December 26, 2023 • 45 mins
Rob King, Matt Williamson, and Craig Wolfley recap the Steelers' massive Christmas weekend victory against the Bengals and look forward to playoff chances staying aliv
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Speaker 1 (00:10):
This is the Point After, presented by Parks Casino. Is
today your Lucky Day bet Parks by Brian Patton and
the associates. It's all about the benefits and by the
Steelers Pro Shop get it direct from the team at
shop dot Steelers dot com. Alongside Craig Wolfley and Matt Williamson.
I'm Rob king, thanks very much for being with us
after some relatively somber point afters. The point after this
(00:33):
time was good. Split the uprights. Thirty four to thirteen, Yeah, baby,
thirty four to thirteen. Wait, thirty four to eleven, thirty
four eleven, it's a few days ago. Thank you, thirty
four to eleven, Thanks Wolf My moments very in between,
but at my moments Steelers pounding the Cincinnati Bengals and
now suddenly there seems to be a new sheen on
this season after that victory. This look back segment is
(00:54):
brought to you by Brian Patton and associates. It's all
about the benefits and let's begin with just some over
all comments. Wol what did you think of that thirty
four to eleven victory over the Bengals?
Speaker 2 (01:05):
Spectacular in every way? You know, what a joy it
was to broadcast that game. What a joy it was
to watch that game, What a joy it was to
hear the fallout after the game was over. The guys
coming out, and that's what football is all about. I mean,
just that that total and andre of the guys coming together,
(01:25):
and that's a big word.
Speaker 1 (01:26):
I know, yes, I had to throwing in.
Speaker 2 (01:27):
I just bought that one somewhere, but you know, all
the guys coming together doing what they needed to do
to secure a victory. I just thought it was spectacular.
And kudos to Mason. I can't even begin to imagine
the pressure that he felt in coming out and performing
like that, but he certainly rose to the challenge and
he was aggressive and did a great job.
Speaker 1 (01:47):
I was saying about that before we get to you.
I was thinking about we're doing the postgame show with
Charlie Batch, looking out at the traffic and thinking, wow,
Mason Dudow was probably in that traffic, and then thinking
to myself, is there a happier person in the city
of Pittsburgh and Mason Rudolph, You know, I mean to
have to sit there and wait and you know, should
he be playing? Shouldn't he be playing? Well, he's you know,
(02:08):
we pointed out, hey, he was third string for a reason. Yeah,
but he didn't get a chance, And back and forth
it goes, and you're wondering, am I ever going to
get another chance? And then to do that, like everybody
in Steeler Nation was happy. I'm like, that's got to
be the happiest kind of planet driving home right now, exactly.
Speaker 2 (02:24):
And I'm just saying this in a little bit because
you're capadre in the postgame show. I remember when Chuck
Batch sat in for for Ben Roethlisberger against Baltimore. Yes,
I remember the like chills coming off him at the
end of the game. Hug, Yeah, the hug from Ben
and everything else. The pressure was so ginormous. Yet Charlie
(02:44):
Batch rose to the occasion and piloted and steered a
Steeler's victory. Those sorts of moments you don't forget. It's incredible.
Speaker 1 (02:52):
Yeah, Matt Rudolpha.
Speaker 3 (02:54):
Red Nose Reindeer playing over the loud speaker as you
walk out, I mean, how great is that?
Speaker 4 (02:58):
Im?
Speaker 3 (02:58):
And the timing of it all, Yeah, and real quick
on him. I mean I couldn't have been happier for
him either. But I've always thought that Rudolph got a
little bit of the short end of the stick, just
from public perception, national perception. I think they're six four
and one now with him as a starter, and people
would lump him in like him and Duck were the
same guy that year. They weren't at all. I mean,
one of them is an NFL player, a backup, where
(03:18):
Duck was happy.
Speaker 4 (03:19):
To be there type of thing.
Speaker 3 (03:20):
And I think everyone remembers the Thursday night game going
to Cleveland with Miles Garrett smashed him over the head
with the helmet, and I watched that game and thought,
I don't care if l Way or Ben Roethlisberger's out there.
They have no one. The guys couldn't even line up right.
I mean they had like guys off the practice squad
receivers in that game. There was no chance to really excel.
And then late that year he got a chance again
(03:41):
with the Jets, and I thought he played his best
football and got hurt in that game, so he never
really got to, like finish the story I felt for him.
Those two games will always stick out with me with
Rudolph and now a third one, which is a great memory.
Speaker 1 (03:53):
Question, Well, you look at her to say something there.
Speaker 2 (03:56):
No, it was just a passing thought. It might have
been a chocolate chip cookie.
Speaker 1 (04:01):
Well, you know when you when you think about where
the students are right now, and again you don't want
to pin. It's far beyond one guy. When Mitch Trubisky
stepped in, you know, you lost mekaf Fitzpatrick. You're you know,
you're you're out your top three safeties. You're trying to
figure out what's going on at the linebacker position. Other
things are happening around you. But in the games where
he's been the primary quarterback, the team's own four under
(04:23):
Mason Rudolph, they're one to zero. Under uh Picken, they're
seven and three. So there are you know, which sets
up the reason I say that it sets up the
very interesting question of what's gonna happen. It looks as
we speak now that it might be Rudolph into Pickett,
but Tuesday, and there's a long way between now and Sunday.
But I think just relishing the moment for him and
(04:43):
then another guy that that had a big game and
obviously uh you know, mixed feelings about and and more
recent because of the the controversy with George Pickens and
the non blocking the week before was the fact that
George Pickens just had a phenomenal right, I mean four
catches for one hundred and ninety five yards, I mean,
(05:03):
just craziness.
Speaker 2 (05:05):
Well, what is the essence of coaching. The essence of
coaching is to bring out the very best in your players.
Part of the essence of coaching and bringing out the
very best in your players is dealing with young men
who need supervision, and they need encouragement, they need boundaries,
they need all these things to be able to realize
their individual talents. And the thing that Chuck Nole always
(05:27):
used to say was I don't treat everybody the same,
but I treat everybody fairly. And that's become a common
theme throughout the NFL now. But back in the seventies
and eighties, back in the days when I was that
was kind of a newer statement. You know, that was
a newer philosophy it, you know, back then, before that,
a lot of it was, yeah, we treat everybody.
Speaker 1 (05:45):
Bad, you know, right, we d everybody to death.
Speaker 2 (05:48):
You know, that's the way the NFL wigh. But the
fact is there's a difference, and this is a new
generation of player and I don't know. If you know,
you watch your kids, you know, sometimes I gotta, I gotta,
I gotta son, who's you know, young guy? And I
had to repeat a lot of things for a period
of time in his life and speak to that before
(06:08):
he was able to internalize that and start to take
that on his own. That's part of what coaching is about.
It's about making sure that you are communicating to a
level of your expectations and those expectations being met by
the individual. And it's one of these, you know, group
things where it starts coming together and I think we
just saw that happen and play out.
Speaker 1 (06:30):
The same but not fair. I had to Bill Parcells
used to say it abou Lawrence tale or because Lawrence Tayler. Yeah,
you never knew. I mean, you know, you figured he'd
be there on Sunday. But I mean there's a there's
a period of his time where you might even had
to question, hey, zelt he going to be there? Oh
yeah he is. He's gonna have two and a half sacks,
including the biggest play in the fourth quarter.
Speaker 3 (06:45):
I think Jimmy Johnson used to say, well, if Michael
Irvin was a couple of minutes late, to a meeting.
That's a little different than the fifty third guy. Yes,
and you don't want to get to that point with
these guys. No, and neither in Pickens aren't Michael Irvin
Lawrence Taylor in terms of accomplishments either.
Speaker 4 (06:57):
But he's pretty good at the game.
Speaker 1 (06:58):
Yeah, but it's harder.
Speaker 4 (07:00):
We're pretty good.
Speaker 1 (07:02):
We were kind of talking about this before we went
on the air. It's harder and harder and harder now
for a coach, you know, listen, it's fifty three individuals
and more. I mean, it used to be you could
probably lump guys into a into a certain category. Now,
I mean, these guys have grown up in a different
way than the three of us have grown up. And
it's just it's a different world, and coaches have to
(07:25):
have to respond differently and have to act differently, have
to behave differently because of the player.
Speaker 3 (07:30):
You can't always use the stick either, you know what
I mean. Sometimes it's got to be the carrot or
people around them, or the chocolate chip cooget exactly. So
they handled it really well. The results were great. The
fact that Pickens makes the huge play so early in
the game too. I mean, I think it's just a
big exhale and a relief and it makes us The
catchdown the sideline as well was phenomenal.
Speaker 4 (07:52):
You know. On the field, product was tremendous.
Speaker 3 (07:54):
I mean, they took advantage what I thought it was
a pretty bad defense, but they beat the crap out
of it.
Speaker 1 (07:58):
You know. And yeah, you know the other thing too,
is I think that you know, the jail and Warren
blocked on on an awfully good football part. Like I
think Jermaine Pratt's a really good linebacker. Yes, I think
he's a really fine player. But I think my favorite meme,
you know, you're scrolling around on your phone and you're
watching the games, and they had they had a picture
(08:18):
of Jermaine Bratt practice at the time where Jalen Warren
hit him and he was uh uh, he was the
halls and uh and Warren was the bows of Holly
and so at that moment as he decked them, he
decked the halls. But that was, you know, it was
an incredible block and coming in as such a similar
(08:41):
circumstance as it had the week before, in which Pickens obviously,
that's that's you know, the whole controversy arose when he said, well,
I didn't want to get hurt, so I didn't make
the block and and Warren said, well, I would have blocked,
and then they run. Now it's a wide receiver running.
The only thing it was if it had been Pickens
instead of Austin, that would have been a complete uh
you know, changing in the picture of it. But what
(09:03):
a tremendous block. And it got everybody fired up, no
question about it. And think about it. Jalen Warren is
a man of his word, right. He said, I'd walk
for George. By golly, it wasn't George, but it's Cale Austin.
And now whammo, you see a dec leader, a slobber
knocker like that. Let me tell you something that makes
you feel so good. That is such good family fun
(09:24):
you can't even believe it. I sat there yesterday watching
the film and I put that rewind button over and over.
I had a cup of Joe, and I was just wow, wow, yeah,
a little slip, you know, slurp, and wow again.
Speaker 4 (09:37):
It was amazing.
Speaker 1 (09:38):
I told my wife I couldn't get off. I just
kept the same thing. I kept watching it over and over.
Yet I mean it really was. I mean it was
just perfect. You know, it was listen. I mean, you know,
if anybody's ever played football and sat in the film room,
you've probably been Jermaine Pratt before. Oh yeah, Pad, what
are you thinking here? What are you seeing? Don't you
see him coming? You know, blah blah blah. You gotta
you gotta, you know, you gotta fill the hole there.
(09:59):
And he came in high, and he didn't use particularly
good technique and he got flattened. But so it goes.
Speaker 2 (10:06):
I mean I've been on both ends of it. Yeah,
I've been the splatterer and the splatter re. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (10:11):
And when you see that film rewinding, when it's you,
that's not a good. No, no, what are you thinking?
Hang on a second year, let's watch that one more time. Everybody,
here's something really bad. Oh boy. Anyway, just it was.
It was great to see and and you know, I
wanted to get some to something that you were talking
about in your podcast as far as we you know,
the offense goes, and we're gonna get to the defense certainly.
(10:32):
But I thought the Steelers I thought, first of all,
I thought the offensive line played a really, really good game.
I think there was only one sack and Rudolph probably
held on to it too long and kind of drifted
over to Dan Moore, who I thought also the holding
call on him was just I thought ridiculous. It was
a horrible call. But I thought the offensive line was good.
