaker 3 (22:18):
Luck getting rid of Mike Tomlin like that's.
Speaker 2 (22:19):
The thing, like like you.
Speaker 1 (22:22):
Can't come in as a three time transplant now and
expect to win. The heads start to butt, get the
benefit of the doubt from the city, from the fans,
like the owner shape you he's from the locker room.
Speaker 4 (22:36):
Right, He's thrown his defenses under the bus too, Like
good luck saying, oh, no, this is on Cam Hayward
and TJ wat make if it's Patrick, the guys who
have been here for Cam a decade plus, TJ going
on a decade, Minka five or so years, like good
luck saying, oh, it's my first time here.
Speaker 3 (22:55):
It's not on me.
Speaker 4 (22:55):
Don't get out of me, Get out of those guys
that you've been a huge fan of for a decade
plus at growing on a decade, like, it's not gonna
happen here.
Speaker 1 (23:04):
And I don't it won't And I don't think it would.
I don't like, I don't think he would be that Oh,
I completely.
Speaker 2 (23:11):
Disagree, ye see, I think he will.
Speaker 3 (23:13):
Be annoying he's at everything.
Speaker 1 (23:15):
He'll be annoying in other ways, but I don't know
if he'll go that far. Uh, he probably will, but
it will be very passive, aggressively done, and very.
Speaker 3 (23:24):
Like they brought in.
Speaker 4 (23:26):
They brought in Mike Williams to New York because he
wanted a guy like Mike Williams there.
Speaker 3 (23:30):
And then he said, actually, nah.
Speaker 1 (23:32):
Didn't didn't didn't run the red line exactly, screwed up
that play.
Speaker 2 (23:36):
Maybe he did, though, but still you don't say that.
Speaker 3 (23:39):
Of course you don't, especially a quarterback.
Speaker 1 (23:41):
You don't say it out loud to the public. You
say that to Mike to his face and say, hey,
run on the red line right. Do you think he's like, uh,
oh man, why can't I remember his name?
Speaker 2 (23:52):
Now?
Speaker 1 (23:52):
This is terrible for me. But the quarter you're not
going to know it because you don't watch.
Speaker 2 (23:55):
Movies like I do.
Speaker 1 (23:56):
But the quarterback Martel Eddie Martell, do you think he's
like Martel in the replacements where you're like because with
the guys like.
Speaker 2 (24:02):
Hey, idiot, like why don't you run the route the
right way?
Speaker 1 (24:05):
It's great that you've probably seen like the Peyton Manning
skit against the kids.
Speaker 4 (24:08):
Catch the ball idiot like Roger. An example is of
Peyton and like Brady, you never heard Peyton call out
his guys or Brady call out his guys.
Speaker 3 (24:19):
But the NFL footage.
Speaker 4 (24:23):
Passionately on the sideline saying, get your head out of
your ass and run the damn play.
Speaker 1 (24:27):
You're right, And then the press conference starts and Brady's
just like, yeah, I gotta be better out there, you know.
It's just not same with Peyton and we all do.
But it starts with eye and then he says, but
everybody has to be better to like. But it's never like, yeah,
Jeff Saturday is down on the goal line trying to
call plays like he has a brain, Like, why don't.
Speaker 3 (24:42):
You that's a great clip of Jeff and Peyton.
Speaker 2 (24:46):
How about you just blocked Jeff.
Speaker 1 (24:48):
Yeah, that happens all right, Like hey, Mike, Mike Williams,
why didn't you do the red line right on the sideline?
Speaker 2 (24:53):
Miked up?
Speaker 1 (24:53):
Oh, Rogers is feisty, but then you say it to
the media and it does have a little bit of
a different light attached to it. Well, we went off
on a little bit of a tangent there, but I
got some more stuff about this quarterback that we got
to talk about. There's other angles to this about you know,
rolling with Mason Rudolph as a plan B Will Howard too.
I like to package those two and yeah, and then
(25:13):
I mentioned about talking a Will Howard and potentially him
maybe getting some snaps. It's kind of run out of
control the narrative around him, right, But I if this
Plan B does happen, I am not opposed to him
seeing some stuff maybe at the end of the year,
once he gets his feet wet. But again, that kind
(25:35):
of ties into the whole aspect that I was talking
about when it comes to the veterans in that angle
of this and how they might look at rolling with
the inexperience at quarterback and not just an experience, but
inexperience with not much potential and not much pedigree. And
I'm talking about Will Howard at that point. I mean,
he's his sixth round pick. It's not like you're welcoming
(25:57):
in the first round pick. You have to kind of
take the good with or take the bad with the
potential good, uh, go through the growing pains of the
inexperience to get the fruits that he's potentially going to
yield because he is that level of a quarterback. So
we still have some of that stuff to talk about.
