October 8, 2025 • 27 mins
Ray Fittipaldo of the Pittsburgh Post Gazette joins Ed and Jacob to discuss the return from injury of key starters, the importance of the Steelers taking advantage of the other AFC North teams’ misfortunes, and what the Steeles offense needs to do to overcome the stout Browns defense.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:14):
It is the Steelers Standard with Ed Troop and Jacob
Rex on Steelers Nation Radio, part of the Steelers Audio Network.
Getting you set for this Sunday Steelers Browns one o'clock
at Akushore Stadium.
Speaker 2 (00:25):
The Browns one and four on the season.
Speaker 1 (00:27):
You're Pittsburgh Steelers three and one, and it's time for
our Steelers Spotlight segment of the week where we welcome
in Ray Fittipaldo of the Pittsburgh Post Gazette to talk
Steeler football with us. Ray, how are you welcome back
to the Steeler Standard.
Speaker 3 (00:42):
Guys, I'm doing great. Good to be back from the
bye weekend. We finally got Steelers football again on Sunday.
Speaker 2 (00:48):
Did you get some rest store in the bye week,
my friend?
Speaker 3 (00:52):
A little bit. Yeah, getting caught up on some sleep
and some stuff to do around the house. But yeah,
happy that we're gonna be back down at Akroshore. It
seems look forever since we've been there week two and
now we're in mid October. But yeah, it'll be good
to get back on to the North Shore and watch
some NFL football again.
Speaker 1 (01:10):
Next three of the four games for the Steelers, Ray
will be at aku Shure Stadium, just the Thursday night
game next week at Cincinnati. Other than that, they got
the steel They got the Browns this Sunday and then
at Cincinnati. Then the following two weeks they go Packers Colts,
which will be two very good games at ACU Sure
Stadium and two good tests for the Steelers.
Speaker 3 (01:29):
Ray.
Speaker 1 (01:29):
Let's talk about the injury news that came out yesterday
with Mike Tomlin at the press conference. I know you
reported it at the PG afterwards that things looking pretty
good for Joey Porter, junior, Alex high Smith, and Jalen
Warren and Tomlin very optimistic right now about Calvin Austin
and Jalen Ramsey possibly being able to play on Sunday.
Speaker 3 (01:47):
Yeah, when you look at the Porter, high Smith and
Warren returns, I mean those are pretty definite. And those
are three guys who missed that Vikings game. So they
were able to beat a tough team with all three starters,
and you know, to get your starting running back back
in the lineup and a starting corner and a starting
linebacker that that's pretty big. We'll see what happens today
(02:10):
with the other guys. I'm not too sure about ram
Dy and Austin. You know, Mike Thomans said he was encouraged.
He thinks they might perk up by the end of
the end of the week, But I would be surprised
if either of those two guys pay. If they do,
that's great news. I mean you you would have your
full secondary intact for really the first time since the opener.
(02:31):
And obviously we all know that the depth is beyond
Calvin Austin. It's pretty thin right now. So if both
those guys can play, that would be great news for
the Steelers.
Speaker 1 (02:41):
Ray Looking at the Cleveland Browns one and four, Jacob
and I were talking about this during our opening segment today.
They make a trade yesterday? What was sending Joe Flacco
to the Cincinnati Bengals. Kind of take him back by
that because in all four major sports, you usually don't
trade within your division, right and when you trade, and
then to do it in see to do it during
the season to trade a quarterback like Joe Flacco. Are
(03:04):
the Cleveland Browns punting on their twenty twenty five season.
Did they get rid of Flacco to send them to
a divisional rival with the Cincinnati Bengals.
Speaker 3 (03:13):
Well, they are one and four and I think anytime
you know you're in that position where you're you're losing
and you have young quarterbacks on your roster, there is
no desire by the front office, and so maybe you
get a look at the guys, and you know, Dylan
Gabriel was first up. He was, you know, a higher
pick than shod Or Sanders, so he's getting the first
shot here. But they get two young quarterbacks on the
(03:35):
roster and the future is not Joe Flacco. So even
though it's right, a bit unconventional to trade within your division,
correct me if I'm wrong. I think they already played
the Bengals, so they probably don't view it like this
guy's going to come back to hantas you know, and
the Bengals aren't exactly in the division race at the
moment either, given their their injury conparents. So you know,
(03:57):
for the Browns, I think they want to get on
with business and see what they do. And Dylan Gates
bro maybe who knows sugar standers down the road.
Speaker 1 (04:04):
Yeah, the Bengals and Browns played in Week one, in
which the Bengals won seventeen to sixteen in Cincinnati's a
good point there. They don't get the Bengals actually until
the end of the season, the very last game.
Speaker 2 (04:14):
So yeah, good point with that.
Speaker 3 (04:16):
Ray.
Speaker 1 (04:16):
Let's talk a little bit about what the Steers will
face this week, especially upfront with the Cleveland Browns. They've
been very good with their run defense, actually number one
in the NFL with yards per game at seventy five
point six and yards per carry with three in the
Browns four to three. Look, they got first round draft
pick Mason Graham, the fifth overall pick. Up front, he's
three hundred and fifteen pounds. Maylee Collins is three to ten.
(04:38):
We know about Miles Garrett at two seventy two and
Isaiah McGuire at two sixty eight. They're all big, they're
all athletic, and the Steers offensive line is gonna have
to be good on Sunday.
Speaker 3 (04:48):
Yeah, a lot of high draft picks in there. I
think Mason Graham was what number four or five overall
in this last in this past draft, we all know
Matt Parrett number one overall pick way back when in
twenty seventeen. So uh yeah. Mike Toman talked about it yesterday.
When they play these big four to three teams with
big guys on the edges. You're not going to see
(05:08):
a lot of Connor Hayward or John Whi Smith or
Pat Fryermith. You know, you're gonna see Spencer Anderson and
Darnel Washington out there, which is what they did against
the Minnesota Vikings, which I thought, guys, was their most
complete offensive game of the season. That's the first time
this season where they passed the ball and they ran
the ball with equal effectiveness. So that that was definitely,
(05:32):
you know, good scene, and I think you're probably gonna
see more of the same packages. You know, it might
not be as heavy as it was with the usage
with Washington. I think he played what forty eight of
the fifty three snaps. I don't know if you're going
to see that again, But when you have to deal
with Miles Garrett on the edge and some of those
other guys up front, yeah, you're gonna want those three
hundred pound tight ends and extra offensive tackles in there
(05:55):
to help with that task.
Speaker 4 (05:57):
Yeah, Ray, how do you see or how do you
envision rather the Steelers are attacking this Browns defense. They're
pretty much great at everything they do. The only thing
they don't do well is get is stopping teams from
getting into the end zone. We remember that Week two
game they got completely bulldozed by Baltimore that it happened
again a couple of weeks ago against Detroit.