(10:53):
I thought when they when the offense was out in
the first half and in the second half, Look, you're
trying to just get to the end of the game.
The game's over, you got it won. You're not going
to be probably as effective running the wall you'd like
to be. That's one thing. Maybe if you're gonna quibble
in a minor fashion, you'd love to be able to
just run the ball down their throats. But when they
had everything rolling in the first half, they ran, They
(11:15):
rushed for seventy yards. The offensive line was blowing open holes.
Thoose got smaller in the second half of they're protecting Rudolph.
I thought the offensive line played a really, really strong game.
Speaker 3 (11:26):
Yeah, and I'm sure they would tell you they were
very unhappy with how.
Speaker 4 (11:29):
They played against the Colts.
Speaker 3 (11:30):
I mean, like personally, as an analyst, I sold the
Colts front seven a little short and they got worked over,
and they got worked over badly in that game. In
almost an embarrassing fashion. And so as professionals, you love
how they respond, you know, I mean I thought Selal
who played really well, maybe it was best Mason Coles,
maybe best game of the year. You know, nobody was
(11:51):
you know short or you know, left your hanging at all.
Saw Chukes out there for a couple reps as a
sixth guy, I was a little worried to be honest,
that Washington might be hitting a rookie wall and he
came back in big fashion as extension of the old line.
You know, we even mentioned some of the peripheral blocking
by Warren Robinson was out there smacking people as he's
done all year. So the blocking across the whole starting
(12:16):
eleven I thought was really really good. And they didn't
break you know, twenty thirty yard runs, but there was
a lot of six seven eight yard runs protectly, particularly
on early downs. They stayed ahead of the chains.
Speaker 2 (12:26):
Yep, and they kept pushing.
Speaker 4 (12:28):
And don't forget Friar Mooth.
Speaker 2 (12:29):
My gosh, yeah, that block on the touchdown run by
Kelvin Austin. You had both Mount Washington and Friar Mouth
out there. They each took one guy wiped it out.
And that let Jalen Warren go right in after us Pratt.
Pammel just you couldn't have designed that better.
Speaker 1 (12:44):
Yeah, sixteen first down to the years, you were seven
of fourteen on third down and nine of them came
by a rush. So they were setting that up yearly
down success. And you as you mentioned, you know, we
talked about that last week. The Bengals not a good
first down defense, and this Steers are able to take
advantage of that. Run the football. And to Matt's point, well,
if I thought that the running backs you know, ran hard,
especially in the first half. I mean they ran hard
(13:05):
all game, but I mean if they got any a rhythms,
I thought, yeah, set the tone, Thank you, Matt. In
the first half, I thought.
Speaker 2 (13:10):
No question about it. And when you set that tone,
you start to gain momentum, and they gained momentum throughout
the game. I thought, you watch that offensive line, I mean,
whether it was Isaac Suamalo pulling around on that power
lead power, I love watching him because it's just like
with that hair flowing out the back. It's just like
with Pala Malo. Follow the hair. You see that hair
coming out straight, You're got the ball just follow that
(13:32):
dude because that dude is about to put a whacking
on somebody, which he did do. And then you got
James Daniels who also played so very well some of
the He's had a couple of pacoderms that he just
rolled out of there and slammed on the ground, and
you just like, wow, I loved it. When you see
that offensive line playing that physical where thick bodies are
being moved in the trench is there, it gives for me.
(13:54):
I get all googlymogly on it, you know. I was like, Wow,
that's fun because I know what it's like when you're
in there and you're putting a pace you on those guys.
Those guys are looking at you kind of side eye,
but you know you you're on the their mind. I
mean they're they're they're worried about it, you know. And
that's the beauty of that good inside running.
Speaker 3 (14:10):
And those two ball carriers take it personally too, like
they don't just stuck out of bounds or just go
down easy here.
Speaker 4 (14:17):
I mean nause he's a fighter to the.
Speaker 1 (14:18):
Yes, you know right, I mean it wornt. Yeah, they
have no interest in being tackled.
Speaker 2 (14:22):
No person, I can't decide if not he's a full back,
a half back, or a mixed martial artist.
Speaker 4 (14:27):
I don't know about all the upper body stuff he's punching.
And because you think you come up to tackle them,
you're in a fight. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1 (14:37):
It's a fight. And one of the thing too, glad
to see the stretch Matt of it was eleven consecutive
games with out at least two touchdown passes without getting
you know, for more than one touchdown pass. That's the
longest current streak in the NFL. That's over now. We
talked about the four hundred yards that stretched on unfortunately
for seasons, but they're a little less celebrated streak. But
(14:58):
eleven straight games, there was a long in the NFL.
That's over now. So a lot, just a lot of
good things out of the offense.
Speaker 3 (15:04):
Absolutely, it'd be nice to put some of those things
just behind you that you don't have to talk about
streaks and whatnot, because they can pretend like they don't
listen to them, but they have to hear some of
those things. Frankly, sometimes four hundred yards isn't the director's
aulting a win either, you know. I mean, they have
a lot of good stretches where they controlled the flow
of the game and didn't get to those numbers. But no,
I thought this was a great offensive performance. Now can
(15:27):
they take it to Seattle on the road and do
the same thing.
Speaker 1 (15:29):
We'll see three hundred and ninety seven yards thirty four
to eleven victory. You're listening to the point after, We're
going to take a look at the defense, also some
other factors of this game. A little brief look forward
to Seattle as well. A little bit later on in
the program and the point after on Steelers Nation Radio
and one oh two point five DVE continues. This is
(15:56):
the point After, presented by Parks Causeino is today your
lucky day bet Parks by Brian Patton, then associates it's
all about the benefits and by this two there's pro
shop get it direct from the team at shop dot
Steelers dot com. Alongside Craig Wolfy and Matt Williamson. I'm
Rob King. I hope you all had a great holiday,
Merry Christmas, et cetera. Looking forward to the new year. Uh,
(16:17):
Seelers will play their final game of the year until
next year. Will the Steelers play again? Right?
Speaker 2 (16:24):
Uh?
Speaker 1 (16:25):
Wait a minute of the year Sunday still this year, right, yesday,
I've made mistakes, so what a third strike and I'm
out in that, thank you very much. We're allttle details.
We're discussing that we're all a little groggy from too
much protein, too much sugar. Yeah, big gap from game
(16:49):
to show. No excuse for not knowing what year it is, though,
That's what I'd like to get better at. Okay, So, uh,
you know, Wolf and I were having a discussion. Mat.
I'm gonna start with you on this before we talk
about the defense, because in the locker room with Wolf
and Max Starks, you know, the guys are bringing up
a great point that the scouting department Andy Wide all
(17:09):
the rest of his scouts phenomenal job in finding the
replacements that they've needed safety and linebacker in the middle
of the season. How difficult that is, how much scouting
goes into I'm sure they've got a list of wide receivers.
They haven't tapped into tight ends, they haven't tapped into cornerbacks,
they haven't tapped into although they did pick up theorius
(17:30):
rush earlier this year. But then when you look at
not only picking guys up, but you know your three
leading tackers. Now you've lost to land In Roberts. You've
lost your top three safeties and your top three inside linebackers,
and your top three tacklers in the game were Michael Walker,
Eric Rowe, and Miles Jack, all of whom you had
(17:53):
to go out and acquire in the middle of the
season to fill in and fill in vital roles and
not only fill in vital role, but succeed in those roles.
Speaker 3 (18:01):
Yeah, and I'll steal this from Dale Lawley's callum they
does after the Steeler Game two is those three, the
three leading tacklers, were not even employed by the Pittsburgh
Steelers on October thirtieth. I mean, so they weren't in camp.
You know, they were all acquired throughout the year, and
that was, you know, the earliest of them all. So, yes,
the Steelers have done a tremendous job of mining the
(18:21):
bottom of their roster and the practice squad. But I
also commend the NFL. So it's one of the best
things that came out of COVID for the league, or
these expanded practice squad got. You know, you couldn't put
many veterans on your practice squad back in the day.
When that was invented. Now you can put guys like Miles,
Jack and Walker that have been around the Rose thirty
one years old. You know, you can put them on
your practice squad, teach them things behind the scenes a
(18:43):
little bit, so it makes for a better product for
the league. But no, those guys all played great, and
you guys might have caught it. I didn't quite catch
it. It sounded like Jack was not I almost say gassed,
but I mean he hadn't played in a while, and
he played led the linebackers and snaps, and I thought
it was Walker's best game. I thought Roe was fine.
And give Peterson some credit. He's playing out of position
quite a bit too.
Speaker 1 (19:03):
You know, I think that's really intriguing, the Peterson thing.
But I just just to because you've been in an
NFL front office, you've been in a scouting department, what
goes into that? I mean, how many guys are is
there somebody in charge? Are there one or two guys
in charge of knowing there's on everybody else's practice squad
well in your own, and who you might be able
to pick up. I mean, do you have a list
(19:24):
of guys? Hey, because you know you can't just you
can't lose these kind of players. I wouldn't think on
a Sunday and then Monday be like, hey, let's get
everybody together. We need to go start scouting some teams
like they'd have to have that in place, right.
Speaker 3 (19:38):
Yes, there's there's a couple of little bit of insight
I can give on that is there is every team,
every team should every team has a board. Back then
it was magnets, but it was on computers too. But
in the director of Pro Scouting's office there was our
emergency board, you know that break glass in case of
and our director of pro scouting would have that board
handy on game day because if you lost linebacker, you're
(20:01):
going to that emergency board and finding that agent two
minutes after the injury happened.
Speaker 4 (20:06):
I mean during the game.
Speaker 3 (20:07):
You're getting in touch with those guys immediately or sending
an email or a text or whatever. So you walk
in there in your fold or with your emergency board,
hopefully not needing to use it. Plus plus practice squads
weren't as big back then. But to give you, like
my pro scouting job with the Browns was I was
a young scout, so they gave me the NFC West
(20:29):
and they weren't on the schedule that year, so but
I had to have a grade and watch every snap
of NFC West tape. So if they would cut a guard,
is he better than our last guard?
Speaker 1 (20:40):
You know?
Speaker 3 (20:41):
You always had to be in charge of that division,
and other scouts had their divisions as well, and they
would also do advanced scouting because I didn't. I didn't
have to do that because West was not on the schedule.
So yeah, I watched every snap of Orlando Pace and
Walter Jones.
Speaker 4 (20:55):
I didn't think they're not coming available, you know what
I mean.
Speaker 3 (20:57):
The more important job is you know, who's the best
guy on their practice squad or worst guy that could
get you know, through waivers and is he better than
what we had with the Browns? The case was often
yes on that team, right, you know, we could use
every help we could get.
Speaker 1 (21:11):
Amazing to hear that part of the process. I mean,
I've heard about it in baseball more, you know, and
then it's always interesting, uh you know, you hear later on,
well we love this guy, we should have claimed him,
and you know, you know, there's always a scout to
you know, you you freak you don't frequently hear of
I thought that guy was going to be really good,
and you know, I wish we drafted him when he
didn't turn out to be very good. But I love
this guy. There's like a romance still for the game
(21:34):
that I love about scouting, and I think it's great.
Speaker 2 (21:37):
Think about the magnificent job to have the ability to
go four or five linebackers deep and for safeties deep
or whatever it is, it's it's unbelievable. I mean, when
you think about it, that's a that's a plague. You
have not seen a long time man in certain spots,
and certainly for that the for the front office people
to be able to dig that deep man, that is
(21:59):
it's amazing.
Speaker 1 (21:59):
And I would think Matt for the guy who pounded
his fist on the table for the late late round
draft choice, or the undrafted free agent, the jail and
Warren or even the James Harrison, right, somebody had to
stand up and put in a word for that person.