We got to get into Johnny Smith too, popped up
on the radar and another visitor today, Please do tell
(26:20):
Gabe Davis.
Speaker 3 (26:22):
According to Adam Schefter planning a visit here.
Speaker 1 (26:25):
I can't be mad at it because I'm begging for
a wide receiver too, and that's kind of what the
Johnny Smith stuff will get into is about. But at
the same time, I don't like Gabe Davis very much. Yeah,
but he has obliterated the Steelers here. Maybe it's coincidence.
Speaker 4 (26:43):
If George Pickens was here and you have Alvin Austin
as your fourth guy, I'd say, sure, sure, I guess.
Speaker 1 (26:49):
But I actually think Gabe Davis is trending more towards
that fringe number two better than they were in last year.
Speaker 2 (26:54):
If they get Gabe Davis at.
Speaker 4 (26:56):
If there's any indication, how Gay Dave Robert Woods right,
but if there's any indication. Also, the pulse on Gabe
Davis around the league is he spent one year in Jacksonville.
Speaker 1 (27:06):
Yeah, something was up there, but Jacksonville, right, I'm not
gonna put it past bad franchises being bad franchises. Sure,
maybe that'll be his Randy Moss Raiders stuff and then
he'll come to Pittsburghens.
Speaker 4 (27:16):
Yeah, except for the fact that the Raiders was maybe
the greatest receiver in the league, I don't think Gave
Davis had that reputation before.
Speaker 1 (27:25):
If you were someone that literally came out of a
coma and watched that Steelers game and then dropped right
back into a coma, Oh you and him out right now.
Speaker 2 (27:32):
You would think that he was Randy Moss.
Speaker 3 (27:34):
You would have thought, oh my god, the Steers getting
that guy.
Speaker 1 (27:38):
But alas, he's been underwhelming, I think for most of
his career. But again, I'll take it. We'll get more
into that as we move forward today. Jacob Tom It's
a Steeler standard on Steelers Nation Radio on the Steelers
Audio Network.
We are chugging along in this phase of the off season.
OTA's Week two starts today as we were recording this podcast,
the Steelers standard Jacob here today and Tom as always
recording it at ten five am exactly on Tuesday, June
the third, and after this it becomes real.
Speaker 2 (00:27):
So the players that aren't.
Speaker 1 (00:29):
Under contract, who are not at OTA's better show up
or they're gonna have to pay a pretty decent amount
of money. Labs and I were talking today for our
Asked and Answered podcast, and he was saying that if
you miss all three days of the mandatory mini camp session,
that's a six figure fine that you're looking at that's
going to be imposed.
Speaker 2 (00:48):
Now.
Speaker 1 (00:49):
Sometimes players make enough money where they can look at
a fine and say, you know what, I'm okay with
working that into my finances for this year and taking
a couple of days off and doing whatever I want to.
Speaker 2 (01:03):
And more power to you if you have the money
to spend there.
Speaker 1 (01:05):
But honestly, man, why I would you skip three days
of football drills really not even real football to keep
six figures in your pocket. So I expect most people
to be there now.
Speaker 2 (01:20):
TJ.
Speaker 1 (01:20):
Watt, I think is a little bit of a question, right,
because then it becomes the contract thing, and does he
really start the hold in that we're expecting to happen
a training camp by maybe not showing up to mini
camp and have that be kind of the message from
his camp for the negotiations. Who knows, we'll find out
(01:45):
about that when it unfolds next week. And then DK
Metcals is really the only other one that is under
contract that hasn't shown up yet either. Maybe they'll show
up this week, but as always, time will tell. Favorite
I'm saying that will become very old news probably at
any minute now if they do potentially show up this week.
(02:06):
I want to start in the most important place though,
for this phase of ot AS, in this second week
of OTAs, and that's the team going to Kenny Wood
last Yeah, absolutely Monday. Well it's not always Kenny Wood,
Like remember they go to David where David Busters might
be training camp. I don't know, but they And honestly, man,
(02:28):
I am not foolish to the perks that NFL athletes
and athletes get in life, and they're pretty sweet, but
one of the perks being closed, you just kind of
can run through it as much as you want. That's
pretty sweet. Now do you think they get the full experience? Like,
do you think every ride? I'm sure all the rides
are open. I don't know, But do you think they
(02:49):
get like the games open, like where they could.
Speaker 2 (02:51):
Play some dogs.
Speaker 3 (02:54):
It's not fair?
Speaker 2 (02:55):
What do you mean it's not fair?
Speaker 3 (02:56):
Because I would like that chance as well.