Speaker 5 (06:19):
I just don't see or I'd rather I want to
know where.
Speaker 4 (06:22):
You see the Steelers kind of focusing on if there
is a weakness in that Browns defense and how do
the Steelers attack it.
Speaker 3 (06:31):
Yeah, that's a great question. You know, sometimes stats can
be a little bit misleading early in the season. But
you know, we are five weeks into the season and
I don't know what. I don't know what to make
of this one. The Browns are number two in the
NFL and yards allowed. They've only given up two hunder
forty seven yards per game one average. Yet they're giving
(06:52):
up twenty four point six points per game, so they
haven't been great keeping teams out of the end zone. Really,
the Steelers are kin of the exact opposite. They're giving
up three hundred and eighty two yards per game. They're
way down low in yards allowed. I think there's only
three or four teams who are worse than them. But
they've been standing up in the red zone. They've been
doing a good job. They've been creating turnovers and their
(07:15):
points per game average is twenty four point five, So
they're actually better against the Browns when it comes out
scoring defense. So you know, maybe it's something in their
red zone defense after taking attack, you know. But it's
not just that they're good up front. They're also good
in the secondary. They've got some very talented corners. You know,
we just talked about the high draft picks on the front.
(07:36):
There's high draft picks in that secondary too, So yeah,
there's there's a reason they're viewed as one of the
top defenses in the NFL in the early going. And
I don't know that there is a weakness, but you know,
the Vikings scored laid on them through the air, so
maybe that's that's what the Steers are doing. But you
got to believe when the Steelers had that game against
(07:56):
the Vikings where they were able to be well balanced,
they're not going to forget about that. They're going to
try to go back to the running game and be
a well balanced team in this game against the Browns
as well.
Speaker 4 (08:06):
Yeah, I think the Steelers always would like to have
a run first offense, but it's been no familiar foe
here with the Browns, or rather it is a familiar
fore with the Browns and having that lack of running
success early in the game. We've seen the Steelers tend
to shy away from the running game if it doesn't
(08:28):
work out early. So what can they do in order
to find that early success via the ground game in
order to not kind of shy away from it and
put the ballad Air Rodgers fans for the rest of
the game.
Speaker 3 (08:41):
Yeah, I mean, listen, listen. If the Browns do shut
down the run, you could always go to the short
passing game Orjan Rodgers and Arthur Smith both view that
as an extension of the running game. It's just, you know,
it just goes into a different category in the stats.
So they would have that up their sleep, you know
as well. And the one thing that Aaron Rodgers has done,
(09:02):
and I think it's twofold, I think he's done a
really good job anticipating his receivers being open. It's part
of the Steelers game plan to get rid of the
ball early. But he leads the NFL an average time
to throw it's two point five to two seconds. That is,
he gets rid of the ball faster than anyone in
the NFL, and you would think that's going to continue
(09:25):
against the Browns. You know, they got Miles Garrett rush
from the pass. I know he only has to think
four and a half sacks, so he's kind of been
a little bit, you know, quieter than the seasons pass.
But you know, we all know what he and that
Browns pass rush brings to the table. So I don't
think this is going to be a game where they're
going to sit back, play action pass, have Aaron Rodgers
(09:47):
hold onto the ball. That's not a good recipe against
the guy like Miles Garrett, who not only can sack
guys that quarterbacks, he's very good like TJ. Watt at
getting the ball out too.
Speaker 1 (09:58):
We're talking with Raypaldo the Pittsburgh Post Gazette. You can
catch Ray's excellent coverage of the Pittsburgh Steelers daily in
the PG and online and anywhere else where you get
your media coverage.
Speaker 3 (10:09):
Ray.
Speaker 1 (10:10):
The Steelers are three and one, first place in the
AFC North, are the third overall team in the AFC.
If the playoffs were to start today, are you surprised,
especially with one in four Baltimore and Cincinnati at two
and three and the Steelers pretty much control their own
fate at this point in their season.
Speaker 3 (10:28):
Yeah, I mean, I am surprised the Ravens and Bengals
are where they are record wise, But when you lose
a guy like Joe Burrow, I think we all kind
of knew that if that happens the Bengals, but because
the roster isn't well rounded, you know, Joe Burrow is
pretty much the entire focus of that football team, that
things had a chance to go south there they and
(10:50):
they did. And you know with the Ravens too, I mean,
they're just banged up with injuries and quite frankly, they're
not very good on defense, and they weren't really good
on defense before those injuries. The Steelers are in a
great spot if they take care of business at home
against the Browns. I saw somewhere where the Ravens were
like two touchdown underdogs at home to the Rams after
(11:12):
they got after they got boat raced by the Texans
on their home field. So if those two things happen,
I know, and the Cincinnati has one more than the Ravens,
but I still view the Ravens as the chief competition.
If they're one and five and the Steelers are four
and one, it's basically a three and a half game
(11:32):
lead in mid October. That would be in the driving seat,
and you know, you would have a lot of momentum
going into the second half of the season. And we've
talked about it at length with the schedule is like
in the second half of the season, but boy, would
that be a good spot to be in if those
two things happened.
Speaker 4 (11:51):
Would you consider are you buying into this narrative that
if the Steelers don't win the North this year, it's
kind of a wasted year considering the state of the
rest of the division?
Speaker 3 (12:04):
I mean, yeah, that's a good point, Jacob, because how
many years I mean, I know it happens more often
than Cincinnati likes, but how how often is Joe Burrow
going to be out for that period of time?
Speaker 4 (12:14):
You know, you know, I mean he's done it three
out of his six years, so maybe it's going to
happen again.
Speaker 3 (12:20):
Yeah, But but yeah, like the point is, like you
take advantage of it when that just happens every other year.
You got to take advantage of that. And the same
thing goes, uh, you know with the Ravens. You know,
Lamar Jackson banged up a little bit, and there's been
like varying reports on how long he's going to be out.
I think it's almost assured that he's going to miss
this game, and then you know they'll have the bye
(12:40):
week and then I'm sure they'll assess it from there.
But you know, he's getting older too, And it just
goes back to where you're in position to win a
Super Bowl, how important it is that you take advantage
of that opportunity. The Bengals were right there, you had
a really good chance to beat rams that couldn't do it.
The Ravens just a year after a year. They're a
(13:02):
very good team. You know, they're a great regular season team,
but then they fall short in the playoffs. So you
just wonder, is everything touching up to those teams? Has
their window maybe passed them by? Is the window closing
on them? So I think maybe more so in Cincinnati
that's happening. I think as long as the Ravens have
Lamar Jackson, I think that window will stay open a
(13:23):
little bit longer. But yeah, when you don't take advantage
of those opportunities in the postseason and then seasons like
this happens, it's tough for the fans of those respective
teams to to swallow.