And I would imagine that part of it of the
scouting world has just got to be like, yes, so
(22:20):
unbelievably rewarding.
Speaker 3 (22:21):
So I haven't told this story on Pittsburgh airways for
a while. But maybe the most rewarding thing I did
with my year with the Browns, and Steeler fans aren't
gonna like it because they got the wrong end of
the stick on it was. Our first pick was Braylan Edwards,
so we were not going to spend a lot of
money on other free agents. With third pick in the
draft was a wide receiver. So my job was I
(22:43):
got ten grand from what I remember, which was a
decent buck, then to sign three undrafted free agents, and
I gave like ninety eight hundred of it to Josh
Cribbs because he was a returner. He was right down
the street, and I did all the legwork hoping he
didn't get drafted.
Speaker 4 (22:59):
Hope he didn't get drafted. I don't even know the
other two receivers.
Speaker 3 (23:02):
I gave like one hundred bucks each too, and then
Paul Warfield stealed the deal, and you know, Josh Cribs
became a Brown and did some bad things to.
Speaker 4 (23:10):
The Steelers, you know, So that kind of stuff was like,
he should have been drafted. Why is he still out there?
Speaker 3 (23:14):
It's got my my fingers crossed that somebody didn't pluck
him in the seventh round.
Speaker 1 (23:18):
I love it, love those That's a great story. And
for the Steelers, I think the reward of seeing these
guys come together, and I think overall too as we
take a step back from just the individual personnel and
credit to scouting department, I thought the Steelers coaching staff
did a fantastic job. You know, Browning came out, his
numbers were outstanding, but a lot of that was And
(23:42):
I don't want to take any away from Jake Browning
because he's he's made some he's made some good throws.
He's done some nice things as their quarterback. You know,
flung that ball to t Higgins and I you know
that was a bit of a prayer, but but you know,
in the week before, but he's made some good throws.
But they did a lot of stuff to the running
backs big in the screen game. They killed the Colts
in the screen game. You know, utilization. You would think
(24:04):
in this game coming in the middle of the field
against the Steelers, particularly the tight ends and running backs.
And obviously Higgins had the one that he that he
took the distance. But I thought by and large, the
coaching staff had this team ready and they dropped what
they dropped. High Smith Highsmith comes up with an interception
in this game. I just thought that the way they
prepared for what Jake Browning did and what he did
(24:26):
well was tremendous and was a big part of why
they won the game.
Speaker 2 (24:30):
There's no question about it. I mean, Jake Browning was
on a roll. He had what four I think he was,
what five games in a row. He had a quarterback
rated and ninety five or better. Yeah, he was fifty
and so you can't take anything was kid, That's right.
He earned it and he was he was doing great.
But you know, they moved the pieces around for the Steelers.
You saw what you saw high Smith moving around a
(24:53):
little bit. You saw him drop, which I still can't
get over high Smith with that interception. Yeah, that was
a great job of dropping, following the quarterback's eyes and
then leading him and then making a catch. I mean,
think about it. These are guys, those edge rushers, These
are guys that do battle with six foot seven three
and forty pound monsters, you know, and trying to get
a sack. So and yet they come out here and
(25:15):
they can cover backs and I just marvel at it.
They're great athletes setting the edge on the run. Getting
involved in the run game. If you look at the
two of them together, I think they had a couple
of sacks, five quarterback hits. That mean DJ and Alex
together and just did a great stuff together and pressuring
Browning and just keeping him you don't have him throw
(25:37):
the ball and you know, not being able to move
around a whole lot.
Speaker 3 (25:41):
So a couple things on that level is we touched
on it. The replacement guys came in and did their jobs,
and Rob, I think we remember that one of our
keys leading up to the game for the video we
do was tackle the catch. You know, they did that
really well, and the Browning is playing great, but a
lot of it was short, controlled passing, get it out
your hands, quick rhythm timing after the catch. The backs
(26:04):
and tight ends and the defense did a tremendous job
with that with the middle of the field guys, linebackers, safeties.
But I thought a big reason that that stuff worked
as well as it did was your stars came to play.
You didn't have Minka and I'm going to conclude Porter
in this Porter in your two edge guys were tremendous
in this game. Dropping the edge guys I think made Browning,
(26:24):
you know, packed the ball an extra second and allowed
the other guys to get home and clearly as pass
rushers as well as the run game, Watt and high
Smith beat up on their tackles, you know, Orlando brown
who they're giving big money to, Joanah Williams, a former
first round pick. I mean, they have a lot invested
in those tackles, and they got beat repeatedly. I can't
forget the you know, Renegade comes on, and I forget
(26:46):
how the sequence was. But Watt got a sack, and
then Williams jumped off sides and he got a hold
or something. I mean, it was just a bevy of
things happening in a row right when Renegade hit in
the second half. And then this is the number I
wanted to pull out is This is was on NFL
dot Com. This is their next gen stats which allowed
so much of the other things to happen in the
(27:07):
middle of the field. Porter was on t Higgins for
thirty two of the forty pass routes that he ran. Okay,
I mean, so we know Higgins did some good things
in this game, but Porter was on him thirty two
out of forty on the plays he covered by Porter
Higgins had one reception on two targets for fifteen.
Speaker 1 (27:25):
Yards in credit.
Speaker 4 (27:26):
That's unbelievable.
Speaker 3 (27:27):
I mean, just think of the ripple effect that has
on doubling tight ends or you know, taking you know,
the middle of the field. If he's on the best guy,
that's just a huge advantage.
Speaker 1 (27:37):
I mean, he we talked about this in the locker
room and you know, well and Matt. One of the
things we brought up, like if you could do the
draft over him, we will know for three or four years.
But guys that are doing what Joey Porter's been doing
normally going like the top ten of the draft. Yeah,
I mean yeah, they don't go where he went. Now again,
(27:59):
let's let it play out. His career is just starting,
but it is so it's hard to curb your enthusiasm
for what he's what he's doing. I mean, he's he's
been tremendous for the Steelers.
Speaker 4 (28:11):
Yeah, man, watch him.
Speaker 2 (28:14):
I'm just sitting there going, you know, I don't know.
I always thought, you know, Joey probably have a kid
that could rush the past or everything else like that,
be like his dad. But you know, he's a cornerback
comes out. Yeah, he's his dad in a cornerback's body.
I mean he plays with that intensity, that fierceness, that
that desired to be great. You can see it. He's
not afraid of the challenges. He's not afraid of, you know,
(28:36):
putting himself under the microscope and delivering the goods in
a in a way, in a fashion that is pretty exceptional.
And he's up to the big stage challenge. And and
you look at that, you go, he is a chip
off the block, you know. He is, you know, someone
that is going to get better as as the years
roll by, I believe for the how how long? I mean,
(28:57):
you know, So I'm excited to see what his future
is going to be. I'm excited to see him develop
more because once you do that and you get one
of those cornerstones, and then you get we haven't seen
what Corey Trice can do, right, you know, And so
that next year it looks very promising, just because there's
another young man out there who has capabilities of coming
alongside that long corner length wise type thing, and you
(29:19):
never know what can develop after that.
Speaker 1 (29:21):
Yeah, and I'm interested to see that, but I do
want to and then maybe we can talk about that
next segment. We're just about out of time on this segment.
But when you look at this draft and you see
Roderick Jones and what he is showing his cap he's
capable of obviously picked high Porter Ben, and then you
talk about like Herbig and Washington and guys that I mean,
(29:43):
most guys take a little bit of time to develop
and what are they going to be. But you've got
three guys that.
Speaker 4 (29:49):
Are just like cornerstones.
Speaker 1 (29:52):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah you do.
Speaker 2 (29:54):
I don't know about you, but I'm thinking her Big
is starting to look like a cornerstone project movement.
Speaker 1 (29:58):
Yeah, but he's it's it's nice to see him like
kind of coming along, like that's the normal pace, right,
like bring the rookie along well, Benton from from day one,
and and Broderick Jones since he's been inserted, and Joey
Porter since he's been inserted in the lineup, they've it
looked really, really good.
Speaker 2 (30:14):
The dude's a destroyer on the inside. I'm telling you.
Speaker 1 (30:16):
Yeah, Yeah, it's been fun. We have lots more ground
to cover.
Speaker 4 (30:20):
Uh.
Speaker 1 (30:20):
This is the point after on Steelers Nation Radio and
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(30:42):
from the team at shop dot Steelers dot com. Okay, Wolf,
I just something you said. Maybe I just want to
bring this up. It's not exactly relevant to this game
of what part of it is, but you know, I
think a lot of Steelers fans would look at this defense,
look at the back end and say, Okay, well, Joey Porter,
you're for sure, Mink and Fitzpatrick for sure. The rest
(31:03):
of it they're going to have to figure out. Well,
we've known about Corey Trice. I think there's some belief
in Darius Rush, who's been on the practice squad, that
maybe he can be a guy. But this move from
Patrick Peterson, this move necessitated by injuries to safety. Hmm,
you know what I mean. I mean, I'm looking at
him thinking could he be the guy that you put
(31:25):
next to Mincoln next year? Could he be a guy
following the Rod Woodson molds, some other molds of guys
that have moved from corner to safety. He seems amenable
to it. I mean I think I was really intrigued
by him at the safety position.
Speaker 2 (31:40):
Well, I thought he had quitted himself very well, no
doubt about it. Look, when you're as well versed as
Pat Peterson is in all the you know, the different
positions out there, the thing that he represented to me
was Okay, calm down, I got this. I mean that's
what I got from Pat Peterson. A guy out there
to say, relax, da da da da dad. Gets the
(32:03):
communication from the front end to the back end, from
the back end to the front end, and don't get
all in a bunch about it is basically it then
that commune influence.
Speaker 4 (32:14):
What what does that do?
Speaker 2 (32:15):
That people just play faster if you're back there and
you're not sure what's going on, and then all of
a sudden you know, you're not a great community communicator
like Pat Pete is. The guy's been around for a
long time and is able to communicate so very well.
Make sure people are on the same page, you know,
that's what you get. You get a good result even
when you have people that haven't been there, you know,
(32:35):
and he's able to bring them together and be able
to do that.
Speaker 4 (32:38):
I saw the.
Speaker 2 (32:39):
Greatest demonstration of being on the same page between It
was Levi Wallace and it was it was Mika Fitzpatrick
up a training camp and they were talking and with
one of the linebackers. I can't remember who, but I
was just happened to be on the sidelines in earshot
of them, and just how they communicated about a tight
end and a running back and a wide receiver to
the same side was spectacular. And I think with Pat
(33:02):
Pete that's exactly what you get as somebody who was
able to relieve a lot of the fears that the
coaching staff may have by with people that are new
out there and have not had much time with the Steelers,
and that's what he does a great job.
Speaker 3 (33:15):
So take that even further. I mean, you mentioned Rod Woodson,
Charles Woodson from all time greats have made that move,
and if you have the size, the head, and the desire,
it's quite possible, and I think he has all three. Interestingly,
you know he came from the Vikings. I mean, everyone
thinks about Patrick Peterson as a Revis Island man coverage Grodner, and.
Speaker 4 (33:37):
He was for the great deal of his career. But
with the Vikings.
Speaker 3 (33:40):
Last year they were the heaviest zone team in the
entire league, and he had a bunch of picks.
Speaker 4 (33:44):
You know.
Speaker 3 (33:44):
I mean, if you're a defensive back, you either have
man eyes, you know, where you're focused on one guy,
or zone eyes, where you see the world through a
much different world, you know, a much different lens, you
see all the whole field. And he's always shown the
ability to both. But with the Vikings, his own capabilities
were really, really strong. He took the ball away and
(34:04):
he sat down with Dale and I at the mini
camp and he basically said, I'm not here to follow
Jamar Chase around for sixty plays. I know who I am.