Speaker 1 (03:00):
You to like I thought you were saying, like it's
unfair these athletes would just dominate at those games and
take all the prizes. No, those are very different skill
set games. They might not be good at fishing a
duck out of a pond.
Speaker 2 (03:11):
It's just as much as they fall.
Speaker 3 (03:13):
I heard I haven't been to Kenny.
Speaker 1 (03:15):
What if your quarterback does the tire throw and he
misses like five of them, you start to have isn't
that rag?
Speaker 4 (03:21):
Do you have second doubts all those carnival games users, Yeah,
like the you know the ring where you're trying to
get on.
Speaker 2 (03:27):
The bottle to a carnival. Now, come on though, but.
Speaker 3 (03:31):
The carnival games, it means some part of games didn't
they get.
Speaker 4 (03:34):
I heard they got rid of like the classic that
that shooting gallery.
Speaker 2 (03:38):
It's gone, it's gone, man.
Speaker 1 (03:39):
Wow, because they had to make way for the Steelers
right the Steel h Steels Country and the Steel Curtain.
So there's a nice picture that Tom One posted of
him and his family in front of the Steel Steelers
Country sign, steel background. Steel Curtain's monstrous. I went last year,
in like five years. It's disgustingly big, like it's huge,
(04:00):
like I I don't think people who haven't really seen
it since it has made you know, uh, since they
broke ground on it and it became a thing, understand
just how massive it is and how it like loops
around over that lake around the skycoaster. I'm gonna ride
it this year. I think I might be a little
washed up when it comes to roller coasters. I was
a little dizzy getting off on one at the Beach
last year. But I'm gonna try the Steel Curtain.
Speaker 2 (04:22):
I have to.
Speaker 1 (04:23):
It looks like so much fun. One of those cedar
point type of roller coasters that has been dropped into
Kenny Wood's lap. So I uh, I thought it was
so much fun or the idea of going to that
park and having it all to yourself was so much
fun to me, like just jumping from ride to ride.
Speaker 2 (04:42):
And I do wonder if the snacks were open to
at least at least potato.
Speaker 1 (04:47):
You got to open up potato patch for the guys
at least, right, because that's just so iconic.
Speaker 2 (04:51):
It's such a staple. Give me those bacon cheese fries.
Speaker 3 (04:55):
M but strategic.
Speaker 2 (04:57):
You gotta be strategic because you can't pound those and
then go right.
Speaker 4 (05:00):
I remember, I remember the first time I went as
like a twenty three year old, like, I don't know,
I guess it.
Speaker 3 (05:08):
Never went in college, so I went. I skipped a mistake. Well,
I also, you know, was working.
Speaker 4 (05:16):
Hey, No, well, first of all, you went to school
in the city of Pittsburgh. I went to school out
in the Midwest, so I didn't have the year to
like be around Pittsburgh. And then in the summer, I
was working, so I didn't have the opportunities. I get that,
but I was. And what I was I was saying was, huh.
Speaker 1 (05:33):
You should have worked at Annywood, Like yeah, like Jesse
Eisenberg and Kristen Stewart.
Speaker 2 (05:40):
No.
Speaker 4 (05:40):
I remember the first time I went back, like since
high school, and I was like twenty two, twenty three
years old, and I was I was with my younger
cousins and I was like, yeah, of course, I'll go
with my younger cousins, like I want them to see it.
I want to show them all the good rides beyond,
you know, just Kittie Land and we have potato patch
Fry and we went on I don't remember which one.
(06:03):
It was one of the spinny ones, right, there's a
lot of spinny ones. Big mistake, and I got off
and it was the first moment I was like, oh,
I'm not a little kid anymore that can eat whatever
the hell I want and then go on as many
loop de loop or twirly rides. I feel sick as
umly possible. I felt. I felt gross, but not gross.
(06:23):
I felt like it was about to become gross.
Speaker 1 (06:26):
We all have those moments where we kind of realized
that we're washed in our life now.
Speaker 2 (06:29):
And that was one.
Speaker 3 (06:30):
And I was only twenty three when I when I
had that.
Speaker 2 (06:32):
Here, here's the route that you do though.
Speaker 1 (06:34):
Here's a little expert and then we'll move on from
this tox of actual football. Little expert Kennywood opinion. Here
you get your potato patch fries, right, then you go
on Ghostwood to States. You just cruise around that little
thing and shoot a little targets and bang a little girl.
Speaker 4 (06:47):
So you go deep into the park to get the fries.
So you come all the way back.
Speaker 2 (06:51):
No, that's right next to the potato patch ghost State.