Speaker 4 (13:35):
And then you have to look beyond just getting to
the post season. If they do take advantage, right, if
the Browns continue to fumble or stumble rather without a
good quarterback in that leadership position, without Joe Burrow and Cincinnati,
and if the Ravens fall further into this hole to
start the year, the Steelers do take advantage to get
into the postseason, do they have the team that can
(13:58):
actually get a postseason win? I mean, what they'll have
to their advantage this year compared to years pass since
Ben Roethlisberger is retired, is they actually get to play
a game in Pittsburgh at.
Speaker 5 (14:09):
Aquacer Stadium in front of fans.
Speaker 4 (14:11):
And I add that note because you remember the last
time they played a home game in the playoffs was
against the Browns, but there were no fans in the stands.
So will they actually take advantage? Do you think they
have the team? I know we're in Week six, but
like you said, it's kind of we're in the heart
of the season now. There's no such thing as a
small too small of a sample size anymore. Do we
(14:32):
think that as the season progresses, with guys staying healthy,
this team is capable of winning a home playoff game.
Speaker 3 (14:40):
Yeah. I mean the last time they played a home
playoff game in front of fans was twenty seventeen. Now
that didn't turn out well. They lost to the Jaguars.
Of course, that was when the top two seeds had buys.
But yeah, that would be a tremendous opportunity for the Steelers.
You know, you guys know Buffalo, like they had to
(15:01):
do a couple of years ago, extremely difficult going into Baltimore,
even with Baltimore struggles in the playoffs, that's a tough
team to play on the road. And they also had
to go into Kansas City I think way back in
twenty twenty one, I think year. So they've been in
some really tough venues to win in the postseason. So yeah, like,
(15:22):
if you can get that home field advantage, that would
be huge. The thing I always go back to with
you know this, this front office and this coaching staff,
and you know, I always remember Andy Widel saying this,
I think he mentioned it last year. He said, you
want to be strong in the trenches, so you could
(15:42):
you travel well in the playoffs. So I mean that
can mean you play well on the road in the
playoffs because you can run the ball and you can
stop the run. But it's also a great asset to
have if you have a home playoff game. So to me,
we're not going to know about this the Steelers team
until really the end of the season. But what I
look at in the playoffs, can you stop the run,
(16:03):
can you run the ball? And if they can do
those two things consistently comes January, they're going to have
a shot. And they were not doing those two things
well consistently consistently last January when they lost to the
Ravens down in Baltimore.
Speaker 1 (16:17):
We're talking with Ray Fittipaldo of the Pittsburgh Post Gazette. Ray,
we got about less than ten minutes here left with you.
I wanted to talk about Mike Tomlin and his record
after the bye week fifteen and four. Coming out of
the bye week, his only losses were against the Denver
Broncos in two thousand and seven, his first year, the
New Orleans Saints in twenty fourteen, and most recently, it
(16:37):
was all the way back in twenty sixteen against the
Baltimore Ravens. The Steers of vone have won eight consecutive
games after a bye week.
Speaker 2 (16:45):
What makes Mike Tomlin so good at managing this two
week window when there's a bye week in between games.
Speaker 3 (16:51):
Yeah, there's a lot of self scouting that's done. There's
a lot of looking at trends around the NFL. Now
four weeks into the for the Steelers. I don't know
if you can get a really good beat on like
trends across the NFL, But one thing Mike was talking
about yesterday was just hot teams are going for it
more on fourth downs. He said, that's one trend that
(17:13):
he's noticed. So, you know, I think as a defensive coach,
he sort of takes stock of that, right, you know,
And we've talked to Carol Austin about this already this season.
You know, whenever a team is nearing midfield on you
may feel confident that their offense is good enough to
do it. You know, those third and five and third
and six is you know, it's okay to get like
(17:35):
four or five yards because then you're setting yourself up
for fourth and one and fourth and two. And we
know the rate the teams are going for it now,
it just changes football games, It limits possessions, and it
really puts a lot of pressure on the defense. So
you know, that's one thing that he was talking about.
You know, the Steelers up until the Vikings game, they
were better against the Vikings, but up until that Vikings game,
(17:56):
they weren't very good on possession downs. They were done
near the bottom in the NFL well in the third
down defense, and they were also pretty bad on fourth
down defense too, So that's one thing that he mentioned.
So you know, I think to answer your question, they're
really good at looking at themselves and what they need
to improve on, but they're also right pretty good at
looking across the NFL and seeing what other teams are
(18:18):
doing then you know, having counters against that as well.
Speaker 1 (18:22):
They've done it very well, that's for sure. Has Mike
Tomlin during his coaching career, and he comes with a
lot of criticism about the one possession games and also
at the same time, you know, finishing just above five
hundred every single year that he's coached, but he's been
very good out of the break. Hey, Ray Steelers Browns
This Sunday, it's it's the rivalry, the Turnpike rivalry war.
(18:42):
If you will between Cleveland and Pittsburgh. The Steelers have
owned the overall series eighty two sixty four and one
two to one advantage in the postseason, but the last
six games between the Browns and Steelers have been split
three and three, with the home team winning each game
the last three seasons. Thoughts on Brown Steelers, but do
you have a favorite memory of following the Brown Steelers
(19:05):
rivalry over the years that you can share with us.
Speaker 3 (19:08):
Oh man, I'm gonna date myself here, but I remember
this the only reason I remember this. It was nineteen
seventy eight and it was late September and they ran
a flee flicker to beat the Browns at three River Stadium.
I think Benny Cunningham caught a touchdown pass from Tarry
bratch On. It was actually a reverse fleet flicker, so
(19:31):
little gadgetry to get the win against the Browns. And
I don't know how I remember that, but I was
five years old, and you probably went out in the
backyard and try to replicate that play after they got
that done.
Speaker 1 (19:44):
Well, hold on ray, because on Steelers dot Com this morning,
it was posted the most memorable moment Steelers versus Browns
The very first one is September twenty fourth, nineteen seventy eight,
Steelers fifteen, Brown's nine. And yes, they referenced exactly what
you just talked about with Benny Cunningham catching the game
winning touchdown from Jared from Terry Bradshaw. Yeah, there you
(20:07):
go is number one. It was the first memory that
there's three on here. There's also the ninety one game
Steelers win seventeen to ten against the Browns. We talked
about this game before you came on in our last
segment the wild card game in two thousand and three,
the two thousand and two season, Steelers thirty six, Browns
thirty three.
Speaker 3 (20:24):
One.
Speaker 1 (20:24):
Another one that I talked that I dated myself ray
with you was back door in the nineteen eighty nine season.
The Steelers lose the opener fifty one to nothing against
the Browns and then they're going to make the playoffs
later that year.