You know, he's very conscious of where he's at in
his stage of his career. I can't speak for him,
but I would think he'd be very interested in being
one of two or three safeties, including Menca next year.
He's under contract one more year. Being an outside corner
(34:27):
playing man coverage in the Joey Porter Junior mold isn't
what he is anymore, you know what I mean. He's
here to be a jack of all trades and a leader.
Speaker 1 (34:33):
Yeah, it is. It is interesting, very intriguing to me
that he could solve a huge look and you're gonna
get a You're gonna get a look at him, right,
I mean, he's they need him. He's gonna be playing
safety right over the next couple of weeks. You know,
after the game ended, Mike Tomlin Wolf talked about complimentary football,
(34:54):
and I think that we saw that go against the Steelers,
particularly the week before this one, in which you know,
Nagi fumbles one play later it's a touchdown. You know,
just these things that happen against you with the complimentary football.
And I thought in this game, in a couple of
different regards, like I thought maybe in retrospect, well even
(35:17):
at the time, I thought maybe maybe the biggest play
of the game was the Patrick Peterson interception. You know,
you march down, you score, Well, you don't march down.
You throw the ball to George Pickens and he marches,
He marches and scores. You get the ball back, they
go on a long drive, you get the interception from Peterson. Okay, great,
take a breath. Then you go on this ten play
drive in which you scored the touchdown. I just thought
(35:39):
that was one of those big moments in this game.
There were a couple like that. You know, you score
seventeen points off of turnovers. I just thought the Steelers
really and you know how that is, like, you know,
and we've seen it. We've seen this really and a
lot of their losses where things just start to get
away from you. You can't come up with the big drive,
you can't come up with a good stop. You can't
(35:59):
you can't be the person that reverses that complimentary football.
And in this game, I thought they played as Mike
Tomlins a great complimentary football absolutely.
Speaker 2 (36:07):
I mean, you think about how this season is really unfurled.
I mean, mainly it's been a lot of defense, good
defensive work, offense kind of sputtering getting things done. But
today we saw that the offense kicks started it, the
defense got some takeaways. Even when the defense faltered with
the t Higgins eighty yarder to start off the second half,
(36:27):
what do we have steevels turn around, go answer the
touchdown with a touchdown. We have not seen that throughout
most of the season.
Speaker 1 (36:33):
Yep.
Speaker 2 (36:34):
So there was a lot of good complimentary football going
on out there, and there was guys rising to the
challenge getting the job done. And I thought that the
ability for the offense to support the defense and so
many occasions and turn those interceptions into points, you know,
I mean that's huge. I mean sometimes, you know, you
(36:55):
get the interception, the turnover, you don't get the points, right,
and what's the art yards are just empty, just you.
Speaker 4 (37:02):
Know, empty counties. Yeah yeah, in a way which I
always like shared last couple of days.
Speaker 1 (37:08):
Yeah yeah, but we're all perspiring a lot more here
doing just by talking. It shouldn't be really shouldn't be.
You know. I thought one of the other things that
was terrific about this game was the red zone offense
and the red zone defense.
Speaker 3 (37:23):
Yeah, yeah, I mean I do think Browning struggled. He
kind of looked his age a little bit as a
red zone passer. And I'm not taking any shots of Kenny,
but I mean that's not been his strength. I mean, frankly,
it hasn't been Trevor Lawrence's strength.
Speaker 4 (37:38):
I mean, young.
Speaker 3 (37:38):
Quarterbacks that are new to this league almost always struggle
in the red zone. And I think Rudolph has shown
some maturity, some experience, and also the physicality of the
run game. And frankly, it's nice to have some explosions
in explosive plays growing on there too, thanks to mister Pickens,
you know, a little combination of both and back to
the complimentary football. They now are number one the league
(38:00):
again and turnover differential, you.
Speaker 1 (38:01):
Know, I'm incredible it had been shrinking right action.
Speaker 4 (38:05):
Yeah, drastically. Now they're number one again.
Speaker 1 (38:07):
Yeah, that is good. And one of the other things too.
And you talk about yards being empty, but they still are.
They still count. You still want to see them not
give up yards in the punning game. I think we
should point that out once again. That was not a
positive statistic for the for the Steelers. But a week
after they had all those penalties, they come back in
this game. Mike Thomlinson, we got to do things differently.
We got to get back to, you know, playing certain
(38:28):
style of football we have. We have to make changes.
Two penalties for fifteen yards. That's that's huge. I mean,
you're giving away last week, you gave away eighty yards
eighty ninety yards in the penalties, just the penalties. You know,
that's your moving field position around and only have two
for fifteen I thought that should be that should be underscored.
And because the Steelers came back and played the kind
(38:50):
of football they needed to absolutely.
Speaker 2 (38:52):
Look is one who was contributed heavily to penalties in
the game At one point in time, Tian Mike Webs
for the most holding calls in one single game. Oh look,
I understand the importance of playing clean. So you know
how you really want to know? It's like four, Yeah,
it was. It was a bad day. It was a
(39:13):
bad day.
Speaker 4 (39:14):
So anyhow, that's moving right along.
Speaker 2 (39:18):
Yes, the fact is that's the importance of playing clean though,
because what you're able to do and what you're able
to accomplish. Look, I know, Jonah Williams right tackle. Okay,
so you're you're out there one on one with one
of the greatest man eaters in the in the history
of the NFL.
Speaker 4 (39:32):
You got this kid, that TJ.
Speaker 2 (39:34):
Watt out there right, and you're out For the most part,
they had somebody you know, double team and them helping
to tackle them at times it seemed like, you know,
but they left them alone one on one a couple
of times. And what happened, Well, you get a holding
called and all of a sudden, you get a offside
you you uh, you know, fall start thank you you know,
you kick out early. Why, well, that guy out there
(39:54):
can beat you around the corner. So the fact is
there's a lot that happens in that and you obviously
would like to play clean, but sometimes circumstances being with that,
I remember the one I got away with was, you know,
when Terry's last game was it was the worst holding.
I would say it was the worst holding call in
the history of the NFL. That wasn't called nice. Yeah,
(40:16):
I got togulation. You know, it's one of those.
Speaker 1 (40:19):
One thing I did want to point out we're talking
about complimentary football. I should have picked up on what
you said earlier. You know, they played renegade and then TJ.
Watt makes the effect. But how often, I mean, you
could look at his career, but certainly this year when
you think about like impact guys are making and sacks
that they're coming up with. Well, when you have a
pass rush team, a speed defense, which is too as
(40:40):
have always been aggressive, let's get after the quarterback. It
works a lot better when you're at home and you
got the lead and the crowds roaring. That's where you know,
we talked about Lawrence Taylor earlier. That's when he came
up with a sack or two that would finish off
the game. That's when James Harrison and Joey Porter would
would finish things off. Well, TJ. Watt hasn't had the
(41:02):
luxury of being in that position enough. So complimentary football.
You get the lead. That makes his defense. It makes
any defense better, but it makes his defense and the
way the Steelers want to play, in my opinion, so
much better. It is such a leg up when you're
able to do that.
Speaker 3 (41:15):
Yeah, and I think everyone's aware that. You know, through
one hundred games, only Reggie White has more sacks, And
I don't think people realize in Watt's career he's basically
been the best guy at producing forced fumbles in the
league too. I mean he's elite in that regard, kind
of like his brother was at swatting down the ball.
They mean, they had these superpowers in addition to the
sack stuff. But I harp on this all the time
(41:37):
when the drive with Dale is TJ unfortunately has not
played with many double digit leads at home towles fly in.
I mean that's happened very rarely in his career. Imagine
if he would have had double those opportunities.
Speaker 1 (41:52):
I mean, it's amazing you know, and just to take
a step back before we get into this game in Seattle.
You know, the last couple of weeks in the NFL,
you're like, can somebody please The Steelers need some they
need some help, and the you know, the Texans are
pulling a rabbit out of the hat and the Browns
are pulling a rabbit out of the hat, and everybody's
(42:13):
a magician.
Speaker 4 (42:13):
I thought the Bengals were done when Burrow was out.
Speaker 1 (42:16):
Yeah, right, everybody's yeah, everybody's doing something. And then I'm
driving home after doing the show with Charlie and I'm
listening to the Bills game and there was a you know,
a late you know, potential first down. Oh no, hang
on a second. No, they're gonna well wait a minute,
sure they challenge they don't challenge it. Then they you know,
they third in inches and they get a penalty, and
(42:36):
then they get a sacked and they have to kick
a field goal, and the Bills, of course, march down
and wind up winning the game. You're like, oh, within
inches maybe of keeping that drive alive, chewing up all
the clock and kicking a field goal. So you're thinking,
oh my god, is it gonna be another weekend like
this and the answer is no. So the Bills won
that game, and if you're the Steelers, yeah, you gotta
win out. We know that, we already know that because
(42:57):
of what you did yourself, self inflicted. But all of
a sudden av the Steelers win the next two games.
I came across this stat Who knows how accurate it is?
Nine chance of making the playoffs if they win their
last two games. Gotta win them. Not gonna be easy
on the road, but just a good weekend all the
way around.
Speaker 4 (43:16):
No question about it.
Speaker 2 (43:17):
And Job one is going to be Seattle, where the
Steelers are one in seven, uh you know, and as
a participant in a couple of those losses in the
old Kingdome out there, which I'm glad was raised, buried
memories along with that kingdom, you know what I mean.
The fact of the matter is, you know that travel
does mess with you a little bit, and that that
(43:39):
volume of noise that you're gonna face is gonna be huge.
But this is a team and Seattle, let's give them credit.
They've won two nail biers.
Speaker 1 (43:46):
Over true lock.
Speaker 2 (43:48):
Yeah, and then they're doing a job. They're getting it done.
It's it's gonna be an interesting outing and yep, it
is what it is. You gotta face it and you
gotta go.
Speaker 4 (44:00):
Last time they won there was nineteen eighty three. I
was there. Yeah. Well, I mean, you know what it
feels like to win in that city.
Speaker 3 (44:07):
Yeah, I also always like to lose in that city
last what forty years, get eighty three?
Speaker 2 (44:15):
Yeah, that uh, it's it's it's very difficult. And then
now the noise level is going to be huge. Well,
it'll be a big party.
Speaker 1 (44:21):
They put themselves in this position, so now they have
to accomplish it difficult. Otherwise it's not in there, right.
I mean, you could still lose a game technically and
get in the playoffs, but it would be I mean,
now you're getting out to you know, the abacus and
the calculator and all.
Speaker 2 (44:33):
Nineteen eighty nine when we six things had to happen
when we're in Tampa Bay and with the day after
Christmas or was it Christmas Day, I can't even remember.
But the first thing that happened was that it snowed
for the first time in twenty five years in Tampa Bay.
And that was like a side. Yes, it's a good omen,
you know, and we got into the playoffs, so you
just never know, say they never quit.
Speaker 1 (44:55):
Yeah, the rest.
Speaker 4 (44:56):
Of the AFC was pretty kind of Steelers this weekend.
Speaker 1 (44:58):
Yeah. And there's a reason teams are eight and seven
and not you know, fourteen and one. It's because they're
capable of losing games to just about anybody.
Speaker 4 (45:07):
I like you.
Speaker 2 (45:08):
How you did the math.