Speaker 4 (06:54):
Oh oh oh was that one that's like elevated? Okay,
I was thinking, uh, what used to be Garfield's Nightmare
or it was Garfield's Nice the old mill?
Speaker 3 (07:01):
Now it's it's it went back to the old.
Speaker 1 (07:04):
Now if you want to all walk a little bit
and let the tummy settle, yeah, you can do that.
But you just hit that go in there, bang some targets, bang, remember,
rack up a nice score. It's a little competitive, right,
you get the juice with your crew. It's a nice
easy ride. Then if you're still feeling, you know, a
little bloated and fat, going Noah's Ark for a little bit,
you just walk through.
Speaker 3 (07:24):
I don't know, because.
Speaker 2 (07:27):
That's after ghost It, so you should be a little
bit past it.
Speaker 3 (07:29):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (07:30):
Shaky Force can kind of reintroduce you a little bit
into that thrill seeking experience. And then when you exit
Noah's Ark Thunderbolt, Phantom, it's the worlds there at that point.
Speaker 3 (07:39):
How about the whip that would really kill you, don't
you think?
Speaker 2 (07:44):
Yeah, that one's not good.
Speaker 1 (07:45):
Although I used to love the spinning rides as a kid,
I used to love the Wipeout. I don't know if
that's still there anymore, the wipe way you would go
up and down.
Speaker 4 (07:52):
No, I think they just kind of like rename it,
you know, they just it's like the same Barren Curve, right,
That's what I'm thinking.
Speaker 2 (07:59):
The Wipeout was different ride altogether.
Speaker 1 (08:01):
But I helped the Steelers enjoyed Kennywood because now it's
back to work today.
Speaker 2 (08:05):
Boys.
Speaker 1 (08:06):
No, but that is a cool thing that they do.
And again, it just like if you've seen South Park
out there, the episode where Cartman buys the amusement park
and then keeps it all to himself and he just
runs a muck through it like it's a dream like
and they just get to jump from ride to ride.
Speaker 2 (08:20):
We should do something like that at the station.
Speaker 1 (08:21):
Like I know, you guys go out and do something
on DVE, but we should figure out a way to
work it out where it's like station day and it's
like parks closed today, we do the DV morning show
from out there and everybody just gets to ride whatever
they want.
Speaker 3 (08:31):
It'd be great.
Speaker 1 (08:32):
I'd love to do that, we have it, then we
get on it. Well we've done it in the past.
Speaker 4 (08:36):
We don't have we don't have a Kennywood visit setup
for this summer.
Speaker 2 (08:40):
So wompom.
Speaker 1 (08:43):
We still love Kenny Wood though, and obviously the Steelers
do as well. So you're in OTAs now you still
don't know who the quarterback is. That's just Groundhog's Day
at this point. It's it's kind of getting ridiculous.
Speaker 2 (08:57):
I don't think to talk.
Speaker 1 (08:58):
About it like it's that way before Groundhog it is,
but it's appropriate. It's getting a little ridiculous to talk
about it because it's kind of just in a holding
pattern and it really has been. But the one element
of the holding pattern that I'm gonna nibble at here
is the Plan B route and what the Steelers potentially
could do if it isn't Rogers. And I really do
wonder if there is a Plan B like as far
(09:19):
as going out and getting your Kirk cousins or going
out and signing somebody else from the market.
Speaker 2 (09:24):
Now they're gonna have.
Speaker 1 (09:25):
To get somebody if it's not Rogers, to just fill
out their roster and to have enough quarterbacks to go
into training camp.
Speaker 2 (09:32):
You're gonna need one more.
Speaker 1 (09:34):
But I really do wonder if, since we're at this
point in the season, second week of OTA starting now,
that a Plan B for the Steelers would honestly just
be Mason Rudolph, Will Howard and Skyler Thompson as your
main quarterback room. You sign some other undrafted guy or
(09:54):
somebody else that's out there still lingering on the market
to be your camp arm and you kind of just
really put to the test that Mike Tomla magic, right,
and see what you can extract from a quarterback room
of Mason Rudolph and maybe as the season works on,
Will Howard.
Speaker 2 (10:14):
And we'll get to that in a little bit.
Speaker 3 (10:16):
But I don't know.
Speaker 1 (10:19):
And I've heard Jeremy Fowler say and even double down
on it, that it's just an obvious Plan B, and
he's heard that the Steelers would be interested in that.
But Peter Schreger was saying something the other day like
if Kirk Cousins really was a viable Plan B, and
if Kirk Cousins really was somebody that they would be comfortable.
Speaker 2 (10:33):
With, like why not do this earlier? Like why not
get this done earlier?