Speaker 3 (20:37):
Yeah. Absolutely, And you mentioned the two thousand and two
playoff game. Way back then, I was covering du Cane basketball. Okay,
du Cane basketball played an afternoon road game and that
Saint Josephs on that day, and it was going on
at the same time as that playoff game. So I
would be sneaking back into the press round to watch
(20:58):
on television to see what was going going on. And
then I will come back to press row and I
would tell everyone, I'll put press row what was happening.
And it didn't look good for a while, but yeah,
by the end of by the end of the game,
there there were some happy Steelers fans there who were
there to watch the big set day in Philadelphia.
Speaker 4 (21:16):
Yeah, more good than bad I think for the Steelers
in the last twenty some years. Ray, But as Edd
pointed out, they really have struggled consistently winning in the
last couple of years against this Browns team. However, a
lot of the stars seem to be aligning for this game, right,
Mike Tomlan following the bye, Mike Tomlin playing at home
(21:38):
against the Browns, Mike Tomlin against a rookie quarterback, let
alone Mike Toman at home against a rookie quarterback playing
in Pittsburgh. So is there any way that the Steelers
have all of these arrows pointing in the right direction?
Speaker 5 (21:52):
But Cleveland is the team that comes out to victor.
Speaker 4 (21:56):
I know Cleveland is a is a one win team
in that one win is widely unpredictable, considering it came
against Green Bay who was two and zero at the time.
Speaker 3 (22:06):
Uh.
Speaker 4 (22:07):
Again, that's just another reason why this this game should
be favored, why the Steelers should be favored in this game.
Speaker 5 (22:12):
But to me, I I don't know.
Speaker 4 (22:14):
I just feel like I'm lacking the confidence for a
normal Browns game because mainly of this offense, by the
Steelers having to go up against the style Cleveland defense.
Speaker 3 (22:26):
Yeah, I'll give you one more, Jacob, that puts the
favor to the Steelers. The Browns traveling back from London, and.
Speaker 2 (22:34):
Another one.
Speaker 3 (22:35):
Ye, so that's yeah, that's another factor here. But listen,
I don't think this is going to be an easy game.
We talked about the Browns defense. It's it's good, even
their bosses, they've been able to keep it close into
the second half. You know, they just haven't had enough
enough juice offensively to to really get get over the
(22:56):
top and to get into the winning column. More So,
it's going to be a hard game. But to me,
if you don't let the Browns offense score more than
seventeen to twenty points, I'm pretty comfortable with the Steelers
winning this football game. You know, Dylan Gabriel made a
few plays in that Vikings game, but they were also
happy to punt and to put the onus on their
(23:17):
defense in that football game. And I think that's the
same mentality that Kevin Stefanski is gonna have in this game.
I think he's going to try to win a low
scoring game and it's going to be up to the
Steelers to see if they can, you know, just get
a few more points than the Browns. But yeah, anyone
saying the Steelers are going to blow out the Browns,
that's not gonna This is the NFL. Every team. Yeah,
(23:40):
I think I think the Steelers will win this football game,
but I think it's going to be closer than most
people expect.
Speaker 4 (23:47):
Yeah, I think I think it's a good point too.
Bringing up Gabriel playing conservatively last week against the Vikings.
You know, Stefanski is not much of a risk taker there.
But that actually concerns me because we've seen the Steelers
these last two games against the Patriots and Vikings due
to big splash plays. Right, they had the five turnovers
against New England. They had what two turnovers last week
(24:11):
against Minnesota or two weeks rather against Minnesota. They sacked
both quarterbacks effectively between Minnesota and New England. But if Stefanski,
who we know is a good coach and it's won
two Coach of the Year awards in the last five years,
plays as cards, right. I know you said if the
Browns don't even get to seventeen points, the Steelers should
win this game. But I also fear for the lack
(24:33):
of splash plays on defense. If they don't get that,
that could also spell for a potential loss year in Pittsburgh.
Speaker 3 (24:40):
Yeah, you know, everyone's talking about the rookie quarterback and
the Steelers record over the years with rookie quarterbacks, and
you know who might decide this game. It's the rookie
running back Quinn Shud Judkins, who was really good last week.
And listen, if the Steelers can't control the run, they listen,
they've done a better job against the after struggling the
(25:01):
first three weeks of the season, But if they can't
contain him. This guy actually put Dylan Gabriel in positions
where maybe he can play action pass and that the
Steelers have to account you know for for Dunkins in
the running game. It's you know, it's We're opening up
some things for Stefanski and that passing offense. So to me,
that's the most important thing. Stop Judgkins, stop that running game.
(25:22):
And if you could do that. Yeah, this is a
game of Steelers shits on the way to win. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (25:26):
Jenkins last week twenty three carries one hundred and ten yards.
He has seventy two carries for three hundred and forty
seven yards on the season and two rushing touchdowns. So
they will have their hands full with him on Sunday. Hey, Ray,
last question, I want to talk about Pat Fryarmth very
limited usage so far this season, only seven catches for
sixty five yards, pretty much disappeared for the first time
(25:47):
in his career against the Vikings, was hardly used at all.
Should we see more youth here coming out of the
bye week.
Speaker 3 (25:54):
I don't. I mean you might see more than fifteen snaps.
But Mike Todlin was talking yesterday about having these four
to three teams and having to play them and wanting
bigger personnel against them. That's that's by Spencer Anderson and
Darnel Washington played against the Vikings and you know you
had success against the Vikings. The Browns are a big
(26:16):
four to three team as well, so I wouldn't be
surprised at all if we see more of that jumbo
package out will at Bee too. You know, the expense
of Friar mouth again, you know, possibly, possibly not. I
think you could see Pat a little bit more because
Calvin Austin's likely going to be out, but I think
you can create more opportunities for him as a number
(26:36):
two receiver. But yeah, the idea of Pat Friar youth
playing seventy eighty percent of the snaps against four three teams,
that's just not going to happen.
Speaker 1 (26:45):
He is Ray Fittipaldo of the Pittsburgh Post. Because that Ray,
you made me feel better this morning. I thought I
was dating myself with that nineteen eighty nine reference. You
went nineteen seventy eight, So you made me feel better.
Speaker 3 (26:55):
My friend, trying to spit out all my football knowledge
before I get older and for get all of that.
Speaker 1 (27:01):
Same with me, Ray, We're in the same boat there, buddy. Hey,
enjoy Week six across the NFL. We'll talk to you
next week. Hopefully we can fit you in before that
quick turnaround with Thursday night in Cincinnati.
Speaker 3 (27:12):
Absolutely looking forward to it guys.
Speaker 5 (27:13):
Thanks very all right.