Speaker 1 (45:09):
That was good, Thank you. It took me a minute,
I was I had two strikes against me. I had
to go opposite field on that one. I had to
shorten up. For the most complete selection of Steelers merchandise,
from official sideline gear and ethnic memorabilia to our extensive
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(45:32):
at shop dot Steelers dot com for all your merchandise
needs directly from the team. For Craig Wolfley, for Matt Williams,
and I'm Rob King. Thanks for listening to the point
after on Steelers Nation Radio on one to two point
five DVE
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I'm Rob king, thanks very much for being with us
after some relatively somber point afters. The point after this
(00:33):
time was good. Split the uprights. Thirty four to thirteen, Yeah, baby,
thirty four to thirteen. Wait, thirty four to eleven, thirty
four eleven, it's a few days ago. Thank you, thirty
four to eleven, Thanks Wolf My moments very in between,
but at my moments Steelers pounding the Cincinnati Bengals and
now suddenly there seems to be a new sheen on
this season after that victory. This look back segment is
(00:54):
brought to you by Brian Patton and associates. It's all
about the benefits and let's begin with just some over
all comments. Wol what did you think of that thirty
four to eleven victory over the Bengals?
Speaker 2 (01:05):
Spectacular in every way? You know, what a joy it
was to broadcast that game. What a joy it was
to watch that game, What a joy it was to
hear the fallout after the game was over. The guys
coming out, and that's what football is all about. I mean,
just that that total and andre of the guys coming together,
(01:25):
and that's a big word.
Speaker 1 (01:26):
I know, yes, I had to throwing in.
Speaker 2 (01:27):
I just bought that one somewhere, but you know, all
the guys coming together doing what they needed to do
to secure a victory. I just thought it was spectacular.
And kudos to Mason. I can't even begin to imagine
the pressure that he felt in coming out and performing
like that, but he certainly rose to the challenge and
he was aggressive and did a great job.
Speaker 1 (01:47):
I was saying about that before we get to you.
I was thinking about we're doing the postgame show with
Charlie Batch, looking out at the traffic and thinking, wow,
Mason Dudow was probably in that traffic, and then thinking
to myself, is there a happier person in the city
of Pittsburgh and Mason Rudolph, You know, I mean to
have to sit there and wait and you know, should
he be playing? Shouldn't he be playing? Well, he's you know,
(02:08):
we pointed out, hey, he was third string for a reason. Yeah,
but he didn't get a chance, And back and forth
it goes, and you're wondering, am I ever going to
get another chance? And then to do that, like everybody
in Steeler Nation was happy. I'm like, that's got to
be the happiest kind of planet driving home right now, exactly.
Speaker 2 (02:24):
And I'm just saying this in a little bit because
you're capadre in the postgame show. I remember when Chuck
Batch sat in for for Ben Roethlisberger against Baltimore. Yes,
I remember the like chills coming off him at the
end of the game. Hug, Yeah, the hug from Ben
and everything else. The pressure was so ginormous. Yet Charlie
(02:44):
Batch rose to the occasion and piloted and steered a
Steeler's victory. Those sorts of moments you don't forget. It's incredible.
Speaker 1 (02:52):
Yeah, Matt Rudolpha.
Speaker 3 (02:54):
Red Nose Reindeer playing over the loud speaker as you
walk out, I mean, how great is that?
Speaker 4 (02:58):
Im?
Speaker 3 (02:58):
And the timing of it all, Yeah, and real quick
on him. I mean I couldn't have been happier for
him either. But I've always thought that Rudolph got a
little bit of the short end of the stick, just
from public perception, national perception. I think they're six four
and one now with him as a starter, and people
would lump him in like him and Duck were the
same guy that year. They weren't at all. I mean,
one of them is an NFL player, a backup, where
(03:18):
Duck was happy.
Speaker 4 (03:19):
To be there type of thing.
Speaker 3 (03:20):
And I think everyone remembers the Thursday night game going
to Cleveland with Miles Garrett smashed him over the head
with the helmet, and I watched that game and thought,
I don't care if l Way or Ben Roethlisberger's out there.
They have no one. The guys couldn't even line up right.
I mean they had like guys off the practice squad
receivers in that game. There was no chance to really excel.
And then late that year he got a chance again
(03:41):
with the Jets, and I thought he played his best
football and got hurt in that game, so he never
really got to, like finish the story I felt for him.
Those two games will always stick out with me with
Rudolph and now a third one, which is a great memory.
Speaker 1 (03:53):
Question, Well, you look at her to say something there.
Speaker 2 (03:56):
No, it was just a passing thought. It might have
been a chocolate chip cookie.
Speaker 1 (04:01):
Well, you know when you when you think about where
the students are right now, and again you don't want
to pin. It's far beyond one guy. When Mitch Trubisky
stepped in, you know, you lost mekaf Fitzpatrick. You're you know,
you're you're out your top three safeties. You're trying to
figure out what's going on at the linebacker position. Other
things are happening around you. But in the games where
he's been the primary quarterback, the team's own four under
(04:23):
Mason Rudolph, they're one to zero. Under uh Picken, they're
seven and three. So there are you know, which sets
up the reason I say that it sets up the
very interesting question of what's gonna happen. It looks as
we speak now that it might be Rudolph into Pickett,
but Tuesday, and there's a long way between now and Sunday.
But I think just relishing the moment for him and
(04:43):
then another guy that that had a big game and
obviously uh you know, mixed feelings about and and more
recent because of the the controversy with George Pickens and
the non blocking the week before was the fact that
George Pickens just had a phenomenal right, I mean four
catches for one hundred and ninety five yards, I mean,
(05:03):
just craziness.
Speaker 2 (05:05):
Well, what is the essence of coaching. The essence of
coaching is to bring out the very best in your players.
Part of the essence of coaching and bringing out the
very best in your players is dealing with young men
who need supervision, and they need encouragement, they need boundaries,
they need all these things to be able to realize
their individual talents. And the thing that Chuck Nole always
(05:27):
used to say was I don't treat everybody the same,
but I treat everybody fairly. And that's become a common
theme throughout the NFL now. But back in the seventies
and eighties, back in the days when I was that
was kind of a newer statement. You know, that was
a newer philosophy it, you know, back then, before that,
a lot of it was, yeah, we treat everybody.
Speaker 1 (05:45):
Bad, you know, right, we d everybody to death.
Speaker 2 (05:48):
You know, that's the way the NFL wigh. But the
fact is there's a difference, and this is a new
generation of player and I don't know. If you know,
you watch your kids, you know, sometimes I gotta, I gotta,
I gotta son, who's you know, young guy? And I
had to repeat a lot of things for a period
of time in his life and speak to that before
(06:08):
he was able to internalize that and start to take
that on his own. That's part of what coaching is about.
It's about making sure that you are communicating to a
level of your expectations and those expectations being met by
the individual. And it's one of these, you know, group
things where it starts coming together and I think we
just saw that happen and play out.
Speaker 1 (06:30):
The same but not fair. I had to Bill Parcells
used to say it abou Lawrence tale or because Lawrence Tayler. Yeah,
you never knew. I mean, you know, you figured he'd
be there on Sunday. But I mean there's a there's
a period of his time where you might even had
to question, hey, zelt he going to be there? Oh
yeah he is. He's gonna have two and a half sacks,
including the biggest play in the fourth quarter.
Speaker 3 (06:45):
I think Jimmy Johnson used to say, well, if Michael
Irvin was a couple of minutes late, to a meeting.
That's a little different than the fifty third guy. Yes,
and you don't want to get to that point with
these guys. No, and neither in Pickens aren't Michael Irvin
Lawrence Taylor in terms of accomplishments either.
Speaker 4 (06:57):
But he's pretty good at the game.
Speaker 1 (06:58):
Yeah, but it's harder.
Speaker 4 (07:00):
We're pretty good.
Speaker 1 (07:02):
We were kind of talking about this before we went
on the air. It's harder and harder and harder now
for a coach, you know, listen, it's fifty three individuals
and more. I mean, it used to be you could
probably lump guys into a into a certain category. Now,
I mean, these guys have grown up in a different
way than the three of us have grown up. And
it's just it's a different world, and coaches have to
(07:25):
have to respond differently and have to act differently, have
to behave differently because of the player.
Speaker 3 (07:30):
You can't always use the stick either, you know what
I mean. Sometimes it's got to be the carrot or
people around them, or the chocolate chip cooget exactly. So
they handled it really well. The results were great. The
fact that Pickens makes the huge play so early in
the game too. I mean, I think it's just a
big exhale and a relief and it makes us The
catchdown the sideline as well was phenomenal.
Speaker 4 (07:52):
You know. On the field, product was tremendous.
Speaker 3 (07:54):
I mean, they took advantage what I thought it was
a pretty bad defense, but they beat the crap out
of it.
Speaker 1 (07:58):
You know. And yeah, you know the other thing too,
is I think that you know, the jail and Warren
blocked on on an awfully good football part. Like I
think Jermaine Pratt's a really good linebacker. Yes, I think
he's a really fine player. But I think my favorite meme,
you know, you're scrolling around on your phone and you're
watching the games, and they had they had a picture
(08:18):
of Jermaine Bratt practice at the time where Jalen Warren
hit him and he was uh uh, he was the
halls and uh and Warren was the bows of Holly
and so at that moment as he decked them, he
decked the halls. But that was, you know, it was
an incredible block and coming in as such a similar
(08:41):
circumstance as it had the week before, in which Pickens obviously,
that's that's you know, the whole controversy arose when he said, well,
I didn't want to get hurt, so I didn't make
the block and and Warren said, well, I would have blocked,
and then they run. Now it's a wide receiver running.
The only thing it was if it had been Pickens
instead of Austin, that would have been a complete uh
you know, changing in the picture of it. But what
(09:03):
a tremendous block. And it got everybody fired up, no
question about it. And think about it. Jalen Warren is
a man of his word, right. He said, I'd walk
for George. By golly, it wasn't George, but it's Cale Austin.
And now whammo, you see a dec leader, a slobber
knocker like that. Let me tell you something that makes
you feel so good. That is such good family fun
(09:24):
you can't even believe it. I sat there yesterday watching
the film and I put that rewind button over and over.
I had a cup of Joe, and I was just wow, wow, yeah,
a little slip, you know, slurp, and wow again.
Speaker 4 (09:37):
It was amazing.
Speaker 1 (09:38):
I told my wife I couldn't get off. I just
kept the same thing. I kept watching it over and over.
Yet I mean it really was. I mean it was
just perfect. You know, it was listen. I mean, you know,
if anybody's ever played football and sat in the film room,
you've probably been Jermaine Pratt before. Oh yeah, Pad, what
are you thinking here? What are you seeing? Don't you
see him coming? You know, blah blah blah. You gotta
you gotta, you know, you gotta fill the hole there.
(09:59):
And he came in high, and he didn't use particularly
good technique and he got flattened. But so it goes.
Speaker 2 (10:06):
I mean I've been on both ends of it. Yeah,
I've been the splatterer and the splatter re. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (10:11):
And when you see that film rewinding, when it's you,
that's not a good. No, no, what are you thinking?
Hang on a second year, let's watch that one more time. Everybody,
here's something really bad. Oh boy. Anyway, just it was.
It was great to see and and you know, I
wanted to get some to something that you were talking
about in your podcast as far as we you know,
the offense goes, and we're gonna get to the defense certainly.
(10:32):
But I thought the Steelers I thought, first of all,
I thought the offensive line played a really, really good game.
I think there was only one sack and Rudolph probably
held on to it too long and kind of drifted
over to Dan Moore, who I thought also the holding
call on him was just I thought ridiculous. It was
a horrible call. But I thought the offensive line was good.
(10:53):
I thought when they when the offense was out in
the first half and in the second half, Look, you're
trying to just get to the end of the game.
The game's over, you got it won. You're not going
to be probably as effective running the wall you'd like
to be. That's one thing. Maybe if you're gonna quibble
in a minor fashion, you'd love to be able to
just run the ball down their throats. But when they
had everything rolling in the first half, they ran, They
(11:15):
rushed for seventy yards. The offensive line was blowing open holes.