Speaker 1 (10:37):
Why not make the deal take on the money, Like sure,
if all that stuff is something that you're comfortable with doing,
if you have to move all your chips into that
pile because Rogers decided to retire or whatever.
Speaker 2 (10:48):
I just don't.
Speaker 1 (10:49):
Understand why they'd be sitting here on June third, still
kind of waiting for Aaron to respond when they could
just pull all those triggers and get Kirk Cousins fifty,
Because like, we're in the territory now where you should
be pursuing a viable Plan B. It isn't like, oh,
we have to wait until you know training camp starts
and then you go after the Plan B, Like now
this is Plan B territory if you indeed want to
(11:11):
go after somebody else. But maybe they're in the boat
right now where it's very comfortable for them. And that's
why people are Steelers have to know something, right You
hear that so much from people with nationally is if
Steelers have to know something, there has to be like
a handshake dealer, there has to be a very strong
level of comfortability. Well, maybe the comfortability is Rogers is
our Plan A. Our Plan B is there right now.
(11:34):
We have them going through camp, we have them going
through OTAs we have them working out with our team
in the facility with Rudolph and Howard and then Thompson
just saying that because that shows out the room. But
like maybe that's where some of the comfortability comes from,
is that if this does fall through, well, our Plan
B is already.
Speaker 2 (11:53):
Here and we have.
Speaker 1 (11:57):
I don't know about a level of comfortability, but we
have an understanding that if we bust here and we
put all our chips into the middle of the table,
we're gonna have to to keep the analogy going, play
with the cards that we still have in our hand
that have been dealt to us, and we kind of
dealt ourselves. Wow, that analogy went off the rails a
(12:19):
little bit there. But my point being, maybe this is
the Plan B that's playing out right now, and that's
why you kind of see the Steelers being a little
cool hand Luke about all this stuff and not really
putting an ultimatum on Rogers or saying stuff through the
media like he needs to decide or we're gonna move
in a different direction. Like maybe the different direction that
(12:39):
they move is what's happening right now, and who knows
when you decide to say, you know, what it is
too late, and this is when we're gonna not even
entertain you coming in anymore. If that's camp starting, if
that's in the middle of camp, who knows, but I
do wonder, and honestly am swaying more towards it being
(13:04):
the better situation in scenario to follow through with as
your plan B. Then a going out and trying to
grab a Kirk Cousins or even signing like a Carson
Wentz or whoever else is still bummying out there to
fill out the room with.
Speaker 3 (13:18):
A name that you know.
Speaker 1 (13:20):
To me, it sounds like it feels easy, and it
feels safe, and it feels like a team that recognizes that, yes,
we want to try to win this year, and we
have talent around this team, and Mason has a winning
record as a quarterback, right but we understand that there
is a forest through these trees here and there is
(13:41):
a nice quarterback class coming up here that could present
us with a pretty fast turnaround as far as being
a playoff contender.
Speaker 3 (13:49):
Is can they work out?
Speaker 1 (13:50):
Because we have a nice nest that we've been building up.
We've been building up.
Speaker 2 (13:54):
The line needs to play really well this year.
Speaker 1 (13:56):
We've got a receiver in DK for get another receiver
for sure by that time, or defense is still an
ass kicking defense still have really good talented players. And
if we're signing want for a long term extension, Hey,
I mean you're here for another three four years, right,
So you know what, We're not punting on this season
per se. But maybe this season doesn't yield the playoff
victory that we are so desperate for, but it sets
(14:19):
you up in the right direction for getting the guy
that not only can end that draught, but can start
to make runs in the playoffs, start to talk you
into being a legit contender for the AFC in the playoffs.
Speaker 4 (14:31):
To me, it sounds like the pulse of the city
would be okay with the guys currently on the roster.
I think Skyler Thompson is kind of like the third
wheeler here, if that makes sense, If that analogy, if
we're going through a bunch of analogies here, kind of
the forgotten about I know what you're saying there, Yes,
(14:52):
but it sounds like a lot of people are saying
Aaron Rodgers is not worth the headache, so let's just
ride it out with Mason Rudolph. How much better is
Aaron Rodgers right now at age what forty one going
on forty two than Mason? Is it really going to
translate from is it really going to be that big
of a difference between nine wins that you could probably
get with Mason to ten wins that you're going to
(15:13):
get with Rogers? Isn't it going to be probably the
same result in the postseason? Especially, so what's the point
of putting yourself through that head, expending the tens of
millions of dollars it would cost you to bring in Rogers?
Speaker 3 (15:25):
And it also the third guy, Will Howard.
Speaker 4 (15:29):
Everyone seems to be riding him high, don't I think
there are people out there setting unrealistic expectations for him.
All of a sudden, you bring in Will Howard and
what he's going to turn into the next Big Ben?