Speaker 1 (27:14):
That is Ray Fitopado of the Pittsburgh Post gazett Our
Steelers Spotlight for the week. This is the Steeler Standard,
with Ed Troup and Jacob Bret on Steelers Nation Radio,
part of the Steelers Audio Network,
It is the Steelers Standard with Ed Troop and Jacob
Rex on Steelers Nation Radio, part of the Steelers Audio Network.
Getting you set for this Sunday Steelers Browns one o'clock
at Akushore Stadium.
Speaker 2 (00:25):
The Browns one and four on the season.
Speaker 1 (00:27):
You're Pittsburgh Steelers three and one, and it's time for
our Steelers Spotlight segment of the week where we welcome
in Ray Fittipaldo of the Pittsburgh Post Gazette to talk
Steeler football with us. Ray, how are you welcome back
to the Steeler Standard.
Speaker 3 (00:42):
Guys, I'm doing great. Good to be back from the
bye weekend. We finally got Steelers football again on Sunday.
Speaker 2 (00:48):
Did you get some rest store in the bye week,
my friend?
Speaker 3 (00:52):
A little bit. Yeah, getting caught up on some sleep
and some stuff to do around the house. But yeah,
happy that we're gonna be back down at Akroshore. It
seems look forever since we've been there week two and
now we're in mid October. But yeah, it'll be good
to get back on to the North Shore and watch
some NFL football again.
Speaker 1 (01:10):
Next three of the four games for the Steelers, Ray
will be at aku Shure Stadium, just the Thursday night
game next week at Cincinnati. Other than that, they got
the steel They got the Browns this Sunday and then
at Cincinnati. Then the following two weeks they go Packers Colts,
which will be two very good games at ACU Sure
Stadium and two good tests for the Steelers.
Speaker 3 (01:29):
Ray.
Speaker 1 (01:29):
Let's talk about the injury news that came out yesterday
with Mike Tomlin at the press conference. I know you
reported it at the PG afterwards that things looking pretty
good for Joey Porter, junior, Alex high Smith, and Jalen
Warren and Tomlin very optimistic right now about Calvin Austin
and Jalen Ramsey possibly being able to play on Sunday.
Speaker 3 (01:47):
Yeah, when you look at the Porter, high Smith and
Warren returns, I mean those are pretty definite. And those
are three guys who missed that Vikings game. So they
were able to beat a tough team with all three starters,
and you know, to get your starting running back back
in the lineup and a starting corner and a starting
linebacker that that's pretty big. We'll see what happens today
(02:10):
with the other guys. I'm not too sure about ram
Dy and Austin. You know, Mike Thomans said he was encouraged.
He thinks they might perk up by the end of
the end of the week, But I would be surprised
if either of those two guys pay. If they do,
that's great news. I mean you you would have your
full secondary intact for really the first time since the opener.
(02:31):
And obviously we all know that the depth is beyond
Calvin Austin. It's pretty thin right now. So if both
those guys can play, that would be great news for
the Steelers.
Speaker 1 (02:41):
Ray Looking at the Cleveland Browns one and four, Jacob
and I were talking about this during our opening segment today.
They make a trade yesterday? What was sending Joe Flacco
to the Cincinnati Bengals. Kind of take him back by
that because in all four major sports, you usually don't
trade within your division, right and when you trade, and
then to do it in see to do it during
the season to trade a quarterback like Joe Flacco. Are
(03:04):
the Cleveland Browns punting on their twenty twenty five season.
Did they get rid of Flacco to send them to
a divisional rival with the Cincinnati Bengals.
Speaker 3 (03:13):
Well, they are one and four and I think anytime
you know you're in that position where you're you're losing
and you have young quarterbacks on your roster, there is
no desire by the front office, and so maybe you
get a look at the guys, and you know, Dylan
Gabriel was first up. He was, you know, a higher
pick than shod Or Sanders, so he's getting the first
shot here. But they get two young quarterbacks on the
(03:35):
roster and the future is not Joe Flacco. So even
though it's right, a bit unconventional to trade within your division,
correct me if I'm wrong. I think they already played
the Bengals, so they probably don't view it like this
guy's going to come back to hantas you know, and
the Bengals aren't exactly in the division race at the
moment either, given their their injury conparents. So you know,
(03:57):
for the Browns, I think they want to get on
with business and see what they do. And Dylan Gates
bro maybe who knows sugar standers down the road.
Speaker 1 (04:04):
Yeah, the Bengals and Browns played in Week one, in
which the Bengals won seventeen to sixteen in Cincinnati's a
good point there. They don't get the Bengals actually until
the end of the season, the very last game.
Speaker 2 (04:14):
So yeah, good point with that.
Speaker 3 (04:16):
Ray.
Speaker 1 (04:16):
Let's talk a little bit about what the Steers will
face this week, especially upfront with the Cleveland Browns. They've
been very good with their run defense, actually number one
in the NFL with yards per game at seventy five
point six and yards per carry with three in the
Browns four to three. Look, they got first round draft
pick Mason Graham, the fifth overall pick. Up front, he's
three hundred and fifteen pounds. Maylee Collins is three to ten.
(04:38):
We know about Miles Garrett at two seventy two and
Isaiah McGuire at two sixty eight. They're all big, they're
all athletic, and the Steers offensive line is gonna have
to be good on Sunday.
Speaker 3 (04:48):
Yeah, a lot of high draft picks in there. I
think Mason Graham was what number four or five overall
in this last in this past draft, we all know
Matt Parrett number one overall pick way back when in
twenty seventeen. So uh yeah. Mike Toman talked about it yesterday.
When they play these big four to three teams with
big guys on the edges. You're not going to see
(05:08):
a lot of Connor Hayward or John Whi Smith or
Pat Fryermith. You know, you're gonna see Spencer Anderson and
Darnel Washington out there, which is what they did against
the Minnesota Vikings, which I thought, guys, was their most
complete offensive game of the season. That's the first time
this season where they passed the ball and they ran
the ball with equal effectiveness. So that that was definitely,
(05:32):
you know, good scene, and I think you're probably gonna
see more of the same packages. You know, it might
not be as heavy as it was with the usage
with Washington. I think he played what forty eight of
the fifty three snaps. I don't know if you're going
to see that again, But when you have to deal
with Miles Garrett on the edge and some of those
other guys up front, yeah, you're gonna want those three
hundred pound tight ends and extra offensive tackles in there
(05:55):
to help with that task.
Speaker 4 (05:57):
Yeah, Ray, how do you see or how do you
envision rather the Steelers are attacking this Browns defense. They're
pretty much great at everything they do. The only thing
they don't do well is get is stopping teams from
getting into the end zone. We remember that Week two
game they got completely bulldozed by Baltimore that it happened
again a couple of weeks ago against Detroit.
Speaker 5 (06:19):
I just don't see or I'd rather I want to
know where.