Thoose got smaller in the second half of they're protecting Rudolph.
I thought the offensive line played a really, really strong game.
Speaker 3 (11:26):
Yeah, and I'm sure they would tell you they were
very unhappy with how.
Speaker 4 (11:29):
They played against the Colts.
Speaker 3 (11:30):
I mean, like personally, as an analyst, I sold the
Colts front seven a little short and they got worked over,
and they got worked over badly in that game. In
almost an embarrassing fashion. And so as professionals, you love
how they respond, you know, I mean I thought Selal
who played really well, maybe it was best Mason Coles,
maybe best game of the year. You know, nobody was
(11:51):
you know short or you know, left your hanging at all.
Saw Chukes out there for a couple reps as a
sixth guy, I was a little worried to be honest,
that Washington might be hitting a rookie wall and he
came back in big fashion as extension of the old line.
You know, we even mentioned some of the peripheral blocking
by Warren Robinson was out there smacking people as he's
done all year. So the blocking across the whole starting
(12:16):
eleven I thought was really really good. And they didn't
break you know, twenty thirty yard runs, but there was
a lot of six seven eight yard runs protectly, particularly
on early downs. They stayed ahead of the chains.
Speaker 2 (12:26):
Yep, and they kept pushing.
Speaker 4 (12:28):
And don't forget Friar Mooth.
Speaker 2 (12:29):
My gosh, yeah, that block on the touchdown run by
Kelvin Austin. You had both Mount Washington and Friar Mouth
out there. They each took one guy wiped it out.
And that let Jalen Warren go right in after us Pratt.
Pammel just you couldn't have designed that better.
Speaker 1 (12:44):
Yeah, sixteen first down to the years, you were seven
of fourteen on third down and nine of them came
by a rush. So they were setting that up yearly
down success. And you as you mentioned, you know, we
talked about that last week. The Bengals not a good
first down defense, and this Steers are able to take
advantage of that. Run the football. And to Matt's point, well,
if I thought that the running backs you know, ran hard,
especially in the first half. I mean they ran hard
(13:05):
all game, but I mean if they got any a rhythms,
I thought, yeah, set the tone, Thank you, Matt. In
the first half, I thought.
Speaker 2 (13:10):
No question about it. And when you set that tone,
you start to gain momentum, and they gained momentum throughout
the game. I thought, you watch that offensive line, I mean,
whether it was Isaac Suamalo pulling around on that power
lead power, I love watching him because it's just like
with that hair flowing out the back. It's just like
with Pala Malo. Follow the hair. You see that hair
coming out straight, You're got the ball just follow that
(13:32):
dude because that dude is about to put a whacking
on somebody, which he did do. And then you got
James Daniels who also played so very well some of
the He's had a couple of pacoderms that he just
rolled out of there and slammed on the ground, and
you just like, wow, I loved it. When you see
that offensive line playing that physical where thick bodies are
being moved in the trench is there, it gives for me.
(13:54):
I get all googlymogly on it, you know. I was like, Wow,
that's fun because I know what it's like when you're
in there and you're putting a pace you on those guys.
Those guys are looking at you kind of side eye,
but you know you you're on the their mind. I
mean they're they're they're worried about it, you know. And
that's the beauty of that good inside running.
Speaker 3 (14:10):
And those two ball carriers take it personally too, like
they don't just stuck out of bounds or just go
down easy here.
Speaker 4 (14:17):
I mean nause he's a fighter to the.
Speaker 1 (14:18):
Yes, you know right, I mean it wornt. Yeah, they
have no interest in being tackled.
Speaker 2 (14:22):
No person, I can't decide if not he's a full back,
a half back, or a mixed martial artist.
Speaker 4 (14:27):
I don't know about all the upper body stuff he's punching.
And because you think you come up to tackle them,
you're in a fight. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1 (14:37):
It's a fight. And one of the thing too, glad
to see the stretch Matt of it was eleven consecutive
games with out at least two touchdown passes without getting
you know, for more than one touchdown pass. That's the
longest current streak in the NFL. That's over now. We
talked about the four hundred yards that stretched on unfortunately
for seasons, but they're a little less celebrated streak. But
(14:58):
eleven straight games, there was a long in the NFL.
That's over now. So a lot, just a lot of
good things out of the offense.
Speaker 3 (15:04):
Absolutely, it'd be nice to put some of those things
just behind you that you don't have to talk about
streaks and whatnot, because they can pretend like they don't
listen to them, but they have to hear some of
those things. Frankly, sometimes four hundred yards isn't the director's
aulting a win either, you know. I mean, they have
a lot of good stretches where they controlled the flow
of the game and didn't get to those numbers. But no,
I thought this was a great offensive performance. Now can
(15:27):
they take it to Seattle on the road and do
the same thing.
Speaker 1 (15:29):
We'll see three hundred and ninety seven yards thirty four
to eleven victory. You're listening to the point after, We're
going to take a look at the defense, also some
other factors of this game. A little brief look forward
to Seattle as well. A little bit later on in
the program and the point after on Steelers Nation Radio
and one oh two point five DVE continues. This is
(15:56):
the point After, presented by Parks Causeino is today your
lucky day bet Parks by Brian Patton, then associates it's
all about the benefits and by this two there's pro
shop get it direct from the team at shop dot
Steelers dot com. Alongside Craig Wolfy and Matt Williamson. I'm
Rob King. I hope you all had a great holiday,
Merry Christmas, et cetera. Looking forward to the new year. Uh,
(16:17):
Seelers will play their final game of the year until
next year. Will the Steelers play again? Right?
Speaker 2 (16:24):
Uh?
Speaker 1 (16:25):
Wait a minute of the year Sunday still this year, right, yesday,
I've made mistakes, so what a third strike and I'm
out in that, thank you very much. We're allttle details.
We're discussing that we're all a little groggy from too
much protein, too much sugar. Yeah, big gap from game
(16:49):
to show. No excuse for not knowing what year it is, though,
That's what I'd like to get better at. Okay, So, uh,
you know, Wolf and I were having a discussion. Mat.
I'm gonna start with you on this before we talk
about the defense, because in the locker room with Wolf
and Max Starks, you know, the guys are bringing up
a great point that the scouting department Andy Wide all
(17:09):
the rest of his scouts phenomenal job in finding the
replacements that they've needed safety and linebacker in the middle
of the season. How difficult that is, how much scouting
goes into I'm sure they've got a list of wide receivers.
They haven't tapped into tight ends, they haven't tapped into cornerbacks,
they haven't tapped into although they did pick up theorius
(17:30):
rush earlier this year. But then when you look at
not only picking guys up, but you know your three
leading tackers. Now you've lost to land In Roberts. You've
lost your top three safeties and your top three inside linebackers,
and your top three tacklers in the game were Michael Walker,
Eric Rowe, and Miles Jack, all of whom you had
(17:53):
to go out and acquire in the middle of the
season to fill in and fill in vital roles and
not only fill in vital role, but succeed in those roles.
Speaker 3 (18:01):
Yeah, and I'll steal this from Dale Lawley's callum they
does after the Steeler Game two is those three, the
three leading tacklers, were not even employed by the Pittsburgh
Steelers on October thirtieth. I mean, so they weren't in camp.
You know, they were all acquired throughout the year, and
that was, you know, the earliest of them all. So, yes,
the Steelers have done a tremendous job of mining the
(18:21):
bottom of their roster and the practice squad. But I
also commend the NFL. So it's one of the best
things that came out of COVID for the league, or
these expanded practice squad got. You know, you couldn't put
many veterans on your practice squad back in the day.
When that was invented. Now you can put guys like Miles,
Jack and Walker that have been around the Rose thirty
one years old. You know, you can put them on
your practice squad, teach them things behind the scenes a
(18:43):
little bit, so it makes for a better product for
the league. But no, those guys all played great, and
you guys might have caught it. I didn't quite catch
it. It sounded like Jack was not I almost say gassed,
but I mean he hadn't played in a while, and
he played led the linebackers and snaps, and I thought
it was Walker's best game. I thought Roe was fine.
And give Peterson some credit. He's playing out of position
quite a bit too.
Speaker 1 (19:03):
You know, I think that's really intriguing, the Peterson thing.
But I just just to because you've been in an
NFL front office, you've been in a scouting department, what
goes into that? I mean, how many guys are is
there somebody in charge? Are there one or two guys
in charge of knowing there's on everybody else's practice squad
well in your own, and who you might be able
to pick up. I mean, do you have a list
(19:24):
of guys? Hey, because you know you can't just you
can't lose these kind of players. I wouldn't think on
a Sunday and then Monday be like, hey, let's get
everybody together. We need to go start scouting some teams
like they'd have to have that in place, right.
Speaker 3 (19:38):
Yes, there's there's a couple of little bit of insight
I can give on that is there is every team,
every team should every team has a board. Back then
it was magnets, but it was on computers too. But
in the director of Pro Scouting's office there was our
emergency board, you know that break glass in case of
and our director of pro scouting would have that board
handy on game day because if you lost linebacker, you're
(20:01):
going to that emergency board and finding that agent two
minutes after the injury happened.
Speaker 4 (20:06):
I mean during the game.
Speaker 3 (20:07):
You're getting in touch with those guys immediately or sending
an email or a text or whatever. So you walk
in there in your fold or with your emergency board,
hopefully not needing to use it. Plus plus practice squads
weren't as big back then. But to give you, like
my pro scouting job with the Browns was I was
a young scout, so they gave me the NFC West
(20:29):
and they weren't on the schedule that year, so but
I had to have a grade and watch every snap
of NFC West tape. So if they would cut a guard,
is he better than our last guard?
Speaker 1 (20:40):
You know?
Speaker 3 (20:41):
You always had to be in charge of that division,
and other scouts had their divisions as well, and they
would also do advanced scouting because I didn't. I didn't
have to do that because West was not on the schedule.
So yeah, I watched every snap of Orlando Pace and
Walter Jones.
Speaker 4 (20:55):
I didn't think they're not coming available, you know what
I mean.
Speaker 3 (20:57):
The more important job is you know, who's the best
guy on their practice squad or worst guy that could
get you know, through waivers and is he better than
what we had with the Browns? The case was often
yes on that team, right, you know, we could use
every help we could get.
Speaker 1 (21:11):
Amazing to hear that part of the process. I mean,
I've heard about it in baseball more, you know, and
then it's always interesting, uh you know, you hear later on,
well we love this guy, we should have claimed him,
and you know, you know, there's always a scout to
you know, you you freak you don't frequently hear of
I thought that guy was going to be really good,
and you know, I wish we drafted him when he
didn't turn out to be very good. But I love
this guy. There's like a romance still for the game
(21:34):
that I love about scouting, and I think it's great.
Speaker 2 (21:37):
Think about the magnificent job to have the ability to
go four or five linebackers deep and for safeties deep
or whatever it is, it's it's unbelievable. I mean, when
you think about it, that's a that's a plague. You
have not seen a long time man in certain spots,
and certainly for that the for the front office people
to be able to dig that deep man, that is
(21:59):
it's amazing.
Speaker 1 (21:59):
And I would think Matt for the guy who pounded
his fist on the table for the late late round
draft choice, or the undrafted free agent, the jail and
Warren or even the James Harrison, right, somebody had to
stand up and put in a word for that person.
And I would imagine that part of it of the
scouting world has just got to be like, yes, so
(22:20):
unbelievably rewarding.
Speaker 3 (22:21):
So I haven't told this story on Pittsburgh airways for
a while. But maybe the most rewarding thing I did
with my year with the Browns, and Steeler fans aren't
gonna like it because they got the wrong end of
the stick on it was. Our first pick was Braylan Edwards,
so we were not going to spend a lot of
money on other free agents. With third pick in the
draft was a wide receiver. So my job was I
(22:43):
got ten grand from what I remember, which was a
decent buck, then to sign three undrafted free agents, and
I gave like ninety eight hundred of it to Josh
Cribbs because he was a returner. He was right down
the street, and I did all the legwork hoping he
didn't get drafted.