I don't think that's going to be the case. But
he could be a decent backup for you. He played
Big ten football. He played Big ten in a crowded
(15:51):
Big ten football with Pac twelve teams and won a
national championship there.
Speaker 3 (15:55):
So I think he's capable.
Speaker 1 (15:56):
I don't think he's capable of being a top ten
quarterback in the league, right now from what we've seen,
but it's capable of.
Speaker 3 (16:02):
Being one of the better yes backups in the league.
Speaker 2 (16:05):
Yes, I think it's going to be a very good
backup in this league.
Speaker 4 (16:08):
So I think there's a lot of people in Pittsburgh
that would say, you know what, it's not, it's not
uh Joe Montana with Steve Young in the.
Speaker 3 (16:18):
Waiting, but it's doable for this year. Like you said, with.
Speaker 4 (16:22):
The grand vision being known that twenty twenty six is
the year.
Speaker 1 (16:26):
Well back to your pulse of the city thing too,
I do believe that there are Steeler fans out there
that are getting a sense of in terms of Rogers,
or getting a feeling of you know what, dude, like
if you don't want to be here by now, like
if you're still going to keep playing this and stringing
this and stringing this. I really believe that there's fatigue
out there and there is a sense from some people
(16:47):
that are like, you.
Speaker 2 (16:48):
Know what, I don't want him to be the quarterback anymore.
Speaker 1 (16:50):
Like I was kind of on the fence anyway, and
a lot of the stuff that I was skeptical about
is kind of playing out before he's even on the
team right now, and also does he there has to
be a little bit of like a sense that you
want to be here too.
Speaker 2 (17:04):
Like I feel like there could be people.
Speaker 1 (17:11):
Out there that might view Rogers as thinking that he
would be doing the Steelers a big favor by coming
to Pittsburgh, like, oh, yeah, I'll take some of my time,
I'll come to Pittsburgh and I'll help you guys out
little engine that could in Pittsburgh. And I feel like
some people are saying, you know what, just don't even
bother them at this point. If you don't want to
(17:32):
be here, if you don't want to understand the mutual
need for these two or for this franchise in this
quarterback to meet him, to rewrite the final chapter of
his career and not look like a washed up bum
on his way out on the field, and then for
the Steelers to finally get over that hump and maybe
win a playoff game and have that taste washed out
of your mouth before you even need to get that
(17:52):
franchise quarterback in twenty twenty six and have some momentum
building before he even lands on your roster and hopefully
next year's draft. So I think that you know, when
it comes to the pulse of the Steelers nation. I
(18:13):
have to imagine that there are some people out there
that are just kind of like, you know what, Like
at this point it's June third, either you want to
be here or you don't. Like back in the beginning
of April May even you would say that, and it.
Speaker 2 (18:27):
Kind of sounded, you know, a little hard ass, like
you want to be here or you don't. You want
to be a Steeler or not.
Speaker 4 (18:31):
But you could you could argue that that was a
little too early to make that depend to take that stand.
Speaker 2 (18:37):
You know, it's Rogers. There is legitimacy at the beginning
of this process to him potentially retiring. But now, like
I have to give him that.
Speaker 1 (18:45):
Remember that was a take after a couple of weeks,
it was like he deserves this time to figure out
if he wants his life in football.
Speaker 4 (18:50):
Game, especially when he made it public that he was
dealing with some family issues.
Speaker 3 (18:54):
But now that time has gone on.
Speaker 4 (18:56):
Even started now like this and when he's saying, I know,
this time to be with my family. He's going to
Chicago for concerts, He's going down he's going down to Austin,
Texas to hang out with Joe Rogan for three hours.
Speaker 2 (19:06):
For sure, we've talked about that. Yeah, that's that kind
of undoes a lot of the stuff that you've been saying.
Speaker 1 (19:11):
But anyway, but my point is back then sure take
your time personal issues, even aside a personal issue that
you're going through.
Speaker 2 (19:18):
Is my career done? And do you want to keep
playing in the NFL or not? And that's a big,
big moment for you.
Speaker 1 (19:24):
Do you start that Hall of Fame clock, do you
start in media? What do you do after this? But
now that the season has started, I mean it has
I know, technically you don't have to be there. That
doesn't start till next week, but this is football season now.
Speaker 4 (19:43):
And.
Speaker 2 (19:45):
For him to still not be here, I mean there's
no more are you going to play or not going
to play?