Speaker 4 (06:22):
You see the Steelers kind of focusing on if there
is a weakness in that Browns defense and how do
the Steelers attack it.
Speaker 3 (06:31):
Yeah, that's a great question. You know, sometimes stats can
be a little bit misleading early in the season. But
you know, we are five weeks into the season and
I don't know what. I don't know what to make
of this one. The Browns are number two in the
NFL and yards allowed. They've only given up two hunder
forty seven yards per game one average. Yet they're giving
(06:52):
up twenty four point six points per game, so they
haven't been great keeping teams out of the end zone. Really,
the Steelers are kin of the exact opposite. They're giving
up three hundred and eighty two yards per game. They're
way down low in yards allowed. I think there's only
three or four teams who are worse than them. But
they've been standing up in the red zone. They've been
doing a good job. They've been creating turnovers and their
(07:15):
points per game average is twenty four point five, So
they're actually better against the Browns when it comes out
scoring defense. So you know, maybe it's something in their
red zone defense after taking attack, you know. But it's
not just that they're good up front. They're also good
in the secondary. They've got some very talented corners. You know,
we just talked about the high draft picks on the front.
(07:36):
There's high draft picks in that secondary too, So yeah,
there's there's a reason they're viewed as one of the
top defenses in the NFL in the early going. And
I don't know that there is a weakness, but you know,
the Vikings scored laid on them through the air, so
maybe that's that's what the Steers are doing. But you
got to believe when the Steelers had that game against
(07:56):
the Vikings where they were able to be well balanced,
they're not going to forget about that. They're going to
try to go back to the running game and be
a well balanced team in this game against the Browns
as well.
Speaker 4 (08:06):
Yeah, I think the Steelers always would like to have
a run first offense, but it's been no familiar foe
here with the Browns, or rather it is a familiar
fore with the Browns and having that lack of running
success early in the game. We've seen the Steelers tend
to shy away from the running game if it doesn't
(08:28):
work out early. So what can they do in order
to find that early success via the ground game in
order to not kind of shy away from it and
put the ballad Air Rodgers fans for the rest of
the game.
Speaker 3 (08:41):
Yeah, I mean, listen, listen. If the Browns do shut
down the run, you could always go to the short
passing game Orjan Rodgers and Arthur Smith both view that
as an extension of the running game. It's just, you know,
it just goes into a different category in the stats.
So they would have that up their sleep, you know
as well. And the one thing that Aaron Rodgers has done,
(09:02):
and I think it's twofold, I think he's done a
really good job anticipating his receivers being open. It's part
of the Steelers game plan to get rid of the
ball early. But he leads the NFL an average time
to throw it's two point five to two seconds. That is,
he gets rid of the ball faster than anyone in
the NFL, and you would think that's going to continue
(09:25):
against the Browns. You know, they got Miles Garrett rush
from the pass. I know he only has to think
four and a half sacks, so he's kind of been
a little bit, you know, quieter than the seasons pass.
But you know, we all know what he and that
Browns pass rush brings to the table. So I don't
think this is going to be a game where they're
going to sit back, play action pass, have Aaron Rodgers
(09:47):
hold onto the ball. That's not a good recipe against
the guy like Miles Garrett, who not only can sack
guys that quarterbacks, he's very good like TJ. Watt at
getting the ball out too.
Speaker 1 (09:58):
We're talking with Raypaldo the Pittsburgh Post Gazette. You can
catch Ray's excellent coverage of the Pittsburgh Steelers daily in
the PG and online and anywhere else where you get
your media coverage.
Speaker 3 (10:09):
Ray.
Speaker 1 (10:10):
The Steelers are three and one, first place in the
AFC North, are the third overall team in the AFC.
If the playoffs were to start today, are you surprised,
especially with one in four Baltimore and Cincinnati at two
and three and the Steelers pretty much control their own
fate at this point in their season.
Speaker 3 (10:28):
Yeah, I mean, I am surprised the Ravens and Bengals
are where they are record wise, But when you lose
a guy like Joe Burrow, I think we all kind
of knew that if that happens the Bengals, but because
the roster isn't well rounded, you know, Joe Burrow is
pretty much the entire focus of that football team, that
things had a chance to go south there they and
(10:50):
they did. And you know with the Ravens too, I mean,
they're just banged up with injuries and quite frankly, they're
not very good on defense, and they weren't really good
on defense before those injuries. The Steelers are in a
great spot if they take care of business at home
against the Browns. I saw somewhere where the Ravens were
like two touchdown underdogs at home to the Rams after
(11:12):
they got after they got boat raced by the Texans
on their home field. So if those two things happen,
I know, and the Cincinnati has one more than the Ravens,
but I still view the Ravens as the chief competition.
If they're one and five and the Steelers are four
and one, it's basically a three and a half game
(11:32):
lead in mid October. That would be in the driving seat,
and you know, you would have a lot of momentum
going into the second half of the season. And we've
talked about it at length with the schedule is like
in the second half of the season, but boy, would
that be a good spot to be in if those
two things happened.
Speaker 4 (11:51):
Would you consider are you buying into this narrative that
if the Steelers don't win the North this year, it's
kind of a wasted year considering the state of the
rest of the division?
Speaker 3 (12:04):
I mean, yeah, that's a good point, Jacob, because how
many years I mean, I know it happens more often
than Cincinnati likes, but how how often is Joe Burrow
going to be out for that period of time?
Speaker 4 (12:14):
You know, you know, I mean he's done it three
out of his six years, so maybe it's going to
happen again.
Speaker 3 (12:20):
Yeah, But but yeah, like the point is, like you
take advantage of it when that just happens every other year.
You got to take advantage of that. And the same
thing goes, uh, you know with the Ravens. You know,
Lamar Jackson banged up a little bit, and there's been
like varying reports on how long he's going to be out.
I think it's almost assured that he's going to miss
this game, and then you know they'll have the bye
(12:40):
week and then I'm sure they'll assess it from there.
But you know, he's getting older too, And it just
goes back to where you're in position to win a
Super Bowl, how important it is that you take advantage
of that opportunity. The Bengals were right there, you had
a really good chance to beat rams that couldn't do it.
The Ravens just a year after a year. They're a
(13:02):
very good team. You know, they're a great regular season team,
but then they fall short in the playoffs. So you
just wonder, is everything touching up to those teams? Has
their window maybe passed them by? Is the window closing
on them? So I think maybe more so in Cincinnati
that's happening. I think as long as the Ravens have
Lamar Jackson, I think that window will stay open a
(13:23):
little bit longer. But yeah, when you don't take advantage
of those opportunities in the postseason and then seasons like
this happens, it's tough for the fans of those respective
teams to to swallow.