Speaker 4 (22:59):
Hope he didn't get drafted. I don't even know the
other two receivers.
Speaker 3 (23:02):
I gave like one hundred bucks each too, and then
Paul Warfield stealed the deal, and you know, Josh Cribs
became a Brown and did some bad things to.
Speaker 4 (23:10):
The Steelers, you know, So that kind of stuff was like,
he should have been drafted. Why is he still out there?
Speaker 3 (23:14):
It's got my my fingers crossed that somebody didn't pluck
him in the seventh round.
Speaker 1 (23:18):
I love it, love those That's a great story. And
for the Steelers, I think the reward of seeing these
guys come together, and I think overall too as we
take a step back from just the individual personnel and
credit to scouting department, I thought the Steelers coaching staff
did a fantastic job. You know, Browning came out, his
numbers were outstanding, but a lot of that was And
(23:42):
I don't want to take any away from Jake Browning
because he's he's made some he's made some good throws.
He's done some nice things as their quarterback. You know,
flung that ball to t Higgins and I you know
that was a bit of a prayer, but but you know,
in the week before, but he's made some good throws.
But they did a lot of stuff to the running
backs big in the screen game. They killed the Colts
in the screen game. You know, utilization. You would think
(24:04):
in this game coming in the middle of the field
against the Steelers, particularly the tight ends and running backs.
And obviously Higgins had the one that he that he
took the distance. But I thought by and large, the
coaching staff had this team ready and they dropped what
they dropped. High Smith Highsmith comes up with an interception
in this game. I just thought that the way they
prepared for what Jake Browning did and what he did
(24:26):
well was tremendous and was a big part of why
they won the game.
Speaker 2 (24:30):
There's no question about it. I mean, Jake Browning was
on a roll. He had what four I think he was,
what five games in a row. He had a quarterback
rated and ninety five or better. Yeah, he was fifty
and so you can't take anything was kid, That's right.
He earned it and he was he was doing great.
But you know, they moved the pieces around for the Steelers.
You saw what you saw high Smith moving around a
(24:53):
little bit. You saw him drop, which I still can't
get over high Smith with that interception. Yeah, that was
a great job of dropping, following the quarterback's eyes and
then leading him and then making a catch. I mean,
think about it. These are guys, those edge rushers, These
are guys that do battle with six foot seven three
and forty pound monsters, you know, and trying to get
a sack. So and yet they come out here and
(25:15):
they can cover backs and I just marvel at it.
They're great athletes setting the edge on the run. Getting
involved in the run game. If you look at the
two of them together, I think they had a couple
of sacks, five quarterback hits. That mean DJ and Alex
together and just did a great stuff together and pressuring
Browning and just keeping him you don't have him throw
(25:37):
the ball and you know, not being able to move
around a whole lot.
Speaker 3 (25:41):
So a couple things on that level is we touched
on it. The replacement guys came in and did their jobs,
and Rob, I think we remember that one of our
keys leading up to the game for the video we
do was tackle the catch. You know, they did that
really well, and the Browning is playing great, but a
lot of it was short, controlled passing, get it out
your hands, quick rhythm timing after the catch. The backs
(26:04):
and tight ends and the defense did a tremendous job
with that with the middle of the field guys, linebackers, safeties.
But I thought a big reason that that stuff worked
as well as it did was your stars came to play.
You didn't have Minka and I'm going to conclude Porter
in this Porter in your two edge guys were tremendous
in this game. Dropping the edge guys I think made Browning,
(26:24):
you know, packed the ball an extra second and allowed
the other guys to get home and clearly as pass
rushers as well as the run game, Watt and high
Smith beat up on their tackles, you know, Orlando brown
who they're giving big money to, Joanah Williams, a former
first round pick. I mean, they have a lot invested
in those tackles, and they got beat repeatedly. I can't
forget the you know, Renegade comes on, and I forget
(26:46):
how the sequence was. But Watt got a sack, and
then Williams jumped off sides and he got a hold
or something. I mean, it was just a bevy of
things happening in a row right when Renegade hit in
the second half. And then this is the number I
wanted to pull out is This is was on NFL
dot Com. This is their next gen stats which allowed
so much of the other things to happen in the
(27:07):
middle of the field. Porter was on t Higgins for
thirty two of the forty pass routes that he ran. Okay,
I mean, so we know Higgins did some good things
in this game, but Porter was on him thirty two
out of forty on the plays he covered by Porter
Higgins had one reception on two targets for fifteen.
Speaker 1 (27:25):
Yards in credit.
Speaker 4 (27:26):
That's unbelievable.
Speaker 3 (27:27):
I mean, just think of the ripple effect that has
on doubling tight ends or you know, taking you know,
the middle of the field. If he's on the best guy,
that's just a huge advantage.
Speaker 1 (27:37):
I mean, he we talked about this in the locker
room and you know, well and Matt. One of the
things we brought up, like if you could do the
draft over him, we will know for three or four years.
But guys that are doing what Joey Porter's been doing
normally going like the top ten of the draft. Yeah,
I mean yeah, they don't go where he went. Now again,
(27:59):
let's let it play out. His career is just starting,
but it is so it's hard to curb your enthusiasm
for what he's what he's doing. I mean, he's he's
been tremendous for the Steelers.
Speaker 4 (28:11):
Yeah, man, watch him.
Speaker 2 (28:14):
I'm just sitting there going, you know, I don't know.
I always thought, you know, Joey probably have a kid
that could rush the past or everything else like that,
be like his dad. But you know, he's a cornerback
comes out. Yeah, he's his dad in a cornerback's body.
I mean he plays with that intensity, that fierceness, that
that desired to be great. You can see it. He's
not afraid of the challenges. He's not afraid of, you know,
(28:36):
putting himself under the microscope and delivering the goods in
a in a way, in a fashion that is pretty exceptional.
And he's up to the big stage challenge. And and
you look at that, you go, he is a chip
off the block, you know. He is, you know, someone
that is going to get better as as the years
roll by, I believe for the how how long? I mean,
(28:57):
you know, So I'm excited to see what his future
is going to be. I'm excited to see him develop
more because once you do that and you get one
of those cornerstones, and then you get we haven't seen
what Corey Trice can do, right, you know, And so
that next year it looks very promising, just because there's
another young man out there who has capabilities of coming
alongside that long corner length wise type thing, and you
(29:19):
never know what can develop after that.
Speaker 1 (29:21):
Yeah, and I'm interested to see that, but I do
want to and then maybe we can talk about that
next segment. We're just about out of time on this segment.
But when you look at this draft and you see
Roderick Jones and what he is showing his cap he's
capable of obviously picked high Porter Ben, and then you
talk about like Herbig and Washington and guys that I mean,
(29:43):
most guys take a little bit of time to develop
and what are they going to be. But you've got
three guys that.
Speaker 4 (29:49):
Are just like cornerstones.
Speaker 1 (29:52):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah you do.
Speaker 2 (29:54):
I don't know about you, but I'm thinking her Big
is starting to look like a cornerstone project movement.
Speaker 1 (29:58):
Yeah, but he's it's it's nice to see him like
kind of coming along, like that's the normal pace, right,
like bring the rookie along well, Benton from from day one,
and and Broderick Jones since he's been inserted, and Joey
Porter since he's been inserted in the lineup, they've it
looked really, really good.
Speaker 2 (30:14):
The dude's a destroyer on the inside. I'm telling you.
Speaker 1 (30:16):
Yeah, Yeah, it's been fun. We have lots more ground
to cover.
Speaker 4 (30:20):
Uh.
Speaker 1 (30:20):
This is the point after on Steelers Nation Radio and
one O two point five DVE. This is the point after,
presented by Parks Casino is today You're Lucky Day bet
Parks by Brian Patton and Associates. It's all about the
benefits and by this dealer's pro shop. Get it direct
(30:42):
from the team at shop dot Steelers dot com. Okay, Wolf,
I just something you said. Maybe I just want to
bring this up. It's not exactly relevant to this game
of what part of it is, but you know, I
think a lot of Steelers fans would look at this defense,
look at the back end and say, Okay, well, Joey Porter,
you're for sure, Mink and Fitzpatrick for sure. The rest
(31:03):
of it they're going to have to figure out. Well,
we've known about Corey Trice. I think there's some belief
in Darius Rush, who's been on the practice squad, that
maybe he can be a guy. But this move from
Patrick Peterson, this move necessitated by injuries to safety. Hmm,
you know what I mean. I mean, I'm looking at
him thinking could he be the guy that you put
(31:25):
next to Mincoln next year? Could he be a guy
following the Rod Woodson molds, some other molds of guys
that have moved from corner to safety. He seems amenable
to it. I mean I think I was really intrigued
by him at the safety position.
Speaker 2 (31:40):
Well, I thought he had quitted himself very well, no
doubt about it. Look, when you're as well versed as
Pat Peterson is in all the you know, the different
positions out there, the thing that he represented to me
was Okay, calm down, I got this. I mean that's
what I got from Pat Peterson. A guy out there
to say, relax, da da da da dad. Gets the
(32:03):
communication from the front end to the back end, from
the back end to the front end, and don't get
all in a bunch about it is basically it then
that commune influence.
Speaker 4 (32:14):
What what does that do?
Speaker 2 (32:15):
That people just play faster if you're back there and
you're not sure what's going on, and then all of
a sudden you know, you're not a great community communicator
like Pat Pete is. The guy's been around for a
long time and is able to communicate so very well.
Make sure people are on the same page, you know,
that's what you get. You get a good result even
when you have people that haven't been there, you know,
(32:35):
and he's able to bring them together and be able
to do that.
Speaker 4 (32:38):
I saw the.
Speaker 2 (32:39):
Greatest demonstration of being on the same page between It
was Levi Wallace and it was it was Mika Fitzpatrick
up a training camp and they were talking and with
one of the linebackers. I can't remember who, but I
was just happened to be on the sidelines in earshot
of them, and just how they communicated about a tight
end and a running back and a wide receiver to
the same side was spectacular. And I think with Pat
(33:02):
Pete that's exactly what you get as somebody who was
able to relieve a lot of the fears that the
coaching staff may have by with people that are new
out there and have not had much time with the Steelers,
and that's what he does a great job.
Speaker 3 (33:15):
So take that even further. I mean, you mentioned Rod Woodson,
Charles Woodson from all time greats have made that move,
and if you have the size, the head, and the desire,
it's quite possible, and I think he has all three. Interestingly,
you know he came from the Vikings. I mean, everyone
thinks about Patrick Peterson as a Revis Island man coverage Grodner, and.
Speaker 4 (33:37):
He was for the great deal of his career. But
with the Vikings.
Speaker 3 (33:40):
Last year they were the heaviest zone team in the
entire league, and he had a bunch of picks.
Speaker 4 (33:44):
You know.
Speaker 3 (33:44):
I mean, if you're a defensive back, you either have
man eyes, you know, where you're focused on one guy,
or zone eyes, where you see the world through a
much different world, you know, a much different lens, you
see all the whole field. And he's always shown the
ability to both. But with the Vikings, his own capabilities
were really, really strong. He took the ball away and
(34:04):
he sat down with Dale and I at the mini
camp and he basically said, I'm not here to follow
Jamar Chase around for sixty plays. I know who I am.
You know, he's very conscious of where he's at in
his stage of his career. I can't speak for him,
but I would think he'd be very interested in being
one of two or three safeties, including Menca next year.