Speaker 1 (19:52):
Like you need to have that decision made at this point,
like like, I'm not going to afford you now the
credit that you built up for a long time of
being an all time great to take your time on
deciding on coming back and playing or not. Now you
need to decide if you're going to come back and
play or not. And I don't even think that's a
part of the equation anymore. I do think he wants
to play. I think he's gonna be a Steeler. It's
(20:12):
just I really have no idea if this really does
play out all the way to training camp. And like
Brett fav when he came in for the Jets in
training camp when it had started for New.
Speaker 4 (20:23):
York, Yeah, to me, it's just like you said, it's
groundhog Day. It's it's just one day after the other
having the same conversation, and it's it's us trying to
make excuses for the guy and I and it's it's tiring,
it's exhausting. We know that for his entire career, Aaron
(20:43):
Rodgers has been me first. Right, You remember when McCarthy
was a Super Bowl winning coaching Green Bay and Aaron
Rodgers said no, no, no, no no, I'm gonna make this
very public it's me or McCarthy and force the team
to get rid of him. Then Matt Lafour comes in,
who is clearly a arguably top ten head coach in
(21:05):
the league.
Speaker 3 (21:06):
Would you say.
Speaker 4 (21:09):
The floor, Yeah, probably top ten, maybe top fifteen at
the lowest.
Speaker 1 (21:14):
I like him a lot, right, He's got a lot
of success exactly.
Speaker 3 (21:17):
Even without Rogers, they've done very well.
Speaker 4 (21:20):
So you you finally get rid of your guy McCarthy,
and they bring in the floor a young guy, smart guy,
and you still aren't happy, and you say, well, it's
me on the floor.
Speaker 1 (21:30):
Well you know what happened there, right, Rogers thought that
he was going to get McCarthy, an established coach, out.
Speaker 2 (21:34):
Of there, and Rogers was gonna be able to run.
Speaker 1 (21:37):
And then and he's a guy. All of a sudden,
he's a dude. So he's stunting around like he's there.
Speaker 3 (21:42):
And so it's okay, well it's me on the floor.
And what does the team do.
Speaker 4 (21:45):
They draft one in love and they say, sorry, we
got a guy at the quarterback position, we got a
got the head coach. We'd rather go in that direction.
So he goes to New York. What happens in New York?
He gets hurt on the fourth play of the season,
and still makes it all about him. He comes back
the next year and every time something goes wrong, it's, well,
it's not me, it's it's those in the press.
Speaker 3 (22:04):
Guys.
Speaker 1 (22:05):
Yeah, right, right, right, gets sell A fired in four weeks,
so you can get another coach in there that you know,
he feels comfortable with, doesn't have a lot of you know,
there's no button heads really with him, and then that's
not gonna happen here, like the coach things, Yeah, good.
Speaker 3 (22:18):
Luck getting rid of Mike Tomlin like that's.
Speaker 2 (22:19):
The thing, like like you.
Speaker 1 (22:22):
Can't come in as a three time transplant now and
expect to win. The heads start to butt, get the
benefit of the doubt from the city, from the fans,
like the owner shape you he's from the locker room.
Speaker 4 (22:36):
Right, He's thrown his defenses under the bus too, Like
good luck saying, oh, no, this is on Cam Hayward
and TJ wat make if it's Patrick, the guys who
have been here for Cam a decade plus, TJ going
on a decade, Minka five or so years, like good
luck saying, oh, it's my first time here.
Speaker 3 (22:55):
It's not on me.
Speaker 4 (22:55):
Don't get out of me, Get out of those guys
that you've been a huge fan of for a decade
plus at growing on a decade, like, it's not gonna
happen here.
Speaker 1 (23:04):
And I don't it won't And I don't think it would.
I don't like, I don't think he would be that Oh,
I completely.
Speaker 2 (23:11):
Disagree, ye see, I think he will.
Speaker 3 (23:13):
Be annoying he's at everything.
Speaker 1 (23:15):
He'll be annoying in other ways, but I don't know
if he'll go that far. Uh, he probably will, but
it will be very passive, aggressively done, and very.
Speaker 3 (23:24):
Like they brought in.
Speaker 4 (23:26):
They brought in Mike Williams to New York because he
wanted a guy like Mike Williams there.
Speaker 3 (23:30):
And then he said, actually, nah.
Speaker 1 (23:32):
Didn't didn't didn't run the red line exactly, screwed up
that play.
Speaker 2 (23:36):
Maybe he did, though, but still you don't say that.
Speaker 3 (23:39):
Of course you don't, especially a quarterback.
Speaker 1 (23:41):
You don't say it out loud to the public. You
say that to Mike to his face and say, hey,
run on the red line right. Do you think he's like, uh,
oh man, why can't I remember his name?
Speaker 2 (23:52):
Now?
Speaker 1 (23:52):
This is terrible for me. But the quarter you're not
going to know it because you don't watch.