Speaker 4 (13:35):
And then you have to look beyond just getting to
the post season. If they do take advantage, right, if
the Browns continue to fumble or stumble rather without a
good quarterback in that leadership position, without Joe Burrow and Cincinnati,
and if the Ravens fall further into this hole to
start the year, the Steelers do take advantage to get
into the postseason, do they have the team that can
(13:58):
actually get a postseason win? I mean, what they'll have
to their advantage this year compared to years pass since
Ben Roethlisberger is retired, is they actually get to play
a game in Pittsburgh at.
Speaker 5 (14:09):
Aquacer Stadium in front of fans.
Speaker 4 (14:11):
And I add that note because you remember the last
time they played a home game in the playoffs was
against the Browns, but there were no fans in the stands.
So will they actually take advantage? Do you think they
have the team? I know we're in Week six, but
like you said, it's kind of we're in the heart
of the season now. There's no such thing as a
small too small of a sample size anymore. Do we
(14:32):
think that as the season progresses, with guys staying healthy,
this team is capable of winning a home playoff game.
Speaker 3 (14:40):
Yeah. I mean the last time they played a home
playoff game in front of fans was twenty seventeen. Now
that didn't turn out well. They lost to the Jaguars.
Of course, that was when the top two seeds had buys.
But yeah, that would be a tremendous opportunity for the Steelers.
You know, you guys know Buffalo, like they had to
(15:01):
do a couple of years ago, extremely difficult going into Baltimore,
even with Baltimore struggles in the playoffs, that's a tough
team to play on the road. And they also had
to go into Kansas City I think way back in
twenty twenty one, I think year. So they've been in
some really tough venues to win in the postseason. So yeah, like,
(15:22):
if you can get that home field advantage, that would
be huge. The thing I always go back to with
you know this, this front office and this coaching staff,
and you know, I always remember Andy Widel saying this,
I think he mentioned it last year. He said, you
want to be strong in the trenches, so you could
(15:42):
you travel well in the playoffs. So I mean that
can mean you play well on the road in the
playoffs because you can run the ball and you can
stop the run. But it's also a great asset to
have if you have a home playoff game. So to me,
we're not going to know about this the Steelers team
until really the end of the season. But what I
look at in the playoffs, can you stop the run,
(16:03):
can you run the ball? And if they can do
those two things consistently comes January, they're going to have
a shot. And they were not doing those two things
well consistently consistently last January when they lost to the
Ravens down in Baltimore.
Speaker 1 (16:17):
We're talking with Ray Fittipaldo of the Pittsburgh Post Gazette. Ray,
we got about less than ten minutes here left with you.
I wanted to talk about Mike Tomlin and his record
after the bye week fifteen and four. Coming out of
the bye week, his only losses were against the Denver
Broncos in two thousand and seven, his first year, the
New Orleans Saints in twenty fourteen, and most recently, it
(16:37):
was all the way back in twenty sixteen against the
Baltimore Ravens. The Steers of vone have won eight consecutive
games after a bye week.
Speaker 2 (16:45):
What makes Mike Tomlin so good at managing this two
week window when there's a bye week in between games.
Speaker 3 (16:51):
Yeah, there's a lot of self scouting that's done. There's
a lot of looking at trends around the NFL. Now
four weeks into the for the Steelers. I don't know
if you can get a really good beat on like
trends across the NFL, But one thing Mike was talking
about yesterday was just hot teams are going for it
more on fourth downs. He said, that's one trend that
(17:13):
he's noticed. So, you know, I think as a defensive coach,
he sort of takes stock of that, right, you know,
And we've talked to Carol Austin about this already this season.
You know, whenever a team is nearing midfield on you
may feel confident that their offense is good enough to
do it. You know, those third and five and third
and six is you know, it's okay to get like
(17:35):
four or five yards because then you're setting yourself up
for fourth and one and fourth and two. And we
know the rate the teams are going for it now,
it just changes football games, It limits possessions, and it
really puts a lot of pressure on the defense. So
you know, that's one thing that he was talking about.
You know, the Steelers up until the Vikings game, they
were better against the Vikings, but up until that Vikings game,
(17:56):
they weren't very good on possession downs. They were done
near the bottom in the NFL well in the third
down defense, and they were also pretty bad on fourth
down defense too, So that's one thing that he mentioned.
So you know, I think to answer your question, they're
really good at looking at themselves and what they need
to improve on, but they're also right pretty good at
looking across the NFL and seeing what other teams are
(18:18):
doing then you know, having counters against that as well.
Speaker 1 (18:22):
They've done it very well, that's for sure. Has Mike
Tomlin during his coaching career, and he comes with a
lot of criticism about the one possession games and also
at the same time, you know, finishing just above five
hundred every single year that he's coached, but he's been
very good out of the break. Hey, Ray Steelers Browns
This Sunday, it's it's the rivalry, the Turnpike rivalry war.
(18:42):
If you will between Cleveland and Pittsburgh. The Steelers have
owned the overall series eighty two sixty four and one
two to one advantage in the postseason, but the last
six games between the Browns and Steelers have been split
three and three, with the home team winning each game
the last three seasons. Thoughts on Brown Steelers, but do
you have a favorite memory of following the Brown Steelers
(19:05):
rivalry over the years that you can share with us.
Speaker 3 (19:08):
Oh man, I'm gonna date myself here, but I remember
this the only reason I remember this. It was nineteen
seventy eight and it was late September and they ran
a flee flicker to beat the Browns at three River Stadium.
I think Benny Cunningham caught a touchdown pass from Tarry
bratch On. It was actually a reverse fleet flicker, so
(19:31):
little gadgetry to get the win against the Browns. And
I don't know how I remember that, but I was
five years old, and you probably went out in the
backyard and try to replicate that play after they got
that done.
Speaker 1 (19:44):
Well, hold on ray, because on Steelers dot Com this morning,
it was posted the most memorable moment Steelers versus Browns
The very first one is September twenty fourth, nineteen seventy eight,
Steelers fifteen, Brown's nine. And yes, they referenced exactly what
you just talked about with Benny Cunningham catching the game
winning touchdown from Jared from Terry Bradshaw. Yeah, there you
(20:07):
go is number one. It was the first memory that
there's three on here. There's also the ninety one game
Steelers win seventeen to ten against the Browns. We talked
about this game before you came on in our last
segment the wild card game in two thousand and three,
the two thousand and two season, Steelers thirty six, Browns
thirty three.
Speaker 3 (20:24):
One.
Speaker 1 (20:24):
Another one that I talked that I dated myself ray
with you was back door in the nineteen eighty nine season.
The Steelers lose the opener fifty one to nothing against
the Browns and then they're going to make the playoffs
later that year.