He's under contract one more year. Being an outside corner
(34:27):
playing man coverage in the Joey Porter Junior mold isn't
what he is anymore, you know what I mean. He's
here to be a jack of all trades and a leader.
Speaker 1 (34:33):
Yeah, it is. It is interesting, very intriguing to me
that he could solve a huge look and you're gonna
get a You're gonna get a look at him, right,
I mean, he's they need him. He's gonna be playing
safety right over the next couple of weeks. You know,
after the game ended, Mike Tomlin Wolf talked about complimentary football,
(34:54):
and I think that we saw that go against the Steelers,
particularly the week before this one, in which you know,
Nagi fumbles one play later it's a touchdown. You know,
just these things that happen against you with the complimentary football.
And I thought in this game, in a couple of
different regards, like I thought maybe in retrospect, well even
(35:17):
at the time, I thought maybe maybe the biggest play
of the game was the Patrick Peterson interception. You know,
you march down, you score, Well, you don't march down.
You throw the ball to George Pickens and he marches,
He marches and scores. You get the ball back, they
go on a long drive, you get the interception from Peterson. Okay, great,
take a breath. Then you go on this ten play
drive in which you scored the touchdown. I just thought
(35:39):
that was one of those big moments in this game.
There were a couple like that. You know, you score
seventeen points off of turnovers. I just thought the Steelers
really and you know how that is, like, you know,
and we've seen it. We've seen this really and a
lot of their losses where things just start to get
away from you. You can't come up with the big drive,
you can't come up with a good stop. You can't
(35:59):
you can't be the person that reverses that complimentary football.
And in this game, I thought they played as Mike
Tomlins a great complimentary football absolutely.
Speaker 2 (36:07):
I mean, you think about how this season is really unfurled.
I mean, mainly it's been a lot of defense, good
defensive work, offense kind of sputtering getting things done. But
today we saw that the offense kicks started it, the
defense got some takeaways. Even when the defense faltered with
the t Higgins eighty yarder to start off the second half,
(36:27):
what do we have steevels turn around, go answer the
touchdown with a touchdown. We have not seen that throughout
most of the season.
Speaker 1 (36:33):
Yep.
Speaker 2 (36:34):
So there was a lot of good complimentary football going
on out there, and there was guys rising to the
challenge getting the job done. And I thought that the
ability for the offense to support the defense and so
many occasions and turn those interceptions into points, you know,
I mean that's huge. I mean sometimes, you know, you
(36:55):
get the interception, the turnover, you don't get the points, right,
and what's the art yards are just empty, just you.
Speaker 4 (37:02):
Know, empty counties. Yeah yeah, in a way which I
always like shared last couple of days.
Speaker 1 (37:08):
Yeah yeah, but we're all perspiring a lot more here
doing just by talking. It shouldn't be really shouldn't be.
You know. I thought one of the other things that
was terrific about this game was the red zone offense
and the red zone defense.
Speaker 3 (37:23):
Yeah, yeah, I mean I do think Browning struggled. He
kind of looked his age a little bit as a
red zone passer. And I'm not taking any shots of Kenny,
but I mean that's not been his strength. I mean, frankly,
it hasn't been Trevor Lawrence's strength.
Speaker 4 (37:38):
I mean, young.
Speaker 3 (37:38):
Quarterbacks that are new to this league almost always struggle
in the red zone. And I think Rudolph has shown
some maturity, some experience, and also the physicality of the
run game. And frankly, it's nice to have some explosions
in explosive plays growing on there too, thanks to mister Pickens,
you know, a little combination of both and back to
the complimentary football. They now are number one the league
(38:00):
again and turnover differential, you.
Speaker 1 (38:01):
Know, I'm incredible it had been shrinking right action.
Speaker 4 (38:05):
Yeah, drastically. Now they're number one again.
Speaker 1 (38:07):
Yeah, that is good. And one of the other things too.
And you talk about yards being empty, but they still are.
They still count. You still want to see them not
give up yards in the punning game. I think we
should point that out once again. That was not a
positive statistic for the for the Steelers. But a week
after they had all those penalties, they come back in
this game. Mike Thomlinson, we got to do things differently.
We got to get back to, you know, playing certain
(38:28):
style of football we have. We have to make changes.
Two penalties for fifteen yards. That's that's huge. I mean,
you're giving away last week, you gave away eighty yards
eighty ninety yards in the penalties, just the penalties. You know,
that's your moving field position around and only have two
for fifteen I thought that should be that should be underscored.
And because the Steelers came back and played the kind
(38:50):
of football they needed to absolutely.
Speaker 2 (38:52):
Look is one who was contributed heavily to penalties in
the game At one point in time, Tian Mike Webs
for the most holding calls in one single game. Oh look,
I understand the importance of playing clean. So you know
how you really want to know? It's like four, Yeah,
it was. It was a bad day. It was a
(39:13):
bad day.
Speaker 4 (39:14):
So anyhow, that's moving right along.
Speaker 2 (39:18):
Yes, the fact is that's the importance of playing clean though,
because what you're able to do and what you're able
to accomplish. Look, I know, Jonah Williams right tackle. Okay,
so you're you're out there one on one with one
of the greatest man eaters in the in the history
of the NFL.
Speaker 4 (39:32):
You got this kid, that TJ.
Speaker 2 (39:34):
Watt out there right, and you're out For the most part,
they had somebody you know, double team and them helping
to tackle them at times it seemed like, you know,
but they left them alone one on one a couple
of times. And what happened, Well, you get a holding
called and all of a sudden, you get a offside
you you uh, you know, fall start thank you you know,
you kick out early. Why, well, that guy out there
(39:54):
can beat you around the corner. So the fact is
there's a lot that happens in that and you obviously
would like to play clean, but sometimes circumstances being with that,
I remember the one I got away with was, you know,
when Terry's last game was it was the worst holding.
I would say it was the worst holding call in
the history of the NFL. That wasn't called nice. Yeah,
(40:16):
I got togulation. You know, it's one of those.
Speaker 1 (40:19):
One thing I did want to point out we're talking
about complimentary football. I should have picked up on what
you said earlier. You know, they played renegade and then TJ.
Watt makes the effect. But how often, I mean, you
could look at his career, but certainly this year when
you think about like impact guys are making and sacks
that they're coming up with. Well, when you have a
pass rush team, a speed defense, which is too as
(40:40):
have always been aggressive, let's get after the quarterback. It
works a lot better when you're at home and you
got the lead and the crowds roaring. That's where you know,
we talked about Lawrence Taylor earlier. That's when he came
up with a sack or two that would finish off
the game. That's when James Harrison and Joey Porter would
would finish things off. Well, TJ. Watt hasn't had the
(41:02):
luxury of being in that position enough. So complimentary football.
You get the lead. That makes his defense. It makes
any defense better, but it makes his defense and the
way the Steelers want to play, in my opinion, so
much better. It is such a leg up when you're
able to do that.
Speaker 3 (41:15):
Yeah, and I think everyone's aware that. You know, through
one hundred games, only Reggie White has more sacks, And
I don't think people realize in Watt's career he's basically
been the best guy at producing forced fumbles in the
league too. I mean he's elite in that regard, kind
of like his brother was at swatting down the ball.
They mean, they had these superpowers in addition to the
sack stuff. But I harp on this all the time
(41:37):
when the drive with Dale is TJ unfortunately has not
played with many double digit leads at home towles fly in.
I mean that's happened very rarely in his career. Imagine
if he would have had double those opportunities.
Speaker 1 (41:52):
I mean, it's amazing you know, and just to take
a step back before we get into this game in Seattle.
You know, the last couple of weeks in the NFL,
you're like, can somebody please The Steelers need some they
need some help, and the you know, the Texans are
pulling a rabbit out of the hat and the Browns
are pulling a rabbit out of the hat, and everybody's
(42:13):
a magician.
Speaker 4 (42:13):
I thought the Bengals were done when Burrow was out.
Speaker 1 (42:16):
Yeah, right, everybody's yeah, everybody's doing something. And then I'm
driving home after doing the show with Charlie and I'm
listening to the Bills game and there was a you know,
a late you know, potential first down. Oh no, hang
on a second. No, they're gonna well wait a minute,
sure they challenge they don't challenge it. Then they you know,
they third in inches and they get a penalty, and
(42:36):
then they get a sacked and they have to kick
a field goal, and the Bills, of course, march down
and wind up winning the game. You're like, oh, within
inches maybe of keeping that drive alive, chewing up all
the clock and kicking a field goal. So you're thinking,
oh my god, is it gonna be another weekend like
this and the answer is no. So the Bills won
that game, and if you're the Steelers, yeah, you gotta
win out. We know that, we already know that because
(42:57):
of what you did yourself, self inflicted. But all of
a sudden av the Steelers win the next two games.
I came across this stat Who knows how accurate it is?
Nine chance of making the playoffs if they win their
last two games. Gotta win them. Not gonna be easy
on the road, but just a good weekend all the
way around.
Speaker 4 (43:16):
No question about it.
Speaker 2 (43:17):
And Job one is going to be Seattle, where the
Steelers are one in seven, uh you know, and as
a participant in a couple of those losses in the
old Kingdome out there, which I'm glad was raised, buried
memories along with that kingdom, you know what I mean.
The fact of the matter is, you know that travel
does mess with you a little bit, and that that
(43:39):
volume of noise that you're gonna face is gonna be huge.
But this is a team and Seattle, let's give them credit.
They've won two nail biers.
Speaker 1 (43:46):
Over true lock.
Speaker 2 (43:48):
Yeah, and then they're doing a job. They're getting it done.
It's it's gonna be an interesting outing and yep, it
is what it is. You gotta face it and you
gotta go.
Speaker 4 (44:00):
Last time they won there was nineteen eighty three. I
was there. Yeah. Well, I mean, you know what it
feels like to win in that city.
Speaker 3 (44:07):
Yeah, I also always like to lose in that city
last what forty years, get eighty three?
Speaker 2 (44:15):
Yeah, that uh, it's it's it's very difficult. And then
now the noise level is going to be huge. Well,
it'll be a big party.
Speaker 1 (44:21):
They put themselves in this position, so now they have
to accomplish it difficult. Otherwise it's not in there, right.
I mean, you could still lose a game technically and
get in the playoffs, but it would be I mean,
now you're getting out to you know, the abacus and
the calculator and all.
Speaker 2 (44:33):
Nineteen eighty nine when we six things had to happen
when we're in Tampa Bay and with the day after
Christmas or was it Christmas Day, I can't even remember.
But the first thing that happened was that it snowed
for the first time in twenty five years in Tampa Bay.
And that was like a side. Yes, it's a good omen,
you know, and we got into the playoffs, so you
just never know, say they never quit.
Speaker 1 (44:55):
Yeah, the rest.
Speaker 4 (44:56):
Of the AFC was pretty kind of Steelers this weekend.
Speaker 1 (44:58):
Yeah. And there's a reason teams are eight and seven
and not you know, fourteen and one. It's because they're
capable of losing games to just about anybody.
Speaker 4 (45:07):
I like you.
Speaker 2 (45:08):
How you did the math.
Speaker 1 (45:09):
That was good, Thank you. It took me a minute,
I was I had two strikes against me. I had
to go opposite field on that one. I had to
shorten up. For the most complete selection of Steelers merchandise,
from official sideline gear and ethnic memorabilia to our extensive
selection of jerseys and Terrible towels, visit one of the
official Students Pro shop stores located at Akershuer Stadium, Grove City,
Premium Outlet's or Tanger out Let's, or visit us online
(45:32):
at shop dot Steelers dot com for all your merchandise
needs directly from the team. For Craig Wolfley, for Matt Williams,
and I'm Rob King. Thanks for listening to the point
after on Steelers Nation Radio on one to two point
five DVE
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