Speaker 2 (23:55):
Movies like I do.
Speaker 1 (23:56):
But the quarterback Martel Eddie Martell, do you think he's
like Martel in the replacements where you're like because with
the guys like.
Speaker 2 (24:02):
Hey, idiot, like why don't you run the route the
right way?
Speaker 1 (24:05):
It's great that you've probably seen like the Peyton Manning
skit against the kids.
Speaker 4 (24:08):
Catch the ball idiot like Roger. An example is of
Peyton and like Brady, you never heard Peyton call out
his guys or Brady call out his guys.
Speaker 3 (24:19):
But the NFL footage.
Speaker 4 (24:23):
Passionately on the sideline saying, get your head out of
your ass and run the damn play.
Speaker 1 (24:27):
You're right, And then the press conference starts and Brady's
just like, yeah, I gotta be better out there, you know.
It's just not same with Peyton and we all do.
But it starts with eye and then he says, but
everybody has to be better to like. But it's never like, yeah,
Jeff Saturday is down on the goal line trying to
call plays like he has a brain, Like, why don't.
Speaker 3 (24:42):
You that's a great clip of Jeff and Peyton.
Speaker 2 (24:46):
How about you just blocked Jeff.
Speaker 1 (24:48):
Yeah, that happens all right, Like hey, Mike, Mike Williams,
why didn't you do the red line right on the sideline?
Speaker 2 (24:53):
Miked up?
Speaker 1 (24:53):
Oh, Rogers is feisty, but then you say it to
the media and it does have a little bit of
a different light attached to it. Well, we went off
on a little bit of a tangent there, but I
got some more stuff about this quarterback that we got
to talk about. There's other angles to this about you know,
rolling with Mason Rudolph as a plan B Will Howard too.
I like to package those two and yeah, and then
(25:13):
I mentioned about talking a Will Howard and potentially him
maybe getting some snaps. It's kind of run out of
control the narrative around him, right, But I if this
Plan B does happen, I am not opposed to him
seeing some stuff maybe at the end of the year,
once he gets his feet wet. But again, that kind
(25:35):
of ties into the whole aspect that I was talking
about when it comes to the veterans in that angle
of this and how they might look at rolling with
the inexperience at quarterback and not just an experience, but
inexperience with not much potential and not much pedigree. And
I'm talking about Will Howard at that point. I mean,
he's his sixth round pick. It's not like you're welcoming
(25:57):
in the first round pick. You have to kind of
take the good with or take the bad with the
potential good, uh, go through the growing pains of the
inexperience to get the fruits that he's potentially going to
yield because he is that level of a quarterback. So
we still have some of that stuff to talk about.
We got to get into Johnny Smith too, popped up
on the radar and another visitor today, Please do tell
(26:20):
Gabe Davis.
Speaker 3 (26:22):
According to Adam Schefter planning a visit here.
Speaker 1 (26:25):
I can't be mad at it because I'm begging for
a wide receiver too, and that's kind of what the
Johnny Smith stuff will get into is about. But at
the same time, I don't like Gabe Davis very much. Yeah,
but he has obliterated the Steelers here. Maybe it's coincidence.
Speaker 4 (26:43):
If George Pickens was here and you have Alvin Austin
as your fourth guy, I'd say, sure, sure, I guess.
Speaker 1 (26:49):
But I actually think Gabe Davis is trending more towards
that fringe number two better than they were in last year.
Speaker 2 (26:54):
If they get Gabe Davis at.
Speaker 4 (26:56):
If there's any indication, how Gay Dave Robert Woods right,
but if there's any indication. Also, the pulse on Gabe
Davis around the league is he spent one year in Jacksonville.
Speaker 1 (27:06):
Yeah, something was up there, but Jacksonville, right, I'm not
gonna put it past bad franchises being bad franchises. Sure,
maybe that'll be his Randy Moss Raiders stuff and then
he'll come to Pittsburghens.
Speaker 4 (27:16):
Yeah, except for the fact that the Raiders was maybe
the greatest receiver in the league, I don't think Gave
Davis had that reputation before.
Speaker 1 (27:25):
If you were someone that literally came out of a
coma and watched that Steelers game and then dropped right
back into a coma, Oh you and him out right now.
Speaker 2 (27:32):
You would think that he was Randy Moss.
Speaker 3 (27:34):
You would have thought, oh my god, the Steers getting
that guy.
Speaker 1 (27:38):
But alas, he's been underwhelming, I think for most of
his career. But again, I'll take it. We'll get more
into that as we move forward today. Jacob Tom It's
a Steeler standard on Steelers Nation Radio on the Steelers
Audio Network.
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