Speaker 3 (20:37):
Yeah. Absolutely, And you mentioned the two thousand and two
playoff game. Way back then, I was covering du Cane basketball. Okay,
du Cane basketball played an afternoon road game and that
Saint Josephs on that day, and it was going on
at the same time as that playoff game. So I
would be sneaking back into the press round to watch
(20:58):
on television to see what was going going on. And
then I will come back to press row and I
would tell everyone, I'll put press row what was happening.
And it didn't look good for a while, but yeah,
by the end of by the end of the game,
there there were some happy Steelers fans there who were
there to watch the big set day in Philadelphia.
Speaker 4 (21:16):
Yeah, more good than bad I think for the Steelers
in the last twenty some years. Ray, But as Edd
pointed out, they really have struggled consistently winning in the
last couple of years against this Browns team. However, a
lot of the stars seem to be aligning for this game, right,
Mike Tomlan following the bye, Mike Tomlin playing at home
(21:38):
against the Browns, Mike Tomlin against a rookie quarterback, let
alone Mike Toman at home against a rookie quarterback playing
in Pittsburgh. So is there any way that the Steelers
have all of these arrows pointing in the right direction?
Speaker 5 (21:52):
But Cleveland is the team that comes out to victor.
Speaker 4 (21:56):
I know Cleveland is a is a one win team
in that one win is widely unpredictable, considering it came
against Green Bay who was two and zero at the time.
Speaker 3 (22:06):
Uh.
Speaker 4 (22:07):
Again, that's just another reason why this this game should
be favored, why the Steelers should be favored in this game.
Speaker 5 (22:12):
But to me, I I don't know.
Speaker 4 (22:14):
I just feel like I'm lacking the confidence for a
normal Browns game because mainly of this offense, by the
Steelers having to go up against the style Cleveland defense.
Speaker 3 (22:26):
Yeah, I'll give you one more, Jacob, that puts the
favor to the Steelers. The Browns traveling back from London, and.
Speaker 2 (22:34):
Another one.
Speaker 3 (22:35):
Ye, so that's yeah, that's another factor here. But listen,
I don't think this is going to be an easy game.
We talked about the Browns defense. It's it's good, even
their bosses, they've been able to keep it close into
the second half. You know, they just haven't had enough
enough juice offensively to to really get get over the
(22:56):
top and to get into the winning column. More So,
it's going to be a hard game. But to me,
if you don't let the Browns offense score more than
seventeen to twenty points, I'm pretty comfortable with the Steelers
winning this football game. You know, Dylan Gabriel made a
few plays in that Vikings game, but they were also
happy to punt and to put the onus on their
(23:17):
defense in that football game. And I think that's the
same mentality that Kevin Stefanski is gonna have in this game.
I think he's going to try to win a low
scoring game and it's going to be up to the
Steelers to see if they can, you know, just get
a few more points than the Browns. But yeah, anyone
saying the Steelers are going to blow out the Browns,
that's not gonna This is the NFL. Every team. Yeah,
(23:40):
I think I think the Steelers will win this football game,
but I think it's going to be closer than most
people expect.
Speaker 4 (23:47):
Yeah, I think I think it's a good point too.
Bringing up Gabriel playing conservatively last week against the Vikings.
You know, Stefanski is not much of a risk taker there.
But that actually concerns me because we've seen the Steelers
these last two games against the Patriots and Vikings due
to big splash plays. Right, they had the five turnovers
against New England. They had what two turnovers last week
(24:11):
against Minnesota or two weeks rather against Minnesota. They sacked
both quarterbacks effectively between Minnesota and New England. But if Stefanski,
who we know is a good coach and it's won
two Coach of the Year awards in the last five years,
plays as cards, right. I know you said if the
Browns don't even get to seventeen points, the Steelers should
win this game. But I also fear for the lack
(24:33):
of splash plays on defense. If they don't get that,
that could also spell for a potential loss year in Pittsburgh.
Speaker 3 (24:40):
Yeah, you know, everyone's talking about the rookie quarterback and
the Steelers record over the years with rookie quarterbacks, and
you know who might decide this game. It's the rookie
running back Quinn Shud Judkins, who was really good last week.
And listen, if the Steelers can't control the run, they listen,
they've done a better job against the after struggling the
(25:01):
first three weeks of the season, But if they can't
contain him. This guy actually put Dylan Gabriel in positions
where maybe he can play action pass and that the
Steelers have to account you know for for Dunkins in
the running game. It's you know, it's We're opening up
some things for Stefanski and that passing offense. So to me,
that's the most important thing. Stop Judgkins, stop that running game.
(25:22):
And if you could do that. Yeah, this is a
game of Steelers shits on the way to win. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (25:26):
Jenkins last week twenty three carries one hundred and ten yards.
He has seventy two carries for three hundred and forty
seven yards on the season and two rushing touchdowns. So
they will have their hands full with him on Sunday. Hey, Ray,
last question, I want to talk about Pat Fryarmth very
limited usage so far this season, only seven catches for
sixty five yards, pretty much disappeared for the first time
(25:47):
in his career against the Vikings, was hardly used at all.
Should we see more youth here coming out of the
bye week.
Speaker 3 (25:54):
I don't. I mean you might see more than fifteen snaps.
But Mike Todlin was talking yesterday about having these four
to three teams and having to play them and wanting
bigger personnel against them. That's that's by Spencer Anderson and
Darnel Washington played against the Vikings and you know you
had success against the Vikings. The Browns are a big
(26:16):
four to three team as well, so I wouldn't be
surprised at all if we see more of that jumbo
package out will at Bee too. You know, the expense
of Friar mouth again, you know, possibly, possibly not. I
think you could see Pat a little bit more because
Calvin Austin's likely going to be out, but I think
you can create more opportunities for him as a number
(26:36):
two receiver. But yeah, the idea of Pat Friar youth
playing seventy eighty percent of the snaps against four three teams,
that's just not going to happen.
Speaker 1 (26:45):
He is Ray Fittipaldo of the Pittsburgh Post. Because that Ray,
you made me feel better this morning. I thought I
was dating myself with that nineteen eighty nine reference. You
went nineteen seventy eight, So you made me feel better.
Speaker 3 (26:55):
My friend, trying to spit out all my football knowledge
before I get older and for get all of that.
Speaker 1 (27:01):
Same with me, Ray, We're in the same boat there, buddy. Hey,
enjoy Week six across the NFL. We'll talk to you
next week. Hopefully we can fit you in before that
quick turnaround with Thursday night in Cincinnati.
Speaker 3 (27:12):
Absolutely looking forward to it guys.
Speaker 5 (27:13):
Thanks very all right.
Speaker 1 (27:14):
That is Ray Fitopado of the Pittsburgh Post gazett Our
Steelers Spotlight for the week. This is the Steeler Standard,
with Ed Troup and Jacob Bret on Steelers Nation Radio,
part of the Steelers Audio Network,
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
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.
CrimeLess: Hillbilly Heist
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.